drhigginsmd.bsky.social
Pediatrician | Public Health Specialist | Immunization Delivery Researcher | Dad | Views are my own. CommunityImmunity@Substack
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Great question—this is unprecedented territory. Removing it from the recommended schedule doesn’t ban it outright, but it means insurers are no longer required to cover it, and many providers and health systems will likely stop stocking or administering it. This effectively removes access.
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Thank you! I agree. COVID-19 vaccines should be optional. And they already are. There’s no scenario where a parent is forced to vaccinate their child. But this decision doesn’t make them optional; it removes the freedom of those who do want them to choose vaccination.
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🔹 Bottom line: Unless overturned, this decision means low-risk individuals who want COVID vaccines won’t have access.
We should all be concerned when major public health decisions are made without transparency, accountability, or public input.
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RFK Jr. was joined by NIH Director Bhattacharya and FDA Commissioner Makary, who claimed this was “good science” and that “healthy kids don’t need it.”
👉 Let’s be clear: both are false. Good science doesn’t start with conclusions. And yes, there is evidence of modest benefit for healthy kids.
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Strong piece in on how new federal health leaders, beyond just RFK Jr., may shape vaccine policy and public trust gradually and under the guise of evidence—until fringe scientific views begin to seem reasonable, not because the evidence has changed, but because the framing has.
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But we don’t test updated versions—or vaccines we already know are safe and effective—against a placebo for good reason: it would be unethical to withhold proven protection.
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All vaccines are rigorously evaluated for safety and effectiveness through pre-licensure studies, post-marketing (Phase 4) trials, and multiple robust safety surveillance systems. In fact, vaccines are among the most thoroughly tested medical interventions available.
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✅ Improved life jacket? Half the boat gets them. The other half gets a recommendation to swim.
✅ Newer bike helmet? Send half the kids down the hill without.
✅ New parachute design? Half jump with it… you get the point.
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✅ New car seat? Randomize some infants to the new design and some to nothing at all (placebo) to see which is most effective and safe.
✅ Updated antibiotics? Half the patients get the new drug. The rest get sugar pills.
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amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/04/...
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www.usatoday.com/story/news/h...
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Read the full article here: open.substack.com/pub/communit...
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But as I told Medscape this week:
“Even in modern times infectious disease can still take a deadly toll, and without vaccinations, those numbers would be far worse. It’s just not a risk worth taking. ‘Healthy people still die everyday from infectious diseases.’”
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Yes, nutrition and access to medicines matter. And we’re fortunate to have life-saving treatments, many developed by American scientists… who, ironically, are now having their work cut.
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I’ve had similar experiences in my practices. With patience and persistence, I’ve been able to move the needle for some families. But, these clinic-based strategies are most effective for the large, movable middle-not the extremes. Ultimately, we need a multipronged approach beyond the exam room.
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I agree. Calling out harm from falsehoods and fraudulence is essential. But these things aren’t mutually exclusive. We can do that and start from a place of understanding: most parents go down rabbit holes because they care deeply about their kids. Lead with that, or they’ll just dig in deeper.
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A fantastic piece by Dr. Sean O’Leary in JAMA this week on strategies for communicating with parents about vaccines.
A timely and important reminder that empathy is the foundation of effective vaccine conversations.
@jama.com
#vaccines #vaccinecommunication #publichealth