• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

White supremacy is terrorism.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

Giving up is unforgivable.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!

.

You are here: Home / Archives for Healthcare

Healthcare Open Thread: Preserving Vaccines

by Anne Laurie|  June 25, 20253:22 pm| 84 Comments

This post is in: Healthcare, Republican Venality, World's Best Healthcare (If You Can Afford It)

Pretty interesting to see #CDC post pre-buttals on thimerosal in vaccines & the MMRV vaccine in advance of this week's #ACIP meeting, where the new committee appears intent on reopening debate on settled science. www.cdc.gov/acip/meeting…

[image or embed]

— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) June 24, 2025 at 1:59 PM

This is good and important
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/…

[image or embed]

— Molly Jong-Fast (@mollyjongfast.bsky.social) June 24, 2025 at 7:18 AM

Per the Washington Post, “The plan to vaccinate all Americans, despite RFK Jr.” [gift link]:

Professional medical societies, pharmacists, state health officials and vaccine manufacturers, as well as a new advocacy group, are mobilizing behind the scenes to preserve access for vaccines as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. works to upend the nation’s decades-old vaccine system, according to public health experts.

The groups are discussing ordering vaccines directly from manufacturers and giving greater weight to vaccine recommendations from medical associations. And they are asking insurance companies to continue covering shots based on professional societies’ guidance instead of the federal government’s, according to more than a dozen people familiar with the conversations, including some who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private discussions.

The moves come as Kennedy has replaced members of the key federal vaccine advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that decides which vaccines are recommended for whom and whether they’ll be covered by insurance. Kennedy fired the 17-member committee earlier this month and handpicked eight new members, several of whom are vaccine critics.

But the extraordinary effort to create parallel systems of recommending, and perhaps even providing, vaccines faces major challenges, and some of the more ambitious goals have yet to be ironed out…

The impact of ACIP is wide-ranging. In addition to insurance coverage, its decisions — which must receive final approval from the CDC director — affect the ability of pharmacists to administer vaccines, as well as a government program ensuring roughly half of children in the United States can get vaccines free.

show full post on front page

Public health and medical experts have for months raised alarms over Kennedy’s ascent to the nation’s top health post, expressing concern over his lengthy history of disparaging vaccines. Kennedy, the founder of a prominent anti-vaccine group, secured enough Republican support for the position by pledging to protect the public health benefit of vaccination. But medical and public health experts argue the nation’s vaccine system is beginning to fracture under Kennedy’s leadership.

Their efforts to create a nongovernmental vaccine system mark a significant escalation in strategy, reflecting the high degree of alarm within the mainstream medical and public health community about continued access to immunizations that have long been recommended by federal health officials…

Roughly 30 states’ regulations tie the ACIP schedule to whether Americans can get a certain vaccine at the pharmacy counter. Major pharmacy associations are planning to send a letter in the coming days to health plans urging them to maintain coverage, according to Brigid Groves, the vice president of professional affairs at the American Pharmacists Association. They are also crafting draft emergency orders that governors could issue allowing pharmacists to continue administering certain vaccines if the federal guidance were to change.

Insurers generally cover vaccines that are on the CDC’s immunization schedule, even if they are considered “shared clinical decision-making,” meaning children can get vaccinated if their parents and doctors agree.

“Health plans continue to follow federal requirements related to coverage of ACIP-recommended vaccines and will continue to support broad access to critical preventive services, including immunizations,” Tina Stow, a spokeswoman for AHIP, the major insurer lobby, said in a statement to The Washington Post.

Recommendations of medical societies and scientific evidence will weigh on insurance coverage decisions, according to two people involved in the insurance industry who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail sensitive discussions.

“Insurers are absolutely trying to find ways to cover services that are so widely understood as beneficial and proven,” said a former insurance industry executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid. “I wouldn’t want to be the first insurer to start to decline coverage for what are clearly incredibly important and valuable public health interventions.”

Yes, it’s complicated — I can only urge you to read the whole thing.

