U.S. President Trump endorsed the CDC’s reduced schedule of recommended childhood vaccinations

Good news! Bravo President Trump! 17 vaccinations for a child translates into how many vaccinations per year?

How much is too much! When does childhood vaccination become an obsession?

"U.S. President Trump endorsed the CDC’s reduced schedule of recommended childhood vaccinations in an executive order signed Friday, citing a commitment to “protecting religious liberty and parental authority”; the CDC announced the reduction from 17 to 11 recommended vaccines in January. ..."

"... The assessment reviewed 20 peer, developed nations and found that the U.S. is a global outlier among developed nations in both the number of diseases addressed in its routine childhood vaccination schedule and the total number of recommended doses but does not have higher vaccination rates than such countries. In fact, many peer nations that recommend fewer routine vaccines achieve strong child health outcomes and maintain high vaccination rates through public trust and education rather than mandates.

For example, in 2024, the U.S. recommended more childhood vaccines than any peer nation, and more than twice as many doses as some European nations. At the lower end is Denmark, which immunizes children against 10 diseases compared to a total number of 18 diseases for which protection was provided in 2024 in the U.S. ..."

Global Health NOW: Ebola Latest: A Kenyan Quarantine Facility for Americans?; and A Military Legacy of PFAS

CDC Acts on Presidential Memorandum to Update Childhood Immunization Schedule

US Centers for Disease Control to end all monkey research

Good news! When will other animal experiments end? Will other national health research organisations follow?

How many animals have we sacrificed worldwide for medicine in the past 75 years or so? Hundreds of thousands? Millions?

"Scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been told to phase out all of their monkey research, Science has learned. The directive ... will end studies on approximately 200 macaques. The fate of the animals—largely used in work on HIV prevention—is unclear; some may be transferred to primate sanctuaries, others may be euthanized.

Apart from the retirement of research chimpanzees initiated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) a decade ago, the move would mark the first time a U.S. agency has ended its in-house nonhuman primate program. ..."

Exclusive: CDC to end all monkey research | Science | AAAS "Studies related to HIV and other infectious diseases will be phased out, sources say; fate of the agency's animals remains unclear"

The former CDC director Susan Monarez testified before a Senate committee that she was fired after refusing to compromise her scientific integrity. Really!

My impression is this woman, i.e. Susan Monarez, is duplicit and she has ulterior motives! I blogged here about her before.

I guess, President Trump was lazy or ignored/dismissed to fully vet the then acting Director of the CDC more carefully before appointing her! My suspicion is she placed by the swamp to undermine President Trump. 

Her Wikipedia entry strangely does not contain any personal information about her other than that her last name changed from Coller to Monarez at an unspecified date for unspecified reasons).

"The former CDC director testified before a Senate committee that she was fired after refusing to compromise her scientific integrity.

Susan Monarez said Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked her to preapprove vaccine recommendations and remove career scientists. Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer who recently resigned, told lawmakers that Kennedy has censored science and politicized the agency—and should resign. The CDC has been in turmoil for weeks. The Health Department said that Monarez was fired for undermining the president’s agenda and that any changes to childhood vaccine recommendations would be based on “the latest available science.”"

 

The Wall Street Journal What's news

Openly gay CDC director used term 'pregnant people' and other ideological terms in his resignation letter

Good riddance Demetre Daskalakis! Maybe this possibly extreme, activist ideologue was a bit too much anyway to be a director at the CDC!

Apparently, his entire professional career is narrowly focused on HIV/AIDS and men's sexual health. Maybe a little too narrow for the CDC!

"... He said during his time at the CDC, he was a trusted voice for the LGBTQ community and the administration has been "reckless" in how it has been running the agency. ..."

"Eugenics [???] plays prominently in the rhetoric being generated and is derivative of a legacy ...

The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning.  My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so.  I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud.   I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur.  I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed. ...

I must also cite the recklessness of the administration in their efforts to erase transgender populations [???], cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research to support equity [???] as part of my decision. ..."

Former CDC official used term 'pregnant people' in resignation letter | Just The News "During his long social media post, he accused President Donald Trump of trying to erase the transgender community."

Source

Inside the CDC director’s ouster: Kennedy demanded acceptance of new vaccine policies; Susan Monarez refused

She is no hero! Rather she was a fool to accept the job! 

