Retired Health Officer & Chief, Communicable Disease Epidemiology & Immunization Section for Public Health–Seattle & King County, WA. EIS ‘92 Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, U of Washington.https://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3mp2tlmmnk22mStrong leaders aren’t afraid of their audiences. They know themselves well enough to say what they mean and are mature enough to revise their positions in front of the public.” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/23/opinion/nirav-shah-maine-covid.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share24 Jun 2026 21:16 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp2tlmmnk22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3mlmjqzugn22ehttps://beaconbio.org/en/report/?reportid=3fba45a9-ee67-4810-808c-5417c1d40a4d “The Biothreats Emergence, Analysis and Communications Network (BEACON) is an open source informal surveillance program designed to revolutionize global biothreats surveillance and response.”12 May 2026 00:27 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlmjqzugn22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3mhjb3mkvd222“The erosion of public confidence in vaccines alongside the increasing strain on hospitals may lead to catastrophic results for children and their families.” Measles Is Roaring Back. We Are Not Ready. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/opinion/measles-vaccines-pediatric-care.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share20 Mar 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhjb3mkvd222https://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3mhgnwt5i5c2ihttps://youtube.com/watch?v=HvB1pza9wuI19 Mar 2026 18:45 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhgnwt5i5c2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3mdem5x2pgk2y“…heightened cumulative lifespan stress & elevated inflammation were associated with shorter survival among Black participants, suggesting these pathways may represent plausible mechanisms mediating racial disparities in mortality among Black & White US individuals.” https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/284422127 Jan 2026 01:27 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdem5x2pgk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3md4unsu4ak2xRejecting Decades of Science, Vaccine Panel Chair Says Polio and Other Shots Should Be Optional https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/health/milhoan-vaccines-optional-polio.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share23 Jan 2026 23:38 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3md4unsu4ak2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3mahkgdrigs2cHere’s a more appropriate way for the U.S. to strive to be more like Denmark. “Denmark remains on course to meet its 2030 target of slashing its territorial greenhouse gas emissions by 70% from 1990 levels…” https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/denmark-track-hit-2030-emissions-cuts-goal-council-says-2025-02-27/21 Dec 2025 01:19 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3mahkgdrigs2chttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3ma75ajgrhk2jTrump Administration Plans to Break Up Premier Weather and Climate Research Center “The center, founded in 1960, is responsible for many of the biggest scientific advances in humanity’s understanding of weather and climate.” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/climate/national-center-for-atmospheric-research-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share17 Dec 2025 17:01 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma75ajgrhk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m7xxmwnbd22phttps://caitlinrivers.substack.com/p/outbreak-outlook-national-dec-14?publication_id=101707214 Dec 2025 20:32 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7xxmwnbd22phttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m7w4i4ojoc2i“The first time a constituent of mine dies because of measles, I’m going to lose my mind, because we should never have a person in America die of measles in 2025 because they wouldn’t take a damn vaccine.” SC State Senator Josh Kimbrell (R). https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/us/measles-outbreak-south-carolina-quarantine.html14 Dec 2025 02:54 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7w4i4ojoc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m7ojfui5bs2f“Rising health care spending is killing the American dream. $27,000 a Year for Health Insurance. How Can We Afford That? https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/opinion/health-care-aca-cost-insurance.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share11 Dec 2025 02:24 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7ojfui5bs2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m7gx7fu3qk2l“Almost every statement made by this committee was misinformation, disinformation, or outright lies…They are cherry-picking data, pulling up fringe papers, misunderstanding good papers. They are not the right people to be making decisions.” https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/cdc-acip-hepatitis-b-birth-dose-reversal-recommendation-rfk/08 Dec 2025 02:09 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7gx7fu3qk2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m7gek55cqs2x“The privilege that American scientists have taken for granted—one that is now being trampled—is the ability to go about their work free of political interference.” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/08/the-undermining-of-the-cdc07 Dec 2025 20:35 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7gek55cqs2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m7bv24cbbc2j“The West Coast Health Alliance (WCHA) strongly supports that hepatitis B vaccination continue to be routinely offered to all newborns…” https://doh.wa.gov/newsroom/west-coast-health-alliance-wa-doh-and-leading-national-medical-organizations-continue-recommend06 Dec 2025 01:47 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7bv24cbbc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m7bkmg3zlk2m“The…meeting of ACIP-the committee that once guided evidence-based US vaccine policy before being upended under RFK Jr.