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The individual had respiratory symptoms. He was previously hospitalized and has since been released.
1) What is the condition (e.g. recovering, good, critical, etc.) of the patient?
2) Around how long has she been hospitalized?
3) Around how long has it been since she was initially exposed to sick birds?
…
We don’t typically provide information on patient condition due to privacy concerns and decline to do so.
The patient was hospitalized within the last two weeks. Exposure to the sick poultry preceded her hospitalization by just a couple of days.
CDC confirmed a Wyoming resident, currently hospitalized in Colorado, is positive for avian influenza A(H5). Wyoming is leading the investigation. For additional information, please reach out to Kim Deti, kim.deti@wyo.gov, at the Wyoming Department of Health.
No matter how many staff members are ultimately let go due to this reckless order, each loss will directly impact how IHS—the 18th largest health care system in the U.S.—carries out its mission to millions of American Indians and Alaska Natives. Beyond providing direct health care services, IHS supports critical public health infrastructure, veterinary services, and essential utilities like clean drinking water and wastewater management in tribal communities nationwide. For years, the agency’s unacceptably high vacancy rate has been a bipartisan concern across multiple administrations. To see the hard-won progress of recruitment and retention efforts so casually disregarded is the very definition of government inefficiency and shows a disregard for Native American lives.
The patient is hospitalized in Colorado. We do not yet know the strain. She had flu-like symptoms.
Is it known what genotype (e.g. D1.1 or B3.13) caused these backyard poultry flock infections?
Yes, thanks for asking. It is B3.13.
HHS is following the Administration’s guidance and taking action to support the President’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government. This is to ensure that HHS better serves the American people at the highest and most efficient standard.
Question [00:51:55]
…talk about state advocacy. There’s been a lot of bills coming up in the states yes, focused on school meals and other things. Can you talk about the relationship between like how much focus you’ll have federally versus the states?
Del Bigtree [00:52:06]
Yeah, so we have, as– if you watching, we have a C4, which is MAHA Action. We just hired professional investigators and scientists to go through every single bill across America. And we will be listing on our website at MAHA Action every single bill we think should be either a pro MAHA bill or an anti MAHA bill.
You’re going to be able to track your representatives on how well they’re voting on MAHA issues. All of that will be in a very easy to use dashboard of the United States. And you can click on where you live and we’re going to show you who you can call. And we are going to get this movement to be directly involved with issues of food safety, drug safety, water safety, air safety, and that will all be done by our legislative outfit at MAHA Action.
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Del Bigtree [01:04:30]
I saw him speak with Rand Paul who keeps asking for information on gain of function and exactly when and where, and very specific FOIA requests. And I saw him say today at the Oval Office, they’re still gaslighting me. I can’t get it.
And Bobby said, I’m going to walk down there this afternoon and make sure you get it. Those are the types of things he can do right away.
And I think you’re going to see this, this hold up of transparency and information being held from our political representatives, being held from us.
As far as my role, Bobby Kennedy and I are very good friends. I have always appreciated our relationship and I am there for him in any capacity that he needs me whenever, wherever, however.
I will wait for him to decide what he needs from me.
Right now, what he has said is Dell, I need you to go out and actually Make America Healthy Again. Everything in here will be about regulations and trying to get the truth out. But if we don’t get people eating better, if we don’t get them to stop taking way too many drugs, if we don’t get them to start exercising, if we don’t get them to start sleeping right, then I am not going to prove this point.
Donald Trump has given Robert Kennedy Jr. two years to reverse the chronic disease epidemic. That seems like it would be almost impossible. I am going to attempt to work with all of the grassroots people that are out there. All of the different groups that have already done work.
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Del Bigtree [01:07:36]
There’s a reason why you bring in a head of the FDA, we still need Marty Makary to take over that position. We still need Dr. Mehmet Oz to be confirmed for CMS. We still need– I’m forgetting CDC’s– Dr. Dave Weldon, sorry, Dave Weldon, who is also a good friend of mine. I’ve known for years.
We need them to take on those roles. What Robert Kennedy Jr. is he’s great at leading teams of people. I was one of those people. He relies on their talent to do the job, and they’ll be having discussions on how to best move forward.
That’s all I can say about that. It won’t be him by himself.
Question [01:08:21]
Well, maybe picking up on that. I mean, talk to us about what you’ve told Mr. Kennedy about what should happen to the scientists and the health officials that have been overseeing the system. I mean, is it possible for him to get his agenda done if those people are still in their positions?
Del Bigtree [01:08:37]
Look, I did some interviewing of candidates and just trying to help out and push people his way.
And a few whistle blowers from inside of our regulatory agencies came to me and they all said the same thing they said, is it true that there is some revolving door where some of these scientists do things to maybe get a big job in pharma? Yes. But that’s probably only 10% of your problem.
Is it true that there’s corruption in funding that they’re getting and they’re getting kick backs from some of the products that they make? Yeah, sure, that’s happening, but that’s probably 10% of your problem.
