This article presents one example of how policy decisions and Medicaid cuts are directly affecting kids in the U.S.

120 hospitalized

“This is really an economic disaster, a public health disaster, a moral disaster."

RFK Jr. pledged more transparency. Here's what the public doesn't know anymore abcnews.com/Politics/wir... via @mikestobbe.bsky.social

Ageee with so many of these wise words, especially about leadership and opportunities to advance our field.

41,000 people gave informed consent to participate in this well-designed trial, to generate new knowledge & advance our ability to protect our health. Now the FDA has invalidated all of that goodwill, time, effort, & money based on ideology. We must vote for those who believe in & support science.

This is the human cost of cutting US aid.

At a time when many decisions are being made that will cause infectious diseases to surge (or re-emerge) in the US, here is some good news on a global scale to celebrate.

This abrupt change (based on no data) is outrageous and endangers the health & lives of US children. I have seen kids die from flu, meningococcus, and RSV. These deaths are preventable by vaccination. I urge parents to talk to your doctor about how best to protect your kids from these diseases.

Tetanus is a horrific disease - extreme pain, spasms, inability to drink or breathe normally, months in the hospital - and it's very difficult to manage medically (sedatives, paralysis, mechanical ventilation). It's also completely preventable by vaccination.

Worth posting this @theatlantic.com piece by @katherinejwu.com again, which dismantles the Denmark comparison argument that Kennedy, Høeg, Kulldorff, and others have been using to argue for a pared down US vaccine schedule. Key points...🧵 www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

Investigators have identified persistent immune activation and proinflammatory responses in individuals with long COVID (compared with controls), suggesting potential biomarkers and, more importantly, new therapeutic targets. (Link to Nature Immunology publication follows in 🧵.)

Legionnaire's disease typically presents with fever, cough, shortness of breath, headache, and muscle aches. If you attend the gym to which this outbreak may be linked, contact your doctor to discuss testing and treatment.

It's very concerning that the ACIP may vote to delay hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccines for children, as reported by @reuters.com Here's why. 🧵 www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

Call your representatives and tell them you don’t support actions that will harm the health of children.

Thank you, MDPH. "Vaccines do not cause autism, and there is no link between childhood vaccines and autism. This has been proven repeatedly through decades of rigorous, high-quality research involving millions of children worldwide. The evidence is clear, consistent, and overwhelming."

Pertussis (whooping cough) is surging across the country because of falling vaccination rates. It’s especially dangerous for infants under a year old, who can stop breathing during coughing fits. Many need to be hospitalized, and about 1% will die. And we know that vaccines do NOT cause autism.

“If we wanted to eliminate cervical cancer globally, we could,” said Kahn, who considers the WHO cervical cancer goals ambitious but “achievable with the right political will.”

“Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he does not want to take vaccines away from Americans. But at a closed-door meeting of Food and Drug Administration vaccine scientists in September, a top official suggested doing just that.” Dr Tracy Hoeg of course 😨 www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/f...

13 cases of infant botulism, all used ByHeart powdered infant formula. If you have any of this product, do not use it - throw it away or return it to where you bought it.

158 cases so far in the ongoing Utah-Arizona measles outbreak, with multiple people hospitalized. The national total for the year so far is 1,681 cases. Measles is preventable by receiving the MMR vaccine, which has been proven over many decades to be safe and effective.

Had a great time connecting with friends and colleagues at #IDWeek2025. I agree with the wise Anthony Harris who shared these words (during his @sheaepi.bsky.social Lectureship) about our message as ID docs who do healthcare epi & infection prevention. Thanks to all who support our field.

Keipp Talbot reminds us that there is an elevated risk of heart attack in the first 7 days after getting the flu. Another great reason to get your flu vaccine! #IDWeek2025

First debate: can ceftriaxone be used to treat invasive MSSA infection? I say no, but will this debate change my mind? Where do you stand on this question? #IDWeek2025

Happy to be at #IDWeek2025! Ready to keep up the good fight against infectious diseases with colleagues from around the world.

Ongoing measles outbreak in South Carolina - 16 people affected so far, resulting in 140 elementary school students having to quarantine at home because they are unvaccinated and therefore are at risk of acquiring and spreading the infection further. Measles is preventable by vaccination.

