Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

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

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

That meeting sounds like a shotgun wedding between a shitshow and a clusterfuck.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

“They all knew.”

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Everybody saw this coming.

We still have time to mess this up!

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

To the privileged, equality seems like oppression.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

The willow is too close to the house.

You are here: Home / Archives for Healthcare / COVID-19
“COVID-19 is a novel disease for which treatment protocols are evolving and remain imperfect. With the internet’s eternal tropism towards bullshit, there will be plenty of false or misleading claims about ways of preventing, enduring or “curing” COVID-19 infections. Please don’t amplify them here. If you do have knowledge or experience you feel is of interest to the jackaltariat, please make sure you make it clear where that information comes from: sources, expertise, and so on.  It’s easy to get stuff wrong in a crisis and mistakes can create real harm. So be careful out there…and in here.”

Plagues & Pandemics Update – April 1, 2026

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Infections of the BA.3.2 variant of the COVID-causing coronavirus are still at very low levels, but experts are concerned it may be resistant to immunity from vaccines or prior infection

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— Scientific American (@sciam.bsky.social) March 31, 2026 at 11:19 AM

More patients who need transfusions are asking for blood from unvaccinated donors 🩸, however blood centers don’t ask donors if they’ve been vaccinated and don’t label blood according to vaccinated status.
Read more: ow.ly/8M4v50YBuqc

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) March 31, 2026 at 5:28 PM

The COVID pandemic ushered mRNA vaccines into the spotlight, and the technology has even greater potential. Here’s what to know about the way that they work, their safety, and more

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— Scientific American (@sciam.bsky.social) March 30, 2026 at 4:45 PM

1. A #flu update:
#CDC has learned of 8 more pediatric flu deaths, bringing this season's total to 123. That number will continue to rise; deaths are often reported on a delay.
Case in point: 2024-25's peds death total rose by 1 last week with a death from Feb '25 just reported.
~85% were not vaxed.

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— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) March 27, 2026 at 11:45 AM

2. Some good news:
#Flu season is kinda over. I say kinda coz there's still flu around. But when the percentage of medical visits that are for flu-like illness falls below 3.1% — and it did last week — we're considered to be out of flu season.
At this point, flu B is causing much of the illness.

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— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) March 27, 2026 at 11:45 AM

3. Conditions vary across the country, but most parts are out of the worst of the #flu season now. Last week's map (left) shows few states still engrossed. Compare that to a month ago. (right)
#CDC estimates about 23,000 people died from flu this season.
www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv…

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— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) March 27, 2026 at 11:45 AM

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Plagues & Pandemics Update – April 1, 2026Post + Comments (15)

Plagues & Pandemics Update – March 25, 2026

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Early official COVID-19 death tolls may have been undercounted by 19%.
The findings indicate that the US system reported COVID-19 deaths inequitably, which hid the true extent of pandemic mortality and disparities.
Read more: ow.ly/5jH850YwvKp

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) March 19, 2026 at 4:37 PM

New COVID variant with immune escape potential confirmed in US & 22 other countries.
BA.3.2 represents a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2, genetically distinct from the JN.1 lineages that have circulated in the US since January 2024.
Read more: ow.ly/Q50350YxOSv
Photo Credit: NIAID

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) March 23, 2026 at 5:58 PM

Study: Early Detection and Surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.3.2 — Worldwide, November 2024–February 2026
Published: March 19, 2026
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) March 23, 2026 at 9:03 PM

The SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.3.2 was first identified in South Africa on November 22, 2024. BA.3.2 has approximately 70–75 substitutions and deletions in the gene sequence of the spike protein relative to JN.1 and its descendant, LP.8.1, the antigens used in the 2025–26 COVID-19 vaccines. CDC is using a multimodal SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance approach to monitor the emergence and spread of BA.3.2 and other SARS-CoV-2 variants internationally and within the United States. The first U.S. BA.3.2 detection occurred on June 27, 2025, through CDC’s Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance program in a participant traveling to the United States from the Netherlands. The first U.S. detection of BA.3.2 in a clinical specimen collected from a patient was reported on January 5, 2026. As of February 11, 2026, BA.3.2 had been detected in voluntarily self-collected nasal swabs from four U.S. travelers, clinical samples from five patients, three airplane wastewater samples, and 132 wastewater surveillance samples from 25 states. BA.3.2 has been reported by at least 23 countries. SARS-CoV-2 continues to cause substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. BA.3.2 mutations in the spike protein have the potential to reduce protection from a previous infection or vaccination. Continued genomic surveillance is needed to track SARS-CoV-2 evolution and determine its potential effect on public health…

“There is no indication that BA.3.2 causes a different kind of illness. Like other recent variants, it appears to cause mostly mild, cold-like symptoms, making it difficult to distinguish from other respiratory infections.”

