• PUBLIC HEALTHFlu Deaths Rise as Anti-Vaccine Disinformation Takes Root

    By Tim Henderson

    Americans are facing the highest death toll from influenza since 2018, just as more people become vulnerable because of growing vaccine skepticism taking hold in statehouses and the Trump administration.

  • 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.

  • VACCINATIONTexas Reports New Measles Outbreak in West Texas

    By Pavan Acharya

    The outbreak in Gaines County, with a population of about 22,000, has grown since two cases were reported in January. All those who contracted measles were unvaccinated, health officials said.

  • 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.

  • VACCINESVaccine Misinformation Distorts Science – a Biochemist Explains How RFK Jr. and His Lawyer’s Claims Threaten Public Health

    By Mark R. O'Brian

    Vaccinations provide significant protection for the public against infectious diseases and substantially reduce health care costs, but it’s easy to forget why many infectious diseases are rarely encountered today: The success of vaccines does not always tell its own story. RFK Jr.’s potential ascent to the role of secretary of Health and Human Services will offer up ample opportunities to retell this story and counter misinformation.

  • VACCINESVaccination Gaps Widen in English Kids, with Those in Poorest Areas 20 Times More Vulnerable to Measles

    By Mary Van Beusekom

    Childhood vaccination disparities are worsening in England, with coverage of five important vaccines lower in young children living in low-income areas and 20 times more children vulnerable to measles in the poorest areas.

  • VACCINESNew Method Developed to Detect Fake Vaccines in Supply Chains

    The global population is increasingly reliant on vaccines to maintain population health with billions of doses used annually in immunization programs worldwide. The vast majority of vaccines are of excellent quality. However, a rise in substandard and falsified vaccines threaten global public health. Unfortunately, there is currently no global infrastructure in place to monitor supply chains using screening methods developed to identify ineffective vaccines.

  • COVID VACCINEGround-Breaking Study Reveals How COVID-19 Vaccines Prevent Severe Disease

    A landmark study by scientists at the University of Oxford, has unveiled crucial insights into the way that COVID-19 vaccines mitigate severe illness in those who have been vaccinated.

  • PUBLIC HEALTHAs States Loosen Childhood Vaccine Requirements, Health Experts’ Worries Grow

    By Shalina Chatlani

    Vaccines protect not only the patient, but also those around them. Science has shown that a population can reach community immunity, also known as herd immunity, once a certain percentage of the group is vaccinated. That herd immunity can protect people who can’t get vaccinated, such as those with weakened immune systems or serious allergies, by reducing their chances of infection. But vaccine mandate opponents say it is not about science, but about their individual freedoms.

  • PUBLIC HEALTHOregon Data: COVID Vaccines Not Tied to Sudden Cardiac Death in Young People

    By Mary Van Beusekom

    A review of death certificates of previously healthy Oregon residents aged 16 to 30 years who died of cardiac or undetermined causes from June 2021 to December 2022 found no link between mRNA COVID-19 vaccination and sudden cardiac death.

  • MISINFORMATIONThe ‘Truther Playbook’: Tactics That Explain Vaccine Conspiracy Theorist RFK Jr’s Presidential Momentum

    By Stephanie Alice Baker, Chris Rojek, and Eugene McLaughlin

    Polls show that Robert Kennedy’s Jr., promoting anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, has been drawing surprising early support in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Kennedy is using the “truther playbook” - – promising identity and belonging, revealing “true” knowledge, providing meaning and purpose, and promising leadership and guidance – which prove to be appealing in our current post-truth era, in which opinions often triumph over facts, and in which charlatans can achieve authority by framing their opponents as corrupt and evil and claiming to expose this corruption. These rhetorical techniques can be used to promote populist politics just as much as anti-vaccine content.

  • PULIC HEALTHPfizer COVID Vaccine Tracking Confirms Safety in Kids, with Myocarditis, Pericarditis Rare

    By Mary Van Beusekom

    Monitoring of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine safety among more than 3 million US children aged 5 to 17 years flagged just 2 of 20 health outcomes among 12- to 17-year-olds—myocarditis and pericarditis, which were rare.

  • ENERGY SECUEITYArtificial Intelligence Could Secure the Power Supply

    By Katrine Sele

    The future European power system – based primarily on renewable energy sources – will be much more weather dependent than the power system today. The two researchers believe that consumption patterns will also change. All these factors contribute to creating uncertainty around the energy supply, causing decision-making to be far more complicated.

  • VACCINATIONVaccine Could Improve Herd Immunity Around the World

    By Emily Moskal

    A low-cost, protein-based COVID-19 vaccine tested in rhesus monkeys offered immunity against known variants for at least one year. Researchers hope the vaccine, which can remain unrefrigerated for up to two weeks and may be especially beneficial for infants, will help alleviate the need for boosters while improving herd immunity around the world.

  • COVID THERAPIESThe WHO Has Advised Against the Use of Two Antibody Therapies Against COVID – Here’s What That Means

    By Zania Stamataki

    New guidance from WHO strongly advises against using the antibody therapies sotrovimab and casirivimab-imdevimab to treat patients with COVID-19. This means that, at least for the time being, there are no recommended antibody therapies to treat COVID. There are, however, still other treatment options.