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Vaccines

All articles tagged with #vaccines

CDC vaccine-benefit study stalls amid political pressure
health2 days ago

CDC vaccine-benefit study stalls amid political pressure

A CDC study suggesting the 2025–26 COVID-19 vaccine greatly reduces urgent-care visits and hospitalizations among healthy adults was reportedly blocked from publication by acting CDC director Jay Bhattacharya over methodological concerns, in a move linked by critics to political interference under Health Secretary Kennedy Jr. The dispute highlights tensions between science and politics at federal agencies, with officials calling prepublication review routine and skeptics accusing the administration of undermining public health messaging.

via Ars Technica|
#cdc#covid-19#health
politics12 days ago

MAHA fracture could tilt the midterms toward Democrats

A POLITICO/Public First poll finds 47% of Americans support the MAHA movement, with cross‑partisan appeal including about a third of Harris 2024 voters and a similar share of Democrats, while 70% of Trump 2024 voters back MAHA. The movement is reshaping GOP health policy and offers Democrats an opening to win MAHA voters by emphasizing disease prevention, stricter regulation of chemicals, and expanded reproductive health care, even as some MAHA supporters oppose vaccines. MAHA voters are not strictly partisan and also back several GOP-friendly policies (e.g., removing artificial dyes, restricting junk-food subsidies), suggesting the movement could influence key midterm races depending on how candidates frame health issues. Overall, health topics aren’t the top priority for most voters, but MAHA could become a meaningful swing factor in November.

via Politico|
#health-policy#maha#pesticides
Cicada: A new Omicron BA.3.2 variant tests vaccines and spread
health14 days ago

Cicada: A new Omicron BA.3.2 variant tests vaccines and spread

A newly identified Omicron subvariant BA.3.2, nicknamed 'cicada', carries many mutations that may help it evade immunity. It has appeared in Europe and in 25 U.S. states, but remains a minority strain with no clear evidence of greater severity or transmissibility. Vaccines are still expected to protect against severe illness, annual booster shots are recommended, and home COVID tests remain effective if not expired.

via PBS|
#ba32#cicada#covid-19
BA.3.2 Cicada spreads across the US, testing current vaccines
health14 days ago

BA.3.2 Cicada spreads across the US, testing current vaccines

The BA.3.2 variant (Cicada), an Omicron descendant with many spike mutations, is spreading rapidly in the United States and in about 23 countries. It is not yet shown to be more dangerous, but its differences may reduce how well current vaccines recognize it, underscoring the continued importance of vaccination, especially for people with chronic health conditions. The variant was first detected globally in 2024, reached the US in 2025, and has been found in 29 states and through wastewater data. Practical guidance remains: practice good hygiene, stay home when sick, spend time outdoors, and consult a clinician about personal risk. Wastewater surveillance continues as a valuable early warning tool.

via The Conversation|
#ba32#cicada#covid-19
Cicada: Highly Mutated COVID-19 Variant BA.3.2 Tracked as Potential Surge Trigger
health16 days ago

Cicada: Highly Mutated COVID-19 Variant BA.3.2 Tracked as Potential Surge Trigger

Public health authorities are monitoring BA.3.2, nicknamed Cicada, a highly mutated COVID-19 variant with up to 70–75 mutations detected in the U.S. and in 22 other countries. Current U.S. levels are very low (~0.19% of sequences), but the variant has spread internationally and may evade vaccine- or prior-infection–induced antibodies, potentially weakening protection against infection though vaccines are still expected to guard against severe disease. Experts caution Cicada could drive a summer surge if it spreads more efficiently, but it is not yet dominant, underscoring the need for ongoing genomic surveillance and vaccination.

via Everyday Health|
#covid-19#health#mutations
New Omicron Subvariant BA.3.2 Raises Immunity-Evasion Flags, CDC Warns
health17 days ago

New Omicron Subvariant BA.3.2 Raises Immunity-Evasion Flags, CDC Warns

CDC is monitoring BA.3.2, an Omicron descendant with spike mutations that may reduce protection from prior infection or vaccination. It has reached 25 U.S. states and 23 countries, with about 0.55% of recent U.S. cases identified in sequencing, though wastewater data show BA.3.2 in 132 samples across 25 states, suggesting wider spread. It’s too early to tell if it increases illness severity, but older adults and immunocompromised individuals appear most at risk. The variant likely emerged in South Africa and has spread internationally, with Europe reporting faster transmission. Genomic surveillance varies by country, so the true spread may be underestimated. Ongoing monitoring and vaccination remains important, particularly to protect vulnerable settings.

via Gizmodo|
#ba32#cdc#covid-19
New Covid variant BA.3.2 spreads across the U.S., raising vaccine-evasion concerns
health17 days ago

