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Hundreds of medical and public health organizations urged Congress to investigate the sweeping changes recently made to the U.S. childhood vaccination schedule by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his administration. In a letter signed by more than 230 organizations representing clinicians, scientists, public health professionals, and patient groups, the signatories called on lawmakers to "conduct swift and robust oversight" of an overhaul they described as abrupt and opaque. (McCreary, 1/12)

A growing number of states are pushing back against sweeping changes to the US childhood vaccine schedule. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an overhaul of the immunization schedule January 5, paring the number of universally recommended immunizations from 17 to 11. Since then, at least 17 states have announced that they won’t follow new CDC vaccine schedule: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. (Szabo, 1/12)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: RFK Jr.’s MAHA Movement Has Picked Up Steam In Statehouses. Here’s What To Expect In 2026

When one of Adam Burkhammer’s foster children struggled with hyperactivity, the West Virginia legislator and his wife decided to alter their diet and remove any foods that contained synthetic dyes. “We saw a turnaround in his behavior, and our other children,” said Burkhammer, who has adopted or fostered 10 kids with his wife. “There are real impacts on real kids.” (Greenblatt, 1/13)

An analysis of safety data suggests that Abrysvo, the Pfizer respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) RSVpreF vaccine, does not increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes when administered after 32 weeks’ gestation, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA. (Bergeson, 1/9)

Oral cholera vaccines have played a critical role in efforts to prevent and control the severe and potentially life-threatening diarrheal disease. But they could be better. Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends three licensed vaccines for use in areas experiencing cholera outbreaks or where the disease is endemic. All three are killed, whole-cell vaccines that provide protection against cholera by stimulating the intestinal immune response to the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, which spreads through contaminated water and food and produces toxins that cause severe vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration. (Dall, 1/9)

The Covid pandemic didn’t just kill people directly. It appears to have accelerated a long-brewing reversal in US heart failure deaths, with mortality climbing faster since 2020 after years of decline, new research shows. The increases have been most pronounced among younger adults and Black Americans, pointing to disruptions in care and worsening conditions such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure that intensified during the health emergency, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. (Gale, 1/12)

A large observational study using US healthcare claims and electronic health record data suggests that Moderna’s updated 2024-25 COVID vaccine was 39% effective at preventing medically attended illness among adults and 53% effective against hospitalization, particularly those at high risk for severe disease. (Bergeson, 1/12)

For the first time in 10 years, the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services has reported flu-related deaths in children. The agency said two children have died from influenza complications and are among the five influenza-related deaths recorded in the state this flu season. News sources said the children were under the age of 10, but no additional information was being released at this time. As of January 3, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said there have been 17 pediatric flu deaths this season. (Soucheray, 1/12)

Researchers from University of Maryland Schools of Public Health and Engineering in College Park and the School of Medicine in Baltimore wanted to find out how the flu spreads, so they put college students already sick with the flu into a hotel room with healthy middle-aged adult volunteers. The result? No one caught the flu. (1/13)