Remember that the majority of anti-vaxxers are themselves vaccinated against diseases like polio, diphtheria, measles, mumps, and rubella. It’s only their kids they choose to put at risk.

Not only do some anti-vaxxers not give a damn if their kids infect your kids with vaccine-preventable diseases, they even think they’re doing you a favor by “building natural immunity”. Of course they fail to acknowledge that natural immunity only applies if the infant survives the disease.

Arizonans, if you were one of 20,000 people at the Mortgage Matchup Center on November 5th for the Tate McRae concert, or November 5-6 or at the Home2 Suites Hilton on Jackson Street, you may have been exposed to measles.

A new study provides evidence of a biological mechanism for how Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) may trigger lupus. EBV seems to reprogram B-cells at the beginning of a cascade that ultimately results in autoimmunity. The authors mention that EBV is a cause of MS, and may be related to LongCOVID.

I had the opportunity to review the work experience and skills of numerous people who were laid off or fired from public health jobs by Donald Trump. I want every taxpayer to know that the US has lost an immeasurable number of the smartest, most experienced, and hardworking people on the planet.

I would be remiss if I didn’t share my friend and fellow Defend Public Health member @mirandayaver.bsky.social’s @msnbc.com piece about Trump’s concepts of a healthcare plan.

It’s Wednesday and that means it’s time for Defend Public Health’s Whopper of the Week! This week we consider the veracity of RFK Jr.’s claim that he gets a lot of fan mail. Great work as always by @benecal.bsky.social and team!

Please note: I feel guilt that I didn’t fight harder to make people understand the threat of the anti-vaccine movement 15 years ago. I could clearly see what disinformation on social media was doing to our society. I did not have the knowledge or tools to stop it. I should have worked harder.

Author Michael Wolff appears to have kept information under wraps for more than a decade about Trump knowing there was child trafficking at Mar-a-Lago. It seems his priority was to help Epstein manipulate the situation so Epstein would have leverage over Trump.

I started studying the anti-vaccine movement more than fifteen years ago along with one of my colleagues, Dr. Kacey Ernst. It was clear to us even then that this movement was organized, effective, and growing. Unfortunately, many of our colleagues at the time felt it wasn’t a problem. 1/2

“Of course he [Trump] knew about the girls…” —Jeffrey Epstein to author Michael Wolff in 2015, seemingly admitting that girls were trafficked from Mar-a-Lago and Trump knew.

The anti-vax movement has been immune to appeals for community health since its inception. That’s why the U.S. has laws around childhood vaccines for school entry. We must do everything we can to prevent further slippage. We’re going to lose our measles elimination status just as Canada has.

This is coming our way courtesy of RFK Jr and his anti-vaccine movement. Jan or Feb 2026 this will be coming to our country, too!

A study with data from ~14 million children shows that COVID19 infection is significantly more harmful to kids’ hearts than the vaccine. Marty Makary falsely alleged that “children died” because from COVID19 vaccine. Whomever told him that failed to account for SARS-CoV-2 infections. Link below.

I was really furious with Democrats last night. I’m still furious this morning. I also did a mission check and reminded myself that this is the set of circumstances in which I currently dwell and I can’t change that, so I will focus on what I can help with.

Canada has just lost measles elimination status. The U.S. will undoubtedly follow shortly. Elimination means that there is no continuous spreading of measles within the country for a year or longer. Canada and the U.S. have blown it, and it’s largely the fault of the anti-vaccination movement.

It’s a bad day to have eyes.

People are saying that this vote wasn’t for the CR, it was “just cloture”, which is true, but… Every one of those Democrats who voted for cloture stood there and said on national television that they are voting for the CR.

My opinion only, for whatever it’s worth: The Epstein files are fairy dust to keep Democrats hoping something will change instead of actually making things change. We need to make change and not just hope for it.

Yeah I’m angry and grumpy tonight, and seeing a lot of hopium about “at least the Epstein files…”. Here’s my opinion on that. Everything that could harm Trump and allies will have been scrubbed. Otherwise, there is no way the government shutdown would be ending.

