NEWSROOM

In a wide ranging interview, Defend Public Health member Alicia Ely Yamin talks about her work bringing a human rights lens to mental health system across the globe and how her work with DPH is helping her through these challenging times and conceptualizing better health systems in the future.

Although a federal judge in Boston has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s changes to the US childhood immunization schedule, the US Supreme Court could have two chances over the next year to weigh in on the decision, legal experts say -- with comments on the Boston ruling from DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs.

This chemical and pharmaceutical industry publication writes, "Many health scientists and practitioners are breathing a sigh of relief following a court decision that effectively reversed every change to US vaccine policy made since Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took office last February. But for many children, irreversible damage has already been done" -- quoting DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs and other experts.

In this takedown of RFK Jr's unethical proposed (and now paused) study of Hepatitis B vaccination in the African nation of Guinea-Bissau cites DPH member Jessica Malaty Rivera's comment that “No ethical board in the U.S. would ever approve of something like this."

In the case American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy, a federal judge has at least temporarily blocked the anti-vaccine actions of HHS Secretary Kennedy's handpicked vaccine advisors. DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs and law professor and DPH member Dorit Reiss, who co-authored DPH's amicus briefs in the case, join other experts in explaining to Forbes why this is a win for public health.

The appointment of a controversial slate of vaccine advisers by Robert F Kennedy Jr likely violated federal law, and all votes taken by the committee over the past year have been stayed, a federal judge ruled on Monday -- with comments from DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs

In this call to action for scientists and healthcare workers, DPH Coordinating Committee member Gregg Gonsalves writes, "We also have the ability to throw sand in the gears. Tell that ICE officer to get out of the examining room. Speak up for scientists and researchers whose work is being targeted at your institutions. Stand up for departments under siege. Do not let your students face harassment or worse alone. Show up for hearings to stop MAHA zealots from undermining vaccine access in your town or your state."

In this analysis, a public health scholar explains how in this era of political attacks on public health, "Public health students and practitioners, particularly those pursuing or holding a DrPH, should embrace activist and advocate orientations to address the inherent political dimensions of our work." He discusses how DrPH programs can adapt and include more curriculum related to advocacy and cites DPH as an example of public health workers answering the call.

In this look at Retsef Levi, picked by RFK Jr. to investigate COVID-19 vaccine safety, DPH member Jessica Malaty River comments, “Retsef Levi has absolutely no business being on this committee. He is a mathematician. He is not somebody who understands the science of vaccinology, immunology, infectious diseases, epidemiology, harm reduction, etc.”