Meanwhile, portraits in Repub courage…

Cassidy has massive leverage *right now.* Dems can't do much more than yelp, but Cassidy could threaten to vote against the megabill unless RFK Jr. relents. Might even round up a few GOP friends to make the point clearer.
(On top of the normal stuff he could do without a megabill approaching).

[image or embed]

— Jonathan Bernstein (@jonathanbernstein.bsky.social) June 24, 2025 at 3:19 PM

Very rocky start today's #ACIP meeting. Significant technical difficulties.

— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) June 25, 2025 at 10:35 AM


===

New #ACIP co-chair signals the new committee will reopen issues core to anti-vax concerns, including the notion that kids are getting too many vaccines. www.statnews.com/2025/06/25/c…

[image or embed]

— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) June 25, 2025 at 11:42 AM


===

Susan Monarez, the nominee to lead the #CDC, supported vaccines during her appearance today before the Senate HELP committee, but side-stepped questions aimed at seeing if she distances herself from the anti-vax views of her would-be boss, Secretary Kennedy. www.statnews.com/2025/06/25/s…

[image or embed]

— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) June 25, 2025 at 11:46 AM

STATNews is paywalled (and pricey), but I’ll do my best to update information as it becomes available. Any other BlueSky feeds I should be tracking, please let me know!

We finally have roll call. Lots of representatives missing. I'm guessing they don't want to be party to this mockery of a critical advisory commitee.

— Edward Nirenberg (@enirenberg.bsky.social) June 25, 2025 at 2:29 PM


===

There is a brief, partial presentation on the Evidence to Recommendations framework for COVID-19 vaccines. Not sure how this works since there is no vote for COVID-19 vaccines scheduled.
www.cdc.gov/acip/downloa…

[image or embed]

— Edward Nirenberg (@enirenberg.bsky.social) June 25, 2025 at 2:05 PM


===

I think the benefits and harms slides give the best summary:

[image or embed]

— Edward Nirenberg (@enirenberg.bsky.social) June 25, 2025 at 2:05 PM


===

VAERS reports peaked in 2007 following HPV vaccine rollout. Reports within year can cluster seasonally. 300M COVID vaccine doses were given in first 6mo after 2020.Dec.17.
I know some Epidemiological methods and models are difficult. But I'm concerned about a growing deficit of object permanence.

[image or embed]

— Brian Wasik (@brianrwasik.bsky.social) June 25, 2025 at 2:16 PM

Yesterday:

PALLONE: With regard to vaccines, are you just afraid to receive public comments on proposals? There's been no public process
RFK JR: We have a public process for regulating vaccines. It's called the ACIP committee.
PALLONE: You fired the committee!

[image or embed]

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) June 24, 2025 at 11:12 AM

Rep. Carter: How could you justify the termination of HIV vaccine studies?
RFK Jr.: Every year Congress pours money into it and it accomplishes nothing
Rep. Carter: These NIH dollars save lives
RFK Jr.: Show me one life
Rep. Carter: I can show you a lot of lives

[image or embed]

— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) June 24, 2025 at 1:43 PM

Vaccines no, authoritarian government surveillance yes…

The guy who pushed the notion that people are being controlled by microchips pushed by Bill Gates, now wants people to wear tracking devices.

[image or embed]

— Ryan Mac 🙃 (@rmac.bsky.social) June 24, 2025 at 3:09 PM

Healthcare Open Thread: Preserving VaccinesPost + Comments (84)

Open Thread: Ohio Sen Husted Is Gaslighting His Constituents

by Anne Laurie|  June 10, 202511:45 pm| 170 Comments

This post is in: Republican Venality, World's Best Healthcare (If You Can Afford It)

@anntelnaes.bsky.social

[image or embed]

— paulpro (@mariopro.bsky.social) June 9, 2025 at 8:11 PM

🚨 Ear-Witness to Gaslighting
Somehow my family was on the list to join OH Senator Husted’s teletownhall last night.
I listened in for 45 minutes.
The level of disingenuous BS was truly nauseating.
1/

— David Pepper (@davidpepperoh.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 9:57 AM

So many of the Ohio voters asked the most basic questions about health care, food security, Medicare, deficits, and the like.

