Jen Balkus, PhD, MPH

@boghuma.bsky.social it was so lovely to meet in person! And please keep up the amazing work in this virtual space. It is so appreciated! 😊

Feeling all the feels listening to a powerful opening plenary from the legend Peter Staley @peterstaley.bsky.social. Thank you for all that you have done (and continue to do) and your incredible words encouragement to us all. #CROI2026

CDC funds controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in African newborns Scientists question the value of the proposed study, which will investigate a vaccine long known to be efficacious and safe

I am glad to see large media outlets reporting on this. Hopefully it shames the researchers into not continuing with the planned study or at minimum making sure ALL children in the study receive the birth dose of the HepB vaccine.
www.science.org/content/arti...

🦠What happens when you say you will only protect babies of infected moms, but you are bad at detecting infected moms❓

🚫You miss a lot of babies who needed protection.

This is exactly why in 1991 we went from only vaccinating babies of Hepatitis B positive moms to vaccinating all babies.

Sec. Kennedy must appear before the HELP Committee to explain why his vaccine advisory committee, in strong disagreement with the medical & scientific community, voted to end a decades-long recommendation that newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine.

This vaccine saves lives.

This whole thread 💔. It is more than heartbreaking, it is the road map for poorer health and more preventable deaths in the US and globally.

This Is How the Child Welfare System Becomes Less Traumatizing Wisconsin has shown that it’s cost-effective and completely possible to keep families together by stabilizing their housing. That’s not the only promising development in the field.

Wisconsin has shown that it’s cost-effective and completely possible to keep families together by stabilizing their housing. That’s not the only promising development in the field. #MsReads via @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/soci...

“Embarrassing” and “horrifying”: CDC workers describe the new vaccines and autism page "The best way I can put it is it feels like we're on a hijacked airplane."

New from me: I talked to CDC staffers about the new vaccines and autism page. They said things like:

“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”

“I think people are starting to see that we can’t fulfill our mission here.”

If there was any doubt at all that the CDC is fully destroyed, this page on autism and vaccines on its website confirms it. It's now just another vessel of dangerous health misinformation. I have no words. This is beyond sad.

Is there a way to get whistles or get on the list to be a whistle drop off point? We just put up a community pantry at our house and have the perfect spot for whistles. Happy to share location details via dm.

➡️ It only takes 5 minutes, and all links are in our bio
1. Sign the petition to #impeachthequack RFK Jr & have him removed from office.
2. Mark your calendar to join us on November 5th as we march on Congress to deliver our petitions.
3. Become a member of our Science Fight Club!
Easy peasy!

NEJM and public health group are launching rival to CDC’s MMWR publication Two institutions are coming together to create an alternative to the CDC’s vaunted Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

"A river doesn't argue with rocks, it flows around them"
Public health, Science and evidence based medicine much like a river will find a way to keep flowing during this time. Sad it's coming to this, but alternatives are important and needed right now.
www.statnews.com/2025/10/21/c...

The gross harms of this administration permeate every aspect of daily life.

Sea-Tac won’t air Noem video blaming shutdown on Democrats Seattle-Tacoma International Airport won’t broadcast a video of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying Democrats caused the federal government shutdown.

Sea-Tac Airport won't air Kristi Noem's miserable propaganda, and that's a good thing.

Donald Trump is not a king, and dog killer Kristi Noem can't just force our airports to break the law on her behalf.

C.D.C. Layoffs Included 2 Top Measles Experts Amid Rising Cases

Measles, Ebola, major disease outbreak investigators, HIV prevention…we’re f***ed. I’m not trying to be over dramatic here, but we currently have no defense against infectious diseases threats

C.D.C. Layoffs Included 2 Top Measles Experts Amid Rising Cases www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/h...

The specifics of the RIFs I’ve seen in group chats have been staggering. Bracing & reminding myself these are specifically intended to cause fear & distress.

Please share URLs for any good trackers you seen as they emerge. (I want more than OMB’s version) fedscoop.com/trump-federa...

NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4

White People’s Performative Ignorance Is Exhausting—Opinion Disbelief over authoritarianism in America isn’t a cutesy personality trait. It’s a confession: You haven’t been paying attention.

"Black people are tired. Not metaphorically tired—actually tired. The kind of tired that turns every group chat into a mix of gallows humor and emotional triage."

I write about white ignorance and how exhausting it is to hear white ppl insist "this isn't who we are, when it's ALWAYS who we've been.

Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion

"This is extortion, plain and simple.... The only solution is solidarity and collective action against this effort at federal control over higher education."

A sobering analysis of the illegality of the administration's "compact" and its stakes for higher ed. 🎁🔗

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...

CDC takes down more than a dozen webpages on sexual and gender identity, health equity Some health equity advocates say removing such resources could create gaps in access to critical health information, especially for marginalized groups.

Information on sexual and gender identity and health equity is now being erased.

These proposed cuts will be devastating. Take a moment to use your voice! (See below).

ACOG reaffirms that acetaminophen is safe for managing pain and fever during pregnancy. No reputable studies support suggestions like those in HHS’s recent announcement linking acetaminophen use in pregnancy to autism; in fact, high-quality studies show no such risk. https://bit.ly/47Wxc59

Thinking of my friends with autism and their families, especially this week as the storm of misinformation and stigma from HHS & RFK Jr swirls again. One of my fav artists on social media @devthepineapple.bsky.social says it best:

Ugh

“Many, if not most, of the removed pages have obvious tie-ins to topics known to be disfavored by the Trump administration……the care of LGBTQ+ people, health equity issues related to a variety of diseases or disabilities, sexually transmitted infections, and related educational resources.”

Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability This nationwide cohort study with sibling control analysis examines the association of acetaminophen use during pregnancy with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability.

The @washingtonpost.com story on Tylenol & autism leaves out a MAJOR 2.5M sibling-controlled study of children in Denmark, which "found no evidence that acetaminophen use during pregnancy was associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability." jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Most U.S. adults think abortion should be legal 3 years after Roe was overturned, poll shows The new findings from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll show that about two-thirds of U.S. adults think abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Since apparently this needs to be stated again, a reminder that TWO THIRDS OF THE US VOTERS believe abortions should be legal in all or most cases, making it FAR more popular or unifying than Ezra Klein....

Trump signs proclamation imposing annual $100,000 fee on H-1B visas Move deals potentially major blow to US tech industry, which relies heavily on workers from India and China

25% of Drs in US are foreign grads. Many are on an H1B visa. This will hit health systems hard especially rural hospitals and hospitals in underserved areas that sponsor these visas through waiver programs. The old cost was about 5000$ a year.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

As a WA resident, very much appreciate the solidarity and evidence-based guidelines, but it shouldn’t have to be this way. Every American deserves this and had this just 8 months ago.

The cracks in our health system are so wide you could drive a mac truck through them. This approach for the safe and effective hep B vaccine benefits us all, and mostly important those who might be missed without such a broad approach.