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AI falls for fake disease published in made-up preprint studies

In 2024, medical researcher Almira Osmanovic Thunström wanted to test how susceptible AI chatbots are to fake medical information. She decided to run an experiment: she uploaded two fake preprint studies describing a made up eye condition “bixonimania” to a preprint server. The fake preprints weren’t subtle — they clearly stated it was made up and included other obvious red flags, such as acknowledging a professor from the Starfleet Academy for her work onboard the USS Enterprise. But AI couldn’t tell and took the bait: within two months, the fake condition was showing up in answers provided by multiple chatbots including ChatGPT and Gemini. Even more concerning, the fake preprints started being cited in peer-reviewed literature, likely due to authors relying on AI-generated references. Read more from Nature here:

HIV/AIDS programs aren’t getting the money they’re promised

Last year, there was a fight over government funding for PEPFAR — the international program to prevent HIV/AIDS that has saved over 26 million lives. The Trump administration tried to cut funding, but congress pushed back, ultimately appropriating a similar level of funding as prior years. But a new report from NPR finds that money isn’t reliably being sent where it’s supposed to go. According to the report, some funds are being withheld by the State Department, causing HIV programs that rely on these funds to scramble in the midst of lack of clarity and uncertainty, with some close to shutting down. Read more from NPR:

Acting CDC director stalled report on COVID vaccine effectiveness

A report on COVID vaccine effectiveness was supposed to be published on March 19 in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report — but Jay Bhattacharya, NIH director and acting CDC director at the time, delayed its publication. The report found that last fall, those who received a 2025-2026 COVID booster were half as likely to visit the ER or be hospitalized for COVID compared to those who did not receive a booster. Dr. Bhattacharya cited concerns with the study’s methodology — according to the New York Times, he insisted on a randomized controlled trial instead of an observational study. However, observational study designs like this one are routinely performed and widely accepted as appropriate methodology for vaccine effectiveness, as annual randomized controlled trials for seasonal vaccines are typically not feasible. Read more from the New York Times here:

New hospital nutrition memo may sound better than it is

A recent government memo reminded hospitals to use the newly released dietary guidelines for their inpatient menus, emphasizing limits on ultraprocessed foods, refined carbohydrates, and added sugars. This memo was widely celebrated, but nutrition expert pointed out a widely overlooked flaw: the dietary guidelines are meant for the average person and their everyday meals, not hospitalized patients. People in the hospital often have unique nutritional needs — they may be struggling with acute malnutrition, major digestive issues (or surgery), trouble swallowing, or many other ailments. For many of these patients, highly processed drinks like Ensure might be exactly what they need, even though the dietary guidelines discourage them. Read more from Dr. Klatt here:

The power of storytelling in improving public health

Scientists are typically taught to stick to the data and facts, taking emotion and anecdotes out of their messages. But as immunologist and master storyteller explains, when it comes to communicating with the public, this approach often falls flat. Instead, she emphasizes the power and importance of scientific storytelling — when data is wrapped in a story, it increases retention and can lead to long-term behavior change. Storytelling isn’t a skill typically taught in graduate school, but it is one promising way to reach people who might otherwise ignore health messages. Read more from Dr. Marnik here:

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The Public Health Roundup is a newsletter created by Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD, an emergency physician, health communicator, and author of the newsletter You Can Know Things. Subscribe to get the weekly roundup in your inbox.

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FDA expected to allow compounding pharmacies to produce previously banned peptides

Peptides have been widely marketed in the wellness world as a fix for a wide variety of health concerns, yet there is little data to back up most of these claims. In 2023, the FDA banned compounding pharmacies from producing 14 commonly marketed peptides citing safety concerns and lack of data demonstrating they work. Now, thanks to a push by RFK Jr., the FDA is expected to reverse this decision and allow compounding pharmacies to produce these banned peptides. Peptides are a diverse class of biological molecules made up of amino acids (the same building blocks as protein) and like mRNA, they have a huge variety of functions in the body. RFK Jr. has said he personally uses peptides, and several of his high profile supporters and allies sell peptides according to the New York Times. Read more here:

