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CDC Testing Cuts and ACIP Charter Change

44:43 recording · AUTO · 2 speakers

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Brief overview

TWiV 1312: Daniel Griffin reviews CDC testing cuts, a rewritten ACIP charter, measles spread and COVID guidance.

  1. New ACIP charter swaps expertise for knowledgeMembers now need only be 'knowledgeable' in one of many listed fields, joined by 'or' rather than being experts across the full picture.
  2. Mono roughly triples later MS risk0.17% of 4,721 EBV-positive mono patients developed MS versus 0.07% of the 14,163-person reference cohort, over a median six and eight years.
  3. Treat early; fomites are a minor routePaxlovid and remdesivir work best given right away, and contact transmission of SARS-CoV-2 looked like roughly one in every 10,000 cases.
Executive Summary AI
  • Vincent Racaniello opens TWiV episode 1312, recorded April 9th, 2026, with Daniel Griffin joining from New York for the weekly clinical update.0:20
  • They start with state public health labs stepping up as the CDC pauses testing for pathogens including rabies and mpox, which Vincent blames on RFK Jr. firing so many CDC staff, and Daniel argues the short-term quarterly savings cost more in the long run.2:43
  • After a court ruled ACIP violated its federal mandate for insufficient relevant expertise, RFK Jr. and Aaron Seary published a new charter on April 8th that requires members only to be 'knowledgeable' in any one of a long list of fields, including recovery from serious vaccine injuries.4:45
  • A Rochester Epidemiology Project cohort in Neurology followed 4,721 people with EBV-positive mono against 14,163 without, finding 0.17% versus 0.07% developed MS — a greater than threefold increased risk — while Hopkins counts 1,768 measles cases this year against CDC's 1,671.12:20
  • The 2025 IDSA guideline gives a strong recommendation for Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (Paxlovid) in adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 at increased risk, and Daniel stresses you should not wait and see because the window of opportunity closes.20:33
Key Quote
“The problem arises when irrational thought and attendant behavior fill the vacuum left by ignorance.”
— Vincent Racaniello1:55
Key Quote
“Like when it works, you never hear about it.”
— Daniel Griffin4:01
Key Quote
“In our new charter, you don't actually have to be an expert.”
— Daniel Griffin7:46