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Meet Alison Young, Healthbeat’s new senior national reporter

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 1d

“The administration told a federal judge in California on Friday night that seven agencies…had issued RIF notices to a total of more than 4,100 workers,” reports @washingtonpost www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Reposted by Alison Young

Healthbeat @healthbeat.org · 3d

Alison Young has covered health, science and environmental issues for most of her career, including as a CDC beat reporter during an earlier time of controversial change at the agency. She joins Healthbeat in another period of upheaval.

Alison Young has covered health, science and environmental issues for most of her career, including as a CDC beat reporter during an earlier time of controversial change at the agency. She joins Healthbeat in another period of upheaval.

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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 3d

The CDC was rocked by another period of leadership exodus and turmoil years ago. It was my introduction to covering public health. www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/09/m... #publichealth #EpiSky #MedSky #IDSky

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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 5d

“Cats and dogs, which tend to spend a lot of time on or near the ground…Compared to humans, they may have more exposure to cancer-causing chemicals used in lawn care or the heavy metals, like lead, that tend to accumulate in household dust.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/s... via @NYTimes

In a Toxic World, Pets Could Be Vital Health Watchdogs

AI can design toxic proteins. They’re escaping through biosecurity cracks.

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 7d

“When the researchers tested two major companies’ biosecurity screening techniques, they found that “up to 100 percent” of the AI-generated ricin-like proteins evaded detection. Because the new proteins no longer looked like ricin, they were not flagged.” www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

Artificial intelligence can design toxic proteins that escape biosecurity cracks, sparking concerns over potential misuse.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 9d

From Post and Courier: Two of the current cases had an unknown source of infection, which “indicates unrecognized community spread…We anticipate more cases will be identified and implore community members to act responsibly.”
www.postandcourier.com/news/sc-sees...

SC sees first measles outbreak of the year, joining national surge in cases

There are now eight confirmed cases of measles in South Carolina and the first outbreak of linked cases from the highly infectious disease.

www.postandcourier.com

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · 10d

Some personal news: I’m thrilled to share that I’ve joined @healthbeat.org as a senior national reporter covering #PublicHealth issues + the CDC. Reach out with tips at [email protected] or Signal: alisonyoungreports.48 #EpiSky #MedSky #IDSky

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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 11

I remember being in the @freep.com newsroom when the towers fell.

Radioactive metal at an Indonesia industrial site may be linked to shrimp recall

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 5

“Contaminated metal at an industrial site in Indonesia may be the source of radioactive material that led to massive recalls of imported frozen shrimp, international nuclear safety officials say, as efforts are underway to halt more U.S.-bound shipments.” www.wral.com/story/radioa...

Contaminated metal at an industrial site in Indonesia may be the source of radioactive material that led to massive recalls of imported frozen shrimp, international nuclear safety officials say, as ef...

www.wral.com

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 4

On why CDC director was removed: “We’ll find out,” Sen. Cassidy replied when asked to respond to Kennedy’s claim that Monarez had lied in her WSJ op-ed. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...

www.c-span.org/event/senate...

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 4

On additional questioning as hearing continues, RFK Jr. acknowledges he demanded CDC director fire career scientists & that he “asked her” about a statement she wasn’t going to sign on to ACIP recommendations & he “wanted clarification about that”

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 4

RFK Jr. in today’s Senate hearing accuses former CDC director of lying. Asked if she was told to resign if she refused to sign off on changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, Kennedy said: “No, I told her that she had to resign because I asked her: Are you a trustworthy person? And she said, No."

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 4

HHS Secretary Testifies on Health Care Agenda

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies on President Donald Trump's health care agenda before the Senate Finance Committee. This happens following the firing of CDC Directo...

www.c-span.org

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 4

RFK Jr. in today’s Senate hearing accuses former CDC director of lying. Asked if she was told to resign if she refused to sign off on changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, Kennedy said: “No, I told her that she had to resign because I asked her: Are you a trustworthy person? And she said, No."

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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 3

Autoclave issue at Plum Island Animal Disease Center sends staff to hospital
riverheadlocal.com/2025/09/02/p...

Plum Island staffers taken to PBMC for eye irritation from cleaning equipment

Seven staff members from the Plum Island Animal Disease Center were taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center this morning for evaluation after they complained of eye irritation following “a routine…

riverheadlocal.com

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/s...

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 2

Margaret W. Rossiter, 81, Dies; Wrote Women Scientists Into History

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 2

“… she traversed the country in rental cars and combed through newspaper archives, college records, bibliographies, government employment data and other sources to uncover the hidden work of female astronomers, botanists, biologists, chemists, engineers, entomologists, geologists and physicists.” 🔗👇

Why more and more people are tuning the news out: ‘Now I don’t have that anxiety’

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 1

“Globally, news avoidance is at a record high, according to an annual survey by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism published in June. This year, 40% of respondents…said they sometimes or often avoid the news, up from 29% in 2017.”
www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...

Emotional toll of constant negative news and unlimited access to ‘doomscrolling’ has led to record-high news avoidance

www.theguardian.com

Trump says CDC is ‘being ripped apart’ over Covid products, calls for drugmakers to prove their benefits

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 1

From ⁦‪@statnews‬⁩ : Trump says CDC is ‘being ripped apart,’ over Covid products and calls for clarity. “I want the answer, and I want it NOW,” he wrote in what appeared to be his first public acknowledgement of recent tumult at the CDC. www.statnews.com/2025/09/01/t...

President Trump on Monday urged pharma companies to publicly prove that their Covid-19 products work, saying in a Truth Social post that the CDC is "being ripped apart over this question.”

www.statnews.com

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Sep 1

Former CDC directors/acting directors Foege, Roper, Satcher, Koplan, Besser, Frieden, Schuchat, Walensky and Cohen:
“These are not typical requests from a health secretary to a C.D.C. director. Not even close. None of us would have agreed to the secretary’s demands…” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...

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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Aug 29

“In some states, pharmacists are forbidden to administer vaccines that are not recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel.” CVS Holds Off on Offering Covid Vaccines in 16 States www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/w...

CVS Holds Off on Offering Covid Vaccines in 16 States

NFL owner secretly relapsed, got ketamine from private doctor before death

Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Aug 28

“This doctor signed Irsay’s death certificate, stating the cause was cardiac arrest, and no autopsy or toxicology testing was performed,” according to Washington Post investigation. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

As a recovery doctor provided ketamine and opioids, Colts owner Jim Irsay spent his final years suffering through a relapse that he and executives hid from the public.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Aug 28

FoodNet “has reduced required surveillance to two pathogens: Salmonella and Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Reporting of illnesses caused by Campylobacter, Cyclospora, Listeria, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia is now optional…”

CIDRAP @cidrap.bsky.social · Aug 28

CDC cuts back foodborne illness surveillance program

The CDC's FoodNet program has reduced required surveillance from eight foodborne pathogens to two, a move some experts warn could leave the country more vulnerable to outbreaks.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/f...

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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Aug 28

Profile of one of CDC director’s new lawyers: The “Washington litigator has spent decades representing senators, governors and lobbyists…But since launching his own firm in May, Lowell has a new specialty: defending the targets of Donald Trump’s retribution.” www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

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Alison Young @alisonannyoung.bsky.social · Aug 28

AJC publisher: “The fact is, printing newspapers and putting them in trucks and driving them around and delivering them on people’s front stoops has not been the most effective way to distribute the news in a very long time.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/b...