Image of HHS Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr. as he delivers remarks at a “Making Health Technology Great Again” event, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in the East Room of the White House. 📷: The White House / Flickr

Kennedy defends measles record: ‘I have never been anti-vaccine’

The HHS secretary completes his second day of testimony before a House committee.

Read more: ow.ly/omZb50YLq3X

📷: The White House / Flickr

For those that don't know (included me!), Gremubamab binds specifically to the Pseudomonas aeruginosa PcrV protein and the Psl exopolysaccharide.

Both are virulence factors used for adhesion and biofilm stability.

Thanks @microsoft-copilot.bsky.social !

#ESCMIDGlobal2026 #IDSky #ClinMicro

📣 ESCMID is putting its money where its mouth is

Our own Katie Hostettler-Oi @kohost.bsky.social & Lena Siewert show how @escmid.bsky.social is reducing its carbon footprint (& yours) for a better 🌍

#ESCMIDGlobal2026 #ESCMIDgreentravel #IDSky #clinmicro #climate

www.cmi-comms.org/article/S295...

😶‍🌫️🫥🫣 Imposter!!! Who me? #ImposterSybdrome is extremely common and something to recognize and work on if you experience it. Take it from me, I’ve totally felt this way more times than I can count!! 😆 … #ESCMIDglobal2026 … 7/n #meded #pharmed #pharmacist @escmid.bsky.social @sidpharm.bsky.social

Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later.

Isn't this the type of mRNA research that RFK Jr is shutting down??

www.nbcnews.com/health/cance...

Aurélia Nguyen : "L'IA facilite la création de virus dangereux en laboratoire" A quelles nouvelles menaces pandémiques devons-nous nous préparer ? Les réponses d'Aurélia Ngyuen, experte à la Cepi, une organisation spécialisée dans la réponse aux épidémies émergentes.

For an interview with France's L'Express, CEPI’s Deputy CEO, Aurélia Nguyen, reflects on the growing role of artificial intelligence in epidemic and pandemic preparedness, including the potential biosecurity risks.

More: https://bit.ly/4cldTmv

Trump’s federal workforce changes cost the economy more than $165.6B, analysis finds The Partnership for Public Service report includes the costs of the deferred resignation program, severance pay for laid-off civil servants and federal employees who were on paid administrative leave while their firings were challenged in court.

This regime’s federal workforce changes cost the economy ~$165.6B.

The real losses--expertise, programs, future lives saved--are immeasurable.

NB: no one is more stubborn or recalcitrant than public servants who believe in their mission.

GN, friends -- tomorrow we keep fighting for what’s right 💚

I Was Lucky Enough to Access a Life-Saving Vaccine. Millions Were Not. We Must Fix This Injustice. Madhukar Pai argues that COVID-19 vaccine inequity was a defining policy failure and that fairer access will require new manufacturing and political choices.

5 years ago, this week, I was lucky to receive my first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine that gave me a fighting chance during the pandemic

But millions were not as lucky...

This week, I reflect on why charity can never be justice

meridianletters.com/vaccine-ineq...

Dear Member of Congress: The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) are deeply grateful for the longstanding bipartisan support from Congress for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We want to inform you of current and likely impacts of delays and changes in funding policies and procedures for NIH grants. Our concerns relate to the following areas within NIH: • Massive reduction in notice of funding opportunities • Delays in funding processes and inadequate capacity to administer grants • Increase in forward funding of multiyear awards in year one • Delays and potential lapses in funding for large clinical trial networks and clinical trial units Lack of transparency around permitted international collaborative partners for research projects • Disproportionate impact of grant terminations on vulnerable populations, especially women and people of color

U.S. infectious disease research is on the brink. Without immediate action from Congress, much of it will cease to exist within a year.

For example👇

1️⃣ No collaborative RFAs posted for >1 year (normal: many / year).
2️⃣ No foreign collaborators allowed on grants.

🧪🪦 www.idsociety.org/globalassets...

Good night #TeamPete 😴

🧬 Ready to tackle AMR?
🦠 Join us at the TARGetAMR Annual Conference 2026 on 14–15 May at The Studio, Birmingham
✨ Network, share insights & drive innovation
👉 Register now: www.targetamr.org.uk/hdrevents/ta...
#TARGetAMR26

Drought drives elevated antibiotic resistance across soils - Nature Microbiology Drought conditions in soil systems lead to elevated concentrations of natural antibiotics, as well as the enrichment of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, highlighting a link between climate and the...

Drought appears to concentrate microbes and natural antibiotics in soils, intensifying selection and increasing #AMR in environmental bacteria. Hotter, drier regions show higher levels of AMR infections, a reminder that climate, environment, and health are linked.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

WHO’s New NPOC TB Test Could Transform Global Diagnosis Efforts Rapid near-point-of-care molecular tests using tongue swabs can help end TB, enabling diagnosis and treatment to begin within hours on the same day.