The RFK Jr-induced chaos is making things harder for parents to do what they want to protect their children from infection. It doesn't have to be this way.

9-month-old Mohamat died of malaria in Cameroon. Before U.S. aid cuts, he likely would have survived. Malaria deaths are rising after years of progress. Abrupt and irresponsible budget cuts can have deadly consequences.

Double vaccinated against flu and COVID-19 today! Feeling great and very thankful to the scientists, investigators, physicians, and clinical trial participants who made it possible. Give a shout if you’re vaccinated too.

This is a truly remarkable finding: 17 years after introduction of the HPV vaccine, there was a decreased prevalence of HPV infection (and therefore decreased cancer risk) in both vaccinated AND unvaccinated individuals. Cancer prevention through herd immunity!!!

More kids died from flu last season than in any non-pandemic season since monitored began 20 years ago. Almost 90% were unvaccinated. Parents: talk to your doctor about getting your kids vaccinated. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

Even healthy children can get extremely sick from the flu, and vaccination reduces the risk of severe illness and death. We recommend that all kids 6 months and older receive a flu vaccine every year (because the circulating viruses change little bit each season).

The @washingtonpost.com story on Tylenol & autism leaves out a MAJOR 2.5M sibling-controlled study of children in Denmark, which "found no evidence that acetaminophen use during pregnancy was associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability." jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Despite absolutely no new data, and already-existing recommendations that were working very well, RFK Jr's new group just voted to reduce parental choice about (and access to) the MMRV vaccine for their children. Sadly, this is likely the first step of many to widely block access to vaccines. Awful.

This.

We have 2 vaccines that prevent cancer, the HBV vaccine that prevents hepatitis B related liver cancer and the HPV vaccine that prevents cervical cancer and other HPV associated cancers. On Thursday, RFK.JR's ACIP will attack one of these vaccines (HBV) and restrict access to it. Let that sink in!

A deep dive into the destruction of US cancer research by @jonathanmahler.bsky.social “It’s an absolutely unmitigated disaster,” a former top official at NIH told him. “It will take decades to recover from this, if we ever do.” Gift link: nyti.ms/48iH3Cr

The active surveillance program to look for multiple causes of foodborne illness is being actively dismantled by the current administration, increasing the risk for all Americans.

In Florida, a 15% decline in measles vaccinations over 25 yrs --> 1 million cases and ~1,000 preventable deaths. If US childhood vaccinations drop by half --> estimated 51,200 cases of brain damage from measles, 5,400 cases of post-polio paralysis, 10.3 million hospitalizations, and 159,200 deaths.

USA: Massachusetts Grandfather Denied COVID Vaccine. George Jenkins, a 70-year-old from Worcester, takes his health seriously with a balanced diet and daily tai chi. After battling COVID once, he sought protection but was denied the COVID vaccine.

If you’re wondering how much of what RFK Jr said yesterday about vaccines was true—almost none of it was. @FullerLab_UW is one of the most accomplished vaccinologists out there and her article is required reading to separate truth from falsehoods. theconversation.com/how-rfk-jr-s...

Most U.S. adults (79%) say parents should be required to have children vaccinated against preventable diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella to attend school - 90% among Democrats and 68% among Republicans.

AXIOS: “.. Massachusetts is the first state to mandate insurance coverage of vaccines even if the federal government stops requiring it.” @axios.com www.axios.com/2025/09/04/m...

The “problem” with vaccines? They so effective at preventing deaths that they create generations of people that question whether disease was a problem in the first place because they have never experienced the horrors of a world without vaccines.

This is vital for the health of our nation and the future of our children.

Let's keep up the good fight!

Dr. Offit co-invented the rotavirus vaccine, he is a pediatrician and a physician scientist who has dedicated his life to protecting children and advocating for vaccines. His term was due to end 2027 but of course his expertise was intolerable to RFK.Jr. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Gift article: Trump Wants Proof That Covid Vaccines Work. It’s Easy to Find. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/h...

The anti-science administration has now canceled funding for pediatric brain cancer research. My heart breaks for these children and families.

A former CDC staffer adds: “This is the work of a death cult.”