Data Omitted From FL Vax Report? No Evidence of Fraud in Stanford President’s Paper

Welcome to the latest edition of Investigative Roundup, highlighting some of the best investigative reporting on healthcare each week.

Data Omitted From Florida COVID Vax Report?

The Florida Surgeon General’s recommendation that young men shouldn’t get the COVID-19 vaccine was made “despite the state having contradictory data,” according to the Tampa Bay Times.

In October, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, MD, PhD, announced that young men shouldn’t get the COVID-19 vaccine, countering CDC guidance. His recommendation was based on an analysis that purported to show an increased risk of cardiac-related death for men ages 18 to 39.

However, draft versions of the analysis obtained by the Tampa Bay Times show that “catching COVID-19 could increase the chances of a cardiac-related death much more than getting the vaccine,” the article stated.

“That data was included in an earlier version of the state’s analysis but was missing from the final version compiled and posted online by the Florida Department of Health,” the Times reported. “Ladapo did not reference the contradictory data in a release posted by the state.”

In a public records request, the Times asked for all previous versions of the state analysis made public in October. Before the final version was released, at least five drafts had been produced, the article stated. The conclusion in four of the drafts “provided a counterpoint to Ladapo’s assertion about the vaccine.”

Though Ladapo declined to answer specific questions posed by the Times regarding why data showing higher risk from infection were removed, he told the media outlet in an emailed statement that he stands by his guidance and that he has previously faced criticism for his approach to COVID.

“As surgeon general, my decisions continue to be led by the raw science — not fear,” Ladapo stated. “Far less attention has been paid to safety of the COVID-19 vaccines and many concerns have been dismissed — these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”

No Evidence of Fraud in Stanford President’s Paper

A review of misconduct allegations surrounding a landmark 2009 paper co-authored by Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne, PhD, found no evidence of fraud or intentional wrongdoing, STAT reported.

Findings of the internal review, conducted by biotechnology company Genentech, where Tessier-Lavigne was formerly a top executive, noted that none of 35 current or former employees interviewed reported observing or knowing of fraud related to the study published more than a decade ago in Nature, according to STAT.

“The original study proposed a mechanism in which two molecules, death receptor 6 (DR6) and amyloid precursor protein (APP), interact in a way that can cause neurons to die and lose connections,” the article stated. ‘It’s a process that is part of the development of a healthy brain, but one that scientists believed could also contribute to deadly diseases such as Alzheimer’s.”

In response to the internal review’s findings, Tessier-Lavigne wrote the following in an email to STAT: “I am not surprised by Genentech’s review, which directly and unequivocally refutes the false and hearsay rumors concerning the 2009 Nature paper and related research.”

STAT reported that the internal review did, however, point to a complaint filed in 2010 involving a different postdoctoral researcher who had worked under Tessier-Lavigne’s supervision on a project unrelated to the 2009 Nature paper. And regarding the 2009 Nature paper, the review did acknowledge that other researchers struggled to reproduce certain findings before and after its publication.

Of the 2010 case, Tessier-Lavigne told STAT that he was the one who referred the issue to Genentech’s legal department, declining to provide further information. And as detailed in additional reporting by STAT, Tessier-Lavigne told the media outlet that it was his decision not to correct or retract the 2009 Nature paper when others struggled to reproduce its findings, defending his actions.

“It was my call to conduct additional follow-up experiments rather than to correct or retract the 2009 study,” Tessier-Lavigne wrote in an email to STAT, adding that most of the study’s findings are still valid. “We felt the best way to communicate the evolution of our understanding was to publish follow-on papers that provided a clear explanation, both of the necessary revision and how and why it was discovered.”

UnitedHealth Group Quietly Scoops Up Another Physician Group

In late February, UnitedHealth Group closed on its acquisition of Crystal Run Healthcare, a prominent physician group in New York, STAT reported. However, the deal wasn’t marked by any “fanfare,” instead being brought to light by an email obtained by the Mid-Hudson News.

With a network of nearly 400 doctors, nurse practitioners, and other clinicians, the deal for Crystal Run brings another large group of providers into UnitedHealth, STAT reported.

“UnitedHealth is most-known for its health insurance arm, UnitedHealthcare,” the article stated. “But the company has made a concerted effort over the past several years to buy physician groups, surgery centers, and other outpatient providers, and then funnel its insurance members to those entities as a way to keep more of the insurance premiums.”

STAT added that the deal “also serves as another example of how difficult it is for regulators to scrutinize deals made by large healthcare conglomerates.” The outlet noted that, according to federal reporting rules, UnitedHealth “does not have to publicly disclose any of these relatively smaller provider buyouts because they don’t make up a ‘significant’ proportion of its business.”

Though a UnitedHealth spokesperson declined to answer STAT‘s questions, the company did confirm that the acquisition of Crystal Run occurred, and noted that the group “will continue to serve its patients covered by multiple payers and across all lines of commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid coverage.”