Was her main motivation to enter this title to her resume? I suspect so!

"Susan Monarez, less than a month into the job as CDC director, entered a meeting Monday with health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his deputy, Stefanie Spear. They asked for her resignation, citing concerns about insubordination and her integrity, including instances related to vaccine policy.

When she refused, Kennedy offered her another choice: Accept all recommendations from the agency’s vaccine advisory committee, whose new members he had hand-picked, and fire a number of high-level officials at the agency.  ..."

Analysis: What led to the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez | STAT "Kennedy insisted Monarez approve all recommendations from his hand-picked vaccine panel" ???

Susan Monarez

At least 600 CDC employees sent termination notices, some question timing

Good news! Shrink the bloated federal government! No agency should be exempted!

The U.S. was declared measles-free in 2000. What happened since then?

Food for thought! Was the declaration in 2000 premature and were some measles cases undetected?

Could the increase in measles cases in the US have something to do with the massive illegal immigration under the former 46th President? Just speculating, maybe I am wrong.

However, measles cases also picked up under President Trump's first term.

"As of March 13, 2025, a total of 301 confirmed* measles cases were reported by 15 jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Washington." according to CDC

The fleeting miracle of measles elimination | STAT

Source

CDC website scrubs HIV content following Trump diversity policy changes. Really!

What a piece of junk journalism! If the CDC indeed removed HIV/AIDS related content then someone at CDC clearly overreacted. Perhaps intentionally so to smear Trump (Hint: Trump Derangement Syndrome).

Pain Refugees: Collateral Damage of the War on Drugs

Food for thought! This is not an easy issue to deal with, i.e. individuals with chronic pain and the risk of becoming addicts.

When will we finally have better and lasting pain treatments available than frequently popping pain killer drugs!

As usual, healthy skepticism regarding single year comparisons is advised (in this case 1992).

"For much of the 21st century, public health officials and policymakers have blamed doctors for overprescribing opioids and causing the overdose crisis. In response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued pain management guidelines aimed at reducing opioid prescriptions. Most states have codified them into law.

Federal and local drug task forces have arrested doctors whom they accuse of overprescribing opioids. This has led to a situation where many physicians either undertreat pain or choose to abandon their long-term pain patients. As a result, opioid prescribing has dropped below 1992 levels, while overdose deaths among nonmedical users have skyrocketed.

This crackdown has also created a population of “pain refugees”—chronic pain patients who have lost or were abandoned by their doctor and are left searching for a doctor willing to treat them. Many, out of desperation, turn to the black market for relief, while others resort to suicide. ..."

Pain Refugees: Collateral Damage of the War on Drugs | Cato Institute

US Teen Tobacco Use Falls to 25-Year Low according to the CDC 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey

Good news! Children and teenagers try many things, but seldom get hooked.

One may wonder what are they using or experimenting perhaps instead of tobacco products?

"Roughly 8% of U.S. teens report using tobacco products — the lowest rate since 1999, according to 2024 federal estimates released on Thursday. ..."

From the abstract:

"Use of tobacco products in any form is unsafe, and nearly all tobacco product use begins during adolescence. CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analyzed data from the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey to determine tobacco product use among U.S. middle school (grades 6–8) and high school (grades 9–12) students. In 2024, current (previous 30-day) use of any tobacco product was reported by 

10.1% of high school students (representing 1.58 million students) and 

5.4% of middle school students (representing 640,000 students). Among all students, 

e-cigarettes were the most commonly reported tobacco product currently used (5.9%), followed by 

nicotine pouches (1.8%), cigarettes (1.4%), cigars (1.2%), smokeless tobacco (1.2%), other oral nicotine products (1.2%), heated tobacco products (0.8%), hookahs (0.7%), and pipe tobacco (0.5%). 

During 2023–2024, among all students, the estimated number who reported current use of any tobacco product decreased from 2.80 to 2.25 million students; e-cigarette use decreased (from 2.13 to 1.63 million students); and hookah use decreased (from 290,000 to 190,000 students). Among high school students, current use of any tobacco product decreased from 12.6% to 10.1% of students, and e-cigarette use decreased from 10.0% to 7.8%. Among middle school students, no statistically significant changes occurred. Evidence-based strategies can help prevent initiation and promote cessation of tobacco product use among U.S. youths."

