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Alison Buttenheim

@alison-buttenheim.bsky.social

360 followers 350 following 48 posts

Behavioral scientist and public health nerd. Super into preventing infectious disease through behavior change, policy impact, and LEGO® Serious Play®. (Yes, really).

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Feb 16

🤓 I study the human behavioral aspects of infectious disease prevention.

"Human" means:
🏌️🫄👨‍🦽individuals going about their daily lives
🤧😷 patients making decisions about prevention & treatment
👩‍⚕️💊💉providers who screen, prescribe & treat;
🧑‍💼🇺🇸🏛️ policy-makers (big P, little p) who make laws & regs

⬇️

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Jun 19

{starts searching for flights to Atlanta...}

Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · Jun 19

🦠ATTENTION ATLANTA! 🤒

While the new anti-vax members of ACIP discuss how best to restrict vaccine access, we're holding a parade of diseases outside CDC. So brush off that polio costume and come dressed to kill!

*Plz dress as the organism-not an infected person-we don't want to appear to mock ppl

A poster with a blue background and orange writing that says:
Parade of Preventable Diseases
June 25th, Wednesday, 4pm. CDC Roybal entrance
Emory point drive at Clifton Road NE
Have you heard? Polio and measles are back.
While RFK Jr's new ACIP plays science-denial bingo inside, we'll be outside showing the real-world consequences of his attacks on public health.

Bring signs and dress as your favorite preventable disease.

Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Jun 19

💊 How do "red pilling" narratives help us understand the current anti-vaccine moment?

📆 When we started working on this paper in Summer 2022, we didn't think it would take 3 years to write & publish.

😬 We also didn't think it would still be SOOOOOO timely.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 31

Gov Little did veto the Idaho bill that would have turned schools and workplaces into cesspools. A positive step, and a nice little piece of policy jujitsu: Little claimed the bill "removes parents’ freedom to keep their kids healthy at school."

www.boisestatepublicradio.org/politics-gov...

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 31

Vaccines for Children grants. All terminated.

Every single one of the 64 US jurisdictions managing our immunization programs.

See Philadelphia's Dept Pub Health cuts below. The VFC terminations run from pages 25-31 in this listing: taggs.hhs.gov/Content/Data...

HANDS OFF VACCINES FOR CHILDREN!

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 29

...But we need to worry about this.

If you're making calls to legislators, add your local state rep to the list.

📲 Tell them: 🚫 HANDS OFF school-entry mandates!

Don't be like Idaho. You really don't want to live in a state with no school-entry mandates.

as always h/t @doritreiss.bsky.social

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 29

...are *why* we have enjoyed low rates of vaccine-preventable diseases. The evidence is clear:

* Mandates ▶️ higher coverage
* Easier exemption regimes ▶️ lower coverage
* Lower coverage, clusters of unvaccinated kids ▶️ outbreaks

I know there's a lot to pay attention to and worry about right now...

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 29

...ban private businesses, schools, and government entities from requiring any "medical interventions" to attend or work.

Did I mention "unprecedented"? Have you seen the measles numbers in TX & elsewhere?

Make no mistake: School-entry mandates...

www.boisestatepublicradio.org/politics-gov...

Idaho House passes 'medical freedom' discrimination protections

It’ll be up to Gov. Brad Little whether private businesses in Idaho can refuse to serve customers or hire employees who don’t treat their own health conditions.

www.boisestatepublicradio.org

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 29

No more school-entry vaccine mandates in Idaho?

Tomorrow (Saturday 3/28), Idaho Gov Brad Little may sign (or let pass into law w/o his signature) an *unprecedented* decimation of hard-won herd immunity against vaccine-preventable diseases.

Couched as "medical freedom", Senate Bill 1023 would...

Physician Women For Democratic Principles #PWDP @pwdp.bsky.social · Mar 27

Idaho could be the first state in the nation to lose their school immunization requirements. Not only will that put Idahoans at risk, but as we see with the current measles outbreak, diseases don't recognize state boundaries.

