Shots That Keep the Clock Running (Continued)

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Public Health · Medicine · White House · Political Power · health

Bibliography

1. The Washington Post. “White House fires CDC director who says RFK Jr. is ‘weaponizing public health’.” August 28, 2025. Accessed August 28, 2025. Reports Monarez’s ouster and frames the immediate political context at CDC.

2. STAT. “A look at the CDC brain drain after four top officials resign.” August 28, 2025. Accessed August 28, 2025. Profiles the senior CDC leaders who resigned and explains why the departures matter operationally.

3. ABC News. “RFK Jr. removes all 17 members of CDC’s vaccine advisory committee.” June 9, 2025. Accessed August 28, 2025. Documents the mass dismissal of ACIP members and the remit of the committee.

4. BMJ (news). Taylor, Luke. “RFK Jr dismisses entire CDC vaccine advisory panel.” 2025. Accessed August 28, 2025. Independent medical press coverage confirming the wholesale ACIP purge.

5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “HHS Winds Down mRNA Vaccine Development under BARDA.” Press release, August 5, 2025. Accessed August 28, 2025. Primary source for the decision to terminate or de-scope 22 mRNA projects (~$500M) and halt new initiatives.

6. FierceBiotech. “HHS cancels mRNA vaccine development funded by BARDA.” August 5, 2025. Accessed August 28, 2025. Trade coverage detailing scope, value, and expected impact of the wind-down.

7. Weber, Jeffrey S., et al. “Individualised neoantigen therapy mRNA-4157 (V940) plus pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab monotherapy in resected melanoma (KEYNOTE-942): a randomised, phase 2b study.” Lancet 403, no. 10427 (2024): 632–644. Accessed August 28, 2025. Peer-reviewed trial showing RFS benefit that underpins the melanoma section.

8. Merck & Moderna (press release). “Moderna & Merck Announce 3-Year Data for mRNA-4157 (V940) in Combination with KEYTRUDA Demonstrated Sustained Improvement in RFS and DMFS.” June 3, 2024. Accessed August 28, 2025. Longer follow-up showing ~2.5–3-year RFS ~75% vs ~56% and durable effect signals.

9. Rojas, Luis A., et al. “Personalized RNA neoantigen vaccines stimulate T cells in pancreatic cancer.” Nature 618 (2023). Accessed August 28, 2025. Foundational report linking vaccine-induced T cells with delayed recurrence in PDAC.

10. Sethna, Zachary, et al. “RNA neoantigen vaccines prime long-lived CD8+ T cells in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.” Nature (2025). Accessed August 28, 2025. Extended follow-up showing multi-year persistence of vaccine-primed T cells and correlation with RFS.

11. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. “Can mRNA Vaccines Fight Pancreatic Cancer? MSK Clinical Researchers Are Trying to Find Out.” February 19, 2025. Accessed August 28, 2025. Institutional explainer summarizing the trial program and ongoing randomized study.

12. Reuters. “US FDA approves expanded use of Moderna’s RSV vaccine for at-risk adults.” June 12, 2025. Accessed August 28, 2025. Confirms FDA expansion to adults 18–59 at increased risk.

13. CIDRAP. “Moderna receives expanded approval for RSV vaccine.” June 13, 2025. Accessed August 28, 2025. Context and details on the expanded RSV indication and season planning.

14. Moderna (press release via BioSpace). “Moderna Announces Positive Phase 3 Results for Seasonal Influenza Vaccine (mRNA-1010).” June 30, 2025. Accessed August 28, 2025. Phase-3 efficacy summary among adults ≥50 supporting the “mRNA flu” line.

15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ACIP slides). “Overview of mRNA-1647: Investigational CMV Vaccine.” April 15, 2025 (PDF). Accessed August 28, 2025. Trial design and 30-month follow-up plan for the pivotal CMV study.

16. ClinicalTrials.gov / U.S. National Library of Medicine. “NCT05085366: A Clinical Trial of a Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Vaccine.” Accessed August 28, 2025. Registry entry confirming phase, population, and endpoints for mRNA-1647.

17. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “COVID-19 Vaccine Basics: How mRNA Vaccines Work.” Updated September 3, 2024. Accessed August 28, 2025. Clear, authoritative primer supporting the plain-English mRNA explainer.

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