vaccines

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COVID's Latest Variant Stands Out From the Rest

'Cicada' has big number of spike protein mutations, though it's not leading to more severe illness

(Newser) - A coronavirus offshoot that spent years lurking in the background is now surfacing in US data—and scientists are watching it closely, but not panicking. The variant, called BA.3.2 and nicknamed "cicada" (like the insect that also stays hidden underground before emerging), has turned up in wastewater...

Kennedy Ally Quits Vaccine Panel, Cites 'Sabotage'

Robert Malone, whose work is now sidelined, says he has 'better things to do'

(Newser) - One of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s most prominent vaccine allies is walking away from the CDC vaccine panel now sidelined by a judge. Robert Malone, a physician and biochemist known for questioning the seriousness of COVID-19 and promoting unsupported claims about it, said Tuesday he is stepping down...

Lyme Vaccine Shows Promise, but 'Tricky' Path Lies Ahead

Pfizer shot cuts infections by 70%, but study missed a statistical threshold

(Newser) - A potential comeback for a Lyme disease vaccine just cleared a big, but not decisive, hurdle. Pfizer and French drugmaker Valneva say their experimental shot cut Lyme infections by more than 70% in a late-stage trial of 9,400 people ages 5 and up—strong enough that they plan to...

Judge Pauses Kennedy on Vaccine Changes

Federal court sides with pediatricians who warned of public health risks

(Newser) - A federal judge in Boston has tapped the brakes on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s push to rewrite national vaccine policy. US District Judge Brian Murphy on Monday temporarily blocked major elements of the health secretary's plan, siding with the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups....

This Year's Flu Shot Didn't Do So Well

It was 25% to 30% effective in preventing a doctor's visit, worst percentage in years

(Newser) - As the US flu season winds down, health officials say this year's vaccine didn't work very well: The shot had one of its worst effectiveness rates in the last two decades. A new strain that dominated the early winter was not well matched to the vaccine, leading to...

FDA's Controversial Vaccine Chief Steps Down, Again

Vinay Prasad is heading back to UC San Francisco, per FDA chief Marty Makary

(Newser) - The Food and Drug Administration's top vaccines regulator is heading for the exit again. Dr. Vinay Prasad, who took over the agency's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research last year and briefly resigned in July before returning a short time later, will leave next month, an FDA spokesperson...

Novartis Settles With Lacks' Estate Over Her 'Stolen' Cells

Pharma giant allegedly profited off Black woman's cells taken without her OK, used to make vaccines

(Newser) - Novartis has settled a lawsuit by the estate of Henrietta Lacks that alleged the pharmaceutical giant unjustly profited off her cells, which were taken from a tumor without her knowledge in 1951 and reproduced in labs to enable major medical advancements, including the polio vaccine. Details of the agreement, which...

States Sue Over CDC Shift on Childhood Vaccinations

New recommendations endanger public health, filing says

(Newser) - More than a dozen states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its rollback of vaccine recommendations for children, calling the move an illegal threat to public health. The states argue that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put children's lives at risk when it announced last month...

Senators Grill Nominee on Vaccines, Magic Mushrooms

Casey Means declines to rule out autism-vaccines link

(Newser) - President Trump's pick for surgeon general declined to clearly dismiss a link between childhood vaccines and autism during a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, putting her at odds with the broader medical consensus. Casey Means, a wellness influencer and health-tech entrepreneur, was pressed repeatedly by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a...

Nasal Spray Could Protect Against Range of Respiratory Bugs

Tests show lungs could receive a warning that viruses or bacteria are about to attack

(Newser) - Scientists are testing a nasal spray that aims to put lungs on alert against just about any bug that tries to move in. Stanford University researchers said their "universal vaccine," so far only tried in animals, didn't teach the immune system to recognize a specific virus the...