And I heard this several times, they said 80% of your problem is this massive bureaucracy that is essentially like watching a substitute teacher come into the room in the classroom. And they think, well, you’ll be gone in four years. We’ll just sort of stone wall and not move things, and nothing gets done. And that was said by people that have had the highest positions that are in there.
I will also say though that when they spoke of Robert Kennedy Jr. and sometimes speaking to him, there was a light in their eyes. And they looked at him almost like a superhero and said, you know, you are different. You might be able to do what I couldn’t do because I still have to leave and run my legal practice that has pharmaceutical clients. And I still have to make sure I don’t make anyone upset.
But you, Robert Kennedy Jr. are not owned by any of the people that are trying to control these regulatory agencies. You might be able to just do what we all have dreamed about.
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Del Bigtree [01:20:22]
We cannot avoid looking the truth in the eyes and saying, you know what? I have to reconsider that.
The moment we stop looking at science, we are now involved in a religion. And for anyone to believe that asking questions right now of a program where there’s this many side effects and no placebo trials and small studies being done, that show an increase in autism with vaccinations, then we need to reopen this investigation and we need to reopen the investigation in the chemicals in our food.
And we’ve got to analyze those regulatory agents and doctors and scientists that put the stuff into our environment, allowed the stuff on our grocery shelves allowed these things to be injected into our kids without a proper study.
Those people should never work for the United States government again.
And only people that remember why they’re here, that believe in the Hippocratic oath to do no harm, not harm to just a small group of people, while we work towards the greater good. That is what do no harm means?
You’re not allowed to think of any other patient except the one sitting right in front of you. This one right in front of you might be injured today. It’s a possibility.
We all need to do everything we can to make sure that that child or that person is perfectly safe and never has to worry about being hurt.
19;12;49;19 KENNEDY: Congress has repeatedly, and the National Academies of Sciences, have repeatedly ordered CDC to put together a better vaccine adverse events reporting system.
Q: Will you require it?
KENNEDY: And we will do that right away.
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19;13;01;06 Q: There’s rumors out there that as many as 50% of the employees of HHS will be cut in the restructuring of government that DOGE is helping President Trump carry out. And people are wringing their hands. Your response to that?
KENNEDY: I don’t know anything about 50% of people being cut. There’s 90,000 employees. I would be surprised if there were 50% cuts.
Q: How much do you think you might cut?
KENNEDY: Well, I mean, I think the lower level employees at HHS, most of them are public-spirited, good public servants, good American patriots, and hardworking people.
What I’m interested in are moving around, moving away the people who have made really bad decisions, for example, on the nutrition guidelines.
People who have– you know, there’s people at NIH that were involved in the amyloid plaque scandals that derailed Alzheimer’s treatment for 20 years.
It’s all corruption. Those kind of people need to be moved.
Q: Do you have a list of people that you already know need to be removed in quickly?
KENNEDY: I have a list in my head. And, you know, we have a generic list of the kind of people that, if you’ve been involved in good science, you’ve got nothing to worry about. If you care about public health, you’ve got nothing to worry about.
If you’re in there working for the pharmaceutical industry, then I’d say you should move out and work for the pharmaceutical industry.
Dear Colleagues,
With gratitude for his strong leadership and commitment, I announce National Institutes of Health (NIH) Principal Deputy Director Lawrence A. Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D., retired from federal service effective Feb. 11, 2025, after 25 years of service. Dr. Tabak has held critical NIH leadership roles since 2000, most notably in his current role as the second in command since August 2010, and two years as the Acting NIH Director from December 2021-November 2023. He has helped shape important policy decisions at NIH over four administrations. He has guided NIH through complex issues and will be sorely missed.
Dr. Tabak also served as the Deputy Ethics Counselor since August 2010 and as Director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research from 2000-2010. In addition to his administrative duties, he maintained a research laboratory within the NIH intramural program studying glycoprotein biosynthesis and function.
Prior to joining NIH, Dr. Tabak was the Senior Associate Dean for Research and professor of dentistry and biochemistry & biophysics in the School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester, New York.
Dr. Tabak is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academies. He received his undergraduate degree from City College of New York, his D.D.S. from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Buffalo.
I thank Dr. Tabak for his 25 years of leadership in biomedical research and public health in service of the American people.
Sincerely,
Matthew J. Memoli, M.D., M.S. Acting Director, NIH
I really want the general public to know how good of a person and scientist he is. Despite all of his duties for the institution, he always made time for mentorship and ensuring sound science was conducted. His benefit to me and the NIH cannot be overstated. He would work 80 hours a weekly regularly with no days off. He truly gave himself up for the American public. it’s absolutely insane to have him cast out like this and to paint him as anything other than a dedicated public servant.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO [00:10:20]
A significant part of WHO’s response to health emergencies in Uganda, DRC, Gaza, Sudan, and elsewhere is supported by funding from the United States.
As we have said, we regret the announcement that the United States intends to withdraw from WHO and we would welcome the opportunity to engage in constructive dialog.
