Matt Watson
@bioandbaseball.bsky.social
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📥 1504
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#Biosecurity
,
#Biodefense
,
#Biotech
, Pandemic Preparedness
pinned post!
I’m pleased to share our latest commentary - Toward a safer and more secure US
#bioeconomy
- now out in
@naturebiotech.bsky.social
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rdcu.be/d3IxR
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Toward a safer and more secure US bioeconomy
Nature Biotechnology - To enhance the safety and security of the US bioeconomy, a new public–private partnership should be established to facilitate information sharing and threat analysis...
https://rdcu.be/d3IxR
about 1 year ago
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“These latest findings once again underline the need to hold Russia accountable for its repeated violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention and, in this instance, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.”
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about 23 hours ago
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Matt Watson
Gregory Koblentz
1 day ago
Joint Statement by the UK, Sweden, France, Germany and The Netherlands on Alexei Navalny's death
www.gov.uk/government/n...
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Joint Statement by the UK, Sweden, France, Germany and The Netherlands on Alexei Navalny's death
Joint Statement by the UK, Sweden, France, Germany and The Netherlands on Alexei Navalny's death.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-by-the-uk-sweden-france-germany-and-the-netherlands-on-alexei-navalnys-death
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Matt Watson
The Guardian
1 day ago
Russia killed Alexei Navalny with frog toxin, UK and allies say
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Russia killed Alexei Navalny with frog toxin, UK and allies say
Former opposition leader’s death while in Arctic jail at age of 47 result of mixture of diseases, according to Moscow The Foreign Office has blamed the Russian state for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which it said was the result of poisoning from a dart containing frog toxin. The frog poison – called epibatidine – is said to have been used when Navalny, 47, died suddenly on 16 February 2024. Continue reading...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/14/alexei-navalny-poisoning-death-russia-frog-toxin?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky&CMP=bsky_gu
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Matt Watson
Liz Szabo
2 days ago
Exclusive: Key US infectious-diseases centre to drop pandemic preparation Staff members have been instructed to scrub this topic and ‘biodefense’ from the agency’s website.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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Exclusive: Key US infectious-diseases centre to drop pandemic preparation
Staff members have been instructed to scrub this topic and ‘biodefense’ from the agency’s website.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00468-1#author-0
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Matt Watson
Thelonevirologist
4 days ago
The TAK-003 story: key decisions that shaped development of a tetravalent dengue vaccine
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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The TAK-003 story: key decisions that shaped development of a tetravalent dengue vaccine - npj Vaccines
npj Vaccines - The TAK-003 story: key decisions that shaped development of a tetravalent dengue vaccine
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-025-01366-9
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Matt Watson
Alexandra Phelan
5 days ago
Moderna are being very careful in their responses about next steps here but given the likely arbitrariness and unreasonableness of an outright refusal to file (let alone the economic impacts), I expect they will appeal, with a range of options available:
trendspotting.sidley.com/trends/fda
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Matt Watson
Melody Schreiber
5 days ago
NEW: The FDA just shot down Moderna's new flu shot. From me:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
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FDA declines to review Moderna application for new flu vaccine
Moderna requests meeting to discuss refusal as decision could have implications for all new and updated vaccines
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/10/fda-moderna-flu-vaccine?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
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Matt Watson
Rob Carlson
10 days ago
A chance to learn from the best in the business.
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Matt Watson
Gwen C. Katz
7 days ago
Macbeth: SHIT
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FT: An oral history of the Fed’s Covid-19 crisis
www.ft.com/content/cb9a...
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An oral history of the Fed’s Covid-19 crisis
We read a bajillion pages of transcripts so you don’t have to (unless you really want to, of course)
https://www.ft.com/content/cb9a5177-3933-4fe8-9fa0-dbcb6f1fa274?shareType=nongift
9 days ago
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Matt Watson
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
10 days ago
We commend Senators Tom Cotton & Amy Klobuchar for intro legislation to est. a fed biosecurity framework. "This bill sets the U.S. on a path to continue its global leadership in biotech innovation, while enhancing our national resilience to emerging biological risks" said
@t-inglesby.bsky.social
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Matt Watson
Lawrence Freedman
10 days ago
Once had privilege of listening to Ian McKellen perform at Oxford. Seemed timely then - even more so now.
