Introducing the NextGen Covid Vax Tracker! vaxtracker.wordpress.com/2026/07/29/i... A monthly update on vaccine progress, featured vaccines, analyses, plus lots of background info. #Vaccines #Covid #Covid19
Hilda Bastian
@hildabast.bsky.social
Scientist (PhD she/her), writer, cartoonist. 🦘 Tracking NextGen Covid Vaccines at https://vaxtracker.wordpress.com/ Personal newsletter: Living With Evidence https://hildabastian.wordpress.com/
Very much recommend subscribing (either free or paid subscription) for up to date analysis of fortcoming next-generation COVId vaccines.
Hilda Bastian@hildabast.bsky.social · last wk.... There are lots of new features at the free-standing Tracker. Subscription to the usual update post is free — with additional new analyses & features for paid supporting subscribers. I hope you'll check it out and spread the word! vaxtracker.wordpress.com
New platform for NextGen Covid Vax Tracker by Hilda Bastian. Free and paid subscription options available
Hilda Bastian@hildabast.bsky.social · last wk.A New Chapter It's wattle time here in country Victoria, and the bees are ecstatic! All that glorious yellow cheers up the middle of winter no end. It's such an optimistic color. I'm feeling optimistic, too, even though this month did not go as planned. That began, as disruptions so often do, with…
A New Chapter It's wattle time here in country Victoria, and the bees are ecstatic! All that glorious yellow cheers up the middle of winter no end. It's such an optimistic color. I'm feeling optimistic, too, even though this month did not go as planned. That began, as disruptions so often do, with…
A New Chapter
It's wattle time here in country Victoria, and the bees are ecstatic! All that glorious yellow cheers up the middle of winter no end. It's such an optimistic color. I'm feeling optimistic, too, even though this month did not go as planned. That began, as disruptions so often do, with an unexpected email. This one was from PLOS, the home of my blog, …
hildabastian.wordpress.com
PLOS' Independent Blog Network is ending this month (2010-2026). I've been so proud to be a longstanding member: Thank you for everything, @plos.org! My farewell post, with thoughts on blogging's history: absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/07/29/f...
Farewell Post - Absolutely Maybe
Experimenting with colors for the Absolutely Maybe logo feels like another lifetime. It was 2013, and this blog was launching on the…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
A *bumper* month of nextgen Covid vax clinical trial news: — Results of 2 clinical trials for mucosal vaccines, including Vaxart's oral vax — Another mucosal vaccine is going into clinical trial, and 4 others are fully recruited or completed ...1/3 absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/07/29/b...
Bumper Month of Clinical Trial News to Ring Out This Vax Series - Absolutely Maybe
Before I get to the bumper crop of recent clinical trial news, there is news about this monthly update. This is the…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
My monthly update on next generation Covid vaccines is online now @plos.org — with a new streamlined structure I hope makes it easier & quicker to read. News on a major UK grant supporting a UK/US collaboration on a vax from Stanford Uni, plus ...1/2 absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/06/29/m...
More Trials Recruiting and Other NextGen Covid Vaccine News - Absolutely Maybe
June was a relatively slow news month for next generation Covid vaccine development. So I took the opportunity to simplify the structure…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
My monthly update on next generation Covid vaccines is online now @plos.org — with a new streamlined structure I hope makes it easier & quicker to read. News on a major UK grant supporting a UK/US collaboration on a vax from Stanford Uni, plus ...1/2 absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/06/29/m...
More Trials Recruiting and Other NextGen Covid Vaccine News - Absolutely Maybe
June was a relatively slow news month for next generation Covid vaccine development. So I took the opportunity to simplify the structure…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
An argumentation theorist's ethnographic case study about the Cochrane review on ME/CFS raises, I think, structural implications for journals like Cochrane's. My latest post @plos.org absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/06/24/v...
Values and Conflicts at Journals - Absolutely Maybe
What makes an argument ‘correct,’ or, at least, reasonable? We can debate about each other’s claims endlessly, and there’s an interdisciplinary field…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
When Can We Be Sure a Placebo Is Really a Placebo? OK, I admit this cartoon is not on point here. But I think it's one of my better cartoons, and that's my excuse for trotting it out! The point is a recent scoping review on active placebo controls, by David Laursen and colleagues. "Active placebo"…
When Can We Be Sure a Placebo Is Really a Placebo?
