The Vaccine Intelligence Report: August 26-September 1

The Vaccine Intelligence Report

August 26-September 1, 2026

The Vaccine Intelligence Report—brought to you by Vaccinate Your Family—provides clear, fact-based updates on vaccine policy, research, and public health each week. This report is part of Viral Truths, a resource designed to cut through the noise, offering concise information to help navigate the evolving immunization landscape.

THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE:

  • Leading medical societies released updated respiratory immunization recommendations, while the Vaccine Integrity Project published updated evidence reviews supporting Covid, flu, and RSV immunization ahead of the 2026-2027 respiratory virus season
  • Updated Covid and flu vaccines are moving into place for the fall respiratory season. The CDC has updated the clinical considerations for flu vaccines, but uncertainty around federal Covid immunization recommendations leaves questions surrounding access, coverage, and availability
  • Texas will remove several immunization-related quality measures from Medicaid provider performance and payment programs, following December federal changes to Medicaid and CHIP quality reporting measures
  • The U.S. has surpassed 3,000 measles cases this year, with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin driving much of the recent increase as the country approaches a November review of its measles elimination status
  • The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues to intensify, while vaccination with Ervebo has begun and CEPI is supporting another strain-specific vaccine candidate
  • New research adds to evidence on the benefits of HPV vaccination for men and boys, including reductions in several types of HPV infection that can contribute to cancer
  • New studies link shingles vaccination to lower risk of heart attack and stroke, and Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccination to lower myocarditis risk among young people

NEED TO KNOW

BREAKING: Medical Groups and Independent Experts Reaffirm Respiratory Immunization Recommendations

  • Leading medical societies released updated respiratory immunization recommendations today (Sep. 2), while the Vaccine Integrity Project (VIP) published updated evidence reviews supporting Covid, influenza (flu), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunization ahead of the 2026–2027 respiratory virus season.
  • VIP’s systematic reviews—which were conducted in collaboration with the American Medical Association (AMA)—found that Covid, flu, and RSV immunizations continue to reduce severe outcomes across populations and maintain reassuring safety profiles.
  • In alignment with these evidence reviews, major medical societies issued population-specific respiratory immunization guidance.

Updated Covid and Flu Vaccines Moving into Place as Respiratory Season Begins

  • Last Wednesday (Aug. 27), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved updated Covid vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Novavax-Sanofi for the 2026-2027 respiratory virus season. The updated vaccines are designed to better target currently circulating variants, following an FDA advisory panel recommendation earlier this year.
    • The vaccines are approved for adults age 65 and older and younger people with at least one underlying health condition that increases their risk of severe Covid. For higher-risk children and younger adults, approved ages vary by vaccine product type.
  • The approvals clear the way for updated Covid vaccine supply, but federal recommendations remain unresolved as the fall vaccination season gets underway.
    • The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) typically votes annually on recommendations for updated Covid vaccines, but has not yet issued updated recommendations for this respiratory season. The Committee is scheduled to meet next in October, but uncertainty around federal guidance remains as litigation surrounding the committee’s membership and authority continues.
    • The lack of a federal recommendation could affect how Covid vaccines are offered in some states, especially where pharmacists’ authority to administer vaccines is tied to CDC recommendations or other federal guidance.
  • Major insurers have broadly pledged to continue covering Covid vaccines without cost-sharing through 2027, and Medicare and Medicaid are expected to cover them.
  • Federal guidance is clearer for influenza (flu). On September 1, the CDC issued interim clinical considerations for the 2026-2027 season, stating that because of ongoing legal uncertainties, the seasonal flu vaccination recommendations included in the July 2025 immunization schedule remain in effect.
    • Age and dose recommendations remain unchanged for the current season, with routine annual vaccination recommended for everyone over 6 months of age who does not have a medical contraindication.
  • Updated flu vaccines are also becoming available for the 2026-2027 season. For example, CVS announced last Thursday (Aug. 27) that updated flu shots are available at its pharmacy and MinuteClinic locations nationwide.
    • Moderna’s mFlusiva, the first FDA-approved mRNA flu vaccine, was approved in early August for adults 50 and older. However, it remains unclear how widely mFlusiva will be stocked or covered this season in the absence of an ACIP recommendation.
    • This season will provide the first real-world data on how the mRNA flu vaccine performs outside clinical trials.
  • As highlighted above, independent medical organizations have published updated Covid and flu vaccine recommendations for the 2026-2027 respiratory season. Their guidance provides an additional source of evidence-based recommendations for clinicians and patients as federal vaccine policy continues to face legal and procedural uncertainty.

