POLITICS
Trump administration mum amid deadly measles outbreak
Julio Cortez/AP
When measles struck New York in 2018 and 2019, federal health officials uniformly preached the power of immunizations. President Trump, himself, implored people to get the shot. But several years later, public messaging has dramatically changed, writes STAT's Andrew Joseph.
At a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, a reporter asked Trump about the rapidly growing outbreak centered in Texas — over 124 confirmed cases, including the country's first measles death in a decade in an unvaccinated child. Trump passed the question to his health secretary, and longtime vaccine critic, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who downplayed the outbreak and misstated the death toll. The lack of messaging from the executive branch is an early sign that Trump's embrace of prominent anti-vaccine critics like RFK Jr. could usher in a period of greater skepticism of basic public health tenets.
"What I'm struck by is the near total silence from [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] in communicating about this outbreak, talking about the importance of vaccination, providing its own perspective and voice on the outbreak," said Jason Schwartz, an expert on vaccine policy at the Yale School of Public Health.
Late Thursday, the CDC quietly released a statement about the outbreak, burying it on its website instead of sending an email to reporters. While it emphasized that "vaccination remains the best defense against measles infection," the statement lacked the full-throated defense of vaccines present in prior administrations. Read more from Drew's excellent story.
VACCINES
Positive results from flu, covid, HPV vaccines
Some rare good news from the Department of Stuff We Wish We Had More Time To Write About. There were three vaccines-related studies in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, published Thursday by the CDC. Two were vaccine effectiveness studies that estimate the differences in outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated populations.
- An early estimate of the effectiveness of this year's Covid shot showed its effectiveness in preventing hospitalization for the illness was about 45% in healthy older adults and 40% in those who were immunocompromised.
- Likewise, influenza vaccines offered additional protection at all age levels in one of the worst flu seasons in years, early estimates of vaccine effectiveness or VE demonstrated. All age groups were less likely to need outpatient medical care or hospitalization if they were vaccinated.
- A study looking at the impact of the human papillomavirus or HPV vaccine showed that in the period from 2008 to 2022, the incidence of cervical precancers declined 79% and the rate of higher grade precancers declined 80% in women aged 20 to 24, the age group most likely to be vaccinated.
— Helen Branswell
EDUCATION
NIH cancels summer internship program
The National Institutes of Health usually welcomes around 1,200 students onto its campuses each summer, but this year will be an exception. In an internal email obtained by STAT, the agency announced that it is cancelling its Summer Internship Program, also known as SIP, even though some students had already been accepted. The program has for years given students interested in research careers hands-on experience and career counseling, including interns from groups underrepresented in science.
The agency did not provide an explanation for the move, but it comes at a time when NIH has also stopped recruiting postdoctoral researchers; Ph.D. students; and postbacs, who are recent college graduates. "This was a challenging decision, and I know some of you will disagree with us; however, we are following the path we feel is best for the students and this institution," wrote Sharon Milgram, director of the agency's Office of Intramural Training and Education.
— Jonathan Wosen
No comments