USA: "A new COVID variant is showing up in California — here’s what to know."
"BA.3.2 carries roughly 70 to 75 mutations in its spike protein compared with recent strains… Some of those changes may help it partially evade immunity from past infections or vaccination."
Source: archive.md/ALU3i

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) March 24, 2026 at 7:06 PM

USA: Epidemic trend summary: Mar 20, 2026
COVID-19
As of March 17, 2026:
🔹0 states have COVID-19 infections growing or likely growing
🔹45 state has infections declining or likely declining
🔹3 states show no change
Source: cdc.gov/cfa-modeling…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) March 21, 2026 at 7:07 PM

Influenza
As of March 17, 2026:
🔹3 states have Influenza infections growing or likely growing
🔹37 states has infections declining or likely declining
🔹9 states show no change
Source: cdc.gov/cfa-modeling…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) March 21, 2026 at 7:07 PM

RSV
As of March 17, 2026:
🔹4 states have RSV infections growing or likely growing
🔹35 states has infections declining or likely declining
🔹10 states shows no change
Source: cdc.gov/cfa-modeling…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) March 21, 2026 at 7:07 PM

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Plagues & Pandemics Update – March 25, 2026Post + Comments (81)

Plagues & Pandemics Update – March 18, 2026

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After a demoralizing year for public health, yesterday was different. A federal court ruling handed down a significant, clear, and unambiguous win.
Read more on the state of US vaccine policy: ow.ly/z15Q50Yvzm5
@unbiasedscipod.bsky.social

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) March 17, 2026 at 4:58 PM

A Federal Judge Just Blocked RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy issued a ruling that, in effect, temporarily blocks every major vaccine policy change made by President Trump’s administration over the past year. The ruling came in response to the ongoing lawsuit filed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and five other major medical organizations against Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The judge issued stays rather than a traditional injunction. This was likely a deliberate choice because it makes the overall ruling more difficult to challenge. The use of nationwide injunctions was limited in the Supreme Court’s 2025 ruling in Trump v. CASA, but under the Administrative Procedure Act, stays operate on a different legal footing. Critics of the ruling, including some ACIP members, argue that the distinction is purely cosmetic. Regardless, the practical effect is the same: everything the administration has done to vaccine policy since June 2025 is on hold—pending a full ruling on the merits of the case.…

Here is what the ruling does
The January 2026 memo that reduced the recommended childhood vaccine schedule from protecting against 17 diseases to only 11—issued without any involvement from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), public comment, or the evidence-based process that has governed vaccine recommendations for decades—is blocked. The recommendation against the hepatitis B birth dose has been overturned. The recommended childhood vaccine schedule reverts to its pre-January 2026 state.

Thirteen of the 15 current ACIP members are effectively sidelined (those appointed fromJune 2025 to January 2026). The 13 stayed members were appointed through a rushed, informal process that bypassed decades of established vetting. The two members added in late February 2026 were not evaluated by the court. Even under the most generous reading of their credentials, the court found only about 6 of 15 had meaningful vaccine-related expertise. The court specifically noted that several members, including a pharmacist, an OB/GYN, a psychiatrist, a pediatric cardiologist, and an emergency physician, had no documented vaccine-related expertise.

Every vote the ACIP committee has taken since June 2025 is effectively nullified, including the ban on thimerosal in flu vaccines, the downgrading of COVID-19 vaccine recommendations to shared clinical decision-making, the move away from the combined MMRV vaccine recommendation to separate MMR and varicella (chickenpox) vaccines, and the removal of the hepatitis B birth dose recommendation. The Evidence Collective documented at least 60 false, misleading, or unsupported claims made at the December 2025 ACIP meeting alone, a detailed record that informed both public understanding and the legal case…

===

USA: Epidemic trend summary: Mar 13, 2026
COVID-19
As of March 10, 2026:
🔹2 states have COVID-19 infections growing or likely growing
🔹36 state has infections declining or likely declining
🔹9 states show no change
Source: cdc.gov/cfa-modeling…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) March 17, 2026 at 5:55 PM

Influenza
As of March 10, 2026:
🔹5 states have Influenza infections growing or likely growing
🔹27 states has infections declining or likely declining
🔹16 states show no change
Source: cdc.gov/cfa-modeling…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) March 17, 2026 at 5:55 PM

RSV
As of March 10, 2026:
🔹9 states have RSV infections growing or likely growing
🔹25 states has infections declining or likely declining
🔹14 states shows no change
Source: cdc.gov/cfa-modeling…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) March 17, 2026 at 5:55 PM

3. It feels like it's been a long flu season, but this is what #flu was like pre-Covid; the pandemic really knocked flu seasons out of whack for a few years.
#CDC estimates there've been 27M flu illnesses, 350K hospitalizations & 22K deaths so far this season.

