Lena Sun
@lenasun.bsky.social
National health reporter, The Washington Post
[email protected]; Reach me securely on Signal: LenaSun.04
[email protected]; Reach me securely on Signal: LenaSun.04
Pinned
Lena Sun
@lenasun.bsky.social
· Feb 16
Hearing that @CDCgov personnel on probationary list are getting termination letters this evening. If you’re one of them, you can reach me securely on Signal at LenaSun.04. I promise to keep your name confidential. We want to get a sense of who’s been cut. DMs ok too. Also [email protected]
NEW: The National Academies release statement saying the revised language on @CDCgov web page on links between vaccines and autism, which cited some of the academies work, did not provide the full context. 1/2
www.nationalacademies.org/news/stateme...
www.nationalacademies.org/news/stateme...
National Academies - Statement on CDC’s Updated Vaccine Guidance
National Academies respond to CDC’s updated vaccine guidance, offering scientific context and clarity on vaccine safety.
www.nationalacademies.org
November 23, 2025 at 10:24 PM
NEW: The National Academies release statement saying the revised language on @CDCgov web page on links between vaccines and autism, which cited some of the academies work, did not provide the full context. 1/2
www.nationalacademies.org/news/stateme...
www.nationalacademies.org/news/stateme...
NEW: Bird flu patient dies, marking second U.S. fatality in 2025. Washington state resident was older adult w underlying conditions.
My story.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
My story.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Bird flu patient dies, marking second U.S. fatality in 2025
The Washington state resident, an older adult with underlying conditions, was infected with a strain that has previously been reported in animals but never before in humans.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:36 AM
NEW: Bird flu patient dies, marking second U.S. fatality in 2025. Washington state resident was older adult w underlying conditions.
My story.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
My story.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
UPDATED: Washington state epidemiologist on first human infected with H5N5 bird flu strain, different from H5N1 that has been spreading widely: “This is a severely ill patient.” But officials say no change to public health response or guidance. My story. 1/3
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
First U.S. case of human bird flu in 9 months confirmed in Washington state
The U.S. has reported its first human case of bird flu since February, with a confirmed infection in Washington state
www.washingtonpost.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:36 AM
UPDATED: Washington state epidemiologist on first human infected with H5N5 bird flu strain, different from H5N1 that has been spreading widely: “This is a severely ill patient.” But officials say no change to public health response or guidance. My story. 1/3
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Reposted by Lena Sun
I’ve been in Toronto at the #astmh meeting these past few days and last night some very good news was presented here: A new malaria drug has proven efficacious in a large trial and could soon be approved.🧪
My story in @science.org (and 🧵on why it's important to come):
www.science.org/content/arti...
My story in @science.org (and 🧵on why it's important to come):
www.science.org/content/arti...
‘A sigh of relief’: New malaria drug succeeds in large clinical trial
As existing drugs falter because of resistance, the world gets a backup—but hard choices loom on how to use it
www.science.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:27 PM
I’ve been in Toronto at the #astmh meeting these past few days and last night some very good news was presented here: A new malaria drug has proven efficacious in a large trial and could soon be approved.🧪
My story in @science.org (and 🧵on why it's important to come):
www.science.org/content/arti...
My story in @science.org (and 🧵on why it's important to come):
www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. visas can be denied for obesity, cancer and diabetes, Rubio says.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
U.S. visas can be denied for obesity, cancer and diabetes, Rubio says
The Trump administration has directed visa officers to consider obesity and other chronic health conditions when deciding whether to grant visas to immigrants.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
U.S. visas can be denied for obesity, cancer and diabetes, Rubio says.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
NEW: ByHeart recalls all baby formula amid botulism outbreak
Officials have identified 15 cases of infant botulism potentially linked to the company’s organic products. The recall is not expected to create a nationwide shortage. @Rachelroubein.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
ByHeart recalls all baby formula amid botulism outbreak
Officials have identified 15 cases of infant botulism potentially linked to the company’s organic products. The recall is not expected to create a nationwide shortage.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:34 PM
NEW: ByHeart recalls all baby formula amid botulism outbreak
Officials have identified 15 cases of infant botulism potentially linked to the company’s organic products. The recall is not expected to create a nationwide shortage. @Rachelroubein.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Thirteen babies in 10 states have been hospitalized as a result of the outbreak, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. No deaths have been reported.
