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Brenda Goodman

@reportergoodman.bsky.social
2.8K followers 1.1K following 62 posts

I'm a senior news writer on the health team at CNN. I cover medicine, policy, pharma, and healthcare. Need to reach me? Encrypted email: brendagoodman@protonmail.com

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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
“We needed to hear across the board that violent rhetoric and attacks were unwarranted,” said Dr. Deb Houry, who resigned as the CDC's chief medical officer last year, and they didn’t get those statements from other federal officials. www.cnn.com/2026/08/07/h...
cnn.com
One year after shooting, CDC workers say they still feel like targets | CNN
A year after a shooting at the CDC, a half-dozen current and former staff who were on campus during the shooting or who dealt with its aftermath reveal that they continue to deal with deep trauma.
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Thanks to @kqedforum.bsky.social for highlighting CNN's investigation with amazing reporting from my colleagues Blake Ellis, Audrey Ash and Melanie Hicken. Listen to the episode for smart takes from @hbottemiller.bsky.social and Dr. Chin-Hong. Read our story here: www.cnn.com/2026/07/20/h...
cnn.com
Trump’s funding cuts created ‘the perfect storm’ that slowed the government’s cyclosporiasis response | CNN
The government’s reaction to the cyclospora outbreak has been undermined by massive budget and staffing cuts under President Donald Trump, CNN has found – including nearly funding that disappeared whe...
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Not fake news. Real news. Expensive to produce. Risky to report. Fact-checked. Wrenching. Watch. www.cnn.com/2026/06/01/w...
cnn.com
On the frontlines of DRC’s Ebola Crisis | CNN
CNN’s Clarissa Ward gains extraordinary access to the epicenter of a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where doctors work around the clock and grief, fear and fragile hope collide i...
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Ariel Edwards-Levy @aedwardslevy.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Really, really excited to share our new deep-dive polling on affordability and the economy -- what it means for Americans across the country (and, yes, what the potential political ramifications are.) Main story here: www.cnn.com/2026/05/12/p...
cnn.com
‘My life is not affordable. No one cares’: 76% of Americans call the cost of living their biggest financial problem | CNN Politics
CNN’s poll, conducted by SSRS, finds a surge in people naming high prices and the cost of living as the top economic problem facing their own family.
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
New data show prescriptions for leucovorin doubled after the White House said it might help some children with autism and folate deficiency in their brains. It remains difficult to find months later www.cnn.com/2026/03/05/h...
cnn.com
Leucovorin prescriptions surged after the White House touted the medication for autism. Now parents are scrambling to find it | CNN
Meagan Johnson recently spent four days calling dozens of pharmacies around Austin, Texas, trying to fill a prescription for her son, Jack.
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
www.cnn.com/2026/02/27/m...
cnn.com
What does the Paramount-WBD merger mean for CNN? | CNN Business
Viewers and readers of CNN might be wondering the same thing that CNN employees are asking right now: What will Paramount’s ownership mean?
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
A very few times in my career, I've done an interview that stunned me so much that I've gotten off the phone and walked into furniture. This was one of them. I'm grateful to this mom for her courage and vulnerability in doing this interview. www.cnn.com/2026/01/16/h...
cnn.com
A 4-year-old died of flu complications. Her mother has a message for other parents | CNN
Four-year-old Ellie Rudd – who loved mud and getting dressed up and having dance parties with her brother and sisters – died January 6, after the flu and a co-infection with an adenovirus turned into ...
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Jake Scott, MD @jakescottmd.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Excellent piece from @reportergoodman.bsky.social @cnn.com on what the science actually shows about flu vaccines. Honored to contribute alongside colleagues doing critical work on this topic.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ www.cnn.com/2026/01/07/h...
cnn.com
Wondering if you should get a flu shot? Here’s what science says | CNN
Flu is making people miserable from coast to coast, thanks in large part to a new strain called subclade K.
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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
My comments with @reportergoodman.bsky.social @cnn.com www.cnn.com/2025/12/18/h...
cnn.com
HHS planning to overhaul childhood vaccine schedule to recommend fewer shots, source says | CNN
The US Department of Health and Human Services is planning to overhaul the schedule of recommended vaccines for children in the US, a person familiar with the plans told CNN on Thursday.
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
"I am concerned, I guess, that we could have a big flu season this year based on what we’re seeing in other parts of the world, and particularly Europe and elsewhere,” said Dr. Adam Lauring, University of Michigan. Go get a flu shot. www.cnn.com/2025/11/18/h...
cnn.com
A new virus variant and lagging vaccinations may mean the US is in for a severe flu season | CNN
The United States may be heading into its second severe flu season in a row, driven by a mutated strain called subclade K that’s behind early surges in the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan.
