public health news updates galore!

February 28, 2025: Updates about seasonal & avian flu, COVID, measles, TB, mystery viruses, and where the budget cuts are happening. I also explain what approach I take to keeping you updated.

Feb 28, 2025

Welcome to all 2500+ new subscribers from 50 states and 25 countries!

Much to my delight, that happened quite literally over two nights so first a little housekeeping is in order and then I’ll do a quick review of what’s happening in public health.

It appears as if most of you found me through Substack and are looking for flu updates? You’ve come to the right place—that’s my specialty! I posted a big update 3 days ago that you can find here if you missed it.

What can I expect from you?

I’ll do my best to inform you promptly when there are things you need to know in the news about infectious disease. I strive to make the information I share formatted well so it’s easy to read and digest by the average person.
I share factual, scientifically-sound information. It’s getting harder and harder to identify quality reporting so I always strive to find the original source for information I share with you. Therefore, I post my sources at the bottom of every heavily-researched post. I also make it a point to distinguish facts from my opinions, when I share them. If you are using this information to make decisions about your health or the health of your family, that is the least I can do.
I’m chronically ill and disabled. Like really disabled. You can read more about all that here. In short, I have ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis—similar to long COVID) which is severe enough to leave me bed-bound about 23.5 hours per day. When I do leave my home, I use a wheelchair and I employ caregivers approximately 10 hours per week to help me with my daily activities. My hours for writing are very limited but I do the best I can. Unlike some of the other Substackers—I am not a breaking news source. I’ll get to the most important things as quickly as I can. While I’m actively working with editors, you will find typos in my work sometimes. That’s a natural side effect of my erratic work schedule. Your graciousness is appreciated. This is usually how you can find me at home:
I write about disability. I believe you cannot separate politics from the well being of marginalized people so I write about that from my own perspective. While my posts are for everyone, I will often prioritize the concerns of disabled people in what I write.
I’m queer. I support the basic human rights of trans people. I believe racism is alive and well in this country and must stop. I believe what we are witnessing in our government right now is illegal, immoral, and extremely dangerous.
Memes. Didn’t see that coming, did you? I love memes. Part of my “translate public health news for laypeople hobby” comes with occasional sides of fresh memes for the purposes of managing our mental health. Meme Friday has been a part of my Facebook page for about 5 years and I plan to continue it here with occasional meme dumps. You’re welcome.
If you have a chronic illness, have ME, or have discovered firsthand how much long COVID sucks, you are so very in the right place. I’m especially grateful to have you here.
Content here is free and will remain that way but I welcome paid subscribers to help support the work I’m doing. Being able to Door Dash meals helps ensure I have the time to update you when needed. There are bonuses for those who are able to contribute like live Q&A this Sunday evening from 7-8pm EST in the chat section. I am not able to answer every question on every post but I’ve set aside this time for paid subscribers to ask the questions they have. I’m doing it this way because my first priority will always be protecting my energy. Otherwise none of this is possible.

What are your credentials?

I graduated from NC State with a degree in microbiology on a full scholarship from Park Scholarships. I won a Goldwater scholarship for my research at NC State and Research Triangle International. I was selected by NSF for a research program at Montana State University and spent two summers there doing protein research with a big ass magnet.

After that, I worked at Labcorp briefly and moved to the North Carolina State Crime Lab in the DNA Database Unit where we added samples to CODIS. My years there overlapped a new law by the NC General Assembly and I did a lot more than just science: I helped us build a new digital system for tracking samples, helped rewrite standard operating procedures, assisted in transferring the unit from blood samples to cheek swab samples, and aided in preparing the lab to take samples from arrestees of certain crimes (instead of a short list of felonies).

Around 2012, I entered my stay-at-home mom era and ran a thriving family photography business for approximately 10 years before I retired due to my disability. Toward the end, I only used film and vintage cameras. I blogged regularly and got really good at visual storytelling.

A black and white photo of a woman with blonde hair laying on her bed. Her arm is up and her newborn baby is nestled in the space. Their profiles look identify. — Film photo I took from the photography days.