CDC pauses testing for rabies, monkeypox, and many other diseases

The CDC is currently not providing testing for many diseases including rabies and monkeypox. Typically, the CDC provides testing for these and other rare diseases for local and state health departments who often do not have the resources to do these tests on their own. However, significant layoffs to the CDC workforce have left these critical labs understaffed: rabies and poxviruses labs lost about half their staff due to government cuts, hiring freezes, and resignations. By summer, the CDC rabies team will only have one person with the expertise to advise on this rare but fatal infection; the pox virus team may have no one. Read more from ABC News here:

The new “cicada” COVID variant is circulating in the US

A new COVID variant BA.3.2 (nicknamed “cicada”) is circulating in the US, now detected in 25 states. It’s nickname comes from its long dormant period (it was first detected in November 2024) followed by a prominent emergence (like cicadas). This variant is catching attention due to a high number of mutations in the spike protein, which could evade prior infection- or vaccine-induced immunity in the population, leading to more infections. But its ultimate impact remains uncertain, and so far there is not evidence of increased infections or severity. Read more from :

Microplastics research may be overestimating prevalence — due to contamination from lab gloves

Many studies have raised alarm about the prevalence of microplastics (tiny plastic particles), which have been detected in food, air, water, and many other places. But new research suggests some of the detected microplastics may be due to lab contamination rather than true presence in the environment. The study discovered that a chemical commonly found on the surface of laboratory gloves mimics microplastics, leading to inflated counts of microplastics in samples handled by scientists wearing the gloves. Read more from the authors of the study in The Conversation:

If you want to build community, you have to “waste time” with people

Former US surgeon general has launched a new Substack, and his first article was probably the best thing I’ve read all month. As surgeon general he highlighted the epidemic of loneliness in the United States, and in this article he explores one of the causes (and cures) of loneliness: our cultural push towards constant efficiency and productivity often discourages us from slowing down and “wasting time with people,” the very thing that builds lifelong community and friendships. Read the full article here from :

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The Public Health Roundup is a newsletter created by Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD, an emergency physician, health communicator, and author of the newsletter You Can Know Things. Subscribe to get the weekly roundup in your inbox.

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With that, here’s this week’s stories:

COVID immunization during pregnancy helps protect newborns too

The benefits of COVID immunization during pregnancy are well documented, and protective antibodies are passed on to babies too. A new study in Pediatrics quantified how long this protection for newborns lasts. Looking at 146,031 infants born over two years in Norway, the researchers found that for moms who were immunized against COVID during pregnancy, their infants had a lower risk of COVID infection during the first 5 months of life. Protection during these first few months of life is critical, as it is one of the highest risk periods for severe COVID in childhood. Read more from NPR here:

1 in 3 US adults are using AI chatbots for health questions

A new poll from KFF found 1 in 3 US adults has turned to an AI chatbot for health information over the last year. About 30% of respondents reported asking questions about physical health, and 16% asked about mental health. Younger adults (who are more likely to use AI tools generally) as well as those without health insurance were more likely to report turning to AI for their health questions. About 1 in 5 said the reason they turned to AI was either they could not afford to see a doctor, they don’t have a regular doctor, or they couldn’t get an appointment. Read more from KFF here:

Landmark trial found Meta and Youtube liable of harm due to addictive algorithms

A jury on Wednesday concluded that Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and many other social media sites) and YouTube harmed a woman with their products. The suit was brought by a now 20-year-old woman who started using social media at the age of 6 and said the products — including addictive algorithms and beauty filters that allow users to change their appearance — led to thoughts of self harm and body dysmorphia. During the case, lawyers presented internal company documents showing the companies new about and discussed the negative impact of their products on children. Read more from the New York Times here:

Pfizer’s Lyme disease vaccine shows 70% efficacy, but doesn’t quite meet statistical target