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Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Peds & neuro folks--would you be able to differentiate between acute flaccid myelitis and transverse myelitis in a child? (3 yo, symptom onset when he was 6.5 months).
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Thinking about all the pediatricians and ob-gyns who are going to be fielding questions from parents today. If anyone cares to share how it went… please reach out!
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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
My comments with @reportergoodman.bsky.social @cnn.com www.cnn.com/2025/09/22/h...
cnn.com
Trump links autism to acetaminophen use during pregnancy, despite decades of evidence it’s safe | CNN
President Donald Trump announced Monday that the US Food and Drug Administration will be notifying physicians that the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy “can be associated with a very increased ri...
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Meg Tirrell @megtirrell.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
In response to a call from President Donald Trump to make the positive impact of Covid-19 vaccines public, drug giant Pfizer posted a collection of more than 200 press releases and statements and 27 peer-reviewed data publications since early 2020: www.cnn.com/2025/09/03/h...
cnn.com
Pfizer responds to Trump’s call for Covid-19 vaccine data, says Operation Warp Speed deserves Nobel Peace Prize | CNN
In response to a call from President Donald Trump to make the positive impact of Covid-19 vaccines public, drug giant Pfizer posted a collection of more than 200 press releases and statements and 27 p...
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Sarah Owermohle @owermohle.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Developing story: HHS ousted Susan Monarez as CDC director today after days of pressure over vaccine policy. At least three top CDC officials resigned in the last few hours. w/ @adamcancryn.bsky.social @reportergoodman.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/08/27/h...
cnn.com
CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez is being ousted just weeks into her tenure, sources say, and other officials follow | CNN
Dr. Susan Monarez, who was sworn in as director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 31, is being ousted, according to three sources familiar with the situation who spoke on th...
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Hundreds of HHS employees asked Kennedy to “cease and publicly disavow the ongoing dissemination of false and misleading claims about vaccines, infectious disease transmission, and America’s public health institutions," story by @megtirrell.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/08/20/h...
cnn.com
HHS staffers implore RFK Jr. to ‘stop spreading inaccurate health information’ in wake of CDC shooting | CNN
More than 750 current and former staffers at the US Department of Health and Human Services implored Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in a letter Wednesday to “stop spreading inaccurate health informa...
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Carter Moon @cartermoon.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
This book is such a remarkable achievement. Just heartbreakingly written, so much love for people who have been systematically abandoned by our society. An exposure that the social contract has been broken in this country for decades.
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Pfizer has recalled lots of its long-acting injected penicillin, Bicillin L-A, which will worsen an ongoing shortage. This form of penicillin is the only option doctors have for treating syphilis during pregnancy. www.cnn.com/2025/07/16/h...
cnn.com
A new recall of injected penicillin may put gains against syphilis in peril | CNN
Drugmaker Pfizer is warning doctors that it expects to run low on supplies of Bicillin L-A, a long-acting injection of the antibiotic penicillin, the preferred option for treating syphilis during preg...
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Dr. Arun Sethuraman @arunsethuraman.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
How disruptive are stateside/federal funding cuts/freezes, you ask? It's July 10th, and half my lab hasn't been paid and they're behind on rent and at risk of eviction. That's how disruptive. F this nonsense.
media.tenor.com
a cartoon dog wearing a purple hat is sitting in front of a fire .
ALT: a cartoon dog wearing a purple hat is sitting in front of a fire .
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Jake Scott, MD @jakescottmd.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
RFK Jr. spouted dangerous vaccine falsehoods on national TV. As a parent and infectious diseases doctor, I couldn't stay silent. Here's what the data actually shows. 🧵
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Hours after we posted this story today, highlighting the struggles of Milwaukee families impacted by the lead crisis in the city's public schools, HHS rehired the CDC's entire Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice, including its lead experts. www.cnn.com/2025/06/11/h...
cnn.com
‘Come help us’: Milwaukee parents fire back at Trump administration for denying federal aid amid lead crisis in schools | CNN
This week, Milwaukee families shared stories about lives disrupted and worries about brain damage and learning disabilities — and a federal government that has denied them help during a lead crisis in...
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Kennedy's claim that vaccines given to kids haven't been tested in placebo-controlled trials is "demonstrably false" said @jakescottmd.bsky.social. Thanks to Dr. Scott and his colleagues, we now have a round-up of placebo-controlled trials of vaccines. www.cnn.com/2025/06/05/h...
cnn.com
Despite Kennedy’s claims, vaccines have been tested in placebo-controlled studies – nearly 260 of them | CNN
There have been 258 placebo-controlled clinical trials of vaccines, according to a new research project. More than half of those studies tested vaccines against inert placebos.
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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 30/04/2025
Friendly reminder that double negatives are a big no-no.
