Happy Labor Day everyone. I hope most of you got a respite from your regular Monday work schedule, and maybe—around some barbeques and time spent in the nice weather, of course—you had some time to appreciate the labor activists past and present who have helped secure improved working conditions for all of us in the U.S., from 40-hour work weeks to unions that advocate for our rights.
WOW so much has been happening lately. Here are six points to help you stay on top of some of most important and useful things I found in the past week or two.
1. A 30-min podcast worth your time
First, I want to draw your attention to the Aug 29 podcast from The Daily, part of the New York Times: The C.D.C.’s Vaccine Chief on Why Quitting Was His Only Option. The whole thing is worth you taking the time to listen, even if you’re not a podcast person (which honestly, I’m generally not). Seriously, it’s 30 minutes very well spent…but if you drink, you might want a cocktail while you listen. It’ll be 5 o’clock somewhere. It’s a tough listen, and you should do it anyway. The people in these leadership roles at CDC are not taking their jobs lightly. They care a LOT about the health of people in the United States, or trust me, they would have picked an easier job.
As a teaser, I want to share the transcript of a particularly damning piece of the podcast, from 12:02 – 13:18. A reminder: before resigning Wednesday, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis was the Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at CDC – basically the person who oversees CDC’s vaccine policy.
Demetre Daskalakis (DD): So this was not related to ACIP, the announcement by the Secretary to change the childhood schedule. I learned about the change of the childhood schedule on X.
Rachel Abrams (RA): You learned about it on social media —
DD: Yes, ma’am.
RA: — like the rest of us.
DD: That is correct.
RA: Wow.
DD: So I was sitting in a meeting with senior leaders at CDC. And as I was sitting there talking about the outbreaks that I was managing, my phone blew up with, “I didn’t know you guys were changing the children’s schedule.”
RA: People texting you?
DD: Yeah.
RA: Wow.
DD: Not from HHS, people in the world. Because they saw —
RA: People in the world, your friends and family or whoever seeing this and being like, this doesn’t sound like you.
DD: Correct. So we then asked the question, what’s going on? Can we see some kind of documentation? Because they were like, implement the change. But we’ve never seen anything in writing, so we asked if we could see the supporting data that led to the decision. And we were told no.
RA: Just flat out no?
DD: Flat out no.
RA: But can I ask you, did you ever actually have a conversation with Kennedy about any of this or any of his senior staffers?
DD: No.
RA: Or is it just that —
DD: No.
RA: No communication.
DD: No.
RA: Did you ever try?
DD: Yes.
RA: And what would happen?
DD: So we offered to do briefings when he first started. I think some people were able to brief some lower level staff, but not staff that were Secretary Kennedy’s staff. So no one from my center has ever briefed the Secretary.
RA: On anything.
DD: Correct, on anything.
Seriously? In eight months, no one in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at CDC has ever briefed the Secretary of HHS, who has been making sweeping changes to Americans’ access to vaccines of all kinds? This is not normal, and with good reason. This should horrify you.
Here’s another moment that should make your blood run cold (23:11 – 23:47):
DD: I think that the need for some fearless advocates who know the inside is necessary, and I hope that lifting the red flag so folks who are policymakers, folks in government, really understand that there’s something extremely wrong. And also, I think it’s important for the American public to know that they really need to be cautious about the recommendations that they’re hearing coming out of ACIP, given what we’re telling you.
RA: Wait. Just so I’m clear, you’re saying that the American people should now be wary of the advice they get from the agency that is tasked with keeping them safe.
DD: Yes.
If you listen to the podcast, you can hear the alarm in Rachel Abram’s voice at this point—and that alarm is warranted. We are all in deep trouble if CDC has been taken over in this way.
2. A reflection on RFK, Jr. from a former director of CDC
William Foege, a physician and epidemiologist credited with devising the strategy that led to the eradication of smallpox in the late 1970s, was the director of the CDC from 1977-1983. This is a brilliant guy who’s always been thoughtful, measured, and diplomatic any time I’ve heard him speak. On August 18, he wrote an op-ed in STAT News where he said, “Kennedy would be less hazardous if he decided to do cardiac surgery. Then he would kill people only one at a time rather than his current ability to kill by the thousands. Why is it that killing a single person is seen as murder but killing masses is excused if you are a politician?”