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Matt Watson
Apoorva Mandavilli
about 1 month ago
BREAKING: Federal health officials on Monday announced dramatic revisions to the slate of vaccines recommended for American children, reducing the number of diseases prevented by routine shots to 11 from 17.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/h...
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Kennedy Scales Back the Number of Vaccines Recommended for Children
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/health/children-vaccines-cdc-kennedy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.CFA.tLLJ.ciEjn7LrV1Wp&smid=url-share
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Matt Watson
Greg Folkers
about 1 month ago
JID: A BEACON for novel disease threats: Leveraging AI for informal event-based outbreak surveillance Nahid Bhadelia et al
bit.ly/4joYsNd
@bhadeliamd.bsky.social
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Matt Watson
The Atlantic
about 1 month ago
The U.S. will very likely lose its measles-elimination status, and Americans will have to confront how difficult this virus can be to control, Katherine J. Wu reports:
theatln.tc/bZcb1Wmr
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What a haul.
about 2 months ago
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Matt Watson
More Perfect Union
2 months ago
Private equity must be stopped.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/u...
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Jailed for gene-editing, a notorious scientist is not done yet
www.ft.com/content/1399...
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Jailed for gene-editing, a notorious scientist is not done yet
He Jiankui’s experiment with human embryos caused global outrage. Can he make an unlikely comeback?
https://www.ft.com/content/139928f5-2d71-4784-bfaa-bd80183a5cfc?shareType=nongift
2 months ago
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Matt Watson
John Scalzi
2 months ago
He told them to put the whiskey in the jar
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Matt Watson
Amesh Adalja
3 months ago
“There are now 12 confirmed cases in the outbreak, which was first reported in mid-November and is occurring in the southern part of the country..73 suspected case-patients have been tested so far, and 349 contacts were being monitored”
www.cidrap.umn.edu/marburg/deat...
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Death toll climbs in Ethiopia's Marburg outbreak
Three new deaths have been confirmed in the outbreak, bringing the death toll to 8.
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/marburg/death-toll-climbs-ethiopias-marburg-outbreak
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Matt Watson
Jeremy Berg
3 months ago
I have posted about this before, but... Researchers at Pitt School of Public Health (with NIH funding) developed Project Tycho where they digitized reportable disease data from across the country going back to ~1900.
graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...
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Battling Infectious Diseases in the 20th Century: The Impact of Vaccines
The number of infected people, measured over 70-some years and across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, generally declined after vaccines were introduced.
https://graphics.wsj.com/infectious-diseases-and-vaccines/
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This is true both in this context, and beyond. Inherent safety may appear to be a predictable outcome of a complex system, but it isn’t. It’s the product of deliberate engineering.
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3 months ago
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Matt Watson
Onisillos
4 months ago
"...the only long-term solution is for governments to invest in safe drinking water and sanitation."
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
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Cholera is spreading fast, yet it can be stopped. Why haven’t we consigned it to history? | Hakainde Hichilema and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Vaccine production must be expanded to combat this ancient disease, especially in Africa, but a lack of political will is holding us back
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/oct/25/cholera-global-spread-vaccine-production-africa-zambia
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Sopranos creator David Chase to write HBO limited series on CIA drug program.
apple.news/AkpUSN4twTKe...
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Sopranos creator David Chase to write HBO limited series on CIA drug program — Guardian US
Return marks his first TV series since groundbreaking mob drama, and will examine covert mind-control program
https://apple.news/AkpUSN4twTKeO3X8pYTQyMw
4 months ago
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Matt Watson
Daniel S. Goldberg
4 months ago
Wow. NHANES js incredibly for population health surveillance, and is nationally representative as well. What a loss.
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Matt Watson
Amesh Adalja
4 months ago
“While the administration has since rescinded more than half of the approximately 1,300 termination notices it sent, the upheaval from the layoffs that are still taking effect could undermine efforts to protect public health.”
www.axios.com/2025/10/13/t...
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CDC purge hits 600 workers in key offices despite reversals
The casualties include employees working on health statistics, injury and violence prevention, congressional outreach and human resources.
