Dana Bernson, MPH

Massachusetts Harnesses Data from Multiple Agencies to Improve Public Health In Massachusetts, data from 2013 and 2014 revealed that when people are released from prison, their risk of dying from an opioid-related overdose is more than 50 times higher than that of the general ...

Really excited to share this issue brief from @pewtrusts.org on our Public Health Data Warehouse. From helping to build the initial proof of concept to now overseeing this program has a been a highlight of my career www.pew.org/en/research-...

Spending the day with @acscan.bsky.social at the MA statehouse advocating for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers 💙

"Not me tho"

New FDA framework on Covid vaccines leaves pediatricians confused and concerned A new FDA framework for Covid-19 vaccines created confusion among physicians about what it means for young children

Just so many questions raised today and few clear answers from HHS/FDA. Can healthy adults get existing boosters this fall? Will Covid shots for kids and babies authorized under emergency use still be allowed? When will this all take place? Is any of this legal? www.statnews.com/2025/05/20/f...

Where does your weather forecast come from? Whether you get your forecast from an app on your phone, a website or a meteorologist on TV, most of the underlying information comes from the federal government.

Whether you get your forecast from an app on your phone, a website or a meteorologist on TV, most of the underlying information comes from the federal government.
By @rhersher.bsky.social

5 Key Facts About Medicaid Work Requirements | KFF Work requirements in Medicaid have resurfaced as part of a broader legislative package of potential changes to Medicaid designed to significantly reduce federal Medicaid spending. This brief highlight...

So: let's talk about Medicaid work requirements.

The first thing to know is that most Medicaid recipients already work, and those who don't mostly have good reasons.

The second thing: what do work requirements actually require? They can't literally require work, if there are no jobs.

Image saying: cuts to Medicaid will hurt cancer patients and the hashtag protect Medicaid with the logo of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

Cancer patients & their families rely on Medicaid for health insurance. Without it,
their lives could be at risk. @warren.senate.gov and @markey.senate.gov, your constituents are counting
on you to #ProtectMedicaid.

Millions face losing health insurance under Republican proposal CBO documents reveal that if enacted, the proposed subsidy rollback would strip coverage from millions, particularly hitting low-income adults.

The proposed #Medicaid cuts would result in at least 8.6 million people losing health coverage.

That number could jump to 13.7 million by 2034 if the ACA enhanced premium tax credits expire at the end of this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

#ProtectMedicaid

Picture of parents holding a baby and the text 1 in 3 children with cancer are covered by Medicaid hashtag protect Medicaid

Medicaid cuts put kids with cancer at risk. 1 in 3 children with cancer are covered by
Medicaid. They need access to quality, affordable cancer care to survive. Any cuts
to Medicaid could jeopardize their chances of survival. @repauchincloss.bsky.social ,
please #ProtectMedicaid.

HIV Crisis Looms Amid Global Aid Cuts Global progress against HIV is at risk as aid cuts could trigger millions of new infections and deaths, potentially setting efforts back to 2010 levels, experts warn.

I would rather fund HIV research and care than a ridiculous military parade

www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...

Trump’s Budget Cuts Funding for Chronic Disease Prevention

Stephanie’s story is proof: cancer screening programs save lives. Millions have benefited from early detection and treatment. Cutting CDC funding doesn’t just weaken systems; it puts lives at risk. We must protect the prevention that works.

E.P.A. Plans to Shut Down the Energy Star Program

Seriously? Fuck these people. This is important information for me as a consumer. Even if I didn't care about the planet, which I do, I'm gonna care about the size of my power bill. This move helps nobody.

Trump’s NIH Axed Research Grants Even After a Judge Blocked the Cuts, Internal Records Show A lawsuit led by the Washington state attorney general offers an unprecedented view of the termination of more than 600 NIH grants, including transgender research grants threatened by Trump’s executiv...

NEW: Whistleblower records show that the NIH axed research grants – even after a federal judge blocked the cuts with an injunction.

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

🧵

Cancer is non-partisan, it doesn’t care how you voted. Upholding funding for cancer research should be too - this is devastating news for literally every American.

Foodborne illnesses surged in 2024, with bacterial cases increasing by 25% and hospitalizations and deaths more than doubling.

