Alison Young

Four things to know about new mpox warning in Europe Warning by European health agency about mpox strain notes locally spread cases in Spain, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, and California.

Four things to know about new mpox alert in Europe + cases spreading in California
www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/28/m...

How disease sleuths solved a malaria mystery in Washington state Behind the scenes of how health investigators came to suspect a local mosquito caused a recent malaria case in the Tacoma, Washington, area.

A malaria mystery in Washington state - and how disease sleuths solved it. www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/27/w... #publichealth #IDsky #episky

Will new type of mpox virus spread beyond California? Many at-risk people aren’t vaccinated. New mpox cases in California are the first reported clade I infections in the United States that don’t involve international travel, the California Department of Public Health said. Here's what to kno...

“None of the three Southern California residents hospitalized in the new outbreak were vaccinated against mpox” www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/22/m...

Will new type of mpox virus spread beyond California? Many at-risk people aren’t vaccinated. New mpox cases in California are the first reported clade I infections in the United States that don’t involve international travel, the California Department of Public Health said. Here's what to kno...

As California health officials investigate an outbreak of a more severe type of mpox virus, federal data indicate that low vaccination rates across the country. In dozens of states, >half of at-risk people remained unvaccinated in wake of 2022-2023 mpox outbreak. www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/22/m...

An unusual series of US malaria outbreaks in 2023 – and now local mosquitoes are suspected of causing malaria infections in two states this summer. What you need to know from @healthbeat.org www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/17/u...

5 takeaways from new report on obesity in the United States. “The rates of obesity in the nation remain alarmingly high,” said Dr. J. Nadine Gracia of @tfah.bsky.social www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/16/o...

South Carolina now has 16 confirmed measles cases. Public health tags Greenville gym as one source. South Carolina’s measles outbreak in the Upstate now has 16 confirmed cases, most associated with two schools in Spartanburg County.

South Carolina now has 16 confirmed measles cases. Public health tags Greenville gym as one source. www.postandcourier.com/health/south...

Trump Administration Will Rehire Scores of Experts Fired in Error

Trump Administration Will Rehire Scores of Experts Fired in Error
Friday’s layoffs swept up scientists involved in responding to the measles outbreak and running an influential journal. An official acknowledged the mistakes on Saturday. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/h...

“The administration told a federal judge in California on Friday night that seven agencies…had issued RIF notices to a total of more than 4,100 workers,” reports @washingtonpost www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Meet Alison Young, Healthbeat’s new senior national reporter Alison Young has covered health, science and environmental issues for most of her career, including as a CDC beat reporter during an earlier time of controversial change at the agency. She joins Healthbeat in another period of upheaval.

Alison Young has covered health, science and environmental issues for most of her career, including as a CDC beat reporter during an earlier time of controversial change at the agency. She joins Healthbeat in another period of upheaval.

The CDC was rocked by another period of leadership exodus and turmoil years ago. It was my introduction to covering public health. www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/09/m... #publichealth #EpiSky #MedSky #IDSky

In a Toxic World, Pets Could Be Vital Health Watchdogs

“Cats and dogs, which tend to spend a lot of time on or near the ground…Compared to humans, they may have more exposure to cancer-causing chemicals used in lawn care or the heavy metals, like lead, that tend to accumulate in household dust.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/s... via @NYTimes

AI can design toxic proteins. They’re escaping through biosecurity cracks. Artificial intelligence can design toxic proteins that escape biosecurity cracks, sparking concerns over potential misuse.

“When the researchers tested two major companies’ biosecurity screening techniques, they found that “up to 100 percent” of the AI-generated ricin-like proteins evaded detection. Because the new proteins no longer looked like ricin, they were not flagged.” www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

SC sees first measles outbreak of the year, joining national surge in cases There are now eight confirmed cases of measles in South Carolina and the first outbreak of linked cases from the highly infectious disease.

From Post and Courier: Two of the current cases had an unknown source of infection, which “indicates unrecognized community spread…We anticipate more cases will be identified and implore community members to act responsibly.”
www.postandcourier.com/news/sc-sees...

