Health and science highlights
September 18, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) — Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future. HEALTH West Coast states issue joint vaccine guidelines in shift away from CDC (ABC) CDC panel votes to push back MMRV vaccine recommendation to 4 years old (The Hill) A common nasal spray may block Covid infection, trial results indicate (CBS) RFK. Jr’s family members say he is a ‘threat’ to Americans’ health and call for his resignation Ghost viruses in our DNA can come back to haunt us (KPBS) Poll: Amid multi-state measles outbreak, 79% of Americans support routine childhood vaccine requirements (Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health) Rural hospitals band together instead of selling to big networks (NPR) Whatever happened to mpox? Is it still a threat? (NPR) What causes stuttering? It might be in your DNA TB deaths projected to rise due to aid cuts, study says (NPR) SCIENCE AND TECH Trump Is Targeting Broadcast Networks. The FCC Is Poised to Help Him. (NOTUS) Anthropic to pay authors $1.5 billion in settlement over chatbot training material (NPR) After 10 years of black hole science, Stephen Hawking is proven right (NPR ) In a major antitrust ruling, a judge lets Google keep Chrome but levies other penalties (NPR) For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down. HEALTH West Coast states issue joint vaccine guidelines in shift away from CDC (ABC) The move came a day ahead of a meeting of CDC vaccine advisers. Four Western U.S. states have come together to issue unified vaccine recommendations for the upcoming respiratory illness season, and California has enacted a new law to base the state’s immunization guidance on independent medical organizations, rather than the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC panel votes to push back MMRV vaccine recommendation to 4 years old (The Hill) The vaccine advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday voted in favor of delaying the administration of the vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (chickenpox), commonly called the MMRV… Members of the committee who opposed the motion argued that changing the recommendation took away parents’ right to choose when and how to vaccinate their children. Jason Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians, lambasted the motion as lacking supporting evidence and causing more confusion than benefits. A common nasal spray may block Covid infection, trial results indicate (CBS) The over-the-counter antihistamine azelastine works against a range of respiratory infections, including the flu and RSV, according to German researchers. RFK. Jr’s family members say he is a ‘threat’ to Americans’ health and call for his resignation “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a threat to the health and wellbeing of every American,” Joseph P. Kennedy III said in a post on X. The former congressman added: “None of us will be spared the pain he is inflicting.” His aunt echoed those claims, saying “medical decisions belong in the hands of trained and licensed professionals, not incompetent and misguided leadership.” Ghost viruses in our DNA can come back to haunt us (KPBS) 8% of our DNA are viruses our ancestors caught one day and passed down to us. These retroviruses have been called ghost viruses, or viral detritus…. Typically, we carry the viruses in our genomes and somehow we manage to silence them. But it turns out those ghosts can be reawakened when we get sick. Poll: Amid multi-state measles outbreak, 79% of Americans support routine childhood vaccine requirements (Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health) In the midst of a multi-state measles outbreak, a new poll by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the de Beaumont Foundation finds that most U.S. adults (79%) say parents should be required to have children vaccinated against preventable diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella to attend school. This includes a majority of adults across party lines—90% among Democrats and 68% among Republicans—as well as 66% of those who support the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement. It also includes 72% of all parents. Rural hospitals band together instead of selling to big networks (NPR) Independent rural hospitals are increasingly joining what are called clinically integrated networks, collaborative groups that allow them to avoid selling out to larger health systems while sharing resources to save money and improve patient care. Many are motivated by the chance to combine their patient rolls for value-based care contracts, a growing reimbursement model in which insurers pay providers based on the quality of care they provide and the health outcomes of their patients. Whatever happened to mpox? Is it still a threat? (NPR) Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared mpox a public health emergency of continental concern. The very next day, the World Health Organization followed suit elevating the mpox outbreak to its highest threat level…. Today, 26 African countries are in the midst of mpox outbreaks, up from 13 a year ago according to Africa CDC. Critics say the global response has fallen dangerously short What causes stuttering? It might be in your DNA NPR – Geneticists Piper Below…recently identified 57 genetic regions linked to stuttering in the human genome. Their findings represent a new breakthrough in how researchers think about speech conditions, genetics and the conditions that are linked to them. TB deaths projected to rise due to aid cuts, study says (NPR) While it may seem like a disease from the past, this airborne illness kills more people than any other infectious disease worldwide, roughly 1.2 million a year. That number could increase dramatically because of the Trump administration’s cuts to foreign assistance, according to a new study co-authored by Ditiu. As many as 10 million additional people could get TB, and 2.2 million could die by 2030 in high-burden countries under the worst-case funding scenario over the next five years, researchers report in the journal PLOS Global Public Health. SCIENCE AND TECH Trump Is Targeting Broadcast Networks. The FCC Is Poised to Help
Adams Avenue Street Fair is this weekend
East County News Service Sept. 18, 2025 (San Diego) — The free two-day Adams Avenue Street Fair, considered San Diego’s favorite music festival, and attended by more than 50,000 people in Normal Heights, is happening this weekend, Saturday, Sept. 20 and Sunday, Sept. 21. Presented by San Diego Foundation, the 43rd annual Adams Avenue Street Fair features 75 musical acts on seven stages. The event — Southern California’s largest free two-day music festival — will go from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. both days. Adams Avenue businesses sponsor this event, held along 10 city blocks, from 32nd Street to 36th Street. In addition to a varied musical performance schedule, the event features carnival rides, beer gardens, festival foods, performances by the Fern Street Circus and 300 exhibitors with unique offerings. Three beer gardens will also be open throughout the two-day run, with full-pour servings from some of San Diego’s best craft breweries and featured cocktails from local distilleries. VIP pre-sale beer tickets are available for $21 (four craft beers) here. The Adams Avenue Street Fair is underwritten by a grant from the city of San Diego’s Commission for Arts and Culture.
HauntFest Headed to El Cajon in October
East County News Service Sept. 18, 2025 (El Cajon) — Spooky fun is coming to downtown El Cajon with the annual HauntFest in October. The community-centered event that typically draws more than 20,000 people, is set for 4 to 9 p.m., Friday, Oct. 17. The city says that the annual free Halloween block party is the largest in San Diego County and features something for everyone. HauntFest will have costume contests for kids of all ages with cash prizes, amusement rides, a haunted maze, a candy trail, a “trunk-or-treat” event with classic cars, a reptile petting zoo, live entertainment with roaming stilt walkers and a DJ playing music, and an outdoor screening of the movie Monsters University. Families can also enjoy professional face painting, airbrush tattoos and a sensory-friendly tent designed as a quiet enfironment and a calming space forguests of all ages. As part of the festivities, The Magnolia will host its third annual Haunted Circus: Monsters at Play, produced by Twisted Orbit Circus Entertainment. Sponsored by Waste Management, the free, family-friendly performance invites audiences to enjoy two shows filled with jugglers, contortionists, stilt walkers, hoop throwers, aerialists, acrobats and more inside the historic theater. Showtimes are at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., on Friday, Oct. 17, with doors opening 30 minutes prior. For more information on HauntFest, visit the city of El Cajon’s website here and the HauntFest page here.