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Permethrin-Treated Baby Wraps for the Prevention of Malaria | NEJM

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Reposted by Saheli Sadanand

BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 14d

Ever since I learned about this study enrolling I have been eagerly awaiting the results. Researchers in Uganda took a centuries-old cultural practice mothers carrying babies on their backs in cloth wraps and turned it into a public health tool. You got to love it!
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Malaria remains a major cause of childhood death in sub-Saharan Africa. We leveraged the traditional practice of mothers carrying children on their backs in cloth wraps to assess whether treating t...

www.nejm.org

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Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · 19d

Thanks for sharing, Mikki. Just wanted to note for anybody curious and/or in a similar position that babies can receive an MMR shot starting at 6 months.

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Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · 19d

SO the people actively sowing distrust in vaccines (i.e. many of the people in RFK's new ACIP) are also saying that we need to change safe and highly effective vaccine schedules because of this same lack of trust. Make it make sense!

Atul Gawande @agawande.bsky.social · 19d

Finally, an answer came back: we must make changes because trust in vaccines has decreased. “The signal that is prompting this is not one of safety, but one of trust,” said member Robert Malone. 3/

RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Panel Expected To Recommend Delaying Hepatitis B Shot for Children - KFF Health News

Reposted by Saheli Sadanand

Jake Scott, MD @jakescottmd.bsky.social · 19d

ACIP voted 7-3 to NOT recommend MMRV combo vaccine for kids <4yo. Then in a confusing second vote (1 yes, 8 no, 3 abstentions - some citing confusion), they kept VFC coverage for the same vaccine they just said not to use.
This chaos matters for every family. 1/8

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Reposted by Saheli Sadanand

Edward Nirenberg @enirenberg.bsky.social · 20d

Here's the upshot on hepatitis B vaccination at birth:
- it's extremely safe
- the earlier it's given, the better it protects against transmission from mother-to-child
- screening fails to capture many cases and is not done at all in many cases
- perinatal HBV infection is catastrophic

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Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · 22d

A horrible horrible decision with NO rationale.

Alex Wayne @aawayne.bsky.social · 22d

NEWS: By vaccinating babies at birth, the U.S. nearly eradicated hepatitis-B in children.

Kennedy's vaccine advisory panel is expected this week to recommend delaying the shot, opening a window for kids to be infected.

Exclusive by @jackie-fortier.bsky.social

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A federal vaccine panel, recently reshaped by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to vote on delaying the hepatitis B shot for newborns. Pediatricians warn that coul...

kffhealthnews.org

The Trump admin’s cruel disbanding of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium

Reposted by Saheli Sadanand

Josie Glausiusz @josiegz.bsky.social · 23d

On the Trump administration's cruel disbanding of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium: my op-ed @statnews.com

My 12-year-old son died from brain cancer. This research would have helped children like him

www.statnews.com/2025/09/15/p...

My 12-year-old son died from brain cancer. The defunding of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium will deny treatments to children like him.

GD2-targeting CAR T cells in high-risk neuroblastoma: a phase 1/phase 2 trial - Nature Medicine

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Reposted by Saheli Sadanand

BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · Aug 28

Do NOT allow them to rewrite history with disinformation. #COVID vaccines worked remarkably well and allowed us to come out of a global pandemic. A picture is worth a thousand words.

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Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · Aug 21

🌟Proud to publish these exciting data in #NatureMedicine -- final results from a phase 1/2 trial + a case series show strong efficacy of GD2 CAR-T cells in children with high risk #Neuroblastoma
#immunotherapy #OncSky #PedSky @natureportfolio.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

In the final analysis of a phase 1/phase 2 trial of autologous GD2-targeting CAR T cells in pediatric patients with high-risk metastatic, relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma, treatment was overall we...

Health consequences of forced displacements from Gaza

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Reposted by Saheli Sadanand

The American Academy of Pediatrics @ameracadpeds.bsky.social · Aug 20

AAP's immunization recommendations are based only in the science, the needs of children, and the care that pediatricians have for the children in every community. If you have any questions about our recommended schedule, reach out to your pediatrician.
aao.org

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Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · Aug 15

New and important #NatureMedicine correspondence on the health consequences of forced displacement in Gaza

"These proposals are not humanitarian...Every effort must center on the health, humanity and rights of Palestinians, not their removal."

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Discover the world’s best science and medicine | Nature.com

Anti-PD-1 therapy in unresectable desmoplastic melanoma: the phase 2 SWOG S1512 trial - Nature Medicine

Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · Aug 14

🌟NEW in #NatureMedicine: Results from a phase 2 trial suggest that anti-PD-1 #immunotherapy should be the preferred treatment choice for patients with unresectable desmoplastic #melanoma -- complete response rate of 37% and a post hoc ORR of 89% (!!) #OncSky #MedSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

In cohort B of the phase 2 SWOG S1512 trial, pembrolizumab monotherapy in patients with unresectable desmoplastic melanoma elicited a complete response rate of 37% and an objective response rate of 89...

