Raeraele

Common sense. Humility. Wanders for food. Thoughts are my own.

[Texas Monthly @TexasMonthly]

Cofounded by Sam Houston, the Philosophical Society of Texas has kept a low profile for 189 years, even though its current members include George W. Bush, Charles Butt, Taylor Sheridan, and Kay Bailey Hutchison.

What do they talk about when they get together? We went to their annual conference to find out. https://t.co/VgRQNmxsE6

[Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @PeterHotez]

So far in 2025: a pernicious MAHA movement in our U.S. Govt has brought back measles, and now pertussis. This was trending in 2023-2024 but they’ve accelerated it. Next they hope to bring back chronic hepatitis B/liver cancer. Remember, they don’t care about you or your family..

[Raeraele @Raeraele]

Acknowledging @SenBillCassidy’s comments. Hepatitis B is scary and ACIP’s decision will have long term negative consequences- at the expense of children.

[U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. @SenBillCassidy]

As a liver doctor who has treated patients with hepatitis B for decades, this change to the vaccine schedule is a mistake. The hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective. The birth dose is a recommendation, NOT a mandate.

Before the birth dose was recommended, 20,000 newborns a year were infected with hepatitis B. Now, it’s fewer than 20. Ending the recommendation for newborns makes it more likely the number of cases will begin to increase again. This makes America sicker.

Acting CDC Director O’Neill should not sign these new recommendations and instead retain the current, evidence-based approach.

[U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. @SenBillCassidy]

President Trump and I agree: vaccines save lives. If a mom wants to get a lifesaving hepatitis B vaccine to protect her newborn, she should be able to get it. The proposed ACIP recommendation could have put that access at risk, making it harder for that mom or that parent to protect their child against hepatitis B. Postponing the vote was the right call.

Children’s health should be the top priority. We must ensure that any vaccine recommendation protects patient choice and never takes away families’ access to safe, effective vaccines.
https://t.co/HjMOza7vXm

[S&T Policy with K.R.W. Matthews, Ph.D. @stpolicy]

The FDA has authorized updated COVID-19 vaccines to target the latest strain — but
with new restrictions. @PeterHotez unpacks what this means for US vaccine policy & why evidence-based action is critical for public health. #Policy #PublicHealth #Science https://t.co/cCMuXzsToy

[S&T Policy with K.R.W. Matthews, Ph.D. @stpolicy]

Check out the upcoming event featuring our senior fellow Peter Hotez and challenges with anti-science.

[Raeraele @Raeraele]

@stuartpstevens This is also happening in state legislatures. https://t.co/V6pafEZJY3

[DrDemetre @dr_demetre]

My resignation letter from CDC.

Dear Dr. Houry,

I am writing to formally resign from my position as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective August 28, 2025, close of business.   I am happy to stay on for two weeks to provide transition, if requested.

This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission. However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough.

While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people.  This step is necessary to ensure that I can contribute effectively in a capacity that allows me to remain true to my principles.

I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.  The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.   The data analyses that supported this decision have never been shared with CDC despite my respectful requests to HHS and other leadership.  This lack of meaningful engagement was further compounded by a “frequently asked questions” document written to support the Secretary’s directive that was circulated by HHS without input from CDC subject matter experts and that cited studies that did not support the conclusions that were attributed to these authors.  Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people.

It is untenable to serve in an organization that is not afforded the opportunity to discuss decisions of scientific and public health importance released under the moniker of CDC.  The lack of communication by HHS and other CDC political leadership that culminates in social media posts announcing major policy changes without prior notice demonstrate a disregard of normal communication channels and common sense.  Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought-out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long X posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function.  Some examples include the announcement of the change in the COVID-19 recommendations for children and pregnant people, the firing of scientists from ACIP by X post and an op-ed rather than direct communication with these valuable experts, the announcement of new ACIP members by X before onboarding and vetting have completed, and the release of term of reference for an ACIP workgroup that ignored all feedback from career staff at CDC.

The recent term of reference for the COVID vaccine work group created by this ACIP puts people of dubious intent and more dubious scientific rigor in charge of recommending vaccine policy to a director hamstrung and sidelined by an authoritarian leader.   Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults.  Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc.