Husted left the impression that what he kept calling the “Big Beautiful Bill” would save it all.

Examples:

1) He was asked point blank about the deficit. He called it “generational theft”. Said it was a huge concern of his.

And then he said he didn’t believe CBO projections that his BBB would add to the deficit?!!

2) his spin on the Medicaid cuts was that they would help people get jobs and that they would then get private health insurance

3) he assured a Dayton VA worker that no services would be cut despite all the cuts to the VA

4) but the most cynical answer by far came on SNAP.

A woman, near tears, said she had been cut off from food assistance and had been told by someone it was because of “illegals.”

Under the law, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for food benefits. So if she was told that, it was false.

And the truth is, the BBB Husted plans to vote for will cut SNAP by between $250B to $300B.

That will be the largest cut in the history of the program.

So the biggest threat to this woman’s concern over food security comes not from people legally prohibited from accessing SNAP, but from the bill Husted spent the entire call touting.

And of course, Husted didn’t have the honesty to tell her that.

show full post on front page

He basically played along with the “illegals” are taking SNAP from you narrative.

Which also was the tone of much of the call when it came to any benefits.

Finally, one caller asked if Medicare was being cut. Husted said no. Wouldn’t be touched.

The truth is that the bill adds so much to the deficit, automatic Medicare cuts could be triggered as high as $500 billion

Bottom line: most brought good faith concerns to their Senator.

And the very person who is cutting Medicaid, SNAP and risking other programs like Medicare slickly left them with the impression that it wasn’t happening, or that someone else was to blame

Your government at work.

END

Nearly half (45%) of people who get health coverage in the ACA Marketplaces and the individual market—about 10 million Americans—are MAGA supporters or non-MAGA Republicans. This means the policy changes and cuts being made by Republicans to the Marketplaces will directly affect their own voters

[image or embed]

— Catherine Rampell (@crampell.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 10:21 AM

Open Thread: Ohio Sen Husted Is Gaslighting His ConstituentsPost + Comments (170)

Pandemic / Epidemics Update, June 4, 2025

by Anne Laurie|  June 4, 20256:14 am| 31 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19, H5N1 Bird Flu

FDA approves Moderna's new COVID-19 vaccine
The company's "next-generation" COVID-19 vaccine, mNexspike, was approved for adults 65 and older and younger people at risk of severe disease.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

[image or embed]

— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 4:26 PM

#FDA has approved #Moderna's next-generation #Covid shot, with the same use restrictions it imposed on Novavax's vaccine earlier this month.
www.statnews.com/2025/05/31/m…

[image or embed]

— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) May 31, 2025 at 9:43 AM

Exclusive: Pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos of the US CDC resigned as co-leader of a working group that advises outside experts on COVID vaccines and is leaving the agency, two sources familiar with the move told Reuters reut.rs/4ksJLZt

[image or embed]

— Reuters (@reuters.com) June 3, 2025 at 5:29 PM

US Weekly COVID update: June 2, 2025
🔸1 in 211 People Currently Infected
🔸227,000 New Daily Infections
🔸1,589,000 New Weekly Infections
🔸79,000 to 318,000 Weekly Long COVID Cases
🔸600 to 900 Weekly Excess Deaths
Source: pmc19.com/data/

[image or embed]

— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) June 3, 2025 at 2:42 AM

show full post on front page

According to this chart we are currently experiencing the lowest rate of COVID deaths since March 14, 2020.
covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-t…

[image or embed]

— Michael Hobbes (@michaelhobbes.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 7:01 PM

Exactly. The fact that a lot of Americans have grown complacent over Covid boosters (or seasonal flu shots) is hardly a reason for banning access to them.

[image or embed]

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec.bsky.social) June 1, 2025 at 11:24 AM

A new variant of COVID-19 is circulating in parts of the world and may be driving an increase in cases in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and western Pacific regions.