Teen Tobacco Use Falls to 25-Year Low - Human Progress

Teen tobacco use falls to 25-year low (original news release)

Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students — National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2024 (CDC news release)

Youth E-Cigarette Use Drops to Lowest Level in a Decade

Like so many other human fads before! It was cool before it was cool!

Another nice example of alarmism and hysteria!

"Half a million fewer U.S. youth reported current use of e-cigarettes in 2024 compared to 2023, according to new data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) released today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The nationally representative data featured in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) includes findings on e-cigarette and nicotine pouch use among U.S. youth, two categories of tobacco products the FDA and CDC are monitoring closely, particularly regarding youth use and appeal.

NYTS is an annual school-based, self-administered survey of U.S. middle (grades 6–8) and high school (grades 9–12) students conducted Jan. 22 to May 22, 2024. Findings showed there was a significant drop in the number of U.S. middle and high school students who reported current (past 30 days) e-cigarette use – a decrease from 2.13 million (7.7%) youth in 2023 to 1.63 million (5.9%) youth in 2024. This decline was largely driven by reduced e-cigarette use among high schoolers (1.56 million to 1.21 million), with no statistically significant change in current e-cigarette use among middle school students within the past year. The number of youth who used e-cigarettes in 2024 is approximately one-third of what it was at its peak in 2019, when over five million youth reported current e-cigarette use. ..."

Youth E-Cigarette Use Drops to Lowest Level in a Decade | CDC Newsroom "Youth Use of Nicotine Pouches Remains Low"

Credits: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Global Health NOW

‘New era’ in war on cancer: 29.2% drop in death rates since 1999 in the U.S. according to long-term study by CDC

Good news! Cancer is history (soon)!

"The Centers for Disease Control issued a report in June that crunched a range of U.S. cancer statistics collected during the first two decades of this century. ... 

In fact, the report’s key finding is that the U.S. cancer death rate was about a third (29.2%) lower in 2022 than it was in 1999.” ..."

‘New era’ in war on cancer: 29.2% drop in death rates since 1999 – Baltimore Sun (behind paywall; I could not immediately find a better source)

Highlights from 2021 Cancer Incidence with Comparisons to Previous Years (the comparison with 1999 seems to be missing)

Credits: Human Progress weekly newsletter

CDC: Long COVID in Children: United States, 2022. It's rare!

One major reason why the global SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19 pandemic was relatively harmless was that children were least affected. Therefore, it is no surprise if the CDC documents that long Covid is rare among children.

Long Covid is in my opinion a very dubious or ambiguous term. For a hammer everything looks like a nail. For a doctor most everybody looks like a patient no matter how healthy or whether visiting or not. That is their business.

"Key findings

Data from the National Health Interview Survey

In 2022, 1.3% of children ever had Long COVID, and 0.5% of children had Long COVID at the time of interview (currently have Long COVID). Girls (1.6%) were more likely than boys (0.9%) to ever have Long COVID."

Products - Data Briefs - Number 479 - September 2023 (Unfortunately, no historical data is provided. How unprofessional by the CDC!)

Credits: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Global Health NOW

Survey: 18 million Americans say they have long COVID. Really!

A very dubious survey by the CDC! Looks like a case of hysteria! Caveat: I did not have time to really dig into this subject.

Who helps to disseminates such dubious news: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Global Health NOW

It is not quite clear when the survey was actually conducted. The survey results are presented at percentages not as total numbers. Thus, the 18 million is dubious too (e.g. the hyperlink to the data source in the article below is broken). So somebody extrapolated sample percentages into absolute population numbers.

On a daily basis, we have been inundated for a long time with a barrage of news of long Covid-19 effects etc. How much is real and truly related to Covid-19? So how much are respondents influenced by that?

"Today [9/26/2023], the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics released the 2022 National Health Interview Survey results, which show that roughly 18 million Americans said they have ever had long COVID, and 8.8 million said they currently have the condition. ...

In the current survey, 27,651 respondents were asked, "Did you have any symptoms lasting 3 months or longer that you did not have prior to having COVID-19?" [a very dubious and suggestive question] The current long-COVID definition was based on the presence of symptoms at the time of interview. ..."