ByHeart baby formula has recalled 2 batches of one product.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
ByHeart baby formula has recalled 2 batches of one product.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Baby formula recalled after infant botulism outbreak
ByHeart recalled two batches of its baby formula following federal officials’ report of 13 children contracting infant botulism after consuming its product.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Thirteen babies in 10 states have been hospitalized as a result of the outbreak, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. No deaths have been reported.
ByHeart baby formula has recalled 2 batches of one product.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
ByHeart baby formula has recalled 2 batches of one product.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
One of the largest studies ever conducted on the link between the shingles vaccine and brain health offers insight into how the disease increases dementia risk. From [email protected]
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
How a childhood virus can contribute to dementia later and what you can do
A new study suggests that the shingles vaccine may help prevent dementia by reducing the risk of varicella-zoster virus reactivation
www.washingtonpost.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:29 PM
One of the largest studies ever conducted on the link between the shingles vaccine and brain health offers insight into how the disease increases dementia risk. From [email protected]
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
BREAKING: HHS official says in a court filing:
"As a result of data discrepancies and processing errors, RIF notices were issued on October 10, 2025, to approximately 1,760 employees instead of to the 982 employees who were intended to receive RIF notices.” 1/3
"As a result of data discrepancies and processing errors, RIF notices were issued on October 10, 2025, to approximately 1,760 employees instead of to the 982 employees who were intended to receive RIF notices.” 1/3
October 14, 2025 at 10:31 PM
BREAKING: HHS official says in a court filing:
"As a result of data discrepancies and processing errors, RIF notices were issued on October 10, 2025, to approximately 1,760 employees instead of to the 982 employees who were intended to receive RIF notices.” 1/3
"As a result of data discrepancies and processing errors, RIF notices were issued on October 10, 2025, to approximately 1,760 employees instead of to the 982 employees who were intended to receive RIF notices.” 1/3
NEW: More than half of the roughly 1,300 layoffs notices at @CDCgov have been rescinded. But analysts with top-secret clearance working on biodefense preparedness at another health agency have lost their jobs, per sources. Our story 1/4
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Hundreds of CDC layoffs reversed, but biodefense preparedness staff hit
More than half of the roughly 1,300 CDC layoff notices have been rescinded, but workers at health agencies who work on biodefense and mental health still lost their jobs.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 14, 2025 at 12:34 AM
NEW: More than half of the roughly 1,300 layoffs notices at @CDCgov have been rescinded. But analysts with top-secret clearance working on biodefense preparedness at another health agency have lost their jobs, per sources. Our story 1/4
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
BREAKING: Some of the layoffs at CDC are being REVERSED.
Here is my updated story.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Here is my updated story.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
More than 1,000 CDC staff receive layoff notices during government shutdown
Another round of mass layoffs has struck CDC. The agency had already been cut during a reorganization this year, and more employees are now being shed amid the government shutdown.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 11, 2025 at 10:26 PM
BREAKING: Some of the layoffs at CDC are being REVERSED.
Here is my updated story.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Here is my updated story.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4
October 11, 2025 at 12:49 PM
NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4
Reposted by Lena Sun
She left the medical mainstream and rose to be RFK Jr.'s surgeon general pick
Read my and @rachelroubein.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com deep dive on Casey Means
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Read my and @rachelroubein.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com deep dive on Casey Means
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
She left the medical mainstream and rose to be RFK Jr.'s surgeon general pick
Casey Means, the surgeon general nominee, has criticized the medical establishment. She could be put in position to change it.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 9, 2025 at 1:34 PM
She left the medical mainstream and rose to be RFK Jr.'s surgeon general pick
Read my and @rachelroubein.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com deep dive on Casey Means
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Read my and @rachelroubein.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com deep dive on Casey Means
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Important Read: Programs that many autistic people and their families depend on — through Medicaid, the Education Department and the Administration for Community Living — have been targeted for funding cuts by Trump administration. @caitjgibson.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/20...
www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/20...
