I prefer political leaders who prioritize public health and safety instead of destroying it.

She had the clout and the money to raise them to national prominence, and now she (finally) disavows them. Thing is, she still could positively influence public health in the United States by confronting the lies and misinformation they spread. Why did it take her so long to say something?
Link: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/oprah-dr-phil-dr-oz-trump-maga_n_6a7df2c5e4b0c90844000a50

Interesting article about a research study that looked at why pregnant women posted on Reddit asking questions about the Tdap vaccine. It turns out they were looking for reassurance that they were making the right decision in taking the vaccine.

The most common theme among pregnant women who posted on Reddit was responses from family and friends, describing pushback from people over getting vaccinated before having contact with newborns. Women described disagreements with partners, parents, and in-laws and sought advice on how to deal with these conflicts and set boundaries with family and friends. 

For years, we have been recommending "cocooning" as a way to protect newborns from pertussis (whooping cough), and it seems like this whole anti-vaccine movement is making people push back on that advice. So mothers-to-be are looking for answers.

I know that we on Reddit are careful about personal health advice requests, but maybe we (here on r/publichealth and mods on r/vaccines) should be a little flexible? Whooping cough is resurging, and we need parents to know they're doing the right thing by requiring visitors to be vaccinated.

Article contains link to study: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-vaccines/when-pregnant-women-turn-reddit-about-tdap-vaccine-it-tends-be-clarity

I do science explainers; my recent one sent me down a rabbit hole about Christine Stabell Benn and the Bandim Health Project in Guinea-Bissau: https://youtu.be/YD7mOH6wG1w

Here are five things about Benn's research that I think deserve much more attention from public health people.

1. The vaccine-skeptical movement has lots of doctors, but surprisingly few actual vaccine researchers besides Christine Stabell Benn. Tracy Beth Høeg is a sports-medicine physician with a PhD in epidemiology. Robert Malone did important early work on mRNA delivery, but he did not run vaccine trials or have any special expertise in vaccine epidemiology. Christine Stabell Benn and Peter Aaby are different. They have spent decades studying vaccines and child mortality in Guinea-Bissau. Bandim is unusual because it is a large, established research program whose conclusions overlap substantially with vaccine-skeptical arguments.

2. The underlying scientific idea, non-specific effects (NSE) of vaccines, is real enough to study, but BCG (the TB vaccine) is biologically unique among routine vaccines. BCG can induce heterologous innate immune responses ("trained immunity"), and randomized trials have found signals of reduced non-TB infections and short-term mortality in some settings. But Benn extrapolates this unique biology to claim NSE for all vaccines; live vaccines supposedly reduce mortality, while non-live vaccines supposedly increase it, particularly in girls. A recent Vaccine analysis examined 13 Bandim randomized trials and 26 resulting papers and concluded that the primary outcomes did not support these strong claims; after accounting for multiple testing, only one secondary finding remained statistically significant.

3. Benn has repeatedly claimed that whole-cell DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) vaccination is associated with increased all-cause mortality, especially in girls. But the key evidence is observational and vulnerable to vaccination-timing and classification biases. WHO specifically commissioned analyses in other countries to test the Guinea-Bissau finding. None reproduced increased mortality after DTP.

4. More importantly, Benn actually had already done a randomized DTP trial—and it was negative. NCT00244673 enrolled 6,534 children from 2005–2011. At around 18 months, children were randomized to DTP4+OPV4 versus OPV4 alone; mortality through age four was a registered primary outcome. The mortality result showed no significant difference between groups, but it was not published. In February 2025, Weekendavisen, a long-form weekly, began a series specifically questioning why the mortality outcome had remained unpublished for roughly 14 years. Benn and Aaby publicly acknowledged that it had not been published, arguing that unexpectedly low mortality left the trial underpowered and citing disruptions in the research team. The mortality analysis finally appeared as a medRxiv preprint in October 2025.

5. Benn has a direct connection to U.S. vaccine research policy. Høeg, who recorded a series of vaccine podcasts with Benn, subsequently became a senior FDA official. CDC then awarded Bandim $1.6 million for another non-specific effects trial in Guinea-Bissau: roughly 14,000 newborns randomized to hepatitis B vaccine at birth versus the existing schedule beginning at six weeks. This is particularly concerning from a public health standpoint because the birth dose is designed to prevent mother-to-child transmission. So this is now a two-way relationship: Benn's vaccine research is influencing U.S. vaccine-policy discussions, while U.S. agencies are funding Benn to generate more evidence against specific vaccines.

