1. #CDC posted new #flu data today. A 🧵 Another pediatric death was reported in the 2024-25 flu season, making it the deadliest flu season for kids since CDC started collecting this data point 20 years ago. 2024-25 has surpassed the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. 9 kids have died from flu so far this year.

US officials quietly gut childhood vaccine schedule, without professional, expert involvement Remaining: MMR, polio, DTaP, varicella, Hib, pneumococcal, HPV (1 dose) Pushed to “shared decision-making” or high risk rec only: flu, rotavirus, Hep A, Hep B, meningococcal, RSV (COVID already sidelined)

US chicken is chlorinated because America has no animal welfare laws where poultry is concerned. It has to be chlorinated because Salmonella and e. coli run rife The EU banned that practice in 1997 and as such the UK has among the highest welfare and standards in the world. 1/2

The 9th case of welder’s anthrax has been identified—an 18-year-old in Louisiana. First recognized in 2022, this syndrome is linked to inhalational exposure and environmental contamination in the US Southeast, though details of transmission remain unclear. 1/n

Devastating. Yesterday, a 5-year-old boy died from the flu. Dr. Oz was spewing advice earlier this week where he downplayed the importance of vaccines and recommended “getting sunlight”. I don’t know whether Micah was vaccinated, but of the kids who died from flu last year, 90% were not.

Duke Health has had to restrict visitors as it contends with a doubling of flu hospitalizations in the past week. Y’all get your flu shots immediately if you haven’t already.

Missed first vaccines make babies far more likely to miss measles shot, study finds www.statnews.com/2026/01/02/m... via @statnews.com

Mirror, UK: Chickenpox vaccine rolled out on NHS TODAY - everything you need to know bit.ly/4poaUye

It is irresponsible and dangerous for the CMS Administrator (a physician who knows better) to downplay the importance of getting the flu vaccine. Reminder: The US had ~38,000 flu deaths in the 2024-25 season.

We might “end up running into the flu” less often if government officials didn’t keep telling millions of viewers not to bother getting a flu shot.

🚨 The countdown is on for the Ecraid Foundation Science Meeting 2026! Join us for high-impact scientific exchange and collaborative networking. 🥼 Access to infectious disease experts 🏆 Accreditation by ABIC and NVMM Don’t miss your chance to register: www.eventbrite.nl/e/ecraid-fou...

This is the second pediatric #flu death I've seen in 2 days. I'm so sorry for the pain their families must feel. Unclear if either was vaccinated but odds are they were not, as most such deaths are in unvaccinated children.

What viruses are up your nose? We asked 50 volunteers to swab their noses every week for a year to find out #flutracking #COVID #rhinovirus #IDSky academic.oup.com/jid/advance-...

A dog that later tested positive for rabies in Chicago was born in Georgia, went to a Chicago-area shelter, then adopted by a family. After adoption, behavior changed, became ill and bit someone. Though vaccinated, exposure likely before or within 30 days after vaccination when infection can occur

A dog in Chicago tested positive for rabies, marking the first time in than 60 years that a dog tested positive for the disease in Cook County.

And rabies. Rabies does not, in fact, make you stronger. outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/chicago-1s...

Measles outbreaks won't end in 2025 as cases mount in Utah, Arizona and South Carolina www.nbcnews.com/health/healt... via @nbcnews.com @erikaedwards.bsky.social

Modeling Reemergence of Vaccine-Eliminated Infectious Diseases Under Declining Vaccination in the US | Infectious Diseases | JAMA | JAMA Network jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Babies die of whooping cough in several states; third-trimester vaccines could protect them www.tpr.org/bioscience-m...

Ötzi and a 45,000-year-old Siberian were both infected with a cancer-causing strain of HPV. This is fascinating, and a reminder that we have a vaccine that *prevents cancer* and everyone eligible should get it.

Clinicians who actually saw the horrors of COVID (and didn’t get infected, because masks fucking work 🤷🏻‍♂️) are pretty pissed at this. Especially the @newyorker.com - I expect better 🤦🏻‍♂️

US Governors Launch Multistate Public Health Coalition jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

The US #measles count for this year has topped 2,000 cases for the first time since 1992. These are confirmed cases only, ie there have been more. 3 reported deaths. The vast majority of the cases are in unvaccinated kids & adults. 11% needed hospitalization. www.cdc.gov/measles/data...

I'm trying to understand where this seemingly pervasive wisdom regarding antiviral prescribing of "let's wait and see whether you get worse before starting the meds" comes from. Anecdotal of course, but I see this every winter and I don't get it. Antivirals are more useful the earlier you take them.

