Jake Scott, MD

New Documents Reveal a Controversial Vaccine Study's Unusual Path to CDC Approval A new investigation has found irregularities in the ethics review of a grant to study effects of a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine in Guinea-Bissau.

EXCLUSIVE: In my latest @rollingstone.com investigation, new documents/20+ sources reveal a controversial vaccine study's unusual path to CDC approval, and irregularities in the only ethics review done, in Guinea-Bissau: rollingstone.com/politics/pol... /1 🧵👇

"Ethics committee president says his name was used on the approval without his knowledge"

everything they do is a fraud. a sham.

Didn’t think this story could have gotten any worse. But I keep forgetting there is no floor when it comes to MAHA. Just a bottomless pit.

I didn’t think my jaw could drop any lower. I was wrong.

FINALLY, finally, the University of Southern Denmark says it will investigate the proposed RFK Jr-funded trial that its researchers want to conduct in Guinea Bissau—a deeply unethical trial that lacks equipoise and puts babies at risk

Took them forever to get there

They committed outright fraud to get this study approved. My god.

I did not expect good faith in this effort at a second Tuskegee, but this exceeded even my expectations.

This is the sort of thing I'm referring to when I use the term "policy-based evidence-making."

New Documents Reveal a Controversial Vaccine Study's Unusual Path to CDC Approval A new investigation has found irregularities in the ethics review of a grant to study effects of a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine in Guinea-Bissau.

New from @katherineeban.bsky.social in @rollingstone.com: CDC appointees bypassed the agency’s scientists to rush-fund a study questioning the hep B birth dose. The ethics committee president says his name was used on the approval without his knowledge.

www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

CIDRAP Op-Ed: The FDA refused to review a flu vaccine, contrary to evidence. Now the agency reversed itself

The FDA refused to review Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine. Two weeks later, it reversed itself. The reversal is welcome but the episode deserves scrutiny. I wrote about the comparator argument, regulatory timeline, and why the refusal should never have happened.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/influenza-va...

Controlled Vaccine RCTs (Living List)

Correction: our database has 53 HPV vaccine RCTs, not 70+. I've asked CIDRAP to correct the piece. Five of those 53 used true saline or inert placebos and their safety and efficacy findings are indistinguishable from the adjuvant-controlled trials. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Clarification: screening has prevented more cervical cancer to date than any intervention, and the hep B vaccine has prevented liver cancer since the 1980s. What sets HPV apart is scope: 6 cancer types, both sexes, including throat cancer which has no screening test. I should have been more precise.

CIDRAP Op-Ed: The HPV vaccine prevents cancer. The new ACIP wants to re-examine that.

The HPV vaccine has prevented more cancer than any medical intervention in history after tobacco control. It's been studied in 70+ randomized trials. Now a reconstituted ACIP wants to reexamine whether it works.

My new piece in @cidrap.bsky.social breaks it down. www.cidrap.umn.edu/human-papill...

Do pediatricians make large profits from vaccines? Vaccine critics like to say that pediatricians profit from vaccines. This report found something very different.

People who oppose #vaccines often claim that doctors push them because they're paid to by Pharma or that vaccine administration is a big revenue source for doctors. The reality: Delivering vaccine puts an economic strain on many pediatric practices. www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/p...

AOC: "An ICE officer had violently pushed a woman to the ground and he had come over to help get her up and that is what precipitated this incident that very quickly led to an execution in the streets. What we are seeing here is a momentous pivotal moment for the United States."

Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old man killed by federal immigration agents Saturday, worked as a nurse treating sick veterans, according to family, friends and colleagues – a reflection of his deep desire to help others, they said. https://cnn.it/4bcuwlz

What CDC vaccine schedule changes mean for vaccine access The CDC reduced the number of vaccines recommended for all children. Parents will likely be able to get their kids vaccinated following the old schedule if they’d like to, but doctors worry the…

The CDC reduced the number of vaccines recommended for all children. Parents will likely be able to get their kids vaccinated following the old schedule if they’d like to, but doctors worry the changes could reduce future vaccine access.