3. “We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health”
As a colleague of mine in the Defend Public Health movement said, “It’s not often you see nine former CDC directors band together and pen an op-ed warning the entire country that our health is in danger.”
This op-ed, which came out today in the New York Times, is indeed extraordinary. It’s not a long read, and I’ve shared it here with a gift link so I strongly encourage you to read it. Just in case you don’t, here are a few gems worth lifting up (bolded sections added by me):
“What the health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has done to the C.D.C. and to our nation’s public health system over the past several months — culminating in his decision to fire Dr. Susan Monarez as C.D.C. director days ago — is unlike anything we had ever seen at the agency and unlike anything our country had ever experienced.”
“We are worried about the wide-ranging impact that all these decisions will have on America’s health security. Residents of rural communities and people with disabilities will have even more limited access to health care. Families with low incomes who rely most heavily on community health clinics and support from state and local health departments will have fewer resources available to them. Children risk losing access to lifesaving vaccines because of the cost. This is unacceptable, and it should alarm every American, regardless of political leanings.”
“We have a message for the rest of the nation as well. This is a time to rally to protect the health of every American. Congress must exercise its oversight authority over Health and Human Services. State and local governments must fill funding gaps where they can. Philanthropy and the private sector must step up their community investments. Medical groups must continue to stand up for science and truth. Physicians must continue to support their patients with sound guidance and empathy. And each of us must do what public health does best: look out for one another.”
4. CDC’s new Acting Director, and his influence over vaccine access
The day after Trump fired Susan Monarez, who had been confirmed by the Senate, the White House elevated Jim O’Neill to the post as an acting replacement. Why does this matter? O’Neill is a close ally of Peter Thiel. He is a tech investor with no formal training in public health or medicine, now leading the CDC. Unsurprisingly, he has spent the last several years amplifying skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccine—which is why it made sense to put him in charge after Monarez refused to promote those unscientific perspectives and was fired for it. This is someone who took to X in 2021 to complain that the name “COVID” was “chosen to conceal the original of the virus.” All this matters a lot, since the ACIP is scheduled to meet again in a few weeks, and the outcomes of this meeting could have a substantial effect on our ability to access COVID vaccines in the coming months in the United States. With Monarez shoved aside, O’Neill is expected to play an important role in this meeting, and it will be his role to approve any recommendations that come forth from RFK Jr’s hand-picked folks on ACIP, and make them official CDC policy.
5. So is it all hopeless? (No.)
The Kaiser Family Foundation recently published an article called The Problem Isn’t Trust in Vaccines, It’s That People Don’t Know Who to Trust. They’ve been tracking public attitudes on vaccines regularly since the start of COVID, and they report that despite everything you might here in the news (or from our HHS Secretary), public confidence in the safety of the MMR vaccine (the one for measles) is still very high, at 83%. Plus, while 16% of people think mRNA vaccines (like for COVID) are unsafe, most people are just unsure and confused—even 41% of self-proclaimed MAGA supporters say they “don’t know enough to say” about whether mRNA is safe. This is an opportunity, as uncertainty breeds inaction – but the evidence is clear that mRNA is safe, and vaccines save lives. People need more clear information, and a lot of people want vaccines, if they’re able to get them.
How can we help make sure people are able to get them? There are lots of good people out there who still know what to do, even if the federal government doesn’t want to listen to them. Here are some suggestions published Friday in an article in The New Republic:
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Governors can scale up state-sponsored clinic systems to make it easier for people to get vaccines, should Trump’s government keep making that harder. In these clinics physicians could provide consultations and prescribe vaccines, which other clinical staff could administer at the clinic, even if pharmacies are unable to do it. (h/t to Wendy Parmet, a health policy professor at Northeastern University)
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States could buy up large amounts of COVID vaccines direct from manufacturers, and use (or recreate) distribution systems built up to rapidly get shots in arms during the early days of COVID—that way the state’s chief health officer could prescribe vaccines to anyone who wants them and has no medical contraindication, rather than restricting them to high-risk adults and those over age 65. (h/t Sam Bagenstos, general counsel to the HHS under President Joe Biden)
There are states that are already starting to take steps to ensure vaccine access:
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New Mexico is an early model, issuing a public health order that removes federal limitations on COVID-19 vaccine so that pharmacies are able to vaccinate people of all ages.