Maybe not the best time to dismantle the FDA and USDA safety systems.

Deeply saddened that the ENTIRE TEAM at NCI PDQ Cancer Information has been eliminated.

Our evidence-based summaries were updated throughout the year with the latest research and supported informed decision making between clinicians & patients with cancer across the US. 🇺🇸

This isolationist approach to research is dangerous. So many important projects rely on the expertise of foreign collaborators. In the end, it’s the American People who lose.

NIH cancels participation in Safe to Sleep campaign that decreased infant deaths NIH has cancelled its participation in Safe to Sleep, a 30-year campaign to prevent babies from dying in their sleep

NIH has cancelled its participation in Safe to Sleep, a 30-year campaign to prevent babies from dying in their sleep

www.statnews.com/2025/04/30/n...

YouTube video by American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network ACS CAN volunteers show support for cancer research

Today on Capitol Hill, ACS CAN cancer advocates from across the country attended the Senate Appropriations hearing, Biomedical Research: Keeping America’s Edge in Innovation, to emphasize the critical need for bipartisan support for medical research in the fight against cancer. #CancerResearch (1/3)

Stephen Lynch, aiming to be top Dem on the Oversight Cmte, blew up at a constituent who asked him to oppose the GOP.

"I get to decide that. I get to decide that. I get to decide that. I'm elected. I get to decide that. You wanna decide that? You need to run for Congress, okay? I get to decide that"

Pregnancy-Related Deaths in the US, 2018-2022 This cross-sectional study examines the age-standardized national rate of pregnancy-related deaths from 2018 to 2022 in the US, by state, race, ethnicity, and age.

Maternal mortality is increasing in the US (17% from 2018 to 2022) and most of the CDC department that monitors and works to improve maternal & child health were placed on leave last week. Tell me again how these people slashing our government are “pro life”?

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

‘It breaks my heart’: New wave of cuts to NIH research grants hit Mass. hard - The Boston Globe Fenway Health lost five grants in one day.

In the name of tax cuts for America's wealthiest, the #NIH is cutting potentially lifesaving #research.

Let me be clear: There is no responsible way to conduct #publichealth research without understanding the impact on marginalized communities.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/26/m...

Trump Administration Abruptly Cuts Billions From State Health Services States have been told that they can no longer use grants that were funding infectious disease management and addiction services.

“There’s millions of dollars that have been spent that essentially, the projects will never be able to be finished,” the official said. “This is just like throwing money out the window; it’s a total waste.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/h...

www.mass.gov/news/healey-...

CDC is pulling back $11B in Covid funding sent to health departments across the U.S. “Now that the pandemic is over, the grants and cooperative agreements are no longer necessary," federal health authorities wrote to funding recipients this week.

New: HHS confirms to that CDC just pulled $11.4 billion in funds allocated to state and community health departments, nongovernment organizations and international recipients in response to the pandemic. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

DOGE ends America’s golden age of biomedical research Biomedical research impacts all of us. I became curious about how drugs work after my mom was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when I was a small boy. She received “gold shots” as treatment, which ...

I’m a biomedical researcher who lost his wife to cancer. Finding cures is personal to me. What’s happening at the NIH is devastating. Here’s my editorial in my hometown newspaper.

www.vindy.com/opinion/edit...

Social Security rushing service cuts at White House request, sources say Current and former employees, and advocates for retirees, have said the changes being made would strain an already struggling system.

There's touching the stove, and then there's whatever this is. Have they really convinced themselves of the lies they keep saying on TV about massive waste, only fraudsters complain, etc?

Do Republicans in Congress really want thousands of their constituents outside their homes screaming at them?

The Justice Department instructing Judge Boasberg to yield to “the mandate of the electorate” and stop asking questions about defiance of his court order is honestly one of the most demented and disturbing things I’ve ever seen in a legal filing. It comes pretty close to a claim of divine right.

People genuinely don't know. Spread the word. Tell your friends, neighbors, colleagues, people on the street. Put up flyers and stickers (a roundup here): bsky.app/profile/pron...

We can confirm that CDC (Trump/DOGE) is making massive cuts to states. State and local health departments rely on federal funds to provide services.

Immediate termination of grants, effective today, as well as steep cuts to COVID funds.

We will update as we learn the full extent.