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— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) March 13, 2026 at 11:43 AM

4. To give you a sense of what #flu is like in your part of the country now versus what things were like a month ago, check out these maps. On the left is the week ending 2/7, on the right is the week ending 3/7. We're heading out of the woods. www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv…

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— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) March 13, 2026 at 11:43 AM

Long-COVID prevalence may vary by #COVID-19 variant, time since infection
The prevalence of the condition was 29% overall, though it dropped to 23% once the Omicron strain started to dominate.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) March 12, 2026 at 3:52 PM

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Plagues & Pandemics Update – March 18, 2026Post + Comments (21)

Plagues & Pandemics Update – March 11, 2026

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MRSA, if you're listening,

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— post malone ergo propter malone (@proptermalone.bsky.social) March 10, 2026 at 1:59 PM


(Yes, there were also many snarky comments about how, out of respect for his beliefs, his surgeons would not wash their hands; that the anesthesiologists would give him a strip of leather to chew instead of some hard-to-pronounce chemical vapor; and expressing surprise that he’d chosen surgery instead of an intense course of beef tallow & raw milk… )

USA: Epidemic trend summary: Mar 6, 2026
COVID-19
As of March 3, 2026:
🔹2 states have COVID-19 infections growing or likely growing
🔹35 state has infections declining or likely declining
🔹10 states show no change
Source: cdc.gov/cfa-modeling…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 6:04 PM

Influenza
As of March 3, 2026:
🔹5 states have Influenza infections growing or likely growing
🔹31 states has infections declining or likely declining
🔹12 states show no change
Source: cdc.gov/cfa-modeling…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 6:04 PM

RSV
As of March 3, 2026:
🔹13 states have RSV infections growing or likely growing
🔹19 states has infections declining or likely declining
🔹16 states shows no change
Souce: cdc.gov/cfa-modeling…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 6:04 PM

Recent pandemic viruses, including #SAR-CoV-2, spread directly to people without adaptation, researchers say
The findings provide further evidence against the COVID-19 lab-leak hypothesis.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) March 10, 2026 at 2:37 PM

Up to 56,000 people died from COVID-19 or RSV last year
Respiratory syncytial virus was associated with 190,000 to 350,000 hospitalizations from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, as well as 10,000 to 23,000 deaths, according to data published by the CDC.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 9:15 AM

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Plagues & Pandemics Update – March 11, 2026Post + Comments (35)

Plagues & Pandemics Update – March 4, 2026

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US #flu activity still high, with 8 more pediatric deaths
Levels of #RSV also remain high in many areas of the country, while #COVID-19 activity is waning in most of the country.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 3:15 PM

3. Now #flu:
More kids have died from flu, both this season & last. (Reporting of pediatric deaths to #CDC can be slow.)
8 more kids died in 2025-26, bringing the total to date to 79.
In the past 2 weeks, CDC has been alerted to 4 more peds flu deaths in 2024-25, bringing that year's total to 293!

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— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 11:41 AM

4. #CDC reports that 90% of the kids who died from #flu who were old enough to be vaccinated (<6 months is too young) & for whom vax status is know had not been vaccinated. Last year's death toll was record-breaking but this year Sec. Kennedy's #HHS dropped the flu vax recommendation for kids.

— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 11:41 AM

6. To give you a sense of what #flu is like where you are, the map on the left is for the week ending 2/21. On the right shows what things were like at the peak of the season, between Xmas and NY. Not out of the woods yet, but the end of flu season is coming. www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv…

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— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 11:41 AM

European regulators recommend approval of combined mRNA vaccine for flu and COVID
If the recommendation is accepted by the European Commission, Moderna's mCombriax vaccine will be available for adults 50 and older throughout the European Union.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 4:48 PM

WHO updates all 3 viral strains to be included in fall flu shots
The recommendation for vaccines for the next flu season includes a new influenza variant—subclade K—that started to increase last fall.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 7:08 PM

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Plagues & Pandemics Update – March 4, 2026Post + Comments (21)

Plagues & Pandemics Update – February 25, 2026

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Antibodies harvested from the blood of paediatricians are up to 25 times better at protecting against the common respiratory infection RSV than existing antibody therapies, and are now being developed as preventative treatments

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— New Scientist (@newscientist.com) February 20, 2026 at 1:55 AM

Moderna’s 2-in-1 flu and COVID vaccine shows encouraging results in small trial
A single dose of mRNA-1073 elicited durable immune responses through 6 months against all vaccine-matched influenza and SARS-CoV-2 strains.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) February 23, 2026 at 4:26 PM

