Vaccine skeptics took control, Covid lawsuits followed

Plus: RFK Jr.'s thimerosal warnings install doubt and fear

November 19, 2025 Check out STAT+

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By Theresa Gaffney Morning Rounds Writer and Reporter

Good morning. Calley Means will soon take a permanent role as a senior adviser at HHS, per WSJ reporting. A little over a year ago, I said in this newsletter that on the Who Weekly scale of Who to Them, both Calley and Casey Means were Whos. Do we think that's changed this year? Are the entrepreneurs-turned-MAHA-leaders Thems now? Let me know.

science Smoking weed to stop drinking?  Bruce Bennett/Getty Images In a first-of-its-kind randomized trial, people who smoked weed consumed less alcohol in the two hours afterward than those who didn't. The study, published today, compared the alcohol consumption of participants who smoked a highly potent weed, a less potent one, and a placebo. People who smoked the highest potency product drank the least.  Despite the results and the study's robust design, both the lead author and outside experts cautioned against interpreting the results as broadly in favor of the "California sober" lifestyle, or as evidence for smoking weed in order to reduce one's drinking. Read more from STAT's Lev Facher on why they had such reservations.  public health Testing a SNAP incentive program in R.I. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his MAHA allies have repeatedly pushed for restrictions on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including soda and candy bans. While some nutrition experts see value in that approach, many argue that incentives are more effective than bans in improving people's diets. A study published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open adds modest evidence to support that case after examining the effectiveness of a Rhode Island program.  The state provided SNAP recipients with a $0.50 credit for every dollar spent on fresh fruits and vegetables, with benefits delivered automatically to EBT cards. Researchers surveyed 725 participants in Rhode Island's program as it was launched in 2023, and followed up with them five to seven months later. They also tracked 361 people in Connecticut as a comparison group.  Participants whose baseline intake included higher amounts of fruits and vegetables significantly increased their intake through the program. But those with lower baselines saw no change. Overall, participants in Rhode Island didn't increase their fruit and veggie intake significantly more than their Connecticut counterparts. The authors concluded that better implementation, including partnerships with more grocery chains, and better outreach could potentially improve the results. one big number $7 billion That's how much money Sackler family members agreed to pay over 15 years to settle thousands of lawsuits over the harms of opioids. Yesterday, a federal bankruptcy court judge formally approved the plan from Purdue Pharma. It's among the largest in a series of opioid settlements against drugmakers, wholesalers, and pharmacies totaling around $50 billion. Read more on where the money will go and what else is at stake for the family.

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politics A friendlier legal landscape for Covid-era lawsuits LM Otero/AP  Physician assistant Debra Conrad was fired by Rochester Regional in 2021, after meticulously cataloging alleged side effects from the Covid vaccine, even ones that her coworkers considered unlikely to be caused by the shot. Now she's suing her former employer, alleging that the health system committed fraud against the federal government by failing to report Covid vaccine side effects. "We are the first case in history to try and hold an organization accountable for this," Conrad said recently at a summit in Dallas hosted by the controversial advocacy group America's Frontline Doctors. Her case may not be the last. As STAT's Isabella Cueto reports, a wave of Covid pandemic-era lawsuits that previously faced steep odds of success have been gaining momentum since Trump took office. Vaccine-injury attorneys are prepping new legal strategies to shape policy. Read more about existing cases, how lawyers and judges are thinking about them, and how it's all serving Kennedy's larger goals.  what's the word Do this week's mini after reading Isa's story There are a few legal words in this week's mini crossword. Can you get them all? Play now. global health RFK Jr's thimerosal warnings install doubt and fear Speaking of Kennedy's larger goals: Earlier this month, the health secretary and longtime vaccine critic urged countries around the world to follow the U.S.'s lead and disallow the use of the preservative thimerosal in vaccines. Infectious disease experts doubt that other nations will actually act on Kennedy's advice, but they are concerned that he's planting seeds of doubt and disinformation that could erode vaccination rates around the globe. And as STAT's Helen Branswell reports, it's happened before. Read more on the precedent for these concerns, why thimerosal is so widely used in certain countries, and what the science actually says about the ingredient.

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Thanks for reading! More next time,

theresa.gaffney@statnews.com

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