More Big News + This Week's Three Things

Three Things Thursday (and some more)

Nov 21, 2024

Three Things Thursday highlights three things I am paying attention to as an epidemiologist each week. While there are three things below — important public health news from this past week — this week’s big news was announced yesterday…

President-elect Trump has selected Mehmet Oz, aka Dr. Oz, to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Dr. Oz is a cardiothoracic surgeon with a degree in biology from Harvard University. He has worked at New York City’s Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University.

HOWEVER — many of us, with backgrounds in medicine, public health, healthcare, and the pharmaceutical industry, are concerned because Dr. Oz is known for “promoting medicines and supplements that do not do what Oz says they do.”1 Additionally, Dr. Oz and his wife have significant financial investments in pharmaceutical companies, including AbbVie, Cigna, CVS, Johnson & Johnson, and UnitedHealth Group.

Kedric Payne, VP and senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center said yesterday —

“Dr Oz has held significant stock in health insurance giants including United Healthcare and Cigna and in the pharmaceutical company CVS. If confirmed to this position, Dr Oz will hold sway over how Medicare is administered and could make decisions that make those stocks more valuable while adversely impacting the healthcare of millions of Americans.”

As I’ve said since the election, I am doubling-down on my mission and will work hard and more collaboratively to CREATE HEALTHY COMMUNITIES FOR ALL.

This work got harder (again) yesterday.

But I am not going anywhere.

I am committed to ensuring healthy communities for all.

I will use science & data to inform every post, recommendation, policy, and update I make here. Every word/phrase highlighted in purple is a link to a study, resource, or data supporting my thoughts (or providing you access to the original research). Should you have questions — because understanding the research is hard work and is too often misinterpreted — please ask.

Vaccine Success Story

There is a lot of information about vaccines circulating (and unfortunately, a lot of that information is wrong). Here’s what you need to know about vaccines…

First, vaccines prevent disease from occurring (or prevent severe disease) in the first place. We call this primary prevention.

Second, vaccines are effective at preventing disease.

This week Vox published a short (but powerful) article about the effectiveness of vaccines. (Thanks for sharing the article, Eric!) The article included a wonderful illustration showing how effective vaccines are at preventing disease. Even a vaccine that is only 72% effective (like the mumps vaccine), prevents a lot of disease from occurring.

H5N1 Update

The Canadian teenager with H5N1 is still hospitalized and in critical condition. While there is no evidence of person-to-person spread of the disease, genetic sequencing shows that the virus has mutated and has the potential to evolve so that it can spread from person to person.

Dr. Scott Hensley, professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, told STAT News that this is —

“By no means is this Day 1 of a pandemic. There’s no indication … of human-to-human spread, which is all good. But this is exactly the scenario that we fear…”

The genetic sequencing results are a clear reminder that flu viruses can easily mutate. And we could be just a mutation away from H5N1 becoming a flu virus that can spread from person to person or a virus that can easily evade our immune system. Specifically, the three mutations found through the genetic sequencing in Canada are at positions in the virus’ genome that could allow it (the H5N1 virus) to attach more easily to human cells.

For now — the population risk posed by H5N1 remains low.

Increased surveillance and genetic sequencing of individuals with H5N1 is needed. Locally and globally we need to know where this disease is spreading and how it is mutating.

UK Proposes to Ban Disposable Vapes

In the US (alone) e-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among middle and high school students in 2024. Currently, 1.63 million (5.9%) students use e-cigarettes. Vaping causes damage to one’s lungs and other organs, breathing problems, addiction, and more. People tend to think of vaping as “safer” than smoking, but it is NOT safe.

In the UK, where rates of e-cigarette use are also increasing, there is a movement to ban disposable vapes by the summer of 2025. The government aims to create a smoke-free UK.

This is an ambitious and impactful public health policy proposal.

Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, states —

“This government is taking bold action to create the first smoke-free generation [and] clamp down on kids getting hooked on nicotine through vapes.”

On that note — imagining the first smoke-free generation — I wrap up this week’s three things. As always, if you have a question, comment, or want more information —

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