As Covid-19 transmission ramps up in the United States, recent changes to federal vaccine guidance have left many Americans confused about the latest policies and concerned about access to shots this fall.

The US has had a summer surge in Covid-19 cases each year since the pandemic began. This year, however, experts say that the seasonal wave is starting later than anticipated and is relatively subdued. Surveillance data from WastewaterSCAN shows that median Covid-19 concentrations ticked up from June to July, with high levels in some parts of the country, but overall, it’s far below this time last year.

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Dr. Susan Monarez will be sworn in as director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, and she’s taking the reins at a perilous time for the agency.

The CDC has lost nearly a quarter of its staff since January, thanks to massive workforce cuts at federal health agencies. The Trump administration’s proposed budget for the fiscal year 2026 would slash the agency’s funding by more than half. And under a proposed reorganization, the agency stands to lose more of its programs: Some are set to be moved to a new Administration for a Healthy America while others, such as the National Center for Chronic Disease and Health Promotion, would be eliminated altogether.

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The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is adopting a recommendation from independent advisers to drop thimerosal, a preservative found in about 4% of flu vaccines, despite evidence that it poses no risks and helps prevent bacterial and fungal infections.

But Robert F Kennedy Jr, the HHS secretary, has not adopted two other votes from the advisory meeting: recommending annual flu vaccines for everyone over the age of six months and RSV shots for infants.

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After months weathering staffing cuts and disease outbreaks without an official leader, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally has a new director.

The Senate confirmed Susan Monarez, a health scientist and longtime civil servant, to run the public health agency. She is the first CDC director to be confirmed by the Senate under a law passed in 2023, and the first to serve in the role without a medical degree in more than 70 years. The vote was 51-47, along party lines.

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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been making big changes to federal vaccine policies. Many medical experts are concerned the administration will further limit vaccine access.

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U.S. Government funding for scientific research has led to innovations and breakthroughs for decades. But, with funding freezes, slashed budgets, and the cancellation of grants, the health of America’s scientific enterprise is in jeopardy. What’s at stake – for research, innovation, and the economy? How did we get here, and what will it take to chart a more sustainable path forward? David Leonhardt, director of the Editorial Board of The New York Times, leads a discussion with Holden Thorp, editor in chief of the Science family of journals, Jennifer Nuzzo, epidemiology professor at Brown University, and Karel Mertens, senior vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Their conversation was held in late June, 2025.

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Beth Cameron, Senior Advisor and Professor of the Practice at the Brown University Pandemic Center and a Senior Adviser and non-resident fellow at CSIS, hosts this inspiring July 14 conversation with Richard Hatchett, the CEO of CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. Richard first came to Washington DC in the aftermath of 9/11 to create the U.S. Medical Reserve Corps. There was no looking back. He served in several administrations as a leading expert in bio preparedness and left government to lead CEPI at its creation in 2017, its mission to support the accelerated development of vaccines and other countermeasures against future biothreats. With the Covid-19 pandemic, health security has become an enduring global concern, with now a fierce focus on access to new technology, and regional manufacturing capabilities. “You have to design your programs with your access goal in mind from the very beginning.” Preparedness is “not a static achievement.” It is “a dynamic state of readiness” that evolves through practice – “train, train, train.” CEPI’s signature big idea is the 100 Day Mission, in which vaccine designs and delivery platforms are ready to spring into action when new biothreats appear. Cuts in finances and programs by the Trump administration and others will compromise disease surveillance, detection and containment measures, increasing the risks to Americans and beyond. Cuts are also forcing reflection, the setting of priorities, and finding ways to finance and achieve better and more efficient outcomes. The remarkable speed in which a vaccine was introduced during the Marburg outbreak in Rwanda in September 2024 rested not on luck. It built on CEPI’s pre-existing partnerships with the Rwanda government and several other institutions, including WHO and key US agencies. CEPI has invested since 2017 in over $1 billion in the US biotech sector and has just concluded an agreement to work with DOD.
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Originally launched to track major pandemic outbreaks in the US and around the world, Brown University School of Public Health’s Pandemic Tracker now helps with a wide range of public health efforts.

Led by Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center and professor of epidemiology at SPH, the tracker helps public and policy makers stay on top of disease outbreaks during a time of economic strain and political polarization.

While the tracker provides an “evidence base” to inform decision-makers how to address pandemics, Nuzzo said the tracker’s primary purpose was to help Brown researchers share real-time pandemic information with the public.

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As authorities brace for a potential resurgence in bird flu cases this fall, infectious disease specialists warn that the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants could hamper efforts to stop the spread of disease.

Dairy and poultry workers have been disproportionately infected with the H5N1 bird flu since it was first detected in U.S. dairy cows in March 2024, accounting for 65 of the 70 confirmed infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and its convergence with the life sciences offer incredible potential societal benefits, including advancing public health through the development of new vaccines and treatments, and by strengthening capabilities to rapidly detect new infectious disease outbreaks. These advances have the potential to reduce the burden of disease across the globe and to drive economic development. At the same time, rapid advances in AI capabilities that enable engineering of living systems—referred to here as AIxBio capabilities—also increase the risk of deliberate or accidental release of harmful biological agents, including those that could cause a global biological catastrophe that affects populations around the world.

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Wildfire smoke serves as a clear, visible reminder to take action for cleaner indoor air

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Georgia Lagoudas, a distinguished Senior Fellow at the Pandemic Center within Brown University, USA, has agreed to lead the crucial Policy Working Group of the Global Open Air Quality Standards initiative.

In this pivotal role, Dr. Lagoudas will spearhead the development of a preliminary policy framework that will serve as the foundation for this ambitious global effort. This framework will be instrumental in outlining the key principles that will guide the establishment of universal air quality standards, defining the overarching objectives the initiative aims to achieve in improving air quality worldwide, and exploring the potential mechanisms through which these standards can be effectively implemented and monitored across diverse global contexts.

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