Deepta Bhattacharya
@deeptabhattacha.bsky.social
Professor of Immunology at University of Arizona studying immune responses to infections and vaccines. Views my own.
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
YEAR ONE MAHA
January 1, 2026 at 4:05 AM
YEAR ONE MAHA
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
Now the big question is: Can NIH be trusted to review these applications in good faith?
The Challenged Directives were extremely vague to begin with — so what's to stop the agency from applying them under the table, especially with more influence from political appointees?
bsky.app/profile/maxk...
The Challenged Directives were extremely vague to begin with — so what's to stop the agency from applying them under the table, especially with more influence from political appointees?
bsky.app/profile/maxk...
Judge Young's order has come in. Grant terminations in the plaintiff states or to the plaintiff orgs (APHA, UAW) are officially void and illegal.
It also says that the "Challenged Directives" are arbitrary and capricious — and thus illegal as well.
Now what exactly are are these directives? 🧵
It also says that the "Challenged Directives" are arbitrary and capricious — and thus illegal as well.
Now what exactly are are these directives? 🧵
December 29, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Now the big question is: Can NIH be trusted to review these applications in good faith?
The Challenged Directives were extremely vague to begin with — so what's to stop the agency from applying them under the table, especially with more influence from political appointees?
bsky.app/profile/maxk...
The Challenged Directives were extremely vague to begin with — so what's to stop the agency from applying them under the table, especially with more influence from political appointees?
bsky.app/profile/maxk...
When I first saw the headline for this op-ed, I was hoping it would tell me that the science and policy are catching up to meet the climate goals. But instead it argues for giving up on the goals themselves and ignores why the goals were set in the first place.
Nothing in this David Victor essay indicates that there’s any danger in heating the planet over 2C. Instead, he says that slowing decarbonization is good. 🤔
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/o...
Opinion | Climate Goals Are Becoming More Realistic. That’s Good News.
www.nytimes.com
December 27, 2025 at 7:04 PM
When I first saw the headline for this op-ed, I was hoping it would tell me that the science and policy are catching up to meet the climate goals. But instead it argues for giving up on the goals themselves and ignores why the goals were set in the first place.
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
ICYMI: Iowa AG wins $1M from stem cell clinic ipscell.com/2025/12/iowa... Some state AGs are killing it on stem cell oversight & helping consumers, better than FDA #stemcells #stemcell
Iowa AG wins $1M from stem cell clinic - The Niche
Stem cell biologist discusses how the Iowa AG won $1 million from a stem cell clinic in that state and how it fits into the bigger picture.
ipscell.com
December 27, 2025 at 5:43 PM
ICYMI: Iowa AG wins $1M from stem cell clinic ipscell.com/2025/12/iowa... Some state AGs are killing it on stem cell oversight & helping consumers, better than FDA #stemcells #stemcell
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
Aaron Siri Says No One Has Identified Errors in His ACIP Presentation. Here Are Several. Mr. Siri is not looking at the total data and misunderstands or misrepresents much of what he does address. open.substack.com/pub/jakescot... via @jakescottmd.bsky.social
Aaron Siri Says No One Has Identified Errors in His ACIP Presentation. Here Are Several.
He's auditing regulatory paperwork, not science.
open.substack.com
December 11, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Aaron Siri Says No One Has Identified Errors in His ACIP Presentation. Here Are Several. Mr. Siri is not looking at the total data and misunderstands or misrepresents much of what he does address. open.substack.com/pub/jakescot... via @jakescottmd.bsky.social
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
I'm seeing a lot of discussion of this study, and so far everything I have seen goes well beyond what the data of this study allow us to conclude. Let's look at this together.
A thread 🧵
A thread 🧵
Persistent Attenuation of Lymphocyte Subsets After Mass SARS-CoV-2 Infection
As of September 15, 2024, the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in more than 776 million
confirmed cases and seven million deaths worldwide [1]. While most patients recovered
from the acute phase of COVI...
www.ijidonline.com
December 7, 2025 at 5:10 PM
I'm seeing a lot of discussion of this study, and so far everything I have seen goes well beyond what the data of this study allow us to conclude. Let's look at this together.
A thread 🧵
A thread 🧵
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
A panel that advises #CDC on vaccine policy votes to do away with the recommendation all babies should be vaccinated against #hepatitisB at birth. "We are doing harm," said panel member Cody Meissner, who voted against this #ACIP recommendation. www.statnews.com/2025/12/05/c...
CDC panel recommends delaying birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine
The CDC's ACIP panel voted to recommend delaying the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, ending a policy that has reined in the virus.
www.statnews.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:34 PM
A panel that advises #CDC on vaccine policy votes to do away with the recommendation all babies should be vaccinated against #hepatitisB at birth. "We are doing harm," said panel member Cody Meissner, who voted against this #ACIP recommendation. www.statnews.com/2025/12/05/c...
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
#ACIP just voted to scrap the universal hepatitis B birth-dose recommendation.
There is no new safety signal. No scientific rationale.
