Important analysis from @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social and colleagues.

The Challenger disaster was 40 years ago today. I remember our science teacher wheeled in a TV on a cart so that we could watch the launch of the shuttle with a school teacher on board. Devastating. 💔 www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

Snow creatures have taken up residence on Brown’s main green.

New paper from the @bereadycohort.bsky.social team! ‘Bern, get ready’, BEready, a household based cohort study for pandemic preparedness research in Switzerland: Pilot Study @ispm.unibe.ch @dcrbern.bsky.social @medfacultyunibe.bsky.social @unibe.ch

The Order of the Bifurcated Needle lost another giant leader. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...

📅 Jan 30 | 12 PM ET In one week join us for a discussion on what's driving the #Measles outbreak & how to respond to it. @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social leads a panel with Lori Handy, @childrensphila.bsky.social & Liam Hicks, #AZDHS. Register now: brown.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

In 2022, an unvaccinated man living in Rockland County, NY--miles from where I grew up--was hospitalized with permanent PARALYSIS from a polio infection. We vaccinate kids to prevent such tragedies. www.aol.com/rockland-hit...

A peaceful winter morning in RI this MLKJr Day.

A new map allows you to check the measles risk level in your area by typing your zip code. More here, from ABC News: abcnews.go.com/Health/new-m...

Good news (for now) that this Tuskegee experiment has been cancelled. Worrisome for ethical problems around withholding proven protections. And it would've siphoned money from global measles programs. Kudos to @jeremyfaust.bsky.social for Inside Medicine's scoop. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

"Kennedy understands he can take vaccines away from Americans if he makes vaccines unprofitable.... Facing new risks of lengthy and expensive litigation, they [manufacturers] will stop selling vaccines in the U.S." wapo.st/49M143E

“There is a big shift coming, a bit of a new world order in global dominance of higher education and research" www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...

WHO is now seeking a Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Management, a critical role in protecting communities worldwide. The closing date for applications is January 17, 2026. careers.who.int/careersectio...

Measles elimination is an aspirational goal. It is not a bond rating. If the US loses its measles elimination status it will be public confirmation that we're is on the wrong track to protect Americans. But so is the fact that 3 people have died in the deadliest measles outbreak in 25 years. 1/

WSJ Editorial: RFK Jr’s “new schedule for childhood vaccines will enrich the trial bar and make children sicker.” www.wsj.com/opinion/rfk-...

“A president who’s able to communicate is going to be important" At Johns Hopkins, [Jayawardhana] started a fellowship program to help professors communicate their science. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/06/n...

More US kids died from influenza last season than in any other year *INCLUDING* the 2009 flu pandemic. And now we're in the midst of another terrible flu season. How does HHS respond? By changing recommendations to suggest that kids may not need flu vaccines. Dangerous and irresponsible.

HHS's drastic change to US childhood vaccine recommendations is dangerous and irresponsible. You don't make changes to vaccine policy, especially major ones, behind closed doors, based on political ideology. You need transparent and rigorous review of credible data. www.statnews.com/2026/01/05/c...

"The history of science is indeed a graveyard of theories, but the fact that science keeps changing is a mark of its strength. It keeps changing because the world is complex and full of wonder. That isn’t a problem; it’s the engine that drives scientific progress."

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year!

Spotted this beautiful creature on my run.

These moves are not about protecting Americans or giving us more freedom to choose. They are restricting our ability to protect ourselves and our families. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

“the Trump administration’s actions have put the nation on course for a future where even those who want vaccines may not be able to get them”

“None of these changes are evidence-based.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/o...

I wrote this last winter. I so wish I was wrong about where all this would lead. So much suffering, so much sickness and death because of this man. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/o...

“current and former officials say the government is less dependable and efficient than it was a year ago.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/u...

Have you ever dreamed that you were stuck inside a video game?

For all the very real pain caused by DOGE, it looks like federal spending this year is higher than it was last year. Check out this real-time tracker from @BrookingsInst: www.brookings.edu/articles/tra...

