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Mary Prahl, MD

@mkprahl.bsky.social
1.3K followers 842 following 35 posts

Pediatric Infectious Disease Physician-Scientist | Mother | Avid hand-washer | Translational Immunology of Perinatal and Early Childhood Infections

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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Devan Jaganath, MD MPH @djaganath.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
With the ongoing #TB outbreak at an SF high school, we will leverage our expertise in child TB, with the @citc-tb.bsky.social and @ucsf-ctb.bsky.social. @ucsfchildrens.bsky.social is working closely with SF public health to support students and families. pediatrics.ucsf.edu/news/access-...
pediatrics.ucsf.edu
Access in Action: How UCSF is Expanding Care to Support San Francisco’s Pediatric TB Response | Department of Pediatrics
When a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak emerged at a San Francisco high school at the end of 2025, the scale was immediately clear. More than 1,200 students required evaluation, with high rates of infection...
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
"Ethical research requires that participant safety remains central, not subordinate to hypothesis testing....Vulnerability should never be seen as an opportunity to advance research at the expense of those it claims to serve." @natureportfolio.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Whose ethics govern global health research?
Ethical research must not exploit scarcity as an experimental variable.
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Mary Prahl, MD @mkprahl.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Yes, have been hearing from East Coast colleagues that pediatric ICUs are filling up with severe pediatric flu cases, presenting with sepsis symptoms
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Mary Prahl, MD @mkprahl.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
So happy to see this study and the positive results!
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Mary Prahl, MD @mkprahl.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
So great to see this study out. Raises the bar for pregnancy related vaccine research
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Important and timely study Pregnant women face higher risks from Ebola: maternal mortality up to 89%, and nearly all pregnancies lost. Until now, they’ve been excluded from Ebola vaccine trials. A landmark phase 3 RCT in Rwanda changes that.@natureportfolio.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Heterologous two-dose Ebola vaccine regimen in pregnant women in Rwanda: a randomized controlled phase 3 trial - Nature Medicine
In this phase 3 trial, a two-dose Ebola vaccine regimen in healthy pregnant women in Rwanda was found to be safe and immunogenic in women and offspring through passive transfer.
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
We should be able to agree that funding research for pediatric cancer should be prioritized and expanded. Not canceled. Clinical trials that can be the last hope for kids with cancer stopping recruitment due to funding loss is heartbreaking 💔 www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/w...
nytimes.com
Pediatric Brain Cancer Group to Lose Federal Funding
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Gladstone Institutes @gladstoneinst.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
🚨 NEW PUBLICATION 🚨 "Pregnancy and lactation induce distinct immune responses to #COVID19 booster vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection" from the Roan Lab in @jci-insight.bsky.social
insight.jci.org
JCI Insight - Pregnancy and lactation induce distinct immune responses to COVID-19 booster vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Gladstone Institutes @gladstoneinst.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
A team of scientists, led by Nadia Roan, found that pregnant and lactating women have strong immune defenses to COVID-19, and identified key benefits that could guide future vaccine design.
youtube.com
Discovery Spotlight | Pregnancy, Lactation Shape Immune Response to COVID-19 Vaccine and Infection
YouTube video by Gladstone Institutes
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Gladstone Institutes @gladstoneinst.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
Study finds strong immune defenses in pregnant and lactating women, with key benefits that could guide future vaccine design.
gladstone.org
Pregnancy, Lactation Shape Immune Response to COVID-19 Vaccine and Infection
Study finds strong immune defenses in pregnant and lactating women, with key benefits that could guide future vaccine design.
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Gladstone Institutes @gladstoneinst.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
🚨 NEW PUBLICATION 🚨 "Pregnancy and lactation induce distinct immune responses to COVID-19 booster vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection" from the Roan Lab in @jci-insight.bsky.social
insight.jci.org
JCI Insight - Pregnancy and lactation induce distinct immune responses to COVID-19 booster vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
On a day that the congress has decided to go on an early recess and take 6 weeks of paid leave it is important to remember that in the U.S there is no federal law that guarantees paid maternity leave or family leave. Just something to think about in case you need more things to think about today.
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Mary Prahl, MD @mkprahl.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
Led by Kailin Yin and Lin Li. Many thanks to the incredible participants and our awesome COVIPAL team @gawlab.bsky.social and Roan lab collaborators. @ucsfchildrens.bsky.social @ucsfhealth.bsky.social @gladstoneinst.bsky.social
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Mary Prahl, MD @mkprahl.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
Another interesting finding was that T cells in the blood of lactating individuals were less activated after vaccination. Which may be related to differential trafficking to the mammary glands for T cells into breastmilk. More details here by Julie Langelier gladstone.org/news/pregnan...
gladstone.org
Pregnancy, Lactation Shape Immune Response to COVID-19 Vaccine and Infection
Study finds strong immune defenses in pregnant and lactating women, with key benefits that could guide future vaccine design.
