Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Bill Hanage

Paul Offit @pauloffit.bsky.social · 1d

open.substack.com/pub/pauloffi...
In the midst of a measles epidemic that killed 3 people, RFK Jr. reminds us that vaccines don't save lives.

RFK Jr.: “Vaccines Don’t Save Lives”

In a recent post on X, RFK Jr. said that vaccines are overrated.

open.substack.com

9 31 77

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · 12d

“It’s hard to explain how the Secretary can think that the President deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for this, while at the same time believing that these vaccines are the most harmful that have ever been made”

Me on mRNA vaccines

hsph.harvard.edu/news/slashin...

Slashing of funding for mRNA vaccine development raises concern | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

In August, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cancelled nearly $500 million in contracts that funded mRNA vaccine development. The mRNA

hsph.harvard.edu

1 2 8

Reposted by Bill Hanage

BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 13d

This is the official communication from the FDA to physicians on acetaminophen use in pregnancy.
- They acknowledge the lack of a causal link with autism
- Essentially tell physicians to keep doing what we've been doing anyway
It's very different from the press conference.
Pass it on.

Official communication from FDA to physicians on acetaminophen use in pregnancy acknowledges there is no causal link between its use in pregnancy and autism. Also states clearly that this is the safest over the counter treatment for fever and pain in pregnancy. It is very different from what was communicated at the press conference.

25 420 820

Reposted by Bill Hanage

worobey.bsky.social @worobey.bsky.social · 18d

My understanding is that the situation for H1B visa holders outside the US today is urgent: if a current H-1B holder seeks entry into the U.S. after 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 21, 2025, it is too late to avoid the fee—entry will be restricted without the newly-imposed $100,000 employer payment.

4 8 22

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · 21d

www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-f... 2/2

Politics and the English Language | The Orwell Foundation

"Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."

www.orwellfoundation.com

2 5

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · 21d

There have been some… extensive changes to this web page. This thread will include resources to help understand them cdc.gov/about/cdc/in... 1/2

About CDC

CDC serves the American public who rely on accurate data, health guidance, and preventive measures

cdc.gov

1 1 4

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · 23d

Crikey atomic mass is a hard concept to explain

1 4

Reposted by Bill Hanage

Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 27d

“If a new pandemic began today, mRNA vaccines are currently the only type of vaccine that could be developed quickly enough to disrupt its spread”

www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/h...

How RFK Jr.’s misguided science on mRNA vaccines is shaping policy − a vaccine expert examines the false claims | CNN

At a Sept. 4, 2025, hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced heated questions from numerous senators about his vaccine policies, inc...

www.cnn.com

5 96 230

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · 26d

Recently we published a report describing what I *think* is the longest known continuous case of Covid-19 to date.

For some reason I've not found time to post about it. While I get around to doing so you can read a summary here 👇

www.contagionlive.com/view/persist...

Persistent SARS-CoV-2 Infection Lasting Over 750 Days Documented in Person With HIV

William Hanage, PhD, discusses viral evolution, transmission risk, and clinical implications for immunocompromised patients.

www.contagionlive.com

9 29

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · 29d

This astonishing feat has been dismissed across the political spectrum

Some are upset about things the administration did/did not do

Warp speed still delivered and deserves recognition

Others applaud things the administration did/did not do

Warp speed still delivered and deserves recognition

Adam Kucharski @adamjkucharski.bsky.social · Sep 8

Operation Warp Speed was arguably one of the most successful policy initiatives in recent history, accelerating vaccine delivery that saved millions of lives.

It’s remarkable to see some now urging the leaders who backed it to disown the achievement.

10 28

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · 29d

This astonishing feat has been dismissed across the political spectrum

Some are upset about things the administration did/did not do

Warp speed still delivered and deserves recognition

Others applaud things the administration did/did not do

Warp speed still delivered and deserves recognition

6

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · 29d

Imagine doing something that saved quite literally millions of lives

That’s a summary of Operation Warp Speed, started under the first Trump Administration. And everyone involved including the president should be proud

Vaccines don’t care how you vote

Adam Kucharski @adamjkucharski.bsky.social · Sep 8

Operation Warp Speed was arguably one of the most successful policy initiatives in recent history, accelerating vaccine delivery that saved millions of lives.

It’s remarkable to see some now urging the leaders who backed it to disown the achievement.

