Incredibly honored at STAT to have two Gerald Loeb Awards finalists for "Obesity Revolution'' (explanatory) and "Denied by AI'' (investigative): Elaine Chen Megan Molteni Casey Ross Bob Herman Isa Cueto Matthew Herper @nicholasflorko #LoebAwards prn.to/3WYTEUc

US government is going to again make #Covid tests available for free, starting in late September. Folks will be able to order 4 free tests from Covidtests.gov, HHS ASPR's Dawn O'Connell says. More later.

3 yrs ago, the Biden Administration announced a $3.2B plan to build antivirals for Covid and whatever pandemic nature might throw at us next Most of the plan, I learned, was never enacted. And what was built — 9 antiviral centers — may soon be dismantled statnews.com/2024/08/26/nih…

Ten years ago, UnitedHealth bought ProHealth Physicians, a major primary care group in CT. UnitedHealth promised it wouldn’t interfere with how the doctors take care of patients. Now, ProHealth is a shell of its former self, and the doctors regret selling. statnews.com/2024/08/28/uni…

Hims, one of the biggest faces of compounded GLP-1s online, has doubled down by saying it will continue compounding the drugs even when shortages end. What comes next? Nicholas Florko and I looked at the web of regulations it will have to deal with: statnews.com/2024/08/29/tel…

CORRECTION: California confirms 3 #birdflu infected dairy herds, news pushed out late Friday going into a long weekend. The release doesn't say #H5N1; it says high path bird flu. There are only 2 HP bird flus, H5 & H7. Either would be big news but it's H5.

Here's the first story in a terrific STAT investigation on race-based algorithms in health care. statnews.com/2024/09/03/emb… This story is in front of the paywall. But pls remember that subscriptions help support *all* STAT's journalism. Give it a try. statnews.com/stat-plus/

For the past year, Katie Palmer and Usha Lee McFarling, have been reporting on problematic race-based algorithms doctors routinely use to guide medical care and why it's so hard to change them. Their first story in a 7-part STAT investigation is out today: statnews.com/2024/09/03/emb…

It's always a challenge to figure out how to time when to get your #Covid & #flu (& #RSV, if you qualify) shots. But this year is particularly challenging, with the large late summer Covid surge. Some experts talked me through their thinking. statnews.com/2024/09/04/cov…

Nearly every clinical lab in the US has stopped using race to estimate kidney function. In the 3rd part of my STAT series with Usha Lee McFarling, we examine the years-long, painful battle it took to make that change. statnews.com/2024/09/05/emb…

Nothing to see here. Just scientists creating some see-through mice. Via anil oza statnews.com/2024/09/05/tis…

Personal news: I'm joining the policy team as STAT's FDA reporter. I'll still cover the regulation of medical devices, but will also be focused on the agency as a whole. Excited to meet more folks in the space! Send tips to [email protected] statnews.com/2024-stat-inte…

BREAKING: #H5 bird flu detected in Missouri individual with no reported contact with animals. It's not yet clear if this the same version of the virus that has been circulating in dairy cows. More questions than answers at this point. statnews.com/2024/09/06/mis…

Why do people who understand #flu get unsettled when they hear about infections like the Missouri case of #H5 #birdflu with no known link to infected animals or birds? What do we need to find out fast about this case? Some smart folks explain. statnews.com/2024/09/08/mis…

A rare disease program, portrayed as both lifeline and pharma handout, is set to expire statnews.com/2024/09/12/ped…

Investigators have not been able to determine how a person in Missouri with no known exposures to animals or poultry became infected with an H5 bird flu virus, but so far, there's no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 reports: statnews.com/2024/09/12/h5-…

In September of last year, Earth rang like a bell for nine days, baffling scientists. Now they’ve finally discovered the source: a mega tsunami in a remote Greenland fjord triggered by a colossal rockslide! My latest Science Magazine science.org/content/articl…

There's a decent chance California will be announcing additional #H5N1 #birdflu positive dairy herds in the coming days. They've gone over the records of the first affected farms, looking for other operations to which they shipped cattle or had other connections.

Subs make all the award-winning work we do here at STAT possible. And today's a great day to get one (first 3 months for only $5!). Promo here: marketing.statnews.com/sept-2024

U.S. health officials described an #H5N1 bird flu case (without any known animal contact) as a one-off. Now they say a close contact was also sick. There are questions. Via Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 statnews.com/2024/09/13/h5n…