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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

It’s Code Red for Vaccines The number of changes to vaccine policy is dizzying & RFK Jr is just getting started! Dissolving the group of experts that drive policy is declaring war on “what was” I write in @nytimes.com about what is and is not working www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | It’s Code Red for Vaccines in America (Gift Article)

How to make sense of all the vaccine policy changes.

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Today RFK Jr took the single biggest step towards destroying childhood vaccines When @nytimes asked me in December whether RFK could kill the vaccine program - I said he’d have to remove CDCs ACIP And… that’s exactly what he just did today Not good-just like that we cannot trust CDC on vaccines

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

This appears to also include revoking the status of the current international student and trainee body at Harvard If true this would be a horrendously painful hit to many of the World’s most promising young scientists - w a nearly unquantifiable impact on future discoveries

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

A remarkable escalation by Trump blocking international students from Harvard For many labs (including the one I led) many of the most advanced research is by international students and trainees International trainees are core to Harvard’s research 1/ t.co/LjbaMQzTXr

t.co

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/us/politics/trump-harvard-international-students.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

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Reposted by Michael Mina MD,PhD

Johns Hopkins University @jhu.edu · 16/04/2025

Did you know? 99% of all new medications resulted from federally-funded university research through #NIH Learn more about #ResearchSavesLives: hub.jhu.edu/research-sav....

An image with a prescription pill bottle. Text on the image reads: 99% of all new medications resulted from federally-funded university research through NIH

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Reposted by Michael Mina MD,PhD

Retiredrph @retiredrph.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

@michaelmina.bsky.social @meganranney.bsky.social @sailorrooscout.bsky.social will look forward to your analysis, and that of other top experts, on this collapse of agencies and fallout.

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

Come to Learn about **Measles** in America today "Measles in America: Causes, Risks, and Responses" April 30: 4-5pm EST bit.ly/measles-in-a... Webinar by @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social IVAC Professor Bill Moss moderates with: • me (@michaelmina.bsky.social) • Walt Orenstein • Daniel Salmon

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Reposted by Michael Mina MD,PhD

Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Measles and more, with guest @michaelmina.bsky.social Join us today in The Doctor’s Lounge at 3pm ET on Substack Live👇 open.substack.com/live-stream/...

open.substack.com

LIVE SOON: Jeremy Faust, MD on Substack

Starting Apr 8 at 3:00 PM EDT

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Measles is spreading Under vaccinated communities are getting bigger in size and number Like bubbles, as these communities get bigger, they merge - the firewalls breakdown - I’m deeply concerned we are at risk of not hundreds, but epidemics of tens of thousands of cases in US t.co/C3heJrjwic

t.co

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/opinion/measles-epidemic-texas.html?rsrc=ss&unlocked_article_code=1.8k4.o4cy.QYinrRQdW3hU&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

The new nominee for CDC Director, Susan Monarez is the right type of leader for the CDC today We need a CDC with a renewed interest in innovating and engineering population health solutions (public healths roots) and drive positive impacts My new piece in @TIME discusses why t.co/ug9zmhzjg7

t.co

https://time.com/7271890/susan-monarez-right-choice-lead-the-cdc/#

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

23andMe changed the culture of how people interact with their biological & medical information and changed translational research at population scale The company is running into bankruptcy But its impacts beyond its business, on society and science, will last I wrote in @statnews t.co/teNnEzRBsI

t.co

https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/25/23andme-bankruptcy-patient-empowerment-consumer-genetic-testing/

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Live where measles is spreading? Can your baby get a vaccine early? YES The vaccine is safe/effective even down to 6 months (Note: Its recommended later bc maternal antibodies passed to the fetus vs measles wane around ~9 months and could limit vaccine benefit if not yet gone) t.co/2rIkfk9qvH

t.co

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna198038

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

I’ve come over from X @michaelmina.bsky.social @mcuban.bsky.social if you’d share, I write about public health, epidemiology, digital health and new advances in biotech

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

Unfortunately, this rings all too true for many with chronic illnesses that dont have a neat diagnosis Many originate from pathogen exposures and are difficult to identify after acute infection has cleared A silver lining of COVID is it has highlighted this issue and is driving new research

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

When it happens, the virus often becomes more “fit” within that host then starts to replicate faster than the less fit virus within the host It is Darwinian evolution at high speed If the “more fit” virus spreads to another similar host (ie human) it can launch an outbreak 4/

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

It’s important to add context to this These types of mutations are truly what we worry about. They are anticipated to happen in a host who gets infected w a virus who may not be optimized for replication of the virus - so the virus adapts to the host 3/

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

This is exactly the type of thing we worry about. The mutations developed anew in this patient have been linked to severe cases elsewhere Thank goodness the patient didnt (as far as we know) spread to any people or wildlife but this is the real concern… We must do better 2/

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

It takes just 1… Important wake up call #H5N1 BirdFlu just sequenced by @CDCgov from severe Louisiana patient Most important, the H5 virus mutated inside the single patient to gain an ability to bind human receptors in the upper respiratory tract It takes just one www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/spo...

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Reposted by Michael Mina MD,PhD

Antimicrobial resistance #AMR @antimicrobial.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Antibiotic use increased 16.3% since 2016, driven largely by economic growth in LMIC. Despite concerns on AMR, effective measures like stewardship programs, public awareness, improved infection prevention have helped some high-income nations limit their consumption. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

pnas.org

Global trends in antibiotic consumption during 2016–2023 and future projections through 2030 | PNAS

Antibiotic resistance is a global public health threat. Many factors contribute to this issue, with human antibiotic consumption being significant ...