1 3 26

Reposted by Bill Hanage

Adam Kucharski @adamjkucharski.bsky.social · Sep 8

Operation Warp Speed was arguably one of the most successful policy initiatives in recent history, accelerating vaccine delivery that saved millions of lives.

It’s remarkable to see some now urging the leaders who backed it to disown the achievement.

2 30 140

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · 29d

Well who’da thunk it?

6

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · Sep 8

Discussions grounded in science and clear that pandemic response involves hard choices, are a vital part of how we *should* respond to Covid. Even if they are thin on the ground right now

Maciej F Boni @maciekboni.bsky.social · Sep 8

Thanks to Braver Angels & David Zweig for engaging in this debate on the primary effects of the first year of the pandemic (540,000 deaths), the secondary effects (one year of learning loss for kids, unemployment, isolation), and things that we did right and wrong 1/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Gg...

A COVID Pandemic Policy Conversation

YouTube video by Braver Angels

www.youtube.com

1 3

Reposted by Bill Hanage

Maciej F Boni @maciekboni.bsky.social · Sep 8

Thanks to Braver Angels & David Zweig for engaging in this debate on the primary effects of the first year of the pandemic (540,000 deaths), the secondary effects (one year of learning loss for kids, unemployment, isolation), and things that we did right and wrong 1/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Gg...

A COVID Pandemic Policy Conversation

YouTube video by Braver Angels

www.youtube.com

1 4 14

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · Sep 8

Excellent primer on Tylenol (acetaminophen/paracetamol) in pregnancy from @jeremyfaust.bsky.social which just happens to quote me insidemedicine.substack.com/p/tylenol-ha...

Tylenol has entered the chat: RFK Jr. wants to link it to autism, even though the best evidence says otherwise.

It's not pseudoscience. But it's not settled either, nor is it "safe" to assume otherwise.

insidemedicine.substack.com

8 13

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · Sep 8

Key “His supporters don’t trust the agencies he oversees, and his detractors don’t trust him.”

Public Health is certainly a political issue - it is about how much we invest in human lives and wellbeing, so how could it not be?

But it should never be *politicized*

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/u...

Kennedy, Rejecting Data, Fuels Distrust of His Own Agencies

www.nytimes.com

2 2

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · Sep 5

And we certainly know that millions of lives have been *saved* by the very vaccines that the Secretary has singled out for attack

The Briefing with Jen Psaki @briefingwithpsaki.bsky.social · Sep 5

Psaki: "What Secretary Kennedy means when he says that nobody knows how many Americans died of Covid is not actually that nobody knows. People know. What he means is that he does not like the data."

2 10

Reposted by Bill Hanage

Jon Evans @rezendi.com · Sep 5

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick

2 3

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · Sep 5

The point of this is that freedom and reality are connected. And that those who would deprive us of freedom are frightened of reality because it will be there after they are gone

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · Sep 4

Just saying…

2 5 15

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · Sep 4

New ebola outbreak in DRC. According to this 4 health care workers among the 16 already dead.

actualite.cd/2025/09/04/r...

RDC : l’épidémie d’Ebola officiellement déclarée à Bulape au Kasaï, 16 décès déjà enregistrés

Le ministère de la santé a confirmé ce jeudi 4 septembre l’épidémie de la maladie à virus Ebola dans la zone de santé de Bulape, au Kasaï.

actualite.cd

4 4

Reposted by Bill Hanage

AnneRN79 @annern79.bsky.social · Sep 4

2009 was when we saw the emergence of H1N1 - swine flu. I was on my hospital's transport team back then and the number of critically ill, previously healthy children we had in our PICU with the flu that year was heartbreaking. A difficult time for everyone in pediatrics.

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · Sep 4

Last respiratory virus season 278 children in the US died of influenza, more than any year since 2009.

The majority were previously healthy, but 90% had *not* received a flu vaccine.

Facts are stubborn things

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/h...

Whistle-Blower Complaints Detail Tension Over Vaccines at N.I.H.

www.nytimes.com

1 2 6

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · Sep 4

Last respiratory virus season 278 children in the US died of influenza, more than any year since 2009.

The majority were previously healthy, but 90% had *not* received a flu vaccine.

Facts are stubborn things

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/h...

Whistle-Blower Complaints Detail Tension Over Vaccines at N.I.H.

www.nytimes.com

74 120

Bill Hanage @billhanage.bsky.social · Sep 4

Just saying…

1 8