Federal actions and politics continue to disappoint. But like a phoenix rising from the ashes, new collaborations and innovations are emerging. In my new Time op-ed, I share what gives me hope about the future of public health and why I remain committed to leaning in. time.com/article/2026...

What Gives Me Hope About the Future of Public Health in the U.S.

"Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, new ways of working in public health are emerging," writes Dr. Debra Houry.

time.com

RFK jr overrode the NIH recommendation for NIAID Director to appoint his own preferred candidate (who applied, but NIH declined to interview), per @politico.com. Institute directors have final say on funding decisions and are critical to the integrity of NIH. 🧵 www.politico.com/news/2026/08...

A lab-leak proponent is in line for Fauci’s old job

Steven Quay is in final vetting to run the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

politico.com

We spend more on health care than any other country yet still reward treatment more than prevention and keeping people healthy. This new @nam.edu report identifies 12 levers to better align financing with prevention, outcomes, and population health. doi.org/10.31478/202...

Anchoring Health Financing on Better Outcomes: System Drivers and Opportunities for Reform

The National Academy of Medicine convened an expert working group to review the landscape of health system financial incentives, identify key drivers of misalignment, and take stock of policy and prog...

doi.org

We are pediatricians in South Carolina fighting for parents to get accurate info about vaccines; vaccines still don't cause autism, and HHS lying about this hurts parents. www.ms.now/opinion/cdc-... via Drs. Edwards and Greenhouse and @msnownews.bsky.social

Opinion | We are South Carolina pediatricians fighting for parents to get accurate info about vaccines

Martha Edwards and Deborah Greenhouse: Vaccines do not cause autism. We need a CDC that states that as truth.

ms.now

Appreciate @drdemetre.bsky.social perspective on hate and anti public health rhetoric. We need to intervene and prevent it as we do diseases. Very timely as it has been almost one year since Officer David Rose died protecting the CDC community www.advocate.com/opinion/hate...

Hate is still a public health emergency — and the epidemic we keep ignoring

The pathogen is hate. Its vectors are rhetoric and policy. And its symptoms include shootings, trauma, and preventable death, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis writes.

advocate.com

This measles resurgence was foreseeable but not inevitable: "...resurgence of measles in the U.S. reflects failures in leadership," say Sarah Despres and Rachel Walensky. www.ms.now/opinion/meas...

Opinion | Americans deserve the truth about measles vaccines

Sarah Despres and Rochelle Walensky: The resurgence of measles in the U.S. cannot be attributed to global trends alone. In previous periods of substantially higher global measles transmission, the U.S...

ms.now

My thoughts "Career scientists should not be politicized or persecuted because of a difference of opinion or because science evolves. I'm concerned about the toll this is having on career scientists being able to serve the public" @firedbutfighting.bsky.social www.ms.now/ms-now/watch...

Cohn says Fauci hearing was about Rand Paul being invested in a conspiracy: 'Show trial'

Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked the fifth amendment more than 100 times during a Senate hearing on the Covid-19 pandemic today. MS NOW Reporter Kevin Frey has the latest from Capitol Hill. Senior National C...

ms.now

Thank you @velshi.com @11thhourmsnow.bsky.social for the conversation on record measles cases, our declining readiness for global health threats, and why science matters. When public health works, we rarely see what it prevents. When it is weakened, the consequences become painfully visible.

11th Hour with Ali Velshi@11thhourmsnow.bsky.social · last wk.

Measles cases are at a 35-year high, and because of RFK Jr.'s management of HHS, Fmr. CDC Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry says the U.S. is "not prepared for global health threats... There's just been a really kind of a misconception that [measles] is a harmless childhood disease."

The U.S. is facing a major outbreak of the foodborne disease cyclosporiasis. @drdebhoury.bsky.social, the former chief medical officer at the CDC, says funding cuts to the public health agency have “left our country hampered in being able to detect and respond to these outbreaks.”

1/3 Yesterday, we at CDC/HHS received this newsletter from RFK Jr. 🧠🪱 From it, you’d have no idea that CDC and our partners are dealing with Ebola, measles, and a major multistate Cyclospora outbreak.

