Sen. Bill Cassidy, who cast the deciding vote to confirm RFK Jr. as health and human services secretary, disapproves of what Kennedy's handpicked panel has done to limit access to hep B vaccines.

And just like that, the incredibly successful universal birth-dose vaccination policy against hep B is heading to an end in the U.S.. "The change is likely to increase the number of people who develop chronic infections & liver cancer." via @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/12/05/c... #acip #hepB

“What we’re seeing is the decades-long anti-vaccine playbook dressed up and delivered from one of the most consequential health committees in the United States,” Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist [told] STAT…. “When the process devolves into this kind of spectacle, kids are the ones who get hurt.”

"Outside experts castigated the meeting’s disorder and what they saw as an inappropriate focus on the theoretical harm of vaccines over proven benefits." Via @apoorvanyt.bsky.social

Excellent reporting on the challenge of implementing the state's Zone Zero law by @nohaggerty.bsky.social. A exceptionally thorny political knot, complicated by well irrigated hedges appearing to help buffer homes from fire in some cases. www.latimes.com/environment/...

ICYMI... Days before Palisades inferno, firefighters were ordered to leave smoldering burn site www.latimes.com/california/s...

The Trump administration has repeatedly blamed offshore wind farms for whale deaths, contrary to scientific evidence. Now the administration is quietly abandoning key research programs meant to protect marine mammals living in an increasingly busy ocean.

"How to prevent devastating fires differs. The forest thinning and careful reintroduction of intentional “good” fire in the Sierra don’t exactly translate to the Santa Monica Mountains." SoCal's coastal chaparral requires a different approach

A new story I've published: Some inconvenient truths about what it will take for residential communities to survive #wildfire. From the perspective of #NIST fire protection engineer Alex Maranghides #CalFire #Firewise #FirePrevention #LAFires #Firesafe #HomeHardening

Happy Mole Day to all who celebrate. www.compoundchem.com/2014/10/23/m... 🧪

Update: On Saturday Governor Newsom issued a notification that he was vetoing SB 326 by Senator Josh Becker (D Menlo Park). In his veto message he said the required planning would cost too much money.

More details from @kffhealthnews.org on the #ACIP's discussion of #hepB birth dose vaccination policy at its 9/19 meeting kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Happy sea otter awareness week, to those who celebrate. 🦦https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wEIBgyO-XM #ラッコ #seaotters

"Over 71,000 people are expected to die annually in the [U.S.] by 2050 due to wildfire smoke on current warming trends. California, scene of many huge fires including current blazes that threaten the state’s storied sequoia trees, will bear the brunt" www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Dying from any preventable infectious disease is a tragedy. But death by chronic #hepatitisB infection is its own special category--it can silently foment liver cancer decades later. Without the universal birth dose #HBV vaccine, the virus is easily transmitted from infected mother to baby at birth

"Although some on the committee seemed enthusiastic about pushing the first dose recommendation for #hepatitisB later in life, after some discussion, there was a revolt against tackling the issue at all." www.npr.org/sections/sho...

Right now, feels like we have little time to consider the AI transformation about to engulf us. "But if we don’t attend to it, the people creating the technology will be single-handedly in charge of how it changes our lives" www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/are-we-taking-ai-seriously-enough

"Dozens of other programs throughout the CDC’s ... centers for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion; HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, & Tuberculosis Prevention; Environmental Health; Immunization & Respiratory Diseases; & the Global Health center were also impacted" www.wired.com/story/cdc-gu...

Today is a very dark day. More destruction of the backbone of our country's health. #StandUpforScience

Delighted to have been able to contribute some comments to this wonderful tribute to Rob Irion, director emeritus @ucscscicomm.bsky.social magazine.ucsc.edu/2025/02/wrap...

Thrilled to announce the creation of the @elisabethbik.bsky.social Science Integrity Fund to provide "funding for training programs, grants, or awards for science integrity advocates." Thanks to @science.org for covering this. Help us grow the fund with a tax-deductible donation.

Top USAID officials are trying to create a false narrative that life-saving aid has continued despite Trump’s blanket halt to foreign aid. Our @nytimes.com reporting shows the exact opposite. USAID even issued an internal email to stop applications for waivers: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/u...

And while politicians are decimating our nation’s public health infrastructure, meanwhile: “The ongoing measles outbreak in West Texas has doubled in size to 48 cases, mostly in children and teens, making it the state’s worst in nearly 30 years… Thirteen people have been hospitalized.”

New Weather West post out: Major storm to bring high risk of debris flows in SoCal wildfire zones, with some flood risk elsewhere. This will be "textbook" mid-latitude storm, complete w/rapidly deepening low pressure center & warm atmospheric river. #CAwx weatherwest.com/arch...

Slashing NIH's funding for "indirect" research costs "doesn’t make even cynical political sense. It’s a decision that would endanger Americans’ health... and could torch one of the nation’s most astounding, productive and envied industries." www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/o...

