Emory Health Storytelling Q&A | Invisible Trends YouTube video by Dr. Tom Frieden

As a society, we need to clearly see health trends, hidden risks and pathways to progress so that we can avoid making the mistakes of the past and create a healthier future.

From Arsenic in Antifreeze to a Single Pill A story of what public health can do

Twenty years ago, a doctor choosing between arsenic and death had no better options. Doctors now have a safe and effective oral treatment for sleeping sickness. I share a story of what public health can do.

What’s the best way to share public health guidance? I discussed this question with @drnoc.bsky.social. We agreed it’s important never to underestimate people’s ability to understand nuance and complexity.

Yep, a mom's COVID shot during pregnancy protects her baby, a large study finds A 3-year study published in Pediatrics examined newborns in Norway. It found a clear benefit for the baby when mom gets a COVID vaccination during pregnancy.

A new study of more than 140K infants shows that Covid vaccination in pregnancy cuts the baby's hospitalization risk by about 50% in first 2 months. Babies can't get vaccinated until 6 months; protecting mom protects the baby.

The indirect — and sometimes surprising — benefits of vaccines Many vaccines confer surprising knock-on, or indirect, health benefits when they have been put into widespread use.

Congenital rubella is nearly eliminated. Pneumococcal disease in seniors is dramatically down. These wins weren't accidents—they came from high vaccination rates. We're watching them unravel in real time. Read about the benefits of vaccines we risk losing.

What Public Health Gets Wrong About Trust A conversation with Dr. Noc

I’ve long admired @drnoc.bsky.social's ability to explain nuanced scientific information and address misinformation. Great to talk with him about what kind of information moves people and how to build trust in public health. Watch our full conversation and let us know your thoughts!

Excited to be joining @drnoc.bsky.social today for a conversation on trust in public health. Tune in live starting at 1:30pm ET on Substack or Instagram! tomfrieden.substack.com

Three Numbers That Could Prevent the Next Health Emergency A powerful tool to close the gap between knowledge and action

Another pandemic is a matter of when, not if. We cannot stop every pathogen, but we can build systems that help communities and countries find threats early and act decisively.

The 7-1-7 target is a powerful tool to close the gap between knowledge and action.

How Public Health Training Can Save More Lives Closing the gap between knowing what works and making it happen

We teach epidemiology, biostatistics, and health policy, which are essential disciplines. But how do you know if your program is working? How do you design an intervention simple enough to work at scale?

Image of three book covers on a light background. Books featured are "The Formula for Better Health," "Water of the Sky," and "The Hypocrisy Trap."

Congratulations to our authors whose books have been named 2025 Foreword INDIES award finalists: Miya Ando for "Water of the Sky," @mhallsworth.bsky.social for "The Hypocrisy Trap," and @drtomfrieden.bsky.social for "The Formula for Better Health":
www.forewordreviews.com/awards/final...

What Just Happened?! A year ago, America had a functioning vaccine system. Here's what we've lost—and what's at stake

A year ago, America had a functioning vaccine system. And then, in the span of just 12 months, nearly all of this system has been disrupted or dismantled.

The scale of these changes will reverberate for years to come. Here's a rundown:

A horizontal white bar with pale teal borders top and bottom carries the legend Health Storytelling Live Author Q&A and bears these images: A cream and turquoise book cover with the words THE FORMULA FOR BETTER HEALTH: HOW TO SAVE MILLIONS OF LIVES — INCLUDING YOUR OWN; a dark-haired man in a blue jacket and red tie, the author Tom Frieden, MD MPH; and a woman with dark auburn hair and a black jacket, the host Maryn McKenna. The rest of the information is in the post text.

Put this on your calendar for next week! On Thursday 19 March at 6pm US ET, I'll talk to @drtomfrieden.bsky.social of Resolve to Save Lives (and formerly the CDC) about his new book THE FORMULA FOR BETTER HEALTH. RSVP here for livestream links: humanhealth.emory.edu/events/livin...

A horizontal white bar with pale teal borders top and bottom carries the legend Health Storytelling Live Author Q&A and bears these images: A cream and turquoise book cover with the words THE FORMULA FOR BETTER HEALTH: HOW TO SAVE MILLIONS OF LIVES — INCLUDING YOUR OWN; a dark-haired man in a blue jacket and red tie, the author Tom Frieden, MD MPH; and a woman with dark auburn hair and a black jacket, the host Maryn McKenna. The rest of the information is in the post text.

