UPDATE: The White House finally weighed in - Monarez has officially been fired.
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UPDATE: The White House finally weighed in - Monarez has officially been fired.
UPDATE: Lawyers for Monarez say she has not resigned nor received notification that she'd been fired. "As a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign,” they said.
At least four top officials have resigned in the wake of CDC director Monarez's firing @erikaedwards.bsky.social @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
“Everyone wants childhood vaccines to be as safe as possible, but reviving this panel now must be put in the context of recent HHS actions.”
NEW: The FDA warned about unapproved thyroid pills, then — after MAHA backlash— said it'll "ensure access" to them www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
In January, Dr. Elisabeth Potter says she was midway through performing a breast reconstruction surgery when a call from a representative from UnitedHealthcare came into the operating room. The health insurance company wanted to talk about the patient on the table.
RFK Jr. cuts $500 million in mRNA vaccine contracts, dealing major blow to promising area of research @nbcnews.com
This is a really fascinating story by @kaitsulliva.bsky.social - How a type of HPV can cause skin cancer in people with weakened immune systems
The U.S. gets nearly half of its brand-name prescription drugs from Europe. by @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
What. Is. Happening!!!!
Some of the panelists invited by the FDA to discuss SSRIs and pregnancy claimed that antidepressants don't work at all and depression goes away on its own. One suggested that depression was not an illness, but rather a product of “women just naturally experiencing their emotions more intensely.”
Free shipping!
Some researchers suspect the trend has to do with obesity and diet. Others point to changes in the gut microbiome.
Nine-month-old Hal was exposed to measles at day care and can’t go back for almost a month. He's too young for the measles vaccine, which isn't recommended til 1yo. When his mom has to go back to work, his dad will need to take time off - unpaid - to stay home with him. by @erikaedwards.bsky.social
Affordability policies like Medicaid expansion had the biggest weight on access. www.nbcnews.com/health/women...
Really interesting story on lipedema. How a person looks is in no way an indicator of how much pain they have. by @erikaedwards.bsky.social @nbcnews.com
NEW - Rural hospitals say they’re being forced to consider tough choices — like cutting services for children or cancer patients — after Trump signed into law a sprawling domestic policy bill that includes sweeping cuts to not only Medicaid but the ACA, as well. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
not a big fan of thunder
Over the 10 months Arkansas’ work requirement was in place, more than 18,000 people in the state lost Medicaid coverage. Most were working or qualified for exemptions. by @berkeleyjr.bsky.social @nbcnews.com
here’s a cat looking befuddled
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a challenge to an Affordable Care Act provision that set up a panel to recommend preventive care services that insurers must provide at no cost to patients. The ruling gives RFK Jr more power. www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...
First dispatch from today's ACIP meeting:
HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces questioning about his overhaul of the CDC vaccine panel, saying he never agreed to keep it unchanged.
In one week, hundreds of international doctors are due to start their medical residencies in the U.S., but they're caught in visa limbo. Hospitals often count on these residents to address provider shortages, particularly in underserved areas.
NEW: Sen. Bill Cassidy criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s picks for a key federal vaccine advisory committee and called for the group’s next meeting to be delayed until more members with relevant expertise can be appointed. @nbcnews.com
when the zoomies hit
Kennedy does the thing he said for years he wanted to www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
“Ghost networks” are directories of health care providers that are largely unreachable, out of network or don’t accept new patients. One mother spent two weeks calling providers listed by her insurance, but found no viable options for her son.
The tool — which is still in beta testing — is buggy, doesn’t yet connect to the FDA’s internal systems and has issues when it comes to uploading documents or allowing users to submit questions. great reporting from @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
catnip 🌱🌱🌱
can confirm that silver is an excellent bodega cat
The FDA picked a new strain for the fall Covid shots, a move that will likely require clinical trials for kids and adults under 65 without medical conditions. @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
Earlier this week, the FDA said that new clinical trials would be needed to give updated Covid vaccines to healthy kids and adults. An FDA advisory panel today recommended keeping the next round of shots the same - so will new clinical trials still be needed? It is unclear! @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
The FDA said Tuesday that Covid vaccines musto undergo additional placebo-controlled studies before they can be given to healthy kids and adults. @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
Amid the ongoing measles outbreak in West Texas that's killed two kids and one adult — all unvaccinated — Kennedy has pushed unproven remedies, including the steroid budesonide, the antibiotic clarithromycin and cod liver oil. @berkeleyjr.bsky.social @nbcnews.com
The anti-fluoride push continues... @erikaedwards.bsky.social
HHS shut down the CDC's Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, which gives guidance on preventing the spread of infections in health care facilities. It worked on guidelines for airborne pathogens and drug-resistant infections, among other things. @nbcnews.com
Kennedy wants all new vaccines to undergo placebo-controlled trials. It sounds like Covid vaccines, which are updated yearly to match the circulating strain, may fall into that category. If that's the case, it's highly unlikely updated Covid shots will be avail by fall. @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
This is a fascinating study -- a gut toxin, long known to scientists, may explain the rising rates of colon cancer in younger people.
