IndieEpi

PBS NewsHour

Many thanks @pbsnews.org for the great opportunity this evening about our new book #ScienceUnderSiege @michaelemann.bsky.social @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social @publicaffairs1796.bsky.social

m.youtube.com/watch?v=VZq7...

tweet of mine from Oct 25 2022: "I fear what we may be witnessing right now is that private/corporate ownership of the media has now become fundamentally incompatible with democracy."

This fear has grown...

Peter Hotez & Eric Topol - Discuss “Science Under Siege” book Podcast Episode · Ground Truths · 09/08/2025 · 53m

I’m so grateful I was able to meet and learn from @michaelemann.bsky.social and @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social in DC. @scienceunderseige.bsky.social
Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

@erictopal.bsky.social Dr. Hotez on Ground Truths erictopol.substack.com

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...

In a first, a gene therapy seems to slow Huntington disease Small study suggests uniQure drug could be first successful treatment for devastating brain disorder

“This is an immensely exciting development for the Huntington’s field.” https://scim.ag/4nnW62z

Absolutely infuriating.

Can confirm. This happens with shocking regularity.

Hospitals get dinged for reporting too many infections. In some cases, the solution is not to test A STAT Investigation: To avoid fines for reporting excessive hospital-acquired infections, some facilities are discouraging testing.

A STAT Investigation: To avoid fines for reporting excessive hospital-acquired infections, some facilities are discouraging testing.
www.statnews.com/2025/09/22/h...

If A.I. Can Diagnose Patients, What Are Doctors For? Large language models are transforming medicine—but the technology comes with side effects.

Highlighting some of the many current pitfalls of A.I. in health care
@newyorker.com
@dhruvkhullar.bsky.social
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

We now have Dr. Kuperwasser presenting misleading and unsupported claims that COVID19 vaccines may cause cancer.

She is doing so by throwing up vague assertions in the complete absence of any credible evidence of a link between COVID19 vaccines and cancer.

This is a disgrace.

Northeast states form alliance to make public health guidance as Vermont, DC ensure COVID vaccine access

7 states & New York City have been collaborating since early 2025 but formally announced the collaborative yesterday

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

Photo: Self Magazine/Flickr cc

Key federal vaccine panel debates delay to newborn hepatitis B shot, risking resurgence Experts fear that delaying the newborn hepatitis B shot will lead to more people with chronic liver infections and complications.

Key federal vaccine panel debates delay to newborn hepatitis B shot, risking resurgence www.statnews.com/2025/09/18/c...

How a Contentious CDC Vaccine Meeting Will Affect Public Health Three vaccines are on the agenda for this week’s meeting of ACIP, the CDC’s key advisory panel on immunization: the combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine, the hepatitis B vaccine and ...

Three vaccines are on the agenda for this week’s meeting of ACIP, the CDC’s key advisory panel on immunization: the combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine, the hepatitis B vaccine and COVID vaccines

KAINE: Were you instructed by the secretary of HHS to not speak to senators?

MONAREZ: I was instructed to not speak directly to senators

KAINE: So Senate-confirmed CDC director instructed not to speak to senators

Monarez: "Kennedy demanded 2 things of me that were were inconsistent w/ my oath of office. He directed me to commit in advance to approving every ACIP recommendation regardless of the scientific evidence. He also directed me to dismiss career officials responsible for vaccine policy without cause"

BALDWIN: We're left wondering who's advising Kennedy or if his own conspiracy theories are enough to dictate who can get a vaccine. Did you ever brief him?

HOURY: No

B: You were chief medical officer at CDC. Would you say it's harmful to the public if he's not informed by experts?

H: Very much so

If I’ve learned anything in today’s testimony with Dr. Houry and Director Monarez it’s that most of these senators asking questions could use some basic lessons in epidemiology SMDH.

Regardless of the disgraceful nonsense we will likely hear from this administration in the coming days on vaccine “recommendations,” Americas healthcare insurers issued a joint statement tonight saying coverage for Covid and flu shots will remain unchanged from prior years.

Speaks for itself.

