COVID & Health News, 6/1/25

Regional wastewater levels for COVID, RSV, Flu A, Flu B and Norovirus are all low or very low. HMPV, which causes cold symptoms, is still high. Rotavirus, which can cause stomach flu, is high in some areas although the curve is unusual and may recalibrate over the next few days.

COVID

Across America, SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater are mostly low, as are Emergency Department visits and deaths from COVID. On Memorial Day, JP Weiland pointed out that overall “Covid killed more people in the US than all US battle and non-combat related deaths in all of the US wars put together. People want to forget, but we should be memorializing these losses as well.”

According to JP Weiland, there are about 158,000 new COVID cases per day now in the United States which translates to 1 in every 210 people is currently infected. This equals to about 1.1 million COVID infections per week in the US during this lull, and if only 5% of those people get Long COVID, that means about 55,000 new Long COVID cases will result from this week alone.

Wastewater levels of SARS-CoV-2 are just starting to increase in the West. This may be related to the West Coast’s proximity to Asia where NB.1.8.1 is causing major COVID waves. As of 5/31/25, top SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater in California per WastewaterSCAN were in Davis 185 PMMoV, Palo Alto 146 PMMoV and Woodland 125 PMMoV. These are far from the high levels (over 1,000 PMMoV) seen during past COVID waves, but they will be followed.

SARS-CoV-2 Variants

In the United States, LP.8.1’s growth has stalled at about 70%. XFC (aka XFG) has increased to about 10% of U.S. COVID cases now. We don’t see NB.1.8.1 on the U.S. chart yet, but we know that it has shown up in a few cases in the West Coast and other locations.

NB.1.8.1 (recently nicknamed "Nimbus"), by Prof. Lara Herrero of Griffith University, is causing major waves in Asia now. According to Yunlong Cao’s preprint from May 1, NB.1.8.1 combines high ACE2-binding efficiency with significant immune escape, giving it a strong advantage for dominance.

From: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.30.651462v1.full.pdf

Globally, NB.1.8.1 is now the dominant variant per Raj Rajnarayanan. The WHO has issued a warning about rising COVID-19 activity in the Western Pacific, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Mediterranean, driven by NB.1.8.1 this week. Classified as a "variant under monitoring" by the WHO, NB.1.8.1 has triggered a seventh consecutive week of surges in Southeast Asia. Taiwan has seen ER visits double again this week, and China is reporting widespread infections with NB.1.8.1 causing severe throat pain described as “razor blade throat.” According to Bob Hawkins, the NB.1.8.1 wave in Hong Kong and Singapore may have peaked.

From Bob Hawkins: https://substack.com/home/post/p-164788386

The FDA has recommended updating Fall 2025 COVID vaccines to target LP.8.1 which is the dominant variant in the United States now. But, LP.8.1 is fairly different from NB.1.8.1 which is the dominant variant worldwide. Last year’s Fall 2024 COVID vaccine targeted KP.2 for Moderna and Pfizer, and JN.1 for Novavax. Although the FDA’s advisory panel favored sticking with JN.1-based strains for Fall 2025, they agreed LP.8.1 is an appropriate alternative for the 2025/2026 season.

Acute COVID infections, General COVID info

Stanford researchers found that COVID infection causes lasting gene expression changes in subcutaneous fat, depleting immune pathways and increasing Hox gene activity, but these changes were not linked to Long COVID. No persistent SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in adipose tissue, suggesting that fat is not a viral reservoir. However, adipose transcription remodeling after COVID infection may affect metabolism and inflammation without directly causing Long COVID.

An India-based meta-analysis of 12 randomized controlled trials found that N-acetylcysteine (NAC) reduced COVID deaths by 41% and modestly improved recovery/discharge rates by 9%. Molecular docking and simulation studies show that NAC binds to the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), suggesting possible antiviral effects.

Vaccines

Combining BCG vaccination with a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in 36 Syrian hamsters enhanced immune responses and reduced lung damage compared to either vaccine alone. The study suggests that BCG could serve as an adjuvant to boost COVID vaccine efficacy, but human studies are needed.

New US COVID Vaccine Policy for Children and Pregnant People

Last week, Prasad and Makary announced in a JAMA article that the latest COVID vaccine would be available for people over age 65 and for those under age 65 who are at high risk of severe COVID infections, including pregnant individuals.

