This is post 3 of 4 looking back at the public health communication around the COVID vaccines and why trust in vaccines was damaged. Catch up on the first two posts: misinformation versus miscommunication and expectation management. Shame doesn’t work, but has become widely adopted as a response to
This is post 2 of 4 in this series looking back at the public health communication around the Covid-19 vaccines, why trust was lost, and where communication broke down. The goal is not to point fingers or lay blame, but rather get a view from outside our bubble to see
Last week, I wrote about the importance of empathy, listening, and trying to genuinely understand those who distrust public health instead of automatically dismissing or fact-checking them. To continue in this vein, I am resharing a series I wrote last year (originally published on my Health (Mis)communication column for
Last week I hopped on the train down to NYC to attend one of the most unusual and enjoyable events I have ever attended in my academic career. A comedian, podcast host, and epidemiologist walked into a bar, and they dished out some tough love to the public health community.
There is a growing, concerning movement undermining one of the most well established scientific theories there is: germ theory, the idea that germs – like viruses and bacteria – cause disease. But it's subtle. Outright denial of germ theory is still a fringe idea: very few deny that viruses and
A poll in 2023 revealed roughly one in three Americans believe that "COVID-19 vaccines have caused thousands of sudden deaths in otherwise healthy people" is probably or definitely true. This is one of the major rumors that spread fear of COVID vaccines, with some health departments now forbidden
USAID has been essentially shut down. USAID is a federal organization that provides international humanitarian assistance like clean water, food, and medicines to impoverished parts of the world. It accounts for less than 1% of the US budget and its purpose extends beyond charity – USAID's humanitarian work is
long COVID
Earlier this month, we shared the story of Dr. Jeff Yau, a neuroscientist who solved the mystery of his long COVID. A few months after his first and only COVID infection, he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), which means his immune system was
It has been a week of chaos in the world of health and science, to put it mildly. Multiple executive orders have shut down the day-to-day functions of US health agencies, causing confusion, fear, and for many Americans, the question of whether their next paycheck will arrive. While some pauses
A blog about science in a world of untrue facts.
The appeal to nature fallacy is not a viable healthcare strategy This article was originally published on Your Local Epidemiologist. RFK Jr.’s hearing for Health and Human Secretary of the United States is soon. A recent poll showed that 40% of Americans view him positively. Despite the myriad fringe
When Jeff Yau started having strange symptoms after his COVID-19 infection – numbness, tingling, and shaking – he experienced what thousands of others with long COVID have found: answers were hard to find, and treatments weren’t working. But Dr. Jeff Yau was in a unique position: he’s a neuroscientist who
This is a problem. NPR reported yesterday that the Louisiana Department of Health has told staff "advertising or otherwise promoting" influenza, mpox, and COVID vaccines is no longer allowed. Promoting and increasing access to vaccinations is one of the central functions of health departments across the country. According
The 'Make America Healthy Again' movement is tapping into the commonly held belief that children in our modern era are less healthy than they used to be. Fueling this sentiment is the 'Hygiene Hypothesis' – an idea postulated in the 1980's that modern, overly sterile
When I started this newsletter over four years ago as a PhD student, I remember naively thinking "the pandemic is only going to last a few months... I'll do this blog for a little while, but there probably won't be much to write about after
On Tuesday, H5N1, the influenza virus that causes bird flu, made headlines – fragments of the virus were detected in the commercial milk supply in the United States. Here’s a quick update on what’s going on and how we got here. Bird flu is spreading in mammals, which is
CDC.gov is not the answer to all vaccine questions.
Excited to share my new op-ed in MedPage Today, addressing the tragic NIH decision to cancel investment into improving health communication. If there was one bipartisan sentiment that came out of the pandemic, it was this: the communication was terrible. We have a chance to fix it. A new initiative
You may have heard rumblings in the news, but COVID wastewater levels are starting to pick back up again. COVID tests aren’t the greatest metric (especially now), and more and more we’re relying on levels of COVID circulating in wastewater to track how it’s spreading in the
Live debate rewards charm, not data.
You may recall Florida’s vaccine analysis released last October which claimed that mRNA vaccines are associated with increased risk of cardiac death in young men. This week, the Tampa Bay Times shared earlier, unpublished drafts of that analysis. Those earlier drafts tell a dramatically different story… The Tampa Bay
If I had a nickel for every time someone has accusingly asked me “who funds you??”, I wouldn’t have enough money to buy a box of pipette tips, because research is expensive and requires funding to do much of anything. With the confusion and distrust circulating around science and
