T. Neil Ku, MD, FSHEA, FIDSA

I hope no one thinks I'm involved in animal cruelty and nonprofit theft. 😬

First-Trimester mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination and Risk of Major Congenital Anomalies This cohort study examines the association between first-trimester exposure to messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines and the risk of major congenital malformations among infants in France.

In over 130K births, French researchers found no association between birth defects and mothers who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during the first trimester.
#vaccination #covid19 #publichealth
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

In rural America, scarce doctors battle misinformation as they practice medicine Conspiracy theories about health fill a vacuum created by the lack of doctors in many rural communities. Meanwhile, doctors in these areas say patients have become increasingly distrustful and sometim...

And our elected officials in #montana want us to believe that telemedicine will help solve the physician shortage issues...
#ruralhealthcare #mtpol #disinformation #misinformation
www.npr.org/sections/sho...

Rural hospitals in Montana were already struggling financially before the passage of the OBBB, which is why the Montana legislature recently voted to keep the Medicaid expansion.

RFK Jr. Misses Mark in Touting Rural Health Transformation Fund as Historic Infusion of Cash - KFF Health News The health secretary’s statement doesn’t consider the impact that the Medicaid cuts advanced in the same law will have on health care in rural America.

Despite our US representatives and senators touting the Rural Health Transformation Program as a win for Montana, this program is really there to help soften the blows from the Medicaid cuts.
#montana #mtpol #ruralhospitals #CAH
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

This is especially the case as the top of each CDC webpage has a disclaimer that blames the Democrats for the government shutdown.

Inside FDA, career staffers describe how political pressure is influencing their work Current and former FDA staff said the level of involvement of political officials in nitty-gritty regulatory matters is unprecedented.

I suspect the staffers in the CDC are also experiencing something similar. This has made it very difficult for me to say or trust comments from anyone who says, "the CDC recommends...".

www.statnews.com/2025/10/14/f...

Meanwhile, Utah is now experiencing a measles outbreak. All but one were unvaccinated or vaccination status unknown.
files.epi.utah.gov/Utah%20measl...

Seventh Jerusalem baby dies from measles amid outbreak | The Jerusalem Post A 1-year-old toddler in Jerusalem died from measles, marking the seventh fatality in the outbreak. The Ministry of Health stresses the disease is preventable through vaccination.

"Currently, 25 measles patients are hospitalized, most of them children under the age of 6 who were not vaccinated. Six of them are in intensive care, and one is on an ECMO machine."
#vaccination #measles #MMR #publichealth
www.jpost.com/health-and-w...

CDC advisers create new work group to review childhood vaccines

So, this is the new strategy? If it isn't broken, then just break it.
#vaccination #IDSky #IPSky #publichealth
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...

Sigh...

Despite what some politicians have been touting, federal law already prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving Medicaid and Medicare.

Medicaid Spending for Undocumented Immigrants This cross-sectional analysis examines emergency Medicaid spending relative to total Medicaid expenditures and identifies state factors associated with variation in spending.

Emergency Medicaid funding, which may be used to cover undocumented immigrants with serious medical conditions, comprises <1% of overall Medicaid spending.
#medicaid
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: Tylenol-Autism Link and Vaccine Policies | KFF Following the Trump administration’s warning last month that using acetaminophen – the active ingredient in Tylenol – during pregnancy can increase the risk of autism in children, very few adults say ...

It's quite unclear to me what strategy HHS is trying to take to restore public faith in the CDC and vaccines, but whatever it is, it seems to be taking it in the wrong direction.
#vaccination #cdc #publichealth
www.kff.org/public-opini...

This is the response from Senator Sheehy regarding my request to preserve healthcare research funding in the 2026 budget. With almost all his responses to me including something about abuse, fraud, and waste, I wonder what he thought of the $100M presidential ballroom...
#AHRQ #IPSky #IDSKy #mtpol

Wary of RFK Jr., Colorado Started Revamping Its Vaccine Policies in the Spring - KFF Health News Amid concerns that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is undermining trust in vaccines and public health science, some states are seeking new sources of scientific consensus and...

