New at PLS: I describe how federal & state policymakers are taking action to stigmatize mRNA vaccine technology. While mRNA vaccine stigmatization hasn't yet "spilled over" to shape public vaccine sentiment, I discuss why it might -- and what we can do about it. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The potential public health consequences of “mRNA vaccine stigmatization” in the US | Politics and the Life Sciences | Cambridge Core

The potential public health consequences of “mRNA vaccine stigmatization” in the US

cambridge.org

First, it was the tidal wave of GLP-1 ads on TV & social media. Next, we could be flooded with ads for compounded peptides... share.google/6JmCxge7Axkh...

FDA advisers narrowly vote to add 6 peptides to a drug compounding list. What's next?

An advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration has narrowly voted to add six peptides to a drug compounding list.

share.google

Key. 👇 ‼️ Political polarization drives surge in anti-vaccine legislation across the US www.news-medical.net/news/2026071... @mattmotta.bsky.social: "Our work shows that state lawmakers affiliated with the Republican party are responsible for the overwhelming majority of antivaccine bills..."

Political polarization drives surge in anti-vaccine legislation across the US

Despite overwhelming evidence on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine hesitancy intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic and has fueled skepticism towards other life-saving vaccines f...

news-medical.net

This is another step towards a one-party state: only give government grants to your political friends www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...

Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him (Gift Article)

Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.

nytimes.com

Admirable clarity @science.org

David Roberts@volts.wtf · 2w ago

Whew, the editors of @science.org are getting real.

cult shit at the White House as Trump's cronies give him a standing ovation for minutes on end. Note how nobody wants to be the first to stop clapping.

Here's is an incomplete timeline of the (many) times Pres. Trump promised that this "little excursion" would be over before today. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...

A timeline of Trump's shifting statements about how long the Iran war will last

Since the U.S. and Israel launched the strikes against Iran Feb. 28, President Donald Trump has made contradictory statements about the timeline to end the war. He has repeatedly declared victory and ...

pbs.org

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago

Trump claims "the Iran war" is going "better than anybody expected could be done"

it does actually sound like taylor farms and the white house teamed up to try and blame taco bell for the outbreak. unprecedented corruption

Jessica Nix@jessicanix.bsky.social · 2w ago

NEW: As cyclosporiasis cases jumped, the company linked to the outbreak - Taylor Farms - effectively delayed a recall that mounted in consumer confusion. Gift link for @business www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Medicare is negotiating the prices of 15 drugs. Pharma cos. raised prices for all the drugs faster than the rate of inflation over abt a decade & at more than double the rate of inflation for 13/15 drugs. During that time nearly half the drugs doubled in price. We must negotiate prices at launch.

@rbreich.bsky.social makes yet another great point.

Beyond the stock market, I think we need to watch for prediction market manipulation. The same Trump admin imposing tariffs at will (in defiance of Congress) is also heavily invested in a prediction market industry that...allows people to bet on tariffs. How on earth is this this still allowed?!

The Verasight MPSA 2026 omnibus survey report is out. Conference participants contributed 131 questions, fielded to the Verasight panel of 300,000+ verified Americans. Key findings and full report below. 1/n

New, from @splawinski.bsky.social at Can We Still Govern? The more we learn about how prediction markets operate, the clearer the need for regulation. So whats happening? Congress seems unable to act, while the Trump admin is blocking states from doing so. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-only-t...

The Only Thing Congress Has Banned Is Itself, Kinda

The Prediction Market Regulatory Vacuum Keeps Getting Bigger

donmoynihan.substack.com

A bit of good news in the field of public health. The Republican state of South Carolina is increasing its immunization requirements this year. @klunztrujillo.bsky.social @mattmotta.bsky.social

These are the new SC student vaccine requirements for the 2026-27 school year

Is your child up to date with required SC vaccinations? Here’s what’s new for the upcoming school year.

thestate.com

🚨New Book Alert 🚨 Thrilled to announce the publication of my first book: Rural Pain, Republican Gain by @uchicagopress.bsky.social ‼️ Officially released in one month but at the warehouse and ready to ship to you and yours! press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

Rural Pain, Republican Gain

An eye-opening look at how Republican policies have affected health outcomes in rural communities and why poor, rural white voters are turning to the Republican Party—not despite this harm, but becaus...

press.uchicago.edu

New from @thcallaghan.bsky.social & I at @amjpublichealth.bsky.social: We show that GOP lawmakers are responsible for a sharp increase in anti-vaccine bill introductions across state legislatures from 2019-2023. Article + replication data: ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/epdf/10....

