while the many concerns expressed about the trump regime’s attack on our nation’s health and education/science institutions are absolutely on the mark, i fear they miss the target in their specificity. instead, i believe the real challenge before us is the corruption of our democratic principles and the nation’s evolution to a socially just state focused on the welfare and well being of all. i fear that the house of medicine is being brought to heal and corrupted by the authoritarian state, as other authoritarian states have reduced our profession to mere toys of the regime. the professions need to join with others across society to vigorously oppose all the dictatorial moves of this regime. this is no time to “stay in our lane” because if we don’t oppose what is happening our lane will be dictated to us. the questions before us are what side are we on and what did we do? we don’t want to have to give the wrong answers when we are asked this in the future.
Just curious, did you feel the same way when The Experts™, the mainstream media, and our government silenced those with opposing viewpoints (most have been proven correct) on lockdowns and treatments during COVID? Do you oppose big Pharma funding our media and medical journals? The entire system is corrupted by financial gain, which is why nobody trust the healthcare system anymore.
Of course you didn't. You guys are such hypocrites. You will marinate the rest of your life knowing that you destroyed the healthcare industry and the health of a nation and did nothing about it but attack those that are actually trying to make things better. I hope it was worth it.
sweat tea, don’t know why you think that i am arguing that capitalism is good for health or health care. but the authoritarian trump regime certainly won’t go against a system based on financial accumulation by the wealthy! they will double down on it!
You are labeling the changes this administration was elected to do an attack on health and science yet the system you have been a part of has deteriorated and been corrupted year after year with no sign of improvement even though we spend more than any country on the planet. You can't keep throwing money at the problem because money isn't the issue, it's the people in charge of the system and those in the system just like education. The more we spend the worse the outcomes. You are lashing out at Trump yet your profession has helped to create this mess. I want people to profit from healthcare. The better you are the more you should make, but I don't think you should profit by sickening a nation then keeping them sick because you are too much of a coward to stand up to the people running the system.
Authoritarian regime? Who implemented a vaccine mandate? Who used the media and social media to silence those speaking out who turned about to right? Do you think the Biden administration was authoritarian?
Our healthcare system is a patchwork of government intervention after government intervention over decades that has only produced higher costs and worse outcomes. We have a system that nobody in their right mind would create. It needs to be completely destroyed and rebuilt from the ground up, but NOBODY will touch it left or right. There is too much money being made by the people at the top and the people in the system are too cowardly to speak up out of fear of being cancelled so nothing will change until the system destroys itself which can't come soon enough.
sweet tea. i find your arguments to be discombobulated inconsistent and internally contradictory. you want people to make money but accuse people of being too motivated by money. you attack the process of science but offer no way to do anything different. and so far in terms of having a plan to fix all you claim is broken i find nothing. how about universal medicare? maybe the concept of a plan is enough is enough for you…. it’s very brave of you to make such dramatic claims while standing on such insubstantial grounds. don’t you think data and better concepts would help? and you are completely missing the authoritarian megalomania of the trump regime.
Mandates specifically for vaxes for the most part except for interstate travel, the military, & some Fed workers who had the option to test frequently were up to the states. NOT the Feds or WH or CDC or boogie man Dr Fauci. Masks the same up to the states except for travel. As far as being "silenced" WHY were ones like RFK Jr, Dr Bhatt, Rand Paul on Fox or conservative podcasts, etc whenever they wanted? I heard more than I cared to from them & I wasn't trying to listen to them! Dr Bhatt. was even in the Oval Office along with Scott Atlas. The Supreme Court even ruled they were not silenced!! Not going further but I could refute step by step a lot of your assertions. Also, with a federal system of government you end up in a pandemic with 50 states pretty much doing what they want. Not great as Dr Fauci continuously said in a pandemic.
As a biology professor who specializes in first year courses, the attempts to destroy not only basic research but to destroy education and our belated and still evolving strategies to create classrooms where all students from all identities can be successful. We know that the best research and development happens when diverse voices are engaged and that is being intentionally white washed by the Trump admin.
Watching from outside the US in the medical field, it’s been heartbreaking to see the strain doctors, researchers, and students are under with this massive instability and thoughtless destruction. The devastation, uncertainty, and loss of life this is causing in other areas world-wide shows the problems the US administration are creating don’t just stay within the US.
The disinformation and misinformation the administration is contributing to continue to polarize and prevent people from operating in their own best interests. (We see an example even here in this comment section of either a dis/misinformed USian or a foreign bot trying to sow discord and disrupt discussion. It’s a problem that is ever-growing.)
I am so profoundly sad for all of us. I’m sad for children who are getting liver damage from their parents listening to a supposed authority (Kennedy) who is peddling Vitamin A rather than proven vaccines.
I’m sad for public health colleagues in the US who are desperately trying to do five jobs because the new CDC workers who would have been assigned to help them have all been fired.
I am sad for those dying of, and who will die of, utterly preventative causes because USAID, food programs, and other basics have been destroyed.
I am sad for all of us when the next infectious pandemic lays waste to many more people than it should have, because the US dismantled research and monitoring that should have caught it early and/or created treatments.
I am sad for those who have been given a simplistic view of the world that benefits only a handful of rich people and leads to them caring far less about everyone else, and also leads to them having to live in an alternate reality where they feel persecuted and lied to by every system. Nobody should have to feel like every major structure is arrayed against them, but that’s the situation that has been so cleverly created by political ideologues and foreign governments interested in destabilizing North America.
I am sad for the researchers that spent years of their lives on projects, only to have their work trampled like ants under the feet of angry toddlers.
I am sad for everyone who dies of cancer, tuberculosis, or many other diseases in the future, that would have been spared or had their burden lightened by the results of those research projects (that will now never finish).
I am sad for everyone being rendered invisible right now, all the minorities of different types - racialized, disability, LGBTQ+, etc. - who are being denied opportunities, recognition, a voice, a presence within research.
I am sad for all the undocumented people that have to be terrified of seeking medical care because ICE might come snatch them from the hospital.
I feel like the grief this administration is causing to everyone - including their own supporters, though those supporters are often unable to recognize or acknowledge it because of the alternate reality that has been created for them - will not stop.
Even after this administration ends, the damage they have done will continue to resonate in the lives that were prematurely and unnecessarily ended, the destruction of systems that may take decades to rebuild, the massive amount of money wasted by the destroying of projects that can’t simply be restarted years later, and so forth.
Many of the things being done can’t be repaired; many things have simply been destroyed. The death toll can’t be changed. We simply have to live with the pain of knowing people were harmed in great numbers and even died unnecessarily.
We don’t bear the responsibility for these actions, and we will all continue to do our best to mitigate what damage we can. But we still bear the grief, because anyone who cares about others can’t avoid being affected by this needless trauma.
Thank you for continuing to keep these issues in the forefront. I have to hope that all our efforts now will lead