friday timeline cleanse
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent a portion of his speech on Friday to FDA staff deriding their past decisions, at one point saying that the agency “became a sock puppet” for the industries it was meant to regulate.
"Peptides" are increasingly popular in the manosphere. Here's what to know.
The measles outbreak in West Texas has reignited familiar anti-vaccine tactics: claiming there are readily available treatments for the disease while sowing doubt in the safety of vaccines. There are no approved treatments for measles.
The federal government is the biggest buyer of prescription drugs through Medicare and Medicaid. So the federal government would some bow be paying a tariff to themselves? www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
A second child has died in the measles outbreak in Texas. RFK Jr. is expected to attend the funeral. By @erikaedwards.bsky.social
The exodus of top talent at the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research could hobble the agency’s ability to approve new vaccines and a wide range of other drugs. The administration “has left us decapitated,' one former FDA official said. by @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
New: HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. said he wouldn’t take away childhood vaccines. Then he cut $2 billion from state health programs that helps get them to kids. Clinics canceled. Nurses fired. Immunizations stalled—all amid a measles outbreak. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
He’s perfect???
NEW: Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA's top vaccine scientist, is out, forced by Kennedy to resign. Marks wrote that undermining confidence in vaccines is “irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety, and security.” by @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
NEW: The move — along with the CDC’s explanation — is a sign that the nation’s top public health agency may be falling in line under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of vaccines. By @sheinvestigates.bsky.social
Some 10,000 federal health workers are expected to lose their jobs today as HHS begins mass layoffs. @berkeleyjr.bsky.social @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social @corkysiemaszko.bsky.social @nbcnews.com
BREAKING: HHS announced it's planning to cut 10,000 jobs across the department. The move will shutter or downsize a number of divisions, including at CDC. by @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
HHS tapped David Geier, an anti-vaccine activist and discredited researcher, to study the much-debunked link between vaccines and autism. by @erikaedwards.bsky.social and @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social
Former CDC comms director on why he resigned: “My first-hand experience over the recent troubling weeks convinced me that Kennedy and his team are working to bend science to fit their own narratives, rather than allowing facts to guide policy.”
New: HHS confirms to that CDC just pulled $11.4 billion in funds allocated to state and community health departments, nongovernment organizations and international recipients in response to the pandemic. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
“Measles is going to find those pockets of unvaccinated individuals." by @erikaedwards.bsky.social @nbcnews.com
It’s rare, but in some cases a bite from a lone star tick can cause a person to develop an allergy to red meat. Two case reports published this week, however, suggest that two other ticks, found elsewhere in the country, may also trigger the allergy.
What a harrowing story from @suzykhimm.bsky.social on the realities of bird flu on a chicken farm -- "They began piling the bodies outside in the snow. Most lay dead on the coop floor. A few had died inside the red nesting boxes with their heads sticking out."
In a phase 1 clinical trial, 21 patients got CAR-T therapy for a rare and aggressive brain tumor. The median survival was about 20 months — nearly double the expected prognosis. Gavin has lived even longer: At 6 years old, he's lived four times longer than doctors initially predicted.
RFK Jr just said on Hannity that bird flu doesn’t hurt wild birds I- 😶
In addition to eschewing vaccines, many families affected by the West Texas measles outbreak are opting for unproven remedies instead of conventional medical approaches. @erikaedwards.bsky.social and @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social report
The CDC launched a "database" listing current and former ACIP members and what it describes their conflicts of interest. This comes several weeks after HHS abruptly cancelled a meeting of the committee. by @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
198 cases have been reported in West Texas, plus another 30 in New Mexico. @erikaedwards.bsky.social reports
NEW - Dr. Marty Makary, Trump's FDA pick, said at his Senate confirmation hearing that he would review a Biden-era rule that allowed patients to get mifepristone without seeing a health care provider in person. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
A person in New Mexico tested positive for measles after their death. Is this the second death of the outbreak?
