Rita Rubin

@ritarubin.bsky.social

Lead senior staff writer, Medical News @jamacurrent.bsky.social. Mountain Mama, short story author, Medill & Hopkins alum.

Videos

Economics 45%

Public Health 28%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Rita Rubin

Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 12h

Extremely disturbing

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 14h

Mississippi’s largest synagogue was set on fire before dawn Saturday. Fire department ruled it arson, and a suspect has been arrested.
It is the same synagogue that the Ku Klux Klan bombed in 1967 because the rabbi supported civil rights. mississippitoday.org/2026/01/10/f...

Predawn fire reduces parts of Mississippi's largest synagogue to charred ruins - Mississippi Today

A fire heavily damaged Jackson’s only synagogue before dawn Saturday – the same house of worship that was firebombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1967 because the rabbi had been an advocate for civil rights...

mississippitoday.org

Reposted by Rita Rubin

JAMA @jama.com · 12h

A new FDA-cleared blood test makes #Alzheimer biomarker screening possible in primary care, but experts say it’s important to understand what such tests can and cannot do.

ja.ma/49PA30c

Using Alzheimer Disease Blood Tests in Primary Care

This Medical News article discusses the use of blood tests for Alzheimer disease biomarkers in primary care.

ja.ma

Reposted by Andreas Ortmann, Mark D. White, Melissa Johnson , and 3 more Andreas Ortmann, Mark D. White, Melissa Johnson, Rita Rubin, Sanford F. Schram, David R. Miller

Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 1d

1984: “The National Portrait Gallery removed a swath of text that mentioned President Donald Trump’s two impeachments and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection as it swapped out a prominent photo of him this week.” www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Smithsonian removes Trump impeachment text as it swaps his portrait

A Trump official previously complained about a caption beside his National Portrait Gallery photo mentioning his impeachments and the U.S. Capitol insurrection.

www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Rita Rubin

Mike Hoerger, PhD, MSCR, MBA @michael-hoerger.bsky.social · 1d

The size of the winter COVlD wave has been revised upward as post-holiday data come in.

We estimate 1 in 55 people in the U.S. are actively infectious.

🔥WV: 1 in 14
🔥IN: 1 in 15
🔥MI & OH: 1 in 21
🔥MO: 1 in 22
🔥CT: 1 in 24
🔥KS: 1 in 25
🔥MA & IL: 1 in 27

Quick 🧵 1/4

Heat map and PMC estimates, 1 in 55 infectious and 892,000 new daily infections for Jan 12.

We expedited the report to release it two days early.

Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Rita Rubin

Deb Houry @drdebhoury.bsky.social · 1d

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...

Rita Rubin @ritarubin.bsky.social · 2d

My latest for @jama.com:

JAMA @jama.com · 2d

Millions of people are turning to #AI chatbots for mental health support, but is it safe and regulated?

Here’s what experts have to say.

The Rise of Therapy Chatbots

This Medical News article discusses the growing use of generative artificial intelligence chatbots as sources of mental health support.

jamanetwork.com

Reposted by Rita Rubin

JAMA @jama.com · 2d

Millions of people are turning to #AI chatbots for mental health support, but is it safe and regulated?

Here’s what experts have to say.

The Rise of Therapy Chatbots

This Medical News article discusses the growing use of generative artificial intelligence chatbots as sources of mental health support.

jamanetwork.com

Reposted by Rita Rubin

Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 5d

Cassidy rips RFK Jr. vaccine schedule change, says it’s ‘based on no scientific input’ thehill.com/policy/healt...

Cassidy rips RFK Jr. vaccine schedule change, says it’s ‘based on no scientific input’

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who cast a critical vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, on Monday blasted the reduction of the childhood immun…

thehill.com

Reposted by Julie Leask, Rita Rubin

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 6d

Once again, I implore media outlets to stop saying these are CDC decisions.

These are changes being made unilaterally by RFK Jr. against the expert advice of CDC scientists.

I note that RFK Jr. no longer recommends flu vaccine for kids in the midst of a horrible influenza year.

