anil oza

RFK Jr.’s vaccine advisory panel is beset by incompetence, bias, and procedural chaos The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' (ACIP) meetings used to be a geek’s dream: hours of long, maybe dreary presentation of extensive data

"Our nation’s public health is not in good hands." — Public health lawyer @doritreiss.bsky.social breaks down this week's gobsmacking meeting of #CDC's vaccine advisory panel, #ACIP.
The #hepatitisB birth dose is gone. Kennedy's ACIP isn't done yet. www.statnews.com/2025/12/06/a...

RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel is laying the groundwork for more scrutiny of childhood shots RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel is laying the groundwork for more scrutiny of childhood shots.

The federal vaccine advisers laid the groundwork this week to reexamine the childhood vaccine schedule broadly.

Then, late Friday, Trump himself directed HHS to do exactly that.

w/ @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2025/12/05/c...

"Modeling and studying these networks can help scientists build a deeper understanding of human biology and potential disease causes and therapeutics. But the only way to model such a network is through computational tools like the ones that Quackenbush and his lab build, said Ramos at Texas A&M. Each application in the Network Zoo is named after a different animal, like PANDA or EGRET, and can help scientists explore different aspects of gene regulatory networks. One recent application, PHOENIX, helps scientists better understand how gene networks change over time and is the first such network model that can scale to all estimated 20,000 genes in the human genome, and was noted by the NCI as a key advance in 2024."

I LOVE that they name their computational tools (part of Network Zoo) are all named after critters

I was struck in this story by the fact that the attacks on Harvard are characterized as an attack on elites but it also hurts ppl like Quackenbush, who grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania to a single mother

“I was supposed to be nothing ... this was far more than I thought I could achieve."

American Science, Shattered An eight-decade partnership between universities and the federal government made U.S. science preeminent. It took Trump less than a year to shred that

Stay tuned for the rest of the 10-story project, featuring more stellar reporting from my colleagues. You can get a preview of what's to come here:

& if there is anything you think we should be covering but aren't — please let us know.

www.statnews.com/american-sci...

& @jonathanwosen.bsky.social has this absolutely heartwrenching story of a lab technician, whose invaluable contributions often go under the radar, who had to leave a dream job taking care of macques who are part of a study on the impacts of anesthesia

bsky.app/profile/jona...

@sarah-todd.bsky.social writes about a teen in West Virginia who was involved with an anti-tobacco program supported by the CDC. She saw the impact that she can have: she managed to convice her grandfather to stop smoking. But, that work is no longer federally supported

bsky.app/profile/sara...

Trump has ‘shaken the hell’ out of the 80-year research pact between the government and universities. What now? Trump has "shaken the hell" out of the 80-year research pact between the government and universities. What now?

@mmolteni.bsky.social & I set the stage with Bush, the historical context of why it feels like the social contract he authored feels is more tenuous than ever & begin to ask the question "What does writing a new social compact look like?"

www.statnews.com/2025/12/04/a...

Chart showing early career grants awarded from 2016 to 2025. grants steadily increased until 2025, where it hit the lowest point in the past 10 years.

That contract has brought the US to the fore of scientific discovery and innovation, but this year that seems to be going in the wrong direction

Subjects drawing the ire of the admin have been hurt,yes, but also Alzheimer's, cancer and HIV/AIDS research (analysis of NIH data by @jaspar.bsky.social)

Screenshot of STAT's morning rounds newsletter, with a morning rounds icon at the top and a byline for Theresa Gaffney. The newsletter reads "Good morning. Okay. There is a lot going on. First off: Tracy Beth Høeg will be the next leader of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Also on deck today: The CDC's vaccine advisory committee will review the hepatitis B vaccine. Revisit some of our previous coverage on the shot here and here. And finally: Please spend some time with the first three installments of our latest series: American Science, Shattered. In part 1, you'll learn why some reporters have become so fixated on a man named Vannevar Bush that we had to make a custom Slack emoji of his face. "

I have joked many times this year that I have heard more about Vannevar Bush, FDR's science advisor, and his blueprint for American science post WWII — called Science, The Endless Frontier — more in 2025 than in the other 25 years of my life

I may be a certain certain "fixated reported" 👇

American Science, Shattered An eight-decade partnership between universities and the federal government made U.S. science preeminent. It took Trump less than a year to shred that

This year may go down as one of the most tumultuous in American science, @statnews.com is capping it off w/ 10 stories examining what's been lost.

We bring you American Science, Shattered. Featuring stories of those who are being effected the most immediately

www.statnews.com/american-sci...

Trump has ‘shaken the hell’ out of the 80-year research pact between the government and universities. What now? Trump has "shaken the hell" out of the 80-year research pact between the government and universities. What now?

Trump has "shaken the hell" out of the 80-year research pact between the government and universities. What now?
www.statnews.com/2025/12/04/a...

Inside the rise of Tracy Beth Høeg, the Covid contrarian shaping FDA vaccine policy Høeg has been skeptical of the safety and value of some vaccines and mandates, raising questions about her approach at the FDA.

The new head of the FDA's drug center, Tracy Beth Høeg, is a vaccine skeptic who rose to prominence during Covid. Learn more about the implications of Høeg's new position of power via @lizzylawrence.bsky.social's timely profile of her from this spring:

www.statnews.com/2025/05/19/t...

