Stef Vaccher

I struggle so much with this too! "By Tuesday" ... so on Monday? Apparently others don't agree and will submit on Tuesday but that feels too stressful haha

Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell Somewhat devastating news today from the CIA: One of CIA’s oldest and most recognizable intelligence publications, The World Factbook, has sunset. There's not even a hint as to why they …

The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!

This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...

Some caveats but mostly good news across different demographics, ages, number of doses etc. Supports evidence for vaccinating at a young age but another country on its way to eliminating cervical cancer!

Invasive cervical cancer incidence following bivalent human papillomavirus vaccination: a population-based observational study of age at immunization, dose, and deprivation AbstractBackground. High-risk human papillomavirus causes cervical cancer. Vaccines have been developed that significantly reduce the incidence of preinvas

Because we all need some good news right now:
"For women born between January 1, 1988, and June 5, 1996... No cases of invasive #cervical cancer were recorded in women immunized with #HPV at 12 or 13 years of age irrespective of the number of doses"
academic.oup.com/jnci/article...

Had a similar issue the other day, so confusing! (especially as a visitor and not knowing all the hacks to look out for)

Does this count? Bonus points for guessing where I currently am!

I honestly don't understand how these are not illegal! I was so shocked the first time I went to the UK as an adult (okay, it was Essex) and saw tanning salons everywhere - they have been banned in Australia for over a decade

Hope it did indeed make you feel a bit better. Take care of yourself :)

Agree that anti-vax mis/dis-information is a growing problem, but as someone who has lived in PNG + the Pacific for several years working on vaccination programs, low vaccine coverage and access issues are the main contributors to polio resurgence (there was also an outbreak in 2018)

The U.S. is destroying $9.7 million in contraceptives. Is there another option? This planned destruction of birth control devices is part of the dismantling of USAID services — and linked to allegations by the government that cite abortion. Critics are speaking out.

This planned destruction of birth control devices is part of the dismantling of USAID services — and linked to allegations by the government that cite abortion. Critics are speaking out.

Impact of PEPFAR cuts on HIV care in Mozambique #IAS2025 with 3rd highest no of PWH & 2nd highest new diagnoses, 67% of funding from PEPFAR in 2022.
- 14% reduction in ART initiations
- 39% increase in ART interruption
- reduced VL testing & viral suppression, esp children
@iasociety.bsky.social

The Demographic and Heath Survey program received their USAID termination email last night

www.linkedin.com/posts/caren-...

@charlesgaba.com is a hero and downloaded CDC’s entire website. A small group of us has come together to preserve this critical resource and make it accessible to the scientific community.

More to come. These data are public and they are ours. Deletion disobedience is one way to fight back.

Missed Measles Immunisations Places Individuals and Communities at Risk: The Equity Argument for Including Measles in Under-Immunised Definitions Background: Measles is consistently one of the leading causes of death from vaccine-preventable diseases in children, and cases and deaths have increased globally since 2019. While measles often serve...

A (very timely) new paper - we argue that measles vaccination should be considered as a health system indicator and equity marker.

Interestingly, the US has the 19th highest number of children not vaccinated against measles - the only high-income country to feature

www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13...

Scenic shot of a blue sky with one cloud over a large bay surrounded by low shrubs and a small tree with no leaves

Sand on a beach with debris washed up, including seaweed and several dead sea birds (somewhat obscured)

Spent a wonderful weekend hiking in Wilson's Prom (along the south coast of Eastern Australia) but was concerned by the number of dead birds washed up along the beaches. Better communication needed to the public to explain the #H5N1 #birdflu situation + emphasise avoiding contact

Thanks for preparing this list! Am new here and have followed everyone - looking forward to learning from you all!

I am an infectious disease epi with a love of data. My current research focuses on routine childhood immunisations, predominately in the Asia-Pacific region