OK, I admit this cartoon is not on point here. But I think it's one of my better cartoons, and that's my excuse for trotting it out! The point is a recent scoping review on active placebo controls, by David Laursen and colleagues. "Active placebo" sounds a bit like a contradiction in terms. That makes using them in trials one of those friction points capitalized in anti-vaccine evidence critiques: If it's active, so the argument goes, it's not a placebo, and the trial's results can be denigrated.
hildabastian.wordpress.com
A big month for next generation Covid vaccine trials! — Details of an exciting trial in Tanzania for an intranasal vax for low-resource communities—results may come soon; — An overview of the Covid human challenge studies, as one reaches a milestone .... 1/2 absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/05/31/a...
A Bumper Month of Clinical Trial News (NextGen Covid Vax Update) - Absolutely Maybe
It was a big month for clinical trials of next generation Covid vaccines. An exciting phase 1/2 trial in Africa for an…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
A big month for next generation Covid vaccine trials! — Details of an exciting trial in Tanzania for an intranasal vax for low-resource communities—results may come soon; — An overview of the Covid human challenge studies, as one reaches a milestone .... 1/2 absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/05/31/a...
A Bumper Month of Clinical Trial News (NextGen Covid Vax Update) - Absolutely Maybe
It was a big month for clinical trials of next generation Covid vaccines. An exciting phase 1/2 trial in Africa for an…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
A bit of medical history to distract from a hot day. My article in @uk.theconversation.com tells a favourite story from BEYOND BELIEF: how a remarkable randomised trial showed conventional wisdom on bedrest was wrong and helped inspire evidence-based medicine. theconversation.com/how-a-remark...
How a remarkable trial on bedrest during the Korean war helped lead to evidence-based medicine
How a bedbound patient and a 73-page study changed the way doctors make decisions.
theconversation.com
Fascinating evidence stories galore! @helenpearson.bsky.social's new book is a wonderful read about evidence movements in medicine, social policy, policing, business, & education. Check out my review online now @plos.org absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/05/27/b...
Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works (Book Review) - Absolutely Maybe
There are several reasons to buy Helen Pearson’s excellent new book, Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works—whether you want to…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
I am the 370th Wikipedia editor to sign up declaring solidarity for the Wikimedia staff union: meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Wo... ✊ (Disappointed that this is even needed.)
Wiki Workers United - Meta-Wiki
meta.wikimedia.org
They Had Me At “Dog”! "Dog-assisted intervention trials." That phrase was definitely going to make me click! For a brief moment in that odd mind space you're in while scrolling, I wondered how on earth dogs could assist intervention trials (!!). But of course the article was about trials of…
They Had Me At “Dog”!
"Dog-assisted intervention trials." That phrase was definitely going to make me click! For a brief moment in that odd mind space you're in while scrolling, I wondered how on earth dogs could assist intervention trials (!!). But of course the article was about trials of dog-assisted services—either professionally-delivered therapy with dogs trained to help improve mental health, or activities with untrained dogs.
hildabastian.wordpress.com
My book BEYOND BELIEF is out today! It says: in a world flooded with questionable claims and misinformation, evidence from science can help show what’s nonsense – and what’s not. In other words: "Essential reading for the rational-minded". Please repost! 1/🧵 @princetonupress.bsky.social
A slow month for next generation Covid vax results, but a big month for clinical trial news. New clinical trial for intranasal vax starting in the US, & another expanding to another 2 cities. A "variant-proof" vax going into phase 2a trial in Germany: absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/04/30/a...
Another Intranasal Covid Vaccine Starting in the US (NextGen Vax Monthly Update) - Absolutely Maybe
This month intranasal and inhaled versions of a Covid vaccine are heading into a phase 1 trial in the US. The vaccine…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
A recent paper got me frustrated about this again: There's still too much uncertainty about conflict of interest bias in research. My new post @plos.org absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/04/29/t...
