Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Julia Raifman, ScD

KFF @kff.org · 4d

Most Americans, including most Republicans and MAGA supporters, say they want Congress to extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits that help make Marketplace coverage more affordable. https://on.kff.org/4q7ElGy

KFF graph showing that more than 3 in 4 adults (78%) support extending the enhanced premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act Marketplace coverage, based on a KFF Health Tracking Poll from September 23-29, 2025.

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Reposted by Julia Raifman, ScD

NPR @npr.org · 7d

JUST IN: The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked President Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, a move that critics say would have compromised the central bank's independence

Supreme Court says Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can stay -- for now

The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked President Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, a move that critics say would have compromised the central bank's independence

n.pr

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Reposted by Julia Raifman, ScD

Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 7d

Another call for sources: I'm reporting on pediatric Covid vaccine access. If you've had trouble finding pediatric doses in stock, or if your child was turned away, I'd love to hear from you: [email protected].

Thanks to those who replied to my pregnancy callout; that story will be out soon.

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Reposted by Julia Raifman, ScD

Ron Chusid @rchusid.bsky.social · 7d

Study in JAMA Pediatrics estimates that vaccinating pregnant women against COVID-19 prevented 7,000 hospitalizations in infants and 3,000 in pregnant women from January 2024 to May 2025.
#Medsky
www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/cov...

COVID vaccines may have averted thousands of hospital stays in infants, pregnant women over 18 months

www.cidrap.umn.edu

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Reposted by Julia Raifman, ScD

Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 9d

My general belief is that Dems need to spend more time thinking about what they believe and less about what they think some imaginary swing voters want them to believe.

Political strategy will stem from an authentic set of beliefs.

Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · 10d

This was revealing. Worth reading. The basic demand is that Coates spend less time thinking/writing his true feelings and more time playing political strategist. Klein asks him over and over him to do Dem strategy; he says no, over and over. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...

Opinion | Ta-Nehisi Coates on Bridging Gaps vs. Drawing Lines

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Julia Raifman, ScD

Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 10d

How America cut deadly city fires in half www.vox.com/future-perfe...

US urban fire deaths have dropped sharply since 1980

Smoke alarms, sprinklers, safer products, and fewer smokers have cut US city fire deaths in half over four decades.

www.vox.com

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Reposted by Julia Raifman, ScD

The Salt Lake Tribune @sltrib.com · 13d

Utah health officials discovered a person infected with measles visited a Logan medical clinic, where 11 vulnerable babies were exposed, launching a race to get the infants preventative treatment.

Nearly a dozen Utah infants were exposed to measles, triggering a race for preventative treatment

Utah health officials discovered a person infected with measles visited a Logan medical clinic, where 11 vulnerable babies were exposed, launching a race to get the infants preventative treatment.

www.sltrib.com

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Reposted by Julia Raifman, ScD

Kathryn Anne Edwards @kedseconomist.com · 13d

For all the talk of a boys and men crisis, women have seen two tangible, and troubling, trends:
1. The gender wage gap increased over the last two years
2. The number of women working is falling, while the number of working men is going up.

I discuss in my latest:
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

This Labor Market Isn’t Great for Women, Either

Amid all the talk of an economic crisis among young men in the US, female workers are also facing obstacles.

www.bloomberg.com

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Reposted by Julia Raifman, ScD

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 14d

This is huge: “A drug that provides near-perfect protection against H.I.V. with shots just twice a year will be made available at $40 per patient annually in low- and middle-income countries, offering new hope… making lenacapavir a realistic choice in countries with constrained resources.”

Philanthropies Strike a Promising Deal to Turn Back H.I.V.

www.nytimes.com

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · 16d

We can also see how difficult it is to weigh many considerations

With lives on the line, an expert committee informed on the latest science can consider several factors & make hard decisions about evidence-based recommendations

It has to be about more than what is most popular or en vogue

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · 16d

We can take good governance for granted until it’s gone — but it’s worth reflecting on what was working well

ACIP had
- Rigorous vetting of expertise by civil servants
- Rolling 4-year appointments providing continuity across administrations

This led to strong, credible vaccine recommendations

Voting Members
Voting members serve overlapping terms of 4 years. Voting members are identified by the ACIP Steering Committee, and selected and appointed by the Secretary of HHS. Members fall into the following two categories:
• Medical Professional Members (up to 19). ACIP includes up to 19 members representing clinical medical fields (physician, nurse, nurse practitioner) and/or public health professionals, e.g., State Health Department staff or epidemiologists. These positions are held by technically qualified people trained in a clinical medical field who possess in-depth knowledge of vaccines and immunization. Candidates for this position may be recommended by a professional medical organization or other interested parties. ACIP also welcomes self-nominated candidates possessing the required technical knowledge and experience.
• Lay Member: Consumer Representative (one). ACIP must include a consumer representative as one of the 15 voting members of the committee. This position is held by a technically qualified person knowledgeable about consumer perspectives and/or social and community aspects of immunization programs. Candidates for this position may be recommended by a consortium of consumer-oriented organizations, an individual consumer-oriented organization, or other interested parties. ACIP also welcomes self-nominated candidates possessing the required technical knowledge and experience.

https://www.cdc.gov/acip/downloads/Policies-Procedures-508.pdf

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · 18d

Evidence-based vaccination recommendations are about more than individual decisions

A child infected with measles as a baby “not old enough to be vaccinated at the time of infection” recently died of a complication 💔

Vaccines protect kids who receive them — & infants & others in their communities

L.A. child dies from complication of measles infection contracted in infancy

The child died from subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a fatal progressive brain disorder that strikes roughly 1 in 10,000 people infected with measles.

www.latimes.com

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · 20d

Why is the hepatitis B vaccine important to deliver at birth?

