Dr Ellie Murray, ScD

CDC website screenshot. Text reads: Vaccine Safety Safety Information by Vaccine Common Vaccine Safe Autism and Vaccines QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS PAGE 2 OF 9 | ALLPAGES Y For Everyone NOV. 19, 2025 KEY POINTS • The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism. • Studies supporting a link have been…

CDC website screenshot. Text reads (and yes that asterisk is really there!) Vaccines do not cause Autism* Pursuant to the Data Quality Act (DQA), which requires federal agencies to ensure the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information they disseminate to the public, this webpage has been updated because the statement "Vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim. Scientific studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines contribute to the development of autism. However, this statement has historically been disseminated by the CDC and other federal health agencies within HHS to prevent vaccine hesitancy. HHS has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal…

If you haven’t seen yet, the CDC’s page about autism & vaccines has been “updated”

Would really like to know how Sen Bill Cassidy is sleeping through the night these days. And yes, I hold him responsible for RFK Jr’s destruction of the CDC. He could have stopped it with his vote. None of what RFK Jr is doing is a surprise. Cassidy explicitly chose this.

Wow! Love it even more! 😆

Love it!

Texas Measles Strain Continues to Spread, Officials Say

The US has had measles “elimination status” for 25 years. It may be about to lose this status.

Measles can severely and fatally impact children, including infants under 1 year old who are too young to be vaccinated.

Increasing — and not further decreasing — child vaccination rates is essential.

Direct-to-Consumer Lab Results are Probably Wrong Doctors rely on the information they have about you to target medical tests at people most likely to be sick. This means that a positive test result from a test ordered by your doctor is probably corr...

Today's post is all about why Direct-to-Consumer Lab testing companies, the ones that offer "whole body scans" and "complete blood panels" are not worth your time or money.

open.substack.com/pub/epiellie...

Guidelines for estimating causal effects in pragmatic randomized trials Pragmatic randomized trials are designed to provide evidence for clinical decision-making rather than regulatory approval. Common features of these trials include the inclusion of heterogeneous or div...

We summarize everything you need to know about post-randomization adjustments in this paper: arxiv.org/abs/1911.06030

ouch!

RCT or bust, dude. RCT or bust 😆

When you're ripping off a bandaid, do it quick! Over the last few weeks, the weight of the world has really been getting to me and I’ve found it hard to get motivated to write any articles. But today I'm ripping off the bandaid. With a post about r...

Over the last few weeks, the weight of the world has really been getting to me and I’ve found it hard to get motivated to write any articles.

But today I'm ripping off the bandaid. With a post about ripping off bandaids. Enjoy!

open.substack.com/pub/epiellie...

@pwgtennant.bsky.social is your guy for composite outcomes

💜💜💜

Steven and Alice smiling and holding each other’s books

Our beloved Alice Wong has joined the ancestors. It was one of the great honors of my life to call Alice my friend, co-author & co-conspirator. She was a true genius, a force of nature the likes of which the world has never seen before. I love you, Alice, and am equal parts grateful and devastated

Decades of progress — undone After years of steady gains against poverty and inequality, the recent funding cuts threaten Africa’s health systems. New, resilient funding is vital

Over the summer some very important public health program leaders shared their struggles in keeping their work going since the #usaid cuts

Here’s an article about it, please share to increase awareness & motivate political action

“Decades of progress - undone”

www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democ...

Public news is an essential public good

The threats are substantial — it has been sad & serious to see cuts to NPR & PBS in the US

May leaders in the UK & around the world speak up for the BBC

I am a f*ing health economist and I approve this message.

I have a f*ing M.B.A. and I’m still so confused about how to pick a health insurance plan. Open enrollment should not be this hard!

I have a f*ing doctorate in epidemiology and I’m still so confused about how to pick a health insurance plan. Open enrollment should not be this hard!

Everything is awful but I’ve started taking ballet classes again for the first time since college and wow it is amazing how much joy being this bad at something can bring me!

You’re late to the party. @causalkathy.bsky.social has been doing it for years.

Humanity’s Deadliest Companions: Checking the Till on the Deadliest Microbes in History I was reorganizing parts of my bookshelf the other day when I came across my copy of Deadly Companions by Dorothy Crawford.

We’ve lived with microbes for millions of years. They built our immune systems, rewired our DNA, and killed billions along the way.
I tried to tally their bill: Humanity’s Deadliest Companions.
#EpiSky #MedSky #History #Anthropology #Archaeology #IDSky

open.substack.com/pub/theedgeo...

Difference-in-Difference in the Time of Cholera: a Gentle Introduction for Epidemiologists - PubMed We use the famous example of John Snow's investigation of the cause of cholera mortality in London to illustrate the difference-in-difference approach and corresponding assumptions. We conclude by arguing that this method deserves a second-look from epidemiologists interested in asking causal questi …

Yes, we show the DAG required for diff-in-diff here: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33791189/

Here's what life before vaccines was really like The morning of August 2nd 1852 promised a lovely summer’s day in London. But not for 8 year old George Williams.

What was life really like before vaccines? The story of what happened to 8-year old George Williams in August 1852 gives us a glimpse.

open.substack.com/pub/epiellie...

The equation should be:
1 > P(T=t | Z=z) > 0

Because it’s not sufficient for the prob of treatment to simply be greater than 0. The probability of *every* treatment value has to be greater than zero, which means no one can have prob treatment equal to 1 either.

So sorry for your loss

This is a 100% true story, by the way.

It's from case notes taken during George's stay at the Great Ormond Street Hospital, which the wonderful people at the Historic Hospital Admission Records Project have digitized.

You'll appreciate today's post I think. It is the story of 8-year old George Williams who got sick in the summer of 1852. It perfectly encapsulates what life was like before vaccines for so many children.
bsky.app/profile/epie...

Here's what life before vaccines was really like The morning of August 2nd 1852 promised a lovely summer’s day in London. But not for 8 year old George Williams.

What was life really like before vaccines? The story of what happened to 8-year old George Williams in August 1852 gives us a glimpse.

open.substack.com/pub/epiellie...

Difference-in-Difference in the Time of Cholera: a Gentle Introduction for Epidemiologists - PubMed We use the famous example of John Snow's investigation of the cause of cholera mortality in London to illustrate the difference-in-difference approach and corresponding assumptions. We conclude by arguing that this method deserves a second-look from epidemiologists interested in asking causal questi …

Diff-in-diff explained for health researchers: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33791189/

Exactly! Like, I’m happy for Rob that he didn’t need to know childrens hospitals existed when he was a child. Not every child is so lucky.