Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, SM

The State of US Vaccine Policy

w/ Unbiased Science

Latest:
-14 states have filed vaccine lawsuits
-CDC lost its 2 most senior officials in rapid succession
-surgeon general nominee can't bring herself to recommend measles vaccine
-and more!

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

A new poll shows who Americans trust over the CDC The new findings come after the Trump administration in January took the unprecedented step of overhauling the CDC’s routine childhood immunization schedule.

Looks like the stated intention to “restore trust” in federal health agencies like CDC & NIH is backfiring. RFK Jr gets the lowest confidence rating.

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

RFK Jr. is staying quiet about his vaccine changes as GOP pollsters raise red flags Health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is on tour to tout his MAHA food initiatives and drug pricing over vaccines, an issue GOP pollsters see as a liability.

"Administration officials see Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement as an important part of a winning midterm coalition. But vaccine messaging is seen as too polarizing, according to two people familiar with the matter"

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

Opinion | A Vaccine Skeptic as Surgeon General Casey Means won’t restore confidence in public-health advice.

"Casey Means won’t restore confidence in public-health advice."
"The menagerie at the Department of Health and Human Services keeps getting stranger."
"What HHS needs are serious people who will tell the truth and can begin to restore confidence in public-health advice." www.wsj.com/opinion/case...

Bird Flu Strikes California Elephant Seals for the First Time

A lethal form of bird flu, which has already killed tens of thousands of elephant seals in the Southern Hemisphere, is now spreading in a colony of elephant seals in California.

w/ @emilyanthes.bsky.social

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/s...

Providence, R.I., Is Used to Snow. But Not 36 Inches in a Day.

Seriously.

Providence, R.I., Is Used to Snow. But Not 36 Inches in a Day. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/u...

Opinion | Who’s in Charge at the FDA? Commissioner Marty Makary talks about accelerated cures while biologics chief Vinay Prasad quietly scuttles them.

www.wsj.com/opinion/vina...

Stunning illustration of how most CDC offices currently run by acting leaders. Failing to appoint people to these roles is one way to staff agency w/ people who lack qualifications for these positions, increasing the likelihood of poor decisions, harm, & waste. www.cdcdataproject.org/leadership-c...

RFK Jr.’s days of going wild on health may be over After letting the health secretary have his way in 2025, Trump is reining him in now that it’s an election year.

White House officials granted anonymity to discuss strategy attributed the changed focus to the importance health care will play in the midterms and the desire to focus on issues that have broad appeal.

“I think we’re largely done with vaccines.”

www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Any adult can understand that spending more to get less is a bad deal for American taxpayers.

But they may not understand what else the US loses by leaving WHO.

From @pandemiccenter.bsky.social’s @drsethberkley.bsky.social:

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

US Vaccine Panel Meeting Delayed as RFK Jr. Pressured Over Shots A panel that drives US vaccine policy will delay its upcoming meeting to the middle of March, according to a person familiar with the matter, as a legal challenge to the validity of the committee play...

ACIP delayed - also confirmed by Reuters:
news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-a...
www.reuters.com/business/hea...
@bloomberglaw.com

Kennedy defends Trump glyphosate order; MAHA erupts as midterms approach President Donald Trump on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to spur the domestic production of glyphosate and elemental phosphorus.

“Elevating glyphosate to a national security priority is the exact opposite of what MAHA voters were promised"

www.cnbc.com/2026/02/19/t...

Considering only doing marine epidemiology and marine biosecurity henceforth. 🌊🦠🌴

“He became so ill that he was eventually hospitalized. It was a horrible experience, w/ him being the sickest he had ever been, while doctors & nurses were coming into his room in hazmat suits. Meanwhile, I was at home, pregnant and stressed, having been exposed to an unknown, very serious illness”

Exclusive: Key US infectious-diseases centre to drop pandemic preparation Staff members have been instructed to scrub this topic and ‘biodefense’ from the agency’s website.

Announcing to the world that the US will no longer invest in biodefense is incredibly dangerous. It’s a signal to our adversaries that we are no longer committed to protecting Americans from biological threats. A robust research enterprise is a deterrent.

share.google/ERXnMPskK7Pn...

