Community Immunity this week: This is not your grandmother‘s measles. our current resurgence in the U.S. is not the same as past outbreaks and that changes how we respond. I also answer a question: If Kamala Harris were president right now, would we still be here? open.substack.com/pub/communit...

This Is Not Your Grandmother's Measles

Why today's measles resurgence is different than prior ones and why that should change how we respond

open.substack.com

Vaccine policy in the U.S. is at a pivotal moment and the conversation about what comes next can’t wait. www.cidrap.umn.edu/vaccine-inte...

Vaccine Integrity Project, The Evidence Collective announce projects to improve vaccine policy, restore trust

cidrap.umn.edu

What if AI could have your difficult vaccine conversations for you? The moment you felt disagreement brewing, you could pass it off to the AI agent. Would you take that offer? I would not. Read my essay on why the hardest vaccine conversations should stay human. #communityimmunity #vaccines

Public health cannot ask for trust before it has earned it. NYC health commissioner Dr. Alister Martin says we must earn it by solving the problems people have right now. Read more from my interview on the next era of vaccine governance @Community Immunity. 🔗 👇

New editorial in American Family Physician with @kkjetelina.bsky.social: the vaccine conversation no longer begins in the exam room. Physicians are at the end of a misinformation pipeline, and must move upstream. www.aafp.org/afp/2026/050... #Vaccines #PublicHealth @aafp.org

Beyond the Exam Room: Why Family Physicians Must Advocate for Evidence-Based Vaccine Policy

The vaccine conversation no longer begins in the examination room. Many parents come with fear and confusion that is shaped long before the visit by social media, political rhetoric, and, increasingly...

aafp.org

A hantavirus outbreak is under investigation after cases linked to an expedition cruise ship. This situation is evolving fast, and so is the coverage. Some of it is helpful, some not. I helped put together a rapid evidence brief with The Evidence Collective. open.substack.com/pub/evidence...

Got hantavirus questions?

Here's a guide to help you stay informed and talk about it

open.substack.com

The anti-vaccine movement doesn’t sell alternative facts. It sells belonging. The tactics from 1896 and today are the same. What changed is the scale and erosion of communities that used to buffer it. It doesn’t matter how good our evidence is. People don’t adopt facts. They accept invitations

The science they tried to bury: a study on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, blocked from MMWR publication by CDC and HHS leadership, is now out in Inside Medicine. Read it here 👇 open.substack.com/pub/insideme...

Exclusive: Here's the Covid-19 vaccine paper the CDC censored.

RFK Jr. and the CDC’s top official, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, don’t want you to read this. That’s exactly why you should.

open.substack.com

When I was a child, I was hospitalized with rotavirus. There was no vaccine then. There is one now. Social media is blaming this rotavirus season on vaccine hesitancy. The truth is more complicated. This is a structural problem. Missing that means investing in the wrong solutions. 🔗 Link below👇

I joined BBC’s More or Less porcast to answer a question a lot of people are asking: have RFK Jr. and MAHA actually changed how Americans think about vaccines? The data have a more nuanced answer than most headlines suggest. It's worth 8 minutes of your time → bbc.com/audio/play/p...

BBC Audio | More or Less | Have RFK and MAHA really changed American views on vaccines?

Why a Politico headline overstated vaccine scepticism in the US

bbc.com

SCOOP: Two weeks ago, the head of the CDC delayed publication of a report showing covid vaccine cut likelihood of ER visits and hospitalizations by half. Now that report is no longer allowed to be published in CDC’s flagship scientific journal. My latest. 1/2 www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

CDC won’t publish report showing covid shots cut likelihood of hospital visits

The report, which had cleared the agency’s scientific-review process, had been delayed. It now won’t be published at all, people familiar with the decision told The Post.

washingtonpost.com

George Washington mandated a relatively dangerous inoculation for his troops in 1777 because he knew disease undermined readiness. In 2026, a low-risk vaccine became optional for the U.S. military. www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...

Pete Hegseth says the U.S. military will no longer require flu shots

Vaccination programs in the U.S. military date back to the American Revolution, but they became a contentious political issue during the coronavirus pandemic.

nbcnews.com

How valid is Politico’s vaccine skepticism poll? @drhigginsmd.bsky.social delivers a helpful analysis. We may be in an era of poll pollution. garyschwitzer.substack.com/p/questionin...

Such an important piece from @drhigginsmd.bsky.social. I had similar conclusions when I looked at the Politico poll in question, but Dr. Higgins expressed it more eloquently than I ever could. Vaccine hesitancy is not mainstream and we should not present it as such.