[image or embed]

— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) May 29, 2025 at 3:30 AM

In the most recent COVID wave, white people had more than twice the death rate of black people
covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-t…

[image or embed]

— Michael Hobbes (@michaelhobbes.bsky.social) May 30, 2025 at 5:08 PM

A new, highly transmissible COVID subvariant has been detected in California — heightening the risk of a summer wave as recent moves by the Trump administration threaten to make vaccines harder to get, and more expensive, for many Americans.
www.latimes.com/california/s…

[image or embed]

— Ian Weissman, DO (@drianweissman.bsky.social) May 30, 2025 at 11:12 PM

Australia:

“It’s taking off pretty quickly,” said Professor Catherine Bennett, warning that “if you’re exposed, you’re more likely to catch it.”
She added, “We might be in for a bigger winter wave,” and COVID deaths were 5x higher than flu—"So COVID-19 is still to be taken seriously"

[image or embed]

— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 2:57 AM

Local observations are sometimes random noise. But sometimes they're early indicators of trends that take time to show up in regional/national data (collecting & reporting data takes time, even if you care about that sort of stuff, which may not be true nationally).
Why I always mask seeing pts 🤷‍♂️

[image or embed]

— Dimitri Drekonja, MD, MS (@dimitridrekonja.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 5:47 PM

ICYMI: I wrote about ongoing Republican attacks on COVID vaccines, which make use of years of state propaganda claiming COVID is mild, COVID is over, Long COVID isn't real, and that healthy people have nothing to fear from COVID.

www.thegauntlet.news/p/republican…

[image or embed]

— Julia Doubleday (@juliadoubleday.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 12:30 PM

Long-COVID diagnoses fairly common in Medicare claims
Beneficiaries with four or more COVID-19 vaccine doses had a 39% lower adjusted rate of long COVID.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

[image or embed]

— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) June 3, 2025 at 3:27 PM

I know we all like to forget COVID, but imo it’s bonkers that politicians talk so much about increasing defence spending, yet we’ve apparently forgotten to spend any time or money guarding against a future pandemic

— Sam Bright (@writesbright.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 4:58 AM


===

This very bad thing happened that killed a lot of people a few years ago yet stopping it from happening again isn’t remotely part of the public / political conversation. Barmy.

— Sam Bright (@writesbright.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 2:35 PM

Long COVID is now the most prevalent chronic disease in American kids, surpassing ASTHMA. Children/ teens are NOT immune to damage from covid.
"Long COVID is common, affecting up to 10% to 20% of children with a history of COVID-19."
That means ANY covid infection.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam…

[image or embed]

— EvolutionaryEve (@evolutionaryeve.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 11:30 PM

The parents of kids in the original pediatric Covid vaccine trials care more about scientific integrity than the people leading our scientific agencies.
Unbelievable. And maddening.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025…

[image or embed]

— Alt CDC (they/them) (@altcdc.altgov.info) June 2, 2025 at 10:19 PM

=====

RKF Jr. May Have Just Ruined Our Best Weapon Against Bird Flu www.thebulwark.com/p/rkf-jr-ken… from @citizencohn.bsky.social

[image or embed]

— Catherine Rampell (@crampell.bsky.social) June 1, 2025 at 9:15 AM

Study finds live avian flu virus in raw milk for more than 1 day at room temperature, 1 week in fridge
The preprint findings highlight the risk of contracting #H5N1 avian flu from raw milk or occupational exposure in dairies.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/a…
Photo: xymox / Flickr cc

[image or embed]

— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 12:15 PM

=====

Dataset shows national decline in MMR vaccine uptake since peak of COVID

Of the 2,066 counties, 1,614 (78%) showed a decline in MMR coverage.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/m…

[image or embed]

— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) June 3, 2025 at 4:06 PM

US CDC updated its measles travel advisory:
'International travellers should be fully vaccinated with measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.' @cidrap.bsky.social
Highly infectious, it can remain in the air for up to 2 hours after an infected person leaves the area.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/us-m…

[image or embed]

— @DrJoePajak CSci CChem FRSC (@drjoepajak.bsky.social) May 31, 2025 at 7:32 AM

Pandemic / Epidemics Update, June 4, 2025Post + Comments (31)

Semi-Respite Open Thread

by Anne Laurie|  June 2, 20257:51 pm| 29 Comments

This post is in: Excellent Links, Healthcare, Open Threads

Since it’s been One of Those Days… I am very grateful to Satby for introducing me to Josh Johnson.

