‘No Veteran Should Need a Passport to Find Hope’: What We Heard This Week

“No veteran should need a passport to find hope.” — Marine Corps veteran Eric Jansen, of the Balanced Veterans Network, urging the FDA to consider psychedelic drugs for severe mental health conditions.

“We’ve had a real word salad on the vaccine issue.” — Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), critiquing HHS deputy secretary nominee Chris Klomp for his answers about vaccines during a Senate confirmation hearing.

“The bottom line is medicine and public health are political.” — Nicholas Peoples, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, discussing active physician involvement in societal issues like human trafficking.

“It’s the same players, the same issues, the same drugs.” — Renuka Iyer, MD, of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, on the systemic drivers behind ongoing cancer drug shortages.

“We’ve seen the trifecta for zidesamtinib.” — Malinda Itchins, MBBS, PhD, of the Royal North Shore Hospital and Chris O’Brien Lifehouse in Sydney, highlighting trial data for a ROS1-targeting lung cancer therapy.

“Rebuilding the panel without rebuilding the evidence infrastructure behind it leaves an important question unanswered: Can the Task Force do its job as intended?” — Aaron Carroll, MD, MS, president and CEO of AcademyHealth, questioning the impact of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s eight new picks for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

“[Sublingual ketamine is] easy to carry, and needle-free for use in large-scale combat.” — Terry Adirim, MD, MPH, MBA, former acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, discussing an emergency use pathway for a sublingual ketamine product.

“Ever since duty hours became a thing, there’s been a slow but unidirectional trend toward what might be considered more humane working hours.” — Bryan Carmody, MD, MPH, of Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, reflecting on proposed updates to residency training standards.

“Suicide is a complex issue, and there is no single explanation.” — Sophie Marie Jones, PhD, of Queen’s University Belfast in Ireland, contextualizing data on a possible link between air pollution and suicidality.