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Margaret Manto

@margaretmanto.bsky.social

670 followers 93 following 61 posts

Science & Health Policy Reporter @ notus.org. MIT alum. Email me [email protected] or Signal margaretmanto.61

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Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · 9d

NEW: FDA commissioner Marty Makary told agency employees he got them exempted from any shutdown-induced firings

Most FDA staff are already not immediately impacted by appropriated funding lapses thanks to the agency’s user fees.

www.notus.org/trump-white-...

FDA Head Says He Got the Agency 'Exempted' From Possible Shutdown RIFs

In a video sent to FDA employees, Commissioner Marty Makary said the agency was exempted “because we are in the business of public safety.”

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · 16d

NEWS: CDC Says It’s Coordinating With the WHO, White House on Congo’s Ebola Outbreak
www.notus.org/health-scien...

CDC Says It’s Coordinating With the WHO, White House on Congo’s Ebola Outbreak

Infectious disease experts have raised concerns about the Trump administration’s preparedness to address the deadly Ebola outbreak in Africa.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · 19d

NEW: The U.S.’s response to the Ebola outbreak in Congo isn’t following the normal playbook, infectious disease leaders say.

“We need to be very clear-eyed that the ability to control this and contain it regionally is diminished,” one said.

www.notus.org/health-scien...

The Trump Administration’s Response to Congo’s Ebola Outbreak Isn’t Normal, Infectious Disease Leaders Say

Funding uncertainty and staffing concerns at the White House and CDC are raising alarms for biosecurity experts.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · 19d

NEW: The U.S.’s response to the Ebola outbreak in Congo isn’t following the normal playbook, infectious disease leaders say.

“We need to be very clear-eyed that the ability to control this and contain it regionally is diminished,” one said.

www.notus.org/health-scien...

The Trump Administration’s Response to Congo’s Ebola Outbreak Isn’t Normal, Infectious Disease Leaders Say

Funding uncertainty and staffing concerns at the White House and CDC are raising alarms for biosecurity experts.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · 21d

www.notus.org/health-scien...

RFK Jr. Plans to Change Childhood Vaccine Schedule Without 'Data,' Ousted CDC Director Testifies

“I was concerned about my ability to continue to lead while preserving evidence-based decision making,” former CDC Director Susan Monarez said.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · 22d

REPORTING REQUEST: If your pediatrician is not offering the covid vax because of policy changes, or you work for a practice that's decided not to offer it, reach out to me at 434 305 7310 (text/call/Signal) or [email protected]. I can keep your identity private.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Sep 8

NEW: RFK Jr. touted an AI biosurveillance program that doesn’t yet exist in his WSJ op-ed last week www.notus.org/health-scien...

RFK Jr. Touted a CDC Biosurveillance Program That Doesn’t Appear to Exist Yet

What the administration has said about the program, however, is giving biosecurity experts some pause.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Sep 4

Republican Senators cornered RFK Jr. this morning on his support for Operation Warp Speed, the first Trump administration's COVID-19 vaccine development project. www.notus.org/health-scien...

Sen. Bill Cassidy Tried to Box RFK Jr. In on Vaccines

“I believe that President Trump deserved a Nobel Prize for Operation Warp Speed,” Cassidy told Kennedy, praising the development of the mRNA vaccine.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Aug 27

Three CDC officials have resigned since director Susan Monarez’s dismissal, which she is contesting: www.notus.org/health-scien...

Top CDC Officials Resigned After the Trump Administration Said It Fired Susan Monarez

“For the good of the nation and the world, the science at CDC should never be censored or subject to political pauses or interpretations,” Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer, wrote in her re...

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Aug 26

RFK Jr. says he has identified the "interventions" behind rising autism rates and will "address them" next month: www.notus.org/health-scien...

RFK Jr. Says He’s Identified the Cause of Rising Autism Rates. He Didn’t Say What It Is.

“I think we maybe know the reason, and I look forward to that press conference,” said President Trump.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Aug 20

“I was thinking they would have at least enhanced security going into campus,” one CDC employee told NOTUS.

www.notus.org/health-scien...

‘We Trudge On’: CDC Employees Return to Work With Bullet Holes Still in the Windows

“I was thinking they would have at least enhanced security going into campus,” one CDC employee told NOTUS.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Aug 14

HHS announces childhood vaccine safety task force, as requested by anti-vaccine groups: www.notus.org/health-scien...