I'll have a livestream on Tuesday, Feb 11 at 4pm PT to discuss the major storm inbound to Southern California, which will likely bring a period of very heavy rain capable of producing significant/dangerous debris flows in/near recent wildfire areas. #CAwx youtube.com/live/RPe...

“Racism has ended! Have you heard? Or maybe ending racism has ended,” @louisathomas.bsky.social writes in her Sporting Scene column this week. www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

With each day bringing worse news for #NIH & the scientific enterprise, I'm wondering when researchers will galvanize in mass protest. "Is there a bridge too far, a point where it is no longer appropriate for medicine & public health to accede?" asks Steven H. Woolf jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

ICYMI: "The same ingredients that were in the pressure cooker that led to the historic March for Science are present. But at the moment, there seem to be no cooks in the kitchen. There are no plans for another march." www.statnews.com/2025/01/31/t...

"The sudden sabotage of disease control efforts has profound & immediate effects... While protest—especially during such a chaotic and rapidly evolving crisis—can feel like shouting into an abyss, silence is not a legitimate response." By @suwang88.bsky.social et al. #globalhealth buff.ly/4hsVANG

“There was no central, clear message. It felt a little bit like that was part of the plan.” “I think a lot of people are worrying, what is my backup plan?” An NIH researcher describes the chaos of the Trump administration’s first 10 days: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

NSF officials have "temporarily blocked institutions and scientific organizations from getting access to money they have been promised while vetting projects." But there's been no written guidance re: criteria for deciding if a grant violates a presidential directive www.science.org/content/arti...

Wildland firefighters "have access to a ground truth that is out of reach for the general public, and even for many scientists, about how our world is changing." Gripping read by M.R. O'Connor. And it's shocking how little they get paid for life-threatening work... www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

The loneliness and emotional toll of #caregiving for ailing family members. Worth a listen, from @mcgowankat.bsky.social and @npr.org www.npr.org/2025/01/26/n...

Who can spot more?

Superb piece on #HBV by in the New Yorker by @ingfeichen.bsky.social! She does a great job covering so many important aspects of #HepatitisB. Hoping this article brings much needed awareness to #HepB! www.newyorker.com/science/anna...

“It sounds like Big Brother,” one NIH researcher said. According to reporting by Science and email memos reviewed by Mother Jones, upcoming meetings where studies are officially greenlit were suspended. That puts new funding for all sorts of research, from cancer to the opioid crisis, on hold.

Trump's claims about California water and LA fires are inaccurate and misleading, experts say www.mercurynews.com/2025/01/24/t...

The Trump administration has halted disbursement of funds from a program that supplies most of the treatment for HIV in Africa and low-income countries worldwide for at least 90 days. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/u...

Pulling off #evacuations from #wildfire disasters is complicated & messy, with many moving parts. Extreme, fast-moving fires are challenging the reaction time of law enforcement agencies in calling evacuations swiftly enough. I wrote a story on this in 2022 #LAFires www.newyorker.com/news/annals-...

Modern technology for sending evacuation alerts is more powerful than ever, but this story shows how evacuation processes can go wrong, especially in the unfolding chaos of extreme, fast-moving fires #LAFires www.latimes.com/california/s...

Incisive insights from head of fact-checking at @newyorker.com. Gobsmacking to know NYer has THIRTY fact-checkers on staff. I believe no other mags come anywhere near that & most have no fact-checking staff at all (though they may contract out to freelancers) www.newyorker.com/news/the-wee...

"We definitely need more staff... It stretches folks & some of them live in these fire areas. ... It’s not the first time we've had reporters who have to run from a fire." #WatchDuty's CEO on how they've tracked the #LAfires www.wired.com/story/watch-duty-california-wildfires-ceo-founder-interview/

We've been studying wildfire recovery for the last 4 years. It's a horrible mess. Many survivors think the worst is over when the fire ends, but then comes paperwork, weird federal rules, scams, etc. Some never rebuild or lose everything. Follow guidance from those who have been there, done that.

Fleeing Pacific Palisades proved a terrifying challenge for residents as roads jammed with traffic and the fast-moving fire made evacuation routes risky.

A bit busy with the Palisades Fire but you can follow the incident on Watch Duty here: app.watchduty.org/i/40335

Confirmed reports now of "hundreds" of cars that were abandoned by drivers on Sunset Boulevard amid frantic #PalisadesFire evacuation gridlock earlier. (Folks made it out on foot.) CalFire/LA County bulldozers are in process of clearing path for emergency vehicles. #CAwx #CAfire

Guinea worm used to afflict 3.5 million people each year. This year, thanks in part to Jimmy Carter, there have been 7 cases. He negotiated the longest humanitarian cease-fire in history to distribute water filters & larvicides www.scientificamerican.com/article/jimm... via @tanyalewis.bsky.social

Best antidote to writer's block I've heard of 😊

Women leave academia at higher rates than men at every career stage, and attrition is especially high among three groups: tenured faculty, women in non-STEM fields, and women employed at less prestigious institutions, a #ScienceAdvances analysis finds.