On Tuesday this week, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the CDC would no longer recommend COVID vaccines for healthy children or pregnant individuals, bypassing the usual advisory process. The move was immediately criticized by major medical organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Family Physicians who stated that Kennedy’s changes to the recommended immunization schedule undermined access and insurance coverage, eroded public trust in vaccination policies, and downplayed the risks of COVID.

This week, a new large multisite RECOVER-Pediatrics trial looked at almost 1,000 young children under age 6 and identified distinct Long COVID symptom patterns in infants/toddlers (0–2 years) and preschoolers (3–5 years). Common prolonged symptoms included poor appetite, sleep issues, cough, and low energy, with 14% of infants/toddlers and 15% of preschoolers classified as likely Long COVID cases.

A second study in JAMA this week showed that Long COVID is common in children, affecting 10% to 20% of children who have had COVID. Almost 6 million children in the U.S. are impacted by Long COVID, which is higher than the number of children diagnosed with asthma, the most common chronic condition in childhood. Long COVID symptoms in kids were found to depend on the child's age.

From: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2834486

Another article this week from Penn Medicine shows that mRNA COVID vaccination significantly reduces the risk of Long COVID in children and adolescents. Children of all ages are at risk of Long COVID and vaccination reduces that risk.

COVID infection in pregnancy has been shown in many studies to increase risks of stillbirth, preeclampsia, preterm delivery and miscarriage. Pregnant individuals are also at high risk of severe COVID infections. In fact, the JAMA article from last week written by Prasad and Makary showed in Figure 2 that “Pregnancy and recent pregnancy” were on the “CDC 2025 list of underlying medical conditions that increase a person’s risk of severe COVID-19”. COVID vaccination in pregnancy decreases the risk of severe COVID infection and also helps to protect the newborn against COVID infection.

Despite RFK Jr.’s announcement on Tuesday, the CDC updated its vaccine schedule on Thursday stating that healthy children may receive the COVID vaccine based on shared decision-making between parents and doctors. Between the HHS secretary and the CDC, messaging to parents and health care providers has been extremely confusing.

The CDC’s updated language about childhood COVID vaccination:

“Where the parent presents with a desire for their child to be vaccinated, children 6 months and older may receive COVID-19 vaccination, informed by the clinical judgment of a healthcare provider and personal preference and circumstances.”

COVID vaccines have been proven safe and effective for children and for pregnant individuals. Without vaccination, a child’s first encounter with SARS-CoV-2 will be without protection.

Antiviral treatments

Researchers from UCSF screened 2.1 million compounds using a shape-based method called FrankenROCS and identified SARS-CoV-2 Mac1 inhibitors with improved membrane permeability and high potency. Their approach combined shape-based fragment linking with an active learning algorithm to efficiently explore structure-activity relationships. The authors concluded, “FrankenROCS is a scalable method for fragment linking to exploit synthesis-on-demand libraries.”

The CANOPY Phase 3 trial found that Pemgarda (pemivibart), a long-acting monoclonal antibody, reduces the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 infection by 84% over six months and 74% over 12 months. Pemgarda was studied in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent people. The treatment was well tolerated overall, although rare cases of anaphylaxis (0.6%) were observed.

Long COVID

Anouk Slaghekke from Rob Wust’s lab in the Netherlands won first prize at the recent International ME/CFS Conference at Charite Berlin for her poster entitled "Microvascular Dysfunction and Basal Membrane Thickening in Skeletal Muscle in ME/CFS and Post-COVID". Her poster showed that patients with Long COVID and ME/CFS have abnormal deposition of Collagen IV in the basement membranes of their capillaries in skeletal muscle. Endothelial cells lining the capillaries become activated and some start to degenerate and lose their organelles.

All of this leads to a reduced capillary lumen size and blood vessel dysfunction which then reduces the amount of oxygen and nutrients supplied to muscles and increases waste product build up in skeletal muscles.

From: https://mecfs-research.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Anouk-Slaghekke_Poster_Conference_2025.pdf

A preprint from Thomas et al. found that submaximal exercise in people with Long COVID caused large microclots to fragment into smaller microclots and this then triggered increases in inflammatory and vascular injury markers. The breakdown of large microclots, rather than clearing them from circulation, was linked to reduced oxygen uptake and heightened inflammation. The data suggest that while the immune system tries to control inflammation caused by microclot fragmentation after physical exertion, its compensatory mechanisms are inadequate or failing.

