Cara Exten (Rice)

Important thread about DV. "Why doesn't she leave?" is NOT the question we should be asking. If we want to help women, we have to ask the right questions. "Why isn't he arrested?" And my own addition to this thread: "Why does the law protect his rights more than hers?"

@SenBillCassidy Senator Cassidy - Very few of us have the power to change the trajectory this country is on. You do. Your job is to "serve the nation's interests". Please do that. RFK Jr has no business leading health policy for this country. Tweeting about it doesn't fix it. Impeach now.

As a doctor who treated patients for decades, my top priority is protecting children and families. Multiple children have died or were hospitalized from measles, and South Carolina continues to face a growing outbreak. Two children have died in my state from whooping cough. All of this was preventable with safe and effective vaccines. The vaccine schedule IS NOT A MANDATE. It’s a recommendation giving parents the power. Changing the pediatric vaccine schedule based on no scientific input on safety risks and little transparency will cause unnecessary fear for patients and doctors, and will make America sicker.

We have people in power making broad claims around certain drugs and autism that have been continuously disproven. The degree to which those comments can undermine public health, do harm to women who are pregnant, create anxiety for parents who do have children who are autistic – is violence against the truth.

Exemptions increased in 36 states and DC, with 17 states reporting exemptions exceeding 5%. [that means risk for outbreaks like measles because community immunity is below 95%]

Judges' robes are starting to look an awful lot like superhero capes. The judicial branch may save us yet.

@dr_demetre @MonicaGandhi9 This is a tremendous loss for America....but I don't see any other way. Thank you for your incredible work.

My resignation letter from CDC. Dear Dr. Houry, I am writing to formally resign from my position as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective August 28, 2025, close of business.   I am happy to stay on for two weeks to provide transition, if requested. This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission. However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough. While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people.  This step is necessary to ensure that I can contribute effectively in a capacity that allows me to remain true to my principles. I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.  The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.   The data analyses that supported this decision have never been shared with CDC despite my respectful requests to HHS and other leadership.  This lack of meaningful engagement was further compounded by a “frequently asked questions” document written to support the Secretary’s directive that was circulated by HHS without input from CDC subject matter experts and that cited studies that did not support the conclusions that were attributed to these authors.  Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people. It is untenable to serve in an organization that is not afforded the opportunity to discuss decisions of scientific and public health importance released under the moniker of CDC.  The lack of communication by HHS and other CDC political leadership that culminates in social media posts announcing major policy changes without prior notice demonstrate a disregard of normal communication channels and common sense.  Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought-out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long X posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function.  Some examples include the announcement of the change in the COVID-19 recommendations for children and pregnant people, the firing of scientists from ACIP by X post and an op-ed rather than direct communication with these valuable experts, the announcement of new ACIP members by X before onboarding and vetting have completed, and the release of term of reference for an ACIP workgroup that ignored all feedback from career staff at CDC. The recent term of reference for the COVID vaccine work group created by this ACIP puts people of dubious intent and more dubious scientific rigor in charge of recommending vaccine policy to a director hamstrung and sidelined by an authoritarian leader.   Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults.  Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc. I have always been first to challenge scientific and public health dogma in my career and was excited by the opportunity to do so again.  I was optimistic that there would be an opportunity to brief the Secretary about key topics such as measles, avian influenza, and the highly coordinated approach to the respiratory virus season.  Such briefings would allow exchange of ideas and a shared path to support the vision of “Making America Healthy Again.”  We are seven months into the new administration, and no CDC subject matter expert from my Center has ever briefed the Secretary.  I am not sure who the Secretary is listening to, but it is quite certainly not to us.  Unvetted and conflicted outside organizations seem to be the sources HHS use over the gold standard science of CDC and other reputable sources.  At a hearing, Secretary Kennedy said that Americans should not take medical advice from him.  To the contrary, an appropriately briefed and inquisitive Secretary should be a source of health information for the people he serves. As it stands now, I must agree with him, that he should not be considered a source of accurate information. The intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines favoring natural infection and unproven remedies will bring us to a pre-vaccine era where only the strong will survive and many if not all will suffer.  I believe in nutrition and exercise.  I believe in making our food supply healthier, and I also believe in using vaccines to prevent death and disability.  Eugenics plays prominently in the rhetoric being generated and is derivative of a legacy that good medicine and science should continue to shun. The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning.  My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so.  I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud.   I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur.  I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed. For decades, I have been a trusted voice for the LGBTQ community when it comes to critical health topics.  I must also cite the recklessness of the administration in their efforts to erase transgender populations, cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research to support equity as part of my decision. Public health is not merely about the health of the individual, but it is about the health of the community, the nation, the world. The nation’s health security is at risk and is in the hands of people focusing on ideological self-interest. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities for growth, learning, and collaboration that I have been afforded during my time at the CDC. It has been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated professionals who are committed to improving the health and well-being of communities across the nation even when under attack from within both physically and psychologically. Thank you once again for the support and guidance I have received from you and previous CDC leadership throughout my tenure. I wish the CDC continued success in its vital mission and that HHS reverse its dangerous course to dismantle public health as a practice and as an institution.  If they continue the current path, they risk our personal well-being and the security of the United States. Sincerely, Demetre C. Daskalakis MD MPH (he/his/him)

@lisamurkowski Thank you for speaking up, Senator. Please continue to push back against this administration. Your voice is needed.