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Colorado passed legislation during its last legislative session to safeguard access to vaccines even if federal guidelines shift. The bill says that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment should consider vaccine recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical organizations, not just ACIP.
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Maine recently eliminated a reference to ACIP in a law, so that its state health department could determine directly what shots should be available through the state’s universal vaccination program, instead of just following ACIP recommendations.
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Many other states, including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, are in the process of following suit. If your state isn’t on this list, now is the time to talk to your representatives and ask what they are doing to protect your vaccine access this fall.
There is also Senate Bill S.2483, The Vaccine Act, which was introduced on July 28 by Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE).
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This bill, if passed, would mean that members of ACIP can no longer be terminated except for cause, and would require the immediate reinstatement of the prior members of ACIP.
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The bill has 5 original co-sponsors— Lújan (D-NM), Warnock (D-GA), Heinrich (D-NM), Merkley (D-OR), and Alsobrooks (D-MD). If one of these senators is from your state, please contact them to say thank you!
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There are 17 other senators—Dick Durban (D-IL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Angus King (IND-ME), Peter Welch (D-VT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Gary Peters (D-MI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Jack Reed (D-RI)—who signed on to a letter on June 12 asking for similar actions, but haven’t yet become co-sponsors of S.2483. If one of these names is your senator, please contact them and ask them to co-sponsor S.2483!
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Even if your senator isn’t named above, please reach out to them and ask them to co-sponsor (or at least support) this bill. The bill itself is meaningful but it’s also symbolic—we NEED Congress to start taking a stand against all the things that are happening unimpeded, and are endangering our collective health. If you don’t know who to send a letter to, you can google the legislative director for the Senator you’re writing to. Their email will be FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME@senator’s lastname.senate.gov. So for example, Rebecca.Schatz@schiff.senate.gov. Make sure you sign any letter you write with your name, credentials, city, state, and zip code!
6. What else can I do now? I want to act!
I want to close this Labor Day update with four actions you can take NOW to help be part of the solution, if you’re feeling as horrified as me by what’s happening at CDC and HHS overall.
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2-min action: First, I’ll repeat my earlier call to sign this letter and show your support for CDC and HHS staff who are still fighting for our health: https://www.savehhs.org/addyoursignature. You only have one more day to do this because the letter will close on September 2nd. As I said before, folks at CDC say that signatures from the public really matter. They may not change RFK Jr.’s mind, but federal workers at HHS are watching how many people sign. They’re watching to see whether Americans really do care about them, and their dedication to keeping people safe in this country even when they’re undermined at every turn. Let’s show them we care, and we support them.
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7-min action: In addition to the letters about S.2483 that I recommended above, you can send a more general letter to your representatives in Congress to implore them to take action to ensure people who want a COVID vaccine can access them. This site makes it very easy to do this. I did it and it took me less than 10 minutes.
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15-min action: We know that one of the best ways to combat misinformation is to help people understand the methods being used to spread the false messaging. Remember, RFK Jr. has promised to tell us what causes autism this month—it’s going to be important to help others understand how much of it is misinformation (because it will undoubtedly be a lot). You can get a head start right now by reading this interactive, digestible, and incredible well-done guest essay by Jessica Steier in the New York Times from August 19, about “The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism.” It talks about the “science” of the very person RFK Jr. has put in charge of this latest effort to figure out what causes autism. I’m sharing it here as a guest article (unlocked). Because of the interactive components, I recommend viewing on a desktop/laptop or iPad, not a phone, if you can. It’s really worth your time.
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30-min action: Listen to the podcast I noted at the top of this update, featuring Dr. Demetre Daskalakis talking about why he had to resign from CDC. Do it while you’re driving or doing dishes if you need to.
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45-min action: Take some time to read the framework that Defend Public Health has released as a counter to MAHA. It’s called “IHAT”: Improving the Health of Americans Together. (If you don’t want to take the time to read the whole report, Judy Stone did a good summary of it in Forbes and it will only take you <10 minutes to read.) This stuff is important, because as the report says, “Rather than simply criticize Mr. Kennedy’s work, Defend Public Health believes it is important to outline some key policies that would truly improve Americans’ health.” This is a group of highly trained, highly skilled public health professionals who have spent their careers working to improve people’s health. They know what they’re talking about. One great way to counter misinformation is to take steps to learn from reliable sources! This group—and this report—is one of those.