Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Experts Want FDA To Back Up Claim That Covid Vaccine Caused Kids' Deaths
Stat: FDA Claims Covid Vaccine Caused Kids’ Deaths. Experts Are Skeptical
The Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine regulator asserted in an email to staff sent Friday that the Covid-19 vaccine caused at least 10 deaths in children and called for changes to the way the agency regulates vaccines. But experts told STAT they are skeptical of the memo’s “extraordinary” claim because it was not presented with detailed data. (Herper and Branswell, 11/29)
On flu, bird flu, measles, and covid —
CBC News: Flu Vaccines Take Months To Make. Here's What Could Speed It Up
For decades, the flu virus in the shots you’re offered every fall has been grown in chicken eggs. While that may sound odd, the tried-and-true technology has been around since the 1940s. Now, scientists are trying more modern methods of developing vaccines. (Zafar, 11/29)
The New York Times: Inside The Bird-Flu Vaccine Trial For Monk Seals
Two wild Hawaiian monk seals, an endangered species, have become the first of their kind to receive vaccines for bird flu, part of a new effort to protect the animals from a virus that has been ravaging marine mammal populations around the world. The vaccinations represent the next phase of a small study that began this summer in northern elephant seals, which are not endangered. The vaccine appeared to be safe for elephant seals, the researchers found, and prompted the marine mammals to begin making antibodies against the virus, which is known as H5N1. (Anthes, 12/1)
ScienceDaily: Bird Flu’s Surprising Heat Tolerance Has Scientists Worried
Researchers discovered why bird flu can survive temperatures that stop human flu in its tracks. A key gene, PB1, gives avian viruses the ability to replicate even at fever-level heat. Mice experiments confirmed that fever cripples human-origin flu but not avian strains, especially those with avian-like PB1. These findings highlight how gene swapping could fuel future pandemics. (11/28)
CNN: Measles Cases Are Surging, Making Global Elimination A ‘Distant Goal,’ WHO Says
For decades, measles vaccination has been a global success story. Deaths from measles dropped 88% around the world from 2000 to 2024, according to a new report from the World Health Organization, with an estimated 58 million lives saved in that time. But now, with vaccine coverage well below the level needed to stop transmission, cases are surging. (Koda, 11/28)
CIDRAP: COVID Patients Have Higher Rates Of Depression, Anxiety, Headache, And Fatigue Before Diagnosis, Study Suggests
A large, case-control study from Sweden finds that people with long COVID have higher rates of depression, anxiety, fatigue, and headache both before and after diagnosis. The findings, published last week in BMC Medicine, draw on medical records from more than 53,000 adults and suggest a link between long COVID and preexisting conditions. (Bergeson, 11/26)
On malaria and mosquitoes —
The CT Mirror: Yale Malaria Researchers Had Federal Grants Cut – But Keep Working
Amy Bei, a professor of epidemiology at Yale University, received the cancellation notice from the federal government on May 1. The $300,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health was for the first phase of research into a method for tracking malaria spread through communities. Bei had been finishing up that first phase when the notice came through. (Otte, 11/28)
CIDRAP: Some High-Flying Tropical Mosquitoes Carry Disease-Causing Pathogens Long Distances, Study Finds
Some high-flying tropical mosquitoes carry disease-causing pathogens long distances, study finds. In the first study of its kind, mosquitoes captured high above Mali and Ghana were found to be infected with arboviruses, protozoans, and parasitic worms that cause human diseases such as dengue, malaria, and the disfiguring illness lymphatic filariasis, researchers reported yesterday in PNAS. They also note that the vectors could spread diseases many miles away. (Van Beusekom, 11/26)