This week started with administration officials refusing to acknowledge that Russia started the war in Ukraine. It ends with a tense, shocking conversation in the Oval Office and whispers from the White House that they may try to end all U.S. support for Ukraine. I know foreign policy is not for the faint of heart, but right now, I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world.

It’s called judicial review, and it’s been around since the Supreme Court decided Marbury v. Madison in 1803. If one didn’t mind when justices (who are themselves judges) on the “Supreme Court struck down Biden’s vaccination decree,” then they have no room to argue against the courts striking down Trump’s executive actions. Archive: archive.ph/Typdz

@DaveMcCormickPA @SeanParnellUSA @SecDef Senator McCormick - please empty your voicemail and answer your phones so that constituents may contact you.

So proud of my friend and fellow Pennsylvanian @SeanParnellUSA on becoming Assistant to the @SecDef for Public Affairs! Dina and I are so proud of him and Melanie and their whole family for serving our nation again! Sean is a combat veteran and patriot who will be an incredible spokesman for the Pentagon and will ALWAYS put America First 🇺🇸🇺🇸

Hi, friends in sexual health! ASTDA has made CDC and HHS publications and data available. Included is the 2023 STI surveillance data, many years of surveillance reports, Guidelines on STIs and doxy-PEP. Will update as we get more materials. @ASTDA1

@AssumeNormality Thank you!

🚨I've posted BRFSS data in SAS, R, and Stata formats for 1987-2023 here on this Mendeley Data Repository Free to use without restriction! data.mendeley.com/datasets/shs97…

@SenBillCassidy Yes, PEPFAR must remain active and funded. It provides critical life-changing care throughout Africa. But so must the USAID. The dismantling of USAID will result in human tragedy….and a less secure United States. Please act now to keep USAID programs active.

PEPFAR is the epitome of soft power. It is a Republican initiative, it is pro-life, pro-America and the most popular U.S. program in Africa. There’s even a waiver acknowledging this, yet I’m told that drugs are still being withheld at clinics in Africa. This must be reversed immediately!!

The CDC's page for HIV data has vanished. Who benefits from this? In what universe does this help the country? cdc.gov/hiv-data/index…

@_kvelasco @NSF I’m so sorry. Such important work.

@OnwardState @PennStateFball @tacobell This is incredible. And the way it should be

.@PennStateFball student tickets for the Orange Bowl will be free, courtesy of @tacobell. Students can request their tickets from now until 5 p.m. on Thursday, January 2. onwardstate.com/2025/01/01/ora…

@SethAbramson State College, PA - home to Penn State University (one of the largest and most productive research universities in the world) - no longer has fluoride in their water because of this same madness. As a resident and an epidemiologist - I just can’t get over it.

My God—if you know how important having fluoride in your water as a kid is to having teeth still in your mouth at 50+, this statement is terrifying. A world in which this madman *who has a literal brainworm* is anywhere *near* healthcare decisions is unimaginable. A horror flick.

Holy shit, this “American girl” ad from @senecaprojectus is amazing!!! Hard to see the letters I’m typing through the tears streaming down my face though.

@Doc_Courtney I had a similar week. Luckily it’s a week where chocolate is plentiful.

It’s always lovely when the score of your resubmitted R01 gets worse. I need my cats and some dark chocolate.

@KeeganTPeterson @MelissaBopp_PhD @PRCPennState So excited to see this study getting off the ground! Such important work!

We hope to begin recruiting survey participants in the coming weeks…stay tuned!!! 🏳️‍🌈🏋🏽‍♀️🚵🏽🧘‍♂️ HUGE thank you to @MelissaBopp_PhD @ExtenCara @PRCPennState for supporting this work! Excited to begin the 3rd study of my dissertation. #LGBTQ #physicalactivity #publichealth #equity

Excited to share this funding notice to support my dissertation work ‼️ My project will assess correlates of physical activity among LGBTQ+/LGBTQ+ BIPOC folks using the socioecological model…⬇️ (1/4)

@PainPtFightBack What a way to increase maternal and neonatal mortality. Make women scared to obtain prenatal care. Appalling

So a friend who is pregnant, no history of any drug use went to first appointment with a private practice OB. Nurse went over the drug screening policy & the fact that pregnant women will have random screens outside regular appts which must be completed w/in 24 hrs. WTH?

Broken ❤️ to see the destruction of my favorite places on Earth.The mtns of E. TN and W. NC are where I spent my late teens and early 20s.These communities provided this Army brat with a place to call home and fostered my love of the outdoors.I can’t describe my grief and concern