NEWSROOM

Epidemiologist and DPH member Tara C. Smith looks at how RFK Jr. has damaged our ability to prevent and contain measles outbreaks. She concludes that the U.S. is headed for more cases, more suffering, more deaths and enormous financial costs due to anti-vaccine activism.

Coordinating Committee member Gregg Gonsalves writes about the new mRNA-based vaccine for melanoma, which has great promise. But, he notes, the company behind it has a history of putting profits ahead of people -- and the whole field is endangered by HHS Secretary Kennedy's dishonest attacks on mRNA technology, including demonization of COVID vaccines.

DPH member Jeoffry B. Gordon lays out the tale of "incompetent governing," including large and chaotic cuts to federal food safety monitoring, that made the recent Cyclospora outbreak far worse than it should have been.

Defend Public Health Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs is quoted in this article about the NIH proposing to hide grant scores from applicants, their institutions, and NIH program officers. She calls the proposal "a setup for obscuring the impact of the political review of grants."

"Future historians and scientists will study what happened here and why — and the shame and disgrace of this era will be a cautionary tale for generations to come. Defend Public Health Coordinating Committee members Elizabeth Jacobs and James Alwine wrote about the many, many problems with Trump's vibes-based executive order on vaccines, syndicated nationally and appearing in newspapers nationwide, including the Miami Herald and Kansas City Star.

"As a grandmother, I want my grandchildren and every child to enter the classroom ready to learn, not vulnerable to preventable disease. As a nurse, I know that prevention is one of the most powerful forms of care we can provide." Defend Public Health member Teri Mills shares a heartfelt and science-based plea for parents to vaccinate their kids for the upcoming school year.

DPH member Gavin Yamey and co-author Boghuma K Titanji express frustration at the recent Senate hearing in which former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci was subjected to hours of hostile and accusatory questioning, writing, "Scientists are not beyond criticism, but any criticism must be grounded in evidence and not conspiracy theories. When politics replaces science as the arbiter of truth, the ultimate casualty is not Fauci: it is the health of the American public."

DPH's Connecticut team posed a question about hospital costs to a Democratic gubernatorial candidate at a campaign event, and the candidate responded by urging a public health insurance option and improved regulation.