#Flu claims 5 more US children’s lives as virus continues circulating at moderate to very high levels
So far this season, the CDC estimates that there have been at least 24 million flu-related illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations, and 20,000 deaths.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) February 20, 2026 at 2:43 PM

USA: Epidemic trend summary: Feb 20, 2026
COVID-19
As of February 17, 2026:
🔹12 states have COVID-19 infections growing or likely growing
🔹7 state has infections declining or likely declining
🔹28 states show no change
Source: cdc.gov/cfa-modeling…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) February 23, 2026 at 6:37 PM

Influenza
As of February 17, 2026:
🔹18 states have Influenza infections growing or likely growing
🔹13 states has infections declining or likely declining
🔹16 states show no change
Source: cdc.gov/cfa-modeling…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) February 23, 2026 at 6:37 PM

RSV
As of February 17, 2026:
🔹30 states have RSV infections growing or likely growing
🔹6 states has infections declining or likely declining
🔹11 states shows no change
Source: cdc.gov/cfa-modeling…

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) February 23, 2026 at 6:37 PM

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Plagues & Pandemics Update – February 25, 2026Post + Comments (24)

Plagues & Pandemics Update – February 18, 2026

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ETA: Good news, maybe?

Breaking News: The FDA reversed its decision on Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine and agreed to review it for possible approval, Moderna said.

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— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) February 18, 2026 at 8:55 AM

FDA reverses course, refuses to review Moderna’s application for new mRNA flu vaccine
The company expressed surprise and confusion about the decision, noting the FDA’s earlier support for the study plan.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) February 11, 2026 at 6:23 PM

Excellent summary of the (anti)healthcare story of the week:

… Moderna’s study included more than 40,000 adults age 50 and up and was intended to help the company get approval to use the vaccine in that age-group. In a press release, Moderna said the FDA determined that the company’s study was not “adequate and well-controlled” because the comparable vaccine used in the trial did not represent the “best-available standard of care” in the United States at the time of the study.

Neither federal rules for how drug studies must be designed, nor the FDA’s own guidance for flu vaccines, refer to the use of “best-available standard of care” in selecting comparator vaccines. Previous correspondence from the FDA to Moderna expressed a preference for the company to use a higher-dose vaccine for older adults as a comparator but stated, “We agree it would be acceptable to use a licensed standard dose influenza vaccine as the comparator in your Phase 3 study.”

The study followed a well-established framework for flu vaccine trials, according to virologist Angela Rasmussen, PhD, of the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. “The trial design they used is essentially the trial design that every single flu vaccine has used,” she tells CIDRAP news.

In an interview with The New York Times, Moderna’s president Stephen Hoge, MD, expressed surprise and confusion about the decision, noting the FDA’s earlier support for the company’s study plan. The company’s mRNA vaccine has been accepted for review in the European Union, Canada, and Australia. Moderna has requested a meeting with the FDA to understand the basis for their refusal…

Vaccine companies generally work with clear, well-established expectations of the kinds of studies considered acceptable by the FDA, Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, of Baylor College of Medicine, tells CIDRAP News.

“There was a commitment,” he said, adding that to “string Moderna along and all of a sudden say, nope, we’re not going to even review it” risks undermining confidence in FDA processes. The decision, Hotez warned, could “have an immediate chilling effect on the vaccine industry.” Vaccine makers may start to reassess whether to invest in US-based vaccine development if regulatory expectations shift late in the process.

The FDA “changed their mind,” about whether Moderna could use a standard-dose flu shot in the trial, Paul Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said, “which is really not fair.”…

Reporting today from STAT suggests that the decision to refuse Moderna’s application was not unanimous. Sources told STAT that Vinay Prasad, MD, director of CBER, overruled career scientists who had been preparing to move forward with a formal review.

A US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson disputed that characterization, saying there was a “diverse set of conclusions” among staff…

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has criticized mRNA technology and has moved to scale back federal support for certain vaccine initiatives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer were deployed widely and credited with preventing severe disease and death. The technology was recognized with the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Since taking office, Kennedy, a vocal vaccine skeptic, has terminated hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of grants aimed at developing mRNA technology…

CDC reports 6 more child deaths from #flu, as virus levels stay moderate to high
Flu, respiratory syncytial virus, and COVID-19 levels still elevated in some parts of the country.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) February 13, 2026 at 2:35 PM

3. Wondering where things stand where you live? #Flu seems to be releasing its grasp on the NE, but lots of the country are still engulfed in flu transmission — more, actually, than about a month ago (map on the right).
For more on flu, see FluView here: www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv…

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— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) February 13, 2026 at 7:20 PM

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Plagues & Pandemics Update – February 18, 2026Post + Comments (58)