It’s Code Red for Vaccines The number of changes to vaccine policy is dizzying & RFK Jr is just getting started! Dissolving the group of experts that drive policy is declaring war on “what was” I write in @nytimes.com about what is and is not working www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/o...

Opinion | It’s Code Red for Vaccines in America (Gift Article)

How to make sense of all the vaccine policy changes.

nytimes.com

Today RFK Jr took the single biggest step towards destroying childhood vaccines When @nytimes asked me in December whether RFK could kill the vaccine program - I said he’d have to remove CDCs ACIP And… that’s exactly what he just did today Not good-just like that we cannot trust CDC on vaccines

A remarkable escalation by Trump blocking international students from Harvard For many labs (including the one I led) many of the most advanced research is by international students and trainees International trainees are core to Harvard’s research 1/ t.co/LjbaMQzTXr

ICYMI: A recording from last week's webinar, "Measles in America: Causes, Risks, and Responses" is now available! @michaelmina.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social youtu.be/Tbwfz6iUqe4

Measles in America: Causes, Risks, and Responses

YouTube video by International Vaccine Access Center

youtu.be

Did you know? 99% of all new medications resulted from federally-funded university research through #NIH Learn more about #ResearchSavesLives: hub.jhu.edu/research-sav....

@michaelmina.bsky.social @meganranney.bsky.social @sailorrooscout.bsky.social will look forward to your analysis, and that of other top experts, on this collapse of agencies and fallout.

Jeremy Faust, MD@jeremyfaust.bsky.social · last yr.

New: A 64-page HHS restructuring proposal outlines sweeping cuts to US public health. Here it is, in its entirety. open.substack.com/pub/insideme...

Come to Learn about **Measles** in America today "Measles in America: Causes, Risks, and Responses" April 30: 4-5pm EST bit.ly/measles-in-a... Webinar by @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social IVAC Professor Bill Moss moderates with: • me (@michaelmina.bsky.social) • Walt Orenstein • Daniel Salmon

Sharing @michaelmina.bsky.social's @nytimes.com oped on this Gift link www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/o...

Opinion | I Study Measles. I’m Terrified We’re Headed for an Epidemic. (Gift Article)

The outbreak in Texas could become much, much worse.

nytimes.com

Measles and more, with guest @michaelmina.bsky.social Join us today in The Doctor’s Lounge at 3pm ET on Substack Live👇 open.substack.com/live-stream/...

LIVE SOON: Jeremy Faust, MD on Substack

Starting Apr 8 at 3:00 PM EDT

open.substack.com

Measles is spreading Under vaccinated communities are getting bigger in size and number Like bubbles, as these communities get bigger, they merge - the firewalls breakdown - I’m deeply concerned we are at risk of not hundreds, but epidemics of tens of thousands of cases in US t.co/C3heJrjwic

The new nominee for CDC Director, Susan Monarez is the right type of leader for the CDC today We need a CDC with a renewed interest in innovating and engineering population health solutions (public healths roots) and drive positive impacts My new piece in @TIME discusses why t.co/ug9zmhzjg7

23andMe changed the culture of how people interact with their biological & medical information and changed translational research at population scale The company is running into bankruptcy But its impacts beyond its business, on society and science, will last I wrote in @statnews t.co/teNnEzRBsI

Live where measles is spreading? Can your baby get a vaccine early? YES The vaccine is safe/effective even down to 6 months (Note: Its recommended later bc maternal antibodies passed to the fetus vs measles wane around ~9 months and could limit vaccine benefit if not yet gone) t.co/2rIkfk9qvH

Unfortunately, this rings all too true for many with chronic illnesses that dont have a neat diagnosis Many originate from pathogen exposures and are difficult to identify after acute infection has cleared A silver lining of COVID is it has highlighted this issue and is driving new research

It takes just 1… Important wake up call #H5N1 BirdFlu just sequenced by @CDCgov from severe Louisiana patient Most important, the H5 virus mutated inside the single patient to gain an ability to bind human receptors in the upper respiratory tract It takes just one www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/spo...

Antibiotic use increased 16.3% since 2016, driven largely by economic growth in LMIC. Despite concerns on AMR, effective measures like stewardship programs, public awareness, improved infection prevention have helped some high-income nations limit their consumption. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Do you know all you need to about measles? Maybe… probably not There is SO much to know On “Incubation” Podcast (produced by Gladwell), we cover Measles Immune Memory Immune Amnesia The true toll of the Virus Measles as a cancer treatment A short terrific podcast! www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/inc...

At times it’s tough to remember why we do what we do 20 years ago today the Indian Ocean Tsunami killed 250,000 ppl I was a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka when the wave hit the country It was the survivors in the refugee camp I lived afterwards that cemented for me a life path in public health 1/

Physicians/public take note: @Labcorp just rolled out access to #H5 #BirdFlu test This is extremely important & shows Criticality of Lab Developed Tests/LDTs (outside of FDA) for the nimbleness required to deal w emergencies and to advance diagnostics www.labcorp.com/tests/140046...

