Helen Branswell 🇨🇦
@helenbranswell.bsky.social
I cover infectious diseases for STAT (www.statnews.com). 2020 Polk winner. Nieman '11. She/her. I write about H5N1 (in all species), Covid, polio, flu, Ebola, RSV, mpox, STIs. Find me on Signal: HBranswell.01
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I was very sorry to learn that Walt Dowdle, a former #CDC scientist & leader, has died. Dr. Dowdle served at CDC in several positions, including acting director.
I met him after he'd retired. A font of knowledge, he was always generous with his time. www.mclanefuneralservices.com/obituaries/w...
I met him after he'd retired. A font of knowledge, he was always generous with his time. www.mclanefuneralservices.com/obituaries/w...
Walter Reid Dowdle Obituary November 17, 2025 - McLane Funeral & Cremation Services
View Walter Reid Dowdle's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.
www.mclanefuneralservices.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:55 PM
I was very sorry to learn that Walt Dowdle, a former #CDC scientist & leader, has died. Dr. Dowdle served at CDC in several positions, including acting director.
I met him after he'd retired. A font of knowledge, he was always generous with his time. www.mclanefuneralservices.com/obituaries/w...
I met him after he'd retired. A font of knowledge, he was always generous with his time. www.mclanefuneralservices.com/obituaries/w...
A person in Washington State who kept backyard poultry has died from #H5N5 #flu. The person was the first known infection with this subtype of flu globally & the second recorded death in the US from an #H5 flu virus. Health authorities say there's no evidence the person spread the virus to others.
November 22, 2025 at 2:41 PM
1. #Flu 🧵: #CDC reports that #influenza activity has been "trending upward slowly" in the US over the past few weeks. This could change markedly after Thanksgiving, with all the cross country travel & intergenerational mingling. Right now only 2 places are reporting moderate activity, LA & PR.
November 21, 2025 at 11:58 PM
1. #Flu 🧵: #CDC reports that #influenza activity has been "trending upward slowly" in the US over the past few weeks. This could change markedly after Thanksgiving, with all the cross country travel & intergenerational mingling. Right now only 2 places are reporting moderate activity, LA & PR.
"Essentially Cassidy asked for a promise. And all he got was an asterisk." Former CDC senior leader Dan Jernigan on how, after promising not to do so, Kennedy's HHS has rewritten #CDC 's webpage on whether there's a link between #vaccines & autism. www.statnews.com/2025/11/20/c...
Under RFK Jr., CDC reverses course on stance that vaccines don’t cause autism
A CDC website now promotes the debunked idea of a link between vaccines and autism.
www.statnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:53 PM
"Essentially Cassidy asked for a promise. And all he got was an asterisk." Former CDC senior leader Dan Jernigan on how, after promising not to do so, Kennedy's HHS has rewritten #CDC 's webpage on whether there's a link between #vaccines & autism. www.statnews.com/2025/11/20/c...
Mutations in #H3N2 #flu viruses have some experts worried we're facing a second bad #influenza season. The new variant, subclade K, may be able to escape antibodies generated by previous infections or this year's flu shot. But some experts are hedging their bets. www.statnews.com/2025/11/20/f...
Is a bad flu season on the way? Experts see reason to be anxious
There are early indications that this flu season could be a bad one.
www.statnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Mutations in #H3N2 #flu viruses have some experts worried we're facing a second bad #influenza season. The new variant, subclade K, may be able to escape antibodies generated by previous infections or this year's flu shot. But some experts are hedging their bets. www.statnews.com/2025/11/20/f...
RFK Jr. says other nations should follow the US lead & bar thimerosal in #vaccines. The preservative safeguards multi-dose vials, a key tool for vaccination drives in many countries. Experts don't think it will happen, but worry that disinformation could take root. www.statnews.com/2025/11/19/r...
RFK Jr.’s warnings on thimerosal in vaccines threaten to instill doubt overseas, experts fear
Health secretary RFK Jr. wants other countries to ban the use of the preservative thimerosal in vaccines, despite research showing it is a safe ingredient.
www.statnews.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:21 PM
RFK Jr. says other nations should follow the US lead & bar thimerosal in #vaccines. The preservative safeguards multi-dose vials, a key tool for vaccination drives in many countries. Experts don't think it will happen, but worry that disinformation could take root. www.statnews.com/2025/11/19/r...
