Tag: United States

NIH scientists publish declaration criticizing Trump’s deep cuts in public health research

Published June 9, 2025

Published by: The Associated Press
Published on: June 9, 2025
By Calvin Woodward, Nathan Ellgren

WASHINGTON (AP) — In his confirmation hearings to lead the National Institutes of Health, Jay Bhattacharya pledged his openness to views that might conflict with his own. “Dissent,” he said, ”is the very essence of science.”

That commitment is being put to the test.

On Monday, scores of scientists at the agency sent their Trump-appointed leader a letter titled the Bethesda Declaration, challenging “policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.”

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vaccines

Exclusive: CDC expert resigns from COVID vaccines advisory role, sources say

Published June 3, 2025

Published by: Reuters
Published on: June 3, 2025
By Julie Steenhuysen, Michael Erman, Dan Levine

Pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos of the U.S. CDC resigned on Tuesday as co-leader of a working group that advises outside experts on COVID-19 vaccines and is leaving the agency, two sources familiar with the move told Reuters.

Panagiotakopoulos said in an email to work group colleagues that her decision to step down was based on the belief she is “no longer able to help the most vulnerable members” of the U.S. population.

In her role at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s working group of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, she co-led the gathering of information on topics for presentation.

Her resignation comes one week after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine skeptic who oversees the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, said the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women had been removed from the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule.

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vaccines

RFK Jr.’s stance on Covid vaccines for pregnant women is profoundly unethical

Published June 3, 2025

Published by: STAT
Published on: June 3, 2025
By Ruth R. Faden

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy’s proposal to end the government’s existing Covid vaccine recommendation for healthy pregnant women, if enacted, will be a major setback to decades’ worth of efforts to advance the health of pregnant people and their babies.

It also profoundly unethical.

Pregnant people are consistently left behind in biomedical R&D in ways that are deeply harmful to the health of both mother and child. In the decade before the Covid pandemic, consensus reports emerged denouncing this pregnancy evidence gap and providing road maps for how to ethically generate evidence during pregnancy within the confines of existing research regulations. I co-led one of these efforts, the PREVENT project, initiated in response to the Zika epidemic and completed in fall 2019. PREVENT specifically focused on how to ethically include pregnant women in the development and deployment of new vaccines for emerging pandemic threats.

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avian flu

Cancelling funding for mRNA vaccine is both risky and foolish

Published June 2, 2025

Published by: The Ottawa Citizen
Published on: June 2, 2025
By Raywat Deonandan

With Donald Trump’s second administration, disruptive news seems to arise on a daily basis. Most concerning for clinicians and health scientists in Canada and around the world was Trump’s appointment of anti-vaccination zealot Robert Kennedy Jr. to the enormously influential position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy’s ideological dismantling of the U.S.’s vaunted health research apparatus has been at speeds surprising even to his most ardent critics.

But his recent decision to cancel a nearly $600-million contract with vaccine manufacturer Moderna might be among his most shortsighted and destructive moves, with ripple effects globally.

The contract with the mRNA pioneer, signed under the Joe Biden administration, was meant to fund the development, testing and licensing of vaccines targeting particular flu strains, including the strain responsible for the dreaded avian flu, H5N1. Many scientists fear that H5N1 could become the next world-stopping infectious disease pandemic.

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pandemic response

COVID-19 Disease Burden Remains Greater Than Influenza, Study Shows

Published May 31, 2025

Published by: Forbes
Published on: May 31, 2025
By Dave Wessner

Researchers in Denmark conducted a large-scale evaluation of the disease burdens associated with COVID-19 and influenza. Their conclusion? COVID-19 has a greater impact than influenza, resulting in more hospitalizations and deaths. These findings, they note, emphasize the continued need for a strong public health response.

COVID-19 Exhibits Greater Disease Burden Than Influenza

To compare the disease burden of COVID-19 and influenza, the researchers evaluated data available from Danish health registries from May 16, 2022 to June 7, 2024. The results were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. A commentary about the findings was published in the same issue of the journal.

During this period, the risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19 was approximately two times higher than the risk of hospitalization due to influenza. The risk of death was approximately three times higher. The researchers note that these increased risks were greater during the first year of the study period but still were evident during the second year. The risk of mortality, for example, was five times greater for COVID-19 during the first year of the study. That increased risk dropped during the second year, but COVID-19 still had a two and a half times greater risk of mortality than influenza.

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vaccines

FDA approves a next-generation Covid vaccine from Moderna, with restrictions

Published May 31, 2025

Published by: STAT
Published on: May 31, 2025
By Helen Branswell

The Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna’s new Covid-19 vaccine late Friday, though it placed restrictions on its use that the company’s existing Covid shot, Spikevax, does not currently face.

