Rita Rubin

CDC tracking paused amid shutdown, pharmacies fill data gaps
www.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/cdc...

I witnessed an ICE abduction 2 days ago. They kidnapped a worker mowing a neighbor's lawn. It was terrible and I'm still messed up.

With that said, I took Migra Watch training and it was SO helpful in the moment. Highly recommend you sign up. There's a training today!

zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Fired CDC Advisors Give New ACIP a Failing Grade New group rated poorly on measures of policy-making maturity

Fired CDC Advisors Give New ACIP a Failing Grade www.medpagetoday.com/washington-w...

Florida’s vaccine mandate rollback stirs fear for immunocompromised thehill.com/homenews/sta...

These Chicago restaurants are offering free or discounted meals during SNAP pause: blockclubchi.co/47DM5Ys

Q: What is immune imprinting, and should the public be worried about it? A: Don't let statements about imprinting stop you from getting your annual vaccines for COVID and flu. Immune imprinting refers to the fact that our

3/ The public does not need to worry about imprinting, because we have good evidence that annual vaccines are effective.
Read the full post from Elisabeth Marnik, PhD @sciencewhizliz.bsky.social here: thosenerdygirls.org/immune-impri...

Not so different after all? Antecedents of believing in misinformation and conspiracy theories on COVID-19 | HKS Misinformation Review Misinformation and conspiracy theories are often grouped together, but do people believe in them for the same reasons? This study examines how these conceptually distinct forms of deceptive content ar...

"...only minor differences between individuals who believe in misinformation & those who endorse conspiracy theories.

Both belief types are fueled by a general conspiracy mentality, the view that truth is political, & alternative media use."

misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/not-...

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My latest for @jama.com on a subject I expect will touch many people:

Cover art for "October 2025 Medical News Summary, JAMA Medical News" shows medical icons (ambulance, pills, heart) floating from a gray head with one eye and gears in the background.

In this podcast episode, listen to a roundup of the latest Medical News published in JAMA:

➡️ State Laws Aim to Bring Internationally Trained Physicians to Underserved Areas
➡️ Oral Microbiome Composition Linked to Pancreatic Cancer Risk, and more.

ja.ma/4oGqCos

Artwork promoting "Dementia's Cultural Narratives" by JAMA Medical News. An illustration of a head filled with medical symbols like stethoscopes, pills, a syringe, and a caduceus is at the top. A purple play button is at the bottom.

Nancy Berlinger, PhD, a senior research scholar at hastingscenter, discusses a new report about the cultural narratives of #dementia and how they can affect the quality of life and the care of patients.

🎧 Listen now: ja.ma/3LDILF2

NIH Alzheimer’s Research Funding Is Back — for 49% Fewer Projects Though the NIH director is calling for $187 million more in funding for Alzheimer’s, the NIH is funding fewer new projects.

Alzheimer's research funding is back. But far fewer projects are getting funding.

Thanks @jeremymberg.bsky.social for the insights.

beingpatient.com/alzheimers-r...

Why the White House ballroom saga could be a problem for Trump | CNN Politics President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom saga last week followed a familiar Trump-era arc: A bunch of Trump critics sounded the alarm about his latest provocation – in this case, the sudden and s...

"Well, it turns out most Americans see plenty to dislike about Trump’s handling of the East Wing and the ballroom. In fact, it appears to be one of the more unpopular things he’s done in this second term. And it’s not just those who dislike Trump that are objecting," writes Aaron Blake. | Analysis

Measles outbreak in South Carolina grows; Canada’s elimination status threatened

About 90% of the cases reported in Canada in the last year have been in unvaccinated residents.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/m...

Food banks brace for 42 million without SNAP The gap will be impossible to fill, those working to feed the nation's neediest said.

Food banks brace for 42 million without SNAP www.axios.com/2025/10/27/g...

The title page from a paper entitled "Counting what counts: Registry completeness and the epidemiology of nonmalignant meningioma" by Kyle M. Walsh noting a conflict of interest with BP America.

