Watching today’s ACIP meeting, I’ve been reflecting on a very real and very human cognitive trap—one that even intelligent, well-meaning people can fall into.

It’s the belief that being smart is the same as being right. That one’s intelligence alone allows them to see truths that somehow generations of dedicated experts, researchers, and practitioners have missed—or are willfully ignoring.

What we witnessed today was not just disagreement. It was, at times, a thoughtless dismissal of the expertise offered by liaison members—people who represent clinical, scientific, and public health communities and who have spent their careers embedded in the realities of immunization science and practice.

This group seems to have convinced themselves that their intelligence grants them a kind of clarity others don’t possess. That they alone are capable of cutting through complexity, seeing hidden truths, and correcting the errors of those who came before them.

It’s a seductive story. The Galileo narrative. The courageous truth-teller standing against a misguided consensus. But here’s the hard reality: Most people who think they are Galileo… are not.

Galileo was right because of evidence. Because of rigor. Because of science. Disagreeing with experts isn’t what made him right. Evidence made him right.

This is why process matters. Why humility matters. Why deep engagement with subject matter experts matters. Without that, decisions risk being driven not by evidence, but by overconfidence disguised as insight.

ACIP has always been strongest when it functions as a deliberative, evidence-based, collaborative body. I hope it returns to that.

We're excited to announce the launch of the NYC Childhood Vaccination Data Explorer!

The Data Explorer provides a detailed look at vaccination coverage for NYC children — revealing gaps and inequities by neighborhood, race and ethnicity, and vaccine type: https://on.nyc.gov/3T3HlnW

Agreed but let`s choose our battle here. We won on the COVID and the RSV. Now on losing a lost battle where less than 4% of flu vaccines contained thimerosal, less than 2% of children doses, and 0.3% of pregnant flu doses, is something one could live with. BUT let`s make sure that, if any anti-vaxxer are making this a huge success, we call them out on the futility of this vote and the science showing they are wrong...But again, thimerosal was proven safe with data throughout the world. It has no relationship to autism whatsoever...

RFK Jr. to Stop Funding Gates-Backed GAVI Global Vaccine Alliance

Peter McCullough, MD, MPH on RealAmericasVoice

#MFPolicy

What is the future of immunisation? 💉

That’s the question I tackled this week at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s replenishment summit, joining a powerful panel with Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, Dr. Florika Fink-Hooijer, Dr Ibrahima SY and Derek Wallace.

I spoke about how innovation is not only speeding up vaccine development but will also help deliver more equitable access to vaccines. A key driver of this innovation is CEPI’s #100DaysMission, which aims to compress vaccine development timelines to just 100 days.

By moving faster with new approaches, we can create greater equity by delivering vaccines more quickly to those who are most vulnerable before an outbreak, and, therefore, vaccine demand has a chance to spiral out of control.
 
#AI, rapid response vaccine platforms and innovative approaches to streamline vaccine manufacturing—these are just some of the vehicles helping to make this Mission a reality. So, when the next pandemic threat emerges, we are poised and ready to put an end to it swiftly and equitably.

Grateful to Gavi for the invitation to speak at such a pivotal moment for the future of our collective global health security. And huge congratulations to everyone at Gavi for raising such critical funds during these challenging times. I look forward to continuing our partnership as we work together to create a healthier, fairer future for all.

𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘀 
 
Measles is a highly contagious virus with a primary case reproduction number of 12 to 18.  
 
It is currently spreading rapidly owing to reduced measles vaccination coverage, which is due primarily to the disruption of local immunization programs by the Covid-19 pandemic and of growing vaccine hesitancy.  
 
Since 2024, all World Health Organization regions have reported increased numbers of measles cases, with 395,521 laboratory-confirmed measles cases reported in 2024 and 16,147 reported during the first 2 months of 2025. Patients in more than half the reported cases were hospitalized, so the true number is probably much higher. 
 
A new review covers clinical presentations and complications of measles, current recommendations, and the epidemiologic background of measles. It also addresses the current debates on immunization and the treatment of measles and presents information on the origins of the various measles vaccines and updates on measles diagnostic testing and molecular genotypes. 
 
Read the Review Article “Measles 2025” by Lien Anh Ha Do, MD, PhD, and Kim Mulholland, MB, BS, MD, from Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI), University of Melbourne, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, U. of London, and University of Nagasaki: https://nej.md/4lmC1Ir 
 
#Pediatrics #InfectiousDisease  

RFK Jr is the one who has created distrust around vaccines and legitimate scientific experts.

