Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Your Local Epidemiologist 8-26-26:Your Guide to Fall 2026 Vaccines

Here's Katelyn Jetelina with helpful information about the Fall 2026 vaccines. I'll be getting my flu shot over Labor Day weekend, as usual, and my Fall COVID vaccine some time after that.

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Your guide to fall 2026 vaccines
Katelyn Jetelina and Edward Nirenberg, Aug 26, 2026

Respiratory vaccines—for flu, RSV, and Covid-19—will be available at no cost this fall. This may be surprising to hear, given the eerie silence. (There will be no fall federal vaccine campaign.) But it’s happening, and keeping track of them isn’t easy. So here are the what, who, and when for each, informed by the most up-to-date science and policy.

Bottom line upfront: There are nuances to consider for those seeking maximum protection, but ultimately, the best vaccine is the one you receive.

Seasonal influenza (flu)

What: This fall’s vaccine covers three strains of seasonal flu and is offered by five manufacturers. All three strains were updated for 2026-2027, which is pretty unusual but should mean good protection. Selecting vaccine strains for rapidly changing viruses, like flu, is both an art and a science, so the vaccine formula doesn’t always align perfectly with the circulating virus. On average, flu vaccines reduce the risk of needing to go to the doctor by 30% to 60%.

The vaccines are all very similar, and you won’t gain much from shopping around. But for those looking for nuances:

Kids: The nasal spray flu vaccine may be a bit more effective. FluMist can now be taken at home.
Older adults: A study suggested that the adjuvanted flu vaccine (Fluad) might be more effective. The new mRNA flu vaccine, mFlusvia, may be more effective, but has more side effects. (See the YLE spotlight for more). The latter should be available for adults aged 50 and older (but will definitely be avaliable for 65+).

Who: Everyone 6 months and older. Special formulations provide added protection for older adults. Children under 9 years old should receive two doses, one month apart, for their first flu vaccination (but only one dose per season is needed after this).

When: Protection wanes throughout the season, so October is the best time to get vaccinated. The complete list of timing recommendations for specific populations (pregnant people, older adults, young children) is available here.

RSV vaccine for older adults

What: This season, there are three RSV vaccines: GSK, Pfizer, and Moderna. There are pros and cons to each:

GSK and Pfizer use traditional biotechnology (protein-based), which was available last year, so we have lots of “real world” data confirming safety and effectiveness. There is a small (but real) risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome—the risk is about the same as with flu vaccines.
Moderna’s is an mRNA vaccine. It did not have a Guillain-Barre syndrome safety signal, but protection wanes more quickly.

Who: This is not an annual vaccine—if you got one before, you do not need one this year. Studies have shown that getting a second dose doesn’t meaningfully enhance protection so far (although scientists are following this in real time and it may change in the future). People aged 50 and older with high-risk conditions and everyone over 75 years should get one dose.

When: Getting one now should protect you throughout the entire season (and then some).

RSV vaccine for pregnancy

What: One vaccine is available: Pfizer’s ABRYSVO. Protection is passed from the mother to the baby, so the baby is protected in the first 6 months of life, which is the riskiest time for severe RSV. Thousands of pregnant women got it last year, confirming the safety and high effectiveness (75-89%).

Who: Pregnant women during weeks 32-36.

When: September to January. This vaccine can be given simultaneously with other routine vaccines for pregnancy (Tdap, Covid-19, and flu). Some data show that getting an RSV vaccine at the same time as Tdap may reduce the antibody response to pertussis. So it may be worth considering getting the Tdap vaccine a few weeks before, but there is no formal recommendation.

RSV monoclonal antibody for infants

What: Monoclonal antibodies are not a vaccine (i.e., they don’t teach the body to make an immune response)—they are a preventive medication, providing antibodies directly and proactively. Real-world data continue to show that severe RSV in infants who received monoclonal antibodies was drastically reduced; one study achieved 90% effectiveness. This year, there are two options: nirsevimab or clesrovimab.

Who: All infants under 8 months should get it for their first RSV season, unless the mother received the RSV vaccine during pregnancy. High-risk children between 8 months and 19 months should also get it. If the mother got the RSV vaccine during pregnancy, getting a monoclonal antibody is not recommended unless the infant is at very high risk.

When: Generally as close to RSV season as possible, which is typically between October and March. Protection holds up for at least 5 months.

Covid-19 vaccine

What: The fall Covid-19 vaccines have an updated formula targeting XFG, an Omicron subvariant. Updated vaccines have consistently provided people 30-60% additional protection against urgent care visits or hospitalization compared to people who didn’t get the vaccine.

Three vaccines are on the market:

Pfizer’s COMIRNATY Covid-19 vaccine for those 5 years and older
Moderna’s SPIKEVAX for those 6 months and older or mNEXSPIKE for those 12 years and older
Novavax’s NUVAXOVID for those 12 years and older

Who: Professional organizations recommended the following last year, and I would be surprised if it changed this year. (But we will get a formal update at the beginning of September. I will update you if it has changed.)

