Dr. Céline Gounder

Employers are dropping GLP-1s for weight loss. Medicare pays $245 a month for them, in a deal that ends in 2027. Save and send to anyone picking a plan: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/glp1-coverage-open-enrollment-employers-medicare Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

HHS laid off the CDC team that surveys new mothers in 46 states. HHS still hasn't restored the survey. Save and send to an OB-GYN: https://katiecouric.com/news/opinion/womens-health-initiative-trump-opinion/ Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

An AI will now turn your last mammogram into a $249 breast cancer risk score. No trial has measured its effect on breast cancer deaths. Save and send to a woman due for a mammogram: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_CcLbhmJOQ Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Uganda closed its border with Congo in May. Kenya's first Ebola patient crossed it anyway. Congo has confirmed 9,100+ cases and 4,400+ deaths. Save and send to someone in global health: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb-XFTw1L1U Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Doctors find only 24% of U.S. lung cancers as early as Pope Leo's lung spot. Watch (CBS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsXiDAAemuY Save and send to a former smoker: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/pope-leo-lung-nodule-lung-cancer-screening Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Lab accidents do happen. Few of us know our own genetics. This plague strain was supposed to be harmless. In 2009 it killed Malcolm Casadaban. Save and send to anyone worried about lab leaks: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/plague-strain-cdc-called-safe Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

REN TV deleted all 5 of its Irkutsk plague posts. Nobody has confirmed a second case. Nobody has ruled one out. Save and send to anyone worried about a pandemic or lab leak: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/irkutsk-plague-deleted-reports-second-case Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

What one abstract and one monograph tell us about a 28-year-old scientist's work in Irkutsk. Save and send to the person worried about the next pandemic: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/what-the-irkutsk-plague-scientist-worked-on Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Flu is rising early out West. Get a flu shot by Halloween. A new mRNA flu shot for 50+ works a bit better. It also has slightly more side effects. Send to someone 50+: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/mrna-flu-shot-mflusiva-flu-season-2026 Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Flu is early. A new H1N1 mutation dodges antibodies, most in under-25s. A mismatched shot still cut flu hospital stays 32%. Get a flu shot before Halloween. Send to a student: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/mrna-flu-shot-mflusiva-flu-season-2026 Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

A lab assistant at Russia's Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute died. Nobody has said if she got antibiotics. Watch (CBS): https://youtu.be/tAe0GXraNDk Read more here: https://drcelinegounder.substack.com/p/irkutsk-plague-what-russia-has-not-confirmed Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Retatrutide helped people lose about a quarter of their weight. About 4 in 10 people quit drugs like it within a year. Read more here: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/retatrutide-obesity-drug-cost-subscription-disease Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

The MAHA Summit's $300,000 sponsor package included a private dinner with RFK Jr. and Oz, per Bloomberg. Watch (CBS): https://youtu.be/WA6Mx-I2KCM Save and send to a MAHA supporter: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/america-gov-chatbot-health-kennedy Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

America.gov admitted CDC contradicts CDC on autism, then missed that a federal judge has paused a change to CDC's newborn hep B vaccine recommendation. Save and send to parents: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/america-gov-chatbot-health-kennedy Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Anthropic's AI found a new enzyme system in 21 hours. Lab testing takes longer, and NIH funds much of it. But over a quarter of NIH-funded researchers in a STAT survey cut staff. Save and send to a scientist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rKPF3EaK5Q Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

CDC asked teens about guns, sexual violence and self-harm. The new report skipped those answers. The public data didn't. Save and send to a parent: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/cdc-yrbs-2025-teen-health-report-omissions Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

"Are we in a public health emergency?" Mine: trust, AI and synthetic biology, cyberattacks on hospitals, climate. Dr. Alister Martin's: a million New Yorkers losing coverage. Save and send to a clinician: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7CSqWYpmW0 Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

4 measles-associated deaths in PA. Secretary RFK Jr.'s department won't recognize them. CBS: https://youtu.be/vqCSNUjLpds https://youtu.be/lGctpf5Hvwk https://youtu.be/-QmKyk4arDk https://www.celinegounder.com/p/cbs-news-debunking-hhs-secretary Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Measles gets confused with chickenpox and parvovirus. In outbreak areas I'd add a dose at 6 to 9 months, on top of the 12-month one. But the early dose isn't current CDC guidance. Read & subscribe for free: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/measles-vitamin-a-vaccines-after-recovery

The CDC's site says 0 measles deaths this year. Pennsylvania says 4. States investigate and report. The CDC compiles what states send. Save and send to a local health official: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/measles-measles-immune-amnesia-mini-hiv Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

The Amish and Mennonite churches aren't opposed to vaccination. Neither is the Vatican. The exemptions rising fastest are ideological, not religious. Read & subscribe for free: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/measles-measles-immune-amnesia-mini-hiv

A proposed rule would let a political appointee outrank scientific review on every federal grant. The Senate froze it until December 11th. Save and send to a researcher or patient: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/ada-removal-nih-cuts-diabetes-research Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

One federal panel makes your mammogram free. The US Preventive Services Task Force hasn't met in 18 months. Save and send to anyone due for a screening: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/colorectal-cancer-screening-guidelines-coverage-gap Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

The AMA, AAP and IDSA published fall vaccine guidance on Sept 2. Adam Zimmerman's argument isn't that the evidence was wrong. It's that nobody was given a reason to pay attention. Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com #PublicHealth