RFK Jr: Head of Health and Human Sewage



(RFK Jr material starts at approximately the 18min mark)

Semi-Respite Open ThreadPost + Comments (29)

Saturday Afternoon Open Thread: Healthcare Updates

by Anne Laurie|  May 31, 20251:34 pm| 151 Comments

This post is in: Healthcare, Open Threads, Republican Politics

This is MAGA's one, big, beautiful healthcare plan.

[image or embed]

— JB Pritzker (@jbpritzker.bsky.social) May 30, 2025 at 3:03 PM

Someone at the CDC is living the most important slogan of the moment ("fuck you, make me")

[image or embed]

— Joseph Fink (@planetoffinks.bsky.social) May 31, 2025 at 12:07 AM

The CDC updated its warning about the risk of contracting measles while traveling on Wednesday this week, after dozens of cases in travelers who were infectious while flying within the US, and recommends NOT FLYING if your measles vaccinations are not up to date. 1/ www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-mea…

[image or embed]

— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule.bsky.social) May 31, 2025 at 10:44 AM


===

CDC tells Americans to CANCEL their flights after finding world's most infectious disease (RFK Jr’s measles) is spreading on planes
www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-mea…

[image or embed]

— nullifie (@nullifie.bsky.social) May 31, 2025 at 9:32 AM

Saturday Afternoon Open Thread: Healthcare UpdatesPost + Comments (151)

More Bad Healthcare News

by Anne Laurie|  May 30, 20259:26 am| 124 Comments

This post is in: H5N1 Bird Flu, Healthcare

In the future, they’re going to call 2024 the Heaven’s Gate Election.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/h…

[image or embed]

— Radley Balko (@radleybalko.bsky.social) May 29, 2025 at 1:42 PM

[gift link]

The Trump administration has delivered its latest blow to vaccines, canceling a nearly $600-million contract to the drugmaker Moderna that was intended to develop a shot for humans against bird flu.

The decision also forfeited the U.S. government’s right to purchase doses ahead of a pandemic, and canceled an agreement set up by the Biden administration in January to prepare the nation for a potential bird flu pandemic. The Moderna contract built on a previous government investment of $175 million last year.

The move was not entirely unexpected. The Department of Health and Human Services said earlier this year that it was reviewing the contract. And Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly questioned the safety of mRNA technology, which is used in Moderna’s Covid vaccine…

Andrew Nixon, a Health and Human Services spokesman, said: “After a rigorous review, we concluded that continued investment in Moderna’s H5N1 mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable.”

Moderna said it would explore alternatives for developing the vaccines covered by the contract, which were to be designed for several types of flu viruses that have the potential to cause a pandemic.

Christopher Ridley, a spokesman for Moderna, defended the mRNA technology. “Results during the pandemic speak for themselves, including demonstrated efficacy and a safety profile established in over a billion people worldwide,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

For several years, a type of avian flu known as H5N1 has circulated around the world, killing wild birds and domestic flocks, and spreading to a range of other species including bears and sea mammals.

It arrived in the United States in 2022, and has resulted in the culling of more than 173 million birds, frequently devastating commercial poultry flocks.

Last year, bird flu also spread to dairy cattle. It has since struck more than 1,000 herds in 17 states and sickened 70 people, most of them dairy or cattle workers. In January, Louisiana reported the death of an older adult who had interacted with sick backyard birds, the first such fatality in the United States.

So far, the virus does not seem to spread easily among people. But scientists have long worried about a bird flu pandemic because flu viruses can rapidly mutate and acquire new abilities.

show full post on front page

The national stockpile holds a few million doses of an existing H5N1 vaccine to protect humans. But it is unclear whether the shots would continue to protect Americans if the virus were to change significantly. The government has three other avian flu contracts, according to the health department.