There are also actions that the U.S. government is taking that are unrelated to its intended withdrawal from WHO but which we are concerned are having a serious impact on global health.
For example, the suspension of funding to PEPFAR, the president’s emergency plan for aids relief, caused an immediate stop to HIV treatment testing and prevention services in the 50 countries that PEPFAR supports based on bilateral agreements.
Although a waiver has been granted for life saving services, it does not include prevention services for some of the most at risk groups.
Despite the waiver, clinics are shuttered and health workers have been put on leave.
WHO is gathering data on service disruptions and supporting countries with mitigation measures, including by filling gaps in supplies of antivirals.
The sudden suspension of U.S. funding and the sudden disengagement of U.S. institutions is also affecting the response to global efforts to eradicate polio and the response to mpox epidemics in Africa.
In Myanmar, almost 60,000 people, most of them women and children have been left with no access to life saving services. And we have limited information about the spread of avian influenza among dairy cattle, in the U.S., or human cases.
We ask the U.S. to consider continuing its funding, at least until solutions can be found.
…
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO [00:16:46]
U.S. is reporting cases of avian influenza through IHR channels.
So we have had reports of a H1N2v of swine virus through IHR, a human detection.
We’ve also had a human case of H5 that has been reported through IHR channels.
CDC right now is not reporting influenza data through the WHO global platforms, FluNet, FluID, that they’ve been providing information for many, many years.
And we have not had direct communication, with CDC related to influenza, we are communicating with them, but we haven’t heard anything back.
We are receiving information on avian influenza, through animal infections, USDA has published some information online.
So we do know about some circulation that’s happening in dairy cattle, but as DG has said, we welcome active technical exchange with our colleagues in the U.S.
And there are very important meetings that are taking place, and we welcome, as always, the engagement of our technical partners in the U.S., as well as through all of our member states and in fact, a technical exchange with anyone, anywhere.
…
Abdi Rahman Mahamud, WHO [00:24:47]
Close collaborations coming from U.S., both U.S. CDC at the field level, both in Uganda and Tanzania have been given permission to work very closely with WHO, and we have seen the initial announcement from the U.S. to support the response.
So we would like to see more because the demand is huge.
Uganda has a very strong capability, have responded to this, their eighth Ebola disease outbreak they’re dealing, but it started in the capital. And, I think would be very important for all countries to show that solidarity not only for Uganda, but all other countries dealing with this response.
…
Abdi Rahman Mahamud, WHO [00:26:03]
All the confirmed cases, the nine, are all epidemiologically linked to the index cases.
Part of the ongoing investigation is to understand better how did this healthcare worker got infected? A lot of investigation are going on, and then the country is improving.
So people get confused between cases, suspect cases, alerts.
As the government improved the surveillance system, we expect to see more suspected cases, more alert coming from the community.
All those cases have been investigated and confirmed.
The government also introduced additional layers of surveillance called mortality surveillance, where they go swab samples from people who died for a non-Ebola disease.
And so out of the 200 deaths, they tested all were negative. So while there’s a lot of room for improvement, we are confident Uganda has the core capability and it requires support.
So just to reiterate again, all the confirmed cases, epidemiologically link to the presumed index case.
…
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO [00:27:15]
So there’s a vaccine composition meeting that’s taking place in a couple of weeks, every six months or so, the world comes together, the HWO collaborating centers for influenza technical partners to make recommendations on seasonal influenza vaccine composition.
They also make recommendations in looking at the circulating zoonotic influenza viruses to identify candidate vaccine viruses that can be used by manufacturers, should there need to be these types of vaccines developed for a pandemic related to a zoonotic influenza.
That meeting will take place. There are many meetings that actually lead up to the face to face meeting that happens every six months or so.
U.S. CDC and many partners, we actually have national influenza centers in 130 member states that contribute data to this assessment that happens every six months to make the recommendation for the seasonal vaccine composition.
So those meetings have been taking place. Data has been exchanged.
The face to face meeting will take place in a couple weeks and the recommendation will come.
So I think it’s really important that all of that you know there are several WHO collaborating centers, including some in the United States, they play a major role in the global influenza surveillance and response system.
This system that has been in operation for 73 years, they are characterizing viruses, influenza viruses that are circulating. They share samples, they share genetic sequencing, they do risk assessments, and they make these recommendations to make sure that the vaccines that are produced by manufacturers provide as much protection as they can against severe disease and death, for seasonal flu, but they also make recommendations for viruses that could become a pandemic strain.
So we are not in a situation where in a pre-pandemic for avian influenza, we’re in an inter-pandemic period.
So these meetings are really, really critical. That meeting will take place. There will be a recommendation that will be made, and we will make that announcement as soon as that meeting is finished.
…
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO [00:31:00]
The communication from CDC stopped around the 24th of January.
But up until that, I want to be really clear, there are incredible scientists at U.S. CDC and across U.S. institutions, as well as the institutions in all of the member states that we work with.