RFK Jr. has the audacity to pretend he is a concerned reformer trying to repair public trust in vaccines but he is the one who has spent over twenty years systematically attacking them. For profit.

Read my latest for ImmunoLogic and share it widely ⬇️
🔗 https://lnkd.in/epyJcwmq

RFK Jr. has built a multi-million dollar empire manufacturing vaccine distrust. His organization, Children’s Health Defense, raked in over $16 million in 2021 alone—money made by terrifying parents, undermining public health, and selling false solutions.

This isn’t advocacy; it’s a business model. Every vaccine controversy he fabricates, every conspiracy theory he spreads, every scientific institution he attacks leads to donations, book sales, legal fees, speaking fees, and supplement partnerships.

The erosion of trust in vaccines, health agencies, and scientific institutions is an intentional, well-funded, and coordinated disinformation campaign with RFK and his organization, Children’s Health Defense, leading the charge.

Now, as HHS Secretary, he’s not changing his business—he’s expanding it, using he newfound power to implement the agenda that has made him wealthy while endangering public health. Dismantling CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is the latest move in his plan.

Do not be fooled. Do not sanitize him. Do NOT call him a vaccine skeptic: he is not a skeptic, he is an anti-vaccine profiteer. (I swear, if I see another media outlet use that phrase I will scream).

Do not erase his long and profitable war on science—which started with anti-agriculture activism even before he set his sights on vaccines.

Read the full article ⬇️
🔗 https://lnkd.in/epyJcwmq

#scicom #vaccines #publichealth #womeninSTEM | 41 comments on LinkedIn

‏🌍 By 2030, over half of the world’s unvaccinated children will live in Nigeria and seven other countries.

A new Lancet study (https://lnkd.in/g5KTiyE5) reveals that global progress on childhood immunizations has stagnated — or even reversed — since 2010. Factors like the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine misinformation, hesitancy, and persistent health inequities are major contributors. Nigeria is among the eight countries projected to carry the highest burden of unvaccinated children by 2030.

The findings make one thing clear: we are not on track to meet the WHO Immunisation Agenda 2030 goals unless countries implement more equitable and focused strategies.

📖 Read the full study here: https://lnkd.in/g8A4RqJV

#VaccinesSaveLives #HealthEquity #Immunization2030 #Nigeria #GlobalHealth #ChildSurvival #ActNow‏

“We cannot and will not gamble with our patients’ health or the health of our communities,” write the presidents of the AAFP, AAP, ACP, ACOG, and IDSA.

The conversation about thimerosal got us thinking about how "preservative-free" marketing can actually be misleading.

We're constantly told to choose products with "none of the bad stuff, only the good stuff" - but here's the thing: preservatives aren't the villains they're made out to be. They literally keep the actual bad stuff (dangerous bacteria and fungi) from growing in our vaccines, cosmetics, and food.

Take thimerosal - it was removed from most childhood vaccines over 20 years ago (and was never in MMR vaccines, for those wondering). But it served an important purpose in multi-dose flu vaccine vials, preventing bacterial contamination every time a needle enters the bottle. Yesterday, ACIP voted to only use single-dose vaccines moving forward. This is unlikely to impact flu vaccine supply since less than 5% of flu vaccines even contained thimerosal - but it signals a troubling move towards fear-based policymaking, despite decades of data showing thimerosal was safe at the extremely small doses used in those vaccines.

When companies remove preservatives to make products seem "cleaner," they're not eliminating risk - they're often creating it. Sometimes we have to add something to subtract the real danger.
If people truly wanted to avoid harmful substances, they'd want the preservatives that prevent contamination and infection. The "artificial" ingredient is often exactly what protects us from genuine threats.

So when we see "preservative-free" plastered on labels, it doesn't reassure us - it makes us think "buyer beware: increased risk of bacterial contamination."

As ACIP recommends flu shots for nearly all Americans, two major studies found they may actually INCREASE the risk of flu and other infections:

1. Shrestha et al: +27% risk of influenza: https://lnkd.in/gHEhNj42

2. Cowling et al: +340% risk of non-influenza infections (coronaviruses, rhinoviruses, coxsackie/echoviruses, etc.): https://lnkd.in/gDddtSmK

https://lnkd.in/g2wv6PTp