Monarez says that Kennedy's comments about her during a recent congressional hearing were "not accurate"

WATCH LIVE: Former CDC head Monarez testifies on agency upheaval under RFK Jr. Fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Susan Monarez will tell senators that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pressured her to endorse new vaccine recommendations before seein...

15 MINUTES until former CDC Director Susan Monarez testifies in front of Congress about her firing and turmoil in the agency under RFK Jr.

We will be watching LIVE and giving updates and reactions!

www.pbs.org/newshour/hea...

Orforglipron, an Oral Small-Molecule GLP-1 Receptor Agonist for Obesity Treatment | NEJM Orforglipron, a small-molecule, nonpeptide oral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, is being investigated as a treatment for obesity. In this phase 3, multinational, randomized, doubl...

Big randomized trial of a GLP- pill (vs placebo) achieves significant weight loss
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Restoring Trust Through Radical Transparency: Reviewing Recent Events at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Implications for Children’s Health | The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Ed... Full Committee Hearing on September 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM

Reminder: Tomorrow at 10am Eastern, the Senate will hear testimony from Dr. Monarez (former CDC director, recently fired by 🧠🪱) and Dr. Houry (recently resigned over 🧠🪱's destruction of gold standard CDC science)

Catch the livestream at www.help.senate.gov/hearings/res...

As someone closely watching data disappear and then reappear and the fact that we haven’t had a health alert (CDC HAN) since March, yes. This is very concerning.

‘Americans should be alarmed’: Experts say loss of expertise at CDC will harm US health

Circadian-informed modeling predicts regional variation in obesity and stroke outcomes under different permanent US time policies | PNAS Seasonal changes in time policy, such as switching between Standard Time (SDT) and Daylight Saving Time (DST), have been adopted by many countries,...

A simple way to help reduce obesity and stroke?
Stop the shifts in our clocks twice a year
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...

RFKJ intentionally creates doubt, weaponizes the public’s scientific ignorance, and pushes a false balance between fringe ideas and scientific consensus.

His fake skepticism encourages harm against children while saying he’s protecting them.

It would be malpractice if he were actually a doctor.

Cassidy asks Kennedy to promote vaccines targeting whooping cough after major outbreak BATON ROUGE — Sen. Bill Cassidy said Friday that Louisiana is undergoing its worst whooping cough outbreak since 1990 and called on the nation's vaccine-leery health secretary to promote vaccinations.

How is this happening in the year 2025???

Louisiana is undergoing its worst whooping cough outbreak since 1990

www.wbrz.com/news/cassidy...

Over-The-Counter Nasal Spray Cuts COVID Cases by Two-Thirds in Trial We may have a new way of protecting against COVID-19 that checks almost all the boxes: It's effective, it's affordable, it's easy to apply, it's already approved as safe for public use, it's available...

"Existing evidence also shows that azelastine is one of several drugs that can stop SARS-CoV-2 from replicating itself, halting the virus in its tracks. However it works, though, the drug is clearly effective at preventing COVID-19."
www.sciencealert.com/over-the-cou...

💉🧵PSA 🚨 We don’t know for sure but are very worried RFKJ’s ACIP is about to restrict access to RSV monoclonal immunization for babies (nirsevimab and clesrovimab). If your baby is eligible, get them vaccinated asap. RSV season starts late Oct-early Nov. See below for immunization recommendation info

L.A. child dies from complication of measles infection contracted in infancy The child died from subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a fatal progressive brain disorder that strikes roughly 1 in 10,000 people infected with measles.

“Most pediatricians in the U.S. have never seen a child with SSPE because we’ve been vaccinating kids against measles for decades,” said Dr. Adam Ratner

www.latimes.com/science/stor...

Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a warning “Ebola is never just a virus; it is a mirror,” writes infectious disease physician Krutika Kuppalli.

Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a warning
-by @krutikakuppalli.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2025/09/11/e...

Is Polar Geoengineering a Bold Fix or a Dangerous Gamble? Debate Rages among Scientists Scientists are beginning to take clear sides on whether or not to use human-made interventions to preserve polar ice, such as pumping up seawater or launching aerosols into the atmosphere to cool the ...

Scientists are beginning to take clear sides on whether or not to use human-made interventions to preserve polar ice, such as pumping up seawater or launching aerosols into the atmosphere to cool the planet’s surface