Growing measles outbreak in Florida, and yet somehow the Florida Dept of Health has managed to avoid mentioning vaccines.
Small print suggests consulting clinics for "pre-exposure options." 🫠
Stanley Plotkin is a living legend in the vaccine world. He often attended ACIP meetings & I was lucky to meet him years ago.
Kudos to @helenbranswell.bsky.social for profiling his life and accomplishments at a time when vaccines are under attack. We need his wisdom & insights more than ever. 👇
WHO updates all 3 viral strains to be included in fall flu shots
The recommendation for vaccines for the next flu season includes a new influenza variant—subclade K—that started to increase last fall.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i...
“In the pre-vaccine era, hundreds of kids would get measles encephaltitis each year. And many of them died.”
As measles cases climb, these 9 diseases threaten comebacks: ""When vaccination rates decrease, the most highly contagious diseases pop up first..." so measles is first, but other killers will follow. wapo.st/3ZXc2yK
“In his relentless undermining of vaccines, Kennedy is working to make our lives shorter and harder. Congress should pay attention.” 👇
wapo.st/40hAz1H
Zach Wahls is one of the leaders of tomorrow. He has a good shot at being the next US Senator from Iowa. I've known him for many years--he has integrity and compassion, and he understands the concerns of Midwest voters. It would be great if you can help him get his message out!
True for any rare outcome after any vax. For kids under 5, the annual rate of flu hospitalization is about 5 per 10,000 (Jules, Pediatr 2015). A randomized trial would have to enroll millions of kids for 1 yr or more to detect 50% decrease. Thats why we need observational studies for rare outcomes.
Vaccines are licensed based on efficacy against disease, but severe endpoints (like flu hospitalization) are important. But these are less common than a simple case of flu, and many more trial participants are needed to detect a statistical difference. That’s why we rely on observational studies.
It’s not valid because all flu cases are lab-confirmed with the test negative study design. Cochrane didn’t even look at those newer TND studies. The potential for bias is greatly reduced with TND compared to the old studies they cite.
Many of those old studies were poorly done & it was fair to exclude them. But there was no reason for Cochrane to exclude recent studies using a validated approach (TND). They simply chose to ignore a large amount of relevant data. Clinical trials are not powered to study serious & rare outcomes.
4. LR Feldstein et al (J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc, 2021 Mar 26, PMID: 32108879) VE 56% against flu hospitalization in kids
5. H Hayek et al (Pediatrics 2026 Jan 9:e2025072184, PMID: 4150652) VE against flu-associated ED visit or hospitalization 53% in previously healthy kids.
Clearly effective based on these pediatric VE studies & others:
1. J Scott et al (NEJM 2025) Pooled VE 67% against hospitalization
2. EA Belongia et al (Lancet ID 2016. Pooled outpt VE: 56% type B, 69% H1N1, 43% H3N2.
3. JM Ferdinands et al (JID 2014. VE 74% against life-threatening flu 1/
The test-negative design (TND) is the gold standard for observational studies of flu vax effectiveness (VE). Multiple studies have shown TND yields valid VE estimates. Cochrane got it wrong b/c they ignored all the relevant VE data. They only looked at clinical trials with different endpoints.
It’s important to separate the science from policy decisions. You can debate whether flu vax should be recommended for all kids or just high risk, but it’s clearly effective. Any credible flu researcher will tell you Cochrane is NOT the gold standard. They didn’t look at observational studies. 1/
HHS spokesperson says "HHS will put rigorous science and public trust first, every time.”
It's the opposite. They cherry-pick data, overstate the risks, & ignore the benefits of vaccination. They actively undermine public trust.
Must-read article by @laurenweberhp.bsky.social 👇
wapo.st/46jSng1
He might try this, but I think the public outrage will be even greater if FDA rejects this vaccine after it has been approved in the EU, Canada and Australia.
"So far, vaccine manufacturers say that they have no plans to exit the market & that their businesses are resilient enough to withstand the new pressures."
But vaccine manufacturers could decide to abandon the US market if the govt removes liability protections.
NYT report by Rebecca Robbins 👇
Agree 💯. Cost effectiveness analyses were really helpful even though there was not a specific threshold. Many of these were done by health economists at Univ Mich and could be continued with funding. I don’t know who would pay now that the govt is no longer interested.
The US govt has rejected rigorous & unbiased review of vaccine benefits/risks. The clown show at the new ACIP is causing public distrust & confusion. Kudos to VIP, AMA, AAP and other orgs for stepping up to provide clear science-based recs.
Moderna’s president weighs in on FDA’s decision not to review its flu vaccine: completely unexpected, again FDA's prior representations, and cast doubt on industry's willingness to go into trials for vaccines and other products. www.statnews.com/2026/02/12/m... via @statnews.com
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The Moderna flu vax is under review for licensure in Canada, Australia and the EU. It will be widely used in many countries, but not in the US.
Excellent summary by @melodyschreiber.com 👇
FDA launches a full-scale war on mRNA vaccines by refusing to review the clinical trial data for Moderna's flu vax 👇
www.statnews.com/2026/02/10/f... via @statnews.com
Wondering why there's such a fuss about pushing some #vaccine recommendations to "shared clinical decision making"? The term is being conflated with "informed consent," suggesting it's about empowering parents. This isn't that; good take here. yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/shared-dec...
This year’s Pfizer #COVID vaccine estimated to be 57% effective against emergency, urgent care
Estimated effectiveness was 54% against outpatient visits, although with considerable uncertainty.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c...
Photo: Kenneth Abbate, US Pacific Fleet / Flickr cc
It’s a great place to live if you can tolerate winter—people are friendly and community-oriented. The MN Dept of Health is top notch. I lived in south Minneapolis during my EIS training and stayed on for a few years at MDH.
We've lost a giant in the field of global health. Bill Foege was an inspirational & selfless leader who played a major role in smallpox eradication. The world needs more leaders like him, esp at this time when public health is under attack.
www.statnews.com/2026/01/25/w... via @statnews.com
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I like the Pitt’s focus and there is only so much they can cover in a TV ER drama, but this op-ed highlights our collective failure to learn from the pandemic.