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Mary Prahl, MD @mkprahl.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
after COVID-19 vaccine and infection. Some major findings include that COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy elicited just as strong as an immune response as non-pregnant women. We found that vaccination in pregnancy had some unique immunologic benefits including increased "stem-like" T cells (3/n)
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Mary Prahl, MD @mkprahl.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
Many pregnant front-line workers had some of the same concerns. We developed the COVIPAL study to evaluate the immune responses to COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy and lactation. Working with our close collaborators in the Roan lab at @gladstoneinst.bsky.social, we did deep immune profiling (2/n)
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Mary Prahl, MD @mkprahl.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
Happy to share our new work @jci-insight.bsky.social insight.jci.org/articles/vie... When I was pregnant in Dec 2020, one of the many things that concerned me was if the COVID-19 vaccine would protect me as well as non-pregnant people, as I knew the high risk of COVID-19 infection in pregnancy (1/n)
insight.jci.org
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
IDSA @idsainfo.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
🚨BREAKING: IDSA, along with AAP, APHA, ACP and others, has filed a lawsuit against HHS/Secretary Kennedy to stop unlawful changes to vaccine policy and defend public health. We refuse to stand by while America’s public health safeguards are torn apart. bit.ly/4lm7UkW
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
BREAKING: Six leading medical organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, and the health dept, charging that recent decisions limiting access to vaccines were unscientific and harmful to the public. (Gift link) www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/h...
nytimes.com
Medical Societies Sue Kennedy and H.H.S. Over Vaccine Advice
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
The American Academy of Pediatrics @ameracadpeds.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Hepatitis B can be passed from parent to baby at birth - and when that happens, the consequences can be deadly. It is unscientific and dangerous to intentionally ignore the success of U.S. vaccination programs or argue that the U.S. should not vaccinate babies for hepatitis B at birth.
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Edward Nirenberg @enirenberg.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
We now have presentations on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness: www.cdc.gov/acip/downloa... These presentations can become very confusing so I need to explain a bit about them:
cdc.gov
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Edward Nirenberg @enirenberg.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
In case you needed another reason to hate Epstein-Barr virus- it looks like it might cause primary sclerosing cholangitis: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
T and B cell responses against Epstein–Barr virus in primary sclerosing cholangitis - Nature Medicine
Interrogation of electronic health records and the B and T cell repertoires of people with PSC shows a link between Epstein–Barr virus and primary sclerosing cholangitis, an incurable autoimmune liver...
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Devan Jaganath, MD MPH @djaganath.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
New Publication: We conducted a multi-country prospective comparison of 3 methods for stool processing for Xpert Ultra testing for childhood TB, and found they performed similarly and were usable and acceptable by lab workers: academic.oup.com/cid/advance-.... @cidjournal.bsky.social #tbsky #idsky
academic.oup.com
Stool processing methods for Xpert Ultra testing in childhood tuberculosis: A prospective, multi-country accuracy study
AbstractBackground. Centrifuge-free processing methods support stool Xpert Ultra testing for childhood tuberculosis (TB), but there are limited data on the
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
KFF Health News @kffhealthnews.org · 02/06/2025
You’re pregnant, healthy, and hearing mixed messages: RFK Jr. says you don’t need the covid vaccine, but experts at the CDC still put you in a high-risk group of people who ought to receive boosters. Here's what the science says. 👇 kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
kffhealthnews.org
RFK Jr. Says Healthy Pregnant Women Don’t Need Covid Boosters. What the Science Says. - KFF Health News
Despite opposition by the leader of the Department of Health and Human Services, existing evidence on the safety and efficacy of getting a covid vaccine during pregnancy all points the same way: The s...
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 27/05/2025
When Americans raised concerns about RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine views, he said he was "not gonna take away vaccines from anybody." But now he's taking them away from millions of mommas and babies. Vaccine recommendations should be based on science, not RFK Jr.'s political agenda.
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
ACOG @acog.org · 27/05/2025
ACOG is deeply disappointed by HHS’s move to drop COVID-19 vaccine recommendations in pregnancy. The science is clear: COVID-19 remains dangerous in pregnancy and vaccination protects both patients and newborns. The vaccine is safe and protects families. Read our full statement: buff.ly/OGue7sO
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
PIDS @pidsociety.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
News on CDC's COVID-19 vaccine recommendation removed for pregnant women and children. #IDSky www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
nbcnews.com
CDC ends Covid vaccine recommendation for healthy kids and pregnant women
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a Covid vaccine critic — made the announcement on X.
