Vaccines

• Updated COVID-19 vaccines are approved for the fall, with insurance coverage for the 2026-27 season depending on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). • Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers must cover vaccines recommended by ACIP, but the panel has faced turmoil after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaced all 17 members in June 2025. • A federal judge has since stayed Kennedy's appointments, creating uncertainty regarding the committee's current composition and decision-making process.

• The FDA has approved updated COVID-19 vaccines specifically designed to target the XFG variant for the 2026-2027 season. • The new shots are rolling out to provide maximum protection against the evolving strain, with guidance available on eligibility and optimal timing for administration. • This update is critical for maintaining public immunity as the virus mutates, ensuring that vaccines remain effective against current circulating variants.

• The FDA has approved new COVID-19 vaccines for the 2026-2027 season, specifically designed to target the XFG variant. • The vaccines are approved for adults aged 65 and older, with eligibility extended to younger individuals in high-risk groups depending on the specific shot. • This update is critical for maintaining immunity against evolving strains and protecting vulnerable populations during the upcoming respiratory virus season.

• The FDA has approved updated COVID-19 vaccines designed to protect against the latest circulating strains of the virus. • Health officials emphasize that these vaccines are most effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalizations, and ICU admissions. • High-risk groups, including pregnant women and individuals with diabetes, asthma, cancer, or heart and mental health conditions, are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated.

• The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved updated Covid-19 vaccines on Thursday to target the dominant XFG variant. • This regulatory decision enables manufacturers to immediately begin shipping the new doses to doctors' offices and pharmacies nationwide. • The update is critical for maintaining immunity against evolving strains, though uncertainty persists regarding how insurance providers will cover the costs.

Decision allows manufacturers to begin shipping doses, but confusion remains about insurance coverageThe US Food and Drug Administration approved updated Covid-19 vaccines on Thursday, allowing manufacturers to begin shipping doses to pharmacies and doctors’ offices across the country.The FDA approved Moderna, Novavax-Sanofi and Pfizer-BioNTech’s updated Covid vaccines, the companies ⁠said on Thursday, ⁠after ​an advisory panel recommended that the shots should target ⁠the dominant XFG variant. Continue reading...

• Moderna and Merck announced on August 19, 2026, that their personalized mRNA vaccine, intismeran autogene, successfully passed a late-stage clinical trial. • The vaccine was used in combination with the immunotherapy drug Keytruda to effectively reduce the recurrence of melanoma, a form of skin cancer. • This milestone represents a significant breakthrough in oncology, demonstrating the potential for mRNA technology to transform both cancer treatment and prevention.

• Researchers are developing next-generation mRNA vaccines designed to direct the human immune system to attack and disassemble tumors tailored to an individual's specific cancer. • While current breakthroughs are promising for melanoma—which sees roughly 112,000 new U.S. cases annually—clinical trials are expanding to target hard-to-treat cancers of the lungs, bladder, kidney, and pancreas. • This shift represents a potential new era of personalized medicine that could revolutionize oncology by moving beyond traditional treatments to targeted immunotherapy.

• Merck and Moderna announced on Wednesday that their experimental cancer vaccine significantly reduced the return and spread of disease in a trial of over 1,000 melanoma patients. • The study focused on patients with high-risk localized tumors that had been surgically removed, aiming to prevent recurrence. • This breakthrough is significant as it could usher in a new wave of personalized cancer vaccines, with Moderna estimating thousands of patients could benefit shortly after approval.

• Donald Trump has issued orders directing the Department of Justice to target states and localities whose childhood immunization rules conflict with parental authority, religious freedom, and medical exemptions. • The orders include a call for the CDC to revise its vaccine recommendations to align with those of other developed nations and revive claims linking vaccines to autism, despite scientific refutation. • Critics argue these directives are dangerous as they encourage vaccine refusal, potentially placing millions of children at risk of preventable diseases.

The order cannot affect change, and is only ‘undermining trust in vaccines’ as CDC guidance remains the sameDonald Trump’s executive order on vaccines does not change the US recommendations for the shots – but experts say it does create confusion and doubt about vaccines, which will lead to more illness and possibly deaths among children and will make it harder for families and pediatricians to protect them.The executive order was an attempt to reinstate sweeping changes to the vaccine schedule made earlier this year by Robert F Kennedy Jr, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services and a longtime vaccine opponent – changes that were later halted by a federal judge. Continue reading...

• President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for American children to be immunized against 11 diseases, a reduction from the 17 recommended by the CDC. • The legal authority and practical implementation of this order remain unclear, as it contradicts established public health guidelines. • In separate Oval Office remarks, the President made controversial claims regarding "jihadists" and "communism" being elected in various locations.

White House has halted changing vaccine schedule as it is unpopular, but anti-vaxx Trump set on ‘alleviating autism’Donald Trump is pushing longtime vaccine opponent and current health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr to be more aggressive on cutting vaccines in the US, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal.Trump has a long record of anti-vaccine statements, but the White House recently put a hold on vaccine changes after polling indicated they were a losing issue in the midterm elections. Continue reading...

