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Alison Young

@alisonannyoung.bsky.social
1K followers 994 following 217 posts

Senior National Reporter Healthbeat.org + investigative reporter + author of Pandora’s Gamble: Lab Leaks, Pandemics, and a World at Risk. ayoung@healthbeat.org Signal: alisonyoungreports.48

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Reposted by Alison Young
Healthbeat @healthbeat.org · 13/10/2026
Hundreds of Americans have been hit with severe West Nile symptoms this year, with some states reporting high activity. A California patient’s ordeal shows the long road to recovery. Read more: bit.ly/4yk7rFp
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Reposted by Alison Young
Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Healthbeat: When West Nile virus attacks the brain by Alison Young @healthbeat.org @alisonannyoung.bsky.social yikes. Spray that DEET bit.ly/47QLZNr
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
The nurse asked Paul Vercammen what should have been a simple question: What is your pain level? Vercammen struggled to find words. West Nile virus had attacked his brain. He incoherently managed to mumble: LinkedIn & Instagram. healthbeat.beehiiv.com/p/when-west-... #publichealth #episky #medsky
A photo of a man in a blue baseball cap holding a mesh bag of mosquitoes above a headline:”West Nile virus hits some states hard, leaving patients with severe neurological illness.”
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Healthbeat found a D.N. Shipilova listed as a co-author of plague bacteria research examining antibiotic susceptibility of Yersinia pestis strains. The study, by scientists from the Irkutsk institute was presented earlier this year.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I’ve covered lab accidents in biological research facilities for 20 years. Here’s my latest for Healthbeat on what we know about the worker death at the Russian anti-plague lab - and why some are skeptical of official statements www.healthbeat.org/2026/10/06/r... #publichealth #IDsky #MedSky #Episky
A screen grab of an article headline with an image of a man wearing blue coveralls leaving a building behind a metal fence with a gold crest.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Sweeping changes are coming to Medicaid, and some start Thursday. Here are 5 things to know in my latest @healthbeat newsletter. healthbeat.beehiiv.com/p/medicaid-c... #publichealth #medsky #primarycare #medicaid
President Trump, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz andHHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talk at the White House.
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Reposted by Alison Young
Healthbeat @healthbeat.org · 23/09/2026
The FDA has issued seven alerts since June about weight-loss products containing undisclosed drugs or chemicals. Some of these hidden ingredients have notorious pasts. Read more in Healthbeat National Reporter Alison Young's latest newsletter: bit.ly/4xEEzYc
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Nearly a century ago, Americans seeking an easy way to lose weight put their faith in what promoters sold as a potent fat-burning drug. Some went blind. Others died. Now this dangerous chemical has been detected in a supplement marketed online. healthbeat.beehiiv.com/p/the-troubl... #publichealth
A screenshot of an article image with a composite photo showing old bottles of dinitrophenol weight loss remedies and old newspaper articles. A larger headline says: FDA finds dangerous hidden ingredients in weight-loss supplements. Some have notorious pasts. Since June, the FDA has issued 7 alerts about weight-loss products with undisclosed drugs or chemicals, more than in 2024 and 2025 combined.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Arnold Wedum photo courtesy of the Wedum family. Archival images courtesy of the National Archives.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
What hasn’t changed is the importance of institutions willing to investigate independently – and follow the evidence wherever it leads. Bill Gurley’s talk, “Searching for Feynman,” at the All-In Summit 2026: www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Q7... #safetyculture #occupationalsafety
youtube.com
Bill Gurley: Searching for Feynman
YouTube video by All-In Podcast
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The technology inside biological labs has changed dramatically since Wedum’s time. Today there are far more high-containment laboratories working with dangerous pathogens, and scientists now have the power to manipulate microbes in ways that can increase their pandemic potential…
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I appreciate that Gurley mentioned Pandora’s Gamble and its reporting on the history of laboratory accidents around the world – including at prestigious labs in the years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic. I was also struck by how Gurley’s argument echoes this much older history.