Pfizer announced the results of their phase 3 trial for a new Lyme disease vaccine — they found overall 70% efficacy at reducing the risk of Lyme disease 4 weeks after the 4 dose series. But the study didn’t go quite as planned — there were fewer overall cases of Lyme disease than anticipated, meaning the statistical estimates for how well the vaccine works have a higher degree of uncertainty than the researchers were aiming for (the 95% confidence interval ranged from 15.8-93.5% efficacy, and the goal for the lower threshold was at least 20% efficacy). Pfizer still plans to seek FDA approval for their vaccine, which if approved would be the first Lyme disease vaccine available to humans. Read more from NBC here:

Why MAHA needs public health

I was particularly moved by this article by , a MAHA supporter and co-guest on the podcast I participated in last year. He shared his honest reflection and experience after participating in a public health conference last week with and . In an environment he expected to be hostile, he found that we have far more common ground than we think. “In my most honest of moments, what I want from the medical community is the chance to trust it again.” Definitely worth the read:

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The Public Health Roundup is a newsletter created by Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD, an emergency physician, health communicator, and author of the newsletter You Can Know Things. Subscribe to get the weekly roundup in your inbox.

Judge blocks RFK Jr.’s vaccine policy changes

On Monday, a U.S. District Court Judge blocked RFK Jr.’s vaccine policy changes that he made over the last year. This includes RFK Jr.’s unilateral decision to remove multiple vaccines from the childhood vaccine schedule, the appointment of an entirely new (very biased) group of Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) members, and changes to vaccine policy made by those ACIP members — all of which are now put on hold. Read a helpful breakdown of what this means for vaccines in the US from at Your Local Epidemiologist:

An unprecedented meningitis outbreak in Britain

At least 27 young adults have developed meningitis in Kent, a county in Southeast England, and two young adults have died. Britain typically has about 300 cases per year, and the rapid spread of this outbreak is highly unusual. Six of the cases have been confirmed to be caused by group B meningococcal disease, for which there is a vaccine. In 2015, the UK’s National Health Service started providing this vaccine to infants, but children and adults in the UK born before 2015 are unlikely to have been vaccinated. Contact-tracing, prophylactic antibiotics, and a vaccination campaign are underway. Read more from the New York Times:

Internal memos reveal officials ignored data on COVID vaccines for pregnant women and children

In May 2025, RFK Jr. announced the CDC would no longer recommend COVID vaccines for healthy pregnant women and children, citing “common sense” and “good science.” Internal memos made public by the American Academy of Pediatrics lawsuit revealed what “good science” he was referring to: the memos showed these decisions were guided by a very biased assessment of the scientific literature that excluded many studies showing benefit of COVID vaccination for these groups. Read more from The Guardian here:

New study suggests 150,000 US COVID deaths may have gone unreported early in the pandemic

A new study published in Science Advances estimates 150,000 COVID deaths went unreported in the US during the first two years of the pandemic. The study used machine learning analysis of death certificates comparing in-hospital deaths (which were likely to be tested for COVID) and out-of-hospital deaths (which were far less likely to be tested, even if COVID was the likely cause). Their estimate of 150,000 unreported COVID deaths is in line with increases of all-cause mortality during that time period, with the highest rates of unreported deaths occurring during the first COVID wave in Spring 2020. Suspected unrecognized COVID deaths were also higher in the US south, among Hispanic individuals, among the elderly, in counties with lower median income, and among those who had less than a high school education. Read more from Scientific American here:

The Anti-Establishment Lie — and the Girls Who Pay for It

While the news that RFK Jr.’s vaccine policies were blocked brought a collective sigh of relief for many, it also carried a note of sadness — instead of spending time advancing science and public health, doctors and scientists have had to spend so much time and effort over the last year defending basic, well-established medical facts. It reminded me of this excellent article by on what it means to pursue reform in an imperfect healthcare system—a task made far harder when energy is diverted to countering dangerous medical advice from wellness influencers and government leaders. Though not published this week, it’s a timely and worthwhile read.

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The Public Health Roundup is a newsletter created by Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD, an emergency physician, health communicator, and author of the newsletter You Can Know Things. Subscribe to get the weekly roundup in your inbox.

With that, here’s this week’s stories.

