Weekly Health Digest: Vaccine Debates, Pig Kidneys, Dangerous Commercial, Measles Outbreak

In Idaho, a preview of RFK Jr.’s vaccine-skeptical America

By Lauren Weber, Washington Post 

Dr. Ryan Cole of Caldwell, Idaho encouraged the district’s public health clinics to stop administering the coronavirus vaccine, claiming it to be “experimental gene therapy” and “a known carcinogen”. Idaho’s regional health board voted 4 to 3 on the matter, prohibiting vaccine distribution to four prominent clinics in that community. The state of Washington restricted Dr. Cole’s medical license prior to his move to Idaho.

This shift in vaccination views has been linked to potential changes in our country’s health administration. In particular, anti-vax perspectives have been magnified since the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, further exacerbating decreasing vaccination rates across the nation. In Idaho alone, about 14% of kindergartners are exempt from having childhood immunizations. Healthcare professionals warn that this is a disaster in the making. Others, however, are advocating for more studies investigating the link between autism and childhood vaccinations.

This movement against science has spread across the nation, exacerbated by misinformation and a lack of trust in the federal government during the pandemic. Moving forward, the role of local politics is more important than ever. 

– by Manju Karthikeyan

Surgeons Transplant Engineered Pig Kidney Into Fourth Patient

By Roni Caryn Rabin, The New York Times

Last week, a group of surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston announced that they successfully completed the fourth pig kidney transplant in the United States on a 66-year-old man from New Hampshire. The patient was previously on the waiting list for a kidney transplant and had been on kidney dialysis three times a week for over two years before the surgery. He was discharged from the hospital a week after his transplant, reporting that he felt better than he had in years. 

This surgery was the first of three pig kidney transplants that will be performed at Mass General Hospital as part of a clinical trial approved by the FDA to alleviate the shortage of available kidneys. There are over 100,000 individuals on the waiting list for donor organs in the United States, many of whom will die before an organ becomes available. American biotechnology companies, such as Therapeutics Corporation and eGenesis, are developing genetically engineered animal organs to address the shortage of available organs for patients in need of transplants. 

Another clinical trial using genetically engineered animal organs will begin with six more patients later this year. These trials, though in their early stages, are paving the way for a potential solution to the shortage of available organs and saving thousands of lives.

— by Harleigh Markowitz

Millions will see this Super Bowl ad. Health experts (and two senators) aren’t pleased

By Dani Blum, New York Times

A minute-long ad slated for the Super Bowl claims to solve the issue of obesity and fix the “broken” American health care system. The commercial shows a refrigerator stocked with weight loss drugs by the telehealth startup Hims & Hers offering an “alternative” to existing medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy. The Hims & Hers products, however, are compounded drugs, meaning they haven’t gone through the rigorous FDA approval process. As such, the ad fails to mention side effects, risks, or safety information that are mandatory for commercials by pharmaceutical companies. 

Senators on both sides of the aisle, Richard Durbin of Illinois and Roger Marshall of Kansas, sent a letter to the acting head of the FDA to report the ad’s misleading messaging. The Partnership for Safe Medicines, a coalition of nonprofit organizations, also called out the ad for concealing the truth behind the Hims & Hers drugs, as the company only included the information on screen in small font for just a matter of seconds. 

Compounded drugs are cheaper than the drugs they imitate, but they lack regulation over their dosing and ingredients. Therefore they have a larger risk of overdose, amongst other complications. 

Recent reports suggest that millions of patients are dependent on compounded versions of Ozempic and Wegovy because of their acute shortages. Companies like Hims & Hers then profit by acting as if they are breaking through the bureaucracy of “the system.”

–  by Ananya Dash

Measles outbreak expands in West Texas around county with low vaccination rate

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN

A series of measles cases have been detected in parts of rural West Texas, where vaccination rates are far below the recommended level. Cases were first reported in Gaines County but have since extended beyond county lines, resulting in 14 confirmed cases and 6 probable cases as of last Friday. The affected individuals, most of which are children, are all suspected to be unvaccinated against measles.

A record number of kindergartners in the U.S. last school year had an exemption for required vaccines, according to data published by the CDC in October 2024. More than 125,000 schoolchildren are missing at least one state-mandated vaccine. The U.S. has fallen short of the Department of Health and Human Services’ 95 percent measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination goal for four consecutive years. This threshold is the minimum number of vaccines necessary to prevent measles outbreaks. Gaines County, the epicenter of the latest outbreak, is particularly behind in MMR vaccination rates, as 1 in 5 kindergartners lacked the vaccine before the start of last school year, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Measles is a highly contagious airborne illness that can result in serious health complications, particularly for young and unvaccinated individuals. About 20 percent of unvaccinated measles cases result in hospitalization, and nearly 3 in every 1,000 affected children die from complications. Public health officials urge unvaccinated residents of Gaines County and surrounding areas to take immediate action by getting vaccinated to protect themselves and their communities.

—by Stephanie Oehler

Items summarized by: Manju Karthikeyan , Harleigh Markowitz, Ananya Dash, Stephanie Oehler