The Atlantic Festival starts Thursday, September 17-19. Ebola and climate-related threats get filed under "not here yet," which is why their funding is the easiest to cut. I'll be making the case for why that's a mistake. Come find me. theatlanticfestival.com

Measles infects the memory cells of your immune system. The rash clears in 2 weeks. Immunity takes 2 to 3 years to rebuild. Save and send to a parent: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/measles-measles-immune-amnesia-mini-hiv Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Measles can raise a child's risk from other infections for 2 to 3 years. No U.S. agency tells doctors to repeat vaccines after it. Save and send to a pediatrician: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/measles-vitamin-a-vaccines-after-recovery Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Today is the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Its two lessons were prevention and unity. I'm watching us forget both, right as AI meets advanced biology. Watch (CBS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2eHvDp4nyI

Anthropic just caught 5 scientists using Claude for potentially risky biological research. Send to a scientist, doctor, or anyone worried about gain-of-function research: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/anthropic-claude-ai-bioweapons-biosecurity Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Four medical societies wrote the fall vaccine schedule based on reviews of 299 studies in JAMA. But their schedule doesn't dictate insurance coverage. Save and send to a parent: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/orphaned-recommendation-vaccine-coverage Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

The flu shot is flu peptide-maxxing with randomized trials behind it. Four medical societies recommend it: the AAP, ACOG, AAFP, and IDSA. Save and send to a parent: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/orphaned-recommendation-vaccine-coverage Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

I think of measles as a mini HIV. Both infect the immune system itself. HIV takes the power to fight. Measles takes what you already learned, erasing 11% to 73% of antibodies in 77 children. Send to a parent on the fence: https://www.celinegounder.com/p/measles-measles-immune-amnesia-mini-hiv

A drunk driver kills you. The certificate says "blunt force trauma." Nobody argues about whether a drunk driver killed you. CDC's measles count went 2, then 0, then an asterisk. Pennsylvania still lists 2. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQdmONElvOc Read & subscribe: celinegounder.com

Pennsylvania reported 2 measles-associated deaths, the first in the US this year and the state's first in 35 years. One was a newborn. The coroner has listed measles as a contributing factor. Save and send to a parent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4AKb6FyxBE Read & subscribe: celinegounder.com

FDA approved 4 updated COVID vaccines, all targeting XFG. No federal committee has voted on who should get them. A judge sidelined most of that committee in March. Whether you can walk into a pharmacy depends on your state. Save and send to a caregiver. Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

FDA approved the first pill for metastatic pancreatic cancer. "Twice as long" means 13 months instead of 7. Nearly $40K a month. Medicare can't negotiate it. 70% are on Medicare. Save and send to a caregiver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfgXWaL-f7I Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Congo has built 1,300 Ebola beds. About 60% of the people dying never reach one. Africa CDC says it's catching 30 to 40% of cases. Save and send to an aid worker: https://the1a.org/segments/the-drc-ebola-outbreak-is-spreading-at-a-rapid-pace-why/ Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

IDWeek is pleased to announce that @celinegounder.com will present this year's Joseph E. Smadel Lecture, “Where We're Needed Now: Building a Career of Impact in Infectious Diseases as the Ground Shifts.” See Dr. Gounder present at #IDWeek2026. Register: www.idweek.org/registration/

Dr. Oz wants parents to get the MMR as 3 separate shots. Merck stopped making them in 2008. Save and send to a parent or a pediatrician: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeNSjcQ2CM4 Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

The FDA delayed the food traceability rule. 6 days later Taylor Farms' parent gave $1M to a pro-Trump super PAC. Nothing in the public record connects the two. Save and send to anyone who buys bagged salad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISCfnEBG6-4 Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Dolly Parton helped fund Moderna's COVID vaccine research. The same technology just kept melanoma from coming back. Officials cut $500M from mRNA vaccine work last year. Save and send to a melanoma patient: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbfC2WEgzts Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

The hardest question I get isn't about any one outbreak. It's where to find health information you can actually rely on now. That's the part I most want to get right at The Atlantic Festival, September 17-19. theatlanticfestival.com

A federal review asks whether to redraw the categories that decide which vaccines your insurance must cover for free. Comments close September 20th. Save and send to a parent or pediatrician: federalregister.gov/d/2026-17250 Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

More than 40 studies, millions of children, many countries. No increased risk. I spoke with New York magazine's Nia Prater. Save and send: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-childhood-vaccine-mmr-order-celine-gounder-interview.html Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

A century ago a child got one vaccine. Smallpox, about 200 viral proteins. I spoke with New York magazine's Nia Prater. Save and send to a parent: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-childhood-vaccine-mmr-order-celine-gounder-interview.html Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Brazil, Chile, Poland, Turkey, Saudi Arabia. The countries we actually resemble. I spoke with New York magazine's Nia Prater. Save and send: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-childhood-vaccine-mmr-order-celine-gounder-interview.html Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

Japan split its MMR shot in the 1990s. Mumps coverage fell to a third of kids. I spoke with New York magazine's Nia Prater. Save and send: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-childhood-vaccine-mmr-order-celine-gounder-interview.html Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com

A federal judge blocked the January schedule changes in March. It still holds. I spoke with New York magazine's Nia Prater. Save and send: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-childhood-vaccine-mmr-order-celine-gounder-interview.html Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com