Kids: Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that all children under 2 years old get vaccinated, as well as high-risk children or those living with someone who is high-risk.
Pregnant women: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommended that pregnant women receive the vaccine at any point during pregnancy, when planning to become pregnant, in the postpartum period, or while lactating.
Adults: The American College of Physicians (ACP) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) recommended the vaccine for adults and immunocompromised patients.

When: If you were recently infected, wait 4-6 months. It doesn’t hurt if you get it earlier, but some research shows that waiting allows our antibody factories to update more effectively. If you were not recently infected, the timing is a tough call. Either get it now—we are in the middle of a wave—or wait to increase protection against the winter wave (which may be closer to November).

FAQs

Can I get the vaccines at the same time? Yes, this is called co-administration, and it’s recommended for convenience (you don’t have to visit the pharmacy or doctor twice). Studies have been conducted on the safety and effectiveness of co-administration. In one database, about 454,000 people got the flu and Covid-19 vaccines. Both worked great. The rate of side effects was the same or a little higher among those who co-administered; however, no specific safety concerns were identified. It’s unclear if there’s data for co-administration of two mRNA vaccines.
Will vaccines be free for patients? Yes. Historically, insurance companies rely on ACIP—an external committee to CDC that determines vaccine policy in the U.S.—but there won’t be an ACIP for fall due to a legal battle between AAP and RFK Jr. Regardless, private insurance companies said these vaccines will be covered without cost sharing. Medicare shouldn’t differ either; neither should the Vaccines for Children federal program.
Will all vaccines be available in all states? Yes. In some states, it may be harder to get a Covid-19 vaccine at a pharmacy due to linkage to ACIP for pharmacists’ scope of practice, but a lot of pharmacies and states are working hard so this doesn’t happen. Be patient.
Will Covid-19 vaccines be available to children? Yes, and parents should continue to request them from their child’s pediatrician. We are hearing that fewer pediatric offices are ordering these vaccines in bulk because of decreased demand.
Who will release guidance on fall vaccines? This is typically the federal government’s job, but the Vaccine Integrity Project, in collaboration with professional organizations, will review the evidence instead. This should be out in early September (but I don’t expect any big changes from last year).
Does the new executive order impact access to these vaccines? No—the EO was specifically about childhood vaccinations. Regardless, at this time, there are no changes yet to which vaccines are covered or available. Families can still access all vaccines, pediatricians should continue offering vaccines, and these vaccines remain covered without cost sharing under current law.

Bottom line

Getting vaccines is one of the best things you can do this fall and winter to stay healthy and minimize disruption to school, work, and travel. As always, for specific questions or guidance, be sure to talk with your healthcare provider.

Love, YLE

Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) comprises a team of experts, ranging from physicians to immunologists to epidemiologists to nutritionists, working together with one goal: to “translate” ever-evolving public health science so that people are well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. The YLE suite of newsletters reaches over 475,000 people across more than 132 countries. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members.

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Your Local Epidemmiologist:The Dose, 8-25-26

Here's Dr Katelyn Jetelina with another important issue of The Dose.

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Foodborne illness increase? Common cold, Covid-19 summer wave, and more.

The Dose (August 25)

Katelyn Jetelina

Aug 25, 2026

School is coming into session, and with it come the cute photos (my youngest is now a kindergartener!) and the transformation into walking petri dishes. We are already seeing the common cold start to increase. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 wave and the season of foodborne illnesses continue to march on. Are we having an unusual year for foodborne outbreaks? I dig into the data.

Also, there may soon be an incredibly cool mRNA treatment for skin cancer, and other good news.

Here’s what’s going on in the world of health and, most importantly, what it means for you.

Disease weather report

Common colds are increasing again

This past week, we saw a large increase in the number of people testing positive for the common cold. This is typical for this time of year as school ramps up. Runny noses should peak by mid-September, then decline, allowing other viruses, like the flu and RSV, to take over.

Weekly percent positive tests for respiratory viruses. Source: CDC; Annotated by Your Local Epidemiologist

What this means for you: If you’re sick, it’s most likely the common cold. Rest and fluids really do help boost your immune system.

Covid-19 summer wave continues to grow

Covid-19 in wastewater—one measure of community transmission—is low nationally but sharply increasing in the West and South. Other metrics, such as emergency department visits, show the same trend, with numbers increasing across all states. There’s no doubt we are in a summer wave.

Covid-19 wastewater levels across the United States. Source: Biobot; Annotated by Your Local Epidemiologist

The group most impacted in the emergency department is kiddos under 5 years old. However, those don’t necessarily result in hospitalizations—the group with the highest Covid-19 hospitalization rate remains those over 65 years old.

Emergency room visits for Covid-19. Source: CDC.