Trust in government health organizations declines, despite RFK Jr.’s claims of bolstering trust

A poll published by the Annenberg Public Policy Center revealed trust in government health institutions including the CDC, FDA, and NIH continues to decline. Professional medical organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association are more trusted than government health institutions, and primary care providers remain the most trusted source of information overall. RFK Jr. has continually cited his desire to “restore trust” in these government health organizations as justification for many of his controversial actions — these data suggest he is currently not succeeding in this goal. Read the full report here, or a summary below:

New medical school nutrition competencies include unverified wellness trends, barely mention food insecurity and dietitians

Over 50 medical schools have signed on to RFK Jr.’s framework for nutrition education, which includes a list of 71 learning objectives for medical students. While some of the learning objectives are reasonable, others are more concerning: several promote wellness trends that lack clinical evidence such as continuous glucose monitors, wearables, and dietary supplements. Others use the language of functional medicine and science-y sounding buzzwords without clear clinical relevance. A surprising number focus on agriculture and farming (not very practical for a doctor’s office visit.) Notably missing: teaching medical students how to screen patients for food insecurity or how to connect them with programs that can help. Nutrition expert provides a must-read deep dive here:

FDA launches new “real-time” adverse events monitoring system

The FDA announced the launch of a new combined Adverse Events Monitoring System this week. The new system aims to combine different safety monitoring databases into one, including adverse events for drugs, biologics, vaccines, cosmetics, food, medical devices, supplements, and tobacco products. Unverified reports of adverse events will be published in real time. Like the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (which will be incorporated into this new dashboard), reports may be incomplete, are not verified, and do not establish causation. Read more from MedPage Today here:

NIH award rates dropped substantially in 2025

Less science was funded in the United States last year. Recently released data shows that far fewer highly competitive grants were funded in 2025 compared to previous years, and the total number of grants awarded dropped by about 25%. Part of this change is likely due to a new “multi-year funding” policy, which sounds good on the surface, but in practice cuts the budget for new research dramatically. Read the full story from here:

AI more likely to accept false health information if written like a doctor’s note

A recent study published in The Lancet Digital Health tested how well AI tools can detect (and reject) inaccurate health information. They looked at false health claims wrapped in different styles of language: social media dialogues, public forums, and real hospital discharge notes with false information added. Overall, the tools were susceptible to false information about one third of time. But framing mattered a lot — when false information was inserted into a hospital discharge note, the AI tools were far more likely to accept it. This suggests AI tools are particularly fooled by formal, clinical sounding language. Read more from lead author Mahmud Omar:

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The Public Health Roundup is a newsletter created by Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD, an emergency physician, health communicator, and author of the newsletter You Can Know Things. Subscribe to get the weekly roundup in your inbox.

With that, here’s this week’s stories.

Tylenol use in ERs dropped among pregnant patients after HHS announcement about autism

A new study published yesterday in The Lancet found that among pregnant patients in the ER, Tylenol use dropped significantly after the September 22 HHS announcement alleging a link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism. The study found no drop in Tylenol use among women who weren’t pregnant, nor did they find a drop in use of two other treatments for pregnant women (opioid pain relievers and intravenous fluids), suggesting this drop may be directly related to the HHS announcement. Read the full story from on , one of the authors of the Lancet study.

Thousands of Americans are losing access to HIV treatment

Multiple states are tightening requirements for programs that provide HIV treatment for low income Americans. The congressionally-funded AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) helps pay for HIV medicine for those who cannot afford them, supporting about 1 in 4 Americans living with HIV. Flatlined federal funding, rising drug costs, increased insurance costs, and expiration of the ACA tax credits are leading nearly 20 states to tighten requirements for the program, causing tens of thousands of Americans to lose access to treatment. In addition to being tragic, this is financially shortsighted as HIV treatment is highly cost-effective in the long-term, as it prevents so many downstream health effects (and costs) of untreated HIV. Read the KFF report here, or a summary below.

