You can now watch our full webinar from last week on YouTube. Thank you to @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social, @bethcameron-dc.bsky.social, Harshini Mukundan & Kelly Chafin for their insights on US Biodefense at a time of funding cuts and concerns about biological attacks youtu.be/DZOinNZTfVA?...

1/ Has life expectancy fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic? In a new pre-print, we find that 31 of 34 high-income countries had still not returned to their expected life expectancy trajectories five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6... #demography

The State of US Vaccine Policy w/ Unbiased Science Latest: -14 states have filed vaccine lawsuits -CDC lost its 2 most senior officials in rapid succession -surgeon general nominee can't bring herself to recommend measles vaccine -and more! www.cidrap.umn.edu/c...

Looks like the stated intention to “restore trust” in federal health agencies like CDC & NIH is backfiring. RFK Jr gets the lowest confidence rating. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

"Administration officials see Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement as an important part of a winning midterm coalition. But vaccine messaging is seen as too polarizing, according to two people familiar with the matter" www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

"Casey Means won’t restore confidence in public-health advice." "The menagerie at the Department of Health and Human Services keeps getting stranger." "What HHS needs are serious people who will tell the truth and can begin to restore confidence in public-health advice." www.wsj.com/opinion/case...

A lethal form of bird flu, which has already killed tens of thousands of elephant seals in the Southern Hemisphere, is now spreading in a colony of elephant seals in California. w/ @emilyanthes.bsky.social Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/s...

Seriously. Providence, R.I., Is Used to Snow. But Not 36 Inches in a Day. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/u...

Stunning illustration of how most CDC offices currently run by acting leaders. Failing to appoint people to these roles is one way to staff agency w/ people who lack qualifications for these positions, increasing the likelihood of poor decisions, harm, & waste. www.cdcdataproject.org/leadership-c...

White House officials granted anonymity to discuss strategy attributed the changed focus to the importance health care will play in the midterms and the desire to focus on issues that have broad appeal. “I think we’re largely done with vaccines.” www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Any adult can understand that spending more to get less is a bad deal for American taxpayers. But they may not understand what else the US loses by leaving WHO. From @pandemiccenter.bsky.social’s @drsethberkley.bsky.social: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

ACIP delayed - also confirmed by Reuters: news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-a... www.reuters.com/business/hea... @bloomberglaw.com

“Elevating glyphosate to a national security priority is the exact opposite of what MAHA voters were promised" www.cnbc.com/2026/02/19/t...

Considering only doing marine epidemiology and marine biosecurity henceforth. 🌊🦠🌴

“He became so ill that he was eventually hospitalized. It was a horrible experience, w/ him being the sickest he had ever been, while doctors & nurses were coming into his room in hazmat suits. Meanwhile, I was at home, pregnant and stressed, having been exposed to an unknown, very serious illness”

Announcing to the world that the US will no longer invest in biodefense is incredibly dangerous. It’s a signal to our adversaries that we are no longer committed to protecting Americans from biological threats. A robust research enterprise is a deterrent. share.google/ERXnMPskK7Pn...

This made me chuckle. ❤️

“Just because we say we’re going to stop caring about these issues doesn’t make the issues go away — it just makes us less prepared,” said @bhadeliamd.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

"Top White House and administration officials had already tried to prod Kennedy’s department away from controversial vaccine policies and focus more on its message about healthy food, which is more popular in polls, according to people familiar with the matter." www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

A parent's worst nightmare. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

🚨🆕 Excited to share our new paper on #measles #vaccination attitudes in the 🇺🇸 As measles cases surge 📈 to highest levels since elimination in 2000, we wanted to understand if U.S. adults intention to vaccinate children against measles Here’s what we found. 🧵👇 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Director-General @drtedros.who.int minced no words today when asked about the proposal to run a trial of a hepatitis B vaccine birth dose in Guinea-Bissau. It would be "unethical to proceed with this study," he said. "Maybe it's better to say it bluntly & straight." www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/h...

In college, the “Introduction to Geology” class was pejoratively called “Rocks for Jocks”. Turns out there really are rocks for jocks!

A new kind of wastewater surveillance?

“I don’t think people recognize the impact on small companies" www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

"U.S.A.I.D. was founded in recognition that moral U.S. leadership in the world is a positive-sum endeavor: Doing good in the world will also do well by the American people." Wise words from the excellent @jeremykonyndyk.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/o...

Excited to receive an advance copy of Civility Unbound, to which I contributed a chapter on how social media is undermining civility, discourse, and the values that underpin our democracy. I’ll be on Morning Joe in a few days for the launch event! Pre-orders available now at all good book sites!

No, they did not increase trust in vaccines and CDC. "..following the Trump administration’s announcement of changes to the recommended childhood vaccine schedule, the public’s trust in the CDC remains at its lowest point since the COVID-19 pandemic..." www.kff.org/health-infor...

#WastewaterSurveillance helped guide public health during the pandemic. Ending or underfunding it would be a major step backward. We created this animated short to explain why wastewater monitoring matters, how it works, & what we stand to lose if funding’s eliminated. 📺 vimeo.com/1148140830

The US recorded 160 new measles cases in the past week, 44 fewer cases than recorded the week prior, but still more than any week in 2025. The US has recorded 902 total cases in 2026, after 2,128 cases recorded in 2025. Updates on measles and more in the Tracking Report: mailchi.mp/messages/pan...

Kennedy went to Samoa to cast doubt on vaccines. And he blatantly lied to Congress about it. "“The real reason Kennedy is coming is to raise awareness about vaccinations..." via @theguardian.com @bymichellersmith.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

This will be a great conversation! Please join us!

"China is going to surpass the West as the world’s pharmaceutical leader....In 2024, China surpassed the U.S. in the number of clinical trials underway, and that was before the Trump administration started playing games with university research budgets." www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

"Countries like ours absolutely should not be having measles outbreaks in this day and age, period" -- @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social www.thebulwark.com/p/measles-co...

We modeled measles risk in schools across the U.S. KEY FINDINGS 1⃣ Results highlight the primary importance of vaccination for reducing the risk of measles transmission among students 2⃣ Addt'l and significant benefits thru enhancing building ventilation and filtration systems

Starting now! Please join us!

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