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1 week ago | 
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com | Katelyn K. Jetelina
ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices)—the external advisory committee to CDC that guides U.S. vaccine policy—finally met this week after a two-month delay imposed by Health Secretary Kennedy. This meeting carried extra weight: it’s one of several levers Kennedy can use to influence vaccine policy in the U.S. Given his long history of casting doubt on vaccines, many closely watched this meeting. Including me. Here are your Cliff Notes—and more importantly, what it means for you.
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1 week ago | 
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com | Katelyn K. Jetelina
Public health is moving fast—and making sense of it all can feel like drinking from a firehose. While all YLE content remains free, we rely on your support to keep our team sustainable (and sane). Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription below. Laughter, measles, the firing of the CDC cruise norovirus team, and RFK Jr. is going to find the cause of autism by September. Oh—and The Last of Us (yes, the fungal pandemic series) returned last night. It’s just another week in public health.
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2 weeks ago | 
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com | Katelyn K. Jetelina
It’s Public Health Week! Send a note to your local health department. Many folks in public health will tell you: this moment is even harder than the Covid-19 emergency (which is really saying something). Here’s what’s happening in the world of health, what it means for you, what you can do about it—and yes, some hope. As feared, pulling the plug on public health infrastructure funding overnight is already having consequences.
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2 weeks ago | 
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com | Katelyn K. Jetelina
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2 weeks ago | 
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com | Katelyn K. Jetelina
Another child has died of measles.An 8-year-old girl. Unvaccinated. No underlying health conditions. This is unbelievably tragic—and entirely preventable. It’s also not normal in three important ways. This is the third death in just three months—something we haven’t seen in the U.S. in decades. Since measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, we’ve seen outbreaks—most notably in California (starting in Disneyland) and in New York among the Hasidic Jewish community.
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3 weeks ago | 
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com | Katelyn K. Jetelina
Today thousands of health workers at the CDC and FDA lost their jobs—effective immediately. Some found out when they tried to badge in, only to be denied entry. Twelve senior leaders were offered reassignment—with just 24 hours to decide. In other words, fired without being formally fired. It’s cruel and unnecessary—and that’s the point. It’s also dangerous. HIV prevention? Gone. Asthma and air quality team? Gone. Environmental hazard response? Gone. Gun violence prevention? Gutted. Communications? Gutted.
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3 weeks ago | 
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com | Katelyn K. Jetelina
Another week, another dose of public health news you can use. Also, a quick reminder to double-check who’s in your Signal group chats. Flu season is finally wrapping up. Across most of the U.S., influenza-like illnesses (fevers, coughs, sore throats) are dipping just below epidemic levels. The exceptions? Maine and New York are still seeing high activity. It was a rough one. This flu season saw the highest number of hospitalizations in the past 15 years.
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3 weeks ago | 
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com | Katelyn K. Jetelina
This month marks the fifth anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic. Anniversaries are meant for reflection, a moment to take stock, have honest conversations, and apply lessons learned. But this is not just any anniversary. Instead of an opportunity to evolve and press forward, public health is in survival mode.
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1 month ago | 
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com | Katelyn K. Jetelina
I’m thrilled to hit New York City’s streets for the first-ever live YLE in-person event. Let’s be real: This is a dark time for public health. Trust is at an all-time low, health falsehoods are spreading online, communities don’t feel heard, and it feels like no one with power has the courage to step up. Many feel stuck—frustrated, exhausted, and unsure of what to do next.
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1 month ago | 
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com | Katelyn K. Jetelina
Here’s your national health check-up—including infectious diseases, why parents shouldn’t panic about infant formula, and the state of our collective sanity. Over the weekend, a shadow CDC page on vaccines and autism (called the realcdc[.]org) was revealed. It looks exactly like an official CDC page—the same branding, fonts, and style. The difference was that it had false information about MMR vaccines causing autism, including videos of parent testimonials.