Alyx

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber Is Stepping Down Venture capitalist Toni Schneider will take over as interim CEO as Bluesky’s board of directors hunts for a permanent replacement.

BREAKING: CEO Jay Graber of Bluesky has been replaced by rich venture capitalist Toni Schneider of True Ventures, who doesn't even have a Bluesky account.

that the Trump administration is trying to shut down a leading AI company because it’s unwilling to develop autonomous murder systems is terrifying, and should be of grave concern to everyone in the world

New from me:

A world map showing the countries that have reported a case of polio within the last year. They are: AFRICA 1. Algeria 2. Angola 3. Benin 4. Burkina Faso 5. Cameroon 6. Central African Republic 7. Chad 8. Côte d'Ivoire 9. Dem. Rep. of the Congo 10. Ethiopia 11. Ghana 12. Guinea 13. Niger 14. Nigeria 15. Senegal 16. Somalia 17. South Sudan 18. Sudan 19. Tanzania 20. Zimbabwe EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN 21. Afghanistan 22. Djibouti 23. Pakistan 24. Gaza 25. Israel 26. Yemen 28) 3 EUROPE 27. Finland 28. Germany 29. Poland 30. Spain 31. United Kingdom WESTERN PACIFIC 32. Papua New Guinea

The CDC has just issued a Travel Health Notice specifically related to polio popping up in about 30 countries.

They recommend making sure you’re up to date on your vaccinations, and if you are traveling to one of the countries in red, you should consider a booster.

wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notic...

We need to pass a House rule or law that requires them to work a certain number of days to get paid. Since Mike Johnson took over these people hardly ever work. When they finally come back after weeks off they work 2 days and he sends them home for 2 more weeks. It’s ridiculous.

How come “How are you going to pay for it?” is never asked about endless war?

Surgeon General Nominee Faces Tough Questions From Senate Panel Views on vaccines, contraception, and psychedelic mushroom use were among the topics raised

Surgeon General Nominee says her medical license is "inactive." She never finished her residency. www.medpagetoday.com/publichealth...

ACOG is leaving ACIP

15 States Sue H.H.S. Over Revisions to Vaccine Schedule

Breaking: Aiming to reverse recent changes to federal vaccine recommendations, 15 states led by Democrats announced on Tuesday that they were suing the Trump administration.

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/h...

ECDC proposes new EU Reference Laboratories to strengthen Europe’s preparedness against infectious diseases ECDC is recommending the establishment of four new EU Reference Laboratories (EURLs) for public health.

#ECDC proposes establishing 4 new EU Reference Laboratories to strengthen Europe’s preparedness against priority infectious diseases.

The proposal is based on updated scientific assessment & consultation with disease networks & public health authorities across Europe.

#PublicHealth #IDsky #EpiSky

NYT: What Happened in Chicago When Science Became the Enemy

By Jeneen Interlandi

@nytimes.com @jeneeninterlandi.bsky.social HIV NIH

nyti.ms/3ZVwCzo gift link

With #measles outbreaks raging in the the US, I've been puzzled by the drop in hospitalizations reported in 2026 by #CDC. Here's why: @propublica.org reports that SC, which has racked up 100s of cases in 2026, doesn't require hospitals to report measles admissions. www.propublica.org/article/sout...

Pharma lobbyists focus on a surprising new target: the FDA Lobbyists told STAT they believe the odds of approval go up if a decision can be spun as a win for the Trump administration.

NEW, w/ @danielpayne.bsky.social: How the pharma lobbying machine is trying to take advantage of a politicized FDA under the Trump administration www.statnews.com/2026/02/23/f...

MAHA hypocrisy in action: glyphosate - Food Politics by Marion Nestle Despite RFK Jr's insistence on getting glyphosate sayout of the food supply, President Trump says it is essential to national security.

This is why we have a history of a public, transparent process for these types of trade-off decisions.

www.foodpolitics.com/2026/02/maha...

Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks was a Black woman whose (ovarian) cancer cells were used wo her/her family’s consent. Her cells are what would become the HeLa cell, the first immortalized human cell line & one of the most important in medical research.
#BackHistoryMonth

‘We want to rebuild trust’: fired CDC workers form group to combat Trump’s war on science Former employees stepped up to create the National Public Health Coalition to advocate for public health after Trump’s cuts to the agency

Guardian: ‘We want to rebuild trust’: fired CDC workers form group to combat Trump’s war on science

by Rachel Garbus @theguardian.com

bit.ly/3MXLCd4

After blasting WHO costs, Trump officials propose more expensive alternative HHS proposes spending $2 billion a year to re-create systems the U.S. accessed through the WHO at a fraction of the cost, according to officials briefed on the matter.

“Spending two to three times the cost to create what we already had access to makes absolutely no sense..."

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

New Documents Reveal a Controversial Vaccine Study's Unusual Path to CDC Approval A new investigation has found irregularities in the ethics review of a grant to study effects of a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine in Guinea-Bissau.

New from @katherineeban.bsky.social in @rollingstone.com: CDC appointees bypassed the agency’s scientists to rush-fund a study questioning the hep B birth dose. The ethics committee president says his name was used on the approval without his knowledge.

www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

In first speech to her FDA staff, Høeg says she’ll scrutinize RSV shots and SSRIs in pregnancy The top drug regulator at the FDA told staff she plans to question the safety of taking SSRIs in pregnancy and of RSV shots given to infants.

In first speech to her FDA staff, Høeg says she’ll scrutinize RSV shots and SSRIs in pregnancy (even though her job does not include vaccine oversight). www.statnews.com/2026/02/19/t... via @statnews @lizzylawrence.bsky.social

The Longevity Scam Pouring some cold water on cold plunges

The longevity scam

www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...

Blood from pediatricians yields potential new medicines for respiratory viruses Constant exposure to diverse diseases is an occupational hazard for all healthcare workers, especially those who work with children. | Constant exposure to diverse diseases is an occupational hazard f...

Oh my God I saw this headline on here without seeing the publication and assumed it was the Onion (ht @tom.medsky.social) www.fiercebiotech.com/research/blo...

CIDRAP Op-Ed: The FDA refused to review a flu vaccine, contrary to evidence. Now the agency reversed itself

@jakescottMD

The latest reversal is welcome, but the episode of first denying Moderna review of its mRNA flu vaccine deserves close examination

Photo: Gary Lee/Flickr cc

FDA taps AI executive to lead digital health center FDA has tapped a former executive from a health AI company to lead its digital health center.

NEW: FDA taps AI executive to lead digital health center, w/ @mariojoze.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2026/02/19/f...

Researchers pinpoint cause of rare but life-threatening blood clots after adenovirus-based COVID vaccination

Really cool finding and example of how scientists continue to work to make vaccines safer.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/res...

NIH Director Bhattacharya to lead CDC after O’Neill’s exit He's the third leader of the public health agency since this summer.

NIH Director Bhattacharya to lead CDC after O’Neill’s exit www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/c... via @statnews.com

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya will take over leadership of CDC temporarily The transition is the latest in a monthslong series of leadership shake-ups across federal health agencies.

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya is now also the temporary head of the CDC, a role in which he is expected to continue to do nothing but appear on right-wing podcasts and further cement the complete lack of respect of his colleagues.

notorious radical left communist rag says tax the rich

FDA reverses course, agrees to review Moderna’s flu vaccine The FDA reversed course and told Moderna it would review its application for a new flu vaccine, the company announced Wednesday.

The FDA will now review the product in adults 50 to 64 through a regular pathway, and adults over 65 via accelerated approval with a requirement to run a post-marketing study. The agency will aim to review the vaccine by Aug. 5.
www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/f...

FDA reverses course, agrees to review Moderna’s flu vaccine The FDA reversed course and told Moderna it would review its application for a new flu vaccine, the company announced Wednesday.

#FDA backs down on #Moderna: The agency had refused to review the company's licensure application for an mRNA flu vaccine, but after significant pushback has relented. www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/f...

We're pediatricians. We see how ICE is harming children. | Opinion Liam Ramos is one of more than 1,700 children to have been put in family detention centers since 2025. We call for these centers to close.

A group of pediatricians wrote an op-ed detailing the traumatic, lasting effects kids in detention centers will endure:

www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...