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The US fails again to fix the real causes underlying poor health

The World Health Organization defines social determinants of health as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, and people’s access to power, money and resources." DPH Coordinating Committee member Bruce Mirken explains the vital role they play, and how the Trump administration and HHS Secretary Kennedy do everything they can to ignore this critical fact.

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Senate Hearing on Medication Abortion Ignores Decades of Evidence & Safe Use

Starting with its original framing, today’s hearing on medication abortion ignored decades of rigorous research on the safety and effectiveness of mifepristone and misoprostol, the drugs commonly used for medication abortion, and was designed to sow fear, fuel efforts to restrict access to abortion and spread misinformation, reproductive health experts from Defend Public Health said today.

RFK Jr's Whopper of the Week

Whopper of the Week: Lyme disease is Not a Bioweapon

RFK baselessly claimed that Lyme Disease “is highly likely to have been a military weapon,” adding, “we also know they were experimenting with diseases of the kind, like Lyme disease, at that lab [Plum Island], and putting them in ticks and then infecting people, testing them with bird vectors…" There is no evidence that Lyme disease was ever a research topic at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, let alone a bioweapon.

Medpage today

Experts Alarmed by USPSTF Work Slowdown

Trump Administration actions have drastically impeded work at the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which plays a critical role in establishing which preventive services must be covered without cost-sharing, as required by the Affordable Care Act. Experts are alarmed, including DPH Coordinating Committee member Miranda Yaver, who calls the situation "a recipe for disaster."

What RFK Jr. Won’t Tell You About a Healthy Diet

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likes to style himself a champion of healthy eating, as seen in his recent rollout of new (and in places wildly unscientific) dietary guidelines. But there are a few things about maintaining a healthy diet that he’ll never tell you, because the Trump administration wants to pretend they don’t exist.

Elizabeth Jacobs interviewed on WCPT radio in Chicago

On "It's the Democracy Stupid" on WCPT radio in Chicago, Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs discussed the latest developments in RFK Jr.'s ongoing assault on public health and disease prevention.

California confirms first measles case for 2026 in San Mateo County as vaccination debates continue

As California confirms its first measles case of 2026, DPH Coordinating Committee member James Alwine warns, “Viruses and bacteria that were under control are being set free on our most vulnerable.”

The 6 biggest changes in the new dietary guidelines

This overview of the new federal diet guidelines addresses several controversial aspects, quoting DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs: “The implications that butter and beef tallow are ‘healthy fats’ don’t have scientific support and are simply figments of RFK Jr.’s imagination.”

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Approach RFK Jr.’s New Diet Guidelines Skeptically, Defend Public Health Says

The federal government’s new diet guidelines, released after months of unfounded political criticisms of earlier versions from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, must be approached with caution and a degree of skepticism, health experts with Defend Public Health said today.

RFK Jr's Whopper of the Week

Whopper of the Week: RFK, Jr. Cloaks Anti-vaxx Quackery in the Language of Informed Consent

On January 5, 2026, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the CDC will no longer recommend six of the seventeen vaccines previously on the United States (U.S.) childhood immunization schedule, claiming it was to promote "informed consent." This change doesn't change the informed consent process between the healthcare provider and the patient. But it does complicate who can give a vaccine, how physicians present information, and which individual circumstances should be considered relevant in decision-making.

Changes to the Childhood Vaccine Schedule

On this New York City public radio show, Jessica Malaty Rivera, infectious disease epidemiologist and member of Defend Public Health, explains the changes to the CDC vaccine recommendations, why they are such a big deal for public health, and the misleading statements and assumptions that underlie them.

Huffpost

With Flu Rates Soaring, Why Did RFK’s CDC Stop Recommending The Vaccine For Kids?

The criticism of the RFK Jr.-controlled CDC's decision to cut back vaccine recommendations continues to mount, with DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs telling HuffPost, “There is no scientific evidence supporting the change in recommendations, and therefore, Mr. Kennedy was unable to provide any.”