What this means for you: If you’re high risk, it’s worth seeing if you can get a Covid-19 vaccine. Unfortunately, I’m hearing from many of you that availability is limited, as pharmacies and clinical offices are waiting for the updated fall vaccine formula. This should be available in September. (Our systems not matching up with the optimal protection window seems like a big policy failure.)

Wearing a mask in crowded indoor areas can help prevent illness.

Food recalls list

A new food recall seems to be coming every week, which is overwhelming to keep track of. So, I tried to summarize the recalls below, organizing them by risk to bring you some clarity on what to pay attention to and what not to.

Red = check your fridge; yellow = check, but less risky because there are no illnesses yet; footnote = FYI: recalls, because they are one-offs.

What this means for you: When you see news of another food recall, keep in mind that they can vary substantially:

Severity. Some recalls are based on sick people; others are just routine testing catching contamination.
Scope. One state vs. nationwide. The scariest-sounding details (like glass in a fruit bar) are usually isolated, one-time incidents.

This means how much you should worry and specifically what you should do varies, too.

Spotlight: Are we having a higher rate of foodborne outbreaks?

It sure feels like it. Everywhere you look, there is a viral social media post or a news headline about another contaminated food.

An increased rate of foodborne outbreaks is certainly not out of the realm of possibilities. When the public health systems meant to catch and stop this stuff are cut (less funding, less staff, less historical knowledge, and less leadership), outbreaks can, and will, emerge between the cracks. And people need to know if those cracks are making them less healthy and safe.

So, I turned to the data. This is the data story that I’m seeing:

We have a lot of foodborne illnesses each year.

This is a constant, background feature of our food systems. CDC estimates that 1 in 6 people get sick each year. Many people wait it out at home, thinking it’s a stomach bug, and are fine a few days later, but this does result in over 130,000 hospitalizations a year.

Recall counts are average this year, but that’s ambiguous.

The number of food recalls this year is, surprisingly, average. In the past 10 years, we have 400-800 annual recalls. This year we have had 483. This is not the lowest year, as the FDA touted. (They counted drugs, devices, and food recalls, not just food.)

The problem is that “number of recalls” is a terrible metric because we don’t know what we don’t know. We could truly be having more foodborne illnesses, but just not catching them (and thus not recalling them).

Figure source: Bill Marler; thanks to Susan Mayne for flagging.

Severity classification is too early to tell.

Recalls are categorized on a scale from Class I (very severe) to Class III (less severe). So if this is a bad year, we would have more severe classifications. But classifications are delayed, and so this data is incomplete. So far, the classification rates are no more severe than in previous years.

Size of recalls are very hard to ignore.

Cyclospora was likely the largest foodborne outbreak in history, after accounting for undercounting. In the first half of this year, 37.18 million lbs of food were recalled, the highest in the past 10 years (a 2,432% increase over the previous year).

This is not normal.

The environment is loud and complex.

Low trust in government, viral algorithms, an increasingly political and polarized world, and mass media barely surviving off of clicks. All of this increases anxiety, frustration, questions, and confusion, all at once. This could certainly be contributing to the feeling that there are more outbreaks than normal.

A recent increase in the number of national news media outlets publishing on foodborne illness. Source: YLE Media Cloud.

So are we seeing more foodborne outbreaks right now? The answer is complicated and hard to pin down, but recent data doesn’t look great.

I’m most concerned about how the whole picture is affecting healthy eating behavior. People are eating less produce, which is also a massive public health problem.

What this means for you: Keep buying produce, but make sure you continue to wash it (and scrub it if it has rivets). Watch for symptoms and, if you’re high risk (pregnant, older, immunocompromised), be sure not to tough it out at home if symptoms develop; call your clinical care team, as there may be a treatment available.

Good news

mRNA biotechnology for melanoma cancer. This treatment (not a preventive vaccine) is insanely cool. It’s customized for every patient. Scientists take a sample of the tumor, sequence its DNA by reading its exact mutation fingerprint, and then create an mRNA vaccine that teaches the immune system to attack up to 34 targets on that tumor. It was also combined with another drug that helps stop cancer from hiding in the immune system. In the clinical trial, patients who got the new treatment had markedly lower risk of recurrence, metastasis, or death. This is just the topline data, and full results will come soon.
- Extra good news: The treatment is also in nine clinical trials for lung, bladder, pancreatic, and kidney cancers.
U.S. death rate fell. According to new and very preliminary data from CDC, the age-adjusted death rate fell by 4.6% in 2025 compared to 2024. It decreased across almost all sociodemographic groups, except among American Indians and Alaska Natives. There is still a lot of work to do.

Bottom line

School is in session, and the bugs will be too. In the meantime, stay on top of recalls and vaccines while we all navigate this really confusing time in our country.

