U.S. reaches highest number of measles deaths in decades
This is STAT's Morning Rounds newsletter, which opens with a light item about a family member trying to eat 30 different plants each week for a diverse gut microbiome — including whole foods, spices, and herbs — while the author admits uncertainty about whether the science backs it but notes the fun of comparing weekly lists.
The lead item is the measles crisis. Pennsylvania reported two more measles-related deaths yesterday in an outbreak that now includes 693 cases across 38 counties; Helen Branswell reported that one death was a 40-year-old woman and the other an 18-year-old. That makes four measles-related deaths in the U.S. this year, more than in any other year since 1992. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. disputed the role of measles in the first two deaths, and as of the newsletter's writing the CDC had not yet registered any measles-related deaths for 2026. Kennedy posted on X that the CDC 'will report measles-caused deaths when the National Center for Health Statistics reports measles as the underlying cause based on death record information submitted by the states.' The newsletter also links to evergreen reading on why splitting the MMR vaccine could be dangerous, whether measles is still officially eliminated in the U.S., and the fact that there are already more U.S. measles cases this year than in all of 2025.
On health policy, Democrats are vowing to aggressively pursue oversight if they win control of the House or Senate in November's midterm elections. STAT's John Wilkerson reports that the work Democrats have been doing throughout Trump's second term is a good place to look for their potential targets, and the story previews which power players would likely face new probes.
Separately, STAT contributor and physician Jason Karlawish argues that politicians from both parties talk about dementia like schoolyard bullies, writing that 'Americans need to have a responsible conversation about dementia, and our politicians could inspire this.' He says the concern is not niche because major midterm issues — including the economy, health care, and immigration — are deeply connected to dementia.
Finally, David Elkowitz, diagnosed with thymic cancer in 2017, describes being silent and unable to speak for three days after his first biopsy; only after his oncologist opened up about her own cancer could he communicate again. In a new First Opinion essay he writes, 'She was not obligated to be so open, but her humility unlocked me,' adding, 'From that moment, it became a no-brainer to present my own journey to medical students.' Nearly a decade later, he shares that personal experience when teaching first-year students about the structure of cancer, presenting his own tumor (the excerpt truncates at 'tum').