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Do you know all you need to about measles? Maybe… probably not There is SO much to know On “Incubation” Podcast (produced by Gladwell), we cover Measles Immune Memory Immune Amnesia The true toll of the Virus Measles as a cancer treatment A short terrific podcast! www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/inc...

t.co

https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/incubation/measles-the-cancer-killer

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

In part it was the juxtaposition between being a monk & the devastation that took place over a few moments that shook me out of meditating and into doing whatever it was that I could to support tsunami relief efforts From peace to hell was a wake up call to not sit idle I’ve tried to live by that

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

At times it’s tough to remember why we do what we do 20 years ago today the Indian Ocean Tsunami killed 250,000 ppl I was a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka when the wave hit the country It was the survivors in the refugee camp I lived afterwards that cemented for me a life path in public health 1/

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Physicians/public take note: @Labcorp just rolled out access to #H5 #BirdFlu test This is extremely important & shows Criticality of Lab Developed Tests/LDTs (outside of FDA) for the nimbleness required to deal w emergencies and to advance diagnostics www.labcorp.com/tests/140046...

labcorp.com

140046: Influenza A and Influenza B With Reflex to H5 Subtyping, NAA | Labcorp

Labcorp test details for Influenza A and Influenza B With Reflex to H5 Subtyping, NAA

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

For anyone who says measles isn’t bad - let it sink in that 20%-40% of measles cases end up in the hospital. 1 in 100 to 1 in 1000 kids w measles die. It is literally orders of magnitude worse for kids than covid. Not to mention it causes immune suppression AND Immune Amnesia

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

It is important for people in countries like the U.S. - where we are so lucky to have measles elimination (for now) - to remember why measles is so important to keep eliminated Most parents today have never seen measles It is not good for many reasons www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/h...

nytimes.com

Tiny Coffins: Measles Is Killing Thousands of Children in Congo

Problems with getting vaccines to families have left many children unvaccinated and in danger of contracting the virus.

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

YES, rapid Flu/COVID multiplexed tests that are available in stores DO detect H5N1 The tests detect Flu A (as well as Flu B and COVID) H5N1 is a Flu A virus So it will detect H5 with a positive Flu A line but will not differentiate if it’s H5 vs H3 or H1

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

It does already. Just does not differentiate. For example if you have H5 the FluA line will t show positive. But it won’t say H5, vs H3 or H1. Just Flu A

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

I hope @US_FDA @MartyMakary take different approach to regulating rapid tests for H5 than we did for COVID The traditional pathways do not and cannot work for new pathogens and we will always be behind 2020 saw some newer thinking to speed up clearances, 2021 saw those stop

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

H5 BirdFlu continues to spread CA declared State of Emergency & now a severe D1.1 case in Louisiana Two main lineages in US - in cattle (B3.13) & in birds (D1.1) The US should not wait to prepare So, again, we’ll need fast tests for starters www.latimes.com/environment/...

latimes.com

Gov. Newsom declares emergency in California after CDC confirms severe case of bird flu in Louisiana

As the CDC confirmed severe illness in a Louisiana patient hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency related to the virus.

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

It was extraordinary and demonstrates well where a place like Harvard placed its priorities I think Harvard School of Public Health was particularly egregious. Have spoke w others at places like Yale and even other places within Harvard University that was not so bad.

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Nope. Illegal here for this panel - especially for at home use. Hopefully FDA will understand and value speed, time and access as equally or more important than pure analytical sensitivity for certain settings Likelihood of being infectious when negative is dramatically lower than when positive

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

It’s also comforting to be interviewed alongside ppl I deeply admire, including @SchreiberStuart & Doug Melton We all have similar goals of advancing health in more efficient ways than academia alone allows Detailed more in the article above by Jonathan Shaw @harvardmagazine.bsky.social 3/

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

I’m grateful to the many who supported my decision to leave - very few of whom were from Harvard It may well be temporary, there is much more to why I left, including burn out from responding to the pandemic, and more And there’s much more I’d like to do to support academia 2/

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

In ‘21 I left Harvard when my lab was growing quickly, I was an NIH Director DP5 Recipient, millions in grant funding and papers in top journals But pandemic put grants/publishing into new perspective Here’s a new interview covering *some* of why I left 1/ www.harvardmagazine.com/2025/01/harv...

harvardmagazine.com

Harvard Professors Leaving for Private Sector Research | Harvard Magazine

Three distinguished scientists on leaving academia to advance biomedical research

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

But also when healthcare is difficult to obtain, the average person will now feel empowered to diagnose themselves and act on it Of course this has been accelerated for years with Google and the web… now it’s supercharged… for better and for worse I imagine

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

I think very many are using AI to diagnose many many things right now The models, like 01 are often outperforming docs in diagnosing correctly. Which is a remarkable truth Diagnostic medicine is largely about patterns - and computers deal w patterns quite well.

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Interesting ChatGPT response I posed this challenge to both ChatGPT-40 and newer “reasoning” model ChatGPT-01 -40 was WAY off base - an early assumption/inference led it down a far off rabbit hole -01 got it right, right away. Every assumption and DDx was accurate. No images reviewed.

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

I’m sorry do I for some reason owe you - random person - a budget when what I advocate for is for nations across the globe to have better access to diagnostics, including advanced ones - something that is absolutely doable Or do you think that that’s not possible for poorer nations for some reason?

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Michael Mina MD,PhD @michaelmina.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Could certainly have advanced testing in every capital of every nation. Or could get it where it needs to be quickly in a week once deaths are identified as unknown But also could enable ability to draw a sample of blood and ship it anywhere in the world in days. With the right precautions

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