Love, YLE

Hakeem Jeffries Just Redeemed Himself With This Statement

Hakeem Jeffries finally sounded like a leader rather than an inciter for a change, with this statement regarding Hasan Piker's threat of violence towards American Jews. Whatever Jared Kushner said to him during their secret meeting must have worked, at least temporarily.

While this statement won't stop the Jew-hatred of the Democratic Socialists and their supporters, it was important that a high-ranking Democrat make it, and I respect that.

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Jeffries blasts Piker’s claims that American Jews are inciting antisemitic violence

House Minority Leader: ‘There is zero justification for threats against the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters at a moment of rising hate’

By Marc Rod, JewishInsider, August 24, 2026

"House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) issued a strong rejection of antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker’s comments last week that Jewish supporters of Israel are inciting antisemitic violence against themselves, though he did not name Piker personally.

“The malicious claim that American Jews are inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and antisemitic,” Jeffries wrote on X on Monday. “There is zero justification for threats against the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters at a moment of rising hate. We will fight the cancer of antisemitism with the fierce urgency of now.”

"The comments mark the most prominent denunciation of Piker from a Democratic leader thus far, following criticisms of the streamer from other Democratic lawmakers and moves by some who have affiliated or campaigned with Piker to distance themselves from his comments.

"Jeffries’ statement was notably more direct and tougher than the response of Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Democratic Senate nominee who campaigned with Piker in the closing week of the primary. El-Sayed earlier on Monday put out a statement distancing himself from the streamer without addressing the substance of Piker’s antisemitic remarks."

Monday, August 24, 2026

Lindsay Clancy Is a Triple Child-Killer, NOT A Celebrity

Miranda Devine has written an excellent column about the normalization of the murder of children, as well as the sick support of women who admirer killers.

This is another Luigi, but even worse. She strangled her own three children to death, yet her supporters demand "justice for Lindsay". Where's the justice for the kids she murdered? In our sick society where anything goes, apparently nobody cares about them.

She could have chosen to hand her children over to her mother, a neighbor, the fire station. Instead, she chose to strangle them to death. It's too bad her own suicide attempt didn't occur first.

She doesn't deserve sympathy. Those kids do. The only thing she deserves is life in prison, because unfortunately nobody will give her the death penalty.

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Miranda Devine: Lindsay Clancy's sick fans are just normalizing the horror of a mother killing her three children

New York Post 8-23-26

The bizarre fandom around Lindsay Clancy is the latest example of a moral rot infecting a small cohort of conspiracy-minded, self-engrossed women.

In a clear case of female empathy gone awry, they have transformed a Massachusetts nurse who strangled her three babies into the sole victim in this tragedy, while demonizing their poor father, Patrick.

The murdered children, Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months, barely get a mention in the outpouring of support for Lindsay, who has become a vehicle for the “TikTok Moms’ ” own fake victimhood.

Lindsay Clancy supporters gather in a circle for a moment of silence at a vigil outside Plymouth Superior Court on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Lindsay has pleaded not guilty to the 2023 murder of her children who she methodically strangled, one by one, with exercise bands after sending Patrick out to pick up dinner and medications. She does not dispute that she killed the children but claims she was “suffering from psychosis at the time.”

The prosecution contends she “acted intentionally, rationally, and swiftly to accomplish a very specific goal — to kill . . . She knew exactly what she was doing.”

The five-week trial has been televised to an increasingly obsessive audience of true crime nuts, assorted snoops and a disturbing number of women who have taken to filming themselves holding babies and whining about how hard it is to be a mom.

Some women even caption their TikTok videos “Same, Lindsay.”

It’s a twisted form of attention-seeking in the guise of empathy. These women are normalizing the horror of a mother killing her children, making it seem like a natural response to the everyday challenges of child-rearing, which far-less privileged women have managed to navigate since the dawn of time, like every other challenge in life.

‘We are all Lindsay’

Lindsay fans have raised almost $1 million in the name of her parents, and hundreds dressed in pink and rallied for her outside the court last week.

“We are all Lindsay” is their sick message.

One woman sobbed on camera that Lindsay can’t hug her children’s stuffed toys because her cruel husband supposedly threw them away. But what about the children who can’t hug their toys? The father who can’t hug his children?

It’s the same inversion behind the Luigi Mangione fangirls, the London mob who valorized Cambridge hoaxer Jason Arday and the demonization of Erika Kirk.

The Lindsay frenzy goes hand in hand with the left’s upending of the moral order, in which sympathy is reserved for murderers, rapists and illegal migrant child molesters while police must be defunded, ICE abolished and prisons closed.

The Clancy trial is simply a promotional vehicle for this new amorality.

There is a soap opera pathos to this real-life drama of a perfect family brutalized by unspeakable tragedy.

Each day, the people who loved the children best have been called to the witness box: the husband, the parents, the in-laws, the sister, the friends, the nanny — all with the same haunted look. You wonder at the public interest of televising their private grief.