The new vaccine, which will be marketed under the name mNexspike, will not immediately replace Spikevax. A statement from the company said both vaccines will be available on the market for the time being.

“The FDA approval of our third product, mNEXSPIKE, adds an important new tool to help protect people at high risk of severe disease from Covid-19,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in the statement. “Covid-19 remains a serious public health threat, with more than 47,000 Americans dying from the virus last year alone.”

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disinformation

‘Make America Healthy Again’ report updated to remove nonexistent studies

Published May 29, 2025

Published by: Agence France-Presse / Vermont Community Newspaper Group
Published on: May 29, 2025
By Marisha Goldhamer, Bill McCarthy

The White House downplayed questions about its flagship report on children’s health, but edited the document Thursday after authors listed in the paper confirmed it cited studies that do not exist.

The highly anticipated “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) report was released on May 22 by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the presidential commission tasked with assessing drivers of childhood chronic disease.

But authors and publishers of at least four studies listed in the original document told AFP they or their organizations were credited with papers they did not write — or that never existed.

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kakistocracy

Loss Of MRNA, Bird Flu Vaccines Threatens Our Biosecurity

Published May 29, 2025

Published by: Forbes
Published on: May 29, 2025
By Judy Stone

The Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that it’s canceling a $760 million contract with Moderna for a bird flu vaccine, saying that further development “was not scientifically or ethically justifiable.” The cancellation comes after Moderna received positive interim data from a trial testing the safety and immunogenicity of its H5N1 bird flu vaccine candidate. The fact that the Biden administration had approved the contract with Moderna did not help.

This administration’s distrust of mRNA vaccines has been apparent. In February, Rep. Adam Schiff stated that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., “promoted the lie that mRNA vaccines alter human DNA.” Kennedy has previously called mRNA COVID-19 vaccinations dangerous. Further, at least seven states have proposed GOP-sponsored legislation banning or limiting mRNA vaccines and fueling mistrust in vaccines.

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vaccines

COVID vaccine ‘strongly recommended’ during pregnancy, Canadian doctors say

Published May 28, 2025

Published by: CTV News / The Canadian Press
Published on: May 28, 2025

TORONTO — Canada’s gynecologists say COVID-19 vaccination “remains safe and strongly recommended” during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada issued the assurance Wednesday, a day after U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a longtime anti-vaccine activist — declared the shot is no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women south of the border.

Pregnant women who become infected with COVID-19 are at higher risk of severe illness requiring hospitalization and intensive care than women who are not pregnant, the SOGC said.

Getting the COVID-19 vaccine also helps protect against serious complications associated with the virus, such as preterm birth, it said.

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kakistocracy

Doctors fear ‘devastating consequences’ for pregnant people after RFK Jr order on Covid-19 boosters

Published May 28, 2025

Published by: The Guardian
Published on: May 28, 2025
By Jessica Glenza

Kennedy’s unilateral decision to change the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule for Covid-19 vaccines demonstrates once again why he is completely unqualified to be the HHS secretary.

In Congressional testimony on May 14, Kennedy said, ‘I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.’ Yet two weeks later he is making arbitrary public health decisions, defying norms, and with no accountability.

— Dr Robert Steinbrook, research director at consumer rights group Public Citizen

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kakistocracy

RFK Jr says no COVID vaccines for healthy children, pregnant women

Published May 27, 2025

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: May 27, 2025
By Stephanie Soucheray

Today Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made another sweeping change to the US vaccine landscape, saying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has removed its recommendation of the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children and pregnant women.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that, as of today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant woman has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule,” Kennedy said in a video message, flanked by Martin Makary, MD, MPH, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health.

The move comes just 1 week after the FDA announced—via an opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine—that the vaccine would now be offered only to adults 65 years and older or those with underlying conditions that made them vulnerable to severe COVID-19.

Today’s video message is short and direct but is already causing confusion, as pregnancy itself is considered a risk factor for severe COVID-19.

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research

Scientists have lost their jobs or grants in US cuts. Foreign universities want to hire them

Published May 25, 2025

Published by: The Associated Press
Published on: May 25, 2025
By Christina Larson, Adithi Ramakrishnan, Jamey Keaten

As the Trump administration cut billions of dollars in federal funding to scientific research, thousands of scientists in the U.S. lost their jobs or grants…

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new wave

U.S. reports cases of new COVID variant NB.1.8.1 behind surge in China

Published May 23, 2025

Published by: CBS News
Published on: May 23, 2025
By Alexander Tin

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s airport screening program has detected multiple cases of the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1, which has been linked to a large surge of the virus in China.

Cases linked to the NB.1.8.1 variant have been reported in arriving international travelers at airports in California, Washington state, Virginia and the New York City area, according to records uploaded by the CDC’s airport testing partner Ginkgo Bioworks.