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Nutrition researcher Kevin Hall thought his NIH studies on ultraprocessed foods would flourish under HHS Secretary Kennedy's MAHA plan. Instead, he encountered censorship and interference, prompting him to take an early retirement. Story by @megtirrell.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/04/16/h...
cnn.com
Top NIH nutrition researcher studying ultraprocessed foods departs, citing censorship under Kennedy | CNN
When President Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his choice to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services, one group of health researchers was cautiously optimistic that their cause...
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
One of @megtirrell.bsky.social's many talents is that she's just a great explainer of science. Check out all these cool facts about how we see rainbows: www.cnn.com/2025/04/03/s...
cnn.com
No two people see the same exact rainbow. Here’s why | CNN
You will never see the same rainbow that’s in someone else’s eye. CNN’s Meg Tirrell examines the unique nature of this colorful phenomenon with Dr. Steven Businger, professor of atmospheric sciences f...
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
After Tuesday's massive cuts to federal health agencies, "We no longer have lead experts" a source at the CDC told me. That may leave the city of Milwaukee in a lurch www.cnn.com/2025/04/02/h...
cnn.com
A city responding to a lead crisis in local schools reached out to the CDC for help. Now they won’t get it. | CNN
A CDC team helping respond to a lead crisis in Milwaukee schools was cut as part of a widespread layoffs at federal health agencies this week.
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Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
As a candidate last year, Trump promised “to unleash the power of American innovation” to super-charge U.S. scientific research.
 He’s instead unleashed cuts and chaos, researchers and scientists warn. Our look at the abrupt changes — and the consequences. With @dtkeating.bsky.social
washingtonpost.com
Trump promised scientific breakthroughs. Researchers say he’s breaking science.
NIH funding for biomedical research has abruptly fallen by billions of dollars, with many grant decisions on hold. Trump officials say they’re reviewing the agency.
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
In a recent interview on Fox, HHS Sec. Kennedy praised the work of two frontline Texas doctors and their use of an unconventional treatment for measles. One of them has been disciplined by the Texas Medical Board for "usual use" of risky treatments before. www.cnn.com/2025/03/06/h...
cnn.com
Kennedy touts unconventional therapies for measles linked to disciplined Texas doctor | CNN
Kennedy has touted the benefits of an unconventional measles treatment including the steroid budesonide, the antibiotic clarithromycin and cod liver oil, which has high concentrations of vitamin A.
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CNN @cnn.com · 04/03/2025
Millions of federal workers were ordered to return to offices across the country in recent weeks, marking an end to Covid-era rules allowing more flexibility to work from home. Many have come back to workplaces that weren't ready for them. cnn.it/41nF0Ii
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
The upcoming meeting of FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee has been canceled, without explanation. The committee was due to select which strains should go into this fall's batch of seasonal flu vaccines @megtirrell.bsky.social with the news, www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/h...
cnn.com
FDA meeting to choose flu vaccine composition canceled without explanation | CNN
A March meeting of outside advisers to the United States Food and Drug Administration to discuss the composition of flu vaccines for this fall’s flu season has been canceled, a member of the advisory ...
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Alexander Tin @alexander-a-tin.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
“Many states that participate in the YRBSS already opted out of including the question about transgender identity in their state-level surveys (which are given to separate samples of youths than the nationally representative survey)”
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Alexander Tin @alexander-a-tin.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
www.cbsnews.com/news/thousan...
cbsnews.com
Thousands of probationary federal health agency workers fired by letter this weekend. Here's what it said.
The move comes amid a government-wide effort to cut probationary workers by the Department of Government Efficiency task force led by billionaire Elon Musk.
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
ICU doctors are telling me they're seeing larger-than-usual numbers of patients with bad complications from the flu this year including neurologic complications in kids. www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/h....
cnn.com
An intense flu season is filling hospitals with severely ill patients | CNN
The US is in the throes an unusually intense and severe flu season, with hospitalization rates topping the levels seen with Covid-19 at some points of the pandemic.
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
Great reporting by my CNN colleagues Rene Marsh and Ella Nilsen www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/c...
cnn.com
Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing they oversee the country’s weapons stockpile, sources say | CNN
Some of the fired probationary employees included on-the-ground staff at facilities where nuclear weapons are built.
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Meg Tirrell @megtirrell.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Longtime NIH deputy director Dr. Lawrence Tabak abruptly resigned last night, striking fear within the agency that he was forced out and that other leadership will also be shown the door (first reported by Science): www.cnn.com/politics/liv...
cnn.com
Trump speaks with Putin and Zelensky, federal cuts and Cabinet pick votes: Live updates | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump spoke with the president of Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday about the war as he moves to shrink the federal government in the US amid legal challenges. Meanwhile, Tulsi Gabbard,...