—just wrapped. &…it was something else. Disgraceful. Unprepared. Dysfunctional. Incompetent. Terrifying. Embarrassing. Opaque.” https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/acip-key-takeaways-what-really-happened?utm_medium=web05 Dec 2025 22:41 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7bkmg3zlk2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m7au4qpgxc2p“The days of trusting A.C.I.P. and C.D.C. for vaccine recommendations are gone…” An End to Hepatitis B Shots for All Newborns https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/health/kennedy-vaccine-committee-vote-hepatitisb.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share05 Dec 2025 15:58 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7au4qpgxc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m6ze7nhuxc2d“We wanted to see if there was any new evidence…that justified delaying the birth dose for newborns. What we found is that there’s not any new evidence to suggest that delaying the birth dose would be safer or more efficacious in the US population.” https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-vaccines/new-review-finds-no-evidence-support-delaying-universal-hepatitis-b-birth-dose02 Dec 2025 16:25 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6ze7nhuxc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m6g6ci2ft22x“Further, based on our body of work on this topic and the overwhelming scientific consensus, we support the statement that vaccines do not cause autism.” https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/statement-on-cdc-s-changes-to-guidance-on-vaccines-and-autism25 Nov 2025 01:19 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6g6ci2ft22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m66mandfcs2s“Our organizations, representing autistic individuals, their families, medical professionals & public health workers, are alarmed that the CDC is promoting the outdated, disproven idea that vaccines cause autism.” https://www.apha.org/news-and-media/news-releases/apha-news-releases/statement-on-cdc-autism-website-changes22 Nov 2025 01:07 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m66mandfcs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m5zeani35k2t“The new preventive strategies reduce hospitalizations by roughly 70% to 85%, representing one of the largest single advances in respiratory virus prevention in decades.” https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/respiratory-syncytial-virus-rsv/cidrap-op-ed-rsv-prevention-remarkable-medical-achievement-finally19 Nov 2025 23:00 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5zeani35k2thttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m5hixj4etc2f“ Studies show that heat, air pollution, disease spread and food insecurity linked to climate change are worsening and costing millions of lives around the world each year.” https://theconversation.com/want-to-make-america-healthy-again-stop-fueling-climate-change-26926912 Nov 2025 20:37 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5hixj4etc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m46qlx5se22a“Washington State Department of Health is working with local, state, Oregon Health Authority and federal public health partners to investigate Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli (STEC) infections linked to consumption of aged, raw milk cheese.” https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/10/e-coli-outbreak-linked-to-washington-cheese/27 Oct 2025 15:34 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m46qlx5se22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m3stuelewc2s“Most of the bills…were supported by at least one of four national groups connected to Kennedy: MAHA Action, Stand for Health Freedom, the National Vaccine Information Center and the Weston A. Price Foundation. The groups also opposed dozens of science-driven bills.” https://apnews.com/article/vaccines-fluoride-kennedy-trump-science-antiscience-legislation-73af8e65f407331e8f31b2909812a00422 Oct 2025 22:01 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3stuelewc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m3qjkvvrh224“The Measles Exposure Location Tracker shows public places where a person with contagious measles recently was.” Excellent! https://doh.wa.gov/newsroom/doh-launches-measles-exposure-map-help-keep-washingtonians-safe21 Oct 2025 23:51 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3qjkvvrh224https://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m3npyaawns27“The prevalence of reported conflicts of interest in the CDC's ACIP and the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee has declined from the early 2000s to historically low levels through 2024, attributed to policy changes and increased scrutiny.” ja.ma/3WPGQzz https://ja.ma/3WPGQzz20 Oct 2025 21:08 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3npyaawns27https://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m33zcitfqs2h“Heat probably plays the most crucial role in generating these micro- and nanoplastics…” https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/10/13/microplastics-microwave-heat-food-drinks/13 Oct 2025 20:07 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m33zcitfqs2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m2kzmhfyks24“You’ll be able to get an updated coronavirus shot in every state without a prescription…You should be able walk into your pharmacy just like you have every other season…Most Americans are expected to keep free access to Coronavirus vaccines.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/10/06/cdc-covid-vaccine-rules-eligibility-availability/07 Oct 2025 01:57 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2kzmhfyks24https://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3m2ktz5xafs2a“I cannot think of a single benefit of splitting up these vaccines. It was a terrific scientific triumph to be able to put them all together.” [said William Schaffner, an epidemiologist and professor of public policy at Vanderbilt University.] https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5541511-trump-calls-separate-mmr-shots/07 Oct 2025 00:17 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2ktz5xafs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/docjeffd.bsky.social/post/3lyhbduho4c2s“AAFP’s recommendations are closely aligned with other medical societies to ensure continuity for both patients and physicians…We review the same evidence and share the same goal: supporting physicians in protecting patients through safe, effective vaccination.” https://www.aafp.org/news/media-center/statements/aafp-announces-fall-immunization-recommendations-reaffirming-commitment-to-vaccine-safety-and-public-health.html10 Sep 2025 03:15 +0000at://did:plc:dowt57ifyh5stbcgm3f6wtje/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyhbduho4c2s