Audrey John MD PhD

“Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Men, women, and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.”

Diary of Anne Frank
January 13, 1943

a white cat is sitting on a box with the words where written on it . ALT: a white cat is sitting on a box with the words where written on it .

The fiscal year is over.

So how was the NIH appropriation committed?

A long thread with institute by institute results about where the money went.

Children and teens who had a Covid reinfection had a doubling of #LongCovid risk (PASC) and a significant increase in many other adverse outcomes (Figure) www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Trump’s USAID pause stranded lifesaving drugs. Children died waiting. USAID antimalarial and HIV supplies valued at nearly $140 million were delayed in the first half of the year or not delivered at all due to the Trump administration’s foreign aid pause, The Post found...

5-year-old Suza from #DRCongo should still be alive. Malaria is treatable, but medicine wasn't available when she needed it.

Heartbreaking, urgent reporting from @washingtonpost.com shows how even brief interruptions in aid delivery can have dire consequences for vulnerable communities:

I can tell you from personal experience caring for children like this that pertussis in a young infant is one of the most wicked diseases you can imagine.

It’s why we recommend that people get vaccination boosts both if pregnant or living in close proximity to young children.

The Geneva health center where Suza could not be treated following the cut in USAID funds is seen in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Aug. 3. (Arlette Bashizi/For The Washington Post)

"The pigtailed girl who liked pretty dresses was battling malaria and desperately needed medication that could save her life. That medication, already purchased by a U.S.-taxpayer-funded program, was tantalizingly close...

www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Population-Level Effectiveness and Herd Protection 17 Years After HPV Vaccine This cross-sectional study investigates population-level effectiveness and herd protection in the first 17 years after human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among adolescent girls and young women at ...

This is a truly remarkable finding: 17 years after introduction of the HPV vaccine, there was a decreased prevalence of HPV infection (and therefore decreased cancer risk) in both vaccinated AND unvaccinated individuals. Cancer prevention through herd immunity!!!

However, vaccines have had a substantial impact on reducing the incidence of many infectious diseases and have dramatically reduced mortality for specific infections. For example, vaccines account for 40% of the global decline in infant mortality since 1974 (Shattock, Lancet 2024).

Modeling the Health Impact of Discontinuing COVID-19 Vaccination During Pregnancy in the US This decision analytical model study estimates the number of avertable COVID-19 hospitalizations in US infants younger than 6 months and pregnant persons with vaccinations during pregnancy.

Excited to co-author this study led by @nathanlo.bsky.social @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social on the devastating consequences of not vaccinating pregnant women vs Covid

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Based on the body of evidence, what happens if pregnant women do not receive Covid booster vaccination?
Thousands of hospitalizations of infants and expectant mothers
@nathanlo.bsky.social @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Proud of Kevin Downes and Lori Handy of CHOP
ID!

List of 29 names in 2 columns and in alphabetical order. They are the 2025 FPIDS class.

Congratulations 🎉 to our Fellow of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society class of 2025. These 29 scientists have distinguished themselves through their academic, clinical, and educational accomplishments and excellences in pediatric ID. pids.org/2025/09/23/2...

Permethrin-Treated Baby Wraps for the Prevention of Malaria | NEJM Malaria remains a major cause of childhood death in sub-Saharan Africa. We leveraged the traditional practice of mothers carrying children on their backs in cloth wraps to assess whether treating t...

Ever since I learned about this study enrolling I have been eagerly awaiting the results. Researchers in Uganda took a centuries-old cultural practice mothers carrying babies on their backs in cloth wraps and turned it into a public health tool. You got to love it!
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Such an awesome study! Love this!!

Official communication from FDA to physicians on acetaminophen use in pregnancy acknowledges there is no causal link between its use in pregnancy and autism. Also states clearly that this is the safest over the counter treatment for fever and pain in pregnancy. It is very different from what was communicated at the press conference.

This is the official communication from the FDA to physicians on acetaminophen use in pregnancy.
- They acknowledge the lack of a causal link with autism
- Essentially tell physicians to keep doing what we've been doing anyway
It's very different from the press conference.
Pass it on.