STATE POLICY

Texas Removes Immunization Measures from Medicaid and Hospital Payment Programs

  • Texas Children’s Health Plan (TCHP) announced it will remove several immunization-related quality measures from Medicaid provider performance and payment programs beginning in State Fiscal Year 2027.
    • Specifically, the changes will remove childhood, adolescent, and influenza immunization reporting measures from programs that tie payments to provider performance, including hospital and physician-directed payment programs and the state’s Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Pay-for-Quality program.
  • The changes follow a December 2025 decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to remove four pediatric and prenatal immunization measures from the 2026 Medicaid and CHIP Core Sets, which states use to report on the quality of care and access to services for beneficiaries.
    • CMS said states may continue reporting the measures voluntarily while it considers alternative approaches to measuring immunization. The federal changes also encouraged greater emphasis on patient education and shared clinical decision-making (SCDM).
  • The Texas changes do not alter which vaccines are covered by Medicaid or CHIP or change immunization recommendations. However, vaccination performance will no longer factor into certain provider payment calculations, removing one mechanism used to track and incentivize vaccine uptake among Medicaid and CHIP populations. 

OUTBREAK OUTLOOK

U.S. Measles Cases Surpass 3,000 as Outbreaks Grow in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin

  • As of September 1, the U.S. has reported 3,048 measles cases in 2026—an increase of 235 cases since last week.
  • Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are driving much of the recent increase:
    • Pennsylvania reached 497 cases as of August 31—an increase of 100 cases in the last week—with 83 hospitalizations and two measles-associated deaths.
    • Wisconsin’soutbreak reached 102 confirmed cases as of September 1, an increase of 41 cases from last week. The outbreak is concentrated in the southwestern counties of Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette, where measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) coverage among two-year-olds dropped to 63.9%, 80.7%, and 60.1%, respectively, in 2025.
  • Several other states have reported new or continued measles activity in the last week:
    • Illinois has reported six measles cases as of August 31.
    • Iowa’s outbreak has grown to 19 total cases as of August 27—up three from last week.
    • Georgia confirmed four more cases in the Atlanta area last week (Aug. 28), reaching 13 total cases this year.
    • Kentucky’s outbreak has grown to 38 confirmed cases and two hospitalizations as of September 2—an increase of two from last week. All cases are among individuals who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
    • New York has recorded 41 cases this year, with six cases in New York City and 35 in the rest of the state.
    • Ohio has recorded 107 cases as of August 31, an increase of eight cases from last week.
    • Oregon has reported 50 cases this year as of August 26—up four from last week.
    • Texas recorded three new cases in Montgomery County this week, reaching 191 total cases as of August 28.
  • The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is set to review the U.S.’s measles elimination status in November, assessing whether transmission that began in January 2025 has continued for more than 12 months.
    • The U.S. has maintained measles elimination status since 2000—a major public health achievement driven by the widespread use of the highly effective MMR vaccine—but experts say continued transmission makes loss of that status “highly likely.”

Ebola Outbreak Continues to Intensify as Vaccination and Vaccine Development Expand

  • The Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to intensify with over 6,186 confirmed cases and 3,007 related deaths as of August 30—an increase of 530cases and 292 deaths since last week’s newsletter.
  • On Thursday (Aug. 27), the DRC began vaccinating health workers and frontline communities with the Ervebo vaccine.
    • Ervebo is approved to protect against Zaire ebolavirus and may offer some protection against the Bundibugyo strain causing the current outbreak while a strain-specific vaccine is developed.
  • Separately, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) committed up to $16.5 million to support Minapharm’s Bundibugyo vaccine candidate through preclinical tests and early-stage human trials.
    • Minapharm’s vaccine is the fifth Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidate supported by CEPI and is designed for long-lasting, comprehensive immunity to the virus.

