Tracking Emerging Public Health Challenges – March 4, 2026 – Measles
“Two physicians will join the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). “Sean G. Downing, M.D. an internal medicine physician, and Angelina Farella, M.D., a pediatrician, were announced as the newest members late Feb. 27.
“ACIP must scrutinize the evidence openly, ask hard questions, and earn the nation’s confidence through transparent deliberation,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,said in a statement. “Dr. Downing and Dr. Farella bring decades of real-world experience caring for children, adults, and families — and that frontline perspective is essential to making recommendations that are grounded in gold-standard science and worthy of public trust.”
Kennedy said the additional members are part of an effort to promote transparency, rigorous science and diverse clinical expertise in the nation’s immunization policy process.”
“In the last year, the board, its deliberations, policies and statements on vaccine safety and efficacy have sparked a firestorm of debate across the U.S. health care community. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has filed a federal lawsuit to block implementation of the nation’s newest pediatric immunization schedule. At least 70 various medical and advocacy organizations have announced their support for AAP.
ACIP advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which establishes the vaccine schedule. As of Jan. 20, more than half of the 50 states had announced they would not follow the CDC’s recommendations for childhood vaccines. Last week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a multistate lawsuit against HHS also challenging the immunization schedule announced in January.” (1)
“As South Carolina grapples with a measles outbreak that has infected nearly 1,000 people, groups with ties to the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, are pushing to eliminate immunization requirements that protect children.
Activists are targeting vaccine mandates in states trying to tamp down measles as communities across the country struggle to stop the worst spread of the illness since the early 1990s. The Guardian found anti-vaccine groups are encouraging their followers to organize opposition to vaccine mandates in more than 20 states, including at least six with current measles outbreaks.
Leaders of this campaign include the anti-vaccine organization Kennedy led for years, a group run by his longtime book publisher, and Leslie Manookian, an Idaho film-maker, homeopath and activist whom Kennedy has called his friend.
Doctors and advocates for children’s health warn that removing or weakening mandates, particularly those that require vaccination in schools, will lead to lower vaccination rates – and more illness and suffering for families.
“We will see more outbreaks. We will see children missing school, parents missing work,” said Dr Jana Shaw, an infectious disease specialist who has conducted research on vaccine hesitancy. “We will see increased costs for those families whose children will get sick and develop complications and disability. Some of them will die.”” (2)
“If measles vaccination rates continue to drop just 1% annually for the next five years, the cost to the U.S. could reach $1.5 billion a year, according to a new report from the Yale School of Public Health.
Armed with existing county-level vaccination coverage data, Yale researchers used mathematical models to calculate predicted increases in measles cases, hospitalizations and their associated medical and societal costs.
Based on their projections, $41.1 million would be needed each year to cover patients’ basic medical needs, including health insurance, and $947 million for public health response efforts such as surveillance and contact tracing. Lost productivity in the workforce, the report found, could reach $510.4 million each year.”
Dave Chokshi, chair of Common Health Coalition, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public health group that partnered with Yale for the project, said a measles outbreak reverberates through all parts of “the health ecosystem.”” (3)
“Just two months into 2026, the CDC has confirmed over 1,100 measles cases. By comparison, the CDC confirmed 2,281 cases in all of 2025, the most in the U.S. since 1992.
Ninety two percent of this year’s confirmed cases are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. The AAP recommends a two-dose MMR vaccination series – one dose of MMR is 93% effective against measles, and two doses are 97% effective. Read the full piece in AAP News: https://bit.ly/4r5XU1e” (4)
“A meeting of an international panel of experts that was set to review the United States’ measles elimination status next month has been postponed until November, the Pan American Health Organization said on Monday.
U.S. health officials asked for the delay to allow more time for measles data analysis, said Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.
PAHO is convening the panel to assess whether the ongoing spread of measles in the U.S., which began January last year with an outbreak in Texas, means the U.S. should lose the elimination status.
The U.S. has had the status, indicating it has not had continuous measles transmission for more than a year, since 2000.”
“”The additional time will allow for a thorough and transparent assessment of the 2025 measles outbreaks, including comprehensive genomic sequencing and advanced analysis,” Nixon said.” (5)
The U.S. provides nearly half of the aid for global health, including childhood vaccination, H.I.V. treatment and disease surveillance.