There's Still Too Much Uncertainty About Conflict of Interest Bias - Absolutely Maybe
A paper published this month got me frustrated, yet again, about this situation: There really is still too much uncertainty about conflict…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
“No single raindrop…” "No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood." This is a line from a poster I used to have in my office. It popped into my head this week when I was in a queue to fuel my car. We've had shortages around here—not because the country didn't have enough, but because…
“No single raindrop…”
"No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood." This is a line from a poster I used to have in my office. It popped into my head this week when I was in a queue to fuel my car. We've had shortages around here—not because the country didn't have enough, but because panic buyers have been draining supplies.
hildabastian.wordpress.com
A little hope.
Hilda Bastian@hildabast.bsky.social · 4mo agoNew feature: Which nextgen Covid vaxes are advancing the most? I highlight 3 in mid- to late-stage trials with manufacturers—including a "universal" Covid vax & a mucosal one—and another 6 vaccines. Plus more trial results & 10 preclinical reports: absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/04/02/a...
New feature: Which nextgen Covid vaxes are advancing the most? I highlight 3 in mid- to late-stage trials with manufacturers—including a "universal" Covid vax & a mucosal one—and another 6 vaccines. Plus more trial results & 10 preclinical reports: absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/04/02/a...
Accelerating Development for Some NextGen Covid Vaxes (Update No 39) - Absolutely Maybe
Several next generation Covid vaccines are now advancing into mid- or late-stage trials. So this month, I have started a new section—a…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
My darling son Adam would have been 43 today. Cherishing memories of hanging out with him—here in 2012. ❤️
In February 2021, a town in Brazil showed up for a groundbreaking randomized Covid vax trial, providing evidence of population effects of mass vaccination in a pandemic. My latest @plos.org post digs into this exciting precedent & why it matters: absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/03/28/a...
A Unique Pandemic Control Trial - Absolutely Maybe
When I was young, while I understood pandemics that kill millions could happen in theory, I really thought they were a thing…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
In February 2021, a town in Brazil showed up for a groundbreaking randomized Covid vax trial, providing evidence of population effects of mass vaccination in a pandemic. My latest @plos.org post digs into this exciting precedent & why it matters: absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/03/28/a...
A Unique Pandemic Control Trial - Absolutely Maybe
When I was young, while I understood pandemics that kill millions could happen in theory, I really thought they were a thing…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
Adjusting to the Changing Internet When ads flooded some parts of the internet, I adjusted by avoiding those places when I recognized the signs—or hitting the back button quickly when I hadn't. When "AI" scrapers led to an explosion of sites making me wait while checking if I'm a robot, I got used…
Adjusting to the Changing Internet
When ads flooded some parts of the internet, I adjusted by avoiding those places when I recognized the signs—or hitting the back button quickly when I hadn't. When "AI" scrapers led to an explosion of sites making me wait while checking if I'm a robot, I got used to it, though it's a drag. And so on it goes. Now it seems cyber surveillance could advance in ways that might require bigger behavioral adaptation.
hildabastian.wordpress.com
News-packed update on nextgen Covid vaccines this month at my @plos.org blog: - Preclinical results for an intranasal "universal" vaccine that provided some protection from coronaviruses, H1N1 flu, some bacterial infections, and an asthma allergen... 1/2 absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/03/01/p...
Progress for "Universal" Vaccine & More NextGen Covid Vax News (Update No 38) - Absolutely Maybe
This month, there are phase 2 results for a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine from Japan—and that vaccine’s developers have recently completed a phase…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
News-packed update on nextgen Covid vaccines this month at my @plos.org blog: - Preclinical results for an intranasal "universal" vaccine that provided some protection from coronaviruses, H1N1 flu, some bacterial infections, and an asthma allergen... 1/2 absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/03/01/p...
Progress for "Universal" Vaccine & More NextGen Covid Vax News (Update No 38) - Absolutely Maybe
This month, there are phase 2 results for a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine from Japan—and that vaccine’s developers have recently completed a phase…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
@macalestercollege.bsky.social I've written a Wikipedia page for Catharine Deaver Lealtad, as well as a blog post: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathari... absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/02/20/d...
Catharine Deaver Lealtad - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org