Screenshot of Bill Gurley speaking next to a slide displaying photos of Alina Chan, Katherine Eban, Emily Kopp, Zeynep Tufekci, and Alison Young, and the logos of Drastic Research and U.S. Right to Know under a title that says: Covid-19 Origin “Searchers”
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
That principle was at the core of Arnold Wedum’s work all those years ago: You can’t learn from a disaster if you don’t investigate.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Gurley argues that the unresolved question of Covid’s origin deserves the kind of rigorous, independent, forensic root-cause investigation expected of other catastrophic events. An investigation doesn’t predetermine the answer. It follows the evidence wherever it leads. #biosecurity
Screenshot of Bill Gurley speaking next to a slide that says:

CAPA
Corrective and Preventative Action 
Detect-Investigate-Confirm Root Cause-Correct-Prevent
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
One important reason: routine lab tasks can launch invisible plumes of microbes into the air. A worker may unknowingly inhale them, become ill days later — and, depending on the pathogen, potentially carry an infection outside the laboratory.
National Archives photo of scientists working. One is using a biosafety cabinet.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Gurley’s comparison of catastrophic failures has a complication. Unlike a plane crash or building collapse, a laboratory accident may leave no wreckage. There may not even be recognition that an accident has occurred. Wedum’s team found that most infected workers never knew they were exposed.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Safety needed more than training and equipment. It required rules and standards backed up with inspections, investigations, data analysis, and corrections. But Wedum faced another obstacle: culture. Wedum wrote often about the resistance among biological researchers to safety rules and scrutiny.
National Archives image of a guard house at an entrance to Camp Detrick.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
… at the U.S. Army’s secret biological weapons laboratories at Camp Detrick. Wedum understood something fundamental: You can’t prevent laboratory accidents unless you look for them, investigate them, and learn from them… #episky #publichealth #IDsky
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I kept thinking about Arnold Wedum. While researching my book Pandora’s Gamble, I examined the writings and records of Arnold Wedum, the physician and bacteriologist widely regarded as the father of modern #biosafety. Beginning in the 1940s, Wedum investigated worker infections…
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Why do we investigate plane crashes, nuclear accidents and structural failures differently from a biological catastrophe? Venture capitalist Bill Gurley (Uber etc) tackled that question last week at the All-In Summit while discussing the unresolved origin of the Covid-19 pandemic. As I watched…🧵
Screenshot of Bill Gurley speaking alongside a slide of the 737 MAX
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Share your #Medicaid story: Healthbeat wants to hear what’s working and not working in Medicaid - and not just with maternal care. I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts and tips. Contact information is in the article below.👇 #medsky #publichealth
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
'Ghost providers' in Medicaid networks put pregnant patients at risk of delayed care. Officials have known about the provider network accuracy issues for a long time - yet a key fix is still years away. www.healthbeat.org/2026/09/15/m... #medsky #publichealth #pregnancy #medicaid #midwives #obgyn
healthbeat.org
Pregnant and on Medicaid? The provider network might be smaller than it looks.
How real are Medicaid’s maternal care networks? Federal investigators found “ghost providers” and other errors in lists used by patients and states.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
School-level immunization data is a powerful tool for assessing local outbreak risks. Yet some states post outdated data online or don’t even collect it, Healthbeat found. #medsky #idsky #publichealth #measles #pediatrics www.healthbeat.org/2026/09/08/s...
healthbeat.org
Can you find out if your child’s school is at risk of an outbreak?
School-level vaccination rates can reveal outbreak risks. In states like Texas and Florida, getting that information can require a public records request.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Can you find out if your child’s school is at risk of an outbreak? Statewide & countywide vaccination rates obscure at-risk pockets of unvaccinated people. But access to school-level data varies — even for public health officials. www.healthbeat.org/2026/09/08/s... #publichealth #medsky #IDsky
healthbeat.org
Can you find out if your child’s school is at risk of an outbreak?
