When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly fired all 17 members of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) two weeks ago and replaced them with a mix of medical outsiders, vaccine skeptics, and controversial figures, he didn't just reshape a panel -- he ignited widespread alarm in the public health community. The head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Kennedy described the purge as a "major step towards restoring public trust in vaccines." But as the nation's most respected infectious disease experts and medical organizations have said, this is not reform — it's sabotage.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

Many people, including government officials and members of the judiciary, commonly confuse correlation with causation, although they are critically different. The ramifications can be drastic, especially in legal matters, because culpability in civil or criminal litigation can turn on a demonstration of causation.

Correlation, which may be the result of serendipity rather than cause-and-effect, should not be dispositive evidence that could deprive a defendant of funds or freedom. Examples are discussed below.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

While Americans increasingly shed masks, forgo COVID-19 boosters, and embrace post-pandemic normalcy, a viral specter is spreading across Asia — and it's beginning to show up in the U.S. A new subvariant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID, is quickly gaining prominence and threatening to ignite a summer wave of infections. This is occurring just as U.S. policymakers are backing away from aggressive public health protections.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

Much of the federal government's response to the raging COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was admirable. The government-funded Operation Warp Speed project to develop and test vaccines rapidly and the FDA making them available under Experimental Use Authorizations were extraordinary achievements. Millions of lives were saved, and untold numbers of cases of lingering disability from "long COVID" were prevented. The impact of the pandemic has diminished, but COVID is still with us. Since October of last year, an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people have died from the virus and between 260,000 and 430,000 have been hospitalized, according to data from the CDC. As of last month, several hundred a week were dying.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

In a move that has stunned scientists, educators, and policy experts, President Donald Trump's proposed 2026 federal budget outlines a series of sweeping and unprecedented cuts to America's scientific infrastructure. If enacted, the budget would represent a historic retreat from federal investment in research, environmental protection, and public health. It could fundamentally cripple the nation's ability to innovate, compete globally, and respond to crises.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles