Peter Rebeiro, PhD, MHS

Larry Summers: "This is way beyond anything Nixon ever did ... this is the stuff of democracies giving way to authoritarianism. Firing statisticians goes with threatening the heads of newspapers, launching assaults on universities, launching assaults on law firms. This is really scary stuff."

YouTube video by The Daily Show Peter Beinart - "Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning" | The Daily Show

A #DailyShow interview worth a watch & reflection:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5kX...

Reputable organizations if you wish to donate:
donate.wck.org/give/525879/...
www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/our-r...

Call your Representative/Senators & tell them what you think:
www.congress.gov/contact-us

Opinion | We Will Regret Not Standing Up to This Venomous Cruelty

This is also why those who say *science* mustn't be "political" miss the point.

Science itself isn't political. But its *implications* & the actions it informs or indicts *are*...because politics are how free societies act (or don't).

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/o...

The Path Forward for Vaccine Policy in the United States | NEJM The former members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices consider paths forward for U.S. vaccine policy in the wake of their dismissal by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in...

Please remember, among the most destructive consequences of ripping public goods away & undermining institutional scientific integrity is the damage to our #publichealth.

www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1...

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Cancer vaccines and the future of immunotherapy Vaccines have had a major impact on the control of infectious disease, most recently by helping to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Prophylactic cancer vaccines have prevented several malignancies by pro...

🗨️ “Vaccines have done more to improve public health than any other medical intervention.”

A Viewpoint focuses on cancer vaccines & the future of immunotherapy—analysing trials & how the next generation of cancer vaccines can help improve patient outcomes & quality of life. tinyurl.com/n94jsbju

Evaluating the impact of two decades of USAID interventions and projecting the effects of defunding on mortality up to 2030: a retrospective impact evaluation and forecasting analysis USAID funding has significantly contributed to the reduction in adult and child mortality across low-income and middle-income countries over the past two decades. Our estimates show that, unless the a...

I can't overstate how successful #USAID has been... & how *catastrophic* its discontinuation will be.

*Tens of MILLIONS* of lives saved over 20 years...& MILLIONS of lives imperiled in the next few. Ending USAID is pure evil. 😔

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/o...

What's in the Senate Version of Trump's Big Policy Bill? The legislation includes tax cuts as well as big cuts to Medicaid, food benefits and other programs, and it would add more than $3 trillion to the national debt.

If gutting healthcare for poor people & ensuring the uberwealthy don't see a tax increase reflects your values- well, you're not a good person. There's no point in sugarcoating it. 🤷🏾‍♂️ #OBBB

If you don't approve, call your Representative: www.house.gov/representati...

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Kennedy Withdraws U.S. Funding Pledge to International Vaccine Agency

Whether you understand the science of how scores of vaccines have been rigorously evaluated for safety, efficacy, & effectiveness, they *have* been. Everyone indulging RFKJ's outright *lies* has blood on their hands.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/h...

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/h...

Norfolk Reelects its Reform Prosecutor, Capping Years of Heated Debate - Bolts It’s a staple in political campaigns: Candidates bring up a criminal case that occurred on their opponent’s watch, and use it to attack them for being too lenient. Still, Michelle... Read More

NEW: This Virginia city has seen years of heated debate over criminal justice reform. Progressive officials moved to stop adult charges for kids, weed cases, mandatory minimums; it's all run into fierce opposition from other leaders.

Then, the reform prosecutor won last week. I wrote about it:

Judge rules against NIH grant cuts — and calls them discriminatory The decision means that the US biomedical agency has to restore funding to hundreds of research projects, but the government is likely to appeal.

Progress...but so much damage has already been done. Still, it's important to speak the truth aloud, again and again, as often as we can. The fact that the message comes from a Reagan-appointed federal judge this time helps a bit, too.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/18/u...

Opinion | I’m a Vaccine Expert. Here’s What Keeps Me Up at Night About Kennedy’s Policies.

In case you wondered what actual infectious diseases / #vaccinology experts think about DHHS's adventures in trying to erase sound science.

#VaccinesWork

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/o...

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/u...

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

“The fundamental civic unit in this nation is neighbor.” - @jelaniya.bsky.social 🇺🇸

“A U.S. citizen!” And now he’s missing.

Adrian Martinez tried to defend a man ICE was harassing. Video shows six agents swarming him. He struggles but doesn’t lay hands on them. They take him to the ground & shove him into a CBP vehicle.