#Marburg: Ethiopia's health ministry says at least 3 people have died from Marburg. The slide, posted to their X account, suggests there've been 4 confirmed cases. WHO has said at least 9.
Am curious about efforts to get experimental vaccine into the field. africannewsagency.com/ethiopia-rep...
Am curious about efforts to get experimental vaccine into the field. africannewsagency.com/ethiopia-rep...
November 18, 2025 at 5:35 PM
#Marburg: Ethiopia's health ministry says at least 3 people have died from Marburg. The slide, posted to their X account, suggests there've been 4 confirmed cases. WHO has said at least 9.
Am curious about efforts to get experimental vaccine into the field. africannewsagency.com/ethiopia-rep...
Am curious about efforts to get experimental vaccine into the field. africannewsagency.com/ethiopia-rep...
"Decision-based evidence-making" — that's how one former #CDC leader described the approach to scientific decision making under the HHS secretary in a meaty examination of Kennedy's unprecedented tenure by several @statnews.com colleagues. www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/r...
How RFK Jr., America's celebrity health secretary, is steamrolling science
RFK Jr. is plowing ahead with sweeping changes to U.S. health care that have thrilled supporters, purged opponents, and horrified critics.
www.statnews.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:47 PM
"Decision-based evidence-making" — that's how one former #CDC leader described the approach to scientific decision making under the HHS secretary in a meaty examination of Kennedy's unprecedented tenure by several @statnews.com colleagues. www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/r...
Health secretary & long-time #vaccine skeptic Kennedy has already done a lot to disrupt immunization policy in the United States. But significantly more disruptive moves are yet to come, @danielpayne.bsky.social reports. www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/t...
Trump and RFK Jr. are mulling their most disruptive vaccine policies yet — alarming manufacturers
Trump and Kennedy are considering removing aluminum from vaccines and breaking up shots that protect against multiple diseases.
www.statnews.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Health secretary & long-time #vaccine skeptic Kennedy has already done a lot to disrupt immunization policy in the United States. But significantly more disruptive moves are yet to come, @danielpayne.bsky.social reports. www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/t...
Many experimental drugs are tested in low-income countries as their manufacturers seek evidence to bring them through licensure. But many of those countries don't benefit when the drugs are approved, @pharmalot.bsky.social reports. www.statnews.com/pharmalot/20...
Many poor countries where experimental drugs are tested fail to benefit after approval, analysis finds
A new analysis finds medicines often are not accessible countries where they were tested before approval by the FDA, raising concerns about ethical standards by industry.
www.statnews.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Many experimental drugs are tested in low-income countries as their manufacturers seek evidence to bring them through licensure. But many of those countries don't benefit when the drugs are approved, @pharmalot.bsky.social reports. www.statnews.com/pharmalot/20...
#CDC 's latest FluView reports that the number of pediatric #flu deaths in 2024-25 reached 287. That brings last season's total to 1 shy of the toll in the 2009 H1N1 #pandemic.
Flu can be hard on kids. Fortunately, there are vaccines that can mitigate severity. www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv...
Flu can be hard on kids. Fortunately, there are vaccines that can mitigate severity. www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv...
November 15, 2025 at 10:18 PM
#CDC 's latest FluView reports that the number of pediatric #flu deaths in 2024-25 reached 287. That brings last season's total to 1 shy of the toll in the 2009 H1N1 #pandemic.
Flu can be hard on kids. Fortunately, there are vaccines that can mitigate severity. www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv...
Flu can be hard on kids. Fortunately, there are vaccines that can mitigate severity. www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv...
Great to see a new FluView post from #CDC today after weeks without updates.
It's not yet flu season in the US, but activity is starting to pick up. www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv...
It's not yet flu season in the US, but activity is starting to pick up. www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv...
Weekly US Influenza Surveillance Report: Key Updates for Week 45, ending November 8, 2025
Seasonal influenza activity is low.
www.cdc.gov
November 14, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Great to see a new FluView post from #CDC today after weeks without updates.