We are dismantling a 30-year-old, cancer-preventing policy that has nearly eliminated hepatitis B in U.S. children. 1/2
There is no new safety signal. No scientific rationale.
We are dismantling a 30-year-old, cancer-preventing policy that has nearly eliminated hepatitis B in U.S. children. 1/2
A panel that advises #CDC on vaccine policy votes to do away with the recommendation all babies should be vaccinated against #hepatitisB at birth. "We are doing harm," said panel member Cody Meissner, who voted against this #ACIP recommendation. www.statnews.com/2025/12/05/c...
CDC panel recommends delaying birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine
The CDC's ACIP panel voted to recommend delaying the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, ending a policy that has reined in the virus.
www.statnews.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:13 PM
#ACIP just voted to scrap the universal hepatitis B birth-dose recommendation.
There is no new safety signal. No scientific rationale.
We are dismantling a 30-year-old, cancer-preventing policy that has nearly eliminated hepatitis B in U.S. children. 1/2
There is no new safety signal. No scientific rationale.
We are dismantling a 30-year-old, cancer-preventing policy that has nearly eliminated hepatitis B in U.S. children. 1/2
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
Now read this paper by Senator Bill Cassidy about how he set up hepatitis B vaccination clinics in East Baton Rouge. The man sold his soul to the devil on this one. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9358383/
From university to community: the Baton Rouge experience - PubMed
This paper describes a successful hepatitis B vaccination program which expanded from one school vaccinating 475 students to 68 schools vaccinating 3,400 students. Issues associated with success include acquiring resources, organizing program logistics, developing an advisor board, determining eligi …
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
December 5, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Now read this paper by Senator Bill Cassidy about how he set up hepatitis B vaccination clinics in East Baton Rouge. The man sold his soul to the devil on this one. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9358383/
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
The babies who will become infected as a result of this vote — and some will die prematurely of liver disease — will overwhelmingly be those born to marginalized, underserved families. This is a profound failure of evidence-based public health and a big step backwards. 2/2
December 5, 2025 at 4:13 PM
The babies who will become infected as a result of this vote — and some will die prematurely of liver disease — will overwhelmingly be those born to marginalized, underserved families. This is a profound failure of evidence-based public health and a big step backwards. 2/2
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
Says the man who elevated RFK Jr to head of HHS, which controls vaccine policy. As if RFK’s long-standing anti-vaccine views were not well known.
December 5, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Says the man who elevated RFK Jr to head of HHS, which controls vaccine policy. As if RFK’s long-standing anti-vaccine views were not well known.
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
If you're reading this, chances are you care a lot about vaccine recommendations, so I'm going to offer this gentle reminder to prioritize your mental health.
The major issue with this meeting is that it's a massive platform to disseminate lies about vaccines rather than policy consequences.
The major issue with this meeting is that it's a massive platform to disseminate lies about vaccines rather than policy consequences.
December 4, 2025 at 1:00 PM
If you're reading this, chances are you care a lot about vaccine recommendations, so I'm going to offer this gentle reminder to prioritize your mental health.
The major issue with this meeting is that it's a massive platform to disseminate lies about vaccines rather than policy consequences.
The major issue with this meeting is that it's a massive platform to disseminate lies about vaccines rather than policy consequences.
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
12 former @fda.gov commissioners from both parties just went on the record in @nejm.org calling Vinay Prasad’s vaccine framework a threat to public health. They bring more than 3 decades of leadership at the agency, and it is hard to think of a more forceful warning. 🧵
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2517497"It
December 4, 2025 at 12:07 AM
12 former @fda.gov commissioners from both parties just went on the record in @nejm.org calling Vinay Prasad’s vaccine framework a threat to public health. They bring more than 3 decades of leadership at the agency, and it is hard to think of a more forceful warning. 🧵
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
3/ W/o intervention, ~85% of infants born to infected mothers become infected, 90% of whom develop chronic HBV (vs <5% of adults).
1 in 4 children with HBV die prematurely from cirrhosis or liver cancer
Annual treatment for chronic HBV = $25-$325k
Prevention is key
www.cdc.gov/acip/downloa...
1 in 4 children with HBV die prematurely from cirrhosis or liver cancer
Annual treatment for chronic HBV = $25-$325k
Prevention is key
www.cdc.gov/acip/downloa...
December 2, 2025 at 8:32 PM
3/ W/o intervention, ~85% of infants born to infected mothers become infected, 90% of whom develop chronic HBV (vs <5% of adults).
1 in 4 children with HBV die prematurely from cirrhosis or liver cancer
Annual treatment for chronic HBV = $25-$325k
Prevention is key
www.cdc.gov/acip/downloa...
1 in 4 children with HBV die prematurely from cirrhosis or liver cancer
Annual treatment for chronic HBV = $25-$325k
Prevention is key
www.cdc.gov/acip/downloa...
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
4/ The birth dose is recommended w/in 24 hours because early initiation is critically important.
Palau: infants vaccinated > 3 days after birth had a 6.7% infection rate. Those vaccinated w/in 3 days had 0.6%.
Micronesia: 2.6% vs 0.
The birth dose alone reduces transmission by ~75%.