Some personal news: I’m thrilled to share that I’ve joined @healthbeat.org as a senior national reporter covering #PublicHealth issues + the CDC. Reach out with tips at ayoung@healthbeat.org or Signal: alisonyoungreports.48 #EpiSky #MedSky #IDSky

I remember being in the @freep.com newsroom when the towers fell.

Radioactive metal at an Indonesia industrial site may be linked to shrimp recall Contaminated metal at an industrial site in Indonesia may be the source of radioactive material that led to massive recalls of imported frozen shrimp, international nuclear safety officials say, as ef...

“Contaminated metal at an industrial site in Indonesia may be the source of radioactive material that led to massive recalls of imported frozen shrimp, international nuclear safety officials say, as efforts are underway to halt more U.S.-bound shipments.” www.wral.com/story/radioa...

On why CDC director was removed: “We’ll find out,” Sen. Cassidy replied when asked to respond to Kennedy’s claim that Monarez had lied in her WSJ op-ed. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...

On additional questioning as hearing continues, RFK Jr. acknowledges he demanded CDC director fire career scientists & that he “asked her” about a statement she wasn’t going to sign on to ACIP recommendations & he “wanted clarification about that”

www.c-span.org/event/senate...

RFK Jr. in today’s Senate hearing accuses former CDC director of lying. Asked if she was told to resign if she refused to sign off on changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, Kennedy said: “No, I told her that she had to resign because I asked her: Are you a trustworthy person? And she said, No."

Plum Island staffers taken to PBMC for eye irritation from cleaning equipment Seven staff members from the Plum Island Animal Disease Center were taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center this morning for evaluation after they complained of eye irritation following “a routine…

Autoclave issue at Plum Island Animal Disease Center sends staff to hospital
riverheadlocal.com/2025/09/02/p...

Margaret W. Rossiter, 81, Dies; Wrote Women Scientists Into History

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/s...

“… she traversed the country in rental cars and combed through newspaper archives, college records, bibliographies, government employment data and other sources to uncover the hidden work of female astronomers, botanists, biologists, chemists, engineers, entomologists, geologists and physicists.” 🔗👇

Why more and more people are tuning the news out: ‘Now I don’t have that anxiety’ Emotional toll of constant negative news and unlimited access to ‘doomscrolling’ has led to record-high news avoidance

“Globally, news avoidance is at a record high, according to an annual survey by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism published in June. This year, 40% of respondents…said they sometimes or often avoid the news, up from 29% in 2017.”
www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...

Trump says CDC is ‘being ripped apart’ over Covid products, calls for drugmakers to prove their benefits President Trump on Monday urged pharma companies to publicly prove that their Covid-19 products work, saying in a Truth Social post that the CDC is "being ripped apart over this question.”

From ⁦‪@statnews‬⁩ : Trump says CDC is ‘being ripped apart,’ over Covid products and calls for clarity. “I want the answer, and I want it NOW,” he wrote in what appeared to be his first public acknowledgement of recent tumult at the CDC. www.statnews.com/2025/09/01/t...

Former CDC directors/acting directors Foege, Roper, Satcher, Koplan, Besser, Frieden, Schuchat, Walensky and Cohen: 
“These are not typical requests from a health secretary to a C.D.C. director. Not even close. None of us would have agreed to the secretary’s demands…” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...

CVS Holds Off on Offering Covid Vaccines in 16 States

“In some states, pharmacists are forbidden to administer vaccines that are not recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel.” CVS Holds Off on Offering Covid Vaccines in 16 States www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/w...

NFL owner secretly relapsed, got ketamine from private doctor before death As a recovery doctor provided ketamine and opioids, Colts owner Jim Irsay spent his final years suffering through a relapse that he and executives hid from the public.

“This doctor signed Irsay’s death certificate, stating the cause was cardiac arrest, and no autopsy or toxicology testing was performed,” according to Washington Post investigation. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

FoodNet “has reduced required surveillance to two pathogens: Salmonella and Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Reporting of illnesses caused by Campylobacter, Cyclospora, Listeria, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia is now optional…”