We hope that this exchange resumes soon.
We are continuing to reach out to our colleagues in the U.S. government agencies. We haven’t heard back from them, but we will continue to reach out. And we hope again that exchange resumes.
We have, I want to reiterate, that the U.S. has reported human cases of avian influenza through IHR, that has continued. And we do hope that there will be more uploads to the different websites and through the different portals related to influenza as well as other diseases.
So it’s not just influenza, obviously that we’re concerned about, but all of them, and this ask is for all of our member states, to continue to do good detection work, to utilize their surveillance systems, multiple components of surveillance systems, because everything that we do in support of our member states and pandemic prevention, preparedness readiness response is around surveillance, detection, collaboration, and supporting those capacities that exist in all countries, so that we could prevent that next big event from happening.
…
Teresa Zakaria, WHO [00:32:51]
Very important to highlight in Myanmar is the very large portion of the population that has no access to health services.
In 2025, close to 20 million people are expected to be in need of some kind of humanitarian assistance. And that include health services.
The focus of WHO’s work has really been to increase access to health services in those areas that have been hardest to reach. We still have a long way to go to, to properly increase coverage to health services, for which donations, funding, that is provided by the United States is significant.
So the number, that is a reflection basically of the number of people that we are trying to improve their access to health services.
But it’s really just a small portion of the entire number of people actually in need of humanitarian assistance in Myanmar.
And, we do very frequently forget just the scale of suffering in needs in this country as well.
Just to very quickly to touch on the United States of America’s contribution to WHO’s emergency operations, we’re looking at 39 percent of the total funding received, and available for WHO’s emergency operations for the grade three emergencies.
So that’s quite a significant amount. And what it means is that everywhere in, in any graded emergencies, in any settings, territories, and countries where WHO is trying to respond to these emergencies, it’s about increasing access to health services. It’s making sure that people have access, they do not face barriers in accessing the services that they need, and that the public health functions are operational.
So quantifying those who are directly impacted is a way of showing it.
…
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO [00:35:49]
So, the vaccine composition meeting will take place in a couple of weeks.
U.S. CDC, our WHO collaborating centers and partners, have been invited. Don’t know if they will come.
But as I said, in my previous answer, there are many meetings that actually lead up to the face to face vaccine composition meeting all year long
The WHO collaborating centers, the national influenza centers, there are national influenza centers in 133 member states. They’re sharing information about circulating viruses and all of that information over the course of the six months, a year is actually utilized in making that decision about the vaccine composition for either the Northern hemisphere or the Southern hemisphere.
So, yes, there is a pause in the reporting of information from the U.S., as we’ve said, we hope that that resumes, we hope that that technical exchange resumes, but there is data that has been provided from the U.S. as well as from many countries around the world.
So it’s not just that one meeting, where data is exchanged. Data is exchanged over the course of the whole year and for many, many years.
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Abdi Rahman Mahamud, WHO [00:37:02]
The DG has already alluded the things in vaccination, but there is also the financial, around 7.5 million that was allocated for key critical interventions has been impacted and more importantly, the humanitarian crisis where a lot of the NGO partners we have in government that depend heavily on the USAID and U.S. partners funding.
But I want to reiterate, again, it’s more than even the funding.
As we speak today in Uganda, global outbreak alert response network started by U.S. CDC and WHO coming together.
And through that mechanism, U.S. CDC has deployed almost 842 deployment of U.S. experts to countries that would never have been accessed.
So it continuous exchange between WHO, its two sister organization, has been very critical.
So while we’re very happy to see U.S. CDC experts coming to the field, joining us in Tanzania, in Uganda, I think this is a very critical, important collaboration that needs to be further strength, and it’s beyond even the financial, which has direct impact on our partners and WHO, but there’s technical collaboration that will be lost for both.
…
Meg Doherty, WHO [00:39:26]
Currently right now, there are limited waivers that have come forward to be able to allow access to life saving treatment, including antiretroviral therapies, mother to child transmission.
But, we have noted that there has been confusion in countries and certainly with the furloughed healthcare workers, some of the services have not been able to get started again.
So what we’ve been doing at our coordination is having contact with countries ministries, and when there are requests for other antiretrovirals to go to one country or another, we seek support, from country to country for sharing.
This is a very short term limited approach that we did during COVID to ensure life saving medicines were available.
But over the long term, there’s going to need to be greater coordination, especially with other resources and some of the domestic resources that are now going into antiretroviral programs.
So this will be an evolving story. And, I think each day we learn something new and currently right now countries and ministries are working very hard to see how they can mitigate the effects and we are there with them as they do that transition.
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Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO [00:53:17]
U.S. colleagues contribute to many different types of information exchange with us.
So what I was referring to with influenza, there’s data that can go on on databases, online, in reporting systems that exist globally.
I mentioned Flu ID, I mentioned Flu Net, but the data that is published on the CDC website across a number of different diseases is information that is still needed for a number of different programs.
