Kenny Lin, MD, MPH
@kennylinafp.bsky.social
Family doctor, Deputy Editor of American Family Physician Associate Director, Lancaster General @pennmedicine.bsky.social Family Medicine Residency Adjunct Professor, Georgetown Univ. Husband, father of 4 Opinions my own. https://commonsensemd.substack.com
Immunization clinics in San Diego are usually packed in August as parents prepare their kids for the new school year. Not this year. Families are afraid of the ICE agents often waiting outside medical clinics. www.cidrap.umn.edu/public-healt...
US pediatricians report seeing fewer patients because of immigration enforcement worries
Doctors also note that their patients hesitate to apply for government benefits and often keep their children home from school.
cidrap.umn.edu
Another measles death. 18 years old. Unvaccinated. See also: www.pa.gov/agencies/hea... H/T @melodyschreiber.com @tom.medsky.social
A 40-year-old unvaccinated woman in Pennsylvania has just died from measles. There is no controversy. She needlessly died from a disease that is preventable with a vaccine. But HHS Secretary RFK Jr. thinks measles isn’t that bad. Nobody should die of measles in the United States.
Pennsylvania woman dies of measles-related complications, local coroner says
The 40-year-old woman, who was from Jefferson County was unvaccinated, according to the coroner. The state health department is conducting a "thorough review" of the case.
washingtonpost.com
When ideology dictates science policy: Trofim Lysenko and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: 30 years ago, I took a college class on the history of Russian and Soviet science. One of the more infamous figures in an otherwise accomplished pantheon of scientists was ... commonsensemd.blogspot.com/2026/09/when...
When ideology dictates science policy: Trofim Lysenko and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
commonsensemd.blogspot.com
Health Care Spending and Insurance Premiums Among the Privately Insured jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... via @jamahealthforum.com Don't blame the insurance companies; premiums are increasing because spending is increasing.
Health Care Spending and Insurance Premiums Among the Privately Insured
This cohort study analyzes the extent to which rising health insurance premiums reflect growth in health spending vs growth in markups in the large-group market, small-group market, and in the health ...
jamanetwork.com
The Power of Primary Care to Improve Health journals.stfm.org/familymedici... via @fammedjournal.bsky.social
DOI: 10.22454/FamMed.2026.669243
journals.stfm.org
"If anybody is twisting facts to fit his narrative, it appears to be Kennedy, who remains determined to downplay both the threat of measles and his role in abetting its spread across the country." www.thebulwark.com/p/rfk-jr-sic...
RFK Jr.’s Sickening Measles Victory Lap
While Pennsylvania struggles to contain an outbreak, the anti-vax health secretary keeps trying to score political points.
thebulwark.com
3 Common Drugs Older Adults May Be Overusing: benzos, antibiotics for uncomplicated diverticulitis, aspirin for primary CV prevention www.nytimes.com/2026/09/05/w...
3 Drugs Older People May Be Overusing (Gift Article)
Not all older people need these medications, and they can carry increased risks.
nytimes.com
e-Cigarettes for tobacco smoking cessation: Although e-cigarettes are generally considered to be less harmful than combustible cigarettes, whether vaping should be explicitly incorporated into tobacco smoking cessation strategies is controversial. ... commonsensemd.blogspot.com/2026/09/e-ci...
e-Cigarettes for tobacco smoking cessation
commonsensemd.blogspot.com
Because with the largest measles outbreak in 35 years this is what the HHS Secretary is spending his time and energy doing. Make it make sense.
Dorit Reiss@doritreiss.bsky.social · 2w ago"An Army doctor told a federal court in Virginia she’s working with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to probe whether troops died from Covid-19 vaccines... " www.politico.com/news/2026/09... Dr. Long's past statements: www.al.com/news/2021/11...
Just in time for the 2026-2027 vaccines, a new review shows that COVID19 vaccination significantly reduces the risk of severe illness and hospitalization across all age groups, including kids. Pregnant women were also protected, as were their babies. Don’t forget to schedule your vaccination!
COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness and Safety for the 2026-2027 Respiratory Season
This Special Communication aims to identify and summarize the most recently published evidence evaluating the effectiveness and safety of US-licensed COVID-19 vaccines and report on the epidemiology o...
jamanetwork.com
BREAKING: Pennsylvania reports another 37 new Measles cases since Wednesday. The statewide total is now up to 577 cases. Mifflin, Chester, and Jefferson Counties significantly worsened this week for new cases. PA has reported 115 new cases in just the last 7 days.
A group of major medical organizations released recommendations this morning for Covid, flu and RSV vaccination, including guidance for the general population as well as specifics for children, people over 65, pregnant people and immunocompromised people. Here's a guide.
Your Guide to Covid, Flu and R.S.V. Vaccines This Fall (Gift Article)
Major medical groups released new recommendations on who should get the shots, citing a lack of strong guidance from the federal government.
nytimes.com
A new analysis found that refusals of the vitamin K shot rose by more than 50% in the first half of 2026 in the US. This intervention has protected babies for decades. This is what happens when misinformation spreads unchecked leading to the rejection of science. www.reuters.com/world/us-ref...