It's not yet flu season in the US, but activity is starting to pick up. www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv...
It's not yet flu season in the US, but activity is starting to pick up. www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv...
The outbreak in Ethiopia is #Marburg virus, the first such outbreak for this country. 9 cases so far, including some health workers. x.com/drtedros/sta...
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X: "#Ethiopia has confirmed the outbreak that has infected at least 9 people in the south of the country is of #Marburg virus disease. I commend Ethiopia’s @FMoHealth for its rapid and transparent response to the outbreak, and the work of the Ethiopia Public Health Institute and" / X
#Ethiopia has confirmed the outbreak that has infected at least 9 people in the south of the country is of #Marburg virus disease. I commend Ethiopia’s @FMoHealth for its rapid and transparent response to the outbreak, and the work of the Ethiopia Public Health Institute and
x.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:22 PM
The outbreak in Ethiopia is #Marburg virus, the first such outbreak for this country. 9 cases so far, including some health workers. x.com/drtedros/sta...
Update on the wild #polio discovery in Germany: The virus was found in wastewater in Hamburg. @rki.de, the German public health agency, says the virus sequence is very similar to some isolated in Afghanistan, so the likely source was an infected human. (page 10 here: www.rki.de/DE/Aktuelles...)
www.rki.de
November 13, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Update on the wild #polio discovery in Germany: The virus was found in wastewater in Hamburg. @rki.de, the German public health agency, says the virus sequence is very similar to some isolated in Afghanistan, so the likely source was an infected human. (page 10 here: www.rki.de/DE/Aktuelles...)
"The fact that children in 2025 are suffering from diseases that should have been consigned to history is not just a public health failure. It is a moral failure." — @stefanswartpet.bsky.social & @madhupai.bsky.social argue children have the right to be vaccinated. www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/c...
Kids have a right to vaccinations. Let's bring in the lawyers
Children suffering from diseases that should have been consigned to history is a moral failure. Access to vaccines is a human right.
www.statnews.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:00 PM
"The fact that children in 2025 are suffering from diseases that should have been consigned to history is not just a public health failure. It is a moral failure." — @stefanswartpet.bsky.social & @madhupai.bsky.social argue children have the right to be vaccinated. www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/c...
#FDA political appointees Vinay Prasad & Tracy Beth Høeg believe #vaccine safety surveillance programs aren't adequately geared to finding risks. They're trying to restructure the programs, often leaving FDA scientists out of the effort. By @lizzylawrence.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/f...
How two top FDA officials are quietly upending vaccine regulations
Vinay Prasad and Tracy Beth Høeg mix skepticism with new ways to define risk in pursuing sweeping changes to vaccine policy at the FDA.
www.statnews.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:53 PM
#FDA political appointees Vinay Prasad & Tracy Beth Høeg believe #vaccine safety surveillance programs aren't adequately geared to finding risks. They're trying to restructure the programs, often leaving FDA scientists out of the effort. By @lizzylawrence.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/f...
[email protected], a pro- #vaccine physician, attended last weekend's gathering of anti-vax forces organized by Children's Health Defense. He thinks more colleagues should do the same — to understand what public health is facing. www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/c...
November 11, 2025 at 7:35 PM
[email protected], a pro- #vaccine physician, attended last weekend's gathering of anti-vax forces organized by Children's Health Defense. He thinks more colleagues should do the same — to understand what public health is facing. www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/c...
Oh, to be a fly on the wall. www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/m...
At ‘hush-hush’ MAHA summit, RFK Jr. and deputies to mix with biotech leaders
A who's who of MAHA federal officials will be speaking at an event, stacked with industry executives and activists, organized largely in secrecy.
www.statnews.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Oh, to be a fly on the wall. www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/m...
As expected, Canada has lost its measles-free status because of the long-running outbreak there. With it goes the #measles elimination status of the entire zone of the Americas, the only division of the #WHO to ever have achieved measles elimination. www.statnews.com/2025/11/10/m...
Canada loses measles elimination status — as does the entire Americas region
Canada has formally lost its measles elimination status, the country’s public health agency announced, triggering the loss of that status throughout all of the Americas.
www.statnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:49 PM
As expected, Canada has lost its measles-free status because of the long-running outbreak there. With it goes the #measles elimination status of the entire zone of the Americas, the only division of the #WHO to ever have achieved measles elimination. www.statnews.com/2025/11/10/m...