But CDC and other U.S. experts also participate in advisory groups. They participate in expert network discussions where we are developing evidence based guidance.
There are meetings that have been taking place, looking at different types of research for Marburg, for Ebola, for mpox, for many different types of really critical technical outbreaks that are happening right now.
And that’s the exchange that we are asking to continue.
So while all of these other things are being worked out, the technical exchange between scientists, between collaborators, whether this is happening at a global level, at a regional level, or in country as part of a response, or as part of preparedness efforts, that’s the exchange that we want to resume.
…
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO [00:55:35]
The three strategic goals are mobilize resources, tighten the belt, and also engage.
So it’s within our own goals and that’s what we are trying to do.
Of course, without formal engagement or without engagement, you wouldn’t know what would really help in terms of continuing the cooperation and for the U.S. to reconsider its decision.
On the issues you raised in the executive order, I can give you some examples.
For instance, one is, it asks about WHO’s reform.
Of course we believe in reform. We believe that change is a constant. We believe in continuous improvement.
And since I started, we have initiated the biggest transformation initiative in the history of the organization and the seven pillars I said earlier.
And many of those initiatives are happening, changing the organization, preparing it for the future.
For instance, our investment in science, in data and in technology is forward looking and that will be game changers, and that will really shape up the organization and prepare it for the future.
So we have been doing that, but still if reform, if there is more reform idea from the U.S., they’re welcome, we are actually asking for it. We have been asking for it.
So if there are good ideas, there are ideas, we would be happy to take those. So I don’t think this should be a reason. It should be actually a reason to cooperate.
And then the other issue is payments, of course, in the executive order says U.S. pays disproportionately.
Of course we thank the U.S. for its generosity. I know the U.S. generosity and leadership, not just as DG of WHO but when I was working in Ethiopia as head of department, as minister of health and so on, that actually helped me when I was minister to transform the health sector of Ethiopia.
So I’m really grateful for that. And that’s why I feel sad when U.S. has decided to withdraw, because I know its leadership and impact at country level and the same at global level.
But when it does this, of course, this is wants to help the rest of the world. But at the same time, the U.S. also benefits from it.
But, if the U.S. wants to pay less, it’s actually in line with what we are doing as part of our reform, because we have started in 2017, the sustainable financing reform that is helping us to broaden donor base.
And when this succeeds, the contribution of traditional donors, including the U.S. could decline.
Of course it will take some years, but it will decline because the burden will be shared.
So if this is what the U.S. wants, then again, cooperation and being with WHO will be the answer, meaning we are asking exactly the same thing we are asking, share burden, the burden and the U.S. saying, share the burden. So there is no difference at all.
And we started this seven years ago.
And if there are other issues they raise, we are building a transparent organization, an accountable organization, a responsive organization, and we would respond to any queries or issues there are. And we hope U.S. will reconsider and work with us to continue the reform that we have started seven years ago.
And I think that would be actually one thing we expect as part of our goals now for the U.S. to come back, but look forward to their engagement.
At this time, Central Nevada Health District is not aware of any additional presumptive positive cases or symptomatic individuals. We continue testing and monitoring in the region in partnership with local dairy operations. This is an evolving situation and we will continue to communicate with reporters and the public when relevant new information is learned.
I said that communication has been challenging and that the traditional ways of communication have been disrupted. But that’s all I or we have. Feel free to join the global press briefing with Dr Tedros tomorrow, pm.
“the appropriations rider inserted in 2017 when Republicans controlled the Congress was ill-advised as it prohibited not just a rational discussion of how indirect cost rates should be calculated but also prohibited any attempts to relieve research institutions of arbitrary, outdated and objectively stupid regulatory burdens. It’s time for a transparent bipartisan discussion of whether taxpayers are getting cutting edge research out of NIH, whether researchers are subject to appropriate ethical obligations and whether all that paperwork should be required.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued a statement on the cap to indirect costs on biomedical research funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“I oppose the poorly conceived directive imposing an arbitrary cap on the indirect costs that are part of NIH grants and negotiated between the grant recipient and NIH. I have heard from the Jackson Laboratory, the University of Maine, Maine Medical Center Research Institute, the University of New England, and MDI Biological Laboratory, among others, that these cuts, which in some cases would apply retroactively to existing grants, would be devastating, stopping vital biomedical research and leading to the loss of jobs.
“This morning, I called Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, to express my strong opposition to these arbitrary cuts in funding for vital research at our Maine institutions, which are known for their excellence. He has promised that as soon as he is confirmed, he will re-examine this initiative that was implemented prior to his confirmation.
“Additionally, Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations legislation includes language that prohibits the use of funds to modify NIH indirect costs.
“There is no investment that pays greater dividends to American families than our investment in biomedical research. In Maine, scientists are conducting much-needed research on Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, and on how to improve efficiency in drug discovery, helping to lower the cost of prescription drugs, and conducting many other life-enhancing or life-saving research.”