EXCLUSIVE: US refusals of crucial newborn vitamin spike, raising risk of dangerous bleeding
The percentage of parents and caregivers in the United States refusing a standard vitamin K shot for infants at birth has accelerated sharply this year, an exclusive data analysis for Reuters found, ...
reuters.com
When Ideology Dictates Science Policy: Modern-Day Lysenkoism at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services www.jlgh.org/Past-Issues/...
jlgh.org
RFK Jr. ordering the CDC to remove the two measles deaths from Pennsylvania is misconduct. If the protocol for reporting infectious disease cases and deaths is that the CDC uses the state health department determination, then RFK Jr. has just changed that protocol without rationale or explanation.
The (wrong) measles argument we are being dragged into mccormickmd.substack.com/p/the-wrong-... via @examined.bsky.social
The (wrong) measles argument we are being dragged into
From a doctor who lives in Pennsylvania
mccormickmd.substack.com
A billing code was supposed to incentivize relationship-based primary care for Medicare patients. It may not be working as hoped www.statnews.com/2026/08/28/m... via @ishaniganguli.bsky.social @statnews.com
A billing code was supposed to incentivize relationship-based primary care for Medicare patients. It may not be working as hoped
Primary care is much more than what happens during an office visit, writes physician Ishani Ganguli.
statnews.com
There have been more confirmed cases of measles in the U.S. since RFK Jr. was confirmed as HHS Secretary than in the preceding 25 years. But maybe this is just a massive coincidence. 🤔
A *lower* risk of myocarditis. That’s good news and contradicts the anti-vaccine messages you hear so often.
CIDRAP@cidrap.bsky.social · 3w agomRNA COVID vaccine linked to lower risk of myocarditis in teens, young adults Being unvaccinated and getting COVID-19 were associated with a higher risk of heart disease and death than receiving a vaccine. Read more: https://bit.ly/3UhXOJ8
That's five measles deaths under RFK's watch. He says people get measles every year, and that Amish/Mennonite communities have low vaccination rates. But we didn't have nationwide outbreaks until he became HHS secretary. And before him, there were no measles deaths for 35 years.
NBC News@nbcnews.com · 3w agoBREAKING: Two unvaccinated people die of measles in Pennsylvania, the first fatalities related to the disease in the U.S. this year.
Discontinuing statins for primary prevention in older adults: The major randomized controlled trials that established the benefits of statins in preventing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease generally did not enroll persons older than 75 years. ... commonsensemd.blogspot.com/2026/08/disc...
Discontinuing statins for primary prevention in older adults
commonsensemd.blogspot.com
It’s Wednesday and that means it’s time for Defend Public Health’s Whopper of the Week! Today the team takes on RFK Jr.’s refusal to allow the US Preventive Services Task Force to meet. This means that insurance companies don’t have to pay for any new developments in preventive care.
Whopper of the Week: RFK Jr. Silences Preventive Health Experts and Harms Primary Care | Defend Public Health
RFK Jr. has undermined the USPSTF, which is charged with recommending preventive health services, and then tried to justify his actions by accusing it of negligence. Silencing USPSTF hurts primary car...
defendpublichealth.org
I put a post that tries to walk through the issues related to respiratory virus seasons and vaccines on Substack, hope it's helpful. Please let me know if you have questions or corrections. doritreiss.substack.com/p/whats-happ...
What’s happening with respiratory virus vaccines this year?
I've been getting questions about respiratory season, and got some good answers from people, so here is what I understand so far, and people are welcome to add or correct.
doritreiss.substack.com
New CDC director tells staff she is prepared to speak ‘truth to power’ www.statnews.com/2026/08/19/c... via @statnews.com Good news! But will Dr. Schwartz follow through on staying faithful to the science, and will RFK Jr. let her?
New CDC director tells staff she is prepared to speak ‘truth to power’
Then new CDC director told staff she is “very comfortable and very confident ... speaking truth to power.”
statnews.com
What the Canceled AHRQ Grants Mean for Preventive Care ahsituationreport.substack.com/p/what-the-c... via @academyhealth.bsky.social "The cancers we fail to prevent won’t show up for years, and when they do, few people will connect them to a stack of termination letters sent in the summer of 2026."
What the Canceled AHRQ Grants Mean for Preventive Care
AcademyHealth CEO Aaron Carroll highlights the true cost for patients and researchers now that a series of grants designed to improve preventive care have been canceled.
ahsituationreport.substack.com
Navigating Cancer Screening Without the USPSTF www.medscape.com/viewarticle/... via @medscape.com
Navigating Cancer Screening Without the USPSTF
Without USPSTF guidance, how should primary care approach cancer screening? Dr Kenny Lin reviews key updates in cervical, colorectal, and lung cancer protocols.
medscape.com