Palau: infants vaccinated > 3 days after birth had a 6.7% infection rate. Those vaccinated w/in 3 days had 0.6%.
Micronesia: 2.6% vs 0.
The birth dose alone reduces transmission by ~75%.
December 2, 2025 at 8:32 PM
4/ The birth dose is recommended w/in 24 hours because early initiation is critically important.
Palau: infants vaccinated > 3 days after birth had a 6.7% infection rate. Those vaccinated w/in 3 days had 0.6%.
Micronesia: 2.6% vs 0.
The birth dose alone reduces transmission by ~75%.
Palau: infants vaccinated > 3 days after birth had a 6.7% infection rate. Those vaccinated w/in 3 days had 0.6%.
Micronesia: 2.6% vs 0.
The birth dose alone reduces transmission by ~75%.
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
In advance of this week’s ACIP meeting this new preprint modeling the impact of delaying HepB vaccines merits a close read: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Economic evaluation of delaying the infant hepatitis B vaccination schedule
Introduction Children who acquire hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in early childhood through perinatal, household or community exposures are at highest risk of all age groups for experiencing chroni...
www.medrxiv.org
December 2, 2025 at 2:24 PM
In advance of this week’s ACIP meeting this new preprint modeling the impact of delaying HepB vaccines merits a close read: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
Running an agency like he ran his twitter account
November 29, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Running an agency like he ran his twitter account
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
One would think that a communication of this magnitude would have been vetted and maybe spell-checked. This reads as a self-indulgent and vindictive missive by a man who couldn't stand up to the level of criticism that most researchers receive from their own colleagues on a daily basis.
Here's Prasad's full email, if you'd like to read it for yourself: www.washingtonpost.com/documents/30...
And I jotted down a few thoughts on my substack, including how the strategy of "asking more evidence" — which on the surface, sure, everyone wants more data — can lead to red tape.
And I jotted down a few thoughts on my substack, including how the strategy of "asking more evidence" — which on the surface, sure, everyone wants more data — can lead to red tape.
FDA's big change to how vaccines will get approved
We obtained an internal email laying out the planned shift in strategy.
dandiamond.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:53 PM
One would think that a communication of this magnitude would have been vetted and maybe spell-checked. This reads as a self-indulgent and vindictive missive by a man who couldn't stand up to the level of criticism that most researchers receive from their own colleagues on a daily basis.
We're hiring for tenure-track faculty! Please apply if you have interests in immune responses to microbes and/or cancer, immune regulation, microbial infections (bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi), the microbiota, and/or interests that span these disciplines.
arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
Assistant/Associate/Full Professor (T/TE)
Establish or continue a successful, extramurally funded research program that will advance knowledge in the broad areas of immunobiology, as defined a...
arizona.csod.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:02 PM
We're hiring for tenure-track faculty! Please apply if you have interests in immune responses to microbes and/or cancer, immune regulation, microbial infections (bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi), the microbiota, and/or interests that span these disciplines.
arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
😕
Semaglutide works for weight loss but not, alas, Alzheimer's.
www.globenewswire.com/news-release...
www.globenewswire.com/news-release...
Novo Nordisk A/S: Evoke phase 3 trials did not demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in Alzheimer's disease progression
Bagsværd, Denmark, 24 November 2025 – Novo Nordisk today announced the top-line results from the 2-year primary analysis of evoke and evoke+ phase 3 trials...
www.globenewswire.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:34 PM
😕
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
For the first time in my career, I can’t tell people to trust what the CDC website says. And that is an incredibly sad and devastating place for this country to be.
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 4:22 AM
For the first time in my career, I can’t tell people to trust what the CDC website says. And that is an incredibly sad and devastating place for this country to be.
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
Proud to share our work now out in Cell. We hope what we learned about IgA immune responses to rotavirus can be translated into better vaccines. Congratulations Dr. Kei Haniuda, an amazing PDF. TY
@uoftmedicine.bsky.social
for covering.
temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/news
@uoftmedicine.bsky.social
for covering.
temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/news
Recent News
temertymedicine.utoronto.ca
November 17, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Proud to share our work now out in Cell. We hope what we learned about IgA immune responses to rotavirus can be translated into better vaccines. Congratulations Dr. Kei Haniuda, an amazing PDF. TY
@uoftmedicine.bsky.social
for covering.
temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/news
@uoftmedicine.bsky.social
for covering.
temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/news
Reposted by Deepta Bhattacharya
Looking forward to this see you there Deepta!
I’m co-organizing a Keystone conference on B cells and plasma cells with Kim Good-Jacobson and Taras Kreslavsky! Deadlines for abstracts and scholarships is Nov 13. Great lineup of basic, translational, and industry speakers. Please repost!
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...
B Cells and Plasma Cells: Fundamental and Translational Biology | Keystone Symposia
Join us at the Keystone Symposia on B Cells and Plasma Cells: Fundamental and Translational Biology, March 2026, in Keystone, with field leaders!
www.keystonesymposia.org
November 8, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Looking forward to this see you there Deepta!