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Senate confirms new CDC director
News brief
Today at 9:54 a.m.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
Public Health
The US Senate yesterday confirmed Susan Monarez, PhD, as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Monarez has been serving as acting director of the agency since January. She was nominated to be the CDC director in March, after the Trump administration withdrew the original nominee, David Weldon, MD, from consideration when it became clear he didn't have the votes to clear Senate confirmation.
First nonphysician director in more than 70 years
Monarez is the first nonphysician to lead the agency in more than 70 years. A microbiologist and immunologist by training, she previously served as deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She has also held several other roles in government, including with the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Security Council, both within the executive branch.
Her work has included strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance, and she has led projects to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve health outcomes.
Monarez was confirmed in 51-47 party-line vote. She is the first CDC director to be confirmed by the Senate under a law passed in 2023.
Study finds no safety issues with most recent mRNA COVID vaccines
News brief
Today at 9:32 a.m.
Jim Wappes
Topics
COVID-19 World Bank / Flickr cc
At a time when federal officials are calling into question the safety and necessity of COVID-19 vaccines, the mRNA COVID vaccine version used this past season showed no elevated risk of any of the 29 serious adverse events that researchers in Denmark assessed.
The nationwide cohort study, published this week in JAMA Network Open, included 1,585,883 people (54% female), of whom 1,012,400 (64%) received the updated mRNA COVID vaccines containing the JN.1 lineage. The scientists included all people eligible last season to receive the vaccine—everyone 65 or older and anyone in a high-risk group—who had already received three or more COVID vaccine doses.
No increased risk of 29 adverse events
The investigators assessed for serious side effects for 28 days after vaccine receipt. "We analyzed 29 adverse outcomes adapted from prioritized lists of adverse events of special interest to COVID-19 vaccines," they wrote. "Each adverse event was analyzed separately."
They found no statistically significant increases in the rate of hospital contacts for any of 29 adverse events during the 28-day period after patients received an mRNA vaccine. As examples, the authors listed an incidence risk ratio of 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76 to 0.94) for ischemic cardiac events (reduced blood flow to the heart), 0.92 (95% CI, 0.76 to 1.13) for intracranial (brain) bleeding, and 1.12 (95% CI, 0.41 to 3.10) for myocarditis (inflammation of heart muscle).
The study authors note, "Although we analyzed a nationwide cohort, some outcomes, such as erythema multiforme, occurred very rarely during follow-up, with consequently lower statistical precision, and some outcomes, such as transverse myelitis, could not be statistically compared."
The findings follow a national US poll in May that found only 56% of adults saying they were "somewhat confident" in COVID vaccine safety.
ALL BRIEFS
Senate confirms new CDC director
News brief
Today at 9:54 a.m.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
Public Health
The US Senate yesterday confirmed Susan Monarez, PhD, as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Monarez has been serving as acting director of the agency since January. She was nominated to be the CDC director in March, after the Trump administration withdrew the original nominee, David Weldon, MD, from consideration when it became clear he didn't have the votes to clear Senate confirmation.
First nonphysician director in more than 70 years
Monarez is the first nonphysician to lead the agency in more than 70 years. A microbiologist and immunologist by training, she previously served as deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She has also held several other roles in government, including with the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Security Council, both within the executive branch.
Her work has included strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance, and she has led projects to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve health outcomes.
Monarez was confirmed in 51-47 party-line vote. She is the first CDC director to be confirmed by the Senate under a law passed in 2023.
Study finds no safety issues with most recent mRNA COVID vaccines
News brief
Today at 9:32 a.m.
Jim Wappes
Topics
COVID-19 World Bank / Flickr cc
At a time when federal officials are calling into question the safety and necessity of COVID-19 vaccines, the mRNA COVID vaccine version used this past season showed no elevated risk of any of the 29 serious adverse events that researchers in Denmark assessed.
The nationwide cohort study, published this week in JAMA Network Open, included 1,585,883 people (54% female), of whom 1,012,400 (64%) received the updated mRNA COVID vaccines containing the JN.1 lineage. The scientists included all people eligible last season to receive the vaccine—everyone 65 or older and anyone in a high-risk group—who had already received three or more COVID vaccine doses.
No increased risk of 29 adverse events
The investigators assessed for serious side effects for 28 days after vaccine receipt. "We analyzed 29 adverse outcomes adapted from prioritized lists of adverse events of special interest to COVID-19 vaccines," they wrote. "Each adverse event was analyzed separately."
They found no statistically significant increases in the rate of hospital contacts for any of 29 adverse events during the 28-day period after patients received an mRNA vaccine. As examples, the authors listed an incidence risk ratio of 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76 to 0.94) for ischemic cardiac events (reduced blood flow to the heart), 0.92 (95% CI, 0.76 to 1.13) for intracranial (brain) bleeding, and 1.12 (95% CI, 0.41 to 3.10) for myocarditis (inflammation of heart muscle).
The study authors note, "Although we analyzed a nationwide cohort, some outcomes, such as erythema multiforme, occurred very rarely during follow-up, with consequently lower statistical precision, and some outcomes, such as transverse myelitis, could not be statistically compared."
The findings follow a national US poll in May that found only 56% of adults saying they were "somewhat confident" in COVID vaccine safety.
ALL BRIEFS