Gregg Gonsalves

Artist: @toddalcott.bsky.social.

I think that’s true. RFK Jr has been WILDLY successful at pushing his anti-vaccine, anti-science, conspiracy theory agenda. His crew (Bhattacharya, Oz, Prasad, Hoeg, Makary, Kulldorff) have been faithful MAHA servants.

again, it is just arrogance. “there is one true meaning of the constitution and it can only be derived by a special caste of lawyers with a special interpretative lens and once discovered it is binding.”

so much of the conservative legal revolution seems to outright reject the idea that democratic publics legitimately constituted can fix the meaning of the constitution without formal amendment.

the president is not an elected sovereign. he does not speak for the people or embody their will, he merely represents them. if he wants to change the constitution, let him make his case.

the idea that a handful of conservative legal scholars have an understanding that should supersede a settlement affirmed my generations of american is astoundingly arrogant, and the idea that trump — or any president — can unilaterally overturn that settlement is just despotism

also, let’s say wurman is right. well, we have had nearly 160 years of unlimited birthright citizenship that has been affirmed again and again by generations of Americans. whatever the original intent, that is what the birthright clause *means*.

and as @evanbernick.bsky.social correctly points out, at no point has the worm man ever actually defended the trump EO on the merits

their “evidence” is exceedingly narrow and exclusionary of a wide number of political actors whose views and visions shaped the 14th amendment. even if they weren’t very obviously backfilling their partisan political interests, their method is not history

bad actors like wurman are why i think it is important to place the birthright clause in the full context of section 1 and section 1 in the context of both dred scott and the two decades of antislavery and abolitionist agitation and political thinking that proceeded it

COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination and 4-Year All-Cause Mortality Among Adults in France This cohort study uses the data from all adults aged 18 to 59 years living in France on November 1, 2021, to evaluate whether there is an association of receipt of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine with long-t...

RFK Jr.'s claim that COVID vaccines are deadly? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. In this new extraordinarily large study, vaccinated individuals had a 74% lower risk of death from severe COVID-19 and a 25% lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to those unvaccinated. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

This is what I mean when I talk about MAHA defense attorneys.

They helped unleash this on all of us and it’s all they should be remembered for.

Nothing else.

My colleague, the brilliant @colincarlson.bsky.social posted this on LinkedIn. This is devastating for Colin and his group, but also for science, for the future of the human race. #NSF is starving scientists of resources. This will not get better until we all rise up.

Yes. I remember.

Mark this day and vote... and those who voted for it.

ACIP votes to abandon universal hepatitis B vaccination for newborns Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are meeting today on what could be a major change to the childhood vaccination schedule. Follow here for live updates.

ACIP votes to end universal HBV birth dose for newborns. The consequence? Prepare to see a reversal of our rates of chronic liver disease and liver cancer as more children are left unprotected.

The birth dose has an up to 90% efficacy rate of protecting newborns from Hep B, which is incurable.

As a liver doctor who has treated patients with hepatitis B for decades, this change to the vaccine schedule is a mistake. The hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective. The birth dose is a recommendation, NOT a mandate. Bill Cassidy on X Before the birth dose was recommended, 20,000 newborns a year were infected with hepatitis B. Now, it’s fewer than 20. Ending the recommendation for newborns makes it more likely the number of cases will begin to increase again. This makes America sicker. Acting CDC Director O’Neill should not sign these new recommendations and instead retain the current, evidence-based approach.

Voted yes on RFK Jr when he could have voted no.

Continues to hedge, when he could act.

And I don't say this casually. All these people made statements that even a year ago seemed unduly credulous, obviously wrong, or born out of misplaced personal loyalty. Some continue to double down on their comments, few would like to forget. I won't.

So, to all the "RFK's got some good ideas" folks (Rachael Bedard, Leana Wen) and Jay Bhattacharya is "an excellent choice for NIH" (Steven Macedo, Frances Lee) and Vinay Prasad "will bring a breath of fresh air to FDA" (Adam Cifu, John Mandrola) groupies--you own this now too.

It is! bsky.app/profile/bsbe...

MD IS on the list.

“This irresponsible and purposely misleading guidance will lead to more hepatitis B infections in infants and children.” Read our full statement by AAP President Dr. Susan J. Kressly:
www.aap.org/en/news-room...

The lives vaccines have saved in the US, in one chart Vox is a general interest news site for the 21st century. Its mission: to help everyone understand our complicated world, so that we can all help shape it. In text, video and audio, our reporters expl...

This is all-hands on deck. RFK Jr. wants to destroy vaccination in the US. COVID and HBV vaccination were the first step. These diseases WILL come back. And your personal vaccination status is important, but so is the coverage in your community. So up your game and fight. www.vox.com/2015/3/25/82...