FDA Does a 180 on Moderna Flu Shot Review

Agency will now evaluate experimental mRNA shot, which could arrive for older adults by the fall

(Newser) - The FDA has made a U-turn on Moderna's experimental flu shot. After refusing to even review the vaccine last week over concerns about how the pivotal trial was designed, the agency has now agreed to evaluate it for potential approval, Moderna said Wednesday, per the New York Times . The...

Dr. Oz: 'Take the Vaccine, Please'
Dr. Oz: 'Take
the Vaccine, Please'
Feb 9, 2026 7:28 AM CST

Dr. Oz: 'Take the Vaccine, Please'

Top US health official makes an appeal as measles cases rise

(Newser) - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator on Sunday urged people to get inoculated against the measles amid outbreaks across several states and as the US risks losing its measles elimination status. "Take the vaccine, please," said Dr. Mehmet Oz. "We have a solution for our...

More Parents Rebuff a Key Vitamin K Shot for Newborns

Doctors blame misinformation, anti-vaccine rhetoric for refusal on shot, which helps prevent brain bleeds

(Newser) - Pediatric providers say that newborns in the United States are increasingly leaving the hospital without a long-standard vitamin shot that prevents dangerous bleeding, reports the New York Times . The injection delivers vitamin K, which infants lack at birth and don't get in sufficient amounts from the placenta or breast...

Pediatricians Break With CDC on Vaccine Schedule

American Academy of Pediatrics urges broader child immunizations than revised CDC schedule

(Newser) - America's pediatricians just told the federal government "thanks, but no thanks" on the new childhood vaccine playbook. The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday reaffirmed its own schedule recommending shots against 18 diseases for kids—far more than the 11 now on the CDC's updated list, the...

CDC Drastically Overhauls Childhood Vaccine Schedule

Number of recommended vaccines drops from 17 to 10

(Newser) - The federal government took the unprecedented step Monday of dropping the number of vaccines it recommends for every child—leaving other immunizations, such as flu shots, open to families to choose but without clear guidance. Officials said the overhaul to the federal vaccine schedule won't result in any families...

White House Considers Big Change to Vaccine Guidance

Move toward 'shared decision-making' alarms public health experts and doctors

(Newser) - The federal government is weighing a redesign of its childhood vaccine playbook that would move it closer to Denmark's leaner schedule and step back from strongly recommending many shots, the Washington Post reports. According to two people familiar with internal talks, Trump administration officials are considering moving most routine...

HHS Cuts Grants to Pediatric Group Amid Clash With RFK Jr.

Slashed funding to American Academy of Pediatrics halts child health, vaccine-related initiatives

(Newser) - Federal health officials have yanked millions in grants from one of their most outspoken critics, and the American Academy of Pediatrics says kids will pay the price. The Department of Health and Human Services this week canceled seven grants to the AAP worth an estimated $18 million, according to documents...

CDC Scales Back Universal Hepatitis B Shot for Newborns

Experts warn individualized approach may weaken hepatitis B protection for infants

(Newser) - The CDC has dropped its long-standing advice that all newborns be given a hepatitis B vaccine shortly after birth, instead telling parents of babies born to mothers who test negative for the virus to decide with their doctor whether to vaccinate at birth, reports USA Today . The change comes after...

With COVID Vaccines, 'No Increase in the Risk of Mortality'

French data show 50% higher death rate among unvaccinated adults

(Newser) - French researchers say a massive real-world test of COVID shots turned up something vaccine skeptics won't like: People who skipped them died at a significantly higher rate, reports RFI . In a study of nearly 30 million adults ages 18 to 59, published in JAMA Network Open , the Epi-Phare group—...

Liam Neeson Finds Himself at Center of Anti-Vax Storm

Actor's reps says his narration in COVID movie doesn't equal endorsement of its debunked claims

(Newser) - Liam Neeson is distancing himself from anti-vaccine politics even as his voice anchors a new film steeped in vaccine skepticism and praise for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Naked Gun actor narrates Plague of Corruption, a documentary based on a book by Judy Mikovits, a former researcher who rose to...

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