René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH, FCPP

Meningococcal B vaccine fails to prevent gonorrhea, trial finds Manjurul / iStock

Recent research reveals that the meningococcal B vaccine does not prevent gonorrhea in high-risk groups, particularly among gay and bisexual men. The study, led by Australian researchers, showed similar infection rates in vaccinated and placebo groups. www.cidrap.umn.edu/gonorrhea/me...

Challenges Issued to Anti-Vaccinationists An unvaccinated activist accepted a challenge to be exposed to smallpox and he nearly died!

In 1901, an anti-vaccine activist accepted a challenge to enter a smallpox hospital unvaccinated. He nearly died. History has lessons for today's vaccine debates.
stopantivaxpropaganda.substack.com/p/challenges...

Denmark's "One of Us" program sends mental health ambassadors into schools, hospitals & police stations. After meeting them, 98% of health workers felt better prepared to help. Personal stories change minds.

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/h...

First combined COVID-19 and influenza vaccine for people 50 years and older | European Medicines Agency (EMA) mCombriax helps to protect against both COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal influenza

The EMA has recommended mCombriax — the first combined COVID-19 & flu mRNA vaccine — for adults 50+. One shot, two protections, backed by data from 8,000 participants.
🔗 www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/firs...

A titan of vaccine development sees his field’s achievements slip away Stanley Plotkin, the 93-year-old "godfather of vaccines," is watching his field’s achievements slip away.

Stanley Plotkin, the 93-year-old "godfather of vaccines," helped end rubella & rotavirus as mass killers. Now he's watching vaccination rates fall. "We're going downhill," he says. His warning matters.

Don't Confuse the Policy Fight on Vaccines With Vaccine Science The vaccine schedule debate is about process and politics, not wether vaccines work. They do, and they save lives.

Policy fights ≠ science reversals. Vaccine schedule controversy is about governance & process, not evidence that vaccines don't work. They do. Don't get confused by the noise.

Denmark becomes first country in the European Union to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Denmark for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV and syphilis, recognizing the country's sustained commitment to ensuring…

🇩🇰 Denmark is the first EU country certified by WHO for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV & syphilis — a milestone built on universal healthcare & strong prenatal care.

Agreed. I'll take 40% over nothing any day of the week, especially in a country with such bad access to affordable health care.

I’ve been hand-editing out my speaking tics since before AI. A product called descript now transcribes my lectures so I can see the mistakes. English is my second language, and it shows A LOT when I lecture, especially when tired. It’s distracting to students. I still sound human, I think. YMMV.

Dinamarca, primer país de la UE en eliminar la transmisión del VIH y la sífilis de madre a hijo CONPHENAGUE, DINAMARCA/ SALUD DIGITAL.- La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) ha certificado que Dinamarca ha sido el primer país de la Unión Europea en eliminar la transmisión mate ...

🇩🇰 Dinamarca, primer país de la UE certificado por la OMS en eliminar la transmisión del VIH y la sífilis de madre a hijo. Salud universal + voluntad política = vidas protegidas.
🔗

Former EPA Staff Detail Expanding Pollution Risks Under Trump - Inside Climate News The Trump administration’s relentless rollback of public health and environmental protections has allowed widespread toxic exposures to flourish, warn experts who helped implement safeguards now…

Former EPA scientists warn: 12 dangerous pollutants face weakened protections — PFAS, lead, mercury, soot & more. "Exposure is not inevitable. It's the result of choices."

insideclimatenews.org/news/2702202...

US measles cases soar past 1,100 Heather Hazzan / Self Magazine

New CIDRAP update: 1,136 measles cases so far this year in the US, with 160 added in the past week. Most are in unvaccinated kids and teens, and officials warn the US is on track to lose its measles-elimination status. MMR remains our best protection.

WHO updates all 3 viral strains to be included in fall flu shots KAMPUS / iStock

WHO has recommended updating all 3 strains in next season’s Northern Hemisphere flu shots, including a newer H3N2 subclade K that emerged too late for this year’s vaccines. Canadian data still show ~40% protection against H3N2 illness requiring outpatient care.

An infographic titled "THE U.S. VACCINE APPROVAL PROCESS," showing a left-to-right timeline with diverse individuals. Steps include Preclinical Development, IND Application, three phases of Clinical Trials, FDA Review & Licensure, Use Recommendations (ACIP role), and Post-Licensure Safety Surveillance. A top bar notes "CONTINUOUS SAFETY MONITORING." Small text bubbles, callout boxes, and illustrations detail activities, goals, participants, and review steps. Typical durations are listed along the bottom, ranging from months to years, with surveillance marked "Ongoing."

Used 3 LLMs: ChatGPT deep research and a few PDFs I have in my files to get the information. Claude to create the suggested images. And then I wrote a custom prompt for Gemini. It looks okay (after tweaking the prompt). Please double-check?