Bhattacharya said that he doesn’t “generally believe” there’s a link between vaccines and autism. But he didn’t rule out devoting funding to new research, citing public distrust of vaccines and unknowns about why autism rates are rising. @berkeleyjr.bsky.social reported from the hearing
A budget resolution adopted by House Republicans could jeopardize the health insurance coverage of millions of low-income and disabled people who rely on Medicaid if lawmakers follow through with their proposed spending cuts, experts warn. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
It took the CDC several week to say anything publicly about the measles outbreak in Texas. When it finally did, it mentioned vitamin A, which has been long touted by antivax groups for measles. Here's what to know:
Always read @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social on RFK Jr.!
'Thousands' possibly exposed to measles in Texas as outbreak grows by @erikaedwards.bsky.social @nbcnews.com
Why is the flu so bad this year? by @katie-cam.bsky.social
Yesterday, the FDA's vaccine advisory committee meeting to select flu shot strains was canceled, raising concerns that the U.S. won't have enough supply of the vaccine for next flu season. @berkeleyjr.bsky.social @nbcnews.com
look at this lil guy and his spring
NEWS: The FDA abruptly canceled its upcoming advisory committee meeting to select the strains for next year's flu shot. by @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
After the first measles death of a child HHS Secretary Kennedy seemed to downplay the Texas outbreak saying outbreaks were "not unusual," and the 18 kids hospitalized were "mainly for quarantine." A pediatrician on the ground said they couldn't breathe. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
The first measles death has been reported in the West Texas outbreak by @erikaedwards.bsky.social
Meanwhile, the anti-vax movement is trying to falsely pin the outbreak on the vaccine itself, @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social reports
As the measles outbreak in Texas keeps spreading, parents who previously chose not to vaccinate their children are now lining up to get their kids the shots needed to protect them. by @erikaedwards.bsky.social
The Trump administration is reinstating some employees in the FDA's medical devices division after dozens were laid off as part of a government-wide cost-cutting initiative led by billionaire Elon Musk and his DOGE, according to two people familiar with the matter. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Neither vaccines nor the virus prompted an increase in the number of cardiac arrests, contrary to misinformation that has circulated repeatedly.
Next week's ACIP meeting has been postponed, @berkeleyjr.bsky.social reports
Sweeping layoffs. Funding freezes. Executive orders. The Trump administration has provoked outcry among federal researchers and their university partners for undermining decades of research into rare disorders and their potential cures. nbcnews.to/3QmKePd
In rural West Texas, a measles outbreak grows with no end in sight @erikaedwards.bsky.social and Jason Kane reported this from Gaines County, with a little assist from yours truly. @nbcnews.com
we got em!!!!!
it’s been a week, here’s moose
Ed Martin vowed to protect DOGE employees. He's stayed silent on those targeted by the "DEI watch list." by @berkeleyjr.bsky.social @ryanjreilly.com for @nbcnews.com
the website has changed the word "targets" to "dossiers"
Federal health workers are expressing fear and alarm after a website called “DEI Watch List” published the photos, names and public information of a number of workers across health agencies, describing them as “targets.” great reporting from @berkeleyjr.bsky.social and Erika Edwards @nbcnews.com
NEW from @berkeleyjr.bsky.social and @benryanwriter.bsky.social -- CDC site scrubs HIV content following Trump DEI policies
RFK Jr.'s statements at Wednesday's confirmation hearing bore little resemblance to the years of documented stances he took on vaccines. The dissonance did little to blunt the excitement in the anti-vaccine movement.
RFK Jr. stumbles on Medicaid at Senate confirmation hearing from @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
The record of Kennedy's anti-vaccine statements and advocacy is so vast, so well documented. I just don't see how he evades it. Will be interesting to see whether he needs to. www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...
Follow along for our coverage of RFK Jr.'s hearing today. @berkeleyjr.bsky.social is in the room
New: Trump officials have paused all external communications at health agencies like CDC, FDA, NIH. No health alerts and the famed MMWRs; no updates to key websites or social media posts. And no indication how long the pause will last. With @rachelroubein.bsky.social + Lena Sun.
Here’s what to know about Trump’s executive actions on health care, by @berkeleyjr.bsky.social @nbcnews.com
Alcohol labels should carry cancer risk warning, U.S. surgeon general urges
Starting today, Medicare beneficiaries will have their annual out-of-pocket drug costs capped at $2,000 as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act. www.kff.org/medicare/iss...
Very helpful breakdown of the CDC’s report on the Louisiana bird flu patient from @angierasmussen.bsky.social