Predicting consequences of new hepatitis B vaccine recs

NewsletterMorning Rounds Predicting consequences of new hepatitis B vaccine recs New data on public trust in science, AI and mental health, and other news from Morning Rounds Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article Erskine Palmer/CDC By Theresa GaffneyApril 28, 2026 Morning Rounds Writer and Reporter Theresa Gaffney[email protected]Theresa Gaffney is the lead Morning Rounds writer and reports on health care, new research, and public policy, with a particular interest in mental health, gender-affirming care, and LGBTQ+ patient communities. You can reach Theresa on Signal at theresagaff.97. Get your daily dose of health and medicine every weekday with STAT’s free newsletter Morning Rounds. Sign up here. Good morning. The other night I watched a shocking episode of “The Vampire Diaries.” A series of cursed, ghost-like hallucinations attempt to convince a teen vampire to end her own life using some disturbingly coercive, cogent arguments. Ultimately, the character is saved. And while this episode aired more than a decade ago, I was surprised by how many parallels there were to current debates about the risks of AI chatbots and people in mental health crises. Advertisement STAT’s Mario Aguilar recently had an interesting conversation on chatbot safety with Google’s clinical director. Scroll down to read more. The Trump admin is hardening against harm reduction New documents show that the Trump administration is doubling down on its opposition to harm reduction services for people who use illicit drugs, STAT’s Lev Facher reports. In an open letter last week, SAMHSA warned grant recipients against using federal funds to buy harm reduction supplies like sterile syringes, pipes, or test strips. In a second letter the same day, the agency also warned against using certain addiction medications without accompanying support services. The agency emphasized that the Trump administration is making a “clear shift away from harm reduction and practices that facilitate illicit drug use and are incompatible with federal law.” Read more from Lev on what this shift looks like and how it squares with the evidence on addiction treatment.Advertisement New data on public trust in science Two recent reports highlight some interesting trends in the public’s perspective on science: The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer found that most people (70% of a survey of 16,000 people in 16 countries) believe at least one of six divisive or inaccurate health claims about food, vaccines, or medicine — and that rate is consistent among people with and without university degrees, as well as across demographic groups and political lines. At the same time, people are much less confident in their ability to make informed health decisions or find the answers to health questions, the survey found. Another survey, released yesterday by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, found that nearly 7 in 10 Americans say they trust vaccine scientists, at least moderately, to act in the best interest of “people like you.” Out of 1,650 respondents, that’s about the same percentage of people who trust medical scientists and the broader field of scientists. It’s much higher than the percentage of people who trust journalists (49%) and elected officials (36%). Predicting consequences of new hepatitis B vax recs Late last year, the Trump administration adopted a new policy recommending a delay in when most babies are vaccinated against hepatitis B. The decision overturned a…

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