Give me an hour? Need to go get kid and I have a lecture at five.

The sad thing is that they’ll be caught and burned in their jobs, and public health is a small world.

I might DM you later about this. I'm facing the same issues. I'm *this* close to handing out little blue books again.

The power of representation: why how scientists visualise the world matters Given growing amounts of global health data, world maps increasingly shape how scientists and policymakers perceive global disease burdens and locate solutions to critical health issues. Leading…

Just read a Lancet Global Health comment arguing that the Mercator map we often use in science visually shrinks many LMICs and inflates higher-latitude regions. The authors call for equal-area projections like Equal Earth for mapping disease burden. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

You Can't Find What You Don't Look For Why clinic-based outbreak investigations only show you the tip of the iceberg — and what Bangladesh's chikungunya investigators did about it.

A chikungunya outbreak investigation from Bangladesh is a masterclass in why clinic data alone isn’t enough. Door-to-door community work revealed most infections would have been missed if investigators stopped at the clinic.

In my new article, I unpack the American Academy of Pediatrics et al. v. Kennedy et al. lawsuit. I explain how COVID-19 vaccine recommendations were changed outside the usual ACIP process and why major medical groups say this undermines evidence‑based policy.
historyofvaccines.org/blog/when-sc...

Infographic titled 'Vaccine Ambassadors: Empowering Youth to Lead Public Health Education.' It describes a Wayne State University program that trained high school students as vaccine ambassadors to address post-pandemic vaccination rate declines in Detroit. The left side illustrates 'The Two-Step Empowerment Model': Step 1 shows ambassadors completing a 3-week curriculum on immunology, myth-busting, and communication (with flexible synchronous and asynchronous access); Step 2 depicts peer-to-peer outreach through interactive myth-busting sessions at community health fairs and after-school programs. The right side, titled 'Proving the Impact,' presents a bar chart showing ambassador knowledge scores rose 38% (from 56.7% to 78.3% pre- to post-training), and youth taught by ambassadors saw proficiency scores nearly double from a 45% baseline to 82%, compared to 45% for community youth not in the program.

Just read a study on a Detroit “vaccine ambassadors” program where high schoolers learn vaccine science and communication. Ambassadors and participants showed big knowledge gains, suggesting peer-to-peer models can boost vaccine understanding.
Article: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Public Health Experts Sound Alarm as Feds Keep Deploying Tear Gas Near Kids “We don’t know the long-term effects. We don’t understand their effects on children,” said a pediatrician.

This article on children being exposed to tear gas during federal immigration operations is deeply troubling. Experts in it stress we don’t know long‑term effects and that kids are especially vulnerable. Strong case for tighter regulation and oversight.

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.

Just read a striking investigation into a proposed CDC-funded hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau. It details an unusually fast, politically driven grant process and serious questions about ethics oversight and protections for newborns in a high–hepatitis B setting.

Opinion | ICE Is Causing a Health Crisis Our patients face a cruel calculus: seek essential medical care and risk detention, or stay home and risk their lives.

This NYT Opinion essay by clinicians in Philadelphia is devastating. Patients are skipping meds after sudden deportations, getting sicker in ICE custody, and avoiding clinics, schools, and labs out of fear.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/o...

Bwahahahaha.

Is Oprah Wrong About the Obesity Gene?

Just watched a smart breakdown of the “obesity gene” idea. No single gene dooms anyone, but genetics strongly affect hunger, food reward, body fat “set points,” and even how GLP‑1 meds feel. It’s a call to balance personal responsibility with compassion.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2hL...

This webinar was created by the Section on Public Health and Preventive Medicine at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. This is one of a series of webinars on climate change topics. The… Sustainability in Philadelphia

I just watched a powerful webinar on “Sustainability in Philadelphia” from The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and it reshaped how I think about cities and health. You should check it out if climate science and public health are your jam.

This webinar was created by the Section on Public Health and Preventive Medicine at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. This is one of a series of webinars on climate change topics. The… One Health and Climate Change

Just watched a fascinating “One Health and Climate Change” webinar from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. It links climate science to real examples, and it is worth a watch:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s4s...

This webinar was created by the Section on Public Health and Preventive Medicine at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. This is one of a series of webinars on climate change topics. The… Extreme Heat, Air Pollution, Adaptation Strategies

Just watched a great webinar on extreme heat, air pollution, and adaptation in Philadelphia. Clear data on how climate change is driving longer heat waves, hotter urban neighborhoods, and dangerous PM2.5 spikes from Canadian wildfire smoke. Worth a watch:

On gamification in public health: Substance use is already gamified (smart vapes with screens, rewards, and puff tracking), so health tools use interactive, social design to support real behavior change. Why not use it more broadly?
www.fastcompany.com/91494146/how...