This made me chuckle. ❤️

Exclusive: Key US infectious-diseases centre to drop pandemic preparation Staff members have been instructed to scrub this topic and ‘biodefense’ from the agency’s website.

“Just because we say we’re going to stop caring about these issues doesn’t make the issues go away — it just makes us less prepared,” said @bhadeliamd.bsky.social

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

White House Pushes Shake-Up at HHS Ahead of Midterms Chris Klomp, the head of Medicare, will take on a new role as RFK Jr.’s No. 2. Some top staffers were removed from their roles.

"Top White House and administration officials had already tried to prod Kennedy’s department away from controversial vaccine policies and focus more on its message about healthy food, which is more popular in polls, according to people familiar with the matter."

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

This Is How a Child Dies of Measles When your family becomes a data point in an outbreak

A parent's worst nightmare.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Intention to vaccinate children against measles: findings from a national survey in the United States The United States is currently experiencing the largest surge of measles cases since 2000, with over 2855 cases reported across the country since Janu…

🚨🆕 Excited to share our new paper on #measles #vaccination attitudes in the 🇺🇸

As measles cases surge 📈 to highest levels since elimination in 2000, we wanted to understand if U.S. adults intention to vaccinate children against measles

Here’s what we found. 🧵👇
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

WHO director-general calls plans for U.S.-funded vaccine trial ‘unethical’ The director-general of the WHO said a U.S.-funded study of the hepatitis B vaccine in Guinea-Bissau would be “unethical” if it proceeds as planned.

Director-General @drtedros.who.int minced no words today when asked about the proposal to run a trial of a hepatitis B vaccine birth dose in Guinea-Bissau. It would be "unethical to proceed with this study," he said. "Maybe it's better to say it bluntly & straight."
www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/h...

In college, the “Introduction to Geology” class was pejoratively called “Rocks for Jocks”. Turns out there really are rocks for jocks!

A new kind of wastewater surveillance?

Trump cut science funding. Small businesses are paying the price. Some federal contractors are feeling the squeeze after the president slashed support for climate programs and other research efforts.

“I don’t think people recognize the impact on small companies"

www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Opinion | The Aftermath of Feeding America’s Credibility Into the Woodchipper

"U.S.A.I.D. was founded in recognition that moral U.S. leadership in the world is a positive-sum endeavor: Doing good in the world will also do well by the American people."

Wise words from the excellent @jeremykonyndyk.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/o...

Excited to receive an advance copy of Civility Unbound, to which I contributed a chapter on how social media is undermining civility, discourse, and the values that underpin our democracy.

I’ll be on Morning Joe in a few days for the launch event!

Pre-orders available now at all good book sites!

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...

No, they did not increase trust in vaccines and CDC.

"..following the Trump administration’s announcement of changes to the recommended childhood vaccine schedule, the public’s trust in the CDC remains at its lowest point since the COVID-19 pandemic..."
www.kff.org/health-infor...

Wastewater Surveillance Works This video explains how wastewater surveillance became a powerful public health tool during COVID-19 and why ending or underfunding it now would be a major mistake.

#WastewaterSurveillance helped guide public health during the pandemic. Ending or underfunding it would be a major step backward.

We created this animated short to explain why wastewater monitoring matters, how it works, & what we stand to lose if funding’s eliminated.

📺 vimeo.com/1148140830

The US recorded 160 new measles cases in the past week, 44 fewer cases than recorded the week prior, but still more than any week in 2025. The US has recorded 902 total cases in 2026, after 2,128 cases recorded in 2025.

Updates on measles and more in the Tracking Report: mailchi.mp/messages/pan...

Newly revealed emails undermine RFK Jr testimony about 2019 Samoa trip ahead of measles outbreak Kennedy later said the purpose of his trip had nothing to do with vaccines. US embassy and UN staff at the time said otherwise, emails show

Kennedy went to Samoa to cast doubt on vaccines.

And he blatantly lied to Congress about it.

"“The real reason Kennedy is coming is to raise awareness about vaccinations..." via @theguardian.com @bymichellersmith.com
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...