School-level vaccination rates can reveal outbreak risks. In states like Texas and Florida, getting that information can require a public records request.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Would you be able to quickly find your old measles vaccination records or other proof of immunity if you were exposed? For faculty and staff it’s not always easy. Colleges advise finding records now - before an exposure occurs. www.healthbeat.org/2026/09/01/m... #publichealth #medsky #highered
healthbeat.org
Proof of measles immunity is a back-to-school essential on college campuses — even for faculty and staff
Measles cases are the highest they’ve been in decades. That has colleges and universities expanding approaches to employees that traditionally have focused on students.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The growing threat of measles has some universities urging faculty and staff to find their old vaccination records or other proof of immunity now — before an exposure happens on campus. www.healthbeat.org/2026/09/01/m... #publichealth #highered #IDsky #MedSky #Episky #AcademicSky #highereducation
A photo of a green lawn and tan building above a headline: Colleges are urging faculty and staff to have measles immunity proof ready — or risk weeks in quarantine
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The nation’s system for gathering information on reportable diseases still largely relies on calling or faxing case reports to health departments, which then need to digitize or enter the data, said Janet Hamilton, CSTE executive director. More: healthbeat.beehiiv.com/p/cyclospora... #publichealth
A pullout quote: “You can’t do data analysis on data you don’t have.” - Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
From her vantage point in Michigan, the state’s chief medical executive told Healthbeat that an already challenging Cyclospora outbreak response has been made more difficult by strains on the nation’s public health system. healthbeat.beehiiv.com/p/cyclospora... #publichealth #episky #medsky
A display quote: Cyclospora Outbreak Takeaways “We simply cannot be the CDC.” - Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s Chief Medical Executive.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
As cyclospora exposes cracks in the public health system, a top Michigan health official tells me that states “simply cannot be the CDC.” #publichealth #episky #medsky #IDsky #foodsafety healthbeat.beehiiv.com/p/cyclospora...
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I’m excited to be taking the helm of Healthbeat’s national newsletter. Every Tuesday, we will explore public health stories that matter nationally, whether they start in Washington or across the country. I hope you will sign up – and also share your tips. #publichealth #episky #IDsky
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Lots in the news right now about the origin of Covid and oversight of gain-of-function research. My book, Pandora’s Gamble, reveals the history of lab accidents and lax biosafety in the U.S. and around the world. Today, Amazon is offering the Kindle edition at a special price: Just $1.99.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Fauci before invoking the Fifth Amendment: “The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up - in his words - quote behind bars unquote.”
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Anthony Fauci in response to questions at today’s hearing: “On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.” Live now: www.c-span.org/event/senate... #publichealth #covid
c-span.org
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
My latest article examines one of the many ways that the return of measles is impacting people’s lives: More than 72,000 older adults sought blood tests to check their measles immunity during Jan 2025 - March 2026, exclusive data show. www.healthbeat.org/2026/07/07/t... #publichealth #episky
Grandmother Nancy Churnin reads a picture book to her newborn grandson.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
A new analysis of patient data suggests that public awareness of high-profile local measles outbreaks may be influencing more people across the country to seek measles titer tests to check their immunity. The analysis was done in response to questions from Healthbeat. #publichealth #medsky #IDsky
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
The two firms that manufacture Nara Organics formula in Europe were inspected by the FDA before the outbreak. “At the conclusion of both inspections, observations citing deficiencies were issued to both facilities,” FDA told @healthbeat.org www.healthbeat.org/2026/06/15/n... #publichealth #episky
healthbeat.org
ByHeart recommended its customers switch to Nara. Now a second infant formula is linked to botulism.
“Something is very wrong in the production of these formulas, and FDA is not moving fast enough to find the cause,” one consumer advocate said.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
What began as an evacuation of Americans from a deadly outbreak has raised increasing concerns about whether the U.S. government has failed to properly balance protecting public health with ensuring people are quarantined in the least restrictive safe setting. www.healthbeat.org/2026/06/16/k...
healthbeat.org
A federal medical reviewer said she could go home. RFK Jr. said no.
One legal expert calls HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s order keeping a Florida woman in a locked quarantine facility “a shocking disregard for both science and personal freedom.”
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Reposted by Alison Young
Center for Science in the Public Interest @cspinet.org · 15/06/2026
“Something is very wrong in the production of these formulas, and FDA is not moving fast enough to find the cause,” said CSPI's Sarah Sorscher. Read more by @alisonannyoung.bsky.social ➡️ www.healthbeat.org/2026/06/15/n...
healthbeat.org
ByHeart recommended its customers switch to Nara. Now a second infant formula is linked to botulism.
“Something is very wrong in the production of these formulas, and FDA is not moving fast enough to find the cause,” one consumer advocate said.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
ByHeart during its recall recommended its infant formula customers switch to Nara Organics. Now Nara’s products are also linked to an infant botulism outbreak. My latest👇 www.healthbeat.org/2026/06/15/n... #pediatrics #medsky #publichealth #infantformula #moms
healthbeat.org
ByHeart recommended its customers switch to Nara. Now a second infant formula is linked to botulism.
