Author | Lightnews

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 9d

Democratic erosion but for public health. They are slowly grinding the infrastructure into bits. So dangerous. Children will literally die.

Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 10d

NEW: The entire staff supporting ACIP was laid off, and most working groups haven't met in months.

That means the US may not make routine vaccine recommendations for more than half of children in 2026, and it could halt new vaccines in the pipeline. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Threat to US vaccines as CDC staff supporting key advisory panel laid off

Critics say scientists ‘held hostage’ by RFK Jr as changes mean vaccine development and guidance in peril

www.theguardian.com

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NPR @npr.org · 9d

Patients sometimes find themselves scrambling for affordable care when their insurer and hospital get into a contract dispute. Here are six things to know if that happens to you.

6 things to know if your doctors are suddenly out of network

Patients sometimes find themselves scrambling for affordable care when their insurer and hospital get into a contract dispute. Here are six things to know if that happens to you.

n.pr

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Holly Olson, BCPA @hollyolsonbcpa.bsky.social · 11d

Happy Caturday!
#caturday

Gray striped kitten laying on gray patterned rug.

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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 13d

When I was a kid my family gave money to the local food bank, but once a week they would also take me to the store to choose items I would WANT to eat

They explained to me that the kids using the food bank don’t often get treats. They don’t get any choice

It was a lesson that really stuck with me

Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 13d

If you want to find a local food bank, you can use the website below.

If you’re donating, it’s best to donate money. If you want to donate food, PLEASE donate food you or your family would actually eat, including things like breakfast cereals and snack foods.

www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-lo...

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 14d

Health insurance costs jumped for workers & employers in 2025.

This will get worse if the GOP refuses to extend ACA subsidies.

Meanwhile, the seven largest health insurance companies made a combined $71B in profits in 2024.

Still not sure we need Medicare for All?

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Prof Gavin Yamey @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 14d

Bird flu is back, big time

Remember, back in March, 2025, RFK Jr unveiled his "unorthodox idea for tackling the bird flu bedeviling U.S. poultry farms. Let the virus rip." (www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/h...)

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 15d

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks human cases, and the Department of Agriculture, which monitors animal outbreaks, have both suspended routine communication with states, leaving many officials without up-to-date guidance on how to detect and contain the disease”

Bird Flu Is Back

www.nytimes.com

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Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com · 14d

NEW: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just got an email telling furloughed workers to return to work Monday. They will be paid starting Monday, but won’t get backpay for precious furlough days until the shutdown ends.

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Prof Gavin Yamey @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 16d

RFK Jr, arguably one of the most dangerous & extreme conspiracy theorists on the planet, has dedicated much of his life to damaging public health globally

Gift link from NYT: www.nytimes.com/2024/11/30/w...

How Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Fights Health Policy Abroad:
He undermined confidence in the measles vaccine ahead of a deadly outbreak in Samoa.
He and his organization promote AIDS falsehoods.
He aligned himself with fringe figures, including people who ended up on German security watch lists.
His European chapter paid a British lawmaker to speak at a conference promoting vaccine skepticism.
His Africa chapter pushes measles misinformation and risky remedies.

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Holly Olson, BCPA @hollyolsonbcpa.bsky.social · 16d

This is a succinct description of what is happening not only in Washington, but the United States as a whole. Definitely worth a read.

Charles GetCovered-ba ✡️ @charlesgaba.com · 16d

WASHINGTON: WA Health Benefit Exchange CEO statement on government shutdown:

acasignups.net/25/10/20/was...

Washington State: Health Benefit Exchange CEO Statement on gov't shutdown

via the Washington Health Benefit Exchange: The Affordable Care Act premium tax credits at the center of federal shutdown discussions help almost 217,000 Washingtonians pay their monthly health insura...

acasignups.net

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Physicians for a Healthy Democracy @physiciandemocracy.medsky.social · 18d

abcnews.go.com/US/south-car...

South Carolina measles outbreak grows to 15 cases: Health officials

A measles outbreak In South Carolina has grown to 15 cases, state health officials said on Friday.

abcnews.go.com

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Holly Olson, BCPA @hollyolsonbcpa.bsky.social · 18d

Happy Caturday. This is Chris. He adopted us last we after appearing starved and shivering in our backyard yard.

The vet said "No chip" & now we're all his 😻

#caturday

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Science and Freedom Alliance - SAFA @safa-science.bsky.social · 19d

This is bad.

When the Vought/Trump people start making NIH institute directors political it is a VERY BAD SIGN for all of US science, which stands on NIH/public funds.

Institute directors have always been serious scientists selected by other scientists— not political appointees.

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 19d

VERY TROUBLING NEWS REGARDING NIH INSTITUTE DIRECTORS

A new appointment for NIEHS

1/3

An email appointing Kyle Walsh is director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 21d

15 US states and territories have formed a new Public Health Alliance, which will counter the absence of federal leadership by tracking outbreaks, issuing guidance, buying vaccines and more.