I have been a writer for a long time. I’ve had essays published in the Huffington Post, including one titled “Why it’s OK If You Mistake Me For Pregnant,” and a goofy piece in Slate about coffee lemonade. I was also selected to read an essay about motherhood on stage as part of a production called Listen To Your Mother. You can read that essay here.

I am unable to work and receive Social Security disability. If you think, “oh she’s one of those parasites getting rich” then allow me to educate you really quickly about that. My chronic illness has no test, treatment, or cure. I regularly spend time reading the papers coming out of academia about ME in hopes that one day I can live a normal life again.

I love science and I read a lot of news.

If any of that makes you think “well that’s not for me”, there is an unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email—feel free to safely exit the vehicle at any time.

Public Health News Update

FDA seasonal flu vaccine meeting cancelled.

The scheduled March meeting of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) was cancelled suddenly. This follows an unexpected cancelling of CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting this month.

The primary purpose of this meeting was to make public recommendations to manufacturers about the the formula of the 2025-2026 flu vaccine. Flu changes rapidly and requires a “guesstimate” each year about what strains will circulate during the following flu season. It requires about six months to produce the flu vaccine so a delay is leaving scientists scratching their heads about why this meeting would be canceled. The reason is still unclear.

The US will most likely use the World Health Organization (WHO) flu formula based on their scientific consensus. (While the Trump administration has withdrawn from the WHO, it doesn’t take effect until January 2026.) However, it’s disappointing that there won’t be an opportunity for the CDC to weigh in.

Despite the fear mongering by Occupy Democrats on Facebook and others, I do believe we will have a have a seasonal flu vaccine this fall. Those saying we won’t now are promoting what I refer to as “liberal misinformation.” There is plenty to get fired up about without manufacturing problems that don’t exist. (Yet.)

It is not too late to get your seasonal flu shot this year.

Note: The seasonal flu shot does not protect against bird flu—that will be its own vaccine.

Measles continues to spread.

It is not normal to have this much measles circulating. This outbreak is a direct result of declining vaccination rates due to anti-vax misinformation. It is never too late to reevaluate and get your child their first MMR vaccine in light of this new information!

I’m disappointed that RFK Jr., the newly crowned head of the Department of Health and Human Services, misspoke about this. He said that the outbreak is “not unusual” and that most of the hospitalized patients were there for quarantine purposes. Dr. Lara Johnson, the chief medical officer at Covenant, said unequivocally: “We don’t hospitalize patients for quarantine purposes.” Patients are hospitalized for symptoms that require hospital level care.

This great graph from Katelyn Jetelina unequivocally shows why RFK Jr. is plain ol’ wrong.

The CDC posts new measles numbers every Friday. As 2/27/25, there are 164 cases of measles and of those, 20% have been hospitalized. Most of these cases are in unvaccinated people. Only 5% had been confirmed to be vaccinated.

One child has died—the first US death from measles in a decade. Over 80% of the measles cases reported are in people under 19.

The cases are most concentrated in Texas but appear in 9 other states: Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, and Rhode Island.

There is also an outbreak of 18 unvaccinated children in Ontario, Canada.

Dr. Beachgem, Instagram’s favorite pediatrician had a great explanation of why measles is so dangerous. As an older millennial, I am too young to remember the measles so this was a useful overview.

dr.beachgem10

A post shared by @dr.beachgem10

I can’t believe I am having to say this but no, ivermectin is not a treatment for measles. Ivermectin is a medication for parasitic infections, not viral infections.

Measles immunization update + slight correction.

I’ve done a bit more digging. It appears as if the consensus is this: if you were vaccinated for measles between 1968 and 1989, you may have only gotten one shot based the CDC requirements at that time. Current science says you need two for full protection. That said, one measles shot is ~93% effective and the second shot is only to cover that small gap. So no need to panic.

You should ask your doctor if you need another one if you were born from 1968-1989.

I was born in that gap and live in North Carolina—a decent distance away from the outbreak. I will be asking my doctor at my next scheduled physical but am not feeling like that is something I need to do ASAP—even with my chronic illness. In the meantime, I’ll ask if my mom has my original vaccination records to see what they say. So be aware of this but don’t panic.

H5N1 bird flu vaccine contract with Moderna jammed up.