Andrea Shaw and husband appeared on RFK Jr-linked podcast after deaths in May last year of 18-month-oldsAn Idaho mother who said her 18-month-old twins died last year after receiving three vaccines has been charged with murder in their deaths, officials said last week.Andrea Shaw, 23, was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her toddlers, Tyson and Dallas, who were found dead in a shared bed on 1 May last year. Continue reading...

• A comprehensive review published in The Lancet reaffirms that approved mRNA vaccines are safe and highly effective across diverse populations, including children and immunocompromised patients. • Led by researchers from the University of British Columbia and Imperial College London, the study analyzed data from billions of doses, combining clinical trials with real-world surveillance. • The findings confirm that these vaccines significantly reduce documented SARS-CoV-2 infections, hospitalizations, and mortality within 14 to 42 days post-vaccination.

• Biotech companies including Soligenix, Moderna, Regeneron, and Aethlon Medical are accelerating the development of vaccines and therapeutics to combat a global outbreak of Bundibugyo ebolavirus in 2026. • Regeneron's maftivimab, a potent antibody found in the FDA-approved Inmazeb, has been recommended by the WHO's Therapeutics Advisory Group for use in clinical trials. • Aethlon Medical (Nasdaq:AEMD) is preparing to coordinate with global health authorities to deploy its Hemopurifier device as part of the medical response.

Reports say Texas recruits ill from outbreak, which comes weeks after defense secretary made flu vaccine optionalAn influenza outbreak has reportedly sickened more than 150 recruits in training at Lackland air force base in San Antonio, Texas.The outbreak comes just weeks after the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, ended mandatory flu vaccination for the military, citing the need for bodily autonomy for servicemembers. Continue reading...

• During the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly (WHA79) in May 2026, global health leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) to ensure universal vaccine access. • On the sidelines of the assembly, the Tuberculosis Vaccine Accelerator Council held its fourth meeting to coordinate efforts among funders, technical agencies, and civil society. • The council focused on accelerating the availability and access to novel TB vaccines specifically designed for adolescents and adults.

As Trump officials take aim at vaccine schedule, scientists encouraged by companies’ desire to continue coverageA group of insurers will continue covering routine vaccines through 2027 as the Trump administration once again takes aim at the shots and outbreaks of preventable illnesses such as measles and whooping cough lead to hospitalizations and deaths.Experts told the Guardian that the move has raised questions ahead of the November midterms, but certainly indicates that insurance companies believe vaccines are “safe and effective”. Continue reading...

• A rapidly widening epidemic of the Bundibugyo virus, a rare type of Ebola, is currently spreading across Africa. • A World Health Organization (W.H.O.) expert panel has recommended two monoclonal antibodies, maftimivab (by Regeneron) and MBP-134 (by Mapp Bio), for urgent clinical trials. • These treatments are significant because they utilize antibodies from survivors that can bind to glycoproteins across multiple strains, including Bundibugyo and Sudan viruses.

Executive order recognizes health department assessment as guide for federal government for childhood vaccinesDonald Trump signed an executive order acknowledging a recent scientific assessment by the Department of Health and Human Services on childhood vaccines as a guide for the federal government, the White House said on Friday.The order directs the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to review the HHS assessment and clinical data to update the vaccines schedule for children and adolescents, according to the text of the order. Continue reading...

Serious side effects from vaccines were rare, scientists found in studies funded by US taxpayer moneyThe US Food and Drug Administration has blocked the publication of several studies that found Covid-19 and shingles vaccines to be safe, according to a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Human Services.Agency scientists conducted the studies by analyzing millions of patient records and found that serious side effects from the vaccines were rare, the spokesperson confirmed. The studies – funded by taxpayer money and costing several million dollars – included research examining the safety of Covid-19 vaccines in 2023 and 2024. Continue reading...

Protesters decried Trump administration healthcare policies and direction of HHS under leadership of RFK JrAs tens of thousands of people assembled across the US and around the world for No Kings protests, about a thousand people gathered outside the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, on Saturday morning to protest cuts to medical research and the Trump’s administration’s policies on health.The rally follows a tumultuous year for the research agency, with devastating cuts to multi-year funding and outright terminations of grants, especially to research related to gender and race. The White House is now poised to cut the NIH’s budget by 20%, according to reporting by Roll Call on Friday, nearly one year after mass layoffs at health agencies. Continue reading...

US based Covid vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant people on ideology instead of evidence, critics saySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThere was scant data behind ending the Covid vaccine recommendation for pregnant people and children, according to internal memos made public because of a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).The memos overlooked hundreds of studies on the benefits and safety of Covid vaccination and set the precedent for making changes to vaccine recommendations based on ideology instead of evidence, critics say. Continue reading...