Mean

Three Things Thursday

Three Things Thursday highlights three things I am paying attention to as an epidemiologist each week. While it has been another hard week, today I am just angry. Like really angry; like want to scream, and may need to go to a rage/smash room.

Yesterday at his first press conference as Secretary of Health & Human Services, RFK Jr made some outrageous comments about autism in response to new research that reports that the rate of autism has increased from 1 in 36 children in 2020 to 1 in 31 in 2022. His comments were untrue, false, LIES. They increased stigma around autism. His words were hurtful, thoughtless, and insulting. They are comments that I will not repeat.¹

I will repeat and emphasize what Rex Huppke wrote in USA Today —

Kennedy dehumanizes autistic kids while denying proven science.

What RFK Jr failed to mention that the new research calls attention to, and the Autism Society of America noted —

"The rise in prevalence — from 1 in 36 in 2020 to 1 in 31 in 2022 — may reflect several factors including greater awareness, improved screening and diagnostics — especially in communities that were previously underrepresented through advocacy efforts to better support the Autism community. Increased awareness of autism plays a pivotal role in educating individuals, parents, educators and healthcare providers to better identify Autistic traits and characteristics."

We should all be angry.

We should all call/write our elected officials and demand that RFK Jr be removed from office — he lies.² He does NOT use evidence to back up his statements. He is more concerned with his own agenda than he is with our health and safety.

And he is just MEAN. He is just like Taylor Swift sings —

You, with your words like knives
And swords and weapons that you use against me
You have knocked me off my feet again
Got me feeling like I'm nothing
You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard
Calling me out when I'm wounded
You, pickin' on the weaker man

All you are is mean
And a liar, and pathetic
And alone in life, and mean
And mean, and mean, and mean

In addition to RFK’s baseless and thoughtless comments this week — that we cannot just let slide; we need to speak up out and against — this week’s news includes more measles cases, a draft plan to Make America Healthy Again, and vaccine updates from CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

Hoping this post helps to educate and empower you
to be healthy and create healthy communities.

Measles

The number of measles cases in the US continues to increase. As of last Friday (remember, CDC is only updating the measles case count once per week, which is criminal), there were 712 measles cases in the US. Three people have died from measles. And 11 percent of all of the cases have required hospitalization. Here in northwestern Pennsylvania, there is an official outbreak of measles in Erie County, where five cases have been diagnosed and numerous individuals (unvaccinated children) remain in quarantine.

More about the measles outbreak in Erie, PA

The outbreaks of measles that are occurring across the US are out of control. More people are going to get sick, require hospitalization, and (possibly) die.

There is NO treatment for measles.

Vitamin A is NOT a cure; it is toxic to individuals who are not malnourished and can cause liver damage/failure.

We prevent measles with the MMR vaccine, which is safe & effective.

Children as young as six months of age can get their first dose of the MMR vaccine.

If you are weighing the risks vs. benefits of the MMR vaccine, please consider —

1. Three people have died in 2025 (alone) from measles.
   No one has ever died from the MMR vaccine.

2. Seventy-nine people (11%) have been hospitalized with measles in 2025.
   A rare side effect of the MMR vaccine is febrile seizures, which occur once in every 3,000-4,000 vaccinated children (less than 0.03%).

3. If exposed, an unvaccinated individual will need to quarantine for 21 days.
   Vaccinated individuals do NOT need to quarantine.

Vaccination is key to slowing the spread of measles and creating healthy communities.

If you live near me, there is a vaccine clinic this coming Tuesday at the Zem Zem Shriners in Erie, PA. If you or someone you love is unvaccinated, please go and get vaccinated.

Image source -- Vaccine Resource Hub

Leaked HHS Budget

In an effort to Make America Healthy Again (I type sarcastically), the Trump Administration is planning to cut the NIH budget by 40%, according to a leaked budget for the Department of Health & Human Services. While NIH is far from perfect, these cuts are going to hurt (kill?) each of us.