I have always been first to challenge scientific and public health dogma in my career and was excited by the opportunity to do so again.  I was optimistic that there would be an opportunity to brief the Secretary about key topics such as measles, avian influenza, and the highly coordinated approach to the respiratory virus season.  Such briefings would allow exchange of ideas and a shared path to support the vision of “Making America Healthy Again.”  We are seven months into the new administration, and no CDC subject matter expert from my Center has ever briefed the Secretary.  I am not sure who the Secretary is listening to, but it is quite certainly not to us.  Unvetted and conflicted outside organizations seem to be the sources HHS use over the gold standard science of CDC and other reputable sources.  At a hearing, Secretary Kennedy said that Americans should not take medical advice from him.  To the contrary, an appropriately briefed and inquisitive Secretary should be a source of health information for the people he serves. As it stands now, I must agree with him, that he should not be considered a source of accurate information.

The intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines favoring natural infection and unproven remedies will bring us to a pre-vaccine era where only the strong will survive and many if not all will suffer.  I believe in nutrition and exercise.  I believe in making our food supply healthier, and I also believe in using vaccines to prevent death and disability.  Eugenics plays prominently in the rhetoric being generated and is derivative of a legacy that good medicine and science should continue to shun.

The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning.  My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so.  I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud.   I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur.  I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed.

For decades, I have been a trusted voice for the LGBTQ community when it comes to critical health topics.  I must also cite the recklessness of the administration in their efforts to erase transgender populations, cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research to support equity as part of my decision.

Public health is not merely about the health of the individual, but it is about the health of the community, the nation, the world. The nation’s health security is at risk and is in the hands of people focusing on ideological self-interest.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities for growth, learning, and collaboration that I have been afforded during my time at the CDC. It has been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated professionals who are committed to improving the health and well-being of communities across the nation even when under attack from within both physically and psychologically.

Thank you once again for the support and guidance I have received from you and previous CDC leadership throughout my tenure. I wish the CDC continued success in its vital mission and that HHS reverse its dangerous course to dismantle public health as a practice and as an institution.  If they continue the current path, they risk our personal well-being and the security of the United States.

Sincerely,

Demetre C. Daskalakis MD MPH (he/his/him)

[Donna Howard @DonnaHowardTX]

Proud of @JAMIEGroup14 and her mom for their advocacy to protect college students from the devastating impacts of meningitis. Grateful to have worked with them to get this legislation passed. #txlege @Immunize_USA

[American Academy of Pediatrics @AmerAcadPeds]

Thimerosal is a preservative found in some flu vaccines. False information and faulty “science” about thimerosal are frequently used to mislead parents in an attempt to scare them out of vaccinating their children.

Here’s the truth: https://t.co/YF0aGwia8g

[Raeraele @Raeraele]

More than 700 measles cases. Two children dead. Public outrage. #txlege shrugs and says “who cares if we have more unvaccinated kids and outbreaks. It’s just a form.” #HB1586

[Raeraele @Raeraele]

@Menendez4Texas Congrats!! All the best.

[Texas DSHS @TexasDSHS]

A school-aged child died on Thursday.

This is the second Texas measles death in the ongoing outbreak centered in the South Plains region.

The child was not vaccinated and had no known underlying health conditions.

Read more: https://t.co/Y3cYM8tthU

[Raeraele @Raeraele]

Another child in Texas has died of #measles. Yet the #txlege wants to weaken the state’s vaccine policies because it’s good for politics.
https://t.co/61X9FoTiyO

[Raeraele @Raeraele]

What a disappointment to see #txlege TX senate celebrating anti vaccination organization when we have an ongoing measles outbreak in high exempt part of the state and kids are being hospitalized.

[Raeraele @Raeraele]

Gaines county west of Lubbock is experiencing a measles outbreak. Children are affected. It’s going to get worse. Yet lawmakers are intentionally trying to weaken the immunization program #txlege https://t.co/3UnOBWxsa2

[Raeraele @Raeraele]

@DonnaHowardTX @scottbraddock I’m so sorry for your loss. Peace to you and your family.

[The IZ Partnership @Immunize_USA]

Our statement about CyFair ISD in Houston erasing vaccines from books.

[Raeraele @Raeraele]

Learned a lot from @PeterHotez and I can’t think of a better person to receive this honor. @Immunize_USA

[The IZ Partnership @Immunize_USA]

Congratulations to Dr. Peter Hotez for being named one of @Time Magazine's Most 100 Influential People in Health for 2024. Through his work on #vaccines and his adamant stance against antiscience ignorance, he's always been on the top of our list.

https://t.co/usqOJwdcd3

[Raeraele @Raeraele]

We have folks and some electeds advocating against getting animals vaccinated (not implying this is happening because of that). But still.

[CIDRAP @CIDRAP]

New update from USDA APHIS: Avian flu now confirmed in Michigan dairy cows, with presumptive positives for more herds in NM, Idaho, and Texas

https://t.co/LqJcDA6Uwq