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 27/05/2025
Pregnancy is a major risk factor for severe COVID-19 outcomes (read: death). GOP, if you want women to have more babies, how about making it easier for women to do that without dying?
edition.cnn.com
RFK Jr. says Covid-19 shot will no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women | CNN
US Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday said the Covid-19 vaccine will no longer be among the recommended vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children on the US Center...
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Edward Nirenberg @enirenberg.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
This is one of the dumbest health policy decisions I have ever seen.
statnews.com
RFK Jr. rolls back Covid vaccine recommendations for healthy children, pregnant people
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he has unilaterally struck the recommendation that healthy children and healthy pregnant people get Covid booster shots.
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
It's quite obvious RFK.Jr has been spared the trauma of seeing pregnant people intubated in the icu with severe covid infection fighting for the lives. Pregnancy is a risk factor for severe covid. Not recommending vaccines in pregnancy is reckless and unscientific. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
nbcnews.com
CDC ends Covid vaccine recommendation for healthy kids and pregnant women
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a Covid vaccine critic — made the announcement on X.
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Edward Nirenberg @enirenberg.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Makary and Prasad have a sounding board piece written in NEJM about the future of COVID-19 vaccine regulation at the FDA. Some thoughts:
nejm.org
An Evidence-Based Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination | NEJM
This article from the FDA compares broad U.S. recommendations on Covid vaccination with those from other countries and announces the adoption of an evidence-based approach to such recommendations.
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Mary Prahl, MD @mkprahl.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
My amazing colleague Dr. Victoria Chu highlighting the important work of CDC, and critical need for continued infectious disease support and funding. Helicopter rappelling is just one of many of her incredible accomplishments @ucsfchildrens.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/20...
washingtonpost.com
She jumped from a helicopter while at the CDC: ‘That’s the nature of public health’
Rappelling from a helicopter was not part of Victoria Chu’s job description. Her work as a disease detective typically included collecting and analyzing data.
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
There is overwhelming evidence that covid is associated w worse pregnancy outcomes and complications. There is evidence that children especially those w comorbidities benefit from covid vaccines. When shots are not recommended insurance can refuse to cover the cost. www.wsj.com/health/healt...
wsj.com
Exclusive | HHS to Stop Recommending Routine Covid Shots for Children, Pregnant Women
CDC currently recommends that everyone six months and older receive the vaccines
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Edward Nirenberg @enirenberg.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
This decision is antithetical to public health. COVID-19 in pregnancy, particularly in the third trimester, is extremely dangerous and aside from the elderly infants younger than 6 months have the highest risk of hospitalization from COVID. They are critically dependent on maternal antibodies.
wsj.com
Exclusive | HHS to Stop Recommending Routine Covid Shots for Children, Pregnant Women
CDC currently recommends that everyone six months and older receive the vaccines
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
The New York Times @nytimes.com · 15/05/2025
Breaking News: A baby with a rare disorder made medical history by receiving the first custom gene-editing treatment. The technique used has the potential to help people with thousands of other uncommon genetic diseases. nyti.ms/4j49xBy
A baby surrounded by medical devices is being held up by someone with gloved hands. A headline reads: "Baby Is Healed With World's First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment." Photo courtesy of Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania.
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Devan Jaganath, MD MPH @djaganath.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
We need new ways to classify TB severity in children. Our new paper in @jpidsociety.bsky.social shows a 3 gene signature that only requires a finger prick could be helpful for children with confirmed TB: doi.org/10.1093/jpid... #tuberculosis @ucsf-ctb.bsky.social @tb-innovation.bsky.social
doi.org
A prospective evaluation of a three-gene host response signature to classify tuberculosis severity in children
AbstractBackground. Children with non-severe TB may benefit from short-course treatment, but point-of-care tools are needed to stratify disease severity. W
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Edward Nirenberg @enirenberg.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
#medsky #episky 🧪 #pedsky #idsky Here's why HHS's demand for all new vaccines to be approved by placebo-controlled trials is actually profoundly unethical and jeopardizes all vaccines requiring rapid updates to cover pathogens that evolve quickly open.substack.com/pub/deplatfo...
HHS and FDA Demand Unethical Vaccine Studies
RFK Jr's. HHS is attempting to demand placebo-controlled trials in cases where it's not ethically appropriate.

The Washington Post recently broke the story that HHS, under the leadership of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will be demanding that all new vaccines complete placebo-controlled trials before licensure. HHS’s comments therein note that Kennedy is not anti-vaccine, but rather “pro-safety”- a bald-faced lie that insults everyone’s intelligence. Similarly, FDA Commissioner Makary seems to be pushing for Novavax to conduct a randomized efficacy trial of their COVID-19 vaccine under the claims that it is a novel product because it has changed the strain of the spike protein it uses (it is not a novel product under existing regulatory framework and simply by common sense). I understand that headlines on this question have sparked confusion (e.g., “RFK Jr. will order placebo testing for new vaccines, alarming health experts”) and it may not be immediately clear why the health experts are alarmed. Here’s my best attempt to explain:
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
The BMJ @bmj.com · 25/04/2025
“The thing about malaria is that it resurges quickly” An unprecedented global effort had slashed malaria deaths, saving millions of lives. Now, however, that progress is unravelling. Frank Burkybile reports on a community in fear www.bmj.com/content/389/...