What an amazing read (h/t Jeff Flier) - esp @michaelmina.bsky.social which felt especially raw. #biosky #medsky www.harvardmagazine.com/2025/01/harv...

Harvard Professors Leaving for Private Sector Research | Harvard Magazine

Three distinguished scientists on leaving academia to advance biomedical research

harvardmagazine.com

It is important for people in countries like the U.S. - where we are so lucky to have measles elimination (for now) - to remember why measles is so important to keep eliminated Most parents today have never seen measles It is not good for many reasons www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/h...

Tiny Coffins: Measles Is Killing Thousands of Children in Congo

Problems with getting vaccines to families have left many children unvaccinated and in danger of contracting the virus.

nytimes.com

YES, rapid Flu/COVID multiplexed tests that are available in stores DO detect H5N1 The tests detect Flu A (as well as Flu B and COVID) H5N1 is a Flu A virus So it will detect H5 with a positive Flu A line but will not differentiate if it’s H5 vs H3 or H1

Michael Mina MD,PhD@michaelmina.bsky.social · 2y ago

H5 BirdFlu continues to spread CA declared State of Emergency & now a severe D1.1 case in Louisiana Two main lineages in US - in cattle (B3.13) & in birds (D1.1) The US should not wait to prepare So, again, we’ll need fast tests for starters www.latimes.com/environment/...

H5 BirdFlu continues to spread CA declared State of Emergency & now a severe D1.1 case in Louisiana Two main lineages in US - in cattle (B3.13) & in birds (D1.1) The US should not wait to prepare So, again, we’ll need fast tests for starters www.latimes.com/environment/...

Gov. Newsom declares emergency in California after CDC confirms severe case of bird flu in Louisiana

As the CDC confirmed severe illness in a Louisiana patient hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency related to the virus.

latimes.com

In ‘21 I left Harvard when my lab was growing quickly, I was an NIH Director DP5 Recipient, millions in grant funding and papers in top journals But pandemic put grants/publishing into new perspective Here’s a new interview covering *some* of why I left 1/ www.harvardmagazine.com/2025/01/harv...

Harvard Professors Leaving for Private Sector Research | Harvard Magazine

Three distinguished scientists on leaving academia to advance biomedical research

harvardmagazine.com

Not every day a leading US academic health system partners with @costplusdrugs.com, bypassing PBMs, to save drug costs for their patients @pennmedicine.bsky.social + @mcuban.bsky.social www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-re... a 1st-of-its-kind deal

Penn Medicine partners with Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs

Penn Medicine has partnered with Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drug Company through its innovative Cost Plus Marketplace in a strategic alliance that will allow Penn Medicine to secure the top 100 most frequ...

pennmedicine.org

Interesting ChatGPT response I posed this challenge to both ChatGPT-40 and newer “reasoning” model ChatGPT-01 -40 was WAY off base - an early assumption/inference led it down a far off rabbit hole -01 got it right, right away. Every assumption and DDx was accurate. No images reviewed.

NEJM.org@nejm.org · 2y ago

A previously healthy 10-year-old boy was brought to the pediatric emergency department with a 4-day history of progressively worsening bruising around the eyelids. Four weeks prior, he developed a dry cough, which had intensified over the previous week. 1/3

Better late than never… But if a new H5N1 virus becomes a pandemic, this is squarely on the US and the abysmal and neglectful response of the current Administration, unfortunately. I’m glad to see USDA now w a national milk testing strategy. Should’ve been in March www.usda.gov/media/press-...

USDA Announces New Federal Order, Begins National Milk Testing Strategy to Address H5N1 in Dairy Herds

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2024 - Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is announcing the start of its National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS), w...

usda.gov

after a few years of wondering what is the next twitter - for me anyway, I’m gonna call it for BlueSky. It’s good to see @nejm.org on board!

NEJM.org@nejm.org · 2y ago

Hello, #MedSky community! We’re excited to begin our Bluesky journey. Here is a sampling of the trusted, influential, and essential information you can expect when you follow us:

Hello, #MedSky community! We’re excited to begin our Bluesky journey. Here is a sampling of the trusted, influential, and essential information you can expect when you follow us:

The WHO just dropped the total number of deaths from the mysterious illness to 30 from a prior reported 143 On one hand, great the case definition narrowed it to something perhaps diagnosable But now my main question and concern is what caused 113 added deaths in this rural region?

Michael Mina MD,PhD@michaelmina.bsky.social · 2y ago

An outbreak of unknown pathogen in DR Congo now killed 143 ppl There is NO reason that in 2024, 79 people should die from a pathogen & we don’t know which one! Diagnostics, tests, surveillance tools are too often an afterthought for our medical countermeasures www.reuters.com/business/hea...