Top Infectious Disease News Stories Week of February 8 - February 14

CDC Investigates Invasive E coli as Leading Cause of Community-Onset Sepsis

The CDC has ascertained epidemiology, identified the serotype, and determined extent of antimicrobial resistance of extraintestinal invasive Escherichia coli (E coli), the most common pathogen in community-onset sepsis, in a surveillance study intended to inform prevention strategies and improve sepsis detection.¹

Characterizing antimicrobial resistance was an important element of the study, as recent data from hospitalized patients in the US indicate that more than 34% of invasive E coli infections are resistant to 3 or more antibiotic classes.In addition, the genetic elements conferring antimicrobial resistance in E. coli can transfer to other pathogenic or opportunistic bacteria.

The PASTEUR Act: ‘Building Momentum, Creating a Stronger Sense of Urgency’

Earlier this month, the Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act was reintroduced in Congress. This is the fourth time the bill has been introduced, and if it passes, the federal government could enter into subscription-style contracts with pharmaceutical companies, providing fixed annual payments for access to critically needed antimicrobials, regardless of how often they are used.

PASTEUR has included improvements including its methodology for determining which drugs qualify for federal contracts to ensure the bill delivers new treatments.

Friend of Court Filing Supports AAP Lawsuit against HHS Vaccine Policy Changes

Recent "disruptive changes" to vaccine recommendations made by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), "without considering the overwhelming science..." has prompted over a 100 college deans and scholars along with multiple professional organizations to file an amicus brief in a US District Court.¹

The brief, filed in February, supports the lawsuit brought in July by the American Academy of Pediatrics and others against Robert F Kennedy Jr, as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. It asserts that changes to the pediatric vaccine schedule, reducing the number of vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization (ACIP) was made without following ACIP's longstanding procedural safeguards.

FDA Refuses to Review Moderna's Influenza Vaccine for Potential Approval

The FDA has declined to initiate a review of Moderna’s biologics license application (BLA) for its investigational influenza vaccine, mRNA-1010, issuing a Refusal-to-File (RTF) letter that hinges on trial design rather than concerns about the vaccine’s safety or effectiveness. Moderna announced that the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) determined it could not review the application because the company used a licensed standard-dose seasonal influenza vaccine as the comparator in a pivotal phase 3 efficacy study. According to the RTF letter, signed by CBER Director Vinayak Prasad, MD, MPH, the comparator did not reflect the “best-available standard of care,” and therefore did not meet the requirement for an “adequate and well-controlled” study.

What Would Taking COVID-19 Vaccines Off the US Market Do to Americans?

Recently, there have been reports that federal government health agencies, led by HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), are seriously discussing the possibility of removing COVID-19 vaccines off the US market.

Despite the perception that COVID-19 is not as severe as it once was, it still causes thousands of hospitalizations and deaths annually with mortality rates mirroring that of a small city. The World Health Organization reports 1,573 individuals in the US died of COVID in the last 28 days through January 25, 2026.¹