“Something is very wrong in the production of these formulas, and FDA is not moving fast enough to find the cause,” one consumer advocate said.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
“Every American should be concerned about the somewhat quixotic and a bit arbitrary approach that they have taken in dealing with these passengers,” says @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social www.healthbeat.org/2026/06/01/h... #publichealth #epidemiology #episky #medsky #IDsky
Image of headline: 5 hantavirus cruise ship passengers allowed home quarantine; 13 remain in secure Nebraska facility. Photo of Nebraska Medicine sign.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Hantavirus quarantines: “The administration is being quite secretive and arbitrary in its use of quarantine powers,” one expert said. www.healthbeat.org/2026/06/01/h... #publichealth #medsky #episky #idsky
healthbeat.org
5 hantavirus cruise ship passengers leave quarantine facility as transparency concerns grow
Questions are mounting after federal officials allow home quarantine for some hantavirus cruise passengers while keeping others confined. “I do not think the administration is acting in a transparent ...
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
CDC only has power to quarantine certain diseases detailed in presidential executive orders. Hantavirus is not on the list. To detain hantavirus-exposed passengers, CDC is classifying the disease as a severe acute respiratory syndrome www.healthbeat.org/2026/05/22/c... #epidemiology #publichealth
healthbeat.org
Hantavirus quarantine orders are based on a disease list that doesn’t include hantavirus
CDC quarantine orders could face legal challenges, a public health law expert told Healthbeat. The federal agency contends hantavirus is a type of severe acute respiratory syndrome to keep two cruise ...
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Reposted by Alison Young
California Immunization Coalition @immunizeca.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Largest measles outbreak in decades, began with just four households. www.healthbeat.org/2026/05/19/m...
healthbeat.org
Exclusive: Largest U.S. measles outbreak in decades began with just four households
Internal records reveal new details about how South Carolina’s record-breaking measles outbreak spread through a close-knit group of unvaccinated people.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Just 4 households had measles infections at the start of the South Carolina outbreak — which became the largest in decades. #epidemiology #publichealth #Medsky #IDsky
A graphic illustrating how as of October 15, the South Carolina outbreak had 12 cases and all of them were members of 4 households.
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Reposted by Alison Young
Healthbeat @healthbeat.org · 19/05/2026
Internal records reveal new details about how South Carolina’s record-breaking measles outbreak spread through a close-knit group of unvaccinated people.
bit.ly
Exclusive: Largest U.S. measles outbreak in decades began with just four households
Internal records reveal new details about how South Carolina’s record-breaking measles outbreak spread through a close-knit group of unvaccinated people.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Inside the largest U.S. measles outbreak in decades: Records obtained by Healthbeat reveal the challenges stopping the virus as it spread in a close-knit, vaccine-hesitant community. www.healthbeat.org/2026/05/19/m... #publichealth #episky #medsky #IDsky #pediatrics
Chart showing how Case #44 exposed dozens of close contacts to the measles virus. They included 3 household members, 4 patients in a doctor’s office, 2 school bus riders, and 58 individuals at Lyman Elementary School.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
It’s finally over: 7 key takeaways from the South Carolina measles outbreak that sickened 997, kept kids out of school and cost millions to bring under control. www.healthbeat.org/2026/04/27/s... #publichealth #episky #medsky #IDsky #pediatrics
healthbeat.org
It’s over: What South Carolina learned from the largest U.S. measles outbreak in 35 years
7 things to know about how this record-breaking measles outbreak began and ended – the price of containment and what worked to stop the spread.
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Reposted by Alison Young
Healthbeat @healthbeat.org · 24/04/2026
Most of the babies hospitalized in a recent nationwide outbreak of infant botulism linked to ByHeart baby formula needed additional treatment after going home, according to new CDC data shared Friday.
bit.ly
ByHeart baby formula outbreak: New CDC data reveal lasting impacts on sick infants
Dozens of babies were hospitalized with infant botulism. Most still needed more treatment after going home.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Dozens of babies were hospitalized with infant botulism after being fed ByHeart formula. Most needed even more treatment after they were sent home, according to new data presented today at CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service Conference. www.healthbeat.org/2026/04/24/b... #MedSky #EpiSky #pediatrics
healthbeat.org
ByHeart baby formula outbreak: New CDC data reveal lasting impacts on sick infants
Dozens of babies were hospitalized with infant botulism. Most still needed more treatment after going home.
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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
What to know about the large measles outbreak in Utah and 5 others across the country. www.healthbeat.org/2026/04/09/w...
healthbeat.org
Measles cases are rising across the U.S., with dozens of states reporting infections
Here's where measles outbreaks are spreading and why experts are concerned.
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