An interesting tidbit about the new director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) I stumbled across.

Kyle Walsh apparently consults (or has consulted) for BP America.

1/2

The National Trust for Historic Preservation warned that President Trump’s planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom would “overwhelm the White House itself,” which spans just 55,000 square feet. https://wapo.st/4hmL8rC

Snapshots from the East Wing, now demolished by POTUS

🗓️ June 5, 1981: five cases of Pneumocystis Pneumonia, one report, a global awakening.

💙 The MMWR gave voice to what became the HIV/AIDS epidemic—and countless public-health moments since.

🕯️ Honoring the science and reporting that save lives.

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview...
#MMWR #CDCSavesLives

Texas Doctor Vows Court Battle After Ivermectin Sanction - Law360 Healthcare Authority Four years after a confrontation outside a Fort Worth hospital, the Texas Medical Board reprimanded a doctor who arranged to have ivermectin delivered to a COVID-19 patient. Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, a ...

Texas Doctor Vows Court Battle After Ivermectin Sanction: Texas board reprimanded Dr. Mary Talley Bowden for prescribing ivermectin to a patient she has not examined, without privileges to do so, without permission from treating doctors. www.law360.com/healthcare-authority/articles/2401663

Tylenol maker urges FDA to reject request for an autism warning Last month, Trump warned of a link between autism and acetaminophen use in pregnancy, going against advice from medical societies and data from numerous studies.

Tylenol maker urges FDA to reject request for an autism warning www.nbcnews.com/health/healt... via @nbcnews

"A citizen petition filed last month requested changes to the labeling of the drug for use during pregnancy..."

Reality: concern not supported by available evidence.

YouTube video by CIDRAP Vaccine Integrity Project - Response to HHS claims about vaccines (Oct 2025)

A recent HHS video is filled with selective data and misleading claims about vaccines.

Dr. Michael Osterholm of @CIDRAP breaks down how – and why - it misleads.

🎥 Watch here: youtu.be/Lh5hP6zcVrs

SNAP Benefits At Risk Due To Government Shutdown, Fueling Public Health Concerns SNAP benefits could expire on November 1st for many states throughout the United States. A doctor explains how this could impact public health.

SNAP Benefits At Risk Due To Government Shutdown, Fueling Public Health Concerns www.forbes.com/sites/omeraw...

Surgeon General nominee Dr. Casey Means and functional medicine: Legitimizing quackery Surgeon general nominee Dr. Casey Means is an advocate of "functional medicine." She, MAHA, and a new "board certification" will falsely legitimize quackery.

Surgeon General nominee Dr. Casey Means and functional medicine: Legitimizing quackery sciencebasedmedicine.org/surgeon-gene... via @sciencebasedmedicine.org.web.brid.gy @gorskon.bsky.social

ACIP Standards for Assessing Evidence This Viewpoint discusses Institute of Medicine (IOM) standards for clinical guideline development and measures taken by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to bring ACIP in line wi...

"The evidence-based processes used by the ACIP were adopted to prevent exactly what happened at the first 2 meetings this year: presentation of anecdotes, selective quoting of single studies, and a lack of in-depth evaluation of some of the evidence." jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... via @jama.com

There is no difference between Trump destroying the East Wing and using a wrecking ball on the Washington Monument or Smithsonian. Just because he (temporarily) lives there doesn't give him the right to demolish the White House without Congressional approval.

[Exit King.]

1. Washington DC

#NoKings 👑

My latest for @jama.com

A JAMA Network Open article titled "Affirmative Action Repeal and Racial and Ethnic Diversity in US Medical School Admissions" by Natalie Florescu, Andrea Lin, Samantha Temucin, et al. Published online October 10, 2025.

Between 2023 and 2024, the number of Black medical school matriculants declined by 11.6% and Hispanic matriculants by 10.8%, while the proportion of Asian and White matriculants increased. ja.ma/4n3nou6