Lawmakers advance 'Medical Freedom' bill banning vaccine mandates by businesses, local governments

Idaho lawmakers are advancing a bill expanding a ban on medical mandates from public entities and businesses. The proposal was introduced in February and originally written to target COVID Vaccination...

www.boisestatepublicradio.org

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 28

Thanks @pennldi.bsky.social for summarizing our work on the B-OK bottles so succinctly in this research brief.

Click through to learn how human-centered design + behavioral insights can change mental models and improve both understanding and intentions related to HIV treatment adherence and U=U.

PennLDI @pennldi.bsky.social · Mar 27

NEW FINDINGS: Simple visual aids, such as bead-filled bottles, may change attitudes and improve intent to take medication among people with HIV.

Read our research brief here: ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/res...

Visual Tools Improve Understanding of HIV Medication

Bottles filled with beads representing the HIV virus in the body can improve understanding of living with HIV and the intention to take medication.

ldi.upenn.edu

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Reposted by Alison Buttenheim

Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · Mar 17

We just wanted to take a moment to thank all our new supporters! Tomorrow, there will be more of us!

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 13

Ok, I've seen enough. Can we just fast forward to this part, please?

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 12

An HHS Secretary who believes and is willing to spread this misinformation will cause deaths this year.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Mar 12

RFK Jr on the measles vaccine: "There are adverse events from the vaccine. It does cause deaths every year. It causes all the illnesses that measles itself cause."

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 10

“It is the policy of NIH not to prioritize research activities that focuses gaining scientific knowledge on why individuals are hesitant to be vaccinated and/or explore ways to improve vaccine interest and commitment"

From @washingtonpost.com story
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

NIH to terminate or limit grants related to vaccine hesitancy and uptake

The order covers more than 40 awards to researchers around the country seeking to understand why vaccine acceptance has declined.

www.washingtonpost.com

Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 7

Wait don't we have a DOGE that's supposed to root out waste?

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · Mar 7

The CDC is reportedly planning a large study into potential connections between vaccines and autism, "despite extensive scientific research that has disproven or failed to find evidence of such links"

Exclusive: U.S. CDC plans study into vaccines and autism, sources say

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is planning a large study into potential connections between vaccines and autism, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, despite extensive scientific research that has disproven or failed to find evidence of such links.

www.reuters.com

Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 5

😡 And....March 20th study section just cancelled.

🤔Not a surprise.

🤦But still a disappointment.

❤️🔴Special Emphasis Panel on HIV behavioral intervention.

Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 5

It turns out that public healthing is hard with no people.

NPR @npr.org · Mar 5

Some employees who were previously fired received emails saying they're "clear to return to work."

In a sudden reversal, CDC rescinds some staff firings

Some employees who were previously fired received emails saying they're "cleared to return to work."

www.npr.org

Reposted by Alison Buttenheim

Infectious Diseases @infectiousdz.bsky.social · Mar 5

Maybe it would be best if unlicensed medical advice was not promoted.

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 4

Man that would be so cool
www.accuweather.com/en/health-we...

Reposted by Alison Buttenheim

Claudia Koerner @claudiakoerner.bsky.social · Mar 3

can't believe it's 2025 and i'm stressed about tariffs and measles, like am i a character in an american girl book

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 3

Good times! RFK OpEd was super helpf--- oh wait.

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Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 3

Read the whole thing - it's a train wreck of misinformation and spin. "Diet can help".

Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 3

What did he promise during his confirmation hearings? Oh, right.

Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 3

And then

Alison Buttenheim @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social · Mar 3

Oh, fine, nothing to see here. Just some totally normal and evidence-based things for HHS secy to say in the wake of a crushing outbreak of measles. #notnormal

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Reposted by Alison Buttenheim

Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · Feb 26

RFK Jr. said today that there have been 2 measles deaths this year, not one in the US.
STAT doesn't know of a second death, #CDC is referring queries to #HHS & HHS hasn't answered our call or email. If you know anything, please pass the information along. www.statnews.com/2025/02/26/t...

Texas measles outbreak marks first fatality as more cases reported

A child in Texas has died from measles, the first death from measles in the United States since 2015.

www.statnews.com

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