'devastating published takedown'
Jay Bhattacharya says he and Francis Collins 'forgave each other' after Covid clash
More news from Aspen: National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya said on Tuesday that he has reconciled with Francis Collins after the two clashed over pandemic policy. Bhattacharya, a former Stanford health economist, co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, which opposed broad lockdowns. Collins, NIH director at the time, called for a "devastating published takedown" of the declaration in an email to infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci. That didn't go over well, and Bhattacharya has called Collins a "failed leader" for his embrace of lockdowns.
But during remarks at the Aspen Ideas: Health conference, Bhattacharya said that he has spoken with Collins since taking the helm of NIH. "We forgave each other," he said, before going on to talk about his vision for tackling chronic disease, promoting research reproducibility, and ensuring that federal funding goes toward young investigators with ambitious new ideas — even as NIH faces deep budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration. — Jonathan Wosen
aging
We still don't know enough about elder abuse, per USPSTF
In a new statement, the US Preventative Services Task Force has determined that there still isn't enough evidence around screening for intimate partner violence and caregiver abuse of older or vulnerable adults to recommend it. The task force does support screening for intimate partner violence among women of reproductive age, and providing support for those who screen positive. For both groups, the updated statement echoes what the group said in 2018, though it specifically calls out people who are pregnant and postpartum, as the evidence for screening is particularly strong for these populations.
The update is based on a systematic review of 35 studies on screening and treatment for adolescents and adults, five of which were new since the last review. Given the country's aging population, the lack of research, effective screening tools, or interventions for elder abuse is particularly concerning, physician and researcher Melissa Simon writes in an editorial accompanying the recommendations.
"Intimate partner violence and elder abuse are public health emergencies," Simon argues. "The stagnation in IPV and elder abuse research is not a failure of knowledge but a failure of imagination, investment, and will." And the drastic funding cuts at HHS only perpetuate the problem.
first opinion
A lack of medical knowledge, a lack of compassion
If a young cisgender woman needs hormone replacement therapy to treat primary ovarian insufficiency, it's seen as uncontroversial, standard medical care. But if a young transgender woman needs the same medication for gender dysphoria, it's a completely different story. In a new First Opinion essay, pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist Candice Mazon writes about this double standard where one type of care is celebrated, while the other is criminalized — and how last week's Supreme Court decision will only make it worse.
"This legal decision does not create neutrality but instead enforces a chilling double standard — stripping the decision to pursue treatment away from the youth, their families, and their health care providers," Mazon argues. Read more.
No comments