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Dr. Anthony Fauci Draws Large Crowd of Supporters and Protestors in Sarasota
Some celebrate Dr. Anthony Fauci; others question him. None dispute that he played a significant role in the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Monday, Fauci drew large crowds to Sarasota, some to hear him speak as part of the Ringling College Town Hall Lecture Series and others to protest him. FOX 13 was not allowed to hear Fauci speak inside the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. Still, the Ringling College Library Association said they felt the community deserved the chance to listen to him talk about the lessons he’s learned and his experiences.
“I’m looking forward to hearing his story and his background. I’ve read about him. I do think he did a good job,” said Barbara of Sarasota. Audience members drove through protestors while parking at the arts center.
“Nothing in this world is perfect. Certainly, vaccines are not perfect; a vaccine that was put together in record time will have problems. We think it has a lot of problems, and we want people to know that,” a protestor said.
CT Scans in a Single Year Could Result in 100,000 Future Cancers in the U.S.
At current utilization and radiation dose levels, CT exams in 2023 were projected to lead to over 100,000 future cancers over the lifetime of exposed patients, according to an updated risk model.
Among an estimated 62 million patients who underwent 93 million CT examinations in 2023, approximately 103,000 radiation-induced cancers (90% uncertainty limits 96,400-109,500) were projected to result from these examinations, reported Rebecca Smith-Bindman, MD, of the University of California San Francisco, and colleagues in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Risks were higher in children and adolescents, but higher CT utilization in adults accounted for most (91%) radiation-induced cancers. Previous projections published in 2009 had estimated that approximately 29,000 future cancers would result from routine CT exposures in the U.S.
“Despite public attention to the potential adverse effects, CT use has grown significantly since 2009,” Smith-Bindman and team wrote. “If the number of new cancer diagnoses in the United States remains stable (1.95 million in 2023) and both the utilization and radiation doses from CT remain unchanged in future decades, CT could be responsible for approximately 5% of cancers diagnosed each year. This would place CT on par with other significant risk factors, such as alcohol consumption (5.4%) and excess body weight (7.6%).”
Pfizer Discontinues Its Experimental GLP-1 Pill
Pfizer said this morning that it would stop development of danuglipron, its experimental oral GLP-1 medicine to treat obesity, focusing its efforts on another medicine with a different mechanism of action.
The company said in a press release that an asymptomatic volunteer in the company’s studies experienced “potential drug-induced liver injury,” which resolved after stopping the medication. After reviewing all clinical data for the medicine and consulting with regulators, Pfizer decided to halt research on the medicine.
“While we are disappointed to discontinue the development of danuglipron, we remain committed to evaluating and advancing promising programs in an effort to bring innovative new medicines to patients,” said Chris Boshoff, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer and head of R&D, in a statement.
To Eradicate Polio Once and for All, We Need a New Vaccine — that’s What We’re Working On
Aside from recent outbreaks of polio in war-torn regions of the world, the deadly virus is close to being eradicated, thanks to vaccines. All vaccines work by training our immune systems to recognize a harmless piece of a virus or bacteria so that when the real thing is encountered later, the immune system is prepared to defeat it.
There are two types of polio vaccine in use. One is the inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), and the other the live-attenuated oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). The IPV is made by “killing” large quantities of poliovirus with a chemical called formalin, making it unable to replicate. The immune system is then “trained” to recognize the poliovirus — which is thankfully rendered safe by formalin.
The OPV vaccine contains a weakened (or “attenuated”) version of the virus. These changes in the virus’s genetic code stop it from causing disease. However, as the OPV vaccine is still capable of replicating, it can revert to a form that can cause disease, with the potential to cause paralysis in unvaccinated people. Because of these risks, scientists are now looking for safer ways to create vaccines — methods that don’t require growing large amounts of the live virus in high-security labs, as is done for IPV.
FDA Warns About Fake Ozempic in U.S. Supply Chain
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday urged patients and doctors to check that their Ozempic prescriptions are legitimate after the agency seized several hundred units of fake versions of the diabetes drug in the U.S.
Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and the weight loss drug Wegovy, told the FDA on April 3 that counterfeit 1-milligram injections were being distributed outside its authorized supply chain in the U.S., the agency said in a news release. That means it likely entered the market through unofficial means, like unauthorized distributors or resellers.
The FDA said it seized the counterfeit products — labeled with lot number PAR0362 and serial numbers starting with the first eight digits 51746517 — on April 9.
Skin Cancer Patients Could Join Vaccine Project
Patients with advanced skin cancer could be fast-tracked to take part in a “revolutionary” trial of a new cancer vaccine. The needle-free injection boosts the immune system’s response and helps it attack and recognize cancer cells to help stop the disease returning.
The trial is being coordinated by the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, which is based at the city’s university, and is aiming to expand the number of patients able to take part.
Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the U.K. and accounts for about 4% of all new cancer cases but research shows it is on the rise.
The NHS will work with Oxford-based life sciences company Scancell to widen access for patients at seven sites across England, including in Southampton, with the first patients set to be referred in May. The work is being done as part of the NHS’s Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, a trial to help find treatments for patients at their nearest participating NHS site.