Mother and young child admitted to hospital for malnutrition and malaria in Mali
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Nathan Lo @nathanlo.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
🧵1/N New study published in @jama.com on re-emergence of vaccine-eliminated infectious diseases under declining vaccination in the US. We model long-term risk and conditions for return to endemicity for measles, rubella, polio, & diphtheria. Collab w/ @Mathewkiang.com jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Waggoner Lab @labwaggoner.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Review @natrevimmunol.bsky.social @vikilovesfacs.bsky.social Vaccination in pregnancy to protect the newborn www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
The New York Times @nytimes.com · 22/04/2025
Social media became a place of both solace and torment for the writer Amanda Hess, as she desperately searched for details about her child's rare birth syndrome. "How much of my son’s life would I share? Where did my identity end and his begin?"
nytimes.com
My Son Has a Rare Syndrome. So I Turned to the Internet.
Social media became a place of both solace and torment. How much was mine to share?
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Edward Nirenberg @enirenberg.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
#medsky #pedsky #immunosky #idsky #episky 🧪 It's come up again because of our FDA commissioner so let's talk about the neonatal dose of hepatitis B vaccine 🧵 First though, a bit about hepatitis B (HBV):
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Edward Nirenberg @enirenberg.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
#medsky #pedsky #idsky ICYMI: some very heavy hitters in pediatric infectious diseases just recently wrote up review of how to recognize and manage measles and prevent outbreaks. publications.aap.org/pediatrics/a...
Figure 4 Typical presentation of uncomplicated measles

Fever
• Starts 8-12 days after exposure
• Can exceed 40°C
• Lasts through first 2-3 days of rash
Coryza
• Starts 8-12 days after exposure
• Improves as fever resolves
Rash
• Starts 14 days after exposure
• Begins posterior to ears and hairline
• Descends down the body
• Maculopapular → confluent
• Improves after 3-4 days
• Total duration 6-7 days

Conjunctivitis
• Starts 8-12 days after exposure
• Non-purulent
• Can have significant photophobia
• Lesions visible on slit-lamp exam
• Improves as fever resolves
Koplik spots
• Start 9-11 days after exposure
• Rapidly increase in first 12 hours
• Last 2-3 days
Cough
• Starts 8-12 days after exposure
• Can last >10 days
• "Brassy" quality
• Worsens until rash appears
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Devan Jaganath, MD MPH @djaganath.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
Check out our new publication on the accuracy of TB treatment decision algorithms for childhood TB in Uganda: journals.plos.org/globalpublic... #tbsky #tuberculosis #idsky
journals.plos.org
The Accuracy of the Uganda National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Program diagnostic algorithm and the World Health Organisation treatment decision algorithms for childhood tuberculosis: A retrospective an...
Author summary In this study, we assessed and compared the accuracy of the 2017 Uganda National TB and Leprosy Program (NTLP) algorithm with the 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) Treatment Decision...
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Matthew Facciani @matthewfacciani.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
“the loss of U.S. support may mean 75 million children do not receive routine vaccinations in the next five years, with more than 1.2 million children dying as a result.” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/h...
nytimes.com
U.S. to End Vaccine Funds for Poor Countries
A 281-page spreadsheet obtained by The Times lists the Trump administration’s plans for thousands of foreign aid programs.
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Mary Prahl, MD @mkprahl.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
“Gavi is estimated to have saved the lives of 19 million children since it was set up 25 years ago. The United States contributes 13 percent of its budget” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/h...
nytimes.com
U.S. to End Vaccine Funds for Poor Countries
A 281-page spreadsheet obtained by The Times lists the Trump administration’s plans for thousands of foreign aid programs.
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Reposted by Mary Prahl, MD
Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Not entirely shocked given the anti-vaccine people in leadership roles, but this could be truly devastating
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Mary Prahl, MD @mkprahl.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
This is devastating for the future of pediatric research
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Edward Nirenberg @enirenberg.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
RFK Jr. has tapped a discredited researcher who once used leuprolide to chemically castrate autistic children based on a claim that this would address mercury toxicity that none of them had and is NOT treated by leuprolide to conduct a study of an association between vaccines and autism.
archive.ph
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Okay I am doing this again. For the next 24 hours drop any infectious disease and/or vaccine -related questions below in response to this post and I will of my best to answer them. Responses are for information only not medical advice. #AskAnIDDoc March 2025 edition
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