Members of the new alliance include CA, CO, CT, DE, GU, HI, IL, MD, MA, NJ, NY, NC, OR, RI, WA.

Map: Governors Public Health Alliance
* Guam is also a member of the alliance
Updated October 15, 2025
Map: @luckytran • Created with Datawrapper

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Randi Weingarten 🖇️📚✊🇺🇸 @rweingarten.bsky.social · 22d

Hospitals like SUNY Downstate depend on Medicaid funding to keep their communities healthy. Trump’s deep cuts to healthcare and failure to renew Affordable Care Act tax credits could leave families with no access to the care they need. app.publicnewsservice.org/story/nys-nu...

NYS nurses concerned about Medicaid cuts, ACA subsidies expiring

As the government shutdown enters its third week, New York State nurses are preparing for the potential fallout.Beyond Medicaid cuts from the federal budget megabill, healthcare workers are concerned ...

app.publicnewsservice.org

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Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · Sep 30

This is why we fund scientists to study things like oyster slobber even if you don’t think it sounds important

Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · Sep 29

⚠️ Chinese researchers have invented bone glue that mimics how oysters stick to surfaces underwater.

The adhesive can reportedly repair orthopedic fractures in 2-3 minutes, even in blood-rich environments, and is bioabsorbable.

interestingengineering.com/science/chin...

China's oyster-inspired 'bone glue' bonds fractures in minutes

A new oyster-inspired Bone-02 adhesive can revolutionize bone repair without metal fasteners.

interestingengineering.com

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Kate Clancy @kateclancy.bsky.social · 23d

I am being asked to tell my department which pieces of lab equipment should be supported with backup power because they expect rolling blackouts and brownouts in 2026 due to increased energy demands from AI. In case you're wondering how my day is going.

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Prof Gavin Yamey @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 24d

Thread 👇

Rebecca Fachner @rebeccafachner.bsky.social · 24d

Tough question, my man, but I’ll give it a whirl (🧵)

Why Republicans’ attempts to kill Obamacare keep backfiring

The White House and some Republicans are growing nervous that Democrats’ demand to boost Obamacare as part of a government funding bill has salience with voters.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Prof Gavin Yamey @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 24d

With the Trump Administration firing so many senior disease detectives, dismantling public health, ending federal funding for mRNA vaccine R&D, & retreating from multilateralism by withdrawing from the WHO & ending its funding of Gavi, the US is HIGHLY vulnerable to another devastating pandemic

Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 24d

Hundreds of infectious disease specialists have been let go by the Trump administration. Here are four who helped to keep pandemics at bay.
(Gift article)

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/h...

They Fought Outbreaks Worldwide. Now They’re Fighting for New Lives.

www.nytimes.com

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Tom Turkey [redacted] DO 🦃 @tom.medsky.social · 24d

Parents will ask "is something going around?" and we would, based on media reports, anecdotal data, and experience would answer "oh yeah, probably something viral".

The CDC produces the NREVSS dashboard which tells us exactly what diseases are "going around".

Is has not been updated for 3 weeks.

A screen shot of the NREVSS dashboard produced by the CDC. It is a plot and line graph showing the detectable respiratory viruses including influenza, RSV, COVID, ets. The last data points are from september 20 and according the the subtext it was last updated 9/26/25.

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NPR @npr.org · 24d

A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down.

This 4-year-old's heart is failing. A federal grant that might help him was canceled

A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down.

n.pr

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Morgan J Freeman @mjfree.bsky.social · 24d

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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 25d

Case in point: staff of Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, #CDC's critical information tool. Most MMWR staff were informed Friday they'd been RIF'd, leaving it unclear what the future of the publication would be. It appears these firings have been rescinded.
www.statnews.com/2025/10/11/c...

Deep cuts made to CDC's flagship MMWR publication reversed hours later

Deep cuts made to CDC's flagship MMWR publication have been reversed hours later.

www.statnews.com

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Congressman Chris Deluzio @deluzio.house.gov · 25d

Urban Institute predicts that 267,000 fellow veterans will lose health coverage if the ACA healthcare tax credits expire.

Those are the stakes in this fight.

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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 25d

“The administration did not like that CDC data did not support their narrative, so they got rid of them. They didn’t like that CDC policy groups would not rubber stamp their unscientific ideas, so they got rid of them”.

The damage to the CDC is “beyond repair”.

‘The damage is beyond repair’: The CDC faces another round of deep staff cuts | CNN

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suffered another round of deep staff cuts late Friday, with disease detectives, outbreak forecasters, policy and data offices among those impacted, ac...

edition.cnn.com

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Holly Olson, BCPA @hollyolsonbcpa.bsky.social · 25d

We got adopted by a stray kitten this week ...
#caturday

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