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Several Bills Filed to Weaken Vaccine Mandates as More Texas Families Opt Out of Immunizations
When speech pathologist Rebecca Hardy recalls her up-close seat to lawmaking during the 2015 state legislative session, she remembers how tough it was to find anyone interested in what she wanted: more choice for Texans when it came to getting vaccinated.
After forming Texans For Vaccine Choice the year before, she came to Austin to see if she could find lawmakers interested in policies to help parents who believe it’s their responsibility, not the government’s, to decide if and when a vaccination is administered to their child. “We were on the scene far before COVID was even a word that anybody knew and 10 years ago, we did kind of have to sneak around the Capitol, have these conversations about vaccine mandates in the shadows,” the Keller resident now recalls. “And it was really hard to find people willing to put their names on protective pieces of legislation.”
Today, Hardy’s group and others in the vaccine hesitancy or anti-vaccine space have the ears of state lawmakers, especially on the heels of Texans for Vaccine Choice’s successful push back on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations in the workplace in 2023.
While most of the vaccine bills 10 years ago were filed by Democrats to strengthen vaccine use, the opposite is now true — Republicans are filing most of the bills which aim to claw back vaccine requirements. There is even a House joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Texas Constitution that would preserve Texans’ right to refuse a vaccination.
CDC Ordered to Stop Working With WHO Immediately, Upending Expectations of an Extended Withdrawal
U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization (WHO), effective immediately.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official, John Nkengasong, sent a memo to senior leaders at the agency on Sunday night telling them that all agency staff who work with the WHO must immediately stop their collaborations and “await further guidance.”
Experts said the sudden stoppage was a surprise and would set back work on investigating and trying to stop outbreaks of Marburg virus and mpox in Africa, as well as brewing threats from around the world. It also comes as health authorities around the world are monitoring bird flu outbreaks among U.S. livestock.
The Associated Press viewed a copy of Nkengasong’s memo, which said the stop-work policy applied to “all CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements or other means — in person or virtual.” It also says CDC staff are not allowed to visit WHO offices.
Trump’s Reinstatement of Troops Booted Over COVID Vaccine Hailed as Win for Freedom: ‘Great Day for Patriots’
Retired U.S. Army bomb disposal expert Rep. Brian Mast praised President Donald Trump’s plan to reinstate service members booted for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine with the brush of a pen, signaling an end to the saga that saw thousands expelled during the pandemic. “[It’s a] great day for patriots, a great day for our service members, my brothers and sisters in arms,” the Florida Republican congressman told “Fox & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy.
“Let’s not forget… it wasn’t just the military. It was other government agencies as well, where they were essentially washing conservatives that were raising their hand, saying, ‘I don’t want to take this vaccine.’
“They were washing them out of government, washing them out of West Point and Naval Academy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine academies, washing them out from being on the next promotion boards for first sergeants, sergeants, majors or officers, and they were creating a system where the ones that were going to be giving promotion to the next classes of individuals were all going to be those that didn’t say, ‘No, I’m not a conservative, and you know, I’m okay with everything that you’re doing right now.’ That’s what was taking place.”
A White House fact sheet detailing the executive order says only 43 of the more than 8,000 service members discharged by the Biden administration and then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin returned to service after the vaccine mandate was repealed in 2023.
A Norovirus Vaccine Could Be On the Horizon as Cases Rise
Norovirus is raging across the U.S. this winter. Moderna might soon have a vaccine for it. A large phase three trial of the shot is underway, with results expected as soon as later this year or 2026. Moderna needs to see a certain number of cases before it can analyze the data and determine how well its vaccine works, putting the timeline in flux.
The 25,000-person study is enrolling ahead of schedule, said Doran Fink, Moderna’s clinical therapeutic area head for gastrointestinal and bacterial pathogens.
“I don’t know if it’s directly attributable to the increased incidence of norovirus this season, but we clearly have a lot of interest in participation in this trial,” Fink said.
Trump Administration Halts NIH Grant-Making Process
Scientific researchers are concerned after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) abruptly canceled numerous meetings essential to the fellowship and grant approval process earlier this week.
“At the present time, all Federal advisory committee meetings are canceled,” reads an internal email from the NIH shared with The Hill. “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. … We will get back in touch with you when we have further information. Thank you for your service to NIH.”
Some of the canceled meetings include study sections, which review the applications for NIH fellowships and grants, and advisory council meetings, which determines if an application should receive a recommendation for funding from an NIH institute or center.
A National Vaccine Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for Feb. 20-21 was one of the meetings canceled, as well as a meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria slated for Jan. 28-29, according to Stat News, which first reported the cancellations.
UK Confirms ‘Rare’ Human Case of Bird Flu
A “rare” human case of bird flu has been detected in England, the U.K. Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) announced on Monday.
“The person acquired the infection on a farm, where they had close and prolonged contact with a large number of infected birds. The risk to the wider public continues to be very low,” the agency said in a statement.
The individual, who caught the A(H5N1) infection in England’s West Midlands, is “well” and has been admitted to a High Consequence Infectious Disease unit, UKHSA said in a statement. The birds were infected with the DI.2 genotype, which is different to strains circulating among mammals and birds in the U.S., it added.
Bill Gates Issues Warning About Next Pandemic
Bill Gates said the chance of another pandemic in the next four years, and the world’s lack of preparedness for it, is a source of great concern. Newsweek has contacted the Gates Foundation, via email, for comment on behalf of the Microsoft co-founder.
Concerns about the next pandemic, and how prepared we are for it, have been rife since the COVID-19 pandemic plunged the world into unprecedented times in 2020. Gates, who has long been vocal about the threats of outbreaks of disease, is a major player in global health policies and initiatives.
Gates said he believes there is a 10-15% chance of a natural pandemic hitting in the next four years in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
‘A Dangerous Virus’: Bird Flu Enters a New Phase
When bird flu first struck dairy cattle a year ago, it seemed possible that it might affect a few isolated herds and disappear as quickly as it had appeared.
Instead, the virus has infected more than 900 herds and dozens of people, killing one, and the outbreak shows no signs of abating.
A human pandemic is not inevitable, even now, more than a dozen experts said in interviews. But a series of developments over the past few weeks indicates that the possibility is no longer remote.
NIH Interim Director Comes From Its Research Ranks but Is Known for Questioning COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Dr. Matthew Memoli, a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) researcher focused on flu and other respiratory viruses, has been named acting director of the nearly $50 billion agency.
A confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, hasn’t been scheduled yet. Though Memoli is an National Institutes of Health (NIH) insider, one source familiar with him noted his perspectives — particularly his opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates — make him more of an outsider at the agency.
In July 2021, Memoli wrote in an email to NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci that mandated vaccination for COVID-19 is “extraordinarily problematic,” the Wall Street Journal reported at the time, noting Memoli had himself declined to be vaccinated.
In a video discussion organized by the NIH later that year, Memoli noted the biggest risk for death from COVID-19 was among people who are elderly or have health conditions, and said requiring vaccination of those under 65 “clearly has diminishing returns.”