New Studies Highlight Protective Effects of Vaccination Against Serious Conditions

  • Recently published research adds to the growing body of evidence on the benefits of HPV vaccination for men and boys.
    • In a study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, gay and bisexual men who received the HPV vaccine before age 23 were 60% less likely to experience anal HPV infections, underscoring that HPV vaccination is highly effective when given at a young age.
    • A study published in The Lancet found that HPV vaccination in Japan prevented 92% of persistent anal and genital HPV infections with the most common strains of HPV and 73% caused by less common strains.
    • Additionally, a review of 21 studies published from 2007 to 2024 found that HPV vaccination significantly lowers the risk of penile HPV infections (51% reduction) and oral HPV infections (100% reduction).
  • New research published in Nature Medicine found that the shingles vaccine is linked to significantly lower risk of heart attack and stroke.
    • Researchers used the health records of 70,000 people to compare the incidence of cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke, between those who received the shingles vaccine, Zostavax, and the newer standard Shingrix vaccine.
    • Shingrix was associated with a 12% reduction in cardiovascular events after vaccination, and a 4% lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
  • Separately, a study of more than 4 million people aged 16-25 finds that those who received the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine have a lower risk of myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle.
    • Researchers emphasize that myocarditis is rare after Covid vaccination and infection, but recorded incidences of myocarditis are consistently more frequent after infection than after vaccination.

REALITY CHECK

CLAIM: The measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine contains large quantities of human DNA and cellular debris from aborted fetuses.

  • REALITY: The MMR vaccine does not contain fetal cells or fetal tissue, and claims that it contains large amounts of dangerous human DNA misrepresent how the vaccine is made.
  • The MMR vaccine does not contain fetal cells or fetal tissue.
    • Viruses can only reproduce inside living cells. To manufacture the rubella component of the MMR vaccine, the weakened virus is grown using a human cell strain known as WI-38, which was established in 1962 from fetal tissue obtained following a single abortion in Sweden.
    • The cells used to manufacture vaccines today are laboratory-grown descendants of that original strain; the original cells have not existed for 60 years.
  • After the virus is grown, it is extracted and purified to remove the cells and other materials used during production. As with many biologic products, very small amounts of manufacturing byproducts can remain, including trace proteins and fragmented DNA—but there are no intact human cells or fetal tissue in the final vaccine.
    • Very tiny amounts of residual DNA from the production process may remain in some vaccines, but these trace amounts are strictly regulated. The FDA limits residual DNA to no more than 10 nanograms(billionths of a gram) per dose.
    • To put it in perspective, everyday exposures to foreign DNA through bacteria, food, and other sources are significantly higher than the exposure to residual fragments that may be present in a vaccine—and our cells have mechanisms to break down or avoid them.
  • It is not possible for these fragments to alter our own DNA, and there is no evidence that these trace remnants pose a safety risk.
    • The DNA fragments that remain are incredibly small and degraded, meaning they cannot encode a functional protein or integrate into our genome.
    • The MMR vaccine has been extensively studied and monitored for decades, and major medical organizations continue to recommend it as safe and effective.

WHAT TO WATCH

Vaccine Policy Lawsuits Move Forward in Federal Courts

  • The AAP-led lawsuit challenging federal vaccine policy changes is expected to see renewed activity in the coming week, as the current stay in the District Court case is set to expire September 3 unless the court extends it.
    • The next district-level deadline is September 24, when the Administration’s response to plaintiffs’ motion to complete the administrative record is due, unless the First Circuit issues a decision earlier.
  • Separately, the First Circuit has scheduled oral arguments for October 6 in the Administration’s appeal of the District Court’s preliminary injunction. That appeal will determine whether the court’s pause on the challenged vaccine policy changes remains in place while the underlying case continues.
  • In another vaccine policy challenge, a federal court will hear arguments Thursday (Sept. 3) on the Administration’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 15 states, which similarly challenges changes to the childhood immunization schedule and ACIP.
  • The parallel proceedings could determine whether the challenged vaccine policy changes remain paused as federal guidance for the fall vaccine season continues to take shape.

GSK Advances Seasonal mRNA Flu Vaccine to Phase III

  • GSK announced plans on Tuesday (Sep. 1) to advance its mRNA seasonal flu vaccine candidate to phase III following positive phase II data.
  • The trial is expected to begin this month. If it is successful and the product is approved, this would be the second mRNA flu vaccine available on the market, following the recent approval of Moderna’s product.

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Vaccinate Your Family is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to protecting people of all ages from vaccine-preventable diseases. To learn more visit us at: vaccinateyourfamily.org

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