This World TB Day, @drjudystone.bsky.social covers a new WHO policy that can make a big difference in tuberculosis testing

www.forbes.com/sites/judyst...

⏰There's only 1 week left to submit your abstract for #GAMRIC2026! https://ow.ly/1Ge350Yq7Fn

We encourage submissions on: early discovery & development, preclinical & clinical development, new antibacterial/antifungals, stewardship, supply & access, diagnostics & more!

#IDSky #clinmicro

Image of rendering of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles. Credit: NIAID

New COVID variant with immune escape potential confirmed in US & 22 other countries.

BA.3.2 represents a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2, genetically distinct from the JN.1 lineages that have circulated in the US since January 2024.

Read more: ow.ly/Q50350YxOSv

Photo Credit: NIAID

Our understanding of the origin of COVID-19, while still incomplete, is one of the most well-supported scientific theories of any pandemic.

When it comes to “Scientific Freedom”, it must be based in science and evidence - this is the opposite, platforming pseudoscience instead.

🧵Children in the Crossfire: War’s Hidden Toll on Kids — Insights from Pediatrics On Call

1/2

🧠 🎧 Check this out, an episode of Pediatrics On Call from the American Academy of Pediatrics about how armed conflict affects kids and teens. 🩺

Report highlights ‘spots of progress’ in a challenging landscape for new antibiotics

The bright spots illuminate an otherwise cloudy picture for antibiotic development, according to the latest AMR Benchmark Report from the Access to Medicine Foundation.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/a...

A tweet from a startup asking for money. Anywhere DX Roses are red Violets are best. We’re working on an at home molecular strep test But we need your help. Invest. Xoxo Below the text is an image that looks like a white vape pen.

Michael Mina is developing a home strep pcr test based on using saliva. While this might hurt my business model I'll be glad that someone else has to explain that 85%* of sore throats are caused by not strep.

*Estimate based on personal experience

Given the billions being spent on war these days, it's a good time to read this @bmj.com series on the (h)arms industry!

"the arms industry should be seen as a commercial determinant of health"

Even as people are being killed, this industry is making billions in profit

www.bmj.com/collections/...

Beyond sputum: Why WHO’s new tongue swab test is a ‘major advance’ in fight against TB

indianexpress.com/article/citi...

Jobs View the current job vacancies at the Microbiology Society.

We are looking for new editors for Microbiology, the flagship journal of @microbiologysociety.org

Deadline for applications is 16 Feb 2026

microbiologysociety.org/who-we-are/j...

If you're living somewhere outside the USA, one thing you can do is pressure your leaders to boycott World Cup and Olympic events here.

AOC: "An ICE officer had violently pushed a woman to the ground and he had come over to help get her up and that is what precipitated this incident that very quickly led to an execution in the streets. What we are seeing here is a momentous pivotal moment for the United States."

The five biggest challenges facing misinformation researchers The burgeoning field is still grappling with fundamental problems, from getting access to data to defining 'misinformation' in the first place

So what have I learnt about #misinformation research? I tried to condense it into a list of the 5 biggest challenges the field faces.
Second story in my package of stories about misinformation research is up here (and thread to come):
www.science.org/content/arti...

William H. Foege, Key Figure in the Eradication of Smallpox, Dies at 89

We lost a giant in public health today.

Dr. William H. Foege helped eradicate #smallpox - the only human disease ever eliminated—through science, surveillance, and vaccines.

His legacy is the antidote to today’s antiscience, anti-vaccine rhetoric.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...

Great to see European universities stepping up as infectious disease research and global health continue to be targeted and degraded in the United States.

Two exciting opportunities from the University of Geneva just posted - might be of interest to my broader network.

It breaks our hearts to have to say that CDC is no longer a source for evidence-based vaccine recommendations. 💔

But we are so proud of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for stepping up to protect kids. ❤️‍🩹

Childhood vaccine schedule from AAP 👇

downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/AAP-...

Use of the GSK MenACWY-CRM/MenB-4C Pentavalent ... This report updates recommendations for the use meningococcal vaccine among people 10 years of age and older.

💉 🧵 On Monday RFKJ changed the childhood vax schedule to longer recommend meningitis vax for all kids. Today, CDC’s journal (MMWR) publishes meningitis vax recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) BEFORE it was trashed by RFKJ🫡

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

more👇

🍽️Where can you find evidence based nutrition information now that RFKJ has hijacked federal nutrition guidance? 🥦

🍗Check out the professional societies for dieticians and nutritionists:

🥭Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics www.eatright.org
🍐American Society for Nutrition nutrition.org