“Foremost, anyone who has not been vaccinated for flu this season should get vaccinated immediately. Flu activity remains elevated and continues to increase across the country. While flu activity and flu season severity cannot be predicted and can vary from season to season, it is expected to see flu activity elevated and increasing at this time of the year. Flu activity in the United States can vary widely and is determined by several factors, including the characteristics of circulating flu viruses, the timing of the season, how many people have pre-existing immunity to circulating flu viruses, how well the flu vaccine is protecting those who are vaccinated against illness, and how many people get vaccinated.”
Information for Background:
According to the latest FluView Report, flu activity is increasing in all 10 HHS regions and across all age groups. Elevated flu activity is expected to continue for weeks and even months to come. There’s still time for individuals and family to benefit from the flu vaccine this season.”
I saw reports that there are several symptomatic dairy workers at the Churchill County dairies. Is that true?
At this time we have no evidence of dairy workers showing symptoms.
Please note that this is an evolving situation and we will continue to communicate with reporters and the public when relevant new information is learned.
Attributable to a CDC Spokesperson
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed a human infection with avian influenza A(H5) (H5 bird flu) in Nevada. This infection happened in a dairy worker with exposure to dairy cows experiencing an outbreak of H5 bird flu as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The person experienced conjunctivitis (eye redness and irritation). This case involving cow-to-human spread of H5 in a person with higher-risk occupational exposure does not change CDC’s risk assessment, which remains low for the public but is higher for people with occupational or recreational exposures.
CDC will continue to provide updates as additional information becomes available. For more information, read the Central Nevada Health District statement.
Background information
The individual in Nevada reported experiencing conjunctivitis, similar to most cases associated with dairy cows to date who had mild respiratory symptoms or conjunctivitis. The person did not need to be hospitalized and is recovering.
USDA has identified H5 viruses in dairy cows in Nevada as having the D1.1 genotype, the predominant virus in migratory birds. CDC’s full genome analysis of the virus from the human case in Nevada confirms that is the same virus as that found in the cows (D1.1). Based on available data this same virus likely infected 15 people in Iowa, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin during 2024. This virus (D1.1) is different from the virus (B3.13) that caused the dairy cow outbreaks and the majority of human infections in the United States to date. The majority of human infections in the United States have been mild irrespective of the H5 genotype, with the exception of the fatal case in Louisiana last year in a person who had prolonged, unprotected exposure to infected backyard birds.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported on February 7 that H5 viruses identified in some dairy cows in Nevada contain a genetic mutation in the polymerase basic 2 (PB2) protein that has previously been associated with more efficient virus replication in people and other mammals (i.e., change of PB2 D701N). CDC’s analysis of sequence data from the human case in Nevada found this same mutation. This change was previously identified in a human case in Chile in 2023. No other changes associated with mammalian adaption were identified in the sequence data from the human case in Nevada. CDC also did not identify any changes in the sequence data that might impact antigenicity or susceptibility to antivirals. However, the virus will undergo further analysis and testing.
There is currently no evidence of person-to-person spread of H5N1 bird flu from this individual in Nevada to others. Combined with the mild nature of the individual’s illness, this case does not change CDC’s low risk assessment for the public. The risk assessment for H5 could change as more information about this case becomes available or as additional cases are detected. Influenza viruses constantly change, requiring continued surveillance and preparedness efforts. CDC is taking measures to be ready in case the current risk assessment for the public changes.
This development underscores the importance of recommended precautions in people with exposure to infected or potentially infected animals, including use of appropriate personal protective equipment. People with close or prolonged, unprotected exposures to infected cows, birds, or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected cows, birds, or other animals, are at greater risk of infection.
I read that the department thinks the virus spilled over from wild birds into cows independently at multiple dairies, as opposed to spreading between dairies. Is that right?
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We believe the initial infection came from spillover from wild birds. We are still conducting our epidemiology study to determine how it is being spread between dairies.
“People of all ages are at risk for getting pertussis (whooping cough). Everyone who is not up to date with whooping cough vaccination should get vaccinated. Data for January 2025 are pending confirmation; However, we are aware of 12 confirmed whooping cough deaths in 2024.”
Background Information:
Preliminary cases reported in 2024 are higher than cases for any year since 2014, but this is expected. Whooping cough is a cyclic disease, and the United States typically sees peaks in disease every 3-5 years; however, the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted typical whooping cough patterns. Additionally, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) modified the whooping cough case definition on January 1, 2020. The changes were made to help improve case identification, which could lead to increased case counts. The 2020 CSTE case definition can be viewed here: https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/case-definitions/pertussis-2020/. Reported cases continue to remain elevated in 2025.
Babies are at greatest risk for have severe complications from whooping cough. Most whooping cough deaths are in babies younger than 3 months old―too young to be protected by having received their own vaccines. Vaccinating pregnant women with a whooping cough vaccine (Tdap) is the most important thing we can do to help protect babies during their first few months of life, before they are old enough to get their own whooping cough vaccines.