CDC overhauls childhood vaccine schedule to resemble Denmark in unprecedented move

The new U.S. guidelines recommend all children get vaccines for 11 diseases, compared with the 18 previously on the schedule.

www.nbcnews.com

Reposted by Rita Rubin

msdobalina.bsky.social @msdobalina.bsky.social · 8d

Relatedly: COVID-19 social distancing and closures were so successfully that an entire strain of flu (type B/Yamagata) seems to have gone extinct in the wild. No hosts, couldn't spread! Time will tell...but as far as I know it hasn't reappeared.

Reposted by John McLaren, Iain Davidson, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 4 more John McLaren, Iain Davidson, Rosemary A. Joyce, Rita Rubin, Gerald Friedman, Mark Priestley, Pam Jarvis

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 8d

That one person can drag us into a war without consulting or even notifying Congress, or our allies, or fully explaining to the American people why this is necessary, is absolutely bonkers.

Reminder that Congress has the power to stop all of this. Where the hell are they?

Reposted by Rita Rubin

Thomas Benner @thomasbenner.bsky.social · 8d

Cartoon by Mike Luckovich | Creators

Reposted by Rita Rubin

Physicians for a Healthy Democracy @physiciandemocracy.medsky.social · 17d

www.upi.com/Health_News/...

Traveler might have exposed many to measles in Massachusetts - UPI.com

A visitor from Texas who was afflicted with measles might have exposed many to the airborne virus while in Massachusetts, health officials announced.

www.upi.com

Reposted by Rita Rubin, Richard M. Carpiano

Alt-NIHscience4ALL @alt-nihscience4all.altgov.info · 19d

1/n: More leadership changes at NIH, with institute director positions likely to start being filled soon. Too many good people are leaving.

www.science.org/content/arti...

NIH official resigns after flap over risks of seasonal flu virus study

Agency may be expanding list of pathogens subject to dangerous “gain-of-function” regulations

www.science.org

Reposted by Joshua S. Weitz, Scott L. Greer, Daniel Webster , and 11 more Joshua S. Weitz, Scott L. Greer, Daniel Webster, Megan L. Ranney, Rita Rubin, Laia Balcells, Juan Cole, Smith, Alan Richardson, Scott A. Imberman, Joanna L. Grossman, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Timothy D. McBride, David Darmofal

Yale School of Public Health @yalesph.bsky.social · 20d

A new report from researchers at the Yale School of Public Health warns that the U.S. government’s abrupt cancellation of funding for mRNA vaccine research could have devastating health and economic consequences for the nation.

New report sounds alarm on health fallout from mRNA vaccine funding cuts

A new report from the Yale School of Public Health warns that the U.S. government’s abrupt cancellation of funding for mRNA vaccine research could have

ysph.yale.edu

Reposted by Rita Rubin

Dorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 21d

CDC funds controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in African newborns: Experts doubt there's practical or expert justification. www.science.org/content/arti...

CDC funds controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in African newborns

Scientists question the value of the proposed study, which will investigate a vaccine long known to be efficacious and safe

www.science.org

Reposted by Rita Rubin

Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 23d

Leaving you tonight with a reminder of the works of our forebears. The greatest generation.

Funded by moms across America mailing in their dimes to help prevent a disease they all feared.

April 12 1955: Polio Announcement

YouTube video by March of Dimes

youtu.be

Reposted by Rita Rubin

Robin Redruth Bray @artofsumo.bsky.social · 23d

RFK Jr. should have paid more attention to the comics in 1968.

Reposted by Rita Rubin, Daniel S. Goldberg

Dorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 24d

Prof. Lawrence Gostin and I wrote about the threat to states school immunization requirements from both litigation and legislation, especially worrying given federal actions undermining vaccine access
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

State Vaccine Law and Policy—A New Threat to Public Health

This Viewpoint discusses the importance of understanding the evolution and current trajectory of state-level vaccine requirements for assessing the stability of the nation’s immunization infrastructur...

jamanetwork.com

Reposted by Rita Rubin

Dorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 25d

Debating Science: No Thanks; that's the choice of those who have no data, but want to obscure that with theater, explains @pauloffit.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/pauloffi...