A Democratic United States Senator *actually believes* that when Republicans refuse to discuss ACA subsidies and laugh in her face, Americans will blame Republicans for the ensuing devastation. What kind of drugs do Senators from New Hampshire regularly use? The rest of us need them now.

Eight democrats just caved to a fascist government and couldn’t stop patting themselves on the back for how they saved us all. One of them actually said, on a national broadcast, that if the Republicans don’t do what they promised, the whole country will know who is to blame for higher ACA costs.

Better

New slogan for New Hampshire: Bend knee or die

New slogan for New Hampshire: Live free or… Never mind, we’ll cave

I am relieved that both Arizona Senators, @gallego.senate.gov and @captmarkkelly.bsky.social, have both announced that they will vote NO on the CR, which “promises” a vote on ACA subsidies “at some time in the future”.

Thank you, @gallego.senate.gov.

Thank you, @captmarkkelly.bsky.social.

@gallego.senate.gov @captmarkkelly.bsky.social please do not cave on the shutdown over a promise from people who have done nothing but lie to the American people.

I just called and left messages for Arizona Senators Kelly (D) and Gallego (D) telling them that if they cave without a guarantee of ACA subsidies they are going to lose their entire base in one fell swoop.

Sometimes people comment that they’ve never called a member of Congress and they are nervous about it. I completely understand. My suggestion is to write down your thoughts first. Then call and give them your name and zipcode, and immediately begin reading your statement all the way through.

Republicans are going to extraordinary lengths to starve children in the United States. They will not be satisfied until people die from their policies. Call and write to your Republican representatives, and when they ignore you, consider protesting at their offices.

This was a good read if anyone is curious about autoimmune disease and hasn’t experienced it personally.

You can never be sorry enough for dropping the “h” at the end of Pittsburgh. That h really classes up the name, you know, makes it sound like the home of a Scottish Laird n’at. Cheers to Raleig for owning this treachery.

<—Proud ruiner of workplaces since 1987.

Yeah this is one of thousands of public health things that Republicans were warned about before they decided to cast their lot with the everyone inject bleach guy.

Happy 5th anniversary to the Four Seasons Total Landscaping political event of the year!

RFK Jr. fleeing the scene of a medical emergency is honestly the best outcome anyone could hope for.

I love nerds, geeks and people who just plain get shit done.

This piece by my friend and fellow co-founder of Defend Public Health @gregggonsalves.bsky.social is a must-read. In it he shares the reasons why public health practitioners and allies must rise up to meet this moment. Public health has had to fight deniers for centuries, and we must do it now.

Every time one anti-vaxxer is quoted in the media, one million scientists and healthcare workers should also be quoted in support of vaccines. False equivalence in the media is killing us.

Today at 4:00 PM on the National Mall in Washington DC, the March for Health and Science is taking place. If you’re in the area, we’d be grateful if you joined to support healthcare workers and scientists during this unprecedented attack by the Republican Party.

As an ID doc I'm used to seeing patients in travel clinic; back when I trained (2006-9) we focused on people needing boosters/being up to date on routine vaccines when traveling to parts of the world with poor vaccination rates and high levels of circulating illness. Now those places are in the US😳

The US whooping cough outbreak continues to snowball in Texas, with cases 4x higher than last year. Texas was also the location where the U.S. measles outbreak took hold, and like many states is seeing a rise in vaccine exemptions. But Texans for Vaccine Choice say “fears are overblown”.

It has been 2 months since FDA head Marty Makary falsely alleged that “There have been children who have died from the COVID vaccine…We’re gonna release a report in the coming few weeks”. His report is still nowhere to be found. Where’s the report, shitbirds?

This lil fella ate about a tablespoon of butter that was accidentally dropped on the kitchen floor, and suffice to say his colon was briefly converted into a luge.

In case anyone needs a reminder of how successful the Republican attack on public health has been: A person who is the first probable measles case near Salt Lake City refuses to speak to the health department, so anyone they came into contact with can’t be warned. This is especially insidious…

I don’t think “fears about readiness” quite captures the moment. We are not ready, and the U.S. population has been groomed to reject public health interventions.

Bird flu is simmering again as seasonal migration occurs, and: “At USDA, the cupboard is pretty bare when it comes to human resources," said Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory”.