Anouk Slaghekke’s poster findings of capillary lumen narrowing and endothelial cell inflammation and degradation in Long COVID skeletal muscles may partially explain what was seen by the Thomas et al. study. Narrowed, stiff capillaries with thick basement membranes and abnormal endothelial cells may possibly lead to shearing of large microclots into smaller microclots during exercise in people with Long COVID, which could further trigger inflammation and markers of vascular injury.

All of the talks from the PolyBio Spring Symposium from May 16 are now online. Topics include immune system regulation, tissue biopsies, the gastrointestinal system’s effects, monoclonal antibodies in Long COVID and much more. I have really enjoyed watching these lectures. I also have appreciated listening to the Unraveled Podcast by Drs. Ruhoy and Kaufman recently, as they offer helpful clinical pearls on Long COVID and other complex chronic diseases.

“Dysbiosis, a common condition associated with low-grade inflammation, has been proposed as a potential mechanism of PASC [Long COVID] by altering levels of circulating lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the tryptophan pathway metabolites kynurenine and quinolinic acid, known to affect neurocognitive function.” A group from Mexico followed people with mild COVID infection prospectively with neurocognitive tests and blood levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the tryptophan pathway metabolites kynurenine and quinolinic acid. Low kynurenine levels were found to be associated with cognitive impairment which recovered over a 12 month period.

A preprint in BioRxiV, reports that a high school student named Piyush Acharya worked with Dr Derek Jacoby of the University of Victoria to develop Mobius, a transformer-based AI model that used blood DNA methylation data from 852 individuals to distinguish ME/CFS, Long COVID, and healthy controls with 97% accuracy. According to their paper, Mobius outperformed symptom-based diagnosis (58%) and traditional machine learning models like XGBoost (80%). Clinical validation is needed.

From: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.25.656018v1.full.pdf

ME/CFS

A new online book looks at different tests that hold promise as biomarkers for ME/CFS and gives the actual protocols used to perform these specialized tests.

H5N1

The U.S. government canceled over $700 million in funding for Moderna’s bird flu vaccine project, despite growing concerns about H5N1 transmission. Experts fear this move will delay preparedness as the virus spreads among animals and has begun infecting humans. The cancellation reflects broad skepticism of mRNA vaccines within the Trump administration despite mountains of evidence showing its safety.

A systematic review examined how avian flu viruses like H5N1 infect domestic and wild cats. The virus can cause severe symptoms and death in felines, raising concerns about their role in virus transmission, especially since many humans live with cats. A sharp rise in avian influenza infections in domestic cats was observed in 2023 and 2024, linked to the spread of H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b. Researchers believe this trend is significantly underreported and urge close monitoring of cats during bird flu outbreaks to better understand cross-species risk.

Measles

As of May 29, 2025, a total of 1,088 confirmed measles cases were reported by 32 states, with 12% of measles cases hospitalized (133 of 1088), and 3 confirmed deaths from the measles.

Because of the recent spread of the measles on an airplane, the CDC issued a travel warning recommending that people be vaccinated with the MMR vaccine at least two weeks before going on an international trip.

On Thursday, Santa Clara County warned about a case of measles in a person who tested positive after international travel. People who are unvaccinated and who visited the following sites may be at risk. Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis (red eyes), and a rash which usually appears 10 to 21 days after exposure. Call before going to a medical facility if you have been exposed to measles, so that they can take measures to protect other patients and visitors. Two doses of the MMR vaccine protect 97% against the measles.

Medical Government News

A new White House Executive Order called “Restoring Gold Standard Science” claims to promote rigorous, evidence-based research. Critics warn it actually gives political appointees power to suppress or punish science that conflicts with the administration’s agenda, threatening scientific freedom.

HHS Secretary Kennedy released a report called “The MAHA Report: Making Our Children Healthy Again” this week that had been written by AI with hallucinated references to studies that did not exist and had clear AI markers like “oaicite.” (“oaicite” stands for Open AI cite). Critics said the report’s reliance on flawed AI-generated references undermines its credibility and raises serious concerns about using AI in policymaking, especially when the Secretary of Health and Human Services is not a doctor or a scientist.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals such as The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, and JAMA. He said, “Unless those journals change dramatically, we are going to stop NIH scientists from publishing in them and we’re going to create our own journals in-house.”