While whooping cough typically isn’t a severe illness for teens and adults, complications are possible. Also, the coughing fits can last for weeks or months. Whooping cough is usually less severe for those who have been vaccinated. Learn more about whooping cough vaccine recommendations: Whooping Cough Vaccination Whooping Cough CDC.
An outbreak of HPAI H5N9 (clade unidentified) was reported in France in 2015 and ended on 20 April 2016. Since then, no other outbreaks of this subtype has been reported from other countries until now.
Risk remains low despite what appears to be the introduction of a different genotype of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus into dairy cows based on the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Stakeholder Registry email. CDC continues to monitor this situation closely for signs that would indicate the risk to human health has changed.
This is the extent of the guidance we have for how we sort out our lives, plan our next steps, know how our senior can graduate from the school that is paid for or if we leave him behind somehow with trusted friends to do so, or how our 9yo knows when she says goodbye to her teachers and friends?
We are being traumatized without a plan, and for WHAT? There are ways to do this humanely and logically. If ppl think AID should be downsized, fine…do it legally, thoughtfully, and purposefully. And we are in a better situation than so many of our colleagues who we’ve worked alongside, who take great risks, and are just abandoned because of their hiring mechanism. This 90 day “review” that they said was going to happen… never was put out there in good faith. They’ve taken over our databases with our indicators and results, trying to keep us from accessing info to demonstrate the value of our work. Thev weren’t fast enough though. So, now they know they were going to lose with any bs “90 day review” so they had to cut us off from all of it, including the treasury payments via the culty tech bro teenagers they’re using so there is probably not even money to get us home. And I say this again, we are better off in this whole shitstorm than so many other people and families who are dedicating their lives to public service, diplomacy, humanitarian causes, saving lives, preventing coups, attacks….I’m so tired
We are literally trained for how to survive hostile situations, and are prepared for that as much as we can be, but this is next level, especially because it’s from our own country who we’ve taken oaths to serve
How many herds are believed to have been infected linked to the outbreak?
Detections of H5N1 have been made in dairy cattle in Nye County and Churchill County.
i. The detection in Nye County was confirmed in December of 2024 as H5N1 B3.13. This herd was placed under quarantine at the first sign of illness and will remain under quarantine until they test negative for 3 consecutive weeks.
ii. Four detections in Churchill County have been confirmed as H5N1 D1.1 and were placed under quarantine. Two additional herds in Churchill County have been placed under quarantine with “non-negative” laboratory results at a National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) lab and are awaiting confirmation from the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory.
Are you able to describe the kinds of symptoms that have been reported in cows?
Symptoms of H5N1 D1.1 have been similar to the detections of B3.13. These include fever, reduced feed consumption, reduced milk production and mild respiratory signs (coughing, sneezing, runny nose).
CMS has two senior Agency veterans – one focused on policy and one focused on operations – who are leading the collaboration with DOGE, including ensuring appropriate access to CMS systems and technology. We are taking a thoughtful approach to see where there may be opportunities for more effective and efficient use of resources in line with meeting the goals of President Trump.
Working on a story to publish this afternoon about the SVD outbreak in Uganda, and checking in to see if there’s a comment or statement to share on two details in our story:
CDC staff have been unable to coordinate with WHO in Uganda’s incident command to respond to the virus
CDC’s usual meetings with state and local health officials and external stakeholders to share information about the outbreak have not occurred, amid the current communications pause
Appreciate anything you can share by 2 p.m. ET today.
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This is inaccurate. CDC has been cleared to speak one-on-one with WHO counterparts related to response activities in Uganda, Tanzania and DRC.
Sen. Bill Cassidy [00:04:57]
Mr. Kennedy and the administration reached out seeking to reassure me regarding their commitment to protecting the public health benefit of vaccination.
To this end, Mr. Kennedy and the administration committed that he and I would have an unprecedentedly close, collaborative working relationship, if he is confirmed. We will meet or speak multiple times a month. This collaboration will allow us to work well together and therefore, to be more effective.
Mr. Kennedy has asked for my input into hiring decisions at HHS beyond Senate confirmed positions. And this aspect of the collaboration will allow us to represent all sides of those folks who are contacting me over this past weekend.
He has also committed that he would work within current vaccine approval and safety monitoring systems and not establish parallel systems.
If confirmed, he’ll maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations without changes.
CDC will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism.
Mr. Kennedy and the administration also committed that this administration will not use the subversive techniques used under the Biden administration, like sue and settle, to change policies enacted by Congress without first going through Congress.
Mr. Kennedy and the administration committed to a strong role of Congress. Aside from he and I meeting regularly, he will come before the HELP committee on a quarterly basis if requested.
He committed that the HELP committee chair, whether it’s me or someone else, may choose a representative on any board or commission formed to review vaccine safety.
If he is confirmed, HHS will provide a 30 day notice to the HELP committee if the agency seeks to make changes to any of our federal vaccine safety monitoring programs and HELP committee will have the option to call a hearing to further review.
