Parents’ vaccine decisions are rarely just about evidence. They’re shaped by fear, identity, experience, and love.
A beautiful @nytimes.com piece by my colleague captures that complexity with real empathy. This is a must-read!
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/o...
Read here: open.substack.com/pub/communit...
26.02.2026 15:15 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
New essay out in Community Immunity.
It begins with a simple thought experiment: what if future leaders attempt to restore vaccine policy structures overnight? Would that rebuild trust — or deepen polarization?
The way things were isn’t the way things can be anymore.
#PublicHealth #Vaccines
In an information environment that feels chaotic, that steady guidance matters more than ever.
More here: open.substack.com/pub/communit...
When it comes to vaccines, what parents want has not changed.
They want clear recommendations and honest explanations. They want reassurance that the advice they receive is grounded in their child’s best interest. And they want a trusted expert to help them navigate the noise.
Applications accepted until 2/15 for Fall 2026! App instructions and other info here: tinyurl.com/5bps2c8j @borsikarabin.bsky.social, @bmkwan.bsky.social, @monica-p-jolles.bsky.social, @drhigginsmd.bsky.social, @dramyhuebschmann.bsky.social, @russgl.bsky.social @cctsi.bsky.social #DIScience #ImpSci
12.02.2026 18:19 — 👍 1 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 1
Read more and see the data here:
www.kff.org/health-infor...
#PublicHealth #Vaccines #HealthPolicy
@kff.org
Who do parents trust? Their child’s pediatrician. More than any federal agency, political figure, or influencer.
Policy should strengthen that trusted relationship, not undermine it.
You don’t rebuild trust with sudden, unjustified changes to evidence-based guidance. You rebuild it through consistency, transparency, and credible scientific processes.
The predictable result of this approach is fewer children vaccinated and more preventable harm. It really is that simple.
This year, trust in CDC vaccine guidance has fallen sharply to its lowest point in years.
People who have heard of recent changes to the childhood vaccination schedule are twice as likely to say the changes will have a negative impact on kids than a positive one.
New KFF data show trust in the CDC as a source of reliable vaccine information is now at a historic low following a recent overhaul to childhood vaccine recommendations.
That matters because federal health leaders have explicitly justified their policy changes as necessary to restore public trust.🧵
Our article is out today in @statnews.com. Do pediatricians get rich from vaccines? We followed the money. Short answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT. This dangerously misleading claim just won’t die.
www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/p...
I discussed this on the @sciencevs.bsky.social podcast here: open.spotify.com/episode/1hjh...
17.01.2026 15:42 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Preventing more diseases is a success, not a failure.
This shouldn’t be controversial.
open.substack.com/pub/communit...
#Vaccines ##PreventDisease
New 📰 The U.S. is being called a vaccine “outlier.” But why is that assumed to be bad?
Also: changes to a key federal advisory commission, flu policy during a severe season, and ethics concerns in a halted hepatitis B study in Africa.
Read here:
🔗 communityimmunity.substack.com/p/the-proble...
HHS dismisses member of vaccine injury advisory panel www.statnews.com/2026/01/13/h... via @statnews.com
14.01.2026 07:06 — 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
States, health organizations reject new CDC vaccine guidance
A growing number of states are pushing back against sweeping changes to the US childhood vaccine schedule.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/p...
Read my @medpagetoday.com op-ed on recent U.S. vaccine policy changes framed as “restoring trust.” The gap between that idea and reality is striking. Trust comes from clarity, evidence, and consistency.
www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...
#Vaccines #PublicHealth
@gfriedma.bsky.social
TOMORROW! Join us for an informational webinar about the D&I Science Graduate Certificate Program. Register at ucdenverdata.formstack.com/forms/dicert...
#ImpSci #CUAnschutz
The American Academy of Pediatrics continues to publish an evidence-based immunization schedule designed to protect children’s health and reflect what is best for children. Ironically, that evidence-based AAP schedule is now the “alternative” to the CDC’s.
#Vaccines #ChildHealth #VaccinePolicy
@Parents: trust your pediatrician.
We will continue to provide clear, honest, evidence-based guidance focused on your child’s best interests, as we have for over a century. We’re committed to helping families make truly informed vaccination decisions, despite efforts to undermine that trust.
In my view, this reckless move risks harming children and fits a decades-long effort to undermine confidence in vaccines and dismantle the U.S. vaccination system.
05.01.2026 20:22 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0There was also no meaningful opportunity for public or independent expert input before rewriting a schedule that protects nearly every child in the U.S.
05.01.2026 20:22 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
This shift is based on an internal review, not the usual open, rigorous process with public and independent expert input.
There was no analysis of real-world impact on children and families:
• hospitalizations
• cancers
• disabilities
• preventable deaths
🚨 The U.S. childhood vaccine schedule is being rewritten.
The New York Times reports that RFK Jr./HHS/CDC are shifting routine vaccines into “individual decision-making,” cutting routine protection from 17 diseases to 11.
🔗 www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/h...
Writing publicly and being in the spotlight isn’t my default setting.
📰 This week’s Community Immunity is a reflection on why I write publicly about vaccines, evidence, and trust, and what it takes to sustain this work.
The nearly 80-year-old law that could hamper RFK Jr.’s drive to remake vaccine schedule
Legal experts say Kennedy needs to follow established legal procedures to prevent any policy changes from being dismissed by a judge.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c...
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr cc
@drhigginsmd.bsky.social: "many clinics and pediatricians will simply say they don’t recommend the Denmark schedule, which will worsen parental confusion. School vaccination requirements are set by state laws, and most require some of the vaccines that aren’t on the Denmark schedule" 🎁
19.12.2025 22:34 — 👍 36 🔁 13 💬 4 📌 1
