August 28, 2025
theresa-g-avatar-small - light bg
Morning Rounds Writer and Podcast Producer
Good morning. Last night was unexpectedly busy for STAT's Washington staffers. Let's just say that if you read the story about Monarez when it first published, you may want to take another look, as more updates came throughout the evening. Thanks for reading.

politics

CDC director is ousted by White House

Susan Monarez stands with a half, closed mouth smileJ. Scott Applewhite/AP

Susan Monarez, the first Senate-confirmed director of the CDC, has been fired after just a month on the job — part of a series of high-ranking exits at the agency. Hours after the Trump administration confirmed her departure yesterday afternoon without explanation, two prominent Washington lawyers representing her issued a statement saying she had neither resigned nor yet been fired. Then, later last night, the White House said it had indeed fired Monarez.

At least three other senior leaders at the CDC resigned, a team of STAT reporters wrote. The changes come after a series of firings and policy moves from health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that are likely to remake the CDC and perhaps further alter federal stances on vaccines. Read more for the details and for early reactions from some CDC staffers.

research

Researchers use AI to uncover more than 1,000 questionable journals

Not all scientific journals are created equal. While many reliably publish carefully vetted work, others put profit before rigor. Manually reviewing individual journals is a never-ending task. So in a study published on Wednesday in Science Advances, researchers take a different tack to sniffing out questionable journals: using artificial intelligence.

Scientists developed an AI tool to spot journals not in compliance with accepted best practices. These guidelines include clear indications of whether studies are peer reviewed, and if so, the review process, as well as information about a journal’s editorial team and policies on publishing ethics. When researchers applied the AI tool to nearly 15,200 journals, they identified more than 1,000 that were questionable. When the authors compared the tool’s performance with that of manual review, they found that the two approaches generally agreed.

The tool could help publishers, universities, and others identify journals with practices that warrant closer scrutiny, Daniel Acuña, a computer scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder and the study’s senior author, told STAT. “I always thought that people were trying to do the best science possible, and people wanted to publish in good venues and get real feedback,” he said. “But then I discovered many years ago that there is an entire industry dedicated to publishing fast, and publishing for a fee.” — Jonathan Wosen

policy

FDA approves updated Covid shots, with changes

The FDA approved updated Covid boosters yesterday, but also removed emergency use authorizations for the vaccines, STAT’s Lizzy Lawrence and Matt Herper report. It’s a set of moves that could make the shots more difficult to obtain for children under 5 in particular. The American Academy of Pediatrics called the restrictions “deeply troubling.”

In a post on X, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that the Moderna vaccine is approved for those older than 6 months, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for those older than 5 years, and the Novavax shot for those older than 12. The FDA approved Moderna’s vaccine for children as young as 6 months in July, but only for those with an underlying condition. Pfizer’s shot, which was previously available to children as young as 6 months via the emergency use authorization, had been seen as the main option for parents wishing to inoculate their young, healthy children against Covid. Read more. 

policy

HHS wants med schools to prioritize nutrition more

Before he dropped the news on Covid vaccines, Kennedy made another announcement: Along with the Department of Education, HHS is calling for nutrition education requirements to be better incorporated into pre-med qualifications, medical school curriculums, licensing, residency requirements, board certifications, and continuing education for doctors. Medical organizations are being asked to submit written plans with a timeline and accountability measures to HHS by September 8. 

“One of the things we’re gonna do at NIH is to really give a carrot and stick to medical schools across the country saying you gotta put in your first-year curriculum a really good, robust nutrition course,” Kennedy said in a July video. Yesterday’s announcement didn’t come with details on the carrot or the stick that might be used to incentivize medical schools, but the health secretary has previously said federal funds would be withheld from those that don’t comply. 

Experts agree that nutrition education is important, which is why this initiative from Kennedy may be “pushing on an open door,” as STAT’s Sarah Todd wrote last month. Re-visit her story on how a greater focus on nutrition has the potential to combat bias against higher-weight patients.

first opinion

Clinical trials for medical AI?

As any STAT reader knows, interest in AI is at an all-time high. (See: here, here, here.) But there’s a gap between the standards used to ensure AI tools are safe and effective compared to the evidence needed for new therapies. That gap needs to close, argue three leaders in precision medicine in a new First Opinion essay. 

The authors want society to treat clinical AI that informs diagnosis or guides treatment decisions as a medical intervention in its own right — meaning we need randomized controlled trials. “Novelty alone is insufficient,” they write. “Like any therapeutic intervention, it must withstand the same rigorous standards of clinical, ethical and regulatory validation.” Read more.

science

For older adults, extra weight could be protective

Older adults with a BMI categorized as overweight have better chances of surviving major elective surgery than those with “normal” or lower BMIs, according to a study published this week in JAMA Network Open. In a study of more than 400 patients ages 65 and older who undertook major elective surgery, the overall mortality rate 30 days later was 11%. But for overweight patients, it was just 0.8%.

Researchers analyzed data from older patients at one California clinic between 2019 and 2022, including anyone who received a noncardiac, nontransplant elective procedure that would require at least one night of recovery in the hospital. Patients with a BMI between 25 and 30 had the lowest mortality within 30 days of surgery, with significantly reduced risk compared with patients whose BMI sat between 18.5 and 25 (“normal”). That reduced risk persisted even after adjusting for confounding factors like frailty.

Caveats: This study took place at one, single clinic. And research shows elevated risk after surgery for overweight people under age 65. Still, the results add to a growing body of literature that suggests weight is a more complex medical issue than previously imagined, especially as we age. You can revisit a semi-related STAT story from the archives by contributor H Conley on how some surgeons mandate weight loss for patients pursuing top surgery.

More around STAT
Check out more exclusive coverage with a STAT+ subscription
Read premium in-depth biotech, pharma, policy, and life science coverage and analysis with all of our STAT+ articles.

What we're reading

  • Doctors find early success with partial heart transplants, New York Times

  • Novo Nordisk links to telehealth providers for patients seeking Wegovy, STAT
  • Paul Allen estate-backed fund launches with $500M in science grants, Seattle Times
  • Health care giants are pushing hard for Congress to extend ACA insurance subsidies, STAT