"Key findings

Data from the National Health Interview Survey

• In 2022, 6.9% of adults ever had Long COVID and 3.4% had Long COVID at the time of interview (currently have Long COVID); women were more likely than men to ever have or currently have Long COVID.
• Adults ages 35–49 were the age group most likely to ever have (8.9%) or currently have (4.7%) Long COVID.
• The percentage of adults who ever had or currently had Long COVID varied by race and Hispanic origin.
• Adults with family incomes at 400% or more of the federal poverty level were less likely than those with family incomes at 200%–399% to ever have or currently have Long COVID.
• The percentage of adults who ever had Long COVID was lower in large central metropolitan areas compared with medium and small metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Current Long COVID was lowest in large central metropolitan areas."

Survey: 18 million Americans say they have long COVID | CIDRAP (secondary source)

Long COVID in Adults: United States, 2022 (primary news source, CDC NCHS)

 

U.S. Centers for Disease Control Gives Advice on Male Chest Feeding

What do you expect from a senile, demented, and corrupted 46th President!

"Multiple articles on the CDC website provide guidance. One article states “an individual does not need to have given birth to breastfeed or chestfeed.” It also encourages health care providers to “use terms that are inclusive of all gender identities such as ‘pregnant person,’ ‘breastfeeding parent,’ and ‘lactating person.’” ..."

CDC:

"Remember that: ...

Transgender and nonbinary-gendered individuals may give birth and breastfeed or feed at the chest (chestfeed). The gender identity or expression of transgender individuals is different from their sex at birth. The gender identity of nonbinary-gendered individuals does not fit neatly into either man or woman.

An individual does not need to have given birth to breastfeed or chestfeed.

Some families may have other preferred terminology for how they feed their babies, such as nursing, chestfeeding, or bodyfeeding."

CDC Gives Advice on Male 'Chest' Feeding

Plus a mom tattoo so the man can identifies the right chest?

Mandy Cohen, seen as next CDC director, would bring political chops to an agency lacking them

Political chops is exactly what we do not need at the CDC! I blogged here recently about this weird candidate!

Mandy Cohen, seen as next CDC director, would bring political chops to an agency lacking them

Picture of the day

A woman with a huge Anthony Fauci mask covering more than half of her face! What a weirdo! She id Dr. Mandy Cohen and the picture is from her Twitter account.

She is nominated by the senile and demented 46th President to become the next Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

Credits: Liz Wheeler: LOL LOSER: New CDC director wears mask with Fauci’s face

CDC Report describes locally acquired dengue cases in Arizona. Really!

A nice example on how fabricated alarmism is spread! A sleight of a large hand in action!

Cui bono? How about more money for research and treatment! 

Fact is, the referenced CDC report only mentions one patient! Notice they all stress locally acquired! However, the Arizona resident (the only patient mentioned in the CDC report) had traveled to Mexico before his infection. CDC claims, the Arizona resident visited Mexico for only 4 hours [????]. Sampling of mosquito pools found only one positive sample in 21 mosquito pools near the residence of the one patient.

Whether, the one patient was by any chance a recent illegal immigrant was not researched or discussed! Very little details are provided about the one patient reported by the CDC and the second patient reported CIDRAP. Not even the age, gender, or the usual Caucasian, Hispanic etc.!

I am not a doctor, but Dengue-like symptoms sounds very vague to me! The distinguishing symptoms are not even listed or mentioned!

CDC report: The only patient "was admitted to a hospital on October 19 [2022] for a dengue-like illness, 7 days after traveling to and remaining in Mexicali, Mexico for <4 hours.". What if the patient traveled to other parts of Mexico?

CDC supports "locally acquired" by stating "Maricopa County Environmental Services Department (MCESD) conducted retrospective testing for DENV in samples collected from 21 mosquito pools located within 5 miles (8 km) of patient A’s residence during October 1–November 3. A sample collected from one mosquito pool (pool A) on October 5 was positive for DENV. Whole genome sequencing by CDC’s Dengue Branch later revealed that closely related DENV-3 strains not known to be circulating in the patient’s travel region were identified in both patient A and pool A, suggesting local DENV transmission."

