Thank you for your excellent coverage of these critical topics!

Appreciate you Nicola

Kennedy Fires N.I.H. Scientist Who Filed Whistle-Blower Complaint

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/h...

The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers WIRED spoke with more than 200 federal workers in dozens of agencies to learn what happened as the Department of Government Efficiency tore through their offices.

NEW

WIRED led the way in reporting on Elon Musk's efforts to dismantle the US government. My colleagues and I spoke to 100s of employees at dozens of agencies to understand what happened.

This is the definitive story of DOGE as told by those who experienced it

www.wired.com/story/oral-h...

Cover of "Fifty Shades of 'Jay'" with emails from Jeremy M. Berg to NIH Director Jayanta Bhattacharya.

All my emails to Director Bhattacharya now available...

jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g...

My quote of the day

When hypocrisy is a character trait, it also affects one's thinking, because it consists in the negation of all the aspects of reality that one finds disagreeable, irrational or repugnant.

Octavio Paz

Vaccine Panel Postpones One Vote and Reverses Another Amid Confusion

The chaos from the first day of a meeting of the federal vaccine committee appointed by RFK Jr. bled into the second day, as the panel reversed one decision and indefinitely postponed a vote on a hepatitis B vaccine they had already deferred once.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/h...

baby in a striped shirt coughing.

Two babies have died of Whooping cough in Louisiana, a vaccine preventable disease.

All pregnant patients and their families should be vaccinated to protect the newborn.

This is Louisiana's worst Whooping cough (pertussis) outbreak in 30 years. buff.ly/pez25q3

#medsky #pedsky🛟😷

a man with his eyes closed is wearing a plaid shirt and a blue jacket . ALT: a man with his eyes closed is wearing a plaid shirt and a blue jacket .

So... I did some analysis of grants that did receive noncompetitive renewals.

In particular, I looked a those award where the title of the grant changed.

Warning: The results are just what I expected, but oooph...

1/4

NIH whistleblower details clash over childhood vaccines with Trump administration: "We became inconvenient" A former NIH official says she was removed after clashes over vaccines, accusing RFK Jr. and his deputies of posing "a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety."

www.cbsnews.com/news/nih-whi...

WHO shares more DR Congo Ebola outbreak details as more suspected cases reported

Responders are still investigating the source of the outbreak, along with the index patient's symptom onset and health visit history.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/e...

Photo: NIAID/Flickr cc

YouTube video by KFF Health News Patient Numbers at NIH Hospital Continue To Decline Under Second Trump Administration

We previously reported that the number of people receiving treatment at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center - known as America's research hospital - declined from February-April.

Since then, I obtained newer data through mid-August. And it's gotten worse. youtube.com/shorts/yT5Vc...

Papua New Guinea confirms its first human polio case The case involves an unvaccinated 4-year-old boy who developed acute flaccid paralysis caused by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2.

Papua New Guinea confirms its first human polio case

The case involves an unvaccinated 4-year-old boy who developed acute flaccid paralysis caused by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2.

a dumpster is on fire and a quote from jake tapper is above it ALT: a dumpster is on fire and a quote from jake tapper is above it

Rumor (but we’re gonna guess it’s not wrong):

HHS told Monarez to fire Dan Jernigan, Demetre Daskalakis, and Deb Houry. She refused. Then they fired her and said they would still fire all of three of them, so they all resigned.