Self inflicted wound

Tweet from President Trump: "Today, the CDC Vaccine Committee made a very good decision to END their Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation for babies, the vast majority of whom are at NO RISK of Hepatitis B, a disease that is mostly transmitted sexually, or through dirty needles. The American Childhood Vaccine Schedule long required 72 “jabs,” for perfectly healthy babies, far more than any other Country in the World, and far more than is necessary. In fact, it is ridiculous! Many parents and scientists have been questioning the efficacy of this “schedule,” as have I! That is why I have just signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Department of Health and Human Services to “FAST TRACK” a comprehensive evaluation of Vaccine Schedules from other Countries around the World, and better align the U.S. Vaccine Schedule, so it is finally rooted in the Gold Standard of Science and COMMON SENSE! I am fully confident Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the CDC, will get this done, quickly and correctly, for our Nation’s Children. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. MAHA!"

We knew we'd see stuff like this when RFK Jr. got appointed, but seeing it unfold IRL is still something... 🛟😷

Brandolini's law example: "72 jabs" claim is old antivax BS--counts combined vaccines (like MMR) as if 1 shot for each. Ironically, HHS called for MMR into M, M, & R, thus 2 shots-->6.

Say Hello to Hepatitis B, Baby Anti-vax ACIP are bumbling their way to higher rates of pediatric liver cancer...and worse

That’s another horrendous ACIP meeting on the books. This clown show did a lot more than weakly recommend delaying the HBV birth dose and compare vaccines to planes.

rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/say-hello-...

"more babies will be infected with HBV

more babies will develop chronic HBV infection

more children will develop severe liver disease

more children will develop liver cancer

more children will die from a preventable disease"

Side by side photo of Senator Bill Cassidy and RFK Jr.

And then remember the two men who brought this tragedy to us. #RFKJr and his patron #BillCassidy. end/

Map of all 50 US states with photos of their governors superimposed on each state.

If you live in these states--call your governors NOW. No baby deserves to acquire #hepatitis B. 3/

“Infographic titled ‘2024 March of Dimes Report Card: Infant Mortality in the US.’ The overall US infant mortality rate is shown as 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. A note states that 16 states meet the Healthy People 2030 target of 5.0 or fewer deaths per 1,000 births. A disparity ratio of 2.11 is also displayed. A map of the United States shows infant mortality rates by state for 2022, shaded from light to dark purple. A legend indicates five categories: 4.9 or less (lightest), 5.0–5.7, 5.8–6.1, 6.2–6.9, and 7.0 or greater (darkest). States with the highest mortality (7.0 or greater) include: • South Dakota (7.8), Arkansas (7.7), Louisiana (7.4), Puerto Rico (7.4), West Virginia (7.3), Ohio (7.1), Georgia (7.1), Tennessee (6.6 but shaded as high), and several others in the South and Midwest. Moderately high states (6.2–6.9) include: Arizona (6.2), New Mexico (5.9 but shaded mid), Oklahoma (6.9), Missouri (6.8), Kansas (5.8 but mid-shaded), Michigan (6.4), and much of the South and Midwest. Lower-rate states (5.0–5.7) include: California (4.1 but very low), Colorado (4.5), Utah (5.0), Texas (5.7), Virginia (6.2 but mid), and others. The lowest-rate states (4.9 or less) include: California (4.1), Washington (4.3), New York (4.3), Connecticut (4.3), Massachusetts (3.3), New Hampshire (3.5), New Jersey (3.6), and Rhode Island (3.9). Alaska is shown at 6.6 deaths per 1,000; Hawaii at 5.8. Text above the map reads: ‘Over 20,000 babies died before their first birthday; the greatest rates occurred in the South and Midwest regions.’”

“Infographic titled ‘The infant mortality rate increased for the first time in two decades in 2022 and babies born to Black birthing people have a rate 1.9× the national rate.’ The left side shows a horizontal bar chart of infant mortality rates per 1,000 live births by maternal race/ethnicity for 2020–2022. Rates are: Asian 3.5, White 4.4, Hispanic 4.8, American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) 8.1, Pacific Islander (PI) 8.7, and Black 10.6—the highest rate. On the right, a vertical bar chart shows the leading causes of infant death (percentage of total deaths) for 2020–2022: Birth defects 20.0%, preterm birth/low birth weight (PTB/LBW) 15.0%, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) 7.3%, and accidents 6.4%. A note defines AIAN and PI, and explains PTB/LBW and SIDS. Source: National Center for Health Statistics Period Linked Birth/Infant Death data, 2020–2022. Footer text: ‘The 2024 March of Dimes Report Card: The State of Maternal and Infant Health for American Families.’”

It is those who live in the states in the South and Midwest that ALREADY have the HIGHEST infant mortality and black babies who will suffer disproportionately as their state governors will like accede to ACIP's recommendation. 2/