Covid still quiet, measles, ticks, smoke, EMTALA, and seed oil confusion
The Dose: June 9
Happy Monday! Covid-19 remains mostly quiet (for now), but measles, ticks, and wildfire smoke are ramping up quickly. At the same time, falsehoods are clouding the facts on abortion care and infant formula. Calling this information landscape “confusing” doesn’t quite do it justice.
Let’s break it down.
First, good news! A new class of antibiotics is here.
For the first time in nearly 30 years, the FDA has approved a brand-new class of antibiotics to treat urinary tract infections—a breakthrough in the fight against antibiotic resistance. The new drug, Blujepa, works differently than older antibiotics like penicillin or nitrofurantoin, which target cell walls or protein production. Instead, it blocks two enzymes E. coli needs to replicate.
More than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur in the U.S. each year, so this new class is promising because bacteria haven’t built up resistance to it. In clinical trials, it cleared infections in up to 58% of cases, slightly outperforming the standard drug (44%). It’s also safe, with mild but some uncomfortable side effects, including diarrhea (16%) and nausea (9%).
It’s expected to be available by the end of the year, though the price hasn’t been disclosed yet. The research was partially funded by BARDA, the federal agency that supports medical countermeasures for public health threats.
Latest disease trends
Covid-19 is still quiet overall.
Emergency room visits for Covid-19 are starting to tick up in Hawaii and, if you squint, in places like Florida. YLE has also heard more anecdotal reports lately (sometimes an early signal of a wave), but wastewater levels remain low across most of the country.
That said, the U.S. has had a summer wave every year for the past five years, and other countries are seeing upticks, so we still think one is coming. A newer variant, NB.1.1, was recently detected. Time will tell if it has enough “oomph” to create a wave.
Those over age 65 are still eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine every 6 months. Sticking to that schedule is still a good idea.
Measles cases continue to pop up.
The outbreaks in Montana (19 cases and two hospitalizations) and North Dakota (34 total cases and two hospitalizations) continue to grow. Almost all cases are unvaccinated, school-aged children.
With an uptick in travel during summer, more measles cases will come. In Colorado, an infected person on a Turkish Airlines flight is now linked to 8 cases**. Four people were passengers on the May 13 flight, and three were infected at the airport. The incubation period for that flight is now over, so hopefully we don’t see many more cases.
The Southwest outbreak has dramatically slowed down, with fewer and fewer cases in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Below is a “bell-shaped curve” showing the deceleration nicely. Measles is likely running out of infection pathways (due to vaccination efforts or people getting infected.)
The U.S. is on track (1,173 cases today) to exceed its 30-year high for measles cases (1,274) within two to three weeks.
It's the dead middle of tick season.
Emergency visits for tick bites have reached 107 per 100,000 weekly, but trends are coming down, hopefully for the year.
Not every tick you encounter will give you a disease (depends on several factors), but the highest risk of Lyme disease is in the Northeast and Midwest. To protect against ticks, cover up with light clothing, use an EPA-registered insect repellent, and remember to do a tick check.
Wildfire smoke returns
Smoke from Canadian wildfires (over 200) has reached the Upper Midwest and Northeast, including New York.
The heaviest smoke was in northern areas closest to Canada, but extended to Kansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
Air quality alerts range daily, but last week, “unhealthy” or “very unhealthy” levels reached Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, and Omaha.
Recent research showed that exposure to lingering wildfire particles, even three months after a fire, can increase cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalization risks.
Check your local air quality index here. It’s also on your phone’s weather app.
If you’re high risk (pregnant, older, immunocompromised, or have chronic conditions), take precautions when the AQI is yellow.
If you’re not high risk, start acting when it’s red.
Stay indoors, drive with windows closed, and wear an N95 or P100 mask outside (surgical masks won’t help here). Afterwards, be sure to replace your house’s air conditioning filter.
EMTALA and abortion: white noise
EMTALA is the law that requires hospitals to provide emergency care, including abortion, to save a mother’s life. In 2022, the Biden administration reinforced the guidance of EMTALA. Last week, the Trump administration revoked that reinforcement.
This prompted a flood of headlines suggesting emergency abortions might no longer be legal. But the law itself didn’t change. A memo doesn’t override a federal statute, like EMTALA.
Doctors are still legally obligated to provide life-saving emergency abortion care. Even in states with strict bans, every state still has an exception to protect the life of the mother. Dr. Jeremy Faust sat down with Dr. Dara Kass of FemInEM and Prof. Elizabeth Sepper of UW Law and highlighted this and another important takeaway:
This EMTALA memo distracts from a different, critical fight: if Medicaid is cut, many people will lose access to miscarriage and elective abortion care. Medicaid covers 41% of births (per 2023 KFF data). A subset of those births do not go as planned, risking the lives of the mother and child. Medicaid covers the resulting emergency care.
Confusion is becoming its own kind of danger. Doctors and hospitals may not know what’s legal, and patients may be less likely to seek care at all.
FDA commissioner led parents astray on seed oils in infant formulas
Last week, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary claimed on TV that seed oils in infant formula cause “general body inflammation”.
That’s... not true.
Seed oils are in the formula but for an important reason: they provide linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid supporting infant development. Their little bodies cannot develop this independently, so they need it from breast milk or formula. High-quality research doesn’t show that seed oils cause inflammation. For a YLE deep dive into the nuance behind seed oils and inflammation (and more), go here.
Baby formulas are safe to use. Rumors like this can lead parents astray, leading to the risk DIY formulas. Katelyn explained this in a social media video last week.
Question grab bag
It was wonderful to “see” many of you in last week’s live YLE Q&A chat! Katelyn tried to answer as many questions as possible. Here’s one: “Will normal people (not at risk) be able to get a Covid-19 vaccine this fall?”
Short answer: The U.S. doesn’t know yet.
The CDC’s expert advisory group (ACIP) meets June 25–27 and should give some clarity. But, even after that, big unknowns remain, including:
How the FDA updates vaccine licenses
Whether formulas will change (which may require new trials)
How RFK Jr. will wield his authority as HHS Secretary
We’ll keep you posted, but we likely won’t know much until closer to the fall season. For now, confusion seems to be the default setting.
In case you missed it:
YLE New York edition covered everything from wildfire smoke, to the new Covid variant detected in the NY airport, and New York fish contamination.
Katelyn joined Katie Couric to discuss Covid-19 vaccines, disease trends, and the dramatic cuts to scientific research.
You’re all caught up! Have a great week.
Love,
The YLE team
**This originally said all Colorado measles cases were unvaccinated, which is incorrect. 4 were vaccinated.
Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) is a public health newsletter with one goal: to “translate” the ever-evolving public health science so that people feel well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is owned and operated by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina— an epidemiologist and mom. This is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below:
Thanks, as always. Lying liars who tell lies are so unattractive, and we have a lot of them, in high places. You continue to voice sane things. Hang in there.
You do a great job!! Thank you!