How Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda Risks a Resurgence of Deadly Childhood Plagues The health secretary is spreading doubts about vaccine safety and considering changes that could prompt manufacturers to flee the U.S. market. History has shown how plagues from the past can roar back...

The success of the U.S. vaccination system depends on two fundamental pillars: parents trusting in vaccines and children having access to them.

Under RFK Jr., both are in peril.

Dr. Dan Edney No Longer Under Consideration for CDC Head, Will Remain Mississippi’s Top Doc Dr. Dan Edney, Mississippi’s State Health Officer and a proponent of vaccines, is no longer a candidate to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Dr. Dan Edney, Mississippi’s State Health Officer, is no longer a candidate to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

He faced opposition from allies of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his strong support for vaccines and medical science.

buff.ly/gIkknM8

Sometimes vaccine efficacy is subtle. Sometimes it isn’t. Graph showing the number of measles cases after the 1st and 2nd MMR vaccines were recommended.

@drneilstone.bsky.social

Just watched the NIH Strategic Planning input session...

Some observations:

(1) I am glad that NIH is doing this (although I do remain skeptical about how seriously they will take input which challenges their existing intentions).

PEOPLE SHOULD STILL COMMENT!

grants.nih.gov/news-events/...

1/4

How to be a science sleuth Research integrity experts share their tips for spotting and reporting fraudulent papers

How to be a science sleuth
www.chemistryworld.com/careers/how-... via @retractionwatch.com Weekend Reads.

RFK Jr. is taking away our access to new cancer screening and other preventative strategies in plain sight and he is getting away with it.

The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force is not allowed to meet so they can’t issue disease prevention recommendations that must be covered under the ACA.

NIH grant terminations affected women scientists more than men, study finds A new paper shows that women, particularly those early in their careers, have been disproportionately affected by NIH grant terminations.

When I retired only around 25% of Full Professors in STEM were women. I was proud be one of them, and to support the success of fellow women in STEM through mentoring.

This was not an organic process. It took hard work and persistence.

And now The Regime is setting us back decades.

💻 [Upcoming How-To Tuesday Webinar] Join us for "How to Pick Your Mentor & Have Productive Meetings" with Christie Caruana on March 10 at 12:30-1:15PM EST. Complimentary and open to all! Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
#PopHealth #Mentorship #IAPHS

Is Immigration Good for Health? The Effect of Immigration on Older Adult Mortality in the United States Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

The home healthcare workforce is disproportionately comprised of immigrants, and it's certainly not because they take jobs US-born folks want. As a result, "a 25% increase in the steady state flow of immigrants to the US would result in 5,000 fewer deaths nationwide."

FDA declines to review Moderna application for new flu vaccine Moderna requests meeting to discuss refusal as decision could have implications for all new and updated vaccines

“They are refusing to review a new vaccine with a more flexible technology, while creating a real risk we will not have traditional vaccines for next year," @doritreiss.bsky.social said.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

🏅 Each year, the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science (IAPHS) offers 7 award opportunities for members of the organization. We are now accepting Award Nominations. Submit your nomination by March 20 here: iaphs.org/awards/

The NIH Clinical Center is the nation’s largest hospital devoted entirely to clinical research. Its patient numbers have been collapsing. Daily patient census at the NIH Clinical Center has dropped from over 110 patients to approximately 60, a 45 percent decline. Cancer trial participation has fallen by 20 percent.57 The cuts have led to devastating consequences. Natalie Phelps was a 43-year-old mother of two with Stage IV colorectal cancer. After surgery, radiation, three liver surgeries, and 48 rounds of chemotherapy, she enrolled in an NIH immunotherapy trial for T-cell receptor therapy at the NIH clinical Center. However, due to staffing cuts at NIH, her treatment development time expanded from four to eight weeks. In just one month, her cancer had spread throughout her body. Natalie passed away in late 2025.

Posting more from the @sanders.senate.gov HELP committee report, this time on the clinical center, which has been devastated. www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/u...

