T. Neil Ku, MD, FSHEA, FIDSA

Maybe they are trying to be mindful of visually impaired people. 🤷

Americans trust vaccines, school mandates, rejecting Trump agenda, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Public health experts have said weakening school vaccine mandates would result in more children being sickened by preventable diseases.

Most Americans do support vaccines and vaccination efforts. I hope their votes will reflect that during the upcoming midterm election.
#vaccination #vaccines #publichealth

www.reuters.com/business/hea...

New Medicaid Work Rules Likely To Hit Middle-Aged Adults Hard - KFF Health News Republicans have said new rules requiring many Medicaid participants to work 80 hours a month will pinpoint unemployed young people who should have jobs. Policy researchers say the rules are more like...

The next time someone asks me if I agree with the Medicaid work requirement, I'll ask them to read this article.
#healthequity #medicaid #mtpol
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Hospitals Fighting Measles Confront a Challenge: Few Doctors Have Seen It Before - KFF Health News As the number of cases grows to about 1,000 in the Carolinas, health care workers who’ve never seen the vaccine-preventable disease can get caught by surprise.

This is the consequence of a successful measles vaccination program and achieving the measles elimination status. Until recently, physicians mostly saw measles cases in international travelers and visitors.
#measles #vaccination #pedsky #IDSky
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Dentists still write millions of prescriptions a year for an antibiotic with life-threatening risks

Antibiotic prescribing by dentists isn't often on the radar of many antibiotic stewards because dentists are often not part of a health system. Their impact on antimicrobial resistance isn't insignificant.
#AMSSky #IDSky
www.cidrap.umn.edu/antimicrobia...

I've been slacking on posting corgi photos. Here's a recent one for you all to enjoy.
#corgi

Unfortunately, it's likely that anti-vax influencers and certain elected and appointed government officials often fail to mention the complications associated with measles in their posts. Moreover, it’s unlikely that any amount of vitamin A will be beneficial for this unfortunate child.

It’s perfectly reasonable for parents to assess the safety of vaccines and carefully consider the potential risks and benefits of vaccinating their children. However, it’s crucial that this decision-making process is guided by the expertise of their children’s pediatricians.

The mother refused to vaccinate her child because the vaccine contained "unnecessary stuff they add to it" and claimed that she'd seen "kids who are perfectly normal, and then once they get it, they're not the same anymore."

Mom whose 7-year-old has brain swelling from measles still wouldn’t vaccinate EXCLUSIVE: South Carolina parents living in the state’s measles epicenter tell Rhian Lubin of their devastation after their unvaccinated 7-year-old son, Ethan, developed encephalitis, a complication f...

Such an awful tragedy.

Encephalitis is a complications of measles and often lead to permanent brain damage.
#measles #vaccination #publichealth #pedssky
www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...

Exclusive: US CDC cancels February vaccine adviser meeting; no new one set yet A U.S. vaccine advisory committee meeting scheduled for later this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will not be held, with no new dates announced, according to a spokesman for t...

My hope is that they cancelled the ACIP meeting because they needed more time to review the data. But I think we all know better...
#vaccination #publichealth
www.reuters.com/business/hea...

Chlorine Dioxide, Raw Camel Milk: The FDA No Longer Warns Against These and Other Ineffective Autism Treatments The FDA has taken down a webpage warning about therapies and products making “false claims” of treating autism. It’s part of a series of actions the agency has taken under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy ...

Even if you can find raw camel milk, I'm not sure how this will make America healthy.

www.propublica.org/article/rfk-...

N.I.H. Director Will Temporarily Run C.D.C. in Leadership Shake-Up

A harsh critic of the CDC's public health response during the pandemic and co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration. What could possibly go wrong? I'm very interested to see how he will restore public trust in the CDC.
#publichealth
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/u...

Climate change and antimicrobial resistance - Nature Reviews Microbiology In this work, Kalanxhi and Laxminarayan review the evidence supporting the links between climate change and antimicrobial resistance, highlight opportunities for action and identify areas wherein furt...

This is a fitting reminder of the impact of climate change, as the EPA has taken steps towards rolling back some environmental rules.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Aluminum Exposure From Vaccines and Diet This Perspective examines aluminum exposure from vaccines and diet, including how the body processes aluminum, possible health effects, and safety considerations.

The average American is exposed to substantially more aluminum from their diet than from vaccines. Legislators who are truly concerned about their constituents being exposed to too much aluminum should probably focus on dietary sources.
#mtpol #vaccines
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

'Take the vaccine, please,' Dr. Mehmet Oz says in an appeal as measles cases rise A leading U.S. health official is urging people to get inoculated against the measles at a time of outbreaks across several states. The appeal is from Dr.

