US lawmakers have sent a letter to federal health officials demanding answers on how and why a controversial vaccine trial in West Africa received federal funding.

The letter from Democratic members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Acting Director Jim O’Neill asks for all documentation regarding the decision to award a five-year, $1.6 million grant to a team of Danish researchers conducting the study, which aims to assess the overall health impact of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose in Guinea-Bissau. Half of the estimated 14,000 newborns enrolled in the randomized controlled trial will not receive the birth dose of the vaccine.

CIDRAP News first reported on the study in December, shortly after it was announced in the Federal Register. The trial has been widely criticized as unethical, given the known efficacy of a birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine and the high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B infection in Guinea-Bissau. 

“Without the vaccine, as many as nine in ten infants could develop chronic infection that can lead to liver failure and death,” ranking committee members Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Diane DeGette (D-CO), and Yvette Clark (D-NY), wrote to O’Neill. “In that context, deliberately withholding a proven vaccine that has saved millions of lives globally for the sole purpose of examining theoretical, non-specific side effects may constitute a major breach of scientific ethics. And using taxpayer dollars in such a study rather than using those dollars to provide proven, life-saving vaccinations to babies is abhorrent.”

Trial’s status in question

Critics have also questioned the trial’s protocol, the track record of the researchers conducting the study, and why the CDC awarded the grant without the usual competitive process. The questions raised about the trial led the government of Guinea-Bissau to temporarily suspend it pending further review, although US officials maintain it’s going forward as planned.

The letter asks O’Neill to clarify the status of the trial, produce all versions of the study proposal and protocol, describe the CDC’s communications and coordination with Guinea-Bissau’s Ministry of Health, and provide any documentation regarding the decision to award the grant without a competitive process. 

Attendees of the National March for Life rally in Washington, DC last month may have been exposed to measles. 

DC Health issued a statement yesterday saying that people with confirmed cases of measles visited several locations while infectious between January 21 and February 2, including the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and the DC subway system. 

There have been at least six measles cases reported so far in Virginia this year. In other major exposure site news, a second measles case has been linked to exposure at Disneyland. The case-patient visited Disneyland Park on January 22.

Another setback for Minneapolis Somali community

Meanwhile, fear and unease during Operation Metro Surge operation in Minneapolis could be hindering measles vaccine efforts in the Somali community. Vaccine rates had started to increase slightly among the group, which has shown significant vaccine hesitancy in the past 20 years.

In 2006, 92% of Somali 2-year-olds were vaccinated against measles; last year, only 24% of 2 year-olds were vaccinated. There have been at least four measles outbreaks in the community in the past decade. 

According to the Associated Press, many Somalis now fear leaving their home during the prolonged Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in the Twin Cities, raising concerns among clinicians and public health professionals.

Finally, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) today said preliminary data from 2025 show a drop in the number of measles cases reported across the European Union, compared with 2024. However, these figures are still twice as high as those reported in 2023.

Between January and December 2025, 7,655 measles cases were reported by 30 countries. Eight individuals died following measles infection: four in France, three in Romania, and one in the Netherlands, ECDC said. 

The most recent FluView report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows an additional eight pediatric deaths last week, raising the season’s total to 60 pediatric deaths from flu complications. Approximately 90% of the 60 children were not fully vaccinated against influenza. 

The CDC estimates there have been at least 22,000,000 illnesses, 280,000 hospitalizations, and 12,000 deaths from flu so far this season.

There was a downward trend in provider visits for influenza-like illness (ILI), to 4.4% above the national baseline. Overall, the positivity rate for influenza detections in clinical labs remained steady at 18.0%, and the cumulative hospitalization rate is 63.2 per 100,000 population. 

Seasonal influenza activity remains elevated nationally.

“Seasonal influenza activity remains elevated nationally. Most areas of the country are reporting stable or decreasing trends in activity; however, activity continues to increase in HHS Region 10 (Pacific Northwest),” the CDC said. 

Increasing influenza B activity

As has been typical in other flu seasons, influenza A activity is decreasing while influenza B is increasing. For week 4 of 2026 surveillance data, influenza A was detected in 76.9% of samples, while influenza B was detected in 23.1% of samples. 

For the total 2025-26 flu season, 92% of flu specimens have been typed as influenza A. Among 822 influenza A(H3N2) viruses collected since September 28, 2025, that underwent additional genetic characterization at the CDC, 91.5% belonged to subclade K, a variant that has mutated to evade immunity from the current flu vaccine strain.