Leprosy in Florida is becoming an actual thing. 36 cases reported so far this year, compared to 20 total cases in 2024. 27 of 36 cases were acquired locally. Growing populations of armadillos and old folks with weak immune systems may be to blame.

Kennedy attempted a similar unethical experiment in Samoa in 2019 for the MMR vaccine. Samoa didn't let him do his study. I hope Kennedy's latest unethical study also gets thwarted. share.google/MfIRJRHmR8Eo...

I really didn't think we'd get to this point. As people who didn't live through the 80s-90s really don't understand how bad it was.

Yes, Bhattacharya does think that. He was a laptop doctor going on Fox News all the time criticizing everyone while praising himself; meanwhile, clinicians worked night & day saving lives. Ugh.

💬 Perspective: The rise of H3N2 subclade K may increase severe #influenza outcomes this season; available vaccines and antivirals remain important tools for prevention and treatment. ja.ma/4pNrk48

This is a very important point.

There are hidden risks in changing vaccination policies. When some are vaccinated and some aren’t, infections move to older children and adults, including pregnant people—raising risks for those most vulnerable, such as varicella or rubella causing congenital infections and stillbirths.

Tens of thousands of annual cases of chickenpox, rotavirus, and other vaccine preventable diseases a year - in a country of six million people. Not only will Denmark’s vaccine schedule not work for the US, it already isn’t working for Denmark.

The CDC just announced a new study on hepatitis B vaccination on newborns in Guinea-Bissau – a move that researchers call “highly unethical” and “extremely risky”. Happy to team up with @katlay.bsky.social on this story: www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

[In approx] "117 million children born during 1994–2023, routine childhood vaccinations will have prevented approximately 508 million lifetime cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and 1,129,000 deaths, at a net savings of $540 billion in direct costs and $2.7 trillion in societal costs."

Cutting childhood vaccines has nothing to do with “pro-business” politics. Some vaccines were added because they reduce suffering and deaths and keep parents from missing work. Chickenpox alone cost working parents ~4 days off per case.

I'm Danish-American and I think Denmark is a model country of a great welfare state. When it comes to healthcare, however -even if universal - it is very far from perfect. As for vaccines, there are many deficiencies in Denmark with the US having significantly better (current..) recommendations.

'A Disgrace': Feds to Slash the Number of Recommended Vaccines to Match Denmark's Immunization Schedule. No word yet on whether Trump wants to follow the Danish example of socialized medicine and free health care for all. www.medpagetoday.com/pediatrics/v...

Case Report and Epidemiological Investigation of Healthcare-associated Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Transmission in Westchester County, New York- 2023 ✅ Just Accepted 🔗 https://bit.ly/48RqrjO

I cannot fathom what would possess a person to want to leave their child vulnerable to rotavirus or varicella if they could avoid it. Even if the chance of mortality from both of those is low, it is such a terrible experience for everyone involved.

LA wildfires public health impacts: What is the main finding? Local residents experienced a 24% excess in pulmonary illness, a 46% excess in myocardial infarction, and a 118% excess in systemic illness requiring emergency medical attention.

This is a wildly unethical study that would be illegal to conduct in the United States. Have you heard of the Tuskegee experiments (crimes against humanity)? This sounds like that.

Meanwhile in Infectious Diseases Clinic…

Indeed, now is not the time to eat bagged lettuce in the US www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

NSF is about to dismantle NCAR at Russell Vought's direction to protect the fossil fuel industry. It's hard to communicate just how much NCAR does, so let's take a look: I've never worked at NCAR, and I've worked with NCAR researchers once ever. What scientific discoveries has NCAR made possible? 👇

#Ontario influenza ICU admissions up 127% in past week, hospital association warns globalnews.ca/news/1157983...

@eurosurveillance.org paper by Ian Barr, et al on • near-global spread of influenza A(H3N2) subclade K • record case numbers in Australia/New Zealand • high transmissibility, but no evidence of increased severity • influenza antivirals still effective www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2...

Why are virologists thinking and talking about this year's strain of influenza? We are dealing with a version of H3N2 that is unusual compared to what we might expect year on year. At the same time, it is not as unusual as, say, a novel pandemic strain, far from it.

As measles rages in S Carolina notice that those responding to this outbreak on the frontlines are pediatricians, family med practitioners, nurses and local public health officials. Not the wellness influencers and podscasters who discourage vaccination. Arsonists NEVER put out fires they start

Holy measles, Batman! 😳