Finally, the first sensible thing I've heard from this administration.
#measles #vaccination #publichealth
apnews.com/article/meas...

Updated PASTEUR Act reintroduced in Congress to boost antibiotic development

Here's to hoping it will pass this time. 🤞🏼
#AMSSky #IDSky

www.cidrap.umn.edu/antimicrobia...

Challenging cases in infection prevention and control: proceedings from SHEA Spring 2025 | Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology | Cambridge Core Challenging cases in infection prevention and control: proceedings from SHEA Spring 2025 - Volume 6 Issue 1

Three real-world infection prevention challenges—dropped surgical implants, hospital HVAC shutdowns, and cadaver use in ORs—highlight how hospital epidemiologists navigate high-stakes decisions when guidelines are limited, using evidence, risk assessment, and collaboration. doi.org/10.1017/ash....

KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: Trust in the CDC and Views of Federal Childhood Vaccine Schedule Changes | KFF Weeks after the Trump administration reduced the number of childhood vaccine recommended for routine use, public trust in the CDC is at its lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic, and less than half are c...

Despite the administration's efforts, public trust in CDC hasn't improved. Any increase in trust seems to be more associated with politics rather policies than based on scientific evidence or their physicians' recommendations.
#vaccination #immunization #publichealth

Thus, the driving factor for some people not getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is clearly not because of the lack of convincing scientific data.

Regional political climate’s moderating role in the association between political conservatism and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the United States There is an emerging body of evidence linking political conservatism and conservative political climate in the United States to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake. The goal of the present research ...

Those who identify as politically conservative who live in politically conservative regions are less likely to get vaccinated against COVID-19 than those who live in less politically conservative regions.
#vaccination #covid19 #publichealth

What to know about TrumpRx, the Trump administration’s prescription drug platform On Thursday, President Trump launched TrumpRx, the website he and his aides have touted for months as a platform aimed at lowering prescription drug prices.

This is for those who are wondering what this program does...
#healthcare #healthequity
www.statnews.com/2026/02/05/t...

C'mon Montana. What are you waiting for? Diseases like hepatitis B, chickenpox, and measles don't care about politics but certainly love unvaccinated kids.
#vaccination #immunization #publichealth #mtpol

I've never heard of anyone developing or dying from severe infections after drinking pasteurized milk. I have had, however, treated several patients with severe infections after drinking raw milk.

N.B.: Children should not be fed cow's milk until they are at least 12 months old.

New Mexico warns against drinking raw milk after newborn dies from listeria The New Mexico Department of Health said officials believe the baby contracted listeria after their mother drank raw milk during pregnancy.

Don't be fooled by wellness influencers' claim that raw milk is healthier. The only difference between raw milk and pasteurized milk is the former has many more harmful bacteria than the latter.
#rawmilk #listeria #listeriosis #pedsky

I've never heard of anyone dying from severe infections after drinking pasteurized milk. I have had, however, treated patients with severe infections after drinking raw milk.

N.B.: Children should not be fed cow's milk until they are at least 12 months old.

Estimated 2024-2025 COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Against Severe COVID-19 This case-control study estimates vaccine effectiveness of the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines against severe COVID-19 and investigates whether it varied by SARS-CoV-2 lineage or spike protein mutations.

Last season's COVID-19 vaccine was effective in preventing death or requiring a ventilator by almost 80%.
#COVID-19 #vaccination #publichealth
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

At least 12 measles cases confirmed at Ave Maria University There are now at least 12 confirmed measles cases in Collier County linked to Ave Maria University, health officials say.

With the news primarily focusing on the South Carolina measles outbreak, there is now a measles outbreak at a university in Florida, as the surgeon general and legislature continue to chip away at vaccination requirements.
#measles #vaccination #publichealth
www.gulfcoastnewsnow.com/article/meas...

Changing Course A 74-year-old man with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on dialysis and cardiac sarcoidosis on chronic prednisone 20 mg daily presents to hospital with 2–3 w

This is a great case for trainees to review, highlighting how to approach a complex patient who may not be responding to treatment as expected. The answer is not always "escalate antimicrobial therapy".
#AMSSky
doi.org/10.1093/cid/...

CDC Reports Significant Rise in Pediatric Flu Deaths in the US The CDC reports 52 children have died from the flu so far this season. The agency said Friday that 90 percent of those children did not get the flu shot and experts say the numbers put pediatric flu d...

90% of this season's pediatric flu deaths occurred in unvaccinated children...
#influenza #flu #vaccination #pedsky
www.today.com/video/unvacc...