First person vaccinated during trial of new Ebola jab | New Straits Times www.nst.com.my/world/world/...

First person vaccinated during trial of new Ebola jab | New Straits Times

PARIS: A volunteer was injected on Friday with the first dose of a rapidly developed vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola driving a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Oxford University said.

nst.com.my

@drdebhoury.bsky.social makes a key point here i wish more understood CDC was already spread thin before this term due to big cuts/congressional clawbacks the past four years. and before *that* it was consistently underfunded by congress. now we are seeing the crises compound…

“It’s certainly mind-blowingly hypocritical for the nation’s most prominent advocate of quote-unquote medical freedom to now be abusing his public health authority to jail American citizens,” said Jonathan Slifkin, 30, a birder from New York. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/h... @apoorvanyt.bsky.social

The Ordeal of a 42-Day Hantavirus Quarantine: ‘I Felt Like a Prisoner’ (Gift Article)

Eighteen Americans were isolated for weeks in a Nebraska quarantine facility after being exposed to the deadly virus on a cruise ship. Many found the experience traumatic.

nytimes.com

13 Americans w/o Ebola exposure put in detention when returning from Africa. “Staff even created a map for Bhattacharya that showed the vast distance from Kinshasa to Ituri province, to highlight the low risk. He ordered them to be detained anyway.” www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Trump's CDC Is Detaining Americans in Response to Ebola: A 'Wild Misuse' of Power

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is needlessly detaining Americans as part of a chaotic Ebola response led by Jay Bhattacharya.

rollingstone.com

On 7/28, I look forward to speaking at the @nationalacademies.org series on how data can support situational awareness and inform medical and public health emergency decision-making. Learn lessons from past emergencies and how information supports coordinated response across sectors: bit.ly/4eOqznb

Data and Situational Awareness for Medical and Public Health Preparedness and Response: Webinar 3

The workshop series will examine how medical, public health, emergency management, and critical infrastructure data are collected, integrated, analyzed, and translated into real-time situational aware...

bit.ly

Inside RFK Jr.’s push to dismantle decades of U.S. vaccine policy: a deep dive into the Secretary's work to bring back preventable diseases and undermine vaccines. www.reuters.com/world/americ...

Inside RFK Jr.’s push to dismantle decades of U.S. vaccine policy

Insider accounts reveal the scale of the health secretary's ambitions to curb childhood immunizations and unearth a link between vaccines and autism.

reuters.com

Thankful for an alma mater like @tulanesphtm.bsky.social @tulanemedicine.bsky.social where I learned how to care for patients and communities and to never compromise on doing what is right for them. My @facethenation.bsky.social interview in the link below on what it was like at CDC my last year

Tulane WSPH@tulanesphtm.bsky.social · 4w ago

Tulane WSPH graduate Dr. Debra Houry, the former CDC chief medical officer, recently appeared on CBS News' "Face the Nation," and her insights were inspiring. www.cbsnews.com/news/debra-h...

OMB needs to hear from scientists, engineers, educators, students and others who can explain how the proposed rule on federal grantmaking would have devastating effects on their communities and the nation. Here's how to format an impactful comment & critical steps to take to make your voice heard ⤵️

Great interview from @drdebhoury.bsky.social on @facethenation.bsky.social. So much of what she describes at CDC mirrors what we saw at NIH. Worth a listen! www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ncm...

Full interview: Former CDC chief medical officer Dr. Debra Houry

YouTube video by Face the Nation

youtube.com

Face The Nation: Former CDC official describes "pure chaos" as RFK Jr. sought to transform health agency and take over vaccine panel cbsn.ws/4vMoLlX @drdebhoury.bsky.social video cbsn.ws/4wuWGjd

Former CDC chief medical officer Dr. Debra Houry describes pure chaos under HHS Secretary RFK Jr., including the removal of all 17 ACIP vaccine panel members. She says she resigned to protect scientific integrity and warns of irreparable harm.