Patrick’s father, Chris Clancy, described them as “the all-American family” and praised Lindsay as a “very, very good mother.”

True anguish

But unlike a soap opera, there are no easy villains in this case, apart from the one person who committed the crime, whose suffering is impossible to discount.

Lindsay, 36, presents as a sympathetic figure in court. She is in a wheelchair because a suicide attempt left her paralyzed from the waist down. She sits wan and mostly silent, quietly sobbing when the children are mentioned, her face half-hidden by her long, lustrous brown hair.

In a moment that encapsulates the heartbreak of this family cataclysm, she broke down one day during graphic autopsy testimony, whimpering “I can’t do this” as a medical examiner described the ligature marks around Cora’s neck and the broken blood vessels in her eyes and said it would have been a painful death for the little girl.

Only a heart of stone could fail to be moved by Lindsay’s anguish.

But she showed her children no mercy that day and this trial is for them. Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham makes that point to the jury by wearing bows in her hair every day in memory of Cora who loved big bows in her soft blonde hair.

All three children died the same painful way; Dawson first, then Cora and finally baby Callan, who was still alive when paramedics found him but died in the hospital.

After strangling her children, Lindsay left them in the basement while she went upstairs to her bedroom, slit her wrists and throat and threw herself out the second-story window onto the snow-covered lawn below where her husband found her when he returned from the errands she had sent him on.

You wonder how a woman could inflict such unimaginable cruelty on her husband, let alone her children.

First responders on the scene described primal howls of pain coming from the basement when Patrick found his babies after paramedics arrived to treat his wife.

Demonized dad

Evidence before the court is that the cuts to Lindsay’s wrist and neck were superficial, leading the prosecution to suggest that it was a fake suicide attempt, which the defense denies. She almost died.

Lindsay has said she heard a voice instructing her to kill the kids and her lawyers claim she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare ailment that usually occurs immediately after childbirth, not eight months later.

Patrick, 38, is admirably stoic in his testimony but when asked to describe each of his children, he could barely get the words out. He and his parents have been remarkably sympathetic to Lindsay in their testimony, describing her as a devoted mother. He comes across as a patient, thoughtful husband who did everything humanly possible to help his wife with an illness he couldn’t fully fathom.

He has since remarried, which is deemed a capital offense by the Lindsay fans who interpret his stoicism as guilt.

Lisa Rinna, the pneumatic-lipped actress of “Real Housewives” fame, is typical of this halfwit crew, and took to social media last week to allege: “Patrick’s the one who did it . . . Not Lindsay. Patrick did it. Because [I] heard that women, typically, don’t strangle.”

It’s hard to understand why the grieving father is subject to such vitriol, other than the fact that he’s a man, which is a crime in itself to the perpetually angry TikTok brigades.

Closing arguments begin this week so we will soon see if the jury finds Lindsay mad or bad. Either way she will be locked away for a long time, whether in jail or a psychiatric facility.

That’s sad, but her children deserve more sympathy for the lives they never had a chance to live.

Dr Ruth Report 8-23-26

I was really angry to read about Mike Hoerger's report of the CDC deliberately downplaying the severity of COVID by making the levels appear "artificially low" by "bluewashing". (See second paragraph and charts). If this is really going on, then the CDC is deliberately gaslighting the public instead of doing its job of disease control!

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Dr. Ruth Report, 8/23/26

Summer COVID wave. Long COVID with abnormal retinal blood vessels, brain perivascular spaces, and gut microbiome signatures during acute infection.

Ruth Ann Crystal MD

Aug 23, 2026

The summer COVID wave is here, especially in the Gulf South and Western states. Michael Hoerger estimates that every 1 in 136 people is currently infected with COVID nationally, with hot spots in Texas (1 in 20 people), Mississippi (1 in 23 people), California (1 in 42 people) and Hawaii (1 in 40).

Dr. Hoerger also posted, “On Friday, the US CDC arbitrarily shifted higher COVID [wastewater] levels into lower categories depicted with cooler colors.” So Texas, with 1 in every 20 people currently infected, would have been labeled “Very High” a week ago, but is now erroneously labeled as “High” by the CDC.

Wastewater

From: WastewaterSCAN

CDC wastewater COVID data through 8/15/26:

Acute COVID infections, General COVID info

Post-COVID impairment of T cell responses to community-acquired pathogens can be modified by activating cellular metabolism | PLOS Pathogens 7/30/26

Researchers from the University of Chicago and Northwestern tracked blood samples from 31 healthy people before and after COVID infection and found that memory T cells lost the ability to properly respond to common pathogens like influenza, Staphylococcus aureus, and chickenpox virus. Post-COVID plasma showed depleted carnitine and TCA cycle metabolites needed for energy production, and 93% of participants had impaired mitochondrial function in at least one pathogen response. Metformin and ubiquinol partly restored the deficit in vitro, suggesting existing drugs may be helpful.