Opinion | Jay Bhattacharya: Why the NIH is pivoting away from mRNA vaccines

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Reposted by Saheli Sadanand

Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · Aug 12

I cannot emphasize enough that the playbook being used against mRNA vaccines (and vaccines in general) is IDENTICAL to the playbook used to restrict voting rights after the 2020 election: actively sow public distrust, then cite the distrust you sowed as an independent reason for your desired policy

As a vaccine for broad public use, mRNA technology has failed to earn the public’s trust.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · Aug 12

⭐NEW in #NatureMedicine: final results from a phase 1 trial of an off-the-shelf, lymph node-targeted mKRAS peptide #vaccine for patients with #PancreaticCancer and #ColorectalCancer! Great efficacy results when T cell responses are strong 💪 AND signs of antigen spread!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Lymph node-targeted, mKRAS-specific amphiphile vaccine in pancreatic and colorectal cancer: phase 1 AMPLIFY-201 trial final results - Nature Medicine

In the final analysis of a phase 1 trial evaluating a lymph node-targeting mutant KRAS peptide vaccine combined with CpG in the adjuvant setting for patients with KRAS mutant pancreatic or colorectal ...

CDC leaders attempt to reassure staff after shooting, but meeting is brief

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Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · Aug 12

The mainstream media has already forgotten about this, of course. It's not convenient to explore the fact that the HHS secretary and his MAHA movement are quite literally jeopardizing the safety of healthcare workers by amplifying dangerous (and incorrect!) conspiracy theories.

Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · Aug 12

Rocky start for new #CDC director Susan Monarez, whose first week was punctuated by Friday's attack. Her first all-hands meeting lasted ~13 minutes, with technical challenges with dead air for a time & some staff unable to join the call. "This is a mess," one said. www.statnews.com/2025/08/12/c...

An all-hands meeting at the CDC to discuss the attack on the agency on Friday was brief and chaotic, staffers say.

Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · Aug 8

Agree, it makes very little sense. I also genuinely wonder about the logistics and ethics of conducting trials to establish potential efficacy of anti-measles antibody therapeutics. This is a very different setting than, say, for testing anti-RSV antibodies.

Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · Aug 8

Important to remember that Russell Vought has directly benefitted from NIH-funded research. His daughter, who has cystic fibrosis, takes Trikafta: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Sadly, it seems that he is perfectly OK destroying innovative research that could benefit other families.

The Race to Find a Measles Treatment as Infections Surge

Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · Aug 8

🤔I am curious about the ethics and logistics of demonstrating efficacy of an anti-measles antibody & about the strangely optimistic perspective that anti-vaccine/vaccine-hesitant parents would be willing to give their children a drug like this given their general attitudes towards modern medicine.

Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · Aug 8

As the US hits a 33-year high in measles infections, there is now a "race" to find a treatment for the disease.

One pharma company "is banking on a continuing decline in vaccination rates to fuel a need for measles treatments—and in turn, more investor interest"

🎁 link

www.wsj.com/health/healt...

The measles vaccine was so effective the disease was considered eliminated in the U.S., but a resurgence of outbreaks is spurring a need for drugs.

www.wsj.com

Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · Aug 8

(2/2) It's also problematic that this @nytimes.com article has no quotes from Republican Senators who provided the decisive votes for RFK -- Cassidy, Collins, Murkowski. It appears RFK perjured himself at the confirmation hearings -- do they care? Do they care about the toll of his decisions?

Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · Aug 8

(1/2) "At the outset of his tenure, it seemed that Mr. Kennedy might not allow his skepticism of vaccines to influence national policy"

Huh? Lots of people warned that this would happen...

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/h...

On Vaccines, Kennedy Has Broken Sharply With the Mainstream

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Saheli Sadanand

Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · Aug 8

My comments with @factcheck.org

www.factcheck.org/2025/08/rfk-...

RFK Jr. Justifies Cuts to mRNA Vaccine Projects With Falsehoods - FactCheck.org

In justifying the government's termination of $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine projects, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed mRNA vaccines "fail to protec...

www.factcheck.org

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Reposted by Saheli Sadanand

Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · Aug 6

The mRNA vaccine platform has already been assessed across diverse clinical indications, many with remarkable progress:
—cancer neoantigen vaccines [in patients with refractory disease (e.g. pancreatic)]
—more than 15 infectious diseases
—autoimmune diseases
—rare disease for genome editing

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Saheli Sadanand @sahelisadanand.bsky.social · Aug 6

Horrible decision but sadly par for the course for the HHS secretary.

Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · Aug 5

Pandemic preparedness in the US has been leveled a crippling blow with the cancellation of multiple #BARDA contracts to help develop mRNA vaccines. No other vaccine platform produces vaccine so quickly; without mRNA, Americans will have a long wait for pandemic vax. www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/m...

Health secretary RFK Jr. shuts door on U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research

Vaccine experts and people steeped in pandemic preparedness expressed horror at the news that RFK Jr. has shut the door in U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research.

Jay Bhattacharya once studied health disparities. As NIH director, he’s allowed such research to wither

Reposted by Saheli Sadanand

Usha Lee McFarling @usha.bsky.social · Aug 1

NEW: Massive and confusing inconsistencies at NIH. New director says health disparities research is critical yet grants are being cut left and right. With @aniloza.bsky.social and @ericboodman.bsky.social. (Also my last story for STAT. 😢) www.statnews.com/2025/08/01/n...

Jay Bhattacharya’s tenure as NIH director has seen health disparities research swept up in the Trump administration’s attack on DEI