Jason L. Schwartz
LightNews LightNews
banner
jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz
@jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
1.3K followers 290 following 150 posts

Associate Professor of Health Policy and the History of Medicine, Yale School of Public Health. Vaccine policy, health policy-making, pharmaceuticals, FDA/CDC, etc. http://jschwartz.yale.edu

Videos
Public Health 40%
Economics 20%
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · Jun 18
Things are very bad for U.S. vaccination policy these days and are only going to get worse. In @nejm.org, I examine the recent news about COVID-19 vaccines and ACIP, what likely lies ahead, and what the medical and public health communities should do to lessen the damage www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Revised Recommendations for Covid-19 Vaccines — U.S. Vaccination Policy under Threat | NEJM
A series of recent actions by the Trump administration upend the country’s approach to Covid-19 vaccination and may portend a broader shift in the government’s role in protecting the public health.
www.nejm.org

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Jason L. Schwartz

scottlgreer.bsky.social
Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 2d
pretty obvious shift from following nonpartisan (scientific, medical) authority to following partisan authority. Public health advocates and researchers need to view that as the challenge, rather than rummaging around for the explanation for vaccine hesitancy in this or that community.
conradhackett.bsky.social Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 2d
Republicans increasingly oppose requiring healthy kids to get MMR vaccines to attend public schools
2016 19%
2019 20%
2023 42%
2025 47%
www.pewresearch.org/science/2025... 🧪
Chart showing that since 2016, a vast majority of U.S. adults have said healthy children should be required to get the vaccine to attend public school because of the potential risks for others when children are not vaccinated. But support for school MMR requirements dropped from 82% in 2019 to 69% in 2025. This decline is largely because of a steep slide in support among Republicans. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, 79% of Republicans said healthy children should be required to get the MMR vaccine to attend school. This share sunk to 57% in 2023, then to 52% in 2025. In contrast, Democrats’ views on school MMR requirements have remained stable, with solid majority support.

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Scott L. Greer, Smith , and 2 more

conradhackett.bsky.social
Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 2d
Republicans increasingly oppose requiring healthy kids to get MMR vaccines to attend public schools
2016 19%
2019 20%
2023 42%
2025 47%
www.pewresearch.org/science/2025... 🧪
Chart showing that since 2016, a vast majority of U.S. adults have said healthy children should be required to get the vaccine to attend public school because of the potential risks for others when children are not vaccinated. But support for school MMR requirements dropped from 82% in 2019 to 69% in 2025. This decline is largely because of a steep slide in support among Republicans. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, 79% of Republicans said healthy children should be required to get the MMR vaccine to attend school. This share sunk to 57% in 2023, then to 52% in 2025. In contrast, Democrats’ views on school MMR requirements have remained stable, with solid majority support.

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 2d
Heartening results here www.theargumentmag.com/p/the-covid-...

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 4d
More clever example of what I was going for here www.theatlantic.com/health/2025/...
Do Childhood Vaccines Cause Tornadoes?
It hasn’t been ruled out.
www.theatlantic.com

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 4d
Lots of criticism (appropriately) being directed toward Sen. Cassidy and his infamous ‘commitments’ from RFK, but he had company in falling for this. Here’s Sen. Murkowski the day before the final confirmation vote…
jasonlschwartz.bsky.social Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · Feb 13
Some more ‘commitments’ noted by once-skeptical senators that I’m filing away for future reference.

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 4d
If more (or all) CDC/ACIP recs go in this direction, it’ll make vaccination efforts harder and more confusing. But given the other tools available to HHS—actively recommending against vaccines, publishing safety warnings, rescinding FDA approvals, etc,—it could be worse? (It probably will be worse…)

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 4d
The new approach adopted for COVID vaccine guidance this summer signaled we were likely heading in this direction, as I wrote in NEJM a few months back www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Reposted by Ameet Sarpatwari

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 4d
From today’s Politico Pulse. He’s talking about downgrading more (most? all?) CDC/ACIP vaccine recommendations from ‘routine’ to ‘shared decision-making’. Almost certainly starting with the Hep B birth dose next month and expanding from there.

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 4d
Yeah had the same reaction. I guess “resigned,” “disgusted”, “irate” count as varied?

Reposted by Jason L. Schwartz

drjoshs.bsky.social
Joshua Sharfstein @drjoshs.bsky.social · 4d
With CDC now adding to confusion online about vaccine safety, it's more important than ever to establish networks of trusted sources -- and accurate information -- across communities.

With my colleague Dr. Vanya Jones in @jamahealthforum.com

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 5d
Do Tic Tacs cause dementia? Does whole wheat bread cause incontinence? Who’s to say? Have we ruled out the possibility?
a man with glasses is surrounded by a glowing circle and the website pmitf.com is displayed below him
ALT: a man with glasses is surrounded by a glowing circle and the website pmitf.com is displayed below him
media.tenor.com

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 5d
CDC epistemology Mad Libs time: “The claim "tap water does not cause male-pattern baldness" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that tap water causes male pattern baldness.”

Reposted by Jason L. Schwartz

yalecrrit.bsky.social
Yale CRRIT @yalecrrit.bsky.social · 7d
We are excited to share our first CRRIT newsletter! Our quarterly newsletter will share recently published research, CRRIT mentions in the news, conferences and meetings, and policy engagement (1/2)

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 11d
It’s why I think far more attention needs to be devoted to equipping physicians and other providers with the knowledge, resources, and skills to support these interactions with families. (Even if it means less time generating snazzier Instagram/TikTok/YouTube/podcast content in vogue these days.)