SARS-CoV-2 Associated Shifts in the Upper Respiratory Tract Mycobiome in Non-hospitalized Cases | Mycopathologia 8/19/26

Researchers at CSIR-NEERI examined the upper respiratory fungal communities of non-hospitalized COVID cases and found notable shifts in composition, including higher levels of Candida, Malassezia, and Aspergillus and increased overall fungal diversity. These changes reflect shifts in microbial colonization rather than active fungal infection.

Pediatrics

Cardiovascular Involvement of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children | Journal of Cardiovascular Echography 8/20/26

Italian researchers studied 29 pediatric MIS-C patients with cardiac complications (pericarditis, valvulitis, myocardial dysfunction, and coronary artery dilation) and found “MIS-C with cardiovascular involvement has a substantial incidence of acute myocardial dysfunction, particularly in patients with higher levels of TroponinT and BNP and in those who developed macrophage activation syndrome (MAS).” MAS corresponded to a 12x greater risk of adverse outcomes. Subtle imaging abnormalities remained detectable beyond seven months in approximately 10% of the cohort, underscoring the need for extended cardiac follow up in children who have MIS-C.

Vaccine imprinting drives increased SARS-CoV-2 variant infection in children | BioRxiv 8/14/26

NIH Vaccine Research Center researchers studied 108 children and found that those whose immune systems were first shaped by Omicron developed measurable gaps in protection against a later variant. The results suggest pediatric vaccination strategies may benefit from broader initial variant coverage rather than relying on a single circulating strain.
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Vaccines

Pre-vaccine sentinel antibodies predict blunted vaccine responses | Cell Press Blue 8/20/26

Researchers at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute analyzed blood samples from more than 4,000 people and found “pre-existing antibodies to common microbes, including Staphylococcus aureus, respiratory syncytial virus, and human respirovirus 3, consistently predicted post-vaccination antibody responses in both healthy and immunosuppressed populations. These broadly prevalent antimicrobial antibodies represent sentinel antibodies that may serve as biomarkers of system-level humoral immune competence.” Sentinel antibodies may help guide personalized vaccine care.

Mode of T cell priming durably shapes the TCR repertoire, effector function and α4β1 integrin expression of human virus specific CD4+ T cells | bioRxiv 8/20/26

University of Oxford scientists studied 14 participants and found that natural SARS-CoV-2 infection produced lasting changes in spike-specific CD4+ T cells detectable 3 to 4 years later, marked by elevated α4β1 integrin expression and cytotoxic programming. In contrast, vaccine-based priming steered CD4+ T cell memory toward follicular helper and Th1 phenotypes, demonstrating that how the immune system first encounters an antigen durably determines the character of the T cell response it generates.

Immune imprinting in a changing world | Nature Immunology 8/14/26

Researchers cataloging more than 1,000 antibodies found that Omicron exposure activated previously untapped B cell clones targeting new regions of the virus while also reawakening older immune memory. This dual response produced antibodies that were both potent against the variant and able to recognize a broader range of viral targets.

Long COVID

👁️ Microvascular remodeling and endothelial dysfunction across the post-COVID-19 spectrum: a prospective observational case-control study | BMC Medicine 8/21/26

TUM School of Medicine and Health researchers studying 300 participants found that Long COVID was associated with reduced retinal vessel dilation and narrower arterioles, with the most pronounced changes observed in those meeting ME/CFS criteria. Elevated levels of the adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in these patients indicate that dysfunction of the blood vessel lining persists well beyond the acute phase of COVID infection.

Circulating MicroRNA ratios as diagnostic biomarkers for long COVID with an independent validation cohort | Communications Medicine 8/21/26

A study from the Medical University of Vienna analyzed serum microRNAs in 206 Long COVID patients and 71 uninfected controls and identified two circulating microRNA ratios (hsa-miR-484/hsa-miR-126-3p and hsa-miR-345-5p/hsa-miR-223-3p) that were reproducibly reduced in Long COVID patients across both a training cohort and an independent validation cohort. “hsa-miR-484 has been reported in the context of mitochondrial and endothelial dysfunction, while hsa-miR-126-3p plays a central role in angiogenesis and vascular inflammation.” Machine learning methods confirmed that these two ratios may serve as diagnostic biomarkers, although the AUC was only 0.68.

Gut microbiome signatures during acute infection are associated with long COVID | Gut Microbiomes 8/20/26

Researchers at Mayo Clinic analyzed 799 outpatients and found that individuals who went on to develop Long COVID showed measurable differences in gut microbiome composition within the first month of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The most pronounced microbial changes were tied specifically to gastrointestinal symptoms, sensory disturbances, and fatigue among those who developed the condition, which affects an estimated 10 to 30% of people after a mild COVID infection.

These findings raise an important question: Could interventions targeting the gut microbiome during or shortly after acute infection reduce the risk of Long COVID? Clinical trials would be needed to determine whether prebiotics, probiotics, or other microbiome-directed treatments have any preventive benefit.

