Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Over 200 Recruits Fall Ill As Flu Outbreak Grows At Texas Air Force Base
San Antonio Express-News: 222 Recruits At Lackland Reported Ill As Flu Outbreak Spreads
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro says 222 recruits in basic training have fallen ill at Lackland. The flu outbreak is in its third week. The outbreak comes two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made flu vaccines optional for troops in the armed services, including those entering basic training. One recruit died Tuesday, days after being admitted to Brooke Army Medical Center, but the Pentagon has not said if he presented symptoms for the flu. (Christenson, 6/20)
Also —
NBC News: FDA Panel Recommends Moderna’s MRNA Flu Shot For Older Adults
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday recommended the approval of Moderna’s mRNA-based flu shot for older adults. If approved, it would be the world’s first messenger RNA flu shot, providing public health officials with a much more nimble tool to fight influenza. In a late-stage trial, the vaccine was found to be about 27% more effective than a standard flu shot. (Lovelace Jr., 6/18)
The New York Times: Buildings May Soon Have ‘Immune Systems’ That Fight Airborne Disease
Linsey Marr, an environmental engineer, stood next to a pair of clear plastic boxes packed with tubes, nozzles and electronics, an odd-looking prototype that one day might serve to protect children in day care from airborne pathogens. A nozzle filled the right-hand box with a faint silvery mist. A pump pulled some of that air into the left-hand box, where a sampler trapped floating particles and droplets. Soon, a digital screen bolted to the box turned red: “Detected! Dust mite allergen Der f 1.” (Zimmer, 6/19)
On the spread of measles in Utah and Maryland —
AP: Utah Marks A Year Of Fighting Measles
Utah has spent the past year fighting measles outbreaks — a grim milestone that could affect whether the United States can keep its measles-free designation. More than 680 people have gotten sick since the state’s first outbreak began on June 20, 2025. Unlike measles outbreaks in Texas, South Carolina and Arizona, the spread in Utah has been tough to contain to one region — infecting undervaccinated communities in nearly every county. (Shastri, 6/20)
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Resident With Measles Traveled Through Dulles, DC Clinic
Health officials in Maryland and the District of Columbia are investigating a confirmed measles case involving a Maryland resident who recently traveled internationally and may have exposed others at locations in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. (Henney, 6/21)
H5N1 bird flu is now on every continent —
BBC: Australia Confirms First Case Of Bird Flu As Virus Reaches Every Continent
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has for the first time been found in Australia, the country's agriculture ministry confirmed. It means the highly contagious variant has now reached every continent. The disease was found in a migratory seabird, a brown skua, in remote Western Australia, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said on Saturday. (Tan, 6/20)
CIDRAP: More Idaho Dairy Cattle Hit With H5N1 Avian Flu
Recent updates from the US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) show a spike of H5N1 avian flu activity in Idaho dairy cattle, with 33 cattle affected on dairy milking facilities in the past 30 days. Utah also reported three H5N1 detections among cattle this month. So far this year, APHIS has tracked 54 H5N1 cases among cattle, far fewer than the 917 reported in 2024. Last year, 171 cattle were sickened with avian flu. (Soucheray, 6/18)