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Brittany Trang @brittanytrang.com · 11/02/2025
The newsletter ~is~ for STAT+ subscribers only (unless you pre-registered before Jan 20 or are a health tech newsletter subscriber! then you get the first 4 issues for free!) But today is your lucky day: Today's the LAST DAY for our 50% off STAT+ subscription sale! Get it b4 it's gone:
marketing.statnews.com
Get 50% off an annual STAT+ subscription
For World Cancer Day, get your 50% off your year of STAT+ and stay up-to-date on the latest trends and ground breaking discoveries in cancer research.
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Laurence H. Tribe @tribelaw.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
We are in a constitutional crisis right here and now www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/u...
nytimes.com
Trump’s Actions Have Created a Constitutional Crisis, Scholars Say
Law professors have long debated what the term means. But now many have concluded that the nation faces a reckoning as President Trump tests the boundaries of executive power.
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Jennifer Ouellette @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Researchers and scientists are increasingly worried about the fate of federal government health data after the Trump administration took databases and surveys offline in late January, and they fear other federally maintained databases could be the next to vanish. undark.org/2025/02/10/t...
undark.org
To Alarm of Scientists, Federal Health Data Is Disappearing
Researchers are sprinting to compile their own datasets and DIY sites. Lawmakers aren't doing much to reverse course.
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Bird flu news: A gene change in the new variant that's turned up in Nevada dairy cows may increase the risk to people... and a dairy worker has screened positive there, the first human infection in the state. www.cnn.com/2025/02/08/h...
cnn.com
Bird flu variant found in Nevada cows shows signs of adaptation to mammals | CNN
The newer variant of avian influenza that recently infected dairy cattle in Nevada has a genetic change that’s thought to help the virus copy itself in mammals — including humans — more easily, accord...
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Meg Tirrell @megtirrell.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Up next with Jake Tapper on CNN on latest on bird flu
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Adam Kucharski @adamjkucharski.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
It feels like the US is currently seeing the policy equivalent of the Gish gallop argument tactic: kucharski.substack.com/p/toxic-tact...
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Not now, bird flu. www.cnn.com/2025/02/05/h...
cnn.com
New bird flu infections in Nevada dairy cattle signal the virus may be here to stay | CNN
Six dairy herds in Nevada have tested positive for a newer variant of the H5N1 bird flu virus that’s been associated with severe infections in humans, according to the Nevada Department of Agriculture...
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Carolyn Bertozzi @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social · 05/02/2025
The NSF is the US engine of basic science discovery and technology innovation. This decision is a gift to our overseas competitors.
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Gary Schwitzer @garyschw.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
History is watching this unprecedented censorship. open.substack.com/pub/insideme...
open.substack.com
Massive censorship escalation at CDC. Trump Administration now choosing the public health data you can see.
Shuttering of public health data has become a hobby of this President.
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José Sepúlveda @josesepulveda.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
The #Constitution gives #Congress the sole authority to #appropriate the federal budget. #Trump intends to test an obscure legal theory known as #impoundment, that says presidents have the power to withhold funding from programs they dislike. ☕️ The #GOP has a trifecta. 📰: @mtredden.bsky.social
youtu.be
How Donald Trump Plans to Take Spending Control From Congress
YouTube video by ProPublica
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
And this is updated! With new information obtained by @megtirrell.bsky.social today. www.cnn.com/2025/01/21/h...
cnn.com
Trump administration directs federal health agencies to pause communications | CNN
Amid a deluge of executive actions, the Trump administration has directed federal health agencies to pause external communications, such as regular scientific reports, updates to websites and health a...
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
My New Year's Resolution was to be a better news communicator and explainer of some of the news sausage making... so here goes. Here's how this story came together: www.cnn.com/2025/01/21/h...
cnn.com
Trump administration directs federal health agencies to pause communications | CNN
Amid a deluge of executive actions, the Trump administration has asked federal health agencies to pause external communications, such as regular scientific reports, updates to websites and health advi...
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Meg Tirrell @megtirrell.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
HHS announces $590M in funding for Moderna to accelerate development of potential vaccines for pandemic flu, including H5N1: www.cnn.com/2025/01/17/h...
cnn.com
HHS invests nearly $600 million in Moderna’s bird flu vaccine development | CNN
The US Department of Health and Human Services will award $590 million to Moderna to continue developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu, the pharmaceutical company announced Friday.
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Brenda Goodman @reportergoodman.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
In the past month, almost 40 large and domestic cats have tested positive for H5N1 in the US. Most of those cases are linked to the raw food they were eating. www.cnn.com/2025/01/18/h...
cnn.com
Amid bird flu outbreak, certain kinds of pet food may be dangerous for animals – and people | CNN
The US Food and Drug Administration said it is tracking multiple cases of H5N1 bird flu in domestic and wild cats, including cases linked to contaminated pet food.
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Jeanine 💙 @madammaleficent.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
If you ever share / repost anything, please let it be this
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