Howard Zucker

Howard Zucker, MD, ex-NY Health Commissioner, led major virus responses; GWU MD at 22, White House Fellow, law & global health. Podcast host of DOCOLOGY.

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

@aftab_usa Very different than Covid…https://t.co/gCS9NLE1FV

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

@DrNeilStone https://t.co/gCS9NLE1FV

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

Hantavirus. Why this is not Covid! https://t.co/GpvBQUCUBt

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

Just read that some members of ACIP are pushing the FDA to restrict Covid-19 vaccination recommendations and possibly rescind them. Have we forgotten what happened in 2020? I haven't! I was the NYS health commissioner, counting down the days until a vaccine was available to stem the tide of the pandemic. We are going backwards in public health if we remove vaccinations as a way to prevent disease! Let's look at measles for a moment. From January 2020 to March 2024, there were 338 measles cases in the United States. In 2025 there were 2362 cases. And in just the first 5 weeks of 2026, there have been 733 confirmed cases! If we keep that pace up, we will see over 7,500 cases by the end of the year. 95% were in people who were unvaccinated or of unknown status! Those who create narratives that fit their unscientific beliefs put the rest of us at risk of another public health crisis. If we continue on this path, this nation will see, in the not-too-distant future, an outbreak of a preventable disease that will ultimately take the lives of young children, as well as adults, across the country. The Secretary of HHS has a moral and ethical responsibility to use evidence-based science to improve the well-being of all Americans. There are areas of medicine that are worth challenging - and that should be looked at under the proverbial microscope, but vaccination is NOT one of them.

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

Simply put, the CDC’s decision to cut vaccination recommendations for children is beyond horrific.
When my son was 10 weeks old, he contracted influenza and was too young to be vaccinated. Those were long, sleepless nights, waiting and watching, hoping the illness would not spiral into a hospital admission. As a pediatric critical care physician, I know exactly how that story can end. I have seen children die from the flu. I have seen them die from RSV and from other diseases that vaccines can prevent.
Secretary Kennedy’s decision is deplorable. This is science moving backward. And none of this is surprising. He has been an anti-vaccine activist for decades. Which brings me to Senator Cassidy: why did you vote to confirm him when we all knew this was coming?
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Apparently, it will take the death of a child or a grandchild of a member of Congress before we acknowledge how reckless and reprehensible today’s CDC decision truly is.
That infant that I worried about years ago is now eight. He had the flu a few weeks ago, but he was vaccinated last fall. He recovered. No ICU. No fear-filled nights.
Thank goodness for science. And for choosing it over ignorance.
As former CDC Deputy Director for Global Health, I can tell you that children die every day across the globe from preventable diseases: RSV, hepatitis, influenza. We know how to stop this. So why is America, with all its resources, its science, and its expertise, deliberately setting itself up for the same tragedies that plague countries without those advantages? Why are we choosing this path?
I urge all families to listen to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which their pediatricians are aware of, as I no longer can trust the CDC, an institution I strongly believed in, to give sound advice.

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

Simply put, the CDC’s decision to cut vaccination recommendations for children is beyond horrific.
When my son was 10 weeks old, he contracted influenza and was too young to be vaccinated. Those were long, sleepless nights, waiting and watching, hoping the illness would not spiral into a hospital admission. As a pediatric critical care physician, I know exactly how that story can end. I have seen children die from the flu. I have seen them die from RSV and from other diseases that vaccines can prevent.
Secretary Kennedy’s decision is deplorable. This is science moving backward. And none of this is surprising. He has been an anti-vaccine activist for decades. Which brings me to Senator Cassidy: why did you vote to confirm him when we all knew this was coming?
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Apparently, it will take the death of a child or a grandchild of a member of Congress before we acknowledge how reckless and reprehensible today’s CDC decision truly is.
That infant that I worried about years ago is now eight. He had the flu a few weeks ago, but he was vaccinated last fall. He recovered. No ICU. No fear-filled nights.
Thank goodness for science. And for choosing it over ignorance.
As former CDC Deputy Director for Global Health, I can tell you that children die every day across the globe from preventable diseases: RSV, hepatitis, influenza. We know how to stop this. So why is America, with all its resources, its science, and its expertise, deliberately setting itself up for the same tragedies that plague countries without those advantages? Why are we choosing this path?
I urge all families to listen to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which their pediatricians are aware of, as I no longer can trust the CDC, an institution I strongly believed in, to give sound advice.

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

Simply put, the CDC’s decision to cut vaccination recommendations for children is beyond horrific.
When my son was 10 weeks old, he contracted influenza and was too young to be vaccinated. Those were long, sleepless nights, waiting and watching, hoping the illness would not spiral into a hospital admission. As a pediatric critical care physician, I know exactly how that story can end. I have seen children die from the flu. I have seen them die from RSV and from other diseases that vaccines can prevent.
Secretary Kennedy’s decision is deplorable. This is science moving backward. And none of this is surprising. He has been an anti-vaccine activist for decades. Which brings me to Senator Cassidy: why did you vote to confirm him when we all knew this was coming?
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Apparently, it will take the death of a child or a grandchild of a member of Congress before we acknowledge how reckless and reprehensible today’s CDC decision truly is.
That infant that I worried about years ago is now eight. He had the flu a few weeks ago, but he was vaccinated last fall. He recovered. No ICU. No fear-filled nights.
Thank goodness for science. And for choosing it over ignorance.
As former CDC Deputy Director for Global Health, I can tell you that children die every day across the globe from preventable diseases: RSV, hepatitis, influenza. We know how to stop this. So why is America, with all its resources, its science, and its expertise, deliberately setting itself up for the same tragedies that plague countries without those advantages? Why are we choosing this path?
I urge all families to listen to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which their pediatricians are aware of, as I no longer can trust the CDC, an institution I strongly believed in, to give sound advice.

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

Autism….(cont’d)….

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

As we look forward to a new year with health and wellness in mind, let’s review Docology from 2025 - I am grateful for the opportunity to have these discussions on the podcast. Thank you for your questions and for joining in….(cont’d)….

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

Healthcare coverage…(cont’d)…

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

Influenza…. (cont’d)….

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

Declining vaccination rates have led to a resurgence of measles. A ‘25 outbreak in the Southwest has led to more measles cases nationally than any year since 2000, when the virus was declared eliminated in US. Spoke about it in this N.Y. Times article.
https://t.co/MXlgZRlinh

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

@DrNeilStone Fact-based science….

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

@AnnieAndrewsMD I watched. Here are my thoughts….

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

@Reuters I watched the meetings. Here are my thoughts…..

[Howard Zucker @howardzuckermd]

@dr_andrealove My thoughts….