Vaccinations provide significant protection for the public against infectious diseases and substantially reduce health care costs. Therefore, it is noteworthy that President-elect Donald Trump wants Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a…
Tag: Public health
Infectious diseases killed Victorian children at alarming rates — their novels highlight the fragility of public health today
Modern medicine has enabled citizens of wealthy, industrialized nations to forget that children once routinely died in shocking numbers. Teaching 19th-century English literature, I regularly encounter gutting depictions of losing…
Avian flu virus has been found in raw milk − a reminder of how pasteurization protects health
As the H5N1 avian flu virus continues to spread in poultry flocks and dairy cattle, consumers may worry about whether the U.S. milk supply is safe to drink. According to…
Water fluoridation helps prevent tooth decay – how growing opposition threatens a 70-year-old health practice
Driving through downtown Dallas, you might see a striking banner hanging at the U-turn bridge, near the Walnut Hill exit on Central Expressway (US 75): “Stop Fluoridation!” Below it, other…
Harris proposes that Medicare cover more in-home health care, filling a large gap for older Americans and their caregivers
Vice President Kamala Harris outlined a proposal to allow Medicare to expand its coverage of home health care for older Americans. The Democratic presidential nominee announced this plan on the…
Health risks are rising in mountain areas flooded by Hurricane Helene and cut off from clean water, power and hospitals
Hurricane Helene’s flooding has subsided, but health risks are growing in hard-hit regions of the North Carolina mountains, where many people lost access to power and clean water. More than…
Companies keep selling harmful products – but history shows consumers can win in the end
In 2023, 42 state attorneys general sued Meta to remove Instagram features that Meta’s own studies had shown – and independent research had confirmed – are harmful to teenage girls.…
Airdropping vaccines to eliminate canine rabies in Texas – two scientists explain the decades of research behind its success
Rabies is a deadly disease. Without vaccination, a rabies infection is nearly 100% fatal once someone develops symptoms. Texas has experienced two rabies epidemics in animals since 1988: one involving…
Half of Black gay men will be diagnosed with HIV, despite highly effective preventive treatments − why?
At a pharmacy in Iowa, a 42-year-old Black gay man couldn’t find a medication he needed. The pharmacist, a white woman, told him they didn’t stock that medication. But while…
A public health historian sizes up their records
Health care is a defining issue in the 2024 election – Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican contender Donald Trump have starkly different records on the issue. Rather than…
