NEWSROOM

DPH Coordinating Committee members Elizabeth Jacobs and James Alwain urge Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs to to join the 14 states and one territory that have formed the Governors’ Public Health Alliance, working to mitigate the crippling of federal public health efforts by strengthening emergency preparedness, improving communication, sharing data and expertise, and helping ensure states and territories can respond quickly and consistently to emerging health threats.

Scientific American talks to epidemiologists about the dangers of HHS Secretary Kennedy's reported intent to make U.S. childhood vaccination recommendations similar to Denmark's. DPH member Jessica Malaty Rivera calls the idea "a terrible mistake," a sentiment echoed by other experts.

Defend Public Health Coordinating Committee Member Gregg Gonsalves reflects on the people and groups who have challenged the Trump Administration's various attacks on public health in the past year.

The Guardian reports on the Trump administration's plan to fund a $1.6 million study in Guinea-Bissau on the efficacy of infant Hepatitis B vaccination. Defend Public Health Coordinating Committee Member Beth Jacobs and others discuss the issues with the project including the unnecessary challenge to previous research on the efficacy of Hepatitis B vaccination, the ethical issues of limiting these vaccines in a country with high rates of Hepatitis B, and the checkered history of the researchers leading the project.

DPH Coordinating Committee member Bruce Mirken surveys a variety of experts (including several DPH members) to assess the damage done to public health in 2025 and where we need to go from here if we are to save lives.

The Dept. of Health and Human Services suddenly cut off grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a group that has criticized HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In addition to statements from the Academy, this article quotes from DPH's amicus brief in support of the Academy's lawsuit against RFK Jr. over his moves to restrict access to vaccines.

DPH member Jeoffry Gordon looks at changes in CDC vaccine policy and writes, "Our current health officials are turning four centuries of the scientific method on its head by calling expertise 'bias,' and trying to make us believe proven science applications (like vaccines) don’t save lives. They are also turning us inward, pushing us to focus on ourselves and our own families and ignore risks to neighbors and vulnerable community members."

Three DPH members write, "The scientifically unsound 'Make America Healthy Again' (MAHA) initiative is devastating our country's scientific infrastructure, medical research capacity, epidemiologic surveillance, and public health response capacity." But the states, along with groups like Defend Public Health, are fighting back.

The Trump Administration has proposed reviewing and reducing vaccine schedules similar to "peer, developed countries." Experts, including Defend Public Health Coordinating Committee Member Beth Jacobs, say this strategy ignores the health needs of Americans and the unique vulnerability caused by the lack of universal health care access in the USA.

Michigan Public profiles local Defend Public Health members' efforts to lobby Governor Gretchen Whitmer and state lawmakers to take various actions to protect public health and access to vaccines for state residents.