Epidemics and pandemics

PUBLIC HEALTHCatholic Bishops Tell Florida AG There's No Theological Reason for School Vaccine Exemptions
By Sarah Boden
Catholic bishops in Florida rejected Florida attorney general’s argument that requiring students in parochial schools to be vaccinated is a violation of Catholic dogma. In a letter to the attorney general, the bishops argued that the position against religious exemptions for vaccines is rooted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Observers noted that it is “extraordinary” for the attorney general to lecture bishops on Catholic teachings.
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CHINA WATCHChina-Linked Social Media Network Seeks to Shift COVID Responsibility from China to U.S.
By Max Lesser and Thomas Crehan
Long after COVID-19 ended, China is still trying to shape the world’s perception of the pandemic. At least 50 coordinated assets across 10 platforms spreading claims that U.S. biological laboratories developed bioweapons that caused COVID-19. This network revives a longstanding Chinese effort to shift blame for the pandemic and portray Washington as a biological threat.
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EPIDEMICSAnalysis of Past Ebola Outbreaks Suggests 54% Death Rate, Identifies Hemorrhage as Key Risk Factor
By Mary Van Beusekom
A meta analysis of previous Ebola outbreaks from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—the epicenter of the current African outbreak—finds a high but improving mortality rate and identifies hemorrhage as a key predictor of death, although the certainty of evidence varied widely.
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BIODEFENSENIAID Staffers Ordered to Remove Biodefense, Pandemic Preparedness Language on Website
By Mary Van Beusekom
Staff members at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have been told to delete the words “biodefense” and “pandemic preparedness” from the institute’s website.
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GAIN OF FUNCTION RESEARCHGain-of-Function Research Is More Than Just Tweaking Risky Viruses – It’s a Routine and Essential Tool in All Biology Research
By Seema Lakdawala and Anice Lowen
Updates to current oversight are not unreasonable, but blanket bans or additional restrictions on gain-of-function research do not make society safer. Gain-of-function experiments are not inherently risky or the purview of mad scientists. In fact, gain-of-function approaches are a fundamental tool in biology. Misunderstanding the term “gain of function” as something nefarious comes at the cost of progress in human health.
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COVID ORIGINSNew Genetic Study Finds SARS-CoV-2 Originated in Wildlife Trade
There is no scientific consensus on the origins of COVID, but the Trump administration is treating the speculative lab leak theory as a given. The administration claims that the lab leak theory has been “confirmed,” even though it is no more than a mere conjecture. In fact, the most recent study, published Wednesday, lends support to the zoonotic spillover theory.
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PUBLIC HEALTHAs Measles Outbreaks Grow, Trump Cuts Hinder Vaccination Efforts
By Tim Henderson
935 cases have been reported across 29 states, including 3 deaths. DOGE-driven $11 billion in cuts of federal funding for states’ health efforts forced states to cancel vaccination clinics needed to combat this year’s measles outbreak.
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PUBLIC HEALTHAfter COVID, Texas Is Less Prepared for the Next Pandemic
By Eleanor Klibanoff
Five years after Texas’ first COVID death, the state spends less on public health, vaccination rates have dropped and a distrust of authority has taken hold.
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PUBLIC HEALTHAmid Growing Numbers of Measles Cases, Chaos Continues at HHS
While continuing to peddle alternative remedies to those suffering from measles, Secretary Kennedy also did an interview in which he implied that contracting measles is better than being vaccinated for it. Unfortunately for Kennedy – and those who have contracted the disease — vitamin A and cod liver oil are not going to cut it in responding to this expanding outbreak.
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VACCINESCOVID Vaccination Saved More Than 5,000 U.S. Lives in 7 Months in 2023-24, CDC Estimates
By Mary Van Beusekom
COVID-19 vaccination averted more than 5,000 US in-hospital deaths, 13,000 intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and 68,000 hospitalizations in 7 months in 2023-2024, researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated late last week.
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COVIDHouse Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Releases Final Report
The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic recently published its final report. The more than 500-page document covers a variety of topics, including vaccines, use of pandemic relief funds, and public health guidance.
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EPIDEMICSMathematical Models Tackle Covid Infection Dynamics
Even years after the emergence of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the workings of SARS-CoV-2 infection inside the human body, including the early activity of the virus and the role of the body’s immune response, has proved difficult to precisely ascertain.
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COVID ORIGINSDid COVID Come from an Animal Market? Here’s What the New Evidence Really Tells Us
By Mark Woolhouse
I have studied the origins of human viruses for 25 years but, having examined the evidence, I still don’t know how the COVID pandemic began. I do know that the question is important and that debating it should be encouraged, not stifled.
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PANDEMICSPreparing for a Pandemic That Never Came Ended Up Setting Off Another − How an Accidental Virus Release Triggered 1977’s ‘Russian Flu’
By Donald S. Burke
Overreaction. Unintended consequences. Making matters worse. Self-fulfilling prophecy. There is a rich variety of terms to describe how the best intentions can go awry. Still reeling from COVID-19, the world now faces new threats from cross-species jumps of avian flu viruses, mpox viruses and others. It’s critical that we be quick to respond to these emerging threats to prevent yet another global disease conflagration. Quick, but not too quick, history suggests.
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BIODEFENSENational Bio and Agro-Defense Facility Comes Under Budget
DHS has commissioned the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas under budget, and has returned $10,082,355.80 in gift funds to the state of Kansas.
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