Many scientists regard mRNA vaccines, which can be quickly altered to match the newest versions of virus, as the best option for protecting Americans in a fast-moving outbreak.

“When the next flu pandemic occurs, there is not going to be enough vaccine for everyone who wants it unless we invest to broaden the types of flu vaccines being made and the number of companies that make them,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health…

Mr. Kennedy’s ideas for containing bird flu are unorthodox. He has suggested that instead of culling birds when the infection is discovered, farmers should let the virus run through the flocks. Then, he has said, farmers should identify birds that survive the illness and study them to identify the source of their immunity. Many scientists assert that would be inhumane and dangerous.

Last week, Mr. Kennedy urged the Canadian authorities not to kill 400 ostriches that had been exposed to H5N1, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, who oversees Medicare and Medicaid, offered to relocate the birds to his ranch in Florida…

“Pandemic preparedness is about being proactive, fast and adaptable — the mRNA vaccine platform is all of that,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

“The rationale given is likely fabricated and more of a function of R.F.K. Jr.’s assault on vaccines, the value of which he evades,” he added. “Canceling this contract makes the world less safe.”

Reuters:

… Moderna in January was awarded $590 million by the Biden administration to advance the development of its bird flu vaccine, and support the expansion of clinical studies for up to five additional subtypes of pandemic influenza.

This was in addition to $176 million awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last year to complete the late-stage development and testing of a pre-pandemic mRNA-based vaccine against the H5N1 avian influenza.

HHS told Reuters earlier this year that it was reviewing agreements made by the Biden administration for vaccine production.
“The cancellation means that the government is discarding what could be one of the most effective and rapid tools to combat an avian influenza outbreak,” said Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, adding that it is the opposite approach Trump took with Operation Warp Speed to combat COVID-19…

Moderna said it plans to explore alternatives for late-stage development and manufacturing of the vaccine.

The company has been banking on revenue from newer mRNA shots, including its bird flu vaccine and experimental COVID-flu combination vaccine, to make up for waning post-pandemic demand for its COVID vaccine.

Moderna also said on Wednesday that it had received positive interim data from a mid-stage trial set up to test the safety and immunogenicity of its bird flu vaccine targeting the H5 avian influenza virus subtype.

More Bad Healthcare NewsPost + Comments (124)

Pandemic / Epidemic Updates, May 28 2025

by Anne Laurie|  May 28, 20256:20 am| 136 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19, H5N1 Bird Flu

The CDC is pulling its Covid-19 vaccine recommendation for healthy children and pregnant women, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced.

[image or embed]

— Politico (@politico.com) May 27, 2025 at 2:13 PM


====

A reminder that CDC's COVID-19 vaccine recommendations are directly tied to:
– requirements for what health insurance is required to cover with no out-of-pocket costs
– liability protections expanding access to COVID shots in places like pharmacies
www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-…

[image or embed]

— Alexander Tin (@alexander-a-tin.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:16 PM


====

By changing CDC guidelines on who can get the COVID vaccine
It will likely not be covered by insurance and Medicare/Medicaid
So if people want it, they’re going to have to pay for it
Meaning that those who can’t afford it are out of luck

[image or embed]

— Adam Cohen (@axidentaliberal.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:19 PM


====

show full post on front page

From the CIDRAP Vaccine Integrity Project
Viewpoint: Making key COVID vaccine decisions without input, transparency is a public disservice
Rollout of new rules suggests that federal officials are opposed to open discussion & transparency
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

[image or embed]

— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) May 21, 2025 at 4:00 PM


====

FDA Commissioner Makary: "The day of rubber-stamping covid vaccines for young healthy kids is over. You cannot send us an application for a new covid booster each year with no new updated clinical trial data and expect the FDA to just blindly rubber-stamp it … people don't trust us."

