Dr. Céline Gounder

Nearly 1 in 3 US teens now have prediabetes.
This rise is driven by poor diet, low exercise, stress, & lack of healthy food/access.
CDC programs that helped kids were cut.
Early detection is key—prediabetes is reversible.
#Prediabetes #TeenHealth #PublicHealth

🧠 A 12-year-old boy died from the “brain-eating amoeba” Naegleria fowleri after swimming in warm freshwater.
It’s rare—but almost always fatal.
Rising temps mean more risk.
No national testing.
Public health needs more support—not cuts.
#NaegleriaFowleri

nytimes.com/2025/07/28/h...
axios.com/2025/07/29/d...

Why is this happening?
🔹⬆️Rising healthcare costs.
🔹Congress is allowing enhanced premium tax credits to expire at the end of this year.
🔹Trump’s new tariffs are expected to raise medical costs, including drug costs:

Premiums for health insurance plans on the ACA/Obamacare marketplace will be going up ~15% in 2026.

🦟 West Nile virus cases are rising with climate change.
Most cases are mild—but some affect the brain & can be fatal.
No vaccine.
Prevention is critical.
🌊 Also rising: Vibrio vulnificus, a deadly flesh-eating bacteria in warm coastal waters.
#PublicHealth

Nanoplastics are in our brains, arteries—even wombs.

They raise risks of heart disease, hormonal disruption & child development issues.

This is a public health crisis.
UN’s Global Plastics Treaty is urgent.
#Plastics #PublicHealth #CelineGounder

Deion Sanders beat bladder cancer—thanks to early detection & surgery.

Now cancer research is at risk.
🔻 NIH funding cuts
🔻 240+ grants canceled
🔻 Progress stalled

“If it can happen to Prime, it can happen to you.”
#BladderCancer #CancerFunding

The U.S. is slashing addiction care:
— Medicaid cuts
— SAMHSA folded
— CDC overdose tracking defunded

Overdose deaths could spike by 1,000+ a year. Programs years in the making could collapse in weeks.
#OD2A #PublicHealth

The FDA’s phasing out Red Dye #3 and approved a plant-based blue dye. The real problem is excess sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats in processed foods, which drive obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Cutting dyes alone won’t solve the health crisis. Focus on the bigger picture

Tick bites are surging.
Ticks spread Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, etc.
Use EPA-approved repellents, wear long sleeves, avoid brush, check yourself & pets, and remove ticks promptly.
If attached over 24 hours in a Lyme area, see a doctor — early treatment matters.

U.S. measles numbers reach highest levels in 33 years There are 1,288 confirmed measles cases across the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, warning that numbers are the highest they've been since 1992. Dr. Celine Gounder joi...

www.cbsnews.com/video/us-mea...
The 2025 measles outbreak has hit 38 states, with 1,288 cases and counting.
We’ve fallen below herd immunity levels.
Misinformation and delayed immunizations are costing lives.
MMR is safe. Measles is preventable.

Beware the “miracle cure” headlines.
Fake journals + shady influencers are fueling misinformation.
The best defense? Scientific literacy.
Check for peer review, credible journals, and expert consensus.

A comprehensive JAMA study shows U.S. kids are less healthy and more likely to die young than peers abroad.
Firearms, chronic illness, mental health struggles.
This isn’t inevitable. It’s a policy choice.
Time to speak up.

ICE in emergency rooms—armed, masked, and intimidating—has a chilling effect.
Patients skip care. Conditions worsen. Trust breaks down.
Hospitals should protect, not punish.

Hormone therapy is the most effective way to relieve menopause symptoms—hot flashes, night sweats & vaginal dryness.
Let’s get factual and supportive about women’s midlife health.

$7.4 B settlement with Purdue Pharma isn’t victory—unless funds support harm reduction like Narcan, treatment, and prevention in hardest-hit areas.
Don’t let it become another headline. Support what saves lives.

A new HIV prevention shot could help close the gap—especially for Black women.
But without awareness, access, and investment, its potential won’t be realized.
Healthcare justice starts at brunch tables, in group chats, and in community clinics.

Dating apps are reshaping how we meet—but what about our sexual health?
Check out my latest conversation exploring this timely issue.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfCl...

Public health is at a crossroads.
We need data-informed action in communities.
Catch my discussion with @CityMinneapolis.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhf3...

Gun violence is a public health issue.
Safe storage. Mental health. Research. Community.
We know what works—it’s time to act.
Let’s stop treating this like a political issue and start treating it like the preventable crisis it is.

www.youtube.com/live/bP40-2m...

Follow Céline Gounder on Spread.

Want to access the things I’m reading, listening to, and watching?
Follow me on Spread.
joinspread.com/u/celine-gou...

CDC's Proposed and At-Risk Budget_6_16 | Tableau Public

public.tableau.com/app/profile/...

The CDC Data Project In the proposed FY26 budget, programs that help Americans live safer, healthier, longer lives are on the chopping block.

Confused by all the CDC staff🧑🏽‍🤝‍🧑🏽 & budget💵 cuts?
www.cdcdataproject.org
↘️
This site allows you to:
📌Learn about the Proposed Changes
📌Dive Deeper into Proposed CDC Funding Cuts
📌View Proposed Cuts at the State Level

Gounder and Faust: Defending science, research, public health, and our international colleagues. On stage and on the airwaves, we got our message out this week.

insidemedicine.substack.com/p/gounder-an...

Thanks,
@jeremyfaust
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

Trump administration ending multiple HIV vaccine studies, scientists and officials say "This is a setback of probably a decade for HIV vaccine research," one scientist said.

The Trump administration is killing almost all NIH-funded HIV vaccine research:
cbsnews.com/news/trump-a...

"This is a setback of probably a decade for HIV vaccine research."

Many will needlessly get sick & die because of profound cruelty & vindictiveness.

by me &
@Alexander_Tin

The CDC has recently updated its recommendations, no longer advising routine COVID-19 vaccination for healthy children and healthy pregnant women. This shift raises significant public health concerns.

Breaking down RFK Jr.'s "MAHA" report on childhood chronic disease The White House's "Make America Healthy Again" report, commissioned under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., lays out what it says are the four causes of childhood chronic dise...

American kids are on more meds than ever before—& the trend isn’t slowing.

The MAHA report warns: we may be overprescribing while ignoring root causes, like trauma, stress, poor diet, screen overuse.

cbsnews.com/video/breaki...

Breaking down RFK Jr.'s "MAHA" report on childhood chronic disease The White House's "Make America Healthy Again" report, commissioned under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., lays out what it says are the four causes of childhood chronic dise...

American kids are moving less than ever—and it's fueling a silent epidemic of chronic illness.

What’s causing this decline in physical activity, & what can be done about it?

cbsnews.com/video/breaki...

Breaking down RFK Jr.'s "MAHA" report on childhood chronic disease The White House's "Make America Healthy Again" report, commissioned under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., lays out what it says are the four causes of childhood chronic dise...

What’s making our kids sick?

The MAHA report blames, in part, environmental toxic exposures—from food packaging to playgrounds.

Let’s walk through the findings—and what Congress is doing about them.

cbsnews.com/video/breaki...