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DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs discusses the Trump/RFK Jr. war on vaccines on this national radio show, calling "a disgrace... the chickens are going to come home to roost. There are going to be increases in infectious disease eventually. Unfortunately, the child of people who do believe in vaccines, but perhaps the child is too young to have gotten vaccines is going to become ill and there is no way that they will be able to hide at that point. "

As New Jersey joins other states in efforts to protect vaccine access in the wake of RFK Jr.'s moves to limit it, DPH member Perry Halkitis tells the local PBS station about the harm RFK and company are doing: "In an attempt to appease a small segment of the population and in an attempt to uplift the beliefs of one particular administrator in the government, we’re putting the health of children and the health of families at risk”

In this podcast episode, Coordinating Committee member and virologist James Alwine discusses infectious disease surveillance and pandemic preparedness -- subjects that seem to get little attention from the current administration. He comments, "We're not even monitoring measles outbreaks, whooping cough, or vaccine-preventable diseases. We’re flying blind.” Alwine also offers practical advice for listeners who want to support evidence-based public health and to influence policy where it matters.

The Guardian applies appropriate skepticism to the Trump/RFK Jr. announcement of "highly contentious conclusions about the causes of autism," focusing on acetaminophen (Tylenol), quoting DPH Coordinating Committee member Bruce Mirken noting that "we do know that Kennedy has a history of false statements related to autism and that the scientific evidence shows there is no ‘autism epidemic.’”

"Members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices showed a tenuous grasp of process and cited flawed research as they revisited COVID, hepatitis B and MMRV shots," writes the Washington Post, citing comments from DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs about the "egregious misrepresentation of data” in the committee's deliberations.

DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs was interviewed on "The Big Picture," a weekly radio show that airs on WCPT 820 AM in Chicago and also available as a podcast. She discussed her work with DPH and our ongoing battles against the destructive policies coming from the administration and particularly from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In this commentary, DPH member Nancy Krieger and colleague Mary T. Bassett look at how "In spite of decades of rigorous work documenting the harmful effects of structural racism on health, health care, and scientific knowledge and research, the current executive branch of the U.S. government and its political appointees have deemed work on structural racism and health to be ideological and “not scientific.” They argue that the administration's position, and the cut off of grants it produced, is "antiscientific and an abrogation of the government’s responsibility."

This trade publication's coverage of the second day of the September 2025 ACIP meeting highlights some of the dubious data considered by the committee and quotes DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs calling the presentations "smoke and mirrors, designed to generate fear of COVID19 vaccines."

Inside Health Policy recaps a chaotic week at the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meetings, with Defend Public Health Coordinating Committee Members Beth Jacobs and Jim Alwine weighing in on the potential impacts of the committee's votes.

The LA Times describes the 9/19/25 ACIP meeting as "a contentious discussion that at times referenced discredited theories, low-quality data and desperate pleas from physicians and patients to rely upon sound science," quoting DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs on the utter lack of qualifications of Retsef Levi, who led the discussion.

In this story covering day 1 of September's ACIP meeting, DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs calls out ACIP's failure to post information in advance, saying, “Red flags are immediately up, because as a scientist, when you do your work, you’re presenting it. You’re making it public. The fact that they have not posted these materials is very suggestive that they are going to attempt to ambush the public.”