US Childhood Vaccination Rates Show Alarming Decline Nationwide

A comprehensive data investigation reveals that 77% of US counties have experienced declining childhood vaccination rates since 2019, with drops ranging from less than 1% to over 40%. The analysis found that 68% of counties now have MMR vaccination rates below the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity. St. Louis exemplifies this crisis, with kindergarten vaccination rates plummeting from 91.6% in 2010-2011 to 75.9% in 2024-2025. The decline stems from rising exemptions, healthcare access difficulties, and growing vaccine hesitancy fueled by social media and recent federal messaging. Health experts warn this backsliding could lead to outbreaks of previously controlled diseases like measles. (NBC News)

Most Americans Continue Supporting School Vaccine Requirements Despite Political Rhetoric

A new Annenberg Public Policy Center poll shows that 70% of American adults support school mandates for MMR vaccines, up from 63% in 2023, contradicting messaging from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who opposes federal vaccine mandates. The survey of 1,653 adults found respondents favored requirements due to potential risks to other children when some remain unvaccinated. Meanwhile, Florida became the first state to end school vaccine requirements, and Wisconsin is experiencing a measles outbreak with 36 unvaccinated cases. Senator Bill Cassidy urged Kennedy to publicly support vaccines amid Louisiana’s worst pertussis outbreak in 35 years, which has killed two babies. (CIDRAP)

Kennedy Appoints Five More Vaccine-Skeptical Members to CDC Advisory Panel

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. added five new members to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices just three days before its scheduled meeting to decide on Covid-19 and hepatitis B vaccine guidelines. The appointees include Dr. Evelyn Griffin, who questioned Covid vaccine safety in 2021; Catherine Stein, who called university vaccine mandates “unethical”; and Dr. Kirk Milhoan, who claimed Covid vaccines increase disease risk at a hearing led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Hillary Blackburn, a pharmacist, and Dr. Raymond Pollak, a transplant surgeon, round out the appointments. Kennedy had previously fired all 17 original committee members in June, claiming conflicts of interest without evidence, and appointed eight replacements, half with vaccine-skeptical views. These appointments will directly impact insurance coverage requirements for vaccines nationwide. (New York Times)

Brazil Combats Record Dengue Outbreaks with Mosquito Bacteria and New Vaccine

Brazil is deploying Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes and developing a homegrown dengue vaccine to combat its worst outbreak on record, with 6.6 million cases and over 6,300 deaths in 2024. A new biofactory in Curitiba produces 100 million mosquito eggs weekly, while the Butantan Institute’s single-dose vaccine awaits regulatory approval after showing 89% efficacy in previously infected individuals and 74% in those without prior exposure. The government plans to purchase 60 million doses annually starting in 2026, addressing limitations of the current Takeda vaccine which costs $19 per dose and has limited availability. (Nature)

Kennedy Allies Transform Federal Health Agencies with Vaccine-Skeptical Appointments

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has installed vaccine-skeptical allies across federal health agencies, fundamentally reshaping vaccine policy. At the FDA, new leaders Dr. Vinay Prasad and Dr. Marty Makary have restricted Covid vaccine eligibility and questioned hepatitis B vaccination at birth. Kennedy fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, replacing them with critics including Dr. Robert Malone, who spread Covid vaccine misinformation, and anti-vaccine activists. Key advisers include David Geier, who promotes discredited autism-vaccine links, and Lyn Redwood from Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization. At NIH, Dr. Matthew Memoli has downplayed respiratory disease vaccines. These appointments represent a coordinated effort to challenge established vaccine science, with officials questioning everything from Covid boosters to childhood immunizations despite scientific consensus on vaccine safety and necessity. (New York Times)

Chinese Astronauts Advance Microgravity Research Aboard Space Station

Chinese astronauts are conducting extensive scientific experiments on their orbiting space station, focusing on space medicine and human factors technology. The crew is using electroencephalogram equipment to study visual fields and executive function while investigating how microgravity affects relational cognition and astronaut trust in AI assistants during extended missions. They’re performing vascular ultrasound scans to understand circulatory system adaptation to weightlessness and analyzing operational forces in microgravity compared to Earth conditions. The astronauts also installed a universal biological cultivation module for expanded life science research while maintaining station systems and following health protocols for sustained operations. (Space Daily)