Jenn Dowd

Interesting...Yes, my understanding is they limit Dr. for MDs, I just don't agree with that policy!

The Birthrate Is Plunging. Why Some Say That’s a Good Thing.

Wise words from *Dr* Guzzo:
“We spent decades shaming women for having kids under the wrong circumstances, for not having their ducks in a row,” said Ms. Guzzo, the demographer. “Now they are holding up their end of the bargain.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/u... @karenguzzo.bsky.social #demography

🚨 A defining moment for global health data.

The termination of the #USAID-supported Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) Program has wide-ranging consequences. We reflect on the collapse and argue what should come next in a new PNAS: doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2…

📊 9,000+ studies

Oh wonderful.
This also reminded me that this Bluesky account exists, so thank you!
bsky.app/profile/john...

Very cool, I just followed!

Tomorrow! Featuring @preetimalani.bsky.social @drjenndowd.bsky.social #publichealth #medsky #scicomm

Epidemiologist joy…The OG Broad Street Pump.
Thanks, Dr. John Snow, for the steadfast reminder of why we do what we do!
#episky #publichealth @thosenerdygirls.bsky.social @lshtm.bsky.social

Don't miss the chance to submit an abstract to the IEA European Congress of Epidemiology 2026 / 70th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Medicine & Population Health!

Deadline: 02 Mar 2026 at 23:59 GMT
Submission website: tinyurl.com/ssmeuroepi2026
Location: London, UK
Dates: 09-11 Sep 2026

American professors, who wants to come to Oxford for a year or two? Get in quick - deadline soon.
www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/vacancy-geor...

The FDA’s Moderna pirouette is one more sign of chaos at the agency For drugmakers and vaccine developers, an FDA reversal on Moderna's flu vaccine is better than the alternative. But it is also another sign of agency chaos.

This morning, the FDA reversed course. It will now review Moderna's flu vaccine.

The FDA's decisions have become far less predictable, but one thing has been constant: vaccine head Vinay Prasad has always chosen the most attention-grabbing action he can.

www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/m...

Chart showing recent confirmed measles cases per year in England ranging from 1,414 in 2013 to 2,911 in 2024 and 91 in 2015

🧵What is going on with Measles in England?

UKHSA has reported 96 confirmed measles cases since 1 Jan 2026, concentrated in London (64% of cases) and the West Midlands (26% of cases).

But what does this all mean? Is 96 a lot? Why is it happening? And what can we do about it? 1/8

If one wanted to do a crash course on pro-natalism and its connections eugenics where would I start @philipncohen.com @amandajean.bsky.social?

Problem about the loneliness epidemic is, it's everywhere except in representative survey data. Let's look at where the claim comes from. 1/

Understanding and misunderstanding randomized controlled trials Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) are increasingly popular in the social sciences, not only in medicine. We argue that the lay public, and sometimes…

I enjoyed this a while back even though it's more narrowly about RCTs. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

two women are standing next to each other with one saying please do ALT: two women are standing next to each other with one saying please do

I'm all for you blazing a trail in this liminal zone...much needed! You'll be inspiring me to get more philisophical in my older age. I haven't grappled enough with this, even though this tension feels existential for what we want to learn.

Oooh, this looks great, and exactly the type of integration of causal identification and broader systems that we need. I look forward to digging in...

That's so funny, I feel like you know these debates better than anyone! ;) To me they are the same issues across empirical health/social science disciplines, just different jargon (and values of course). But maybe you have something more specific in mind?

New Pub 🚨📝🎓:

"Stratification of Post-Birth Labour Supply in a High- and Low- Maternal Employment Regime"

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Short version: Germany has much bigger motherhood penalties than France, but they are not more socially stratified.

That wasn’t what we expected.

🧵⬇️

This is the type of humor I am here for 😂

Post a tree you photographed

Rare, dangerous side effects of some COVID-19 vaccines explained “Groundbreaking” study uncovers why adenovirus-based shots caused life-threatening blood clots and bleeding in some people

Ok, I know promised a thread on the fascinating and important new research explaining what happened with the rare, serious side effects of AstraZeneca's and Johnson&Johnson's Covid-19 vaccines.
So, @science.org story is here and 🧪🧵 is coming:
www.science.org/content/arti...

Headline from The Hill reading "How to raise birth rates is the wrong question: Here’s what we should be asking"

One of the most frustrating things about the current US discourse over low birth rates is its laser focus on "how can we raise birth rates?" In this op-ed for @thehill.com, I explain why that's the wrong question and what we should be asking instead. 1/6
thehill.com/opinion/heal...

In “Limits of Predicting Individual-Level Longevity,” Badolato et al. assess a range of classic statistical & machine learning survival analysis models. @nickirons.bsky.social @monjalexander.bsky.social @ugobas.bsky.social @ezagheni.bsky.social @mpidr.bsky.social read.dukeupress.edu/demography/a...

My conclusion is that much of the worry about sub-replacement fertility is overstated. Quantitatively, the net effect of even a large fertility reduction on the US economy would be a relatively small decline in the standard of living. Comparing demographic steady states and focusing on the most easily quantified channels, a version of the United States with a total fertility rate of one child per woman would have consumption per capita that was 8.7 percent lower than a version of the country where the TFR was two. In the first four decades of the transition following a decline in fertility below the replacement rate, consumption is actually higher than it would have been if fertility had remained constant. Indeed, much of the sturm und drang regarding the economic effects of current population aging is related to the ending of such a transitory period of good times that resulted from fertility declining from its Baby-Boom highs to near replacement, starting in the 1960s. Finally, it is important to note that any attempt to fix the economic problems stemming from low fertility by raising the birth rate will entail a period of higher overall dependency in the decades that it takes the resulting children to become productive adults.

Low birth rates have modest long run negative effects, after good effects for a few decades, and raising birthrates exacerbates dependency. A giant, apparently permanent, disconnect between expert opinion (e.g., below) versus manufactured panic hype on this issue pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/...

“We need to shift the conversation, asking ourselves how we can develop a sustainable response to demographic change by adapting and investing in the populations and institutions we have rather than chasing unattainable population targets.” thehill.com/opinion/heal... @karenguzzo.bsky.social

We are looking forward to welcome a new EDSD Cohort in September. Apply now!

Exactly...just like Taylor!

Love this…sometimes you gotta fake it til you make it and you did!! 💥

I can see this for you!

Watch out guys, I'm bringing Eras Tour energy to my next talk