RFK Jr. adds five members to ACIP

Yesterday, federal health officials announced the appointment of five new members to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, handpicked by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just days ahead of the group’s next meeting. They include an infectious disease expert who has pushed back on Covid-19 mandates and another who advocated for alternative, unproven treatments for Covid, including ivermectin.

STAT previously reported that the appointees were under consideration. Now, with their appointments, the committee is up to 12 members, a few short of the panel Kennedy dismissed in June. Read more.

cardiology

Another way heart attacks differ for men and women

Clogged arteries are usually the villain in heart attacks. But they’re not the only suspects, especially in women under 65, according to a new study. A little more than half of heart attacks in this group of women were prompted by other problems, including spontaneous coronary artery dissection, blood clots, or stress-related triggers. In men under 65, whose incidence was much higher, artery-narrowing plaques caused three-quarters of heart attacks.

Understanding different causes is important for determining proper treatment. A stent to prop open a blood vessel won’t help someone with a spontaneous coronary artery dissection, when a wall in the coronary artery tears. While not common, SCAD occurs five times more often in women than men — and in the study, two-thirds of cases were missed by the treating physician.

Conducted by Mayo Clinic researchers analyzing 15 years of data on patients in one Minnesota county, the study adds to a growing literature outlining sex differences in cardiovascular disease.

“Understanding why a heart attack happened is just as important as treating it,” Claire Raphael, a co-author of the study published yesterday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, said in a statement. “It can mean the difference between recovery and recurrence.” — Elizabeth Cooney

potent quotable

Why a former surgeon general wants RFK Jr. removed

“To me that was a failure, an absolute failure of leadership, and it’s one of the many reasons that I’m now of the opinion that he needs to go — because he’s lost his troops. They literally do not feel safe, physically safe, emotionally safe, working for him.”

That was former surgeon general Jerome Adams, speaking about Kennedy’s 18-hour delay in responding to a shooting on CDC campus last month. Adams said he’s been getting calls from colleagues and former employees asking him to speak out, since the health secretary has remained relatively muted. Read more of Adams’ conversation with STAT’s Katherine MacPhail.

what's the word

To grow old? An insurance giant? Research money?

Julia Bujalski/STAT

Have you played STAT’s mini-crossword for the week yet? You should recognize a few words that regularly come up in our coverage. Let me know how you do!

regulations

Will weed get rescheduled? Does it matter?

Democrats have long wanted to remove marijuana from the highest tier of controlled substances. It’s safer than drugs like heroin and LSD, and it’s legal for medical purposes in 40 states, and for recreational use in 24. Former President Joe Biden began the rescheduling process, but due to some regulatory roadblocks and a long legal process, he ran out of time. So now, it appears that President Trump will soon make a final decision.

But whether or not the move would have practical impacts across the country is up for debate, STAT’s Lev Facher writes. “Rescheduling is one of the most misunderstood issues in our field, and that’s really saying something,” Kevin Sabet, a former drug policy adviser in both Democratic and Republican administrations, told him. While it seems to many like an intuitive decision, rescheduling marijuana could mark a significant shift in the industry’s tax liability. Read more on what could change with a reschedule.

first opinion

The right questions to ask about Tylenol

As far as we know, many common medications are quite safe in pregnancy. But what does “as far as we know” really mean? And how can pregnant people be sure they’re making the right decisions for themselves and their baby?

These are hard questions to answer. And in a new First Opinion essay, family physician Christine Henneberg argues that they’re about to get harder, as health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has signaled an interest in investigating whether Tylenol use in pregnancy might be a cause of autism. (There is no scientific evidence for a causal link.)

“Whose safety are we really concerned about,” Henneberg asks, “and whose well-being and autonomy are we willing to sacrifice in order to protect it?” Read more from Henneberg on what other questions we should be asking when it comes to medication and pregnancy.

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CORRECTION: Yesterday’s newsletter incorrectly stated the number of people who were killed in a Colorado school shooting last week. Two students were shot by a classmate; both survived but were reported to be in critical condition. The assailant died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The story has been updated.

What we're reading

Nagging pain, Slate
The government wants more people to breastfeed. Experts say paid parental leave could help, The 19th
I’m a former CDC director. I’m deeply concerned about the future of vaccines in the U.S., STAT
Turning against vaccines, America is a global outlier, New York Times
Critics call on Sarepta to show how it’s measuring gene therapy’s performance, STAT

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