Amish Families in New York Lose Religious Vaccine Exemption Case
On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a group of Amish families for the second time upholding New York state’s elimination of the religious exemption to school vaccine requirements. The families now face more than $118,000 in fines for noncompliance with the state’s mandate.1 New York legislatures voted to […]
Merck Settles Gardasil Vaccine Injury Lawsuit for $50 Million
Merck & Co has agreed to pay $50 million to settle more than 200 lawsuits brought against the drug giant by patients suffering from autoimmune disorders after receiving the Gardasil vaccine. According Merck, this settlement resolves all but one of the pending lawsuits filed against its HPV vaccine.1 Gardasil was fast-tracked to licensure by the […]
Legislation in House of Representatives to Expand Pro Vaccine Messaging and Vaccine Surveillance
A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Apr. 21, 2026 would use billions of dollars in Medicaid funding to pressure states into adopting federally approved vaccine messaging and expand the U.S. government’s surveillance of children’s vaccination records. Introduced by Representative Kim Schrier, MD of Washington, H.R. 8425, the Strengthening the Vaccines for […]
Former Aide to Anthony Fauci Indicted for Concealing COVID-19 Records
On Apr. 16, 2026, a federal grand jury in Maryland indicted David M. Morens on charges that he conspired to conceal government records from the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. Morens, 78, served as senior adviser to the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from 2006 to 2022, working directly […]
Public-Private Partnership Builds Africa’s First Multi-Vaccine Production Plant
European investors have announced their partnership with South African biopharmaceutical company The Biovac Institute in building Africa’s first end-to-end multi-vaccine manufacturing facility in South Africa. Biovac projects to annually produce tens of millions of doses of vaccines for cholera, polio, and pneumonia. The plant will be the continent’s first end-to-end vaccine manufacturing plant, and the […]
West Virginia Vaccine Mandate Upheld by U.S. Fourth Circuit
On Apr. 8, 2026, a federal appeals court found that West Virginia’s compulsory school vaccination law does not violate the First Amendment, despite the state not offering a religious exemption. In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed a preliminary injunction that had temporarily allowed a virtual school student […]