AJPH

American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) from the American Public Health Association (APHA)

ajph.aphapublications.org

Hard to imagine how this could go horribly wrong! www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

Kalshi to allow bets on clinical trials, FDA decisions

Prediction market platform Kalshi will start taking bets on the outcomes of clinical trials and FDA regulatory reviews, it said on ​Thursday, making drug-development odds public for the first time.

reuters.com

The (initial) results are in: most of the publicly available comments on OMB's proposal to overhaul federal grantmaking are negative 95% of the 50k available comments were opposed, just 1% were in support Political control, peer review, and terminations were most common topics mentioned

Republicans EVEN with Democrats; the truly post-Reagan GOP is upon us

Opinion Today@opiniontoday.bsky.social · 3w ago

Should the government control or own key industries, such as healthcare and energy? Americans are split. (I&I/TIPP Poll) More, via Opinion Today: opiniontoday.substack.com/p/260713-top...

We've reached the "find out" stage, folks.

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · 4w ago

CDC stopped monitoring parasite now causing explosive diarrhea across the country

“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects.” David McCraw, The Times’s top newsroom lawyer, in a statement on Friday evening.

Times Journalists Subpoenaed as Trump Escalates Pressure on Media

The Justice Department is seeking to compel testimony from reporters who wrote about the new Air Force One. The Times called the move a “brazen act.”

nytimes.com

SNL UK Season 2 is going to be 🔥 www.cnn.com/2026/07/09/u...

Farage left fighting a trash can as the UK populist leader’s election gamble backfires | CNN

Nigel Farage resigned from the UK Parliament amid a controversy over undeclared financial donations but his tactic backfired

cnn.com

The same White House that just called Communism a "mortal threat to American liberty" last week?

USA TODAY@usatoday.com · 4w ago

The White House launched 25 Freedom Fuel gas stations, all selling fuel at $3.47 a gallon.

What an increase: “Half of all people who buy coverage on the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces work for small businesses or are self-employed, compared w/roughly 28% in 2022. This coverage has become a lot more expensive after Congress did not renew enhanced subsidies that lowered people’s costs”

5 takeaways from STAT’s series on the soaring cost of health insurance

Read the 5 key takeaways from STAT's series "Out of Pocket, Out of Reach," an examination of workplace health insurance.

statnews.com

Being on the soft money side of academia, when funding is terminated on a whim & the peer review process is undermined, it means we can't predict funding for incoming students

Prasad Jallepalli, MD, PhD@prasad.bsky.social · last mo.

www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/u... an ominous trend: graduate admissions are down 15 percent from last year, on top of an 11 percent decrease from the previous year we are destroying our seed corn

Budget Reconciliation is reserved for legislation pertaining to the budget. It's really that simple. Any reporting of GOP efforts to use Budget Reconciliation to pass the SAVE America Act really needs to lead with noting that this is a textbook violation of Senate rules.

CNN@cnn.com · last mo.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he plans to move quickly to advance President Donald Trump’s signature voter ID legislation through the arduous budget reconciliation process once the House returns to Washington, downplaying the heightened tensions within the GOP.

Infinite regress. With a heavy emphasis on "regress."

On the eve of America's 250th birthday, I talked w/Friends of Brookline PH about Washington's decision to inoculate the Continental Army, how vax. policies get made, and why it's so important to close the religious exemption loophole in MA. Free on all platforms! open.spotify.com/episode/5dkP...

S1E5 - Viruses Don't Care About Politics: The Truth About Religious Vaccine Exemptions in Massachusetts

Inside Brookline Health · Episode

open.spotify.com

As is the case with most things this administration does, the event is going to be a public health nightmare. (Assuming anyone shows up).

Bill Grueskin@bgrueskin.bsky.social · last mo.

Authorities are imposing a limit of “one bottle of water per person” for attendees on the DC Mall. This is on July 4, when the temp will exceed 100 degrees. Checkpoints open at 1 pm. Fireworks don’t start til after 1030 pm. Good luck to our EMS friends. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

www.npr.org/2026/06/30/n...

FDA scientists flag concerns with peptides, the trendy molecules RFK Jr. supports

Documents reviewing the research on peptides note lack of good evidence of efficacy or safety. Yet an FDA panel will consider easing access to them later this month.

npr.org