In an article in STATNews, Andrew Rosenberg, a science policy expert and fellow at the Carsey School for Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire, criticized the draft budget, noting —

“This is clearly an effort to destroy the capability to use science-based policies to improve the health and safety of Americans. It is clear there is no plan. No strategy on how to make anything better. No sense really of how to use science to inform effective policies from biomedical research to childhood education.”

Additionally, the draft budget notes that the following programs will be eliminated: the State Offices of Rural Health, the Youth Violence Prevention program, the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) program, the Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research Program, the Drowning Prevention program, and the Elderly Falls Prevention program, among others.

Quick reminder that gun violence & drownings are among the leading causes of death in children. Cutting prevention programs is going to lead to more deaths.

Ironically, the Autism & Other Disorder Program is also slated for elimination (pg 11). Along with Healthy Start and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.

The number of mental health programs that will be eliminated, according to this leaked budget, spans two pages (pgs 14-15).

My fear — that public health will be erased by the Trump Administration — is becoming a reality. These proposed cuts (in funding & programming) will result in all of us being less healthy. My heart is breaking for my children, who are growing up in communities with decreased access to care and fewer protections in place to ensure their health and safety. As a result of the continued dismantling of public health, people are going to die (people already have).

The lyrics from Taylor Swift’s song The Story of Us have been swirling in my head —

I'm scared to see the ending
Why are we pretending this is nothing?
I'd tell you I miss you, but I don't know how
I've never heard silence quite this loud

I’m scared of the ending — the result of the dismantling of public health — because it is going to be catastrophic. Without public health, there will be disease and suffering. There will be fear and a lack of information. Without public health, there will be no prevention, no new diagnostic tests, no new screening tests, and no new safe and effective treatments.

We will likely fail to identify the pathogen responsible for the next pandemic, which will result in increased mortality as well as financial, educational, social, and community losses. I’m scared to see the ending…

Vaccine Updates

CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met this week to discuss the fall COVID vaccine recommendations, RSV vaccines, and a new meningococcal vaccine, among others. The meeting was seemingly normal — the committee members were the same as they were under President Biden. And the presentations followed the same flow (surveillance data, risks vs. benefits, safety & effectiveness of vaccines, and benefits to the population) as before. President Trump’s Special Assistant to the FDA Commissioner, Dr. Tracy Hoeg, a sports medicine doctor, was at the meeting and was very vocal; she did not have a vote.

The committee recommended —

• Individuals 50-59 should get the RSV vaccine if they have risks such as heart disease, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.

• Endorsement of a new combination meningococcal shot made by GSK.

There were discussions about the fall COVID-19 vaccine and whether the shot should be recommended universally to all individuals six months of age and older, OR if it should be recommended to only those at high risk. The final decision regarding the COVID shots for the fall will be made in June. So stay tuned and be sure to subscribe…

---

Please do not forget to —

1. Click the “Like” button on the posts you enjoy. It’s a small thing, but it helps.

2. Share posts, either on social media or with your friends and family. Seriously, it has never been more important to share Epi(demiology) Matters.

3. And stay in touch — What questions do you have? What information do you need? concerns are keeping you awake? Let me know, and we can discuss them together.

---

Epi(demiology) Matters is written by Dr. Becky Dawson, PhD MPH — an epidemiologist, teacher, mom, wife, and dedicated yogi. She is a tenured professor at Allegheny College, Research Director at a community hospital, and an exclusive contributor (all things health & medicine) at Erie News Now (NBC/CBS). Her goal is to create healthy communities for all. She writes Epi Matters — first & foremost because epidemiology does matter (to all of us) and she hopes that each post will help to educate and empower readers to be healthy and create healthy communities.

Be sure you and your friends and family are subscribed so you don’t miss a post —

Epi(demiology) Matters is free — because science, reports, news, updates, and alerts about health should NOT be behind a paywall. EVER. Everyone needs access to up-to-date health information in order to be healthy and create healthy communities for all.

1. If you must know what he said, you can read more here.

2. I will share my letters in a coming post. Stay tuned…