Don’t believe headlines saying that vaccine skepticism is widespread

Despite some headlines, a new poll does not show that most Americans no longer trust vaccines.

statnews.com

Don’t believe the headlines this week saying that vaccine skepticism is widespread. Here’s what the data actually shows in my piece in STAT today. www.statnews.com/2026/04/17/v... via @statnews.com

Don’t believe headlines saying that vaccine skepticism is widespread

Despite some headlines, a new poll does not show that most Americans no longer trust vaccines.

statnews.com

Should pediatric clinics dismiss families who refuse vaccines? I've come full circle on this. Read my article co-authored with Dr. Jess Steier and Dr. Elana Pearl Benjoseph

"Looking for a Pediatrician Who Doesn’t Push Vaccines”

What vaccine-hesitant parents are told, what pediatricians are actually doing, and the legislation caught in between

open.substack.com

The claim that pediatricians profit from vaccines has been amplified at the highest federal levels. The Unbiased Science Podcast spent 6 months investigating across all 50 states. Reality: many practices lose money on every dose. I co-hosted with Dr. Jess Steier. open.spotify.com/episode/5Z4o...

Pediatricians: Not About The Benjamins, Baby

Unbiased Science · Episode

open.spotify.com

This week’s AAP v. Kennedy ruling is worth celebrating. A federal judge blocked the Kennedy vaccine schedule and sent a clear message: you cannot bypass scientific and legal process and expect it to stand.🧵

The most effective vaccine program in America doesn't require a new drug or breakthrough. It requires a form for school enrollment. And the reason it works might surprise you. Five questions with honest answers, written with Dr. Katelyn Jetelina open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...

Top 5 questions about school vaccination requirements

The most effective vaccine program in American history doesn’t require a single new drug, clinical trial, or breakthrough.

open.substack.com

New in Community Immunity: The Roundup. Five things: new series on vaccine governance, school vaccine requirements, vaccine dismissal policies, ACIP prebunk, and the myth that won't die. Link below 👇 #vaccines #community #publichealth

Parents’ vaccine decisions are rarely just about evidence. They’re shaped by fear, identity, experience, and love. A beautiful @nytimes.com piece by my colleague captures that complexity with real empathy. This is a must-read! www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/o...

Opinion | I’m an Immunologist. I Grew Up Unvaccinated.

nytimes.com

New essay out in Community Immunity. It begins with a simple thought experiment: what if future leaders attempt to restore vaccine policy structures overnight? Would that rebuild trust — or deepen polarization? The way things were isn’t the way things can be anymore. #PublicHealth #Vaccines

When it comes to vaccines, what parents want has not changed. They want clear recommendations and honest explanations. They want reassurance that the advice they receive is grounded in their child’s best interest. And they want a trusted expert to help them navigate the noise.

Applications accepted until 2/15 for Fall 2026! App instructions and other info here: tinyurl.com/5bps2c8j @borsikarabin.bsky.social, @bmkwan.bsky.social, @monica-p-jolles.bsky.social, @drhigginsmd.bsky.social, @dramyhuebschmann.bsky.social, @russgl.bsky.social @cctsi.bsky.social #DIScience #ImpSci

ACCORDS@accordsresearch.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Applications close 2/15! Learn more and apply today at medschool.cuanschutz.edu/accords/Core... #DIScience #ImpSci #CUAnschutz

New KFF data show trust in the CDC as a source of reliable vaccine information is now at a historic low following a recent overhaul to childhood vaccine recommendations. That matters because federal health leaders have explicitly justified their policy changes as necessary to restore public trust.🧵

Our article is out today in @statnews.com. Do pediatricians get rich from vaccines? We followed the money. Short answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT. This dangerously misleading claim just won’t die. www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/p...

Do pediatricians make large profits from vaccines?

Vaccine critics like to say that pediatricians profit from vaccines. This report found something very different.

statnews.com

Preventing more diseases is a success, not a failure. This shouldn’t be controversial. open.substack.com/pub/communit... #Vaccines ##PreventDisease

New 📰 The U.S. is being called a vaccine “outlier.” But why is that assumed to be bad? Also: changes to a key federal advisory commission, flu policy during a severe season, and ethics concerns in a halted hepatitis B study in Africa. Read here: 🔗 communityimmunity.substack.com/p/the-proble...

The Problem With Calling the U.S. an Outlier on Vaccines

And why a little-known commission, a severe flu season, and a hepatitis B vaccine study in Africa deserve attention

communityimmunity.substack.com

States, health organizations reject new CDC vaccine guidance A growing number of states are pushing back against sweeping changes to the US childhood vaccine schedule. www.cidrap.umn.edu/p...

Read my @medpagetoday.com op-ed on recent U.S. vaccine policy changes framed as “restoring trust.” The gap between that idea and reality is striking. Trust comes from clarity, evidence, and consistency. www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco... #Vaccines #PublicHealth @gfriedma.bsky.social

Opinion | Parents Are Confused. I'm Worried for My Pediatric Patients.

The consequences of rewriting the pediatric vaccine schedule

medpagetoday.com