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48hills

Looking for trustworthy health info? Here are six sites that cut through the noise

DPH Communications co-chair Bruce Mirken draws on his experience in journalism and media relations to examine the many shortcomings of U.S. news media coverage of healthcare and medical research, offering several suggestions on where readers can find reliable health news that's not too impenetrable for lay readers.

Forbes

What Have RFK, Jr. And The Trump Administration Done For Mothers?

According to medical writer Judy Stone, the answer to the headline question seems to be: They've caused a great deal of harm to moms and their families -- citing our recent Mother's Day Whopper of the Week and the People's Health Platform.

The Progressive Magazine

The Need for Heard Immunity (No, That’s Not a Typo)

DPH members Donna A. Gaffney and Teri Mills, also cofounders of Grandparents for Vaccines, reflect on the power of storytelling and real-world experiences of the days before widespread vaccination -- that they call "heard immunity" -- to help dispel misinformation about vaccines.

RFK Jr's Whopper of the Week

Whopper of the Week: It Takes a Village and RFK Jr. Is the Village Idiot

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kennedy often calls out moms as his biggest supporters. His message to women sounds like praise and empowerment, but he's actually shifting the burden of evaluating scientific studies onto moms. That’s unfair and dangerous.

Forbes

Trump Administration Limits Student Loans For Nurses, Therapists, PAs And More

The Trump administration has slashed student loans for those studying for a variety of vital health careers, such as advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers and many more. DPH member Judith Feinberg joins representatives from the American Public Health Association, National Nurses United and others in condemning the move.

article

Epidemics and Social Metabolism: Nature, Capitalism, and Rifts

People tend to think of epidemics as simply involving germs of some sort and humans, but the complex interactions between humans, animals, and the natural environment play a huge role. And all of these are impacted by the economic system under which we operate. DPH member David C. Perlman and co-author Ashly Vigneault look at the history of these interactions and urge us to take a broader view.

The nation

The Rise of the Vichy Scientists

In every war, sadly, there are collaborators with the enemy, and the Trump administration's war on science is no exception. Coordinating Committee member Gregg Gonsalves looks at some of the scientific institutions who seem to mistakenly believe that their survival lies in trying to cooperate with those who want to destroy them.

New York City Council passes plan to step up education on vaccines

The New York City Council passed a set of measures designed to combat misinformation on vaccines and encourage vaccination. DPH Coordinating Committee member and virologist James Alwine adds his thoughts on how to do effective education: Talk in plain language and don't get bogged down in fine points of statistics that most people don't understand.

Let's get ready for the next pandemic

Nobody wants to think about it, but another pandemic is inevitable. We don't know when, but it is coming, and could well kill millions when it arrives. Unfortunately, as Coordinating Committee members Elizabeth Jacobs and James Alwine explain in this nationally syndicated column, the Trump administration has largely abandoned pandemic preparedness.

RFK Jr's Whopper of the Week

Whopper of the Week: RFK Jr. Denies Role of Vaccines in History of Child Mortality

Senators Sanders and Cassidy objected when Secretary Kennedy claimed, in a Senate committee meeting, that "if you want to talk about why disease mortality disappeared in the 20th Century it was not vaccines." RFK Jr. distorts the historical medical record to support his ideology. The decline in infant and childhood mortality in the 20th Century was not due to vaccines alone, but new vaccines dramatically reduced death and disease due to infectious disease and saved millions of lives.

Medpage today

Public Health Shouldn't Require a Paycheck

Lots of talented people in various public health fields lost their jobs last year, often due to federal cutbacks and grant cancellations. DPH member Beth Linas writes about how she continues to contribute to public health, including through advocacy, even without benefit of her former paycheck.

What Will It Take to Oust Robert F. Kennedy Jr.?

This detailed look at efforts to curb HHS Secretary Kennedy's misdeeds, with Democrats eager to criticize but not pushing efforts to remove him, focuses heavily on grassroots efforts to hold RFK Jr. accountable, with extensive comments from Defend Public Health and our allies at Stand Up for Science.