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/13/trump-kennedy-cdc-firings-rehirings
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Matt Watson
Greg Folkers
4 months ago
Inside Medicine: Breaking News: RIFs in reverse. Some CDC workers have been brought back, in latest whiplash by
@jeremyfaust.bsky.social
bit.ly/3W4AHzk
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Breaking News: RIFs in reverse. Some CDC workers have been brought back, in latest whiplash.
This is breaking news.
https://bit.ly/3W4AHzk
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Matt Watson
Catherine Rampell
4 months ago
Lots of Epidemic Intelligence Service officers ("disease detectives") gone. In-country staff in Africa (including those helping to manage the current Ebola outbreak) are fired.
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CDC employees terminated in apparent Friday night massacre.
open.substack.com/pub/insideme...
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BREAKING NEWS: CDC employees terminated in apparent Friday night massacre.
The Trump administration is using the shutdown to further weaken the our national public health infrastructure.
https://open.substack.com/pub/insidemedicine/p/breaking-news-cdc-employees-terminated?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
4 months ago
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Matt Watson
Thelonevirologist
4 months ago
Predictability of infectious disease outbreak severity: Chikungunya as a case study
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Predictability of infectious disease outbreak severity: Chikungunya as a case study
Predicting outbreak severity may require looking beyond R0 , especially for mosquito-borne pathogens like chikungunya virus.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt5419
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Matt Watson
Nicholas Grossman
5 months ago
The reason for military rules of engagement and adhering to laws of armed combat is not “political correctness,” it’s better strategy, serves long-term national interest, and is a way to make an awful part of the human experience a little less awful, based on lessons learned from centuries of blood.
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Nemesys Insights, in partnership with Frontier Design Group , is currently conducting an online Red Teaming exercise to reduce the dangers posed by cutting-edge AI applications. See the flyer for more information and scan the QR code to register!
5 months ago
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Matt Watson
Kevin Ault
5 months ago
#OTD
in 1918, the Indianapolis News reported an outbreak of influenza at Fort Harrison. By October 2, the epidemic had spread into the community and the "Indianapolis Board of Health essentially shut down all public gatherings in the city."
indyencyclopedia.org/1918-spanish...
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1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic - Encyclopedia of Indianapolis
From September 1918 to the late spring of 1919, Indianapolis suffered from a viral influenza pandemic that killed nearly 1,000… Read More »1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic
https://indyencyclopedia.org/1918-spanish-flu-pandemic/
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Matt Watson
Amesh Adalja
5 months ago
“For now, the new Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre..is set to produce Covid and RSV vaccines..In the case of a future health emergency, the site is meant to be able to produce 100 million vaccine doses within six months.”
www.statnews.com/2025/09/25/m...
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As the U.S. dials back mRNA research, the U.K. tries to seize an opportunity
As the U.S. dials back mRNA research, the U.K. is trying to seize an opportunity.
https://www.statnews.com/2025/09/25/mrna-vaccines-united-kingdom-invests-as-united-states-cuts-back/
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RFK Jr cancelled mRNA research — but the US military is still funding it
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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Exclusive: RFK Jr cancelled mRNA research — but the US military is still funding it
The Department of Defense is continuing to bankroll projects to develop vaccines against deadly pathogens.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03093-6
5 months ago
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Matt Watson
Ars Technica
5 months ago
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The DHS has been quietly harvesting DNA from Americans for years
The DNA of nearly 2,000 US citizens has been entered into an FBI crime database.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/09/the-dhs-has-been-quietly-harvesting-dna-from-americans-for-years/?utm_source=bsky&utm_medium=social
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Matt Watson
Crawford Kilian
5 months ago
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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The first emergence of unprecedented global water scarcity in the Anthropocene - Nature Communications
Anthropogenic climate change is projected to cause “Day Zero Drought”, when water demand exceeds supply, emerging as early as 2030 and occurring more frequently than recovery allows, posing escalating risks to regions worldwide.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-63784-6?utm_source=nature_etoc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CONR_41467_AWA1_GL_DTEC_054CI_TOC-250924&utm_content=EAES_1
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Matt Watson
NPR
5 months ago
After months of aid cuts, the State Department has released a 35-page document detailing how it plans to roll out global health assistance. Here's what it says — and what the reaction is.
