Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Feds Kept Favorable Studies On Covid, Shingles Vaccines Under Wraps, HHS Confirms
The New York Times: F.D.A. Blocked Publication Of Research Finding Covid And Shingles Vaccines Were Safe
Officials at the Food and Drug Administration have blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of widely used vaccines against Covid-19 and shingles in recent months, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed. The studies, which cost millions of dollars in public funds, were conducted by scientists at the agency, who worked with data firms to analyze millions of patient records. They found serious side effects to be very rare. (Jewett, 5/5)
In related news about covid —
The Hill: Rand Paul Pushes For Anthony Fauci Indictment
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday called for Anthony Fauci, former longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), to be indicted for what the senator claimed was his lying under oath about gain-of-function research. “6 days from now, on May 11th, the statute of limitations expires on the possibility of indicting Anthony Fauci for denying under oath that he funded gain-of-function research involving bat coronaviruses in Wuhan, the origin city of the pandemic,” Paul wrote on social media. (Choi, 5/5)
In other vaccine news about shingles, flu, and HPV —
MedPage Today: What A U.S. Study Found About The Shingles Vaccine And Dementia
Older adults in the U.S. were less likely to develop dementia if they received the recombinant subunit zoster (shingles) vaccine (Shingrix), an analysis of 1.5 million Medicare beneficiaries showed. (George, 5/5)
CIDRAP: Giving RSV, Shingles Vaccines Together Appears Safe In Older Adults, With Good Immune Response
Giving a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine at the same time as a shingles vaccine produces a similar immune response as spacing the shots a month apart, according to a phase 3 clinical trial published this week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. No safety concerns were identified with the co-administered vaccines. (Bergeson, 5/1)
CIDRAP: Adjuvanted And High-Dose Flu Vaccines Show Similar Protection In Older Adults
A large, randomized study found no meaningful difference in protection between adjuvanted and high-dose flu vaccines for older adults during the 2023–24 flu season. The findings support the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendation that either formulation can be used for adults 65 years and older. (Bergeson, 5/5)
CIDRAP: Evidence Review Finds HPV Vaccines To Be Safe, Extremely Effective
Twenty years after the approval of vaccines that prevent infection with the cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV), data continue to find that the shots are safe and extremely effective. HPV vaccines reduce the risk of cervical cancer by 80% in women vaccinated by age 16 years and 66% in those vaccinated after 16, and aren’t associated with serious side effects, according to an evidence review published today by the Vaccine Integrity Project (VIP), an initiative of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), which publishes CIDRAP News. (Szabo, 5/5)
CIDRAP: ‘The Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Gone Through’: Cervical Cancer Survivors Speak Out About Importance Of HPV Vaccine
Tamika Felder always wanted a family. But her hopes for a future pregnancy were crushed when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at age 25. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through,” said Felder, now 50, whose treatment included radiation, chemotherapy, and a hysterectomy, in which the uterus is removed. “I was glad I didn’t die, but losing my fertility honestly felt like death.” Vaccines that prevent infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes 90% of cervical cancers, weren’t available when Felder was a child. (Szabo, 5/5)
Also —
ProPublica: Parents Increasingly Reject Vitamin K Shots For Newborns, Hospitals Report
They entered the world the way babies should, with piercing cries announcing their arrival. They passed their newborn screening tests. Some made it to their 2-week wellness visits without concern. Then, without warning, their systems began to shut down. A 7-week-old boy in Maryland developed sudden seizures. An 11-pound girl in Alabama stopped breathing for 20 seconds at a time. A baby boy in Kentucky vomited before becoming lethargic. A brown-haired girl in Texas, not yet 2 weeks old, bled around her belly button. (Eldeib, 5/6)
