Robert Califf

The Death of Public Health Another Friday night massacre, but this time it's not just an essential federal public health agency that will die

Serious issues.

rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/the-death-...

A Plea From Doctors: Cool It on the Supplements

i hope one day we'll have the evidence about which supplements are beneficial, which are useless, but not detrimental, and which are dangerous.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/w...

RFK Jr. says vaccines don’t save lives. He’s wrong Now RFK Jr. is claiming vaccines don’t actually save lives. Here’s the math to show what he gets wrong.

Thoughtful response to assertions that vaccines don't save lives (or prevent suffering).

www.statnews.com/2025/10/10/m...

Waning immunity. A significant Covid wave in England. No new variant.
Thanks Prof Pagel for highlighting and contextualizing

Updated 2025 fall vaccine guide Your guide, frequently asked questions, webinar recording and resources

useful summary of the current state of things

open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...

Glad to see this happening. It won't work unless there are systems and people to be responsive, so I hope the resource and people issues will be successfully engineered.

www.foodpolitics.com/2025/10/a-ma...

Will AI Rescue Primary Care? Eventually, But Not Yet

Doggone it. Wachter just wrote a lot of stuff i was planning to write.

open.substack.com/pub/robertwa...

Opinion | Six surgeons general: It’s our duty to warn the nation about RFK Jr. We took an oath to declare dangers when we found them. We’re doing that again today.

From the 6 Surgeon Generals who served across administrations since President Bush: "Secretary Kennedy is entitled to his views. But he is not entitled to put people’s health at risk. He has rejected science, misled the public and compromised the health of Americans."

Opinion | Six surgeons general: It’s our duty to warn the nation about RFK Jr. We took an oath to declare dangers when we found them. We’re doing that again today.

Serious perspective.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

The shutdown's impact on health, RSV is stirring, Covid-19 vaccines finally given green light, deadly pasta outbreak, and lots of good news! The Dose (October 6)

YLE update with some helpful informaion:

open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...

Exclusive: ex-CDC director talks about why she was fired “I would never do that, as a scientist,” Susan Monarez says of being asked to approve changes to vaccine recommendations without knowing the details.

New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Tom Frieden & Eric Topol - Discuss the Formula for Better Health Book A recording from Eric Topol's live video

Good discussion of the basics of healthy lifestyle.

erictopol.substack.com/p/tom-friede...

Routine vaccinations, sanitation, and a look back at history Sanitation vs. vaccine impact, requirements, universal recommendations, Hep B and more

Another good discussion of issues that I believe are frequently confused.

open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...

Medicine’s AI Knowledge War Heats Up The Battlegrounds May Surprise You

Dr Wachter gives a good summary of the evolving issues in LLM, textbooks, digital tools and decision support.

open.substack.com/pub/robertwa...

Measles outbreak growing and common cold surging, hunger survey is stopping, abortion pill watch, why we can't split up MMR, and some great news! The Dose (September 30)

Some good, mostly not good news from YLE.

open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...

Opinion | How Moms Got Caught in Trump’s Cross Hairs

Some real wisdom here: "It’s far easier to focus on individual mothers, and the unproven promise of miracle drugs, than to create a system that supports us all."

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/27/o...

important book. Sobering in terms of pointing out that the issue is mostly the food environment, heavily subsidized by our tax money. Redirecting it will require both will to change and regulation. California has started.

www.foodpolitics.com?lctg=333222006

There are reasons that California's health status is better than most of U.S. Other states could learn from this.

This is important--overall looks good, but my FDA friends have reminded me that there are a lot of nuances that could need adjustment. Eliminating food insecurity for children is enormous.

www.foodpolitics.com/2025/09/27888/

Interventions for Low-Probability Events Recently, I have been struggling to understand why so few people have taken the updated COVID booster when the benefit-risk calculation seems so straightforward.

Something we need to talk about more in my view.

substack.com/@robcaliff27...

FDA’s leucovorin approval could be a boon for supplement makers Parents may flock to a dietary supplement with the same key ingredient as leucovorin, which the FDA just approved for children with autism. But there are drawbacks.

This article highlights the lack of much needed evidence about potential benefits and risks of dietary supplements.

www.statnews.com/2025/09/23/l...

Since its generic there are no deep pockets in industry to fund such a trial. Let's get the answers!

What Is Leucovorin, the Medicine Being Approved for Autism Treatment?

Given the prominence this is being given from the top, i hope NIH or PCORI will fund an adequate sized, high quality clinical trial to define the benefit-risk profile of this intervention to treat autism.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/w...

"I move to reconsider." Notes from Day 2 of the CDC's ACIP meeting. Plus, legal expertise from Professor Dorit Reiss.

Painful points.

open.substack.com/pub/insideme...

Interventions for Low-Probability Events Recently, I have been struggling to understand why so few people have taken the updated COVID booster when the benefit-risk calculation seems so straightforward.

An opinion about the need to better understand the framing and decision making that impacts so much of preventive public health--"habits" and inconveniences to prevent low probability, but high impact future events in return for some up front risk.

substack.com/@robcaliff27...

For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies To avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence.

Academic institutions and professional organizations would be well-served to read this article.

carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

That's right. It could have been worse.
Brace for more to come.

Covid-19 vaccines protect children from severe disease. Here is the evidence “Over and over again, Covid-19 has shown it can cause severe disease in children, disease that is preventable by a safe and effective vaccine,” writes former CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

I hope this is widely read. It reflects the extraordinary diligence of CDC during the extreme stress of the pandemic. None of this information is secret--it was discussed and presented publicly.
www.statnews.com/2025/09/19/c...

Cassidy, His Job in Peril, Scrutinizes Kennedy on Vaccines

"“I hope Dr. Cassidy shows up,” said Dr. Benjamin, “and not Senator Cassidy.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/u...