As vaccine panel prepares hepatitis B review, CDC and industry experts are excluded CDC experts and manufacturers haven't been consulted for an ACIP review of hepatitis B vaccine, raising concerns over any change in the vaccine schedule.

On Thursday, members of a committee that advises #CDC on vaccine policy will vote on changes to #hepatitisB vaccine use in babies. Manufacturers (who have safety data) & CDC experts who study the vaccine aren't involved in the planning for the votes. #ACIP www.statnews.com/2025/12/02/a...

STAT's @lizzylawrence.bsky.social had quite a scoop this morning- the FDA's top regulator is retiring after just under a month on the job. @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/12/02/r...

how could your mood NOT be buoyed by this video of Snowball bobbing his head to "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys! how could your heart not be lifted, your spirits not soar!

Top drug regulator Richard Pazdur set to leave FDA Top drug regulator Richard Pazdur filed papers to retire from the Food and Drug Administration at the end of this month, but could withdraw them.

BREAKING scoop: Top drug regulator Rick Pazdur filed papers to retire from the FDA at the end of this month, according to agency sources. He alerted leaders at the drug center this morning. He could still withdraw the papers. www.statnews.com/2025/12/02/r...

Looking forward to talking about covering biomedical research under this administration with @maxkozlov.bsky.social tomorrow at Brown — please join us in Providence or online:

Marion Nestle still believes that 'calories count' Nutrition expert Marion Nestle's latest book is a call to action for Americans to advocate for a better food system.

Marion Nestle talks corruption in food regulation, the risks we take when we eat raw food, and why she supports bringing back the food pyramid:

www.statnews.com/2025/12/02/m...

Experts say top FDA official’s claim that Covid vaccines caused kids’ deaths requires more evidence The FDA’s top vaccine regulator asserted in a staff email that the Covid vaccine caused at least 10 kids' deaths, but experts told STAT they are skeptical of the “extraordinary” claim because it was n...

FDA leaders have made a dramatic claim. Experts want to see the evidence supporting it.

Via @matthewherper.bsky.social and @helenbranswell.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2025/11/29/c...

10 times STAT coverage reverberated through health and medicine In its first decade, STAT has led the way in charting seismic events in health and medicine. To mark our 10-year anniversary, take a look back at 10 of our most impactful stories.

Join us as we continue to celebrate STAT turning ten by revisiting some of our favorites.
Here are 10 of our most impactful stories. trib.al/4YBgIS2

YouTube video by Boston Globe Events Fireside Chat with Rochelle Walensky

You can also watch the full conversation here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw5y...

Changes at CDC are ‘just devastating for me to watch,’ says agency’s former director - The Boston Globe Dr. Rochelle Walensky said health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is endangering the public's health.

I appreciated having the chance to interview Rochelle Walensky at Boston Globe Media's summit last week to talk about changes at the CDC this year, measles, and the Vaccine Integrity Project.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/19/m...

Texas couple grieves children, parents lost in July 4 flood RJ and Annie Harber have leaned on faith, their community and each other to move through each day after losing their daughters and RJ’s parents. But memories of that night still haunt them.

This beautiful, heart-breaking story about loss and grief and grace by the amazing journalist @emfoxhall.bsky.social: They couldn't save their daughters' lives in the July 4 floods. Now they're dealing with the grief and the guilt. www.texastribune.org/2025/11/25/t...

Is a bad flu season on the way? Experts see reason to be anxious There are early indications that this flu season could be a bad one.

Mutations in #H3N2 #flu viruses have some experts worried we're facing a second bad #influenza season. The new variant, subclade K, may be able to escape antibodies generated by previous infections or this year's flu shot. But some experts are hedging their bets. www.statnews.com/2025/11/20/f...

Autism and Vaccines QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS PAGE 2 OF 9 | ALL PAGES J For Everyone NOV. 19, 2025 KEY POINTS • The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism. • Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.

HHS Research on Plausible Biologic Mechanisms between Vaccines and Autism HHS will evaluate plausible biologic mechanisms between early childhood vaccinations and autism. Mechanisms for further investigation include the impacts of aluminum adjuvants, risks for certain children with mitochondrial disorders, harms of neuroinflammation, and more. * The header "Vaccines do not cause autism" has not been removed due to an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.

CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”

HHS names authors and releases peer-review comments for gender dysphoria report The new report reveals that many of the authors and reviewers have been outspoken critics of gender-affirming care and belong to anti-LGBTQ+ groups

HHS re-released a report on gender dysphoria w/ a set of peer reviews

But, @theresagaff.bsky.social & Annalisa Merelli write many of the authors & reviewers are outspoken critics of gender affirming care

www.statnews.com/2025/11/19/h...

HHS devises legal playbook for future grant terminations, internal memo shows Exclusive: HHS devises a legal playbook for future research grant terminations, an internal memo shows.

Update on a significant development NIH grant terms.

On 10/1, a change to grant making regs went into effect that gives NIH more power to terminate grants for policy reasons.

But to use this power, new grant terms must include specific language. See @aniloza.bsky.social w/ the story from July.

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How RFK Jr., America's celebrity health secretary, is steamrolling science RFK Jr. is plowing ahead with sweeping changes to U.S. health care that have thrilled supporters, purged opponents, and horrified critics.

A new profile of RFK Jr offers fresh insights into how he works, the bond he shares with Trump, & how he's moved HHS “from evidence-based decision-making to decision-based evidence-making." Story by @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social, @caseyross.bsky.social, & me:

www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/r...

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