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 11d
So important to keep the actual landscape re: vaccine attitudes in mind. Broad support remains across party lines. Trust highest in one’s doctor, lowest in info from social media, RFK, podcasts. (From today’s www.politico.com/politicopulse/)

Reposted by Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 12d
The first few paragraphs could have been written today (rather than late 2011). Plus ca change…
The current climate surrounding childhood vaccination in the United States is one of confusion and vitriol. Despite the well-documented achievements of vaccines and extensive efforts by the public health community to ensure their safety, vocal critics of vaccination proffer a growing list of theories that link vaccines to an array of medical conditions, most prominently autism. Others question the necessity of newer vaccines, seeing their arrivals not as triumphs of medical research but as overreaches by a profit-obsessed pharmaceutical industry and an accommodating, financially conflicted medical establishment. In response to these charges, physicians, scientists, and government public health officials are routinely on the defensive, refuting allegations of unconfirmed risks, justifying the value of recommended vaccines, and striving to preserve public trust in vaccination overall. While national data suggest that a strong foundation of support for vaccination remains, regional clusters of unvaccinated children and increases in nonmedical exemptions from state school-entry vaccination requirements are causes for alarm among advocates of vaccines. Even more worrisome is research suggesting that the safety of vaccines is a growing concern among many parents [1].

Reposted by Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 12d
Bummed to hear this. One of my first papers as a grad student appeared there, and, thanks to its open access model, has continued to be found by readers (and cited) to this day. journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/new-...

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 23d
So much trust being restored by this crew!

Reposted by Jason L. Schwartz

matthewherper.bsky.social
Matthew Herper @matthewherper.bsky.social · 23d
FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation

CDER Director George Tidmarsh is accused of seeking to use authority to inflict financial harm on former associate

www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...
FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation
George Tidmarsh, the FDA's top drug regulator, has been placed on leave after being accused of abusing his regulatory authority, STAT has learned.
www.statnews.com

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 28d
Lots of things to worry about in vaccine policy, but this isn’t one of them (at least for now). The VFC program doesn’t depend on the annual schedules being updated/ published, but on existing VFC “resolutions” for each vaccine that remain on the books unless rescinded: www.cdc.gov/vaccines-for...

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · 29d
A great time talking vaccines and seeing old bioethics friends at ASBH this weekend! (My connecting flight on the way out to Portland, on the other hand, was a bit of an adventure.)

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · Oct 26
Thanks! Here’s the video. (Felt more dramatic inside) www.reddit.com/r/squawk7700...
From the squawk7700 community on Reddit: A Delta (DL1661) 737-900ER rejected takeoff (RTO) at Minneapolis St. Paul Airport (MSP) after engine fire caught on livestream.
Posted by ltrumpbour - 5 votes and 1 comment
www.reddit.com

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · Oct 24
@airlineflyer.net @petchmo.bsky.social Big fan of the pod (but a total novice in this world). Was on DL1661 today; rejected takeoff after an engine failed. Looks to have hit 137 KTS. Google suggests that’s really close to its ballpark V1. True? www.flightradar24.com/data/flights...
Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map | Flightradar24
The world’s most popular flight tracker. Track planes in real-time on our flight tracker map and get up-to-date flight status & airport information.
www.flightradar24.com

Reposted by Jason L. Schwartz

jama.com
JAMA @jama.com · Oct 22
💬 Viewpoint: The newly constituted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has departed from established, evidence-based guideline development standards, raising concerns about transparency and credibility.

ja.ma/4opGX0K
A JAMA article titled "Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Standards for Assessing Evidence" by Doug Campos-Outcalt and Jonathan Temte, published online October 22, 2025, covering vaccine decision-making and assessment standards.

Reposted by Jason L. Schwartz

melodyschreiber.com
Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · Oct 9
"If a vaccine is sitting on a shelf and not going into somebody’s arm, then it’s worthless, essentially," @angierasmussen.bsky.social said.

"I think anti-vaxxers love vaccines that sit on shelves.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Alarm as CDC calls for separate MMR vaccines despite measles outbreak
Concerns that three separate shots would be more costly and time-consuming, and keep kids from being vaccinated
www.theguardian.com

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · Oct 9
Latest eBay purchase: the 2005 Rolling Stone issue where RFK’s (later retracted) ‘Deadly Immunity’ was published. The very beginning of his two decades (and counting) spent challenging/rejecting the safety of vaccines. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadly_...

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · Oct 9
Great conversation on vaccine hesitancy (and all things US vaccine policy) hosted by the folks at @busph.bsky.social yesterday. Here’s the recording www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSCw...
Vaccine Hesitancy: Past, Present, and Future
YouTube video by Boston University School of Public Health
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Jason L. Schwartz, Henry Jones, Matthew P. McAllister , and 1 more

melodyschreiber.com
Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · Oct 9
The acting director of the CDC called for new, separate MMR shots. That would be "remarkably complicated, time-consuming, costly, but more importantly unnecessary," @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social told me:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Alarm as CDC calls for separate MMR vaccines despite measles outbreak
Concerns that three separate shots would be more costly and time-consuming, and keep kids from being vaccinated
www.theguardian.com

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · Oct 8
No FR announcement, inside 15-days, and now meeting date updated to “TBD” on ACIP website.

jasonlschwartz.bsky.social
Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · Oct 7
One more plug for this webinar tomorrow afternoon. Not too late to register!
jasonlschwartz.bsky.social Jason L. Schwartz @jasonlschwartz.bsky.social · Sep 18
An opportune time to promote this virtual event coming up in a few weeks, hosted by the folks at @busph.bsky.social. (Too bad there’s not much to discuss!) Details and registration: publichealthconversation.org/conversation...