In an article entitled “Cutting the NIH—The $8 Trillion Health Care Catastrophe”, economists warn that the Trump administration proposal for a 43% ($20 billion/year) cut to NIH funding could reduce biomedical research significantly. Estimates suggest a 33% effective cut would result in 15.3% fewer drug patents and new therapies, leading to a 0.24-year drop in life expectancy and a projected loss of $8.2 Trillion in health value over 25 years. These cuts would far outweigh proposed budget savings and the authors recommend a reversal of this policy for both health and economic reasons.

Other news

Medicaid covers more than 4 in 10 births in the U.S. and almost half (47%) in rural communities, playing a critical role in maternal and infant care. A new KFF report highlights disparities in access and outcomes based on state expansion status and postpartum coverage duration.

A review in Nature explores the role of early-life microbial exposure in shaping immune health, highlighting how biodiversity loss may increase susceptibility to allergies, asthma, and autoimmune conditions.

In a very funny and entertaining TED talk from 2013, data scientist Amy Webb showed how she reverse engineered online dating which allowed her to find her perfect match.

Philanthropist Larry Leinweber is donating $90 million to establish new institutes for theoretical physics at MIT, UC Berkeley, the University of Chicago, and the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, NJ), expanding his prior support at the University of Michigan. The funds will primarily support postdocs and graduate students, addressing long-standing funding gaps in theoretical physics research.

Photo: Philanthropist Larry Leinweber from the Leinweber Foundation

I may take next week off from the newsletter.

Have a good week,

Ruth Ann Crystal MD

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NOTES & REFERENCES:

CDC Respiratory Illnesses: https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data/index.html

Wastewater SCAN: https://data.wastewaterscan.org/

COVID:

CDC COVID data tracker: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/index.html#datatracker-home

COVID Emergency Dept visits: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#ed-visits_all_ages_combined

ER visits in California:

COVID deaths per week: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_weeklypctdeaths_00

b

JP Weiland: https://twitter.com/JPWeiland https://bsky.app/profile/jpweiland.bsky.social

Memorial Day:

5/30/25 JP Weiland

Michael Hoerger modeling: http://pmc19.com/data/, https://twitter.com/michael_hoerger

https://x.com/michael_hoerger/status/1926903704008950271

Walgreens positivity rate: https://www.walgreens.com/businesssolutions/covid-19-index.jsp

https://x.com/CyFi10/status/1927763458109452432

@CyFi10

California hasn't been 25% or higher for COVID since September 23 in the Walgreens dataset. In 2024, California first hit 25% on May 24, this year, it was May 20.

US Wastewater Monitoring:

CDC wastewater reporting: https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-nationaltrend.html

California:

CDC wastewater map: https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-currentlevels.html

Wastewater SCAN: https://data.wastewaterscan.org/

California statewide view https://buff.ly/3YObiul

As of 5/31/25, top SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater in California:

• Davis 185 PMMoV

• Palo Alto 146 PMMoV

• Woodland 125 PMMoV

• Oceanside SF 115 PMMoV

• San Jose 112 PMMoV

Wastewater SARS-CoV-2 since Nov 24 in Palo Alto:

California SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater from CDPH: https://skylab.cdph.ca.gov/calwws/

Santa Clara County wastewater: https://publichealth.santaclaracounty.gov/health-information/health-data/disease-data/covid-19/covid-19-wastewater

Canada

Tara Moriarty Canadian COVID data: https://x.com/MoriartyLab

Canada wastewater https://health-infobase.canada.ca/wastewater/

UK:

UKHSA Dashboard:

https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/

UK COVID PCR Test Positivity Map: https://jamestindall.info/skeuomorphology/ladb_covid/index.html

Bob Hawkins UK and Europe https://substack.com/@bhawkins3

This week the good news continues with all Covid data indicating low levels across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

UK

Australia https://bsky.app/profile/mikehoney.bsky.social

Victoria, Australia

Variants

US Variant tracker: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions

LP.8.1’s growth has stalled at about 70%. XFC (aka XFG) is estimated at 10% of U.S. COVID cases now. We don’t see NB.1.8.1 on the chart yet, but we know that it has shown up in cases in the West Coast and other locations.

