#Republicans are going to have a lot of blood on their hands #flu #covid #vaccines #pandemics #gop

Every day, a new gut punch. This story is paywalled, but the first paragraph, which you can see, tells you what you need to know about HHS cancelling a contract with Moderna.

https://www.statnews.com/2025/05/28/moderna-flu-vaccine-development-cancelled-by-hhs-mrna-platform-offers-speedy-pandemic-response/

Quoting a bit more:

Moderna had conducted a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of its H5N1 vaccine, and was optimistic about the results it was seeing, the company said in a statement. 

Experts who have worked in the pandemic preparedness field for years were dismayed by the development. 

“In a rapidly expanding pandemic, time matters. … The sooner the population is protected from a lethal virus the more lives that will be saved. Of its many features, what mRNA technology provided most is speed,” said Bruce Gellin, a former director of the National Vaccine Program Office.

“If we lose our capability to respond as quickly as we can, we will sadly be able to calculate those who died because we made a decision that speed wasn’t important.”

Another 3,026 #flu detections notified in Australia - all in May - since the 28th.
As always, it's the 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 we're looking at because there's no way that every true infection can be captured.
Some are asymptomatic, others just too mild to justify the time to go to a Doctor.

I hope Canada and the rest of the world are smarter. FDA just tanked this promising vaccine forcing Moderna to basically start over - it is quite clear the Trump admin don't want effective disease prevention, it's obvious eugenics

And they've killed the data, so the deaths will pile up essentially unnoticed

#Covid #Covid19 #Flu #Moderna #USpol #USpolitics

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/modernas-combo-covid-flu-mrna-shot-outperforms-current-vaccines-large-rcna205242

Experts urge avian flu monitoring in cats after surge in H5N1 infections. #avianflu #H5N1 #petfood #flu https://www.petfoodindustry.com/avian-influenza/news/15745446/experts-urge-avian-flu-monitoring-in-cats-after-surge-in-h5n1-infections

Hey, #NewYorkCity, cases are way up, week over week. This wave has hit Asia and is coming to the US via NYC and LA right now. [Link is to NY state COVID wastewater surveillance map.]
#MaskUp #CovidIsNotOver #COVID #LongCOVID #flu #BirdFlu #measles #respirator #face #shield #cough #sneeze #asymptomatic #cases #airborne #disease #illness #infectious #infect #wave #spread #case #subway #train #bus #sidewalk #bar #restaurant #theatre #air #filtration #system https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-wastewater-surveillance

‘Pandemic potential’ on our doorstep
Australia is “surrounded” by the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. And it is morphing as sea animals and birds bring it ever closer to these shores. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-18/antarctica-avian-flu-h5n1-evolution-pandemic-potential/105271154 #flu #influenza #biodiversity #pandemic #access2meds #pandemictreaty

#CDC has been informed of another child who died from #flu this past winter. This brings the season's death toll in kids so far to 227, a record for a non-pandemic year. The child died in early January. CDC says that 90% of these kids weren't fully vaccinated against flu. https://www.cdc.gov/fluview/surveillance/2025-week-18.html

I forgot to post this one yesterday.
My in-house graph of #flu detections (=notifications) and subtyped positives (just a tiny subset of sampled positives-only use as a guide to what's around) in Australia using the excellent publicly available NNDSS data ( https://nindss.health.gov.au/pbi-dashboard/)

Hey, Aussies, get your #flu #vaccine now so you're better protected later.
Right now, despite the large number of virus detections we're hearing about in the news among ill people, the level of illness severity is not abnormal.
So far.
So get that vaccination now!
1/4

"Moderna’s combined Covid and flu shot outperformed the existing standalone vaccines for both viruses, according to the results of a phase 3 clinical trial published Wednesday in [JAMA].

The vaccine uses the same messenger RNA technology as Moderna’s approved Covid vaccine. (There are no approved mRNA-based flu shots.)"

"The trial, funded by Moderna, included more than 8,000 adults ages 50 and older who were enrolled in October and November 2023."

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/modernas-combo-covid-flu-mrna-shot-outperforms-current-vaccines-large-rcna205242 #flu #covid19

#CDC: +10 kids died from #flu this winter, taking the season's death toll to date to 226. Peds deaths are often reported on a delay; this number will likely rise again.
CDC says 90% of these kids weren't fully vaccinated; kids need 2 doses the first time they get flu vax. https://www.cdc.gov/fluview/surveillance/2025-week-18.html

Disinformation is killing us. Vaccines save lives. Idiots abound. Mask Up.
#Flu #Vaccines #Mask
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/08/cdc-flu-deaths-children

At least 216 children died in first high severity US flu season in seven years, CDC says https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/08/cdc-flu-deaths-children #Vaccinesandimmunisation #Trumpadministration #USpolitics #USnews #Health #Flu

#Vaccines have many unexpected benefits, far beyond protecting us from #flu or #measles. Research shows they can keep our minds sharp, lower the risk of heart disease, and even help us live longer.

https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/news/20241211/bonus-protections-routine-vaccines

Did you hear about that new Covid and flu mRNA combo vaccine in the making?

Large trial seems to show the shot performs even better than both vaccines taken seperately. It’s probably not coming this autumn, but I still find it quite exciting.

NBC has some info:

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/modernas-combo-covid-flu-mrna-shot-outperforms-current-vaccines-large-rcna205242

Large firms often own genetic patents on the birds, as well as the birds themselves...Farmers bound to a contract to provide space for the birds, labor, & utilities, responsible for dead birds—incl. those killed in a cull due to avian flu. #birdflu #flu #poultry #eggs https://prospect.org/health/2025-05-06-chickens-and-eggs-avian-flu

This #flu season, the U.S. has had the most child flu deaths in 15 years. This is the future the #antivaxxers want. And now one of them leads #HHS

https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2025/05/02/cdc-reports-216-child-deaths-in-us-this-flu-season-the-most-in-15-years/

https://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2024/07/overcounter-nasal-sprays-could-keep-colds-and-flu-at-bay-study-finds.page #colds #flu #influenza #OTC #health #medicine #rsv #covid-19 #respiratory