The chance of developing chronic hep B differs based on the age at which a person is infected

Chance of chronic hep B:
Infants <1: 90%
Kids 1-5: 30%
Adults: 5%

Chronic hep B can cause liver damage, cancer, & even death

Clinical Overview of Perinatal Hepatitis B

Learn causes, rates, prevention, treatment, clinical features and more about perinatal hepatitis B.

www.cdc.gov

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · 20d

Grateful to the scientists standing up for the integrity of institutions essential to the health & well-being of our whole society

Evidence-based approaches are especially critical to the health of infants & children, whose health depends on reduced community spread of infectious diseases

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · 22d

There is peer-reviewed research highlighting incomplete testing for Hepatitis B

“Among 506,794 pregnancies, 14.6% did not receive HBsAg [hepatitis B surface antigen] testing.”

Some pregnant people may also contract Hepatitis B after testing in 1st trimester

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Gaps in Prenatal Hepatitis B Screening and Management of HBsAg Positive Pregnant Persons in the U.S., 2015–2020

The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends testing all pregnant women for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and testing HBsAg–positive pregnant women for hepatitis B virus d...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · 22d

In theory, it’s sound to focus on Hepatitis B screening in pregnancy & targeted vaccination

But in practice, pregnant people at elevated risk of Hepatitis B are also at risk of less prenatal care

We can learn from syphilis - we haven’t been able to screen & treat in pregnancy as well as we wish

CDC: Congenital syphilis cases rose 740% over a decade

There were 3,882 congenital syphilis cases reported by states and Washington, D.C. in 2023 including 252 stillbirths and 27 infant deaths.

publications.aap.org

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · 22d

Evidence-based public health policy is something to celebrate 🎉

And we must persist in this work. There continue to be preventable cases of Hepatitis B & inequities in the burden of disease. Continuing universal infant vaccination can help.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Trends in reported cases of acute Hepatitis B peaked in 1986 and then declined after ACIP recommended universal infant immunization

Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00333549231175548

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · 22d

In 1991, ACIP transitioned to a universal recommendation that made all the difference

Within 10-15 years, prevalence of Hepatitis B among children decreased by 68%

Millions have avoided chronic liver inflammation that could lead to liver disease & liver cancer

academic.oup.com/jid/article-...
U

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · 22d

Did you know? Universal Infant Hepatitis B vaccination is a public health policy success story.

The US initially tried a risk-based approach to Hepatitis B vaccination in the 1980s.

But vaccination rates remained low.

New cases continued to increase.

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview....

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Reposted by Julia Raifman, ScD

Reuters @reuters.com · 24d

Exclusive: Fed Governor Cook declared her Atlanta property as “vacation home,” documents show reut.rs/4n1Izxd

Exclusive: Fed Governor Cook declared her Atlanta property as “vacation home,” documents show

A loan estimate for an Atlanta home purchased by Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor accused of mortgage fraud by the Trump administration, shows that Cook had declared the property as a “vacation home,” according to a document reviewed by Reuters.

reut.rs

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · Jul 20

#MedicareForAll would cover more people, more efficiently

Seth Boo!-ger Trueger @mdaware.org · Jul 20

yes if we switched to single payer that would mean higher taxes

…which would (should) replace money we are already spending privately, but… less

average annual premiums for covered workers, single and family, 2024, @KFF.org; ~8300-8900 singlw, 24k-25k family.
https://www.kff.org/report-section/ehbs-2024-section-1-cost-of-health-insurance/

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · Jul 7

Grateful to Dr. Spencer for calling for us to consider — Who are we as a nation? May we lean into the good

May we make this chapter a brief interruption in continued work toward better

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · Jul 7

“America’s strength has never come from isolation or indifference, but from an instinct to care beyond our borders

The belief we have a responsibility to others isn’t shortsighted sentimentalism; it’s the moral foundation of a meaningful life”
— @craigspencer.bsky.social @nytopinion.nytimes.com

Opinion | You Don’t Have to Be a Doctor to Understand This

www.nytimes.com

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · Jul 5

Circling back with a visual on how leadership & activism made a difference after the darkest days of HIV: A 40% decline in global HIV deaths. May we make the heartbreaking interruption that happens next brief

May we keep going on rebuilding stronger institutions in the US & around the world

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Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · Jul 5

Medicare for All may not come immediately — And,

We will all be better off should we pass Medicare for All in the future

— @sanders.senate.gov remarks in 2022 still resonate today

Also still true today: The public wants *more* on health care, not less.

May we keep working toward it.

KFF Health Tracking Poll: Views of the One Big Beautiful Bill | KFF

This poll finds two-thirds of the public view the "One Big Beautiful Bill" legislation unfavorably, and its favorability erodes further when people hear about its potential health impacts. As Congress...

www.kff.org

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