“Rates of infection with dengue fever are exploding in Latin America. The mutated mpox virus is increasingly transmissible between people, and there are fears that H5N1, avian influenza, is also evolving to spread between humans. Deaths from cholera, an ancient scourge, and measles are rising. The parasite that causes malaria is increasingly resistant to the drugs to treat it, and an invasive malarial mosquito is threatening African cities.”
By Stephen Sorace “The White House is working toward a plan to control the avian flu, which will help lower egg prices that have skyrocketed due to inflation and how the Biden administration “killed all the chickens” to contain the spread of the disease, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Sunday. Hassett appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” where he said that he and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins are “working with all the best people in government, including academics around the country and around the world” to have a plan ready for President Donald Trump next week regarding the disease.” to read the full article go to https://www.fox9.com/news/white-house-plan-bird-flu-egg-prices
“USDA accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is now trying to rehire them” By Allan Smith, Melanie Zanona and Laura Strickler
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that, over the weekend, it accidentally fired “several” agency employees who are working on the federal government’s response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak. The agency said it is now trying to quickly reverse the firings.” to read the full article go to https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/doge/usda-accidentally-fired-officials-bird-flu-rehire-rcna192716?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
“White House scrambles to combat bird flu outbreaks and blasts Biden plan to ‘just kill chickens’” by Gustaf Kilander
“”What we need to do is, have better ways with biosecurity, and medication, and so on, to make sure that the perimeter doesn’t have to kill the chickens. We have a better, smarter perimeter,” said Hassett. The economic adviser added that it’s “the kind of thing that should have happened a year ago, and if it had, then egg prices would be a lot better than they are now.” to read the full article go to https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/world/white-house-scrambles-to-combat-bird-flu-outbreaks-and-blasts-biden-plan-to-just-kill-chickens/ar-AA1zdTvD
‘Trump Cuts Target Next Generation of Scientists and Public Health Leaders’ By Sheryl Gay Stolberg “… But the agency’s Epidemic Intelligence Service — the “disease detectives” who track outbreaks around the world — has apparently been spared, perhaps because of an uproar among alumni after a majority of its members were told on Friday that they would be let go.’ ““It’s not canceled,” Elon Musk, the billionaire in charge of the downsizing, wrote on social media in response to the blowback about the purported dismantling of the Epidemic Intelligence Service.””
to read the full article go to https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/us/politics/fda-cdc-health-department-trump.html
“First Cows, Now Cats. Is Bird Flu Coming for Humans Next?” By Sumathi Reddy “Bird flu is here to stay. The H5N1 avian influenza is proliferating among U.S. cows and there are now two strains circulating among mammals and birds. Though there are only 68 confirmed cases in people—largely dairy workers—public-health officials think bird flu is likely more widespread. Last week, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report documented three asymptomatic cases in veterinarians who took care of cattle they didn’t know had H5N1.” to read the full article go to https://www.wsj.com/health/bird-flu-cows-cats-human-transmission-7adf14ec
“CDC Report Suggests Bird Flu Is Spreading Undetected to Humans” By Tessa Koumoundouros https://www.sciencealert.com/cdc-report-suggests-bird-flu-is-spreading-undetected-to-humans
“Ohio’s health department confirmed Saturday that a farmer in the state was discharged from the hospital after being sickened by bird flu, marking the fourth American to have been hospitalized with the H5N1 virus. “The individual had respiratory symptoms. He was previously hospitalized and has since been released,” a spokesperson for Ohio’s health department told CBS News in an email Saturday.” “News of the hospitalization comes a day after Wyoming announced the third U.S. hospitalization from bird flu, linked to exposure to an infected backyard flock.” to read the full article go to https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-bird-flu-hospitalizations-rise-ohio-discloses-case/
‘Trump’s drive to reshape government threatens bird flu response’ By Shannon Pettypiece ‘As avian flu drives egg prices to record levels and increasingly poses a risk to humans, moves by the White House to cut spending and restrict communications have hobbled public health officials’ response, with the new administration yet to outline a clear strategy on how it plans to stem the spread of the virus.’ to read he full article go to https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trumps-drive-reshape-government-threaten-bird-flu-response-rcna192133
“Trump administration firings hit key office handling bird flu response” By Marcia Brown
“Laboratories in a national network of 58 facilities responding to the spread of bird flu were notified Friday that 25 percent of the staff in a central program office coordinating their work were fired in the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal employees. USDA’s National Animal Health Laboratory Network program office has a staff of only 14 people, but it plays a major role in responding to animal disease outbreaks. It’s responsible for data management, ensuring that labs across the country are conducting the same tests and following similar protocols to accurately and effectively track animal diseases. to read the full article go to
By Amy Maxmen “Flu has been brutal this season. The CDC estimates at least 24 million illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations, and 13,000 deaths from the flu since the start of October. At the same time, the bird flu outbreak continues to infect cattle and farmworkers. But CDC analyses that would inform people about these situations are delayed, and the CDC has cut off communication with doctors, researchers, and the World Health Organization, say doctors and public health experts. “CDC right now is not reporting influenza data through the WHO global platforms, FluNet [and] FluID, that they’ve been providing information [on] for many, many years,” Maria Van Kerkhove, interim director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness at the WHO, said at a Feb. 12 press briefing.” to read the full article go to https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/cdc-data-analyses-missing-mmwr-bird-flu-seasonal-influenza/
“Is it time to worry about bird flu?” by Kim Mas and Sean Collins
“The term pandemic tends to refer to the unchecked spread of a disease among humans; experts told me what we’re seeing here is a panzootic, which is essentially a pandemic that affects animals. This strain of bird flu is on every continent except Australia — and Australia has its own deadly strain going around. It’s also in our waters. It’s in dolphins, in seals, and in sea lions — in 2023, 24,000 sea lions washed up in South America, dead from avian flu.”” “The thing experts are keeping an eye on is the amount of contact humans (and species that have a lot in common with humans) have with infected animals. The more contact this strain of bird flu has with various animals, the more opportunities it has to replicate. With each replication comes the possibility for genetic reassortment and mutations — basically for changes to the virus’s structure that could alter its characteristics. Those changes could make it into something that spreads more easily among humans.” to read the full article go to https://www.vox.com/explainers/399776/auto-draft
“Bird flu case with “flu-like symptoms” reported in Colorado, 1 person hospitalized”
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed a third U.S. bird flu hospitalization, Wyoming’s health department said Friday after a woman was admitted to a healthcare facility in neighboring Colorado.
The patient was experiencing “flu-like symptoms” and had “health conditions that can make people more vulnerable to illness,” Wyoming’s health department said. She was likely exposed to the H5N1 virus through direct contact to an infected poultry flock at her home.” to read the full article go to https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bird-flu-case-woman-hospitalized-colorado/
“Trump’s drive to reshape government threatens bird flu response” https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trumps-drive-reshape-government-threaten-bird-flu-response-rcna192133
“Mpox Is Spreading in Congo’s Capital, Threatening Global Efforts to Contain the Virus” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/23/health/mpox-spread-congo-kinshasa.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
By Mary Kekatos “”I think the concern is that we’re having multiple strains that are being transmitted from birds to cattle and then from cattle to humans,” Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Health told ABC News. “And the more that that occurs, there’s a higher risk of developing further mutations that may facilitate human-to-human transmission and, if that happens and transmission is efficient, then the next thing we’re looking at is a pandemic.”” to read the full article go to https://abcnews.go.com/Health/2nd-bird-flu-virus-detected-western-us-prevention/story?id=118791338
By Adrianna Rodriguez “A new report suggests that more Americans may be walking around with bird flu − and not even know it. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention randomly tested 150 veterinarians for H5N1, or bird flu, antibodies, which would indicate if they had a recent infection.” to read the full article go to https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2025/02/13/bird-flu-symptoms-cdc/78513646007/
“C.D.C. Study Finds Silent Bird Flu Infections in Dairy Veterinarians”
By Emily Anthes “Three dairy veterinarians, including one who worked only in states with no known bird flu outbreaks in cows, had recent, undetected bird flu infections, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The results are based on antibody testing of 150 veterinarians working in 46 U.S. states.” to read the full article go to https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/science/cdc-bird-flu-infections.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
“Senate confirms RFK Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary” https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/13/politics/rfk-jr-senate-confirmation-vote/index.html
“How would RFK Jr. handle bird flu? His record on vaccines has experts on edge” By Will Stone