1% drop in measles immunization could cost $1.5 billion per year

Measles immunization rates have been declining — two thirds of US counties that track immunization rates are below the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity. While the focus has (rightfully) been on the impact this will have on children’s health, a new report by the Yale School of Public Health and Common Health Coalition looked at this from a different angle: what is the financial cost of declining immunization? The answer: expensive. If measles immunization rates drop 1% per year for the next 5 years, it will cost the US an estimated $1.5 billion per year due to the substantial resources needed to track and contain outbreaks, medical costs, and missed work. Details of the study here and here, or check out this summary from NBC:

America is still without its task force that establishes preventative health care recommendations

Last July, RFK Jr. abruptly cancelled the US Preventative Services Task Force meeting, and it still hasn’t been rescheduled. The task force typically meets three times per year, but this month’s meeting has been postponed yet again. This is the task force that makes recommendations for America’s preventative care — things like cancer screenings, bone density scans, diabetes screenings, and much more. Its recommendations carry a lot of weight: they are adopted by doctor’s offices across the country and dictate insurance coverage for screening tests. The appointments of several task force members expired in December, with no replacements announced — there is now speculation that the group may be disbanded altogether. Here’s a deep dive from over at .

The grief we won’t allow

, author of , writes a powerful piece about “disenfranchised grief” — when a loved one’s death is not fully acknowledged, socially validated, or mourned, often because of something they have done. It’s a death that “doesn’t count as much,” or even seen as deserved. Dr. Steier talks about a specific case: the unvaccinated, and how this label so often leads to lack of empathy for loss of human life, and sometimes even dehumanization and glee. She reminds us “we cannot build trust with people whose losses we refuse to honor.” Absolutely worth the read.

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The Public Health Roundup is a newsletter created by Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD, an emergency physician, health communicator, and creator of the newsletter You Can Know Things. Subscribe to get the weekly roundup in your inbox.

So that’s what The Public Health Roundup is — my top 5 articles of the week that I think are worth your time. These might be news, opinion pieces, or research articles from all over: mainstream sources, independent journalists, scientific publications, social media, or creators here on Substack. I will focus less on the stories hitting every single news outlet (you probably already saw those) and instead highlight important stories you might have missed. And I will prioritize open-access articles whenever possible, because nobody likes a paywall.

With that, here’s this week’s articles:

1. The Next Era of Vaccine Governance by

Pediatrician takes a sobering look at trust in immunizations, how it was damaged well before RFK Jr. became HHS secretary, and how going back to the 2024 way of doing things isn’t the best answer. In a world where public health seems to always be on defense, it is a refreshing look at how we can proactively create new systems that help address the problems that got us here in the first place. Read the full article here:

2. ChatGPT fails to tell people they have a medical emergency

There’s been a lot of speculation that AI tools may be able to replace certain types of medical care, but an early access study published in Nature Medicine showed just how far off current tools are from that goal. The study gave ChatGPT Health several clinical scenarios and asked it to identify the emergency conditions (should this person go to the ER?) — it was wrong a large percent of the time, failing to recognize early signs of life-threatening conditions like diabetic ketoacidosis or respiratory failure from asthma. Below is a Guardian article with more details, or read the Nature Medicine article here.

3. An immunologist tells the story of growing up unvaccinated

My dear friend published an op-ed in the New York Times today telling the story of how she grew up unvaccinated, and what made her change her mind. Liz is an amazing storyteller, and I appreciate how she humanizes what is so often a polarizing topic — reminding us that shame is an ineffective approach to vaccine conversations, and meeting people with compassion is what’s needed. Read her full story here:

4. Rethinking social media bans for teens

Dr. Sander van der Linden published a new perspective piece in Nature Health about the lack of evidence for social media bans for teens. While he acknowledges social media certainly carries risk of harm, he argues for a nuanced, empirical approach that prepares kids to use social media effectively rather than banning it altogether. Read his commentary on LinkedIn below, or the full Nature Health article here.

5. Casey Means’ confirmation hearing for surgeon general

This week was wellness influencer Casey Means’ confirmation hearing for surgeon general. She was questioned about conflicts of interests from products she has promoted, her past statements about vaccines, her thoughts on birth control, among other topics. As of this morning, she does not have enough votes to pass. Read some of the highlights from the hearing below.

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The Public Health Roundup is a newsletter created by , an emergency physician, health communicator, and creator of the newsletter . Subscribe to get the weekly roundup in your inbox.