Families push back on Trump’s autism rhetoric: ‘We’re not a disease’
Parents fear that progress toward inclusion is under threat as political leaders call autism a “crisis.”
www.washingtonpost.com
September 27, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Important Read: Programs that many autistic people and their families depend on — through Medicaid, the Education Department and the Administration for Community Living — have been targeted for funding cuts by Trump administration. @caitjgibson.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/20...
www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/20...
Reposted by Lena Sun
GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy on Trump and RFK Jr’s claims about Tylenol and autism:
“Talk to your OB about it. But secondly, I was talking to a woman, she goes, ‘Oh, this is great. Two men telling me not to take the only thing I can take when my back's hurting and I'm pregnant.’”
“Talk to your OB about it. But secondly, I was talking to a woman, she goes, ‘Oh, this is great. Two men telling me not to take the only thing I can take when my back's hurting and I'm pregnant.’”
September 24, 2025 at 8:34 PM
GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy on Trump and RFK Jr’s claims about Tylenol and autism:
“Talk to your OB about it. But secondly, I was talking to a woman, she goes, ‘Oh, this is great. Two men telling me not to take the only thing I can take when my back's hurting and I'm pregnant.’”
“Talk to your OB about it. But secondly, I was talking to a woman, she goes, ‘Oh, this is great. Two men telling me not to take the only thing I can take when my back's hurting and I'm pregnant.’”
And here’s the link to our story about RFKJR’s handpicked vaccine advisory committee.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
September 20, 2025 at 11:39 AM
And here’s the link to our story about RFKJR’s handpicked vaccine advisory committee.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Our story on how RFKJr’s vaccine handpicked advisers were unprepared, misunderstood or ignored key data, per experts watching the meeting.
@washingtonpost.com @davidovalle.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social + me
@washingtonpost.com @davidovalle.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social + me
September 20, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Our story on how RFKJr’s vaccine handpicked advisers were unprepared, misunderstood or ignored key data, per experts watching the meeting.
@washingtonpost.com @davidovalle.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social + me
@washingtonpost.com @davidovalle.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social + me
NEW: RFKJr’s handpicked vaccine panel met this week. They were unprepared, misunderstood or ignored key data + highlighted flawed or inconclusive research often trumpeted by vaccine critics, per medical/scientific experts who watched meeting @davidovalle.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social + me.
September 20, 2025 at 11:25 AM
NEW: RFKJr’s handpicked vaccine panel met this week. They were unprepared, misunderstood or ignored key data + highlighted flawed or inconclusive research often trumpeted by vaccine critics, per medical/scientific experts who watched meeting @davidovalle.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social + me.
If you are 65+ and thinking about getting a coronavirus shot, this week might be your best opportunity. Right now, the FDA has approved updated vaccines for that age group. But it’s possible it could get much tougher to get those shots next week. 1/3
September 16, 2025 at 10:41 PM
If you are 65+ and thinking about getting a coronavirus shot, this week might be your best opportunity. Right now, the FDA has approved updated vaccines for that age group. But it’s possible it could get much tougher to get those shots next week. 1/3
Reposted by Lena Sun
HHS officially announced five new vaccine advisers who will decide fate of coronavirus vaccines Friday.