These commitments and my expectation that we can have a great working relationship to Make America Healthy Again is the basis of my support.
10:13:33 CRAPO: In response to members of the committee, Mr. Kennedy has even amended his ethics agreement going beyond what is required by the government office of ethics.
Mr. Kennedy has proven his commitment to the role of secretary of the HHS. And I will vote in favor of his nomination.
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10:14:29 WYDEN: The last several days we’ve witnessed an authoritarian takeover of our federal government by Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
They have set their sights on a full purge of anyone in government that doesn’t bend the knee and follow their orders.
They’ve taken over the Treasury Department’s payment system. And colleagues, that has a direct effect on major programs within our committee’s jurisdiction.
That includes Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
For example, this committee voted for a major reform of pharmacy benefit manager legislation. We passed it 26 to nothing. But Trump and Musk killed it.
Think what they could do with abuse of the payment system.
Now, in my view, much of this is of dubious legality and constitutional authority. And certainly flies in face of congressional responsibilities.
I’ll wrap up on this point by saying I hope our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will not sit by while Musk and Trump make a mockery of the power Republicans hold in their congressional majority.
Now more than ever, the American people need leaders that will stand up to these abuses.
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10:19:08 WYDEN: Do senators want their legacy to include disregarding basic health science and instead elevate conspiracy theorists?
Making Robert Kennedy Secretary of Health and Human Services, in my view, colleagues, would be a grave threat to the health of the American people.
And I urge my colleagues this morning to vote no.
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10:22:35 CANTWELL: So the most challenging– I wanted to vote for Mr. Kennedy in the context of my family’s history.
My dad stood behind his father the night his father gave the famous speech. I told him in my office, in my family, the Kennedys stood up.
But when he answered Senator Cassidy’s question and he couldn’t even give him the answer that, yes, the data is there to support vaccines today.
I don’t need any more data.
All of a sudden, I saw this world that we got affected by in Seattle not being stood up for.
I need someone at HHS who is going to say we are going to be a leader in medical technology, science, vaccines, we are going to fight foreign powers, we are going to be there to provide global health.
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10:24:46 WARNOCK: I simply do not trust him to oversee the CDC.
He’s unqualified, and I dare say everybody here knows it. We need a serious person at the helm of the HHS, an agency responsible for about half of the health– of about half of all Americans.
Mr. Kennedy appears more obsessed in chasing conspiracy theories than chasing solutions to lower health care costs for working families in Georgia and to make sure that we are protected. The last thing we need is a dilettante aabbling in conspiracy theories at HHS.
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10:33:04 WARREN: Since we had our hearing last week, Mr. Kennedy has amended his ethics agreement.
Recall that his ethics agreement said that while he was secretary of HHS, he intended to retain a financial interest in ongoing vaccine litigation that he was already collecting money from.
And that he wanted to continue to collect that money even though he could affect the outcome of that litigation.
Now, he has since changed his position on that. Once this has been exposed and people have talked about it and have some pretty serious reservations about his doing that.
He has said that he will instead give his financial interest to his son. That is a fig leaf that is so small, it would take a magnifying glass to see it.
No one is fooled about what’s happening here.
Mr. Kennedy refuses to say that he will not participate in these lawsuits financially the day after he leaves office.
And yet, Mr. Kennedy has acknowledged first that the American people have a right to know that the decisions you’re making are decisions that are in their interest not in your future financial interest.
He has said he thinks that’s the right standard, and yet he has figured out how to make money off his anti-vax positions. He’s already raked in $2.5 million.
He is in a position where he can affect the outcomes by things he does as Secretary of HHS.
And yet he refuses to say that he will delay by even a day taking on anti-vax lawsuits the minute he leaves.
That is an appalling conflict of interest, and it’s one in which the American people can reasonably ask, is Mr. Kennedy’s plan to help the American people? Or is he planning to use this job to further enrich himself?
And he’s pointed out with his son, and enrich his family.
The importance of this litigation cannot be overstated. This is not only about a private company that gets sued and has to pay out.
Vaccine manufacturers often operate on very slim profit margins. If they get sued repeatedly and successfully, they simply move out of the vaccine space.
We’ve already seen this happen with vaccines in the past. 20 years ago, we watched vaccines just move away if they did not have protection from these kinds of lawsuits.
The consequence of Mr. Kennedy’s ability to make those lawsuits easier is also the ability to shut down access and manufacturing for vaccines for every one of us. And I think that’s a terrible mistake.
HHS continues to increase staff levels as we look forward to the new Secretary leading the agency. HHS has approved numerous communications related to critical health and safety needs and will continue to do so. In addition, ASPA is now more flexible with communications as HHS and its Divisions work to align with President Trump’s agenda.
There are several types of external communications that are no longer subject to the pause. All HHS divisions have been given clear guidance on how to seek approval for any other type of mass communication.
FDA’s Upper Management has made the decision to postpone/TBD the February 20, 2025, General and Plastic Surgery Devices Panel meeting.