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What's in -- and what's missing -- in the new U.S. strategy for global health
After months of aid cuts, the State Department has released a 35-page document detailing how it plans to roll out global health assistance. Here's what it says — and what the reaction is.
https://n.pr/3VqP4xH
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Matt Watson
The Bulwark
5 months ago
Sen. Tim Kaine: "Brian Kilmeade 10 days ago suggested that homeless, mentally ill people should be lethally injected. He apologized...He didn't get pulled off the air."
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Maggie Fox
5 months ago
This is a perfect description.
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Matt Watson
KFF Health News
5 months ago
A lack of faith in the soundness of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new direction has led states to explore enacting their own vaccine policies. A patchwork of divergent recommendations and requirements could result.
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
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Kennedy’s Take on Vaccine Science Fractures Cohesive National Public Health Strategies - KFF Health News
A lack of faith in the soundness of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new direction has led states to explore enacting their own vaccine policies. A patchwork of divergent recommendatio...
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/cdc-acip-vaccine-recommendations-states-medical-societies-insurance-patchwork/
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Matt Watson
The Ferrari Lab
5 months ago
Making recommendations about vaccines isn't easy. It takes leadership & expertise from multiple sectors. Medicine, manufacturing, supply chain, policy, financing, public health. It takes real experts willing to tackle hard problems. The composition of ACIP in the US does not meet this need.
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Matt Watson
Dr. Lucky Tran
5 months ago
IT'S OFFICIAL: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York State, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and New York City have formed the Northeast Public Health Collaborative. The collaborative will issue their own vaccine recommendations and coordinate public health efforts.
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Melody Schreiber
5 months ago
Susan Monarez, the CDC director for 29 days, said RFK Jr. Kennedy told her “the childhood vaccine schedule would be changing starting in September, and I needed to be on board with it”. My story, with updates to come as this Senate hearing continues:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
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RFK Jr’s actions have greatly diminished US ability to respond to outbreaks, ousted CDC officials say
Former officials testify before US Senate, saying the CDC under Kennedy is ‘supporting policies not based in science’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/17/rfk-jr-senate-hearing-cdc-susan-monarez
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Aaron Rupar
5 months ago
Monarez: "Kennedy demanded 2 things of me that were were inconsistent w/ my oath of office. He directed me to commit in advance to approving every ACIP recommendation regardless of the scientific evidence. He also directed me to dismiss career officials responsible for vaccine policy without cause"
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5 months ago
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Matt Watson
Colin Carlson
5 months ago
🚨 NEW: Climate change is already causing 30,000 deaths per year - a global annual economic loss of $100-350B USD - but the true damage is probably 10x higher. Out TODAY in Nature Climate Change: the first systematic look at the science of "health impact attribution" 🔓
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Melody Schreiber
5 months ago
Here's how high-profile departures and widespread layoffs at the CDC will affect our health. Tldr: "Americans should be alarmed," a former top official said.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
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‘Americans should be alarmed’: Experts say loss of expertise at CDC will harm US health
Top officials exited agency under RFK Jr’s leadership, and his anti-vax beliefs have dismayed medical community
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/15/cdc-leadership-loss-experts-alarmed?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
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Amesh Adalja
5 months ago
“the agency is misusing the database”
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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FDA to present data it claims ties Covid shots to child deaths at CDC meeting
The vaccine advisory committee is scheduled to meet next week to review and make recommendations for this fall’s updated Covid shots, among others.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fda-covid-vaccine-child-deaths-data-cdc-meeting-rcna230849
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Matt Watson
Helen Branswell 🇨🇦
5 months ago
If you read 1 thing today, please make it this: my so-talented colleague
@ericboodman.bsky.social
explains why babies in the US are vaccinated at birth against hep B — and what the human costs of changing that policy would be.
www.statnews.com/2025/09/11/n...
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Dropping hepatitis B shots for newborns would ignore history and endanger children, scientists warn
People who study, treat, or have hepatitis B say ending routine vaccination at birth - as some vaccine critics want - could lead to a resurgence of the virus.
https://www.statnews.com/2025/09/11/newborn-hep-b-vaccine-debate-how-it-started/
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