A historical analysis of vaccine mandates in the United States military and its application to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9376337/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--9GNq-j4GA32rlDwhPTlptuTUn46z49LyvWxMpRBiXQm0PXhRm688JKwdsM21tmv05L6rBjYWs0-SMgCybcUhYbO5eYg&_hsmi=415011283&utm_content=415011283&utm_source=hs_email After more than half a century of mandatory vaccination, the U.S. military will no longer require all American troops to get the flu shot, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced yesterday. He said that service members will not be forced to get the shot “because your body, your faith, and your convictions are not negotiable.” The AP has more details. Some interesting background that STAT editor Zachary Tracer pulled up: The history of these military mandates goes all the way back to 1777, when George Washington demanded all soldiers be inoculated against smallpox — something they did by smearing pus from a sick person into a small cut on a healthy person’s skin. When it comes to the flu vaccine specifically, the U.S. military pushed for the development of a shot after the 1918 pandemic, which killed more than 26,000 soldiers. The military first mandated the flu vaccine in 1945, and it’s been consistently required since the early 1950s. https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/21/flu-vaccine-military-no-longer-required-hegseth/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--QkuFvwrt5TVX5bY_xPeAGhzZBi3BMH4sjjWgX2BWQ-clMW0JQh2_CWsdxMpDf2F-RpfjEZ4Vo1f4E-ACS5oxzHHFEBA&_hsmi=415011283&utm_content=415011283&utm_source=hs_email

Clinical Trial for an Investigational Bird Flu Vaccine

https://trials.modernatx.com/study/?id=mRNA-1018-P301&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9emYPizaX3qpBLMYTGbf_GFXdEAAbvdbMWtK8cjNzQymCUOkUe24uJ6DBkSb-Tp7xrtM2VrSeFhuwAqOMqqzn-4BU8Aw&_hsmi=415011283 Moderna continues bird flu vax study, but limits work in the U.S. In other vaccine news: Last year, when the U.S. government canceled hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts with Moderna, one of the casualties was an effort to test and license a bird flu vaccine, a tool the world will want should the virus ever evolve to set off a pandemic. https://cepi.net/cepi-fund-pivotal-phase-3-trial-modernas-mrna-pandemic-influenza-candidate?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--ysALS5qv_2VrkhyQpTsecu10f3093Rbf4WQSGggMVV8wNGBgX84TqZLjJguktLOAZPk7zDT7eA5Za_Wp8MFpVc53cqQ&_hsmi=415011283&utm_content=415011283&utm_source=hs_email But Moderna, with funding support from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, is pushing forward with a Phase 3 trial of its H5 messenger RNA shot, announcing Tuesday night that the first participants in the U.S. and U.K. had received doses of its candidate vaccine, mRNA-1018. Notably, the bulk of the work — 3,000 of the 4,000 volunteers, and 26 of the 36 trial sites — is taking place in the U.K., while the rest happens in the U.S. At a media briefing, Hiwot Hiruy, a senior director of clinical development at Moderna, declined to say whether more of the trial would have been held in the U.S. if the country’s health department, led by vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., hadn’t cut its support for the program. https://www.statnews.com/2025/09/25/mrna-vaccines-united-kingdom-invests-as-united-states-cuts-back/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_sdBhFiO2MIqftM21nTvQF9uhAPVkFgL6YTLuV18MlnBWt9Uqj1ztcf7DASfgjIOpcf6lxMIUUZMzoVtgv0mpv0psngQ&_hsmi=415011283&utm_content=415011283&utm_source=hs_email The U.K., meanwhile, has been aiming to attract more investment from biopharma companies by speeding up the process of getting trials up and running. The country has also emphasized its particular enthusiasm for mRNA research, underscored by its decade-long partnership with Moderna. — Andrew Joseph https://www.statnews.com/2023/06/23/uk-moderna-partnership-science/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_e0dlaQx2x3_36h6xLgm3pXEbpwr1OtXpr2aKcivoBjOnhc_e9cHaHBP4COKKJAo01p_eet0BnPhksX18xGOYDVWPOGA&_hsmi=415011283&utm_content=415011283&utm_source=hs_email HHS cancels $766 million in Moderna contracts for vaccines for flu pandemics The decision will be seen as a significant blow to pandemic preparedness https://www.statnews.com/2025/05/28/moderna-flu-vaccine-development-cancelled-by-hhs-mrna-platform-offers-speedy-pandemic-response/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9uFW37B6DiMB1AFPnyKoO59e3QkgHSckBtuICzg9Vi_xvDCcBychNjZoOcOuJdaGa9N46vPjOJaMD63ljTX2PZQ8v12A&_hsmi=415011283&utm_content=415011283&utm_source=hs_email

Judge postpones OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma’s sentencing to let opioid victims attend in person After years of legal twists and turns, the settlement could take effect a week after the sentencing

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/21/purdue-pharma-oxycontin-justice-department-settlement-criminal-sentence/ By Associated PressApril 21, 2026

Insurers refuse to join Medicare pilot offering weight loss drugs to seniors at steep discount CMS will keep low copays for seniors in place through 2027 by funding the program a different way

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/21/trump-medicare-weight-loss-drug-plan-unraveling-insurer-pushback/ By John WilkersonApril 21, 2026 Washington Correspondent

At AACR, more strong results for Revolution Medicine’s KRAS drug, plus assurance from NCI’s director By Angus Chen, Damian Garde, and Matthew HerperApril 21, 2026

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/21/aacr-2026-pancreatic-cancer-oral-cancer-wildfires-nci-director/ By Angus Chen, Damian Garde, and Matthew HerperApril 21, 2026

Kyverna Therapeutics plans to submit cell therapy for stiff person syndrome for FDA approval If cleared, the medicine would be first personalized CAR-T therapy for an autoimmune disease

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/21/kyverna-therapeutics-stiff-person-syndrome/ By Adam FeuersteinApril 21, 2026 Adam Feuerstein, a senior writer and biotech columnist, is the author of Adam’s Biotech Scorecard, a subscriber-only newsletter about the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology.

NASA’s plans for living in space should prioritize immunology and infectious disease Space travel can be tough on the immune system

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/22/artemis-space-travel-immunology-infectious-disease-bacteria/ By Scott E. SolomonApril 22, 2026 Solomon is teaching professor of biosciences at Rice University and the author of “Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change Our Bodies and Minds.”