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Aug 5

"We think there’s lots of positive things coming, but we haven’t seen a whole lot."

The tension between MAHA and USDA has been front and center at this week's "Great American Farmers Market":

www.notus.org/health-scien...

MAHA-Minded Farmers Are Giving RFK Jr. the Benefit of the Doubt

Amid USDA cuts and Kennedy’s reversal on a pesticides ban, farmers said they’re giving the administration time.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Jul 29

“I love and loved my job, we did good work with some of the smartest people, and they’re being routinely disrespected and lied to."

Inside the FDA's AI push, w/ @taylorgiorno_ www.notus.org/health-scien...

‘They Have To Figure Out If They Can Trust The Software’: Inside the FDA’s AI Push

The AI rollout at the FDA has been rocky. But even critics are optimistic.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Jul 23

The new CDER director George Tidmarsh isn't enthusiastic about ingestible fluoride supplements:
www.notus.org/health-scien...

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Jul 14

Restorative reproductive medicine's relationship to the MAHA movement is like a "Venn diagram," according to one practitioner. Can RRM get the MAHA boost without getting turned into the anti-IVF scapegoat? www.notus.org/health-scien...

Reproductive Health Advocates Want to Ride the MAHA Wave — Without Drowning

Restorative reproductive medicine is having a moment with RFK Jr. in power. Anti-IVF conservatives want it to be their moment, too.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Jul 8

NEW: HHS quietly announced its intention to fund the development of vaccines against two viruses it considers “material threats to national health security.” www.notus.org/health-scien...

HHS Is Quietly Looking for Two New Vaccines

“It’s almost notable in that it’s not remarkable at all,” a former infectious disease official said of the new notice.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Jun 26

NEW: “The rhetoric is quite different, but it doesn’t seem like the reality is obviously different."

RFK Jr. promised to end the "corporate capture" of the health agencies. But lobbyists and experts said for the most part, it's still business as usual. www.notus.org/health-scien...

RFK Jr.’s Planned Assault on Corporate Influence Is Clashing With Reality

“I haven’t noticed anything different at all,” one lobbyist said. “I don’t know anybody who’s had a problem getting a meeting.”

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Jun 24

New: In his first acknowledgement of the MAHA report's citation issues, RFK Jr. called the fabricated citations "a mistake" but insisted that all of the report's "foundational assertions" were accurate. www.notus.org/health-scien...

RFK Jr. Calls Fake MAHA Report Citations a ‘Mistake’

Kennedy said the “foundational assertions” in the report were accurate, despite several instances of fabricated and misinterpreted citations.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Jun 16

Exclusive: Sen. Bernie Sanders is calling for an investigation into RFK Jr.'s vaccine committee firings: www.notus.org/health-scien...

Sen. Bernie Sanders Wants an Investigation of RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Firings

Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate Health Committee, made the request of Sen. Bill Cassidy, the committee chair, in a letter obtained by NOTUS.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Jun 16

NEW: Is change coming to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program?

HHS gave $$ for VICP “expertise” to the firm of a lawyer who’s criticized the program and sued vaccine manufacturers directly: www.notus.org/health-scien...

HHS Award Indicates Changes May Be Coming for Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has criticized the program in the past.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Jun 14

🙃

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · Jun 11

We found more instances of the MAHA report misinterpreting research -- this time, about vaccines.

w/ @emilykennard.bsky.social :

www.notus.org/health-scien...

RFK Jr. Used the MAHA Report to Advance Vaccine Misinformation

NOTUS identified several examples of the report misinterpreting real studies and using language that undermines the safety of vaccines.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · May 30

NEW: The MAHA report has been updated, but some of those changes have introduced new problems, the cited researchers told NOTUS.
New from me and @emilykennard.bsky.social: www.notus.org/health-scien...

The MAHA Report Has Been Updated With Fresh Errors

One psychologist who is newly cited in the report said the updated reference misconstrues his research.

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · May 29

I spoke with @samsteindc.bsky.social and @thebulwark.com about NOTUS's investigation into the MAHA report citation issues:

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · May 29

@samsteindc.bsky.social talks with NOTUS reporter @margaretmanto.bsky.social about RFK Jr.'s error-riddled MAHA report which includes citations of sources that don’t exist.