Abbe Lowell and I represent CDC Director #SusanMonarez. Contrary to govt statements, Dr. Monarez has neither resigned nor yet been fired. She will not resign. We have issued the following statement:

Cancelling mRNA studies is the highest irresponsibility The rest of the world is not following the US government’s dangerous path, and will stick with the technology that helped the world out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A technology that played a key part in saving millions of lives during the pandemic should be celebrated. Yet in the US, research into mRNA vaccines is being cut. While sadly not unexpected, it’s irresponsible as we argue in our editorial this week 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Nature: Cancelling mRNA studies is the highest irresponsibility

go.nature.com/3HDx4wD

cc Jay Bhattacharya

Aluminum in Vaccines Study Won't Be Retracted, Journal Says Large Danish study evaluated risks of autism, asthma, and other disorders in 1.2 million children

Journal will NOT retract the Danish paper that found aluminum in childhood vaccines wasn't linked to increased risk of conditions like autism & asthma. Retraction calls — including from Sec. Kennedy — appear to be based on a dislike of the findings, editor says. www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/au...

FungAMR: a comprehensive database for investigating fungal mutations associated with antimicrobial resistance - Nature Microbiology An online, manually curated and continually updating database of fungal antimicrobial resistance mutations provides a starting point for further research in fungal AMR.

Stellar work by graduate students to build this comprehensive dataset of antifungal resistance mechanisms. Kudos and congratulations to the Landry lab @christianlandry.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Expansion of tetM-Carrying Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the United States, 2018–2024 | NEJM During 2018–2024, the percentage of N. gonorrhoeae isolates carrying tetM, which confers tetracycline resistance, increased from less than 10% to more than 30% across the United States.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, always finding a work-around...

Expansion of tetM-Carrying Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the United States, 2018–2024 | New England Journal of Medicine www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Opinion | The Questions Started With the Wren

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/o...

What are the implications of the latest ACIP meeting?

ID physicians Angela Branche, MD, FIDSA, and Andrew T. Pavia, MD, FIDSA, express their concerns about the dismissal of the ACIP panel members in our recent media briefing: www.idsociety.org/multimedia/v...

Videos of bat-munching animals may show how viruses spread People without protective gear also visit cave where bats with deadly virus likely reside

Wow, nature is wild! This "bat buffet" appeals to many species & may allow for introduction of #viruses to other species, especially mammals

Videos of bat-munching animals may show how viruses spread | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Visiting Seattle for @uwsph.bsky.social commencement ceremony was a reminder of how committed so many young people are to #publichealth the future is bright with their leadership

Second child dies from measles in Texas outbreak; Kennedy to visit state More than 480 cases have been reported in the state since January.

We are sad and unsurprised that another unvaccinated child died in the West Texas measles outbreak. For all RFKJ’s weaponized disinformation, these preventable deaths are on Trump for utter failure to lead and put competent professionals in charge of public health.

www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

Shingles Vaccine Can Decrease Risk of Dementia, Study Finds A growing body of research suggests that preventing the viral infection can help stave off cognitive decline.

Being vaccinated against shingles can reduce the risk of developing dementia, a new study found.

In 2024, 5480 people became unwell with tuberculosis in England—up 13% from 2023, the largest increase recorded since 1970.

Multipronged action is needed to reverse rising rates
www.bmj.com/content/388/...

Michigan resident dies of rabies after undergoing organ transplant in Ohio: Officials A Michigan resident has died of rabies after apparently undergoing an organ transplant, health officials said Thursday.

An organ recipient died from #rabies. The deceased donor wasn't recognized as a rabies case, suffering from non-traditional symptoms. In addition, 3 recipients of corneal tissue were exposed, but were treated with post-exposure prophylaxis.
What a horrible situation.
abcnews.go.com/Health/michi...

While absolute numbers of ceftriaxone resistance in the UK are still low, it's an alarming trend, esp as the number of #XDR #gonorrhea cases are increasing.

Cases were linked to Asia-Pacific travel where #AMR is highest. We need more support for control + prevention in the region.

#Medsky
#IDsky

The NIH’s Most Reckless Cuts Yet Ending clinical trials with no warning can put patients at risk.

The Trump administration has halted hundreds of NIH-funded research projects, including over 100 clinical trials. Experts warn this could jeopardize patient care and vital research on HIV, cancer, and mental health, particularly impacting LGBTQ health studies and eroding public trust in science.