Leaders last night experienced what it feels like to be a student in school dealing with an active shooter. Unfortunately, the current occupant of the White House is delivering the wrong message from last night. We don't need a ballroom sales job. We need a determination to end gun violence.

Let’s Talk About Saline Placebos Yet Again: it's unethical to do a saline placebo trial for a new vaccine when there's a licensed vaccine for that disease; many vaccines have been compared to saline, and are generally well tested. via @aboutpediatrics.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/stopanti...

Nice sum of our new study! Your Chatbot Is Likely Not a Reliable Source on Nutrition conscienhealth.org/2026/04/16/y... by @conscienhealth.bsky.social 🙏 "Overall, the chatbots dispensed problematic information half the time."

COVlD: Week of Apr 20, 2026 (PMC, US) Levels are at their lowest in nearly 3 years, but unfortunately with a high baseline of >200,000 estimated new daily infections. Very High = WV (1 site only) Moderate = MS (limited data) & Guam All others low/very low 🧵THREAD 1/7

Got to speak with Rita Rubin again for another piece in JAMA, this time about the Cicada (BA.3.2) variant of SARS-CoV-2. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Everything known about the hyper-mutated BA.3.2 variant ("Cicada") of #SARSCoV2. While there's no cause for alarm, continued genome surveillance of this virus is essential. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

My latest for @jama.com:

Yet another tough one for antivaxx cult...👇 How mRNA Vaccines Could Help Treat Cancer jamanetwork.com/journals/jam.... “I don’t think we’re far from when patients and providers could discuss where vaccines could fit in their cancer care.”

And if larger clinical trials demonstrate the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines in preventing recurrences, will some patients with cancer still refuse them because of widespread misinformation about the technology? My latest for @jama.com:

A study published in March found that applications to medical residency programs in states with abortion restrictions have declined compared to states where abortion remained mostly legal, reports @elishabrown.bsky.social.

Reporters, call them in this. Make them own up or waffle. But make them address this. You are not stenographers, you are fucking REPORTERS.

It is great that there are Republicans in Congress who support NIH (as there have always been including champions like John Porter and Arlen Specter). But this NIH Director is much more overtly political and partisan than anyone in the past. He really does not seem to understand his job(s)...

Spanish woman dies by legal euthanasia in case that drew national attention. For nearly two years, Noelia Castillo pursued her right to die after her father put up a lengthy legal battle when a medical body in Catalonia approved her request for euthanasia in 2024 | AP News apnews.com/article/spai...

Well... certainly it seems that way. ysph.yale.edu/news-article...

🧵1/3 I need to vent. These idiots destroyed critical public health work and lost the expertise of over 3,000 dedicated staff. Now they think they can fix that by bringing in new hires? How about ensuring all the folks on admin leave are brought back first? federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/20...

Jehovah's Witnesses ease church policy against blood transfusions | AP News apnews.com/article/jeho...

Some research suggests that lithium could be a safe and effective treatment for Alzheimer disease, but bigger trials are needed to confirm that. Until then, ignore the hype from supplement makers. My latest for @jama.com:

Judge blocks changes to vaccine schedule — AAP v Kennedy explained www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalrap... via @skepticalraptor.bsky.social

Six years ago WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Despite tens of millions of deaths, the world has not sufficiently addressed the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, and we are more vulnerable to future pandemics due to anti-science officials leading government agencies around the world.

I see that Tammy, who’s speaking on Thursday, wrote the forward to a book entitled “The Chelation Revolution: Breakthrough Detox Therapy,” which, according to the cover, is good for pretty much everything that ails ya.

California boy dies of SSPE (measles complication) after being infected at age 7 months, when he was too young to be vaccinated.

Predicting Alzheimer's disease up to 25 years in advance of any symptoms with the p-tau217 biomarker blood test, among 2,766 women mean age 70 jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

My latest for @jama.com:

Measles patients are developing severe complications including life-threatening anemia and liver inflammation. Measles is a life-threatening infection which can be prevented by vaccination. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

It is wildly irresponsible to grant that authority to any single individual, much less one with no medical or health related training.