Intestinal flagellin drives multisystem inflammation through TLR5-IL-15-ARA axis | Gut 8/20/26

Chinese scientists studied 558 people with inflammatory conditions including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Long COVID found that a gut bacteria protein called flagellin triggers a chain reaction in immune cells that was associated with and may contribute to systemic inflammation, including in the Long COVID group. Flagellin activates TLR5 positive neutrophils, which release IL-15 through neutrophil extracellular traps and prompt macrophages to produce arachidonic acid (ARA). When the researchers blocked the IL-15-ARA axis in mice, lung fibrosis was significantly reduced, pointing toward a potential therapeutic target for Long COVID and related systemic inflammatory conditions.

Molecular simulation reveals how the host thromboinflammatory C-type lectin receptor CLEC2 interacts with the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 | Scientific Reports 8/19/26

Researchers from India used computational simulations to model how SARS-CoV-2’s receptor-binding domain docks onto CLEC2, a platelet receptor linked to thromboinflammation. The simulations identified multiple binding sites and contact points, offering insight into mechanisms behind COVID-associated clotting disorders and neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation. Lab testing is needed to confirm these computational findings.

🫀 From Multi-Omics to Mechanism: Nucleocapsid–RCHY1–JUNB Axis Underlies SARS-CoV-2 Related Atrial Fibrillation Vulnerability | Europace 8/14/26

Researchers from Nanjing Medical University found that the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein blocks the breakdown of JUNB through the RCHY1 pathway, activating TNF-alpha and NF-kB signaling that promotes scarring in the heart’s atria. This cascade appears to raise the risk of atrial fibrillation after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

🫀 Systems biology analysis reveals miRNA–mRNA networks associated with cardiomyocyte responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection | npj Systems Biology and Applications 8/14/26

University of São Paulo researchers examined 29 autopsied hearts and 12 blood samples from COVID-19 patients and found immune cell infiltration, cardiomyocyte death, and fibrotic scarring in cardiac tissue. Lower blood levels of miR-29a correlated with activation of profibrotic gene programs, pointing to a regulatory role for this small RNA in COVID-related cardiac scarring.

Lung epithelial endothelin-1 drives iron dysregulation and skeletal injury after SARS-CoV-2 infection | Cell Reports 8/15/26

Hong Kong Polytechnic University researchers analyzed 27 lung samples and tissue from 8 cartilage donors and found SARS-CoV-2 spike protein persisting in cartilage even as nucleocapsid levels declined. The findings point to a lung-to-joint signaling pathway where endothelin-1 disrupts iron balance and damages cartilage and growth plates after infection.

🧠 Perivascular spaces in neuropsychiatric post-COVID syndrome | Research Square 8/18/26

Researchers from Germany studied 116 participants and found post-COVID syndrome was linked to larger MRI-visible perivascular spaces in the brain with age, especially near the motor cortex. Longer illness duration corresponded with greater perivascular space (PVS) volume, pointing to neurovascular changes as a possible driver of lasting neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Cardiovascular, Renal, and Pulmonary Risks of Long COVID: A Retrospective Cohort Study Stratified by Age and Sex | Journal of the American Heart Association 8/21/26

Researchers from the University of Iowa analyzed data from 315,612 adults and found that Long COVID elevated the risk of heart, kidney, and lung conditions across all age groups. Younger adults faced the steepest relative risks, with young women showing increased cardiovascular and renal risks, while young men showed 10x the risk of pulmonary fibrosis.

Measles

CDC Measles update

As of August 20, 2026, 2,777 confirmed measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026.

Johns Hopkins US Measles Tracker shows measles cases from the last two week:

Each measles case in 2025 US outbreak cost almost $60,000, study estimates, or $134 million total | CIDRAP 8/20/26

A new study shows that each measles case in the 2025 U.S. outbreak cost about $59,000 including the public health response. In 2025, those costs equal $134 million not including unreported cases. The 2026 outbreak so far is estimated to have cost more than $150 million.

Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

As of 8/20/26 according to the Ministère de la Communication et Médias/RDC, there have been 5,375 confirmed Ebola cases in the DRC, including 1,167 recoveries and 2,557 deaths. 737 patients are currently in isolation or hospitalized. The case fatality rate is 47.6%.

Ebola outbreak becomes deadliest in Congo history | The Hill 8/18/26

Congo’s Ebola outbreak is now the country’s deadliest on record, spreading faster than any prior outbreak. Conflict, attacks on health facilities, and displacement are hampering response efforts. WHO’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged warring parties to accept a ceasefire, even temporary, to save lives.

