Vaccine and outbreak news – week 5, 2026

North America – Politics First, Evidence Second US vaccine policy spent the week in committee rooms and courtrooms, as reforms to ACIP processes and federal advisory structures drew fire from professional societies and civil rights groups alike. Commentators warn that rapid, politically driven rule changes risk eroding confidence not only in COVID and childhood vaccines, but in the very idea of “independent scientific advice”. Latin America – Measles, the Old Foe Returns Several Latin American countries report rising measles clusters, the local expression of a global post-pandemic immunity gap rather than a single spectacular outbreak. Programmes are struggling to rebuild DTP, MMR and HPV coverage to pre-COVID levels, with familiar barriers: budget constraints, workforce fatigue and creeping vaccine hesitancy. Africa – From Mpox Emergency to Cholera Reality The African Union formally lifts Mpox’s status as a continental health emergency, after sustained declines in reported cases and more than 5 million vaccine doses deployed across 16 countries. Africa CDC...