In one week! At 6pm ET on Thurs 19 March I'll interview @drtomfrieden.bsky.social about his new book THE FORMULA FOR BETTER HEALTH. This is part of the Health Storytelling series at @emorycshh.bsky.social AND a production of the Atlanta Science Festival! RSVP: humanhealth.emory.edu/events/livin...

The Formula for Better Health is a Foreword INDIES finalist in Health/Adult Nonfiction. The book makes the case that better health is achievable — for individuals and for populations. Glad it's reaching readers.

Save the Date -- Thursday, March 19th, 6pm ET -- for the latest Health Storytelling Q&A w/ Maryn McKenna @marynmck.bsky.social and Dr. Tom Frieden, MD @drtomfrieden.bsky.social —𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 “𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐊𝐨𝐨𝐩” 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐘𝐂 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠.

How to Beat the Merchants of Death We can win – and save lives – despite powerful industry opposition

Implementing health taxes on unhealthy products will save lives—I share how to overcome industry opposition. open.substack.com/pub/tomfried...

Public health taking on big tobacco, soda, and alcohol companies is like David versus Goliath. Even though they’re much better funded, we can win with the right strategy.

Rio de Janeiro: Faster Outbreak Responses with 7-1-7 Since adopting 7-1-7 in January 2025, Rio de Janeiro saw a 70% increase in outbreak detection and contained a prison COVID outbreak in days.

The 7-1-7 target is being used around the world to find and stop disease outbreaks quickly. Read about the impact the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil saw when they adopted 7-1-7 and implemented real time dashboards to track spread. resolvetosavelives.org/strategies-i...

Opinion | I Grew Up Unvaccinated. Now I’m an Immunologist.

Facts alone don't change minds—trusted messengers and empathetic conversations do. Shaming vaccine-hesitant parents drives them away. Meeting people with empathy is where real change begins. The goal isn't to win an argument, it's to protect children. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/o...

Before we had an effective measles vaccine, up to 4 million kids were infected in bad years, with thousands hospitalized and at risk of long-term disability, and hundreds dead. The weaker our vaccination programs, the higher the risk of large outbreaks.

Health Taxes Are Worth Fighting For They're among our most powerful tools to tackle chronic disease

Health taxes save lives, reduce costs, and generate revenue that can be used to benefit society. They protect the most vulnerable. The right thing to do can be more powerful than all the lobbyists in the world.

Microbes don't lobby politicians. Viruses don’t make campaign contributions. But tobacco, alcohol, and soda companies do—aggressively and relentlessly. That’s what makes controlling non-communicable diseases even harder than controlling infectious ones.

I Used AI to Help Three Patients Yesterday. What Will It Do for Public Health Tomorrow? Despite risks, AI has enormous potential

I share what AI advances mean for public health.

Nobody knows exactly how AI should be used in public health. We’re all learning. That's not a reason for paralysis but for structured experimentation. We can try things, measure what works, and scale up what succeeds.

William H Foege Public health leader and epidemiologist who led successful efforts to eradicate smallpox. Born on March 12, 1936, in Decorah, IA, USA, he died from congestive heart failure in Atlanta, GA, USA, on Jan...

Millions of people alive today would be dead if Bill Foege hadn’t done the work he did. Virtually none of them know that fact. And that would be fine with Bill. I’m continuing to reflect on the lessons and example of Bill Foege and to remember his words and moral character.

Measles is Winning. It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way. We eliminated measles in America 25 years ago and can do it again

The question isn't whether we know how to stop measles. We do. The question is whether we will do what works. I share more in my new piece:

The United States is on the verge of losing its measles elimination status. What does this mean and what can we do about it?

Measles is Winning. It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way. We eliminated measles in America 25 years ago and can do it again

Measles is Winning. It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way. We eliminated measles from the Americas years ago and can do it again, by @drtomfrieden.bsky.social tomfrieden.substack.com/p/measles-is...

Diagnosing and Combatting Health Misinformation: 2026 CMA Health & Media Tracking Survey Launch YouTube video by Empire Club of Canada

Did you miss the launch of the 2026 CMA Health & Media Tracking Survey? I’ve got you! Watch it here.

We had an amazing line-up moderated by CTV’s Vassy Kapelos: @drjengunter.bsky.social @dskok.bsky.social @vassb.bsky.social @drtomfrieden.bsky.social

youtu.be/3gpgZ5mnVug

The One Metric That Could Reshape Health Progress Tracking the percentage of people dying before old age provides an honest accounting of a population's health.

The percentage of people dying before age 70 is an honest accounting of whether our health systems are working. For the United States, that number tells us we’re failing nearly one in four people.