CIDRAP Op-ed: Vaccine myths that won’t die and how to counter them—part 2

Vaccine myths that won’t die and how to counter them part 2: vaccines don't cause autism, SIDS, etc', VAERS does not show causation, the flu shot will not cause influenza, and mRNA vaccines do not cause cancer, explains @jakescottmd.bsky.social @cidrap.bsky.social www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...

Critics say 'talk to your doc' requirement for some vaccines causes confusion A recent change puts some long-recommended childhood vaccines in a new category called "shared clinical decision-making." The ramifications of this seemingly wonky change could be far-reaching.

"...shared clinical decision-making is usually reserved for complicated medical calls ...These vaccines, ...have clear evidence of benefit for all children," explains @jakescottmd.bsky.social to @robsteinnews.bsky.social on @npr.org.
www.npr.org/2026/01/15/n...

CIDRAP Op-Ed: Vaccine myths that won't die and how to counter them—part 1

Vaccine myths that won't die and how to counter them: with @cidrap.bsky.social's help, @jakescottmd.bsky.social takes on myths about vaccines testing, vaccinated v. unvaccinated kids, vaccine ingredients, and the number of vaccines on the schedule. www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...

CIDRAP Op-ed: Vaccine myths that won’t die and how to counter them—part 2

by Jake Scott, MD @jakescottmd.bsky.social @cidrap.bsky.social

bit.ly/4pJnt7w

CIDRAP Op-Ed: Vaccine myths that won't die and how to counter them—part 1

by Jake Scott, MD @jakescottmd.bsky.social @cidrap.bsky.social

bit.ly/3LJtDX8

CIDRAP Op-ed: Vaccine myths that won’t die and how to counter them—part 2

New from @cidrap.bsky.social: Part 2 of my series on persistent vaccine myths.

This one covers vaccines and autism, VAERS misuse, "the flu shot gave me the flu," and mRNA/turbo cancer claims.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...

CIDRAP Op-ed: Vaccine myths that won’t die and how to counter them—part 2

by @jakescottMD

Today's myths include "Vaccines cause autism," "VAERS proves vaccines kill people," "Natural immunity is better," and "mRNA vaccines cause turbo cancers."

www.cidrap.umn.edu/c...

They are. HHS says “proceeding as planned” while also admitting they’re revising the protocol post-award (unusual). Africa CDC says it only moves forward if redesigned to be ethical.
HHS won’t say “cancelled,” but the study as designed appears to be dead. What comes next will be different.

Controversial US study on hepatitis B vaccines in Africa is cancelled $1.6m project drew outrage over ethical questions about withholding vaccines proven to prevent disease

The study as leaked — no maternal screening, impossible endpoints, 7,000 unvaccinated infants — appears to be dead. Whatever emerges will be a different trial. That’s what sustained international pressure can do.
Great reporting by @melodyschreiber.com
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Africa CDC says it’s cancelled. HHS says it’s proceeding. But the reality: HHS is revising the protocol after the grant was awarded, and Africa CDC says it only moves forward if redesigned ethically. 2/

The Guinea-Bissau hep B trial is the clearest example yet of policy-based evidence-making. Design a study that can’t detect benefit (42-day mortality for a disease that kills at 40), skip maternal screening in a 19% prevalence setting, then declare “no effect found”Great work @lizszabo.bsky.social

HHS says it hasn’t been cancelled.

CIDRAP Op-ed: Vaccine myths that won't die and how to counter them—part 1

I wrote a two-part series for @cidrap.bsky.social examining the most persistent vaccine myths and what the evidence actually shows.

Part 1 is up now:
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...

CIDRAP Op-ed: Vaccine myths that won't die and how to counter them—part 1
@jakescottMD

Today's myths: "Vaccines were never properly tested," "Vaccinated and unvaccinated kids haven’t been compared," "The ingredients are toxic," and "Too many, too soon."

www.cidrap.umn.edu/c...