Details about the sequencing results, which were published in recent weeks on the GISAID, or Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, virus database, show the cases stem from travelers from a number of countries, including Japan, South Korea, France, Thailand, the Netherlands, Spain, Vietnam, China and Taiwan. The travelers were tested from April 22 through May 12, the records show.

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kakistocracy

The FDA’s misguided new Covid vaccine policy repeats past mistakes

Published May 21, 2025

Published by: MSNBC
Published on: May 21, 2025
By Dr. Kavita Patel

The Food and Drug Administration is rewriting America’s Covid vaccine playbook — and not for the better. Its new guidance would trade the clarity and reach of our current vaccination strategy for a confusing age-based and risk-based framework that simply doesn’t fit the realities of Americans’ health. As a primary care physician who has spent years on the front lines of pandemic response, I see this as a step backward that ignores both the lessons of our past and the needs of our most vulnerable patients.

The FDA’s proposed framework eerily mirrors the segmentation we attempted in fall 2021 with Covid boosters. When boosters initially rolled out in September 2021, the FDA authorized them only for specific groups: adults 65 and older, those 18-64 with high-risk conditions, and those with occupational exposure risks.

The approach failed. As someone who had to explain these complex eligibility requirements to confused patients, I can attest to the chaos it created. This limited approach created tremendous confusion among health care providers and patients alike. Pharmacies and clinics struggled to verify eligibility, people misunderstood their risk category and, ultimately, many high-risk individuals who genuinely needed boosters never received them.

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Novavax

F.D.A. Approves Novavax Covid Vaccine With Stricter New Conditions

Published May 17, 2025

Published by: The New York Times
Published on: May 17, 2025
By Christina Jewett, Apoorva Mandavilli

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine, but only for older adults and for others over age 12 who have at least one medical condition that puts them at high risk from Covid.

Scientific advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who typically make decisions on who should get approved shots and when, have been debating whether to recommend Covid shots only to the most vulnerable Americans. The F.D.A.’s decision appeared to render at least part of their discussion moot.

The new restriction will sharply limit access to the Novavax vaccine for people under 65 who are in good health. It may leave Americans who do not have underlying conditions at risk if a more virulent version of the coronavirus were to emerge. It could also limit options for people who want the vaccine for a wide array of reasons, including to protect a vulnerable loved one.

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long COVID

Long COVID May Cause Long-Term Changes in the Heart and Lungs and May Lead to Cardiac and Pulmonary Diseases

Published May 6, 2025

Published by: Mount Sinai Health System
Published on: May 6, 2025

Mount Sinai study suggests COVID-19 infection should be considered a risk factor for future cardiopulmonary conditions

New York, NY (May 6, 2025) — Patients suffering from long COVID may exhibit persistent inflammation in the heart and lungs for up to a year following SARS-CoV-2 infection—even when standard medical tests return normal results—potentially placing them at elevated risk for future cardiac and pulmonary conditions. These findings come from a new study conducted by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published April 30, in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

The study, the largest of its kind using advanced PET/MRI imaging, discovered significant abnormalities in cardiovascular and pulmonary tissues, as well as altered levels of circulating immune-regulating proteins, in long COVID patients. These abnormalities could serve as early warning signs of diseases such as heart failure, valvular heart disease, and pulmonary hypertension.

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‘On the precipice of disaster’: Measles may be endemic in 25 years if vaccine uptake stays low, model predicts

measles

‘On the precipice of disaster’: Measles may be endemic in 25 years if vaccine uptake stays low, model predicts

Published April 24, 2025

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: April 24, 2025
By Mary Van Beusekom

Without a 5% higher measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination rate, measles may revert to endemicity in the United States within 25 years, while a 10% decline in vaccination could lead to 11.1 million cases of the highly contagious illness in that timeframe, according to predictions from a simulation model published today in JAMA.

Also today, the World Health Organization (WHO); UNICEF; and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance warn that burgeoning outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases threaten to reverse years of progress.

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vaccines

Novavax says its COVID-19 shot is on track for full FDA approval after delay

Published April 23, 2025

Published by: The Associated Press
Published on: April 23, 2025
By Matthew Perrone, Lauran Neergaard

WASHINGTON (AP) — Novavax’s closely watched COVID-19 vaccine is on track for full approval after additional discussions with the Food and Drug Administration, the company said Wednesday.

The news sent company shares soaring more than 21% in morning trading and appeared to resolve concerns that Trump administration officials might be holding up a decision on the shot.

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Tag: United States

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Mount Sinai study suggests COVID-19 infection should be considered a risk factor for future cardiopulmonary conditions

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