Deb Houry

Thanks to @katherineeban.bsky.social with @rollingstone.com for a great piece about Casey Means' grifting of unsafe products.

archive.ph/G21Xy

Thanks @yalesph.bsky.social and Common Health Coalition for this helpful snapshot: 1% annual decline in MMR coverage could lead to 17,000 measles cases, over 4,000 hospitalizations, and 36 preventable deaths annually by 2030 commonhealthcoalition.org/wp-content/u...

Former CDC official: ‘Very concerned’ about Trump’s surgeon general pick | CNN Former CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry joins The Lead.

Watch @drdebhoury.bsky.social on CNN’s @jaketapper.bsky.social talk about Casey Means: www.cnn.com/2026/02/25/h...

Fmr. CDC CMO Dr. Houry reacts to Trump's Surgeon General pick: 'What is her experience?' President Trump's nomination for Surgeon General, Casey Means, is testifying before the Senate today for her confirmation hearing. Dr. Means has faced criticism from public health experts due to her c...

President Trump's nomination for Surgeon General, Casey Means, is testifying before the Senate today for her confirmation hearing.

Former Chief Medical Officer at the CDC, Dr. Debra Houry, joins @anacabrera.bsky.social to share her reaction to the pick.
www.ms.now/ana-cabrera-...

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places-and there are so many-where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. -Howard Zinn

Do not let them take your love. Do not let them take your hope.

Goodnight 💚

Opinion | I Was a CDC Senior Leader. From What I Saw, No One Should Run Two Agencies. Placing Jay Bhattacharya in charge of both NIH and CDC raises concerns

Running CDC is not a part time job or an afterthought and the agency needs stable leadership @medpagetoday.com @gfriedman.bsky.social @altcdc.altgov.info

Ralph Abraham, no. 2 official at CDC, abruptly steps down The No. 2 official at the CDC has resigned, adding to the drama and chaos surrounding the agency's leadership.

In today's episode of "As the #CDC Turns", the agency's #2 official — the one who actually goes to work in Atlanta — steps down from a job he started in early January. "Unforeseen family obligations cited as the reason for Ralph Abraham's departure. www.statnews.com/2026/02/23/r...

From @lenasun.bsky.social article: "Three top voice medical experts and Dysphonia International said there is no scientific basis for the claim that the flu vaccine is behind Kennedy’s condition; there is evidence to suggest a potential association between dystonias and certain drug use."

From the @rollingstone.com article: Though the Guinea-Bissau committee was required to have an active registration with the HHS Office of Human Research Protections, a review of records reveals that its registration had expired in 2018 and is listed as deactivated in the OHRP database.

New Documents Reveal a Controversial Vaccine Study's Unusual Path to CDC Approval A new investigation has found irregularities in the ethics review of a grant to study effects of a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine in Guinea-Bissau.

EXCLUSIVE: In my latest @rollingstone.com investigation, new documents/20+ sources reveal a controversial vaccine study's unusual path to CDC approval, and irregularities in the only ethics review done, in Guinea-Bissau: rollingstone.com/politics/pol... /1 🧵👇

It's definitely not easy, and it can get blurry- that's why it can be helpful to think through this in advance- I kept a list of my "red lines" on my phone and looked at it every morning until I knew the line was going to be reached and it was time to go

The reason speaking out is so important is that it lowers the perceived risk of those who are silent and have something to say. Your courage matters. Your words matter. Every voice is a key to unlocking another’s. -Attributed to Ian Smith

Keep speaking out. Whether it's conversations with friends or whistle-blowing to Congress, keep going. Your words matter.

Goodnight 💚

RFK Jr. pledged more transparency. Here's what the public doesn't know anymore Health experts say the federal government now shares less public health data, even after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised “radical transparency.”

Nice summary by @mikestobbe.bsky.social @apnews.com The Secretary seems to be missing the mark on radical transparency with scaled back reporting on tobacco use, drug overdoses, food outbreaks, and more

“Dr. Deb Houry, who served as the C.D.C.’s chief medical officer before she resigned in August, noted that Congress had already appropriated the funds.

“It is concerning that H.H.S. is cutting public health funding to local communities that cover core functions in the middle of a measles outbreak”

Photo from https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/cdc-shooting-officer-david-rose-honored-at-memorial-service/ar-AA1L13Nr Photo of memorial for Officer Rose - outside CDC Roybal Campus. Photo of Rose on a posterboard with the words “Officer Rose Gave His Life Protecting Us"

5/5 In Honor

We honor Officer Rose not with fear,
but with resolve.