1/3 Meet Dr. Angelina Farella, RFK Jr.'s new ACIP member. Texas pediatrician, decades of practice… and a noted anti-vaxxer. As if ACIP's credibility weren’t already flushed down the toilet 😬🩺

Measles cases have now been confirmed in Mass. Vaccines save lives—and our federal health leaders should be saying that loudly and clearly. Instead, RFK sows doubt about vaccine safety while his Surgeon General nominee won't commit to recommending the vaccine. Baystate families deserve better.

"The FDA has been using an outside investigator in a probe of workplace complaints against CBER Director Vinay Prasad, a source familiar with the matter told Endpoints News." via @endpts.com endpoints.news/fda-probes-i...

Trump’s surgeon general pick won’t urge vaccines for measles, flu, whooping cough; Reminder: she's also without an active license to practice and has no real scientific credentials or clinical experience. thehill.com/policy/healt... via @thehill.com

This is what the battle against food coloring does. It gives food makers and retailers a chance to look like they're doing something meaningful when they're doing absolutely nothing about the things that actually affect public health. corporate.target.com/press/releas...

Once again: vaccines are popular, actually.

ACOG has withdrawn as a liaison organization from CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, citing concerns about recent changes that undermine the committee’s scientific integrity and evidence-based approach to vaccine policy. Read the press release: https://buff.ly/gKx1qor

ACOG Withdraws from CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices www.acog.org/news/news-re...

142,000 participants! The largest randomized trial of a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test failed its primary endpoint genomeweb.com/cancer/grail... Had the enrollment been risk-based instead of age 50, it would likely have been very positive.

Our new acting CDC director (also the NIH director) Jay Bhattacharya has graced us with an email. Reading it feels like being given conflict resolution advice by someone punching you in the face.

It’s an observation for which Arendt was sharply criticized for at the time, but which has been acknowledged more and more to be correct as time has passed.

Jeezus (If we don’t report, nobody will ever find out how bad it is, so we won’t get blamed— or we will blame it on the illegals)

there are a few rx meds that should probaby safely be OTC, eg ondansetron (zofran) my colleague @wickerperlis.bsky.social has argued for OTC SSRIs (www.statnews.com/2024/04/08/t...) but overall this seems like a… really bad idea for lots of safety and cost/economics and again, safety, reasons

In addition to emotional distress to the family and child, think of the economic costs. Hospitalization and treatment; the father's lost work time; potential for months or years of rehab for the child, or lifelong disability. Multiply this times thousands going forward. #measles #Medsky #IDsky

Story out in The Guardian re Bhattacharya. @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social , @malar0ne.bsky.social , and I were asked direct questions and gave direct answers. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... 1/5

We live in a bizarre world where longevity influencers tell millions to take rapamycin, sit in hyperbaric oxygen chambers, blast themselves with red light therapy, and take 50+ supplements daily. Meanwhile something that cuts dementia risk by 20% Is invisible. open.substack.com/pub/overmatt...

I’m sure these decisions - to first refuse to even give a cursory review to an extremely promising new vaccine then backtracking and deciding to fully review it after public backlash to the first refusal - are being made solely based on scientific evidence and concern for American health and safety

My latest for @jama.com:

ICYMI: Dr. Oz goes off-message from RFK. #IDsky #publichealth #measles #vaccines #MMR #outbreak #immunization

Moderate consumption of caffeinated coffee or tea was linked to reduced #dementia risk and modest improvements in cognitive outcomes; no benefit was seen for decaffeinated coffee in an observational study of US adults. bit.ly/4bEUa2F

Cesarean delivery on maternal request accounts for 2.5% of US births and is linked to lower rates of #PelvicFloorDisorders, but increased future risks such as placenta accreta and hysterectomy. 💡 Learn more in this JAMA Insights: bit.ly/4rIIlgK

Wowsers.