I think this is a great idea Montana should consider adopting...
#mtpol #vaccination #publichealth
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Acting CDC director calls to 'break up' the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three shots Individual vaccines for each virus aren't available in the U.S., and no published scientific evidence shows a benefit to separating the combined vaccine.

If it ain't broke, why try to break it?
#vaccination #MMR #publichealth #IDSky
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

I find it increasingly more frustrated with the responses I've received from US Congressmen and Senators. I emailed Senator Sheehy about my concerns and distrust with the current ACIP members and this is what I get. I already know what ACIP is, and what RFK Jr is doing.
#ACIP #vaccines #publichealth

CDC announces changes to COVID, childhood vaccines, touting 'informed consent'

Clinicians are already involved in shared clinical decision-making when it comes to vaccines. However, this may pose some challenges with mass vaccination clinics as they often don't have clinicians available to discuss vaccination with vaccine recipients.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/cdc...

GOP Falsely Ties Shutdown to Democrats’ Alleged Drive To Give All Immigrants Health Care - KFF Health News Immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status are generally ineligible for federally funded health care programs. Democrats’ funding proposal would restore access to Medicaid and the Affordable C...

It's disappointing to see how comfortable politicians are with making false claims. This is a perfect example of the importance of getting the facts straight before making judgments about the issues.
#healthequity
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

...it essentially legitimizes the government's stance that vaccines cause autism despite all the data that do not support that claim.

Inside the High-Stakes Battle Over Vaccine Injury Compensation, Autism, and Public Trust - KFF Health News The evidence is unequivocal: Vaccines do not cause autism. Yet adding autism to the list of conditions covered by a federal payout program, as health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seems inclined to ...

Although adding autism to the list covered by the vaccine injury compensation program (VICP) will likely open a floodgate of frivolous claims...
#vaccination #publichealth #IDSky
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

I wonder if our congressional representatives actually read what their constituents write. I recently wrote to Congressman Downing, petitioning him to protect healthcare research funding. I'm unclear about how restricted access and telemedicine relate to my request.
#montana #congress #healthcare

After surprise $97,998 medical bill, Bozeman woman fights charges “I’ll make payments the rest of my life to pay it all off.”

This is an example of what we may see more of as more people become uninsured.
montanafreepress.org/2025/09/24/a...

Occupations with Large Shares of Workers Who Rely on Individual Market Coverage | KFF This analysis examines the share of adult workers in occupations that rely more heavily on individual market coverage for health insurance, which is largely made up by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Ma...

More than 25% of farmers and ranchers rely on the ACA marketplace for their health insurance coverage. With insurance premiums expected to rise, more people may choose to drop health insurance coverage, especially as the cost-of-living has increased.
#montana #healthcare
www.kff.org/affordable-c...

Sadly, this isn't about the freedom to decide whether to vaccinate anymore. This is gravitating towards banning vaccines. Pregnant mothers should "fight like hell" to protect vaccines so they can protect their babies from vaccine-preventable diseases.

An important historical point that he and RFK Jr have neglected to point out is vaccination played a key role in eliminating smallpox. Understanding the context is very important when developing an opinion about this issue.

If we were in the 1950s, parents wouldn't be as concerned about vaccine adverse effects because they were more worried about their kids dying from measles. It's hard for me to think that that is a point in history that RFK Jr thinks Americans were healthier.

The most frustrating part after reading this is Trump implying that vaccination is unnecessary and, therefore, suggesting the risk is greater than the benefits.

Trump's misleading comments on autism validate the 'MAHA' movement and reveal its political potency President Donald Trump's unproven statements about Tylenol, childhood vaccines and autism are validating the so-called Make America Healthy Again movement and revealing its potential political power.

"...Trump told a story about a woman...and claimed her young son got a high fever after receiving a vaccine. The president then added he knew at least two other people who were “badly hurt” by vaccinations, but did not go into detail."
#vaccines #publichealth #IDSky
apnews.com/article/maha...