Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Attorney General Investigating Pediatricians Who Vaccinate Kids
The New York Times: Texas Pediatricians Face Paxton Investigations For Vaccinating Children
So far, Ken Paxton is the only attorney general to investigate pediatricians for vaccinating children. (Jewett, 10/5)
Bloomberg: RFK Jr. Announces Vaccine Injury Clinic, Initiative At NIH
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a new research initiative at the National Institutes of Health to study vaccine injuries on Monday, according to people familiar with the matter. Kennedy visited the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, to unveil the initiative, said the people, who weren’t authorized to discuss the event publicly. (Cohrs Zhang and Raman, 10/5)
The Spokesman-Review: U.S. Supreme Court Declines Request To Consider COVID-19 Vaccine Case
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that it will not hear the case of a group of former city of Bellingham, Washington, employees who were fired for refusing to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. No reason was given, as is often the case for denied petitions. The employees – which include EMTs, police officers, firefighters, a senior inspector and a wastewater collections supervisor – filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Bellingham and former Mayor Seth Fleetwood in June 2024 over Fleetwood’s 2021 executive order requiring city employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. (Edelman, 10/5)
In other vaccine developments —
Stat: Vaxcyte Claims Success In Bid To Beat Pfizer And Merck In Vaccine Market
Vaxcyte said Monday that its experimental pneumococcal vaccine hit the primary endpoints in a Phase 3 clinical trial, setting up the California-based biotech to compete with Pfizer and Merck. (Mast, 10/5)
WUSF: USF Researchers Pursue Vaccine Against Malaria Parasite
University of South Florida researchers are developing a new malaria vaccine that would prevent the return of the disease once a person has already been infected. Unlike viral mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue, malaria is caused by parasites in the genus Plasmodium, which are transmitted by infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. (Liguori, 10/6)
