When correcting health misinformation 💉 💊 , it is a truism that one should do that in an empathetic way 🫶. But why should that help? What are the psychological mechanisms? Do we have evidence for its' effectiveness? What are potential backfire effects 🙈? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

So much opportunity for Australia to lead, and so much apathy by decision makers

Humanitarian and foreign-affairs professionals agree that what is happening in Darfur now is on a scale unlike anything seen in the conflict so far. Why is so little being done? https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-fall-of-el-fasher

Engagement-based #algorithms amplify intergroup hostility + moral-emotional content, leading it to be overrepresented in your feed This leads us to falsely perceive that people want to see this kind of content and share more of it. This technology fuels false polarization: osf.io/preprints/os...

How does research drive real change? Our new Lancet- @elsfoundation.bsky.social Evidence to Impact Award is open for proposals! If your project champions implementation science, health equity, and community engagement, apply now: tinyurl.com/j5dty567

What next

From Life in Prison to the Eras Tour. Joe Garcia’s account of many years in prison and how being a Swiftie helped him with the different feelings and stages www.newyorker.com/culture/pers...

Australia must ‘step up to prevent catastrophic and preventable loss of life’ amid Trump cuts, former CDC boss says www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

#MythBustingMonday “Vaccines contain dangerous and toxic ingredients.” This one never dies, so let’s tackle it properly. Yes, vaccines contain multiple components but context, chemistry, and dose matter. Vaccine ingredients have been studied for decades, across trials and billions of doses. A 🧵

So, the President is worthy of preventive health screenings and immunizations, but the people are not??

Some updated resources on vaccine safety - how they are made, ingredients, side-effects, trust and more. From the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance. ncirs.org.au/vaccine-safety

On Truth Social Friday, Trump doubled down on unproven claims about Tylenol, vaccines and autism. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

It’s sad that we’re now having to warn people to be so discerning about what they will hear from the current US government on vaccines. My comments for DW News after the ACIP meeting last week in their article on the recent Tylenol announcement from Trump www.dw.com/en/us-vaccin...

Meanwhile here’s a lovely flipchart ready for a trip to PNG tomorrow.

Vaccine Panel Postpones One Vote and Reverses Another Amid Confusion www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/h...

When your anti-vax Health Secretary stacks the vaccine committee: "Some members seemed confused about the data they were being presented. After their vote on the program that provides free vaccines for children, some members asked what they just voted on." wapo.st/3K9OBNV

Australian expert reaction: US vaccine panel meeting to consider safety of COVID-19 and other vaccines. www.scimex.org/newsfeed/exp...

Listening to the end of the ACIP meeting, some members lacked knowledge on how their recommendations affected insurance for children. One motion was only drafted last night and members were confused by its meaning, requesting clarification during the vote. Chaos.

Amazing moment at ACIP....the language of the votes was released so late that voting members of the committee say they're confused about what they're voting for/against.

It’s #Caturday

Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 reaches Gough Island, where it is associated with mortality in three Tristan skuas. This is worrying because Gough Island is an important breeding site for seabirds, including several species of global conservation concern. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Florida will end vaccine mandates for children. I am not a fan of rigid mandates, but it's also poor policy to suddenly cease them and while undermining vaccines. Katie Attwell, Nancy Baxter and I unpack this story in @theconvo-bot.bsky.social @sydney.edu.au theconversation.com/can-florida-...

gift link to dr. susan monarez’s piece in the wall street journal this morning.

More than 1,000 HHS staff call on RFK Jr. to resign. thehill.com/policy/healt...

The draft legislation for the Australian CDC to start operating as an independent agency in 2026 is now before the Australian Parliament. More info here: www.cdc.gov.au/about/about-... We are interested to hear responses to this.

This is a fast moving story but overall sad to see the carnage at CDC.

Good discussion on the politics of COVID vaccination in the US - what can and cannot be attributed to the pandemic www.nytimes.com/audio/app/20...

The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

So pleased to share media experiences with our early and mid career academics @sydney.edu.au School of Public Health. Great to get Sophie, Brooke and Katie’s insights too.

In one section of 'Conspiracy Nation', co-author Cam Wilson spends $2750 to report from a three-day retreat with Pete Evans, where he exhibits commendable restraint from landing cheap shots, operating with empathy as he does throughout. satpa.pe/SNKGTS9

How RFK Jr is eroding trust in vaccines and the impact of his decision to stop $US500 million in mRNA contracts. I spoke with Samantha Hawley on ABC News Daily podcast about these concerning developments from the US. www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

‘No clinical benefit’ to blood test for Pfas, government says, after ‘forever chemicals’ found in Blue Mountains. @natashamay.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...

As a social scientist focused on vaccination, I’ve never seen health officials focus so much on public opinion in their policy rationales. Public perspectives are vital but should not be at the (declared) centre of policy making. And in this case, it’s just convenient post hoc rationalisation.

🚨 NEW PUBLICATION 🚨 "An approach to capturing the cultural contexts of health behaviours" together with Veerle Snijders, Katrine Bach Habersaat, Edward Fischer, Felicity Thomas, @julieleask.bsky.social, Martha Scherzer, Alona Mazhnaia & Nils Fietje. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

1. "'Trusting the experts is not a feature of either a science or democracy," Kennedy said." It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy. I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.

Campus beauty @sydney.edu.au

At launch of Conspiracy Nation - on Australian conspiracy theories and why they show up. Authors Ariel Bogle and Cam Wilson in interview with Sana Qadar at tonight’s launch. Nice to see your quotes in the book, @mdmarques.com

Australia and 23 other countries call for immediate end to Gaza war. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

In recent years, a seductive hypothesis has been used to explain the mental-health crisis among teens: it’s the phones. Some argue that it’s not that simple.

Why it can be hard to warn people about dangers like floods – communication researchers explain the role of human behavior theconversation.com/why-it-can-b...

MAYBE DON’T EMAIL ME AT THE WEEKEND, THEN.

A number of professional organizations representing physicians are suing HHS Secretary Kennedy over his unilateral decision to exempt kids and pregnant people from those recommended to get Covid shots. @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social reports. www.statnews.com/2025/07/07/d...

The drivers of influenza vaccination in adults: Insights from a national Australian survey. Our National Vaccination Insights collaboration surveyed 2000 adults about flu vaccine in 2024, using the WHO BeSD survey. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

📱Interested in reaching young people with health communication via social media? 🤔 💡We co-designed 5 recommendations with young people and health communicators! Read thread or visit site for more: www.sydneyhealthliteracylab.org.au/social-media... Article 🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Great to contribute to this USyd media released today as respiratory illness trends upwards across the country 📈🦠🤒 www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion... #flu #covid #rsv #IPC #SydneyNursingSchool #SydneyID Thank you @julieleask.bsky.social for the referral

Should Australia worry about RFK Jr’s shock flu vaccine move? Garry Grohmann, former TGA, and I have made some comments on this today for @australia.theguardian.com @toryshepherd.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Threats to vaccinations in the US url:https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2835880?utm_source=bluesky&utm_campaign=content-shareicons&utm_content=article_engagement&utm_medium=social&utm_term=062725

Buckle up - we're in for a wild ride with the US Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices meeting over the next couple of days after an entirely new panel was appointed with much less vaccination expertise and a fair bit of vaccine skepticism. www.cdc.gov/acip/meeting...