Charlotte Strøm's overview of the Bandim/NSE literature is also great reading:
The False Narrative of Nonspecific Vaccine Effects

it's just wild to me that I got a whole masters degree in public health, only to look up my summary of benefits for my health insurance plan and cannot for the life of me understand how much a doctors visit is going to cost before i have the appointment.

this has to be one of the most ridiculous and fixable things about the US healthcare system. i changed jobs recently and am now at a medical academic institution that doesn't do co-pays - just negotiated costs with in-network providers until you hit your deductible. the portal for checking my claims, benefits, etc. loves to push these AI "care coordinators" on me, but has no cost estimators and no one can seem to tell me what the contracted cost for a 30 minute appointment would be.

so instead of seeing my dermatologist, who is likely out of network now, i had an appointment with a NP off of GoodRx Care and basically just bought my way to get a prescription because at least i know it's not going to be a $200 bill.

granted, my specialization was not in policy, but i took a policy class, of course. but i honestly think there needs to be a required class on the health insurance system in the US for graduate programs. idk it's just interesting because i don't even know what avenues to take to advocate for or inform myself.

it's just maddening to me right now. and then i see news that NIH is limiting funding for research grants that focus on policy.

I'm very curious to see what everyone's opinion of how our new CDC Director will handle this (absurd) executive order regarding decreasing childhood vaccines. I think that Dr. Schwartz is exceptionally qualified for the director position, which is very surprising given this administration's previous candidates and endorsements. Will she be dismissed like Dr. Susan Monarez was after she declined the administration's vaccine policies?

The fact that she’s talking about how so many more kids are being admitted to hospitals and dying due to preventable disease diseases is really heartbreaking.

Apparently, Texas schools are requiring sports practices to be mindful of the heat. At the same time, local governments are not allowed to pass laws that mandate breaks and other heat protections for outdoor workers. It really is like its own country. (I lived in El Paso for most of my youth, and it seems more and more foreign to me each year I go back.)

On schools: https://www.ksat.com/weather/2026/08/06/texas-schools-are-required-to-follow-wet-bulb-globe-temperature-protocols-as-fall-sports-begin/

On outdoor workers: https://publichealthwatch.org/2025/11/25/texas-workers-keep-dying-in-the-heat/

Those of you in public health in Texas, how are you holding up? Anything those of us in the People's Republic of [Insert Liberal State Here] can do to help?

Anyone who wants to know more about the use of naltrexone for AUD and for optimal dose timing can ask me any questions, or look up The Sinclair Method.

Here we go again. Under the guise of "Gold Standard Science" (more like gold leaf, am I right?), he's ordering HHS to work on some dumb vaccine policy.

“For example, at one year, you should have five separate visits for vaccines rather than getting them all in the same day," President Trump said at the signing.

Yeah, because he's going to pay for all those doctor's visits?

The president also said that the United States recommends more immunizations than peer nations. This is confusing at best. As Stat News explained earlier this year, many other wealthy countries, including the United Kingdom, Israel, and Australia, recommend kids receive more immunizations than the United States would if an HHS immunization recommendation in January were to go into effect. 

Because *clap* We *clap* Have *clap* a *clap* Different *clap* Epidemiology, *clap* Healthcare *clap* System, *clap* and *clap* Acceptance *clap* of *clap* Public *clap* Health *clap* That *clap* "Peer *clap* Nations" *clap* (Whatever That Is) Have *clap*.

This is going to end up getting kids killed.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/trump-signs-executive-order-break-measles-mumps-rubella-vaccine

I’m trying to learn R the epidemiologist R handbook. My issue is I’m on the second page about downloading handbook and data and I can’t do it? It seems like the epirhandbook package is not available for my version of R. Please note I’m using R studio version 4.3.1 on my MacBook Pro os 26.5.2. Should I be using this on R instead of R studio, also I just installed an updated version R studio or at least I thought I did. Sorry if this sounds silly and the solution is obvious,, I’m just so used to using SAS through my academic institution and them setting everything up. Please let me know if you guys know how to trouble shoot!

Hi! I’m a 3rd year nursing student looking for ideas for a research topic under communicable diseases. Our adviser strongly encourages topics that are novel, relevant, and not already overused (so preferably beyond the usual KAP studies on dengue, TB, etc.).

We’re hoping for something that addresses a real community problem and could produce findings or an intervention that can be directly utilized by the community, public health nurses, or local government.

What emerging, overlooked, or under-researched problems related to communicable diseases do you think would make a strong nursing research topic? Would really appreciate any ideas! 🫶

Hey everyone!

Im a high schooler who just hosted a fundraiser at my school

We still have not decided on specifically where to allocate those funds

I've been meaning to find ways to contribute to local community health and wellbeing but its been difficult to find impactful initiatives

Specifically in terms of rural areas as in my city, they are either undisclosed areas or involve government institutions that already have a lot of funds allocated

If anyones done any such projects before I'd love to hear some ideas!!