Together. 🫂

We had devastating cuts to @washingtonpost. Our health team of 14 lost 9 reporters yesterday despite it being listed as part of the Post’s new focus.
But I still have my job. Along w/a core team, we are still dedicated to covering public health, holding the powerful to account.

Antigenic Drift and Antivaccine Shift in the 2025–2026 Influenza Season | NEJM Both viral and host factors have contributed to the intensity of influenza activity during the 2025–2026 season. Some of these factors can be managed, whereas others are largely beyond human control.

"By increasing surveillance, taking advantage of new technologies to make better vaccines, and improving vaccine coverage, the United States could substantially reduce influenza-related hospitalizations and deaths. We can do better. Will we?" by former CDC colleagues Drs. Rasmussen and Jernigan

We Do Care | NEJM Physicians throughout Minnesota bear witness to the devastation that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is wreaking. They implore physicians everywhere to raise their voices.

Powerful piece in @nejm.org from physicians in Minnesota "When our patients go without medical care, the harm is not theoretical. It is measurable. Fear doesn’t just keep people away from clinics and EDs, it pushes patients into crisis." www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Countering Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the World Health Organization, California is the first American state to join the @who.int’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network.

With GOARN, we’ll keep working to help protect Californians from public health threats.

University Announces Next Columbia Mailman School Dean Columbia University announced the next dean of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Congrats to Dr. Mermin and @columbiauniversity.bsky.social Great to see former CDC leaders continue their dedication to public health.

Phenomenal timeline viz from our dear friends at @firedbutfighting.bsky.social 💚💚

Highlights the chaos we've endured at CDC over the past year.

www.cdcdataproject.org/chaos-at-cdc

Debra Houry headshot

We are thrilled to share that Dr. Deb Houry MD, MPH, a nationally recognized physician and public health leader, has joined the Yale School of Public Health as a lecturer and senior fellow in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology.

Read more: m.yale.edu/dd7p

Support Snuggles for Science Valentine's Edition for National Public Health Coalition Let your friends and loved ones know they are statistically significant with this adorable Valentine's edition of Snuggles for Science. Your purchase helps pay for the supplies and services the Nation...

Make someone’s Valentine’s Day significant by showing your love for science and public health!
Available until 01/17.
Proceeds support the National Public Health Coalition (NPHC).

20 out of 25 CIO director positions at CDC are vacant and filled by actings (or eliminated), just in the past year via CDC Data Project www.cdcdataproject.org/leadership-c...

CDC staff ‘blindsided’ as child vaccine schedule unilaterally overhauled The Trump administration took unprecedented steps to recommend fewer vaccines for children without extensive consultations with career scientists.

SCOOP: CDC vaccine experts were blindsided by RFKJr top deputy’s decision to unilaterally overhaul child schedule. Also, previously undisclosed CDC presentation refutes Trump admin narrative that US is outlier on vaccine policy. My story @Washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

Opinion | The U.S. vaccine schedule is a jet engine. Denmark’s is a toy plane. Replacing the U.S. vaccine schedule with one like Denmark’s would be negligence.

Replacing the US child vaccine schedule with Denmark’s schedule is negligence, writes @drdemetre.bsky.social

“When a jet engine fails at 30,000 feet, it’s not the manual writer who pays the price. It’s the passengers — in this case, America’s children.”

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Boy, 11, Dies After Severe Case of the Flu: ‘Jace Never Even Got to Open His Christmas Gifts’ Jace Watkins, 11, of Alabama died on Dec. 27 after being hospitalized due to complications from the flu.

The death of any child is tragic. We always think it will not be my child, they are healthy. Severe influenza can be unpredictable & deadly. Getting vaccinated considerably reduces dz severity and deaths. Please make sure you are vaccinated & your children are too.
people.com/alabama-boy-...

This story is disturbing on so many levels- instead of using opportunities for intervention and getting him help, the Bot encourages self harm

Flu activity is very high and rising in many parts of the country, with levels similar to last year's big season. Be careful out there. caitlinrivers.substack.com/p/widespread...

Former CDC Chief Medical Officer criticizes Health Department’s handling of rising flu cases | CNN Former CDC Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director, Dr. Debra Houry, talks to CNN about rising flu cases across the country, and the criticizes the lack of promotion for Americans to get their flu v...

Appreciate UTD info re vaccines, treatment, and influenza data by CDC, but as I told @cnn.com today what is different from prior years- no Health Advisory Notice re a new subclade, HHS/CDC political leaders not leading by example getting flu vaccines publicly, no flu campaign like Wild to Mild.