[image or embed]

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 25, 2025 at 10:43 AM


====

“A CDC report found that among pregnant U.S. women infected with COVID-19, about 1 in 80 deliveries was a stillbirth — the loss of a fetus anytime after 20 weeks. That’s compared with 1 in 155 among uninfected women”
Pregnant women need access to Covid boosters.
TW for photos of Covid placenta:

[image or embed]

— Kelly (@broadwaybabyto.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 5:50 PM


====

“Experts have been closely watching the variant, which is now dominant in China and is on the rise in parts of Asia. Hong Kong authorities say that rates of COVID-19 in the city have climbed to the worst levels they have seen in at least a year…”

[image or embed]

— Matt Novak (@paleofuture.bsky.social) May 22, 2025 at 9:14 PM


====

WHO adds NB.1.8.1 as SARS-CoV-2 variant under monitoring
TAG-VE said illnesses don't seem more severe and more studies are needed to further assess the risk of antibody escape.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…
Photo: NIAID/Flickr cc

[image or embed]

— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 2:55 PM


====

CDC posted updated #SARSCoV2 genomic surveillance today (<-that's good)
XFC is now showing growth, ~10% of new cases. It's a recombinant of LP.8.1 (dominant variant) + LF.7 (not the same as XFG, but related).
Unclear if this or the others in the mix (XFG or NB.1.8.1) can/will drive a wave here.

[image or embed]

— Eric Topol (@erictopol.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:25 PM


=====

A reminder that South African researchers gave the world crucial early insights into the Beta, Omicron BA.1 and BA.4/5 variants, as well as valuable ongoing work into many other pathogens/outbreaks…

[image or embed]

— Adam Kucharski (@adamjkucharski.bsky.social) May 23, 2025 at 1:38 AM


====

Macedo and Lee are cranks.
20% of the population got COVID in 2020, pre-vaccine, and 350k died.
If we’d just thrown caution go the wind, as these crackpots suggest (views that editors should be more skeptical of), the death count would have been MUCH, MUCH higher and hosp. capacity collapsed.

[image or embed]

— Clean Observer (@hammbear2024.bsky.social) May 26, 2025 at 8:37 AM


===

Quick COVID update from me discussing latest variants and prospects for summer here.
open.substack.com/pub/christin…

[image or embed]

— Prof Christina Pagel (@chrischirp.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 3:15 AM


===

#USDA confirmed 2 more #H5N1 #birdflu infected dairy herds in Idaho, bringing the state's total to 107.
The cumulative national total is 1072 in 17 states.
www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-po…

[image or embed]

— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) May 23, 2025 at 12:29 PM


====

This is really stupid and unnecessary: latest on measles outbreak cases in the U.S.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/…

[image or embed]

— Rasmus E. Benestad (@brasmus.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 12:02 PM


====

'A national scandal': US excess deaths rose even after #pandemic, far outpacing peer countries
The United States has been in a 'protracted health crisis' for decades, the researchers say.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

[image or embed]

— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) May 23, 2025 at 1:34 PM

Pandemic / Epidemic Updates, May 28 2025Post + Comments (136)

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 352
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - BarcaChicago  - Off the Gunflint Trail/Boundary Waters 8
Image by BarcaChicago (7/11/25)

World Central Kitchen

Donate

Recent Comments

  • Baud on Saturday Morning Klown Show Open Thread: GOP Falling Into the Pit They Have Dug (Jul 12, 2025 @ 5:35am)
  • rikyrah on Saturday Morning Klown Show Open Thread: GOP Falling Into the Pit They Have Dug (Jul 12, 2025 @ 5:30am)
  • rikyrah on Saturday Morning Klown Show Open Thread: GOP Falling Into the Pit They Have Dug (Jul 12, 2025 @ 5:30am)
  • prostratedragon on Friday Night Open Thread (Jul 12, 2025 @ 4:55am)
  • JWR on Friday Night Open Thread (Jul 12, 2025 @ 4:03am)

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
No Kings Protests June 14 2025

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

Feeling Defeated?  If We Give Up, It's Game Over

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc