The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 29 September that a fifth person has died in the current measles outbreak. The person was unvaccinated.
🎁 https://share.inquirer.com/jlK5gZ
This seems like a good time to point out that infants can be vaccinated against measles as young as 6 months old. The PA Health Department is recommending this early dose, sometimes called the "zeroth dose", statewide -- at least for now.
Are you a clinician in the US who supports #vaccination? I want the HHS to hear from you! HHS is asking for input on changes to the vaccine schedule, including "timing and sequencing" -- giving multiple vax at once. They need to hear from people caring for patients. Sharing what you see in your practice can show the real-world impact of these decisions.
Go to https://www.regulations.gov/document/HHS-OS-2026-0332-0001 and find the box that says COMMENT near top of page.
DEADLINE SEPT 20 23:59
PLEASE BOOST
RE: https://sfba.social/@MsMerope/117203830024852115
If you or someone you know had a visit from a mobile petting zoo in North Carolina, you need to know this: baby goats that were part of the petting zoo had rabies.
If you don't get treatment by the time you show symptoms, rabies is 100% fatal.
But if you get treatment before symptoms start, rabies is almost always survivable.
If you were at a petting zoo and were near baby goats, tell your doctor. NOW.
Great news for folks in #Philadelphia who like to ride: the long-awaited "missing link" connector on the path between #Philly and Reading is finished and ready to ride!
🎁 https://share.inquirer.com/Cw7p2n
And if you'd rather watch some of the best cyclists in the country come zooming by than get on two wheels yourself, the Cycling Classic is back after about ten years. On Sunday 8/30 there will be plenty of places to cheer and watch the action.
Back in the 1990s there was a Lyme disease vaccine that the manufacturer just decided to stop making.
A new vaccine was in Phase 3 testing in Maine, last I heard.
The current US administration isn't stopping at trying to prosecute Dr Fauci: his coworkers and teammates are also facing legal charges. "A former senior adviser to infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci pleaded guilty Tuesday to plotting to conceal federal records related to research on the origins of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic."
The charges? Using his personal email for discussions.
I got a note through the #EMR that the long-acting insulin I prescribed for a patient was not on formulary, and I should find something else. On hold with the pharmacy for 10+ minutes, growing more frustrated because I included named substitutions in the original prescription. I was angry and at the edge of rage-tears.
Then the pharmacist told me that she was out of several brands of insulin, she listed what she had already tried, and I remembered that she hates the system, too.
A retired couple had a free Medicare drug coverage plan. Company sent out notice of a rate increase while they were away from home. Now they're losing coverage because they didn't pay $29 for 3 months -- which means they now have to pay full price for all their prescriptions until 2027.
And this same gotcha hit lots of people.
https://www.npr.org/2026/07/06/nx-s1-5879413/medicare-drug-plan-coverage-premiums-wellcare
One of my patients lost her job recently. That means she lost her insurance. We're scouting for the most inexpensive pharmacies around, coupons, discounts, generics, whatever we can manage.
But she takes two shots to manage her diabetes. One is Ozempic, and that is PRICEY! Maybe increase her insulin instead?
Good news: insulin isn't $300/month anymore.
Bad news: the cheapest short-acting insulin I can find is $50/bottle.
A follow-up to my earlier post about a study that found no cervical cancer deaths in England among 20-24 year olds in the span 2020-24 -- who grew up in HPV vaccine era.
The BBC cited a Lancet article which specifically looked at England.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00918-9/fulltext
In 2024, data from Scotland was reported showing no cervical cancer even DETECTED in those who got full vaccination against HPV when they were 12-13.
Great news: in the 5 years 2020-2024, know how many 20-24 year olds died of cervical cancer in England?
ZERO.
That's the first cohort of folks that age who were offered the HPV vaccine when they were 12 or 13.
Before the vaccine was used, on average about 20 people in that age range died of cervical cancer in a 5 year span.
We're looking forward to more dramatic results as that group enters their 30s & 40s.
New antiviral approved in Japan to protect against covid infection in people who have already been exposed. According to the article Xocova has applied for US approval for post-exposure use. More effective than Paxlovid with fewer side effects.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01546-0?linkId=61870217
RE: https://kolektiva.social/@aredridel/116552279213533823
My reference pain scale is from https://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/02/boyfriend-doesnt-have-ebola-probably.html, but this one is probably more adapted to clinical use. #7, "I see Jesus coming for me and I'm scared" is rather culture-bound. Though #10, "I am actively being mauled by a bear", does get the point across.
NPR has a piece today (26 March) about funding for rural healthcare that may lead to some ERs and hospitals getting shut.
Why?
"... in Wyoming, any facility that receives funding must agree to 'reduce unprofitable, duplicative or nonessential service lines,' according to its rural health law." Similar rules in other states.
Ah, the joys of a country where healthcare is required to be profitable. 🙃
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/26/nx-s1-5760925/rural-health-transformation-fund-hospitals-montana
A question for the assembled wisdom of Mastodon, esp the #CovidIsNotOver team: what's the quietest air filter you'd recommend? I'm looking for something that can be run in a large living room where 5-7 friends get together with acoustic instruments for a few hours of jamming.
In Kurt Vonnegut's story "Cat's Cradle" there was something called ice-9. Ice-9 was regular water, our friend H2O, but the way the atoms were arranged made it a solid at room temperature. And if it touched normal water, that turned into ice-9.
Today I found out that ritonavir, the antiviral medication, had its own ice-9 moment: after being made for years and saving the lives of thousands, one batch went wrong -- and then batches all over the world got the same problem.
More about Monday's court decision resetting the US childhood vaccine schedule.
Memos reveal CDC decisions made based on ideology, not evidence https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/16/covid-vaccine-recommendation-kids-pregnant-people-data (before court issued decision)
"When Kennedy fired all 17 members of the ACIP in June and replaced them with his own hand-picked advisers, many of whom have expressed anti-vaccine views, the health secretary likely violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the judge found." https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/16/judge-blocks-rfk-jr-vaccine-policy-changes
It's a small study (n=20), but it points to semaglutide reducing osteoarthritis by multiple mechanisms. Weight loss reduces the load on the knees, of course; but semaglutide may help grow NEW cartilage on weight-bearing surfaces.
https://www.sciencealert.com/semaglutide-may-reverse-damage-caused-by-osteoarthritis-study-suggests
Folks may have heard: my old instance, med-mastodon, is back online! Thanks to the doc who ran it by himself for years; thanks for the efforts of many to get it back online; and thanks to all of you who boosted my plaintive "help me find my people!" post over the weekend.
I picked up a bunch of new followers in that maneuver. If all goes well, you'll get set up to auto-follow me in the old neighborhood,, now that I'm moving back "home."
The whole federated Mastodon thingie is a hopeful place.
Canadian officials say US health institutions no longer dependable for accurate information
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/04/canada-us-health-institutions-information?CMP=share_btn_url