The Bloomberg School of Public Health reports: "Arizona dengue virus details: In a new CDC report, scientists described the transmission of 2 cases of locally acquired dengue virus infection in Maricopa County, Arizona in November last year. CIDRAP"

The University of Minnesota CIDRAP reports:

1. "Local scientists and their colleagues from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) detail two cases of locally acquired dengue virus (DENV) infection in November 2022 in Maricopa County, Arizona, according to a report today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)."
2. "The scientists then interviewed 73 people on November 17 through 19 and found that 12 had dengue-like symptoms in the previous 2 weeks and were tested. All tested negative on RT-PCR.
3. The investigators, however, conducted serum enzyme immunoassay for DENV immunoglobulin M testing on blood specimens from 53 interviewees, and 1 result was positive. The CDC confirmed DENV-3 by plaque reduction neutralization testing. This second person had not traveled in the 2 weeks before symptom onset."

 

Report describes locally acquired dengue cases in Arizona | CIDRAP

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Global Health NOW

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR): Notes From the Field: First Evidence of Locally Acquired Dengue Virus Infection — Maricopa County, Arizona, November 2022 (CDC report)

46th President created an Environmental Justice Index which "constitutes environmental and institutional racism". Really!

I am pretty sure the senile and demented 46th President has no clue what his administration is doing! This is also another example of junk journalism!

This new index is published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [???].

More propaganda and demagoguery paid for by the taxpayers!

"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has for decades ignored its responsibility to enforce civil rights laws, as I argued last year in a First Opinion essay. Doing nothing to protect minority populations from inequitable health harms resulting from the health care industry’s greenhouse gas emissions constitutes environmental and institutional racism.

HHS has now chosen to make matters worse by creating an Environmental Justice Index (EJI) that will do many things — except provide environmental justice.

In announcing the index, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra stated that “Too many communities . . . particularly low-income . . . and communities of color continue to bear the brunt of pollution.” HHS describes the EJI as “the first national, placed-based tool” to measure and map areas of the United States that are most at risk for the health effects of environmental issues. ..."

"Health equity

Health equity is the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Achieving this requires focused and ongoing societal efforts to address historical and contemporary injustices, overcoming economic, social, and other obstacles to health and healthcare, and eliminating preventable health disparities."

"The EJI presents data for each census tract. Census tracts are the smallest subdivisions of land for which data are consistently available. Each census tract represents a county and is home to an average of 4,000 people."

HHS’s Environmental Justice Index institutionalizes climate apartheid [???]

Environmental Justice Index | HHS.gov The Environmental Justice Index (EJI) is the first national, place-based tool designed to measure the cumulative impacts of environmental burden through the lens of human health and health equity.

CDC/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: Environmental Justice Index

CDC report: U.S. Teen Girls Experiencing Increased Sadness, suicide risk and Violence from 2011-2021

Little surprise given the following: 

1. The total and persistent overreaction of Western governments to the fairly harmless Covid-19 pandemic that among many other things shut down public schools
2. The daily barrage about so called "gender dysphoria" and transgender etc.
3. The celebrity and cult about the LGBTQ community
4. Which teenage girl likes to compete with biological males in sports or have biological males come into their bathroom or locker room?
5. What about social media?

How much ist the CDC and its staff itself under influence of these ideologies!

"New CDC report raises urgency to invest in schools as a vital lifeline to help struggling youth

Teen girls are experiencing record high levels of violence, sadness, and suicide risk

LGBQ+ teens continue to face extremely high levels of violence and mental health challenges

According to new CDC data [... 89 pages] released today [2/13/2023], nearly 3 in 5 (57%) U.S. teen girls felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021—double that of boys, representing a nearly 60% increase and the highest level reported over the past decade. ...
The new report also confirms ongoing and extreme distress among teens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning (LGBQ+). ...

Youth mental health has continued to worsen—with particularly stark increases in widespread reports of harmful experiences among teen girls:

1. Nearly 1 in 3 (30%) seriously considered attempting suicide—up nearly 60% from a decade ago.
2. 1 in 5 (18%) experienced sexual violence in the past year—up 20% since 2017, when CDC started monitoring this measure.
3. More than 1 in 10 (14%) had ever been forced to have sex—up 27% since 2019 and the first increase since CDC began monitoring this measure.
4. And what about the social media?

...
The report also found more than half (52%) of LGBQ+ students had recently experienced poor mental health and, concerningly, that more than 1 in 5 (22%) attempted suicide in the past year.  ..."

U.S. Teen Girls Experiencing Increased Sadness and Violence | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC

Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2011-2021