Most AOs don’t have STEM background. To people who do have STEM background, those “publications” by HS kids are stuff mostly sponsored by their parents/college admissions counselors/etc. Only privileged kids have access to those “research”. Even the undergrad research done for medical school applications themselves don’t have much values. It is the lab techniques learned and the exposure to the research process which have values. The publication itself usually does not have value. (if it does have value, you don’t need to go to college, find a VC and start a company.)