2/ To build trust in government institutions and the collective,
we need institutions that serve the public
and a society that values everyone,
including the most vulnerable and marginalized among us.
Service & Equity
3/ Is this because lower socioeconomic status correlates with not being served by government institutions?
Being left behind by society?
4/ When government doesn't serve the people,
the people stop believing government.
When it's every person our for themselves,
why care about anyone else?
5/ I *HATE* how the lay media covers health & medicine.
It's all about "personal responsibility," "personal choices," and self-help.
Health isn't about the latest diet or supplement.
There's a reason the best predictor of your health is your zipcode. Health is social.
6/ Why do we blame people's poor health on their personal choices?
So that we, society, may absolve ourselves of our responsibility?
7/ Many medical and public health problems can't be solved by our healthcare system:
8/ I also *HATE* how the lay media promotes this consumerist approach to health.
Health is not a commodity. It's a basic human right.
9/ Working for over a decade in sub-Saharan Africa, I learned this lesson well.
Why do you care about whether I have HIV, which won't kill me for another 10+ years?
Why do you care if I wash my hands to prevent Ebola transmission?
When you don't care if I die of starvation?
10/ Inequity & Lack of Trust
are
a
public health
emergency.
11/ As I wrote:
"To build trust in the health system and public health, it’s essential that we build a public health workforce staffed by the community and with the capacity to serve and be responsive to the community."
What’s changed isn’t the science. It’s the process.
Policy is increasingly announced by officials online & outside the usual evidence review, creating mixed messages for families.
on @CBSMornings with @edokeefe @TheKellyOGrady
2/ Normally, FDA reviews products, then CDC’s vaccine advisers (ACIP) publicly weigh evidence & vote.
CDC adopts guidance, which insurers & programs like Medicaid, the Children's Vaccine Program (CHIP), & Vaccines for Children follow.
That process has been corrupted.
3/ This season, the FDA narrowed COVID vaccine approvals:
🔹People 65+
🔹People 6m to 64y if they have at least one risk factor for severe COVID (including pregnancy)
Off-label use:
🔹Healthy people 6m to 64y in consultation with your doctor
The director was fired less than a month into her tenure, four senior leaders resigned in protest, & the agency is still reeling from a shooting at its Atlanta HQ.
on @CBSNews @FaceTheNation with @EdOKeefe
2/ These aren’t just headlines about “palace intrigue.”
What’s unraveling is the basic machinery that keeps Americans safe: vaccines, outbreak detection, lab guidance, and expert support for state health departments.
3/ Within hours of the firing of CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez’s, 3 leaders—responsible for vaccine safety, respiratory diseases, & the chief medical officer role—resigned.
Earlier that week, CDC’s head of data systems also stepped down.
1/ After the shooting at CDC earlier this month, employees sent a blunt letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
They said that instead of standing with them, RFK Jr. is spreading conspiracy theories about the CDC & their work.
on @CBSEveningNews with @jdickerson
2/ They called this dangerous & made 3 requests:
🔹Stop spreading inaccurate health info
🔹Affirm CDC’s scientific integrity
🔹Guarantee safety of the HHS workforce
Because a major new U.K. clinical trial—the largest & longest yet—found that even “improved” UPFs can’t match the benefits of minimally processed meals. 🍎🥗