5/1/25 BioRxiV (Yunlong Cao's lab): Antigenic and Virological Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.3.2, XFG, and NB.1.8.1 https://buff.ly/ymXnvMU

From: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.30.651462v1.full.pdf

Weekly variant roundup by Mike Honey:

• https://bsky.app/profile/mikehoney.bsky.social

• https://mike-honey.github.io/covid-19-genomes/output/Coronavirus%20-%20Genomic%20Sequencing%20-%20report%20EUR-UK.pdf

NB.1.8.1 (recently nicknamed "Nimbus"), by AProf Lara Herrero of Griffith University

From: Bob Hawkins

From Bob Hawkins: https://substack.com/home/post/p-164788386

5/27/25 Focus Taiwan: COVID-19 cases double in Taiwan, marking 7th weekly surge https://buff.ly/HAHeIKM

5/22/25 NTD: China Faces COVID-19 Resurgence With Symptoms of Sharp, Burning Sore Throat https://buff.ly/P1dFoe2

5/28/25 CIDRAP: WHO warns of rising COVID activity in 3 global regions https://buff.ly/YptIW4n

• The increase in activity is seen in the Western Pacific, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Mediterranean regions.

5/27/25 CIDRAP: WHO adds NB.1.8.1 as SARS-CoV-2 variant under monitoring https://buff.ly/V1ZDD61

5/23/25 NBC: FDA picks a new strain for fall Covid vaccines. Here's what it means for your next shot. https://buff.ly/nG58LtJ

The FDA recommended updating fall COVID vaccines to target LP.8.1. Although the FDA’s advisory panel favored sticking with JN.1-based strains, they agreed LP.8.1 is an appropriate alternative for the 2025/2026 season.

Acute COVID infections, General COVID info

5/28/25 BioRxiv (Stanford): COVID-19 induces persistent transcriptional changes in adipose tissue that are not associated with Long COVID https://buff.ly/6pQ8yLP

5/21/25 Cellular and Molecular Biology (India): View of COVID-19 clinical outcomes and N-acetylcysteine (CoViNAC study): a GRADE compliant meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials with molecular docking and dynamics simulation studies with Mpro of SARS-CoV-2 https://buff.ly/N30nuND

Vaccines

5/29/25 Nature: Evaluation of combined BCG and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination for immune enhancement and lung protection in Syrian hamsters https://buff.ly/Eu9ot5n

US COVID Vaccines

5/27/25 Washington Post: RFK Jr. ends COVID shot recommendation for healthy children, pregnant women https://archive.is/tS4jV

5/30/25 Washington Post: Contradicting RFK Jr., CDC keeps recommending covid vaccine for kids https://archive.is/QmZtP

From: https://www.threads.com/@rubin_allergy/post/DKLpvgCgHrF

5/20/25 NEJM (V. Prasad & M. Makary): An Evidence-Based Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination https://nej.md/3F6EIhV

5/9/25, BMC Medicine: COVID-19 infection history as a risk factor for early pregnancy loss https://buff.ly/D8lPbs0

4/23/25 Nature: Vaccination in pregnancy to protect the newborn https://www.nature.com/articles/s41577-025-01162-5

3/17/25 Archives Pathol Lab Med: SARS-CoV-2 Placentitis: A Review of Pathologic Findings and Discussion of Differential Diagnosis https://buff.ly/WgVhqg

From: https://www.cdc.gov/covid/media/pdfs/2024/07/protect-yourself-and-your-baby-print.pdf

Pediatrics

5/27/25 JAMA Pediatrics: Characterizing Long COVID Symptoms During Early Childhood

https://buff.ly/gMHiPL2

• 14% of infants/toddlers and 15% of preschoolers classified as likely Long COVID cases.

05/27/25 JAMA Pediatrics: Long COVID in Young Children, School-Aged Children, and Teens

https://buff.ly/Fj6KIeB

• Long COVID is common and affects 10% to 20% of children after COVID, which equals 6 million kids. This is higher than the number of children with asthma.

• Symptoms depend on age.

From: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2834486

1/2025 eClinical Medicine (U Penn): Real-world effectiveness and causal mediation study of BNT162b2 on long COVID risks in children and adolescents https://buff.ly/m7JbCtr

5/21/25 The Atlantic: COVID Shots for Kids Are Over https://archive.is/L1bmr

Antiviral treatments

5/28/25 Science (UCSF): Exploration of structure-activity relationships for the SARS-CoV-2 macrodomain from shape-based fragment linking and active learning https://buff.ly/IWc8Mk1

• “FrankenROCS is a scalable method for fragment linking to exploit synthesis-on-demand libraries.”