Former CDC official describes "pure chaos" as RFK Jr. sought to transform health agency and take over vaccine panel

Former CDC chief medical officer Dr. Debra Houry warned the "scientific integrity" of federal health agencies are at risk.

cbsnews.com

Dr. Debra Houry, who resigned in protest from the health agency, said the spread of misinformation impacted lives.

Former CDC official says RFK Jr.'s response to measles outbreak "not based on science or reality"

cbsnews.com

Yes, healthy young men can die from the flu. Air Force confirms first death in Lackland flu outbreak, which has sickened 284 Aif Force troops, Rep. Castro says. While most healthy young adults recover, flu can prevent them from fulfilling their duties for up to a week www.yahoo.com/news/us/arti...

Air Force confirms first death in Lackland flu outbreak, Rep. Castro says

A flu bug has swept the ranks of recruits at San Antonio's Lackland Air Force Base, the service's basic training hub. Nearly 300 are said to have been infected.

yahoo.com

Hegseth proudly announced that the flu vaccine would no longer be required for people serving in the military. A flu outbreak is now happening at Lackland Air Force Base, and flu vaccinations are again required. The AF has now been forced to admit that a 25-year-old recruit has died of influenza.

Air Force confirms first death in Lackland flu outbreak, Rep. Castro says

A flu bug has swept the ranks of recruits at San Antonio's Lackland Air Force Base, the service's basic training hub. Nearly 300 are said to have been infected.

yahoo.com

As we get ready for our 250 year anniversary and celebrate 80 years of CDC, we thank the National Public Health Coalition for creating this graphic, reminding us our founding fathers believed in public health.

And I'm proud to stand with you @altcdc.altgov.info @firedbutfighting.bsky.social with integrity, courage, and service as we do what we can to protect and support the health of our communities and those serving on the frontlines

Alt CDC (they/them)@altcdc.altgov.info · last mo.

A huge thank you to Dr. Deb Houry. Her emails released to Sen. Sanders provide a remarkable public record of political interference at CDC, showing career staff repeatedly sidelined. This took tremendous courage. Know we stand with you @drdebhoury.bsky.social 💚 www.help.senate.gov/dem/newsroom...

This year reminded me how much of my identity was tied to my work. Leaving a mission I loved brought uncertainty and grief, but also clarity that when loyalty and integrity pull in different directions having the courage to follow your values @altcdc.altgov.info @firedbutfighting.bsky.social

AcademyHealth@academyhealth.bsky.social · last mo.

In our next reflection for Work Interrupted: Voices from the Field, @drdebhoury.bsky.social reflects on leadership, identity, and purpose when work is disrupted. A powerful look at what endures beyond a title. buff.ly/YjI2GYd

New in @thelancet.com with @krutikakuppalli.bsky.social, Martin Cetron, and @drdebhoury.bsky.social — we argue the current US response to the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo and Uganda is breaking with longstanding global health policy in very worrying ways. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

The US Ebola response and the future of global health leadership

The worsening outbreak of Ebola virus disease caused by Bundibugyo virus (Orthoebolavirus bundibugyoense; BDBV) in DR Congo and Uganda,1–3 declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern b...

thelancet.com

📢 New in @thelancet.com Examining the #Ebola outbreak we discuss U.S. policy shifts & implications for American global health leadership Grateful to @craigspencer.bsky.social, Marty Cetron, @drdebhoury.bsky.social & colleagues in DRC & Uganda on the frontlines. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

The US Ebola response and the future of global health leadership

The worsening outbreak of Ebola virus disease caused by Bundibugyo virus (Orthoebolavirus bundibugyoense; BDBV) in DR Congo and Uganda,1–3 declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern b...

thelancet.com

Always enjoy returning back to my emergency medicine roots

Emory Emergency Medicine@emoryem.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Thankful that former #EmoryEM attending Dr. Debra Houry was able to join the team for the annual Dr. Arthur Kellermann Grand Rounds. She chose a fireside chat format and shared how her experiences as an EM physician have informed her leadership in public health.