Does Sen. Cassidy, a strong proponent of #vaccines, regret voting to confirm RFK Jr. as health secretary? “I just have to quote Kierkegaard — You live life forward,” is his reply.
That's not a "No."
@kathmacphail.bsky.social reports. www.statnews.com/2025/11/08/b...
That's not a "No."
@kathmacphail.bsky.social reports. www.statnews.com/2025/11/08/b...
Cassidy drops into Liver Meeting to talk of shutdown, insurance overhaul and vaccines
Dropping in at the Liver Meeting, Senator Bill Cassidy argues for federally funded Flexible Spending Accounts over ACA subsidies and laments the state of vaccination.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Does Sen. Cassidy, a strong proponent of #vaccines, regret voting to confirm RFK Jr. as health secretary? “I just have to quote Kierkegaard — You live life forward,” is his reply.
That's not a "No."
@kathmacphail.bsky.social reports. www.statnews.com/2025/11/08/b...
That's not a "No."
@kathmacphail.bsky.social reports. www.statnews.com/2025/11/08/b...
Before her (too early) death, the amazing Sharon Begley wrote this piece on double helix co-discoverer James Watson and the racist and sexist pronouncements he seemed to revel in making in later life. Fascinating read about a troubling individual.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Before her (too early) death, the amazing Sharon Begley wrote this piece on double helix co-discoverer James Watson and the racist and sexist pronouncements he seemed to revel in making in later life. Fascinating read about a troubling individual.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
“We are witnessing nothing less than a clown show at #FDA right now.” People who worked at or rely on the US drug regulator see dysfunctional leadership & soap opera-ish behavior at a key federal agency, @matthewherper.bsky.social & @lizzylawrence.bsky.social report. www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/f...
Experts worry FDA’s credibility is being shredded by scandal and 'soap opera'
Experts worry that the FDA’s credibility is being shredded by scandal and "soap opera."
www.statnews.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:50 PM
“We are witnessing nothing less than a clown show at #FDA right now.” People who worked at or rely on the US drug regulator see dysfunctional leadership & soap opera-ish behavior at a key federal agency, @matthewherper.bsky.social & @lizzylawrence.bsky.social report. www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/f...
This story about the lawsuit by a former business associate against former #FDA drug czar George Tidmarsh is beyond wild. Tidmarsh resigned Sunday after being placed on leave by Commissioner Marty Makary. www.statnews.com/2025/11/03/g...
Lawsuit against top FDA drug regulator is packed with incendiary texts, emails
A lawsuit filed against George Tidmarsh, who resigned from a top FDA post on Sunday, includes a series of incendiary texts and emails
www.statnews.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:26 AM
This story about the lawsuit by a former business associate against former #FDA drug czar George Tidmarsh is beyond wild. Tidmarsh resigned Sunday after being placed on leave by Commissioner Marty Makary. www.statnews.com/2025/11/03/g...
#PAHO 's regional verification commission for #measles elimination meets this week. The likely outcome: Canada will lose its measles-free status, due to its large & long-running outbreak. If so, the Americas region will also lose elimination status. www.statnews.com/2025/11/03/m...
The Americas, led by Canada, is on the brink of losing measles-elimination status
The Americas is the only region of the world to have stopped endemic transmission of measles. But its victory is on the verge of being rolled back.
www.statnews.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:01 PM
#PAHO 's regional verification commission for #measles elimination meets this week. The likely outcome: Canada will lose its measles-free status, due to its large & long-running outbreak. If so, the Americas region will also lose elimination status. www.statnews.com/2025/11/03/m...
More disruption at #FDA. Exclusive from @lizzylawrence.bsky.social and @adamfeuerstein.bsky.social.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...
FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation
George Tidmarsh, the FDA's top drug regulator, has been placed on leave after being accused of abusing his regulatory authority, STAT has learned.
www.statnews.com
November 2, 2025 at 10:38 PM
More disruption at #FDA. Exclusive from @lizzylawrence.bsky.social and @adamfeuerstein.bsky.social.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...