05/24/25 Clinical Infectious Diseases: Safety and Efficacy of Pemivibart for Prevention of Symptomatic COVID-19 (CANOPY Phase 3 trial) https://buff.ly/8rTKkEa

Long COVID

5/14/25 Anouk Slaghekke wins 1st prize at the international conference on Long Covid and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Berlin | Amsterdam UMC https://buff.ly/olbV7gR

International ME/CFS Conference, 12-13 May 2025, Charite Berlin https://mecfs-research.org/en/conference2025/

Anouk Slaghekke’s prize winning poster: https://mecfs-research.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Anouk-Slaghekke_Poster_Conference_2025.pdf

5/6/25 MedRxiV (Wust lab): Skeletal muscle properties in long COVID and ME/CFS differ from those induced by bed rest https://buff.ly/Ftfztar

• Long COVID and ME/CFS patients had fewer capillaries and more glycolytic muscle fibers without atrophy in their skeletal muscles.

5/26/25 Research Square: Exercise-induced Changes in Microclotting and Cytokine Levels Point to Vascular Injury and Inflammation in People with Long COVID https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6717727/v1

• Large microclots are fragmented to small microclots which are inflammatory

PolyBio Spring Symposium: https://polybio.org/spring-2025-symposium/

All of the talks from the PolyBio Spring Symposium are now online.

5/27/25 Mobius: Mixture-Of-Experts Transformer Model in Epigenetics of ME/CFS and Long COVID https://buff.ly/tTLosRs

From: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.25.656018v1.full.pdf

5/19/25 J of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences (Mexico): Long-Term Neuropsychiatric Sequelae of COVID-19 in an Open Population: A Prospective Pilot Study https://buff.ly/KaSuSen

"Dysbiosis, a common condition associated with low-grade inflammation, has been proposed as a potential mechanism of PASC by altering levels of circulating lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the tryptophan pathway metabolites kynurenine and quinolinic acid, known to affect neurocognitive function.”

ME/CFS

5/2025 New online book on research protocols for evaluating people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-0716-4498-0?page=1#overview

H5N1

05/28/25 NPR: Trump Administration Cancels Plans to Develop a Bird Flu Vaccine

https://buff.ly/H72fgKI

5/29/25 Reuters: US cancels more than $700 million funding for Moderna bird flu vaccine https://buff.ly/VvH50I7

05/07/25 Open Forum Infectious Diseases: Avian Influenza Virus Infections in Felines
https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article/12/5/ofaf261/8123920

Measles

CDC Measles (updates Fridays): https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html

As of May 29, 2025, a total of 1,088 confirmed measles cases were reported by 32 states, 12% of cases hospitalized (133 of 1088), 3 confirmed deaths from the measles.

5/20/25 HEALTH ALERT: Measles case confirmed in Santa Clara County with public exposures https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/CASCCPHD/bulletins/3e2e2ed

Potential Measles exposures in San Jose, Newark and Milpitas

https://publichealth.santaclaracounty.gov/diseases/measles?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Med government news

5/27/25 Politico: RFK Jr. threatens to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals https://buff.ly/M9b6ACZ

05/29/25 The Guardian: Trump’s New ‘Gold Standard’ Rule Will Destroy American Science

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/29/trump-american-science

05/28/25 Harvard Belfer Center: When Politics Replaces Science, People Suffer https://buff.ly/13fdfIw

5/30/25 Washington Post: White House MAHA report may have garbled science by using AI, experts say https://archive.is/TFUSl

5/29/25 JAMA: Cutting the NIH—The $8 Trillion Health Care Catastrophe https://buff.ly/VoViGiw

Other news:

05/29/25 KFF: 5 Key Facts About Medicaid and Pregnancy https://buff.ly/WRtjEth

05/27/25 Nature Reviews Immunology: Can We Improve Immune Health by Restoring Microbial Biodiversity? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41577-025-01190-1

From: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41577-025-01190-1/figures/1

2013 Amy Webb TED talk: How I hacked online dating https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_webb_how_i_hacked_online_dating

5/28/25 Science: Philanthropist gives $90 million to support theoretical physics research https://buff.ly/z6RURXq