The Brown University community is observing a moment of silence at 4:03pm ET Saturday 12/20 in remembrance of Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. Please join us in honoring their memories.

Happy Holidays from Rhode Island.

“What I’ve been feeling most is just, like, how dare this country allow this to happen to someone like me twice?” www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

My 4th grader got her public school chorus to come perform their Hanukkah song at our temple’s Hanukkah celebration today. A lot of adults tried to dissuade her, but she was determined to merge her worlds. I’m really grateful the teacher was agreeable. Hearing the children sing today was a gift.

I am heartbroken for our Brown community. If you know anything about Brown, you know what a tight-knit community we are. We share each other’s joys and pains. Today has been gut-wrenching. And our emergency is not yet over. Please keep our Brown family in your thoughts. 💔💔💔

I am a student at Brown in communication with a friend at RIBC. There is an urgent need for blood donations to support RI. Donations in NY, NJ, MN, NB, DE or NJ can help supply RI. Spread the word. www.ribc.org/donate-blood/

Published in @amjpublichealth.bsky.social, a new piece from @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social examines how polarization has become a threat to US health. #COVID ’s long tail is serious, yet the political divide it left behind may be even more damaging. Read here ⤵️

A troubling discrepancy: 62% of Americans said college isn’t worth it because it either costs too much or doesn’t provide enough benefits BUT median income of households w/ a bachelor’s degree or higher >2X the median income of households w/o college degree www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

I'm an Infectious Diseases Doctor. Our Pipeline of Experts Is in Distress. www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco... "A world that sidelines ID now will inevitably find itself unprepared for the next microbial threats which, truthfully, are already here." Well stated @boghuma.bsky.social

"County by county, with Democrats and Republicans, that is how we achieved some of the nation’s largest public health investments two years ago in Indiana, despite raw memories of pandemic-era standoffs....It costs less to keep people healthy than to intervene when they’re sick." wapo.st/3XJkFf5

The decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to downgrade its recommendations to protect infants from hepatitis B is a dangerous move that will harm children. Click here to read AAP's full statement: bit.ly/3Y9ZQJT

The Maryland Department of Health affirmed the recommendation for all newborns to receive a first dose of a hepatitis B vaccine after CDC vaccine advisers rescinded it. Anyone know if other states took similar steps? health.maryland.gov/phpa/OIDEOR/...

Timely: Did Americans vote in 2024 for major changes to vaccine policy? No. Only 3% picked vaccines as a top 3 issue in the election. Our just-published research letter in @jamahealthforum.com jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

!!! The Post obtained hot mic comments by the chair of RFK Jr.'s CDC vaccine committee. "We feel like a little bit like puppets on a string as opposed to really being an independent advisory panel" wapo.st/4atob4M

ACIP has become an ideological exercise that makes it harder to protect our kids. This will erode in families’ trust in government. “When he registered his ‘no’ vote, he stated, "Do no harm is a moral imperative. We are doing harm by changing this wording." www.npr.org/sections/sho...

If you are used to attending or watching ACIP metings, it is difficult to describe just how disturbing this one has been. People talking over one another, confusion, outright ignorance. Compare this to the very orderly, sedate, consideration of facts of previous meetings for years and years.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr's hand-picked vaccine panel is about to vote to stop giving the hepatitis B vaccine to all newborns. @jessicanix.bsky.social digs into one piece of evidence presented and how an expert witness saw things in the chart many others wouldn't > www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

If a committee can’t clearly define the question, it shouldn’t be rewriting a 30-year-old, highly effective vaccine policy. This is not how evidence-based medicine is supposed to work. 1/2

"The health secretary has walled himself off from government scientists and empowered fellow activists to pursue his [ANTI] vaccine agenda." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...

Thanks @robcaliff.bsky.social and 11 other prior FDA Commissioners for weighing in on vaccines, evidence, appropriate policy in today's @nejm.org www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.... www.statnews.com/2025/12/03/f...