New Covid variant BA.3.2 spreads across the U.S., raising vaccine-evasion concerns

A new Covid variant, BA.3.2—descended from Omicron—has begun circulating in the United States, detected in travelers, patients, and wastewater samples across more than 20 states and in wastewater from dozens more, with reports spanning at least 25 states and 23 countries. Early lab data suggest BA.3.2 carries spike mutations that may help it evade antibodies generated by current vaccines, prompting monitoring of vaccine effectiveness and potential updates. While not yet the dominant U.S. variant and there’s no clear evidence it causes more severe disease, experts urge vigilance as the virus continues to mutate.

via Yahoo News Canada|
#ba32#cdc#covid-19
Lyme Vaccine Delivers Promising 70%+ Protection in Major Trial, Heads to FDA Review
health17 days ago

Lyme Vaccine Delivers Promising 70%+ Protection in Major Trial, Heads to FDA Review

Pfizer and Valneva’s VALOR Phase III trial for PF-07307405 shows about 73% efficacy at preventing confirmed Lyme disease, but the primary endpoint's 95% confidence interval is wide (15.8%–93.5%), likely due to milder Lyme activity during the study; a separate analysis confirms the lower bound above 20%, supporting FDA-approval steps. The vaccine targets the OspA protein to block Borrelia burgdorferi in ticks, and if approved could significantly boost Lyme prevention for high-risk groups.

via Gizmodo|
#clinical-trial#health#lyme-disease
Kennedy Jr.'s CDC Shake-Up Sparks Concerns Over Public Health
politics18 days ago

Kennedy Jr.'s CDC Shake-Up Sparks Concerns Over Public Health

An NYT Magazine exposé shows that since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became head of Health and Human Services, he has targeted the CDC with firings and leadership churn, sidelined scientists in favor of political appointees, replaced vaccine experts on ACIP with allies, and even promoted unproven measles treatments during outbreaks. With the agency largely leaderless for most of the past year and a court halting some vaccine-policy changes, critics warn that public health is being steered by ideology rather than science.

via The New York Times|
#acip#cdc#kennedy-jr
Kent meningitis outbreak peak passed, but vigilance remains, UKHSA says
health19 days ago

Kent meningitis outbreak peak passed, but vigilance remains, UKHSA says

UKHSA says the peak of the Kent meningitis outbreak linked to a Canterbury nightclub has passed, with 29 confirmed or suspected cases and two deaths. Four clinics across Canterbury, Ashford and Faversham are offering vaccines and antibiotics, and more than 10,000 vaccines and about 13,000 antibiotic courses have been administered. Cases may still appear as monitoring continues; the outbreak involves MenB, and routine MenB vaccination does not fully cover late teens.

via BBC|
#antibiotics#health#kent
Public Health at a Crossroads: Kennedy’s CDC Reshapes Science into Policy
health19 days ago

Public Health at a Crossroads: Kennedy’s CDC Reshapes Science into Policy

A New York Times oral history reveals that after RFK Jr. became health secretary, the CDC was transformed from a science-led agency into a politically driven one: thousands of staff were fired or forced out, the ACIP was purged and reconstituted with vaccine skeptics, public communications were tightly controlled, and vaccination policies were dramatically altered without the usual scientific checks. The result, according to current and former CDC employees, is a weakened public-health infrastructure and a public increasingly exposed to health threats, as measles outbreaks and vaccine controversies unfold under a reoriented governance model.

via The New York Times|
#acip#cdc#health
Vaccine Policy Shake-Ups Risk Rekindling Historic Plagues
health20 days ago

Vaccine Policy Shake-Ups Risk Rekindling Historic Plagues

ProPublica reports that Kennedy’s interventions in U.S. vaccine policy—replacing advisers with vaccine skeptics, trimming the childhood immunization schedule, and cutting global vaccination funding—could erode trust and access, risking a revival of preventable diseases. The piece links measles outbreaks at home to these shifts and recalls Hib meningitis, rubella congenital syndrome, and diphtheria resurfacing abroad when vaccination coverage falters; it warns that if makers withdraw from the U.S. market or the vaccine-injury compensation system weakens, Americans could lose access to lifesaving shots despite proven safety.

via Louisiana Illuminator|
#diphtheria#health#immunization-policy
Kennedy's Vaccine Policy Push Could Rekindle Old Plagues
health-care22 days ago

Kennedy's Vaccine Policy Push Could Rekindle Old Plagues

ProPublica analyzes how Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s push to overhaul vaccine safety and trim the routine childhood immunization schedule could undermine trust and access, risking supply disruptions and the return of preventable diseases such as measles, rubella, and diphtheria both in the U.S. and globally, based on historical outbreaks and expert interviews.

via ProPublica|
#health-care#immunization-schedule#kennedy-jr