Abuse of power. Keep recording. Don’t stop.
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Questions, Answers, and Some Cautionary Updates Regarding the 3.5% Rule The “3.5% rule” refers to the claim that no government has withstood a challenge of 3.5% of their population mobilized against it during a peak event. In this brief paper, author Erica Chenoweth addre...

My point is NOT that mass protests are meaningless. I believe they are critical and have participated in them for half a century.

However, control of the military and the decisions of its leaders are also critical.

And there is no magic 3.5% number, as the author of that research has said herself:

10/10, no notes. ✊🏾❤️

No Kings Day protests unofficial attendance crowdsourcing

At midday Eastern Time, we have a crowdsourced, unofficial estimate of just over 32,000 people attending No Kings Day protests around the U.S. so far.

Please join us and add more data as more events get going.

docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

What to do after attending a conference with colleagues whose life’s work with vulnerable populations is under attack? Go to the NYC #NoKings rally.

American Spring? How nonviolent protest in the US is accelerating Contrary to conventional wisdom, anti-Trump protests this year have dwarfed 2017 in size, and they have been extraordinarily peaceful.

We are just getting started. “American Spring? How nonviolent protest in the US is accelerating…” wagingnonviolence.org/2025/06/amer...

Have a look and get ‘em done.

Democrats should introduce articles of impeachment for RFK jr
Even if it doesn’t work, which it probably won’t, democrats need to make clear that he’s not gonna get away with it

Ultimately, that’s what society is- even if we codify everything, the laws only have meaning if we *make* them have meaning (by having consensus to enforce them). If there isn’t political will to hold corrupt ideologues to account in free elections (e.g., in 2016 or 2024), this is what we get…😞

Gun Deaths of Children Rose in States That Loosened Gun Laws, Study Finds

Where do I put on my CV that the NRA Institute for Legislative Action called our JAMA Pediatrics paper “political propaganda masquerading as scientific research?” I’m thinking Honors and Awards. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/h...

Bethesda Declaration — STAND UP FOR SCIENCE Support NIH Staff Now!

The US has been the scientific & academic envy of the *world* for decades now. Thanks to reckless ideologues, we're surrendering that position. Our brethren at the #NIH are speaking out & we must rise to their defense. The eyes of the world are upon us.

www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...

Kennedy Removes All C.D.C. Vaccine Panel Experts

This substitution of demagoguery for scientific evidence will harm us all- but *especially* the medically vulnerable: children and the elderly.

As morbidity/mortality from #vaccine-preventable diseases likely rise in the coming months, remember the root causes.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/h...

It's hard to overstate how destructive the reflexive "this is a distraction!" stuff that politicians and commentators and people are always peddling.

Everything is happening all at once. That's how authoritarianism works. If you can't navigate and synthesize this, you're not meeting the moment.

The World Health Assembly, adolescent health, and the pace of innovation - The Lancet Voice Richard, Jessamy, and Gavin reflect on developments at the 78th World Health Assembly, including the passage of the pandemic agreement and shifting dynamics in global health leadership. What's next fo...

What's next for @who.int without US engagement?

In a new podcast episode, Lancet editors reflect on developments at #WHA78, including the pandemic agreement and shifting dynamics in global health leadership.

Listen now 👉 tinyurl.com/7xrhu3rm #LancetVoice

How a discovery in Yellowstone National Park led to the development of PCR - Richmond Scientific A discovery in Yellowstone National Park led to the development of PCR, the gold-standard COVID-19 tests used to fight the global pandemic.

Reminder: Nobel-prize winning PCR (1983), used in basically all genetic tech today, was only possible because of extremophile bacterium discovered in 1964 in Yellowstone funded by a small ~$80k NSF grant with no obvious application at the time. #science 🧪
www.richmondscientific.com/how-a-discov...

Trump Jumps at the Chance for a Standoff in California Over Immigration

I don't think the intent matters much. The fact is this: an American President is using the military to police US civilians in a US city. It's open authoritarian bullshit...and if you can't call it out & see how destructive it is, then you really are lost.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/u...

Cover of The Lancet's June 7, 2025 issue. Quote on cover reads: "If we in academic medicine give in to the campaigns against diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, the consequences will include resegregation and fewer opportunities for marginalised groups."

In the USA, a recent series of Executive Actions pose a substantial threat to the nation's health and health equity.

In our latest issue, a new Comment highlights why and how academic medicine must champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Read this & more ▶️ tinyurl.com/6fn6uvr7

Chris Murphy: "We can't be preparing for the 2026 election. It might not come. All of our focus right now has to be on protecting the democracy, about stopping the corruption."