Ebola spreading exponentially in Congo as death toll tops 2,500, UN says | Reuters 8/21/26

The UN’s senior Ebola coordinator, Julien Harneis, said the outbreak in the DR Congo has killed more than 2,500 people and is spreading exponentially across an area larger than France. He warned that funding will run out within weeks and that health workers face growing violence, with more than 260 attacks recorded in six months. Eight health workers have been killed from the violence and 43 more have died from Ebola infection.

U.S. Government Health News

Last week, the CDC moved the goalposts, so to speak, and shifted levels of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater to lower categories. This week, the CDC is “updating” nursing home COVID data according to Mike Hoerger.

NSF set to issue lowest number of new grants in four decades | Nature 8/20/26

The National Science Foundation (NSF) will issue about 6,100 new grants this fiscal year, 46% fewer than the 2021-24 average and the lowest count in over four decades. “Sociology, archaeology, political science, economics and geography, received zero new awards.” The NSF is withholding $1 billion for a White House project called Grand Research Challenges, leaving many reviewed proposals unapproved.

Effects on local economies from loss of the NSF and NIH grants per Joshua Weitz:

Trump 2.0 has deleted or altered nearly 400 US datasets, endangering public health, education and more | The Guardian 8/18/26

A new tracker from dataindex.us, a group co-founded by former US chief data scientist Denice Ross, finds that federal agencies have deleted at least 28 datasets and altered 338 more over the past year and a half. Health related data makes up about 40% of the affected collections, including systems that track drug overdoses and violent deaths. Ross warns the losses could leave the country unable to see emerging public health threats.
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How Cyclospora Evaded the U.S. Food Safety System to Sicken Thousands | NY Times 8/15/26

The New York Times reports that a Trump administration delay of a food traceability rule slowed efforts to trace this summer’s record Cyclospora outbreak, which sickened roughly 14,000 people and hospitalized 740, including two deaths in Michigan. Investigators eventually linked cases to lettuce processed at a Taylor Farms plant in Mexico, the same supplier tied to a 2013 outbreak at Olive Garden and Red Lobster. Critics say years of eroding food safety oversight left agencies slower to respond.

NewYorker: Today’s Daily Cartoon, by Ellis Rosen.

What to know about Dr. Heidi Overton, Trump’s pick to lead the FDA | NPR 8/20/26

Dr. Overton has backed Trump’s push to unbundle the MMR vaccine into separate shots. She still needs Senate confirmation.

Other news

Moderna shares surge as melanoma vaccine with Merck succeeds in large trial | CNN 8/19/26

A study of in over 1,100 people with high-risk melanoma shows that a new treatment combining a personalized Moderna mRNA vaccine (Intismeran) based on mutations found in the patients’ tumor, plus Merck’s immunotherapy Keytruda, lowered the chance of the melanoma cancer coming back or spreading.

Virus-like particles enable targeted gene engineering and pooled CRISPR screening in primary human myeloid cells | Nature Biotechnology 8/18/26

Gladstone Institutes and UCSF researchers used virus-like particles to delete the gene TNFAIP3 in human macrophages, which released a natural brake on inflammation and boosted tumor killing by HER2 CAR macrophages even in hostile environments. Blocking TNF signaling reversed the effect, identifying TNF as a key driver of the enhanced anticancer response.

Meet Aletta: The first FDA approved robotic blood draw device | Fiercebiotech 8/20/26

The Aletta blood drawing robot has been used for 2 years in Europe and now is FDA approved in the U.S.

We Tested 13 Electric Scooters. We Don’t Recommend Any. | Consumer Reports 8/20/26

Consumer Reports tested 13 electric scooters and recommends none of them. Injury data shows e-scooter riders face high rates of serious harm, partly because standing riders have a higher center of mass and are more likely to fall headfirst. Even CR’s own testers were injured during the evaluation process.

Meta heads to court in a landmark trial about kids and social media addiction | NPR 8/17/26

Four state attorneys general are taking Meta to federal trial this week, accusing the company of designing Facebook and Instagram to addict children and of violating child privacy law. The states seek up to 1.4 trillion dollars in penalties, alleging Meta hid known risks to kids’ mental health and sleep. The trial is expected to last about six weeks.

TikTok Settles With U.S. Over Child Privacy Concerns for $400 Million | NY Times 8/21/26

SF infectious disease expert says it’s a ‘bad year’ for West Nile virus | SFGate 8/2026

The California Department of Public Health has recorded 30 human West Nile virus cases and three deaths so far in 2026, the highest activity level in five years. Infected mosquitoes and dead birds are turning up at elevated rates statewide, especially in the Central Valley and Southern California. Officials urge residents to use bug repellent and to drain standing water as peak transmission season continues into September.

World’s oldest living person celebrates 117th birthday | ABC 8/21/26

Ethel Caterham of Surrey, England was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest living person when she turned 117 years old on August 21. Born in 1909, she marked the milestone with a private family celebration. Ethel’s secret to her longevity: “Never arguing with anyone, I listen and I do what I like.”