Debating Science: No Thanks

Anti-vaccine activists RFK Jr., Aaron Siri, and Steve Kirsch have asked that I debate them on vaccine safety. One of them offered me $1 million to do it. Here’s why I declined.

open.substack.com

Reposted by Rita Rubin

Alicia Ault @aliciaault.bsky.social · 25d

The law will apply to adults who have incurable, irreversible illnesses and six months or less to live, and each patient will need the sign-off of three doctors.

#Medsky #Psychsky #cancer #Neurosky #dementia #Alzheimers #ALS #Parkinsons

N.Y. Governor Will Sign Right-to-Die Bill for the Terminally Ill

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Rita Rubin

Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 25d

The Most Feared Person at the NIH Is a Vaccine Researcher Plucked From Obscurity www.theatlantic.com/health/2025/...

The Most Feared Person at the NIH Is a Vaccine Researcher Plucked From Obscurity

While NIH director Jay Bhattacharya focuses on podcasting, his second in command is dramatically remaking the agency.

www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Richard S.J. Tol, Dorothy Bishop , and 35 more Lisa W. Fazio, Richard S.J. Tol, Dorothy Bishop, Colin F. Camerer, Arthur Geßler, Gavin A. Schmidt, Joshua S. Weitz, Scott L. Greer, Steve Peers, Simon Chapman, Caroline Krafft, Philip N. Cohen, Rita Rubin, Lesley A. Hall, Efrén O. Pérez, David W. Kerstetter, Kevin Carey, Raffaella Ravinetto, Devon Greyson, Smith, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Janet Murray, Alan Richardson, Patrick S. Forscher, Ben Tonra, Julia Lynch, Caroline Fohlin, Sebastian Karcher, David C. Kimball, Lisa Diedrich, Catherine J. Frieman, Christina Ho, Larry W. Hunter, Richard M. Carpiano, Julie Rovner, Nicole Guenther Discenza, Dana Howard, Clark Gray

Reposted by Rita Rubin

BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 28d

Measles cases in the US:
2020 - 13 cases
2025 - 1912 cases so far and 3 deaths
This is a 147x increase.
There's no spin DHHS can put on this explosion of measles cases that will make this justifiable or acceptable.

Reposted by Rita Rubin, Andrea Iaboni

Timothy Caulfield @caulfieldtim.bsky.social · 28d

Again, NO evidence to support current COVID vax fearmongering.

ONE recent example:

"...results found NO increased risk of 4 yr all-cause mortality in individuals vaccinated against COVID..."

"...further supporting the safety of the mRNA vaccines..."

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination and 4-Year All-Cause Mortality Among Adults in France

This cohort study uses the data from all adults aged 18 to 59 years living in France on November 1, 2021, to evaluate whether there is an association of receipt of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine with long-t...

jamanetwork.com

Reposted by Will Jennings, Benjamin Mason Meier, Rita Rubin , and 8 more Will Jennings, Benjamin Mason Meier, Rita Rubin, Laia Balcells, Joshua Goodman, David R. Miller, Aaron Sojourner, Scott A. Imberman, Brian Keegan, Daryl Adair, Élisabeth Vallet

The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · 28d

‘I heard 40, 50 shots’: Witnesses fled Bondi Beach as gunmen targeted Jewish event

Gunshots ripped through a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, killing at least 12 people

www.irishtimes.com

Reposted by Rita Rubin, James Goodwin

CNN @cnn.com · Dec 9

The National Weather Service is working to hire back hundreds of positions laid off or otherwise cut by the Trump administration, but it’s progressing at a snail’s pace, with about 80 final job offers accepted for meteorologists, hydrologists and other specialized staff. https://cnn.it/3MvtkPN

Reposted by Rita Rubin

CIDRAP @cidrap.bsky.social · Dec 9

#RSV tied to heart problems, breathing issues well after infection in adults

Researchers identify nearly 5 excess cardiovascular events per 100 patients in the year after diagnosis.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/r...

Reposted by Rita Rubin

West Virginia Watch @westvirginiawatch.com · Dec 9

The head of one of the country's largest anti-abortion organizations wants President Donald Trump to fire U.S. Food and Drug Administrator Marty Makary over access to medication abortion, reports @jennifershutt.bsky.social.