In January, the Biden administration awarded Moderna a $590 million contract for continued development of an H5N1 bird flu vaccine.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the Trump administration is reevaluating this contract. It appears as if they are reviewing spending on mRNA vaccine technology. ~~Respectfully,~~ I call bullshit.

According to a study published in the The Lancet in 2022, COVID vaccines prevented 14.4 million deaths worldwide in their first year alone. Most of the COVID vaccine formulas used new mRNA technology. mRNA vaccines can be produced much more quickly than traditional vaccines and for <insert biology reasons here>. They are safer for some at-risk populations, too.

Tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas (but don’t freak out).

This is bad news but it’s not something you need to worry about. The reason it’s interesting to scientists is worth learning about.

There is an unusually large outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) in Kansas with 67 active cases and an additional 79 reported infections. TB is bacterial and treated by antibiotics. TB is a slow moving infection because people don’t show symptoms quickly or at all. Plus, it can remain latent in the body for a long time. You know how COVID moved through the whole world in a matter of a month? TB can’t do that. This outbreak is not new and has been brewing for a year or more. Furthermore, it’s being actively addressed by Kansas public health officials. In the US, we are not typically vaccinated because the incidence of TB is so low, however, there is a TB vaccine that is used in other places around the world.

One of the signs of strained public health infrastructure is TB outbreaks like this one. A quick and efficient response includes surveillance, testing, and contact tracing. Outbreaks are a sign there is a breakdown in one of those steps. I do not anticipate this being a concern health wise for us but it felt important to discuss that element.

Clarifying various worldwide viral rumors.

You may have heard about a mystery virus in China. At this time, it does not appear to be a novel virus—just a rough viral season for them. China wasn’t super transparent in 2019-2020 but there is no reason to believe that this is a repeat of that.

There have been 60 deaths in DR Congo due to a hemorrhagic-like fever that has 50%ish mortality rate. Public health officials have ruled out Ebola and Marburg. The latest from WHO is that this is most likely a poisoning related event.

Let’s enumerate the many draconian cuts that affect public health.

Medicare is cutting most telehealth benefits on April 1, 2025. I wrote a post a few days ago about how Medicare responded to my questions. This is going to affect me personally. Other insurers often follow what Medicare does so feel free to read up on this if you would like more info.
The House passed a big budget bill on Tuesday evening that Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called “the largest Medicaid cut in American history.” There are more steps to make that final. Heather Cox Richardson’s February 25, 2025 post quoted Buttigieg saying, “this budget cuts benefits for the poorest Americans in order to give tax cuts to the wealthiest, but the proposed cuts are not enough to get all MAGAs, many of whom want far more draconian cuts, on board.”
Last week, the White House issued an executive order requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to cut the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Long COVID. COVID remains a serious risk to the American people. I’m extremely concerned about long COVID and there is already a dearth of research as it is.
The Law Dork has reviewed some of the emails received by Social Security employees about the massive restructuring that could cut 50% of the workforce, though other reports say that number is lower. The emails were similar to the other massive federal job cuts seen in other government departments.
During the Cabinet meeting yesterday (which Stephen Colbert joked is the “who’s who of why them?”), “advisor” Elon Musk did a bad job of reassuring us that the errors in “Department of Government Efficiency” cuts were quickly reversed. According to those on ground, some work has had to stop due to lack of funding.
According to the Washington Post, a USAID watchdog is holding back two reports about the impact USAID cuts have had on international projects. The reason? Fear of retaliation by the Trump Administration. They report, “Conditions are particularly dire across southern Africa, South Sudan and Senegal, where initial findings by auditors in the field predict heightened hunger and desperation caused by the ongoing dismantling of USAID, documents show.” There are also concerns that release of these reports could threaten a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

That’s it for now. My job is to get you the info and you get to do with it what you like. Share it, take action, call your congressional members, whatever. I do not believe there is a way to over react to what is happening—and I’m only covering public health. The government infrastructure is crumbling like a block of feta cheese.

It’s great having you here. I thought last week: I know there are folks out there who want these updates. How do I find those people? It’s not like 2500+ people will join overnight. You called my bluff. That’s exactly what happened over two days.

With any luck, I’ll be out of a job sooner than later because our government leaders will invest rapidly in protecting us from communicable diseases.

But until then…