NextGenPop Next Generation of Scholars in Population Research

Call for Applications! NextGenPop is an undergraduate program in population research, 2-week on-campus summer experience and virtual components hosted by the University of Minnesota, June 7 – 19, 2026. Deadline Feb. 5

a cartoon character with a sign that says south park behind him ALT: a cartoon character with a sign that says south park behind him

Population science/demography folks: Looking for a list of journals that either a) don't have OA fees, b) have reasonable OA fees (a few hundred), or c) allow authors to deposit the author's accepted manuscript in PubMed.

Does this exist somewhere? Do we need to start such a list?

📣Calls of Abstracts‼️Second International Workshop on Life Course Analysis
Theory, methods, & applications
📅August 18-19, 2026
🗺️Hertie School, Berlin
www.demogr.mpg.de/en/news_events_6123/cale...
Christian Dudel Carla Rowold

Childhood fluoride exposure and cognition across the life course Childhood fluoride exposure is associated with higher academic achievement in high school.

New #publication from CDE & @cdhauw.bsky.social affiliate Eric Grodsky & @cdhauw.bsky.social affiliate Soobin Kim in Science Advances
“Childhood fluoride exposure and cognition across the life course”

➡️ www.science.org/doi/full/10....

RFK Jr. appoints 2 vocal opponents of vaccine use in pregnancy to federal advisory board One appointee has erroneously claimed COVID-19 vaccines cause miscarriages.

RFK Jr. has added yet more anti-vaxxers to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

They really want to make sure they consolidate power to finish destroying the U.S. vaccine program.

There were one or two voices of semi-reason remaining that needed to be quashed I guess.

Picture of the PDF linked in the post about PDR editors.

Population & Development Review is seeking applications for Editor(s)! For more info, visit popcouncil.org/wp-content/u...

This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It. When a health insurer refuses to pay for your treatment, you may have the right to have the denial reviewed — and potentially overturned — by an independent provider. Here are six steps experts sugges...

www.propublica.org/article/heal...

Congrats to RFK Jr., As the U.S. Is Poised to Lose Its Measles Elimination Status After 25 Years After a quarter century where measles was considered eliminated in the U.S., 2025's continuous outbreaks have us back at ground zero.

A hearty congrats to RFK Jr., as the U.S. is poised to lose its measles elimination status after 25 years, with the most cases since the early 1990s.

We are pleased to be co-sponsor of this important Rapid Response Data Briefing. Join us on Jan. 8 at 2pm ET. Register: buff.ly/RfvviEi

Learn:
🔵 What's in PRAMS
🔵 Why it's important
🔵 The risks facing its continued collection and publication
🔵 How you can help support this essential data resource

Fun fact: It’s easy to keep premiums low when you only have to insure healthy people.

Associate and Full Professor strategic recruitment at McGill: www.mcgill.ca/research/res... #academicsky

Join us in advancing data science and AI research! The Johns Hopkins Data Science and AI Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is now accepting applications for the 2026–2027 academic year. Apply now! Deadline: Jan 23, 2026. Details and apply: apply.interfolio.com/179059

Trump official signals potential rollback of changes to census racial categories Trump officials are reviewing changes to racial and ethnic categories that the Biden administration approved for the 2030 census and other federal government forms, a White House agency official says.

My latest @npr.org story: A Trump administration official has signaled a potential rollback of the racial and ethnic categories approved for the #2030Census and other future federal government forms

I’m recruiting a postdoctoral associate at NYU Abu Dhabi. Position is for 3 years with excellent salary, housing and benefits. Please share widely. For more information and application, link ⬇️

apply.interfolio.com/177935

🚨Job🚨Postdoc Position(s) at the Max Planck–University of Helsinki Centre for Social Inequalities in Population Health, a joint initiative of @mpidr.bsky.social & @helsinki.fi with the vision to unearth pivotal social processes that generate health inequalities.
www.demogr.mpg.de/en/career_61...

Call for Papers!

Submit your paper for the conference: 'Kinship Structures, Dynamics and Inequalities', taking place on 8 and 9 June 2026 @mpidr.bsky.social in Rostock organized by @demography.bsky.social, @iussp.bsky.social +coll.
Deadline: 21 January 2026
www.demogr.mpg.de/go/kinship-conference

36 organizations, ~400 individuals from 45 states and DC signed our letter to Congress opposing USDA's termination of food security data collection. Read (and share) our letter here: bit.ly/CPSFSS