A baby’s immune system is ready for the hepatitis B vaccine as soon as they are born, and giving newborns the first dose vaccine within 24 hours of birth (with additional doses at 1-2 months and 6-18 months) remains the best protection against serious health problems like liver disease and cancer.

Bill Gates pledges $912 million to global disease fight, urges governments to step up The Gates Foundation will give $912 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, philanthropist Bill Gates announced on Monday as he urged governments to reverse global health funding cuts.

Whatever one's personal view of Bill Gates is, it's undeniably that his foundation has continued to step-up especially at a time when support for global health is declining. This impactful pledge makes a difference for fighting Malaria, TB, HIV and others globally.
www.reuters.com/business/hea...

"In two days, this committee further undermined Americans’ confidence in life-saving vaccines and did so absent any new research or information necessitating their reexamination."

PIDS has released the linked statement regarding the September ACIP meeting.
pids.org/2025/09/19/p...

Trump signs proclamation imposing annual $100,000 fee on H-1B visas Move deals potentially major blow to US tech industry, which relies heavily on workers from India and China

25% of Drs in US are foreign grads. Many are on an H1B visa. This will hit health systems hard especially rural hospitals and hospitals in underserved areas that sponsor these visas through waiver programs. The old cost was about 5000$ a year.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Today’s ACIP meeting promoted false claims and misguided information about vaccines. AAP will continue stepping up and working with our local, state and federal partners to make sure every child in every community continues to have access to immunizations.
bit.ly/4puP4uf

We have...a measles tracker.
Handy. Sad, but handy.

PADH affects 23% of African children treated with artesunate for severe malaria. 14 (4%) died; 10% had prior anti-malarial use. Early transfusion may reduce PADH incidence (12.5% vs 26.8%).

#idsky

Clinical Pathway Revision Increases Amoxicillin Monotherapy and 5-Day Durations of Therapy for Pediatric Community-Acquired Pneumonia in the Emergency Department and Urgent Care: A Quality Improvement... The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 5-day amoxicillin monotherapy as first-line treatment for pediatric uncomplicated community-acquired pne…

Treat pediatric CAP with 5 days of amox monotherapy. Check out our QI project here in @annalsofem.bsky.social using pre-clicked durations in order sets and an EHR-integrated pathway! #Pedsky #PedsIDSky #AntimicrobialStewardship #EM #PEM #EmergencyMedicine

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Opinion | Not vaccinating comes at an exorbitant cost Agony and death are not all that shots prevent.

Good @postopinions.bsky.social by Donald McNeil Jr donaldgmcneiljr1954.medium.com

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

😢

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

NSF GRFP announcement was posted! Have not read the details to see if any changes from previous years...

www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

Newborn hepatitis B vaccine under fire as RFK Jr. and GOP Senators question immunization The CDC's vaccine advisory panel is set to discuss and possibly vote on the vaccine at a meeting next week.

Vaccinating babies at birth has reduced hepatitis B infections by 99 percent. Is RFK’s new CDC committee about to stop recommending it?
share.google/9e3BTpcrGKSY...

page of the census showing columns for children born and children living 2 of 14 1 of 5

page of the census showing columns for children born and children living 0 of 10 3 of 4

Looking up something in the Boston census of 1900, and these are just other families on the same pages.

2 children surviving out of 14
1 child surviving out of 5
0 children surviving out of 10
3 children surviving out of 4

Chagas Disease, an Endemic Disease in the United States Chagas Disease, an Endemic Disease in the United States

Chagas disease is endemic in the United States. Full stop.

"Labeling the US as non–Chagas disease–endemic perpetuates low awareness and underreporting"

#IDSky #MedSky #Chagas

wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...

Modeling Reemergence of Vaccine-Eliminated Infectious Diseases Under Declining Vaccination in the US This study estimates the number of cases and complications in the US under scenarios of declining childhood vaccination for measles, rubella, poliomyelitis, and diphtheria.

Imagine if RFK and co destroy childhood vaccination in the US?

A 50% decline in childhood vaccination could result in 51.2 million measles cases over a 25-y period, 9.9 million rubella cases, 4.3 million polio cases, 10.3 million hospitalizations, and 159 200 deaths

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...