Eric Schultz

Infuriating

Ensured job security for hepatologists I suppose

Bad framing: ACIP voted to scrap the universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendation for newborns.

Accurate framing: Anti-vax conspiracy theorists appointed to ACIP by Robert Kennedy Jr., who made a fortune as an anti-vax profiteer, voted to expose babies to a preventable, incurable, deadly illness.

monsters

Opinion | We Have a Way to Pay for Free Buses. It Means Free Street Parking Is Over.

Many people are saying www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...

It’s so appalling

12 former commissioners of the FDA came together to write a Perspectives piece for the New England Journal of Medicine; raising our concerns about recent changes to vaccine approval policy at the FDA and its implications for patients and public health.

We are past the point when advocates need to think long and hard if they are complicit in legitimizing current HHS leadership by participating in agency promotion of policy changes. Advocates shouldn't give any legitimacy to Prasad, Makary, Kennedy & others by sharing a microphone.

FDA to impose strict new vaccine requirements, claiming child covid shot deaths Vinay Prasad, the nation’s top vaccine regulator, said his team concluded that coronavirus shots were linked to children’s deaths, necessitating a new approach.

this is as absurd and stupid as it sounds wapo.st/49GmNLP

“‘I remain open to vigorous discussions and debate,’ Prasad wrote to his team, adding that staff who did not agree with the core principles of his new approach should submit their resignations.”

And one noted Bluesky subway guy

Some impressive public health chops on the Mamdani transition health committee

this is the way

The transit riders vs drivers election.

The image is a boxplot comparing mean SIS for routine vs nonroutine hospice services across various service types. Nonroutine services like blood transfusions & telemedicine show higher mean SIS values.

In this survey of hospice-eligible patients with blood cancers, transfusion access had the highest importance compared to routine hospice services, highlighting the need for novel hospice models with access to palliative transfusions. ja.ma/3WHqdGt

The last month of the anti-Mamdani campaign was an absolutely shameful undertaking, an attempt to rip the city and Democratic coalition apart and I'm very happy to see it failed.

Happy to see a campaign based on optimism and love of New York City prevail.

My "people don't like any of this shit" prediction is holding up so far tonight.

Yikes, risk of arrhythmias with over-repletion of potassium

Credit where credit is due, Boone pushed all the right buttons in this one

Cam Schlittler, that is all

100% of the hepatologists in the Senate voted to confirm

Finding pediatric COVID vaccination appointments in NYC has been a challenge (peds offices I've spoken to don't have the vaccine in yet). CVS/Walgreens pharmacies don't vax younger kids. CVS Minute Clinic seems like the best option so far, (though there are only a few sites).

VAERS is not a great resource for vetting the veracity of vaccine injury claims, much less establishing causality. But clearly the administration’s mind is already made up

Not great Bob

That ship has sailed Bill

Very easy NYC COVID vaccine experience at CVS today.

Hospitalized patients awaiting rehab placement for prolonged periods is such a waste of scarce inpatient beds

Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Releases Majority Staff Report Exposing Medicare Advantage Insurers' Refusal of Care for Vulnerable Seniors | U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connect... [WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), released a...

We think this reflects the incentives in Medicare Advantage to have very tight networks of nursing homes that they cover and requiring prior authorization. This has been the subject of congressional reports and intense scrutiny.

www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/pre...

Overall, we estimate that longer hospital stays for Medicare Advantage patients are contributing to close to 2 million extra hospital bed days occupied by people who don't need to be there any more annually. This is a huge waste and bad for patient care.

Why is this happening?

Question Has hospital length of stay increased more for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries than for traditional Medicare beneficiaries since the COVID-19 pandemic?Findings In this cohort study involving more than 89 million hospitalizations from 2017 to the third quarter of 2023, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries experienced disproportionately greater increases in extended hospital stays, especially among those discharged to skilled nursing facilities.Meaning These findings suggest that the Medicare Advantage plan design and practices may contribute to hospital discharge delays, with implications for patient outcomes and hospital capacity as enrollment continues to rise.

New paper w/ Brian McGarry, Ashvin Gandhi, and Drew Wilcock in @jamainternalmed.com!

Hospitals are complaining across the US that patients are "stuck" waiting for rehab beds at nursing homes when they are medically stable and ready for discharge. What is going on??

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...