One called for stopping mRNA vaccines, another blamed covid shots for rare conditions and another said coronavirus isn't scary.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
One called for stopping mRNA vaccines, another blamed covid shots for rare conditions and another said coronavirus isn't scary.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
RFK Jr. weighs adding critics of coronavirus shots to key vaccine panel
Two urged removal of mRNA coronavirus vaccines. One said physicians “blindly believed” in them. Another said covid isn’t scary, noting Jesus touched lepers.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 15, 2025 at 6:52 PM
HHS officially announced five new vaccine advisers who will decide fate of coronavirus vaccines Friday.
One called for stopping mRNA vaccines, another blamed covid shots for rare conditions and another said coronavirus isn't scary.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
One called for stopping mRNA vaccines, another blamed covid shots for rare conditions and another said coronavirus isn't scary.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
New poll by WaPo-KFF finds 1 in 6 US parents who skip/delay vaccines are more likely to home-school their children, be White and very religious, identify as Republican or be under 35, shedding new light on vaccine hesitancy. (Not incl covid or flu).
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Why 1 in 6 U.S. parents say they skipped or delayed their kids’ vaccines
A wide-ranging Washington Post-KFF poll details who tends to reject vaccine recommendations and their reasoning.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 15, 2025 at 11:58 AM
New poll by WaPo-KFF finds 1 in 6 US parents who skip/delay vaccines are more likely to home-school their children, be White and very religious, identify as Republican or be under 35, shedding new light on vaccine hesitancy. (Not incl covid or flu).
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Reposted by Lena Sun
Exclusive at WaPo: RFK Jr's aides are prepping new bid to crack down on covid vaccine by linking it to 25 child deaths
They appear to be citing submissions to vaccine-report database VAERS — despite caution that it's unreliable.
@lenasun.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social w little help from me
They appear to be citing submissions to vaccine-report database VAERS — despite caution that it's unreliable.
@lenasun.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social w little help from me
Trump officials to link child deaths to covid shots, alarming career scientists
The move to link coronavirus vaccines to 25 child deaths alarms career scientists who say the shots have been extensively studied.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Exclusive at WaPo: RFK Jr's aides are prepping new bid to crack down on covid vaccine by linking it to 25 child deaths
They appear to be citing submissions to vaccine-report database VAERS — despite caution that it's unreliable.
@lenasun.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social w little help from me
They appear to be citing submissions to vaccine-report database VAERS — despite caution that it's unreliable.
@lenasun.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social w little help from me
Reposted by Lena Sun
NEW: Trump officials to link covid shots to child deaths, alarming career scientists www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/... via @rachelroubein.bsky.social @ddiamond.bsky.social @lenasun.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:20 PM
NEW: Trump officials to link covid shots to child deaths, alarming career scientists www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/... via @rachelroubein.bsky.social @ddiamond.bsky.social @lenasun.bsky.social
Reposted by Lena Sun
“The U.S. government is now in the business of vaccine misinformation.” Trump officials to link covid shots to child deaths, alarming career scientists. Story by @lenasun.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social @ddiamond.bsky.social wapo.st/47LFKvL
Trump officials to link covid shots to child deaths, alarming career scientists
The move to link coronavirus vaccines to 25 child deaths alarms career scientists who say the shots have been extensively studied.
wapo.st
September 12, 2025 at 4:28 PM
“The U.S. government is now in the business of vaccine misinformation.” Trump officials to link covid shots to child deaths, alarming career scientists. Story by @lenasun.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social @ddiamond.bsky.social wapo.st/47LFKvL
Reposted by Lena Sun
New Mexico's chief medical officer has provided a COVID-19 vaccine prescription for all residents that the department recommends people bring when they go to get a vaccine just to ensure no problems.
NM health department provides COVID-19 vaccine prescription for all residents • Source New Mexico
New Mexico Department of Health issues standing order —and a prescription—residents can use to get COVID-10 vaccine
buff.ly
September 11, 2025 at 7:30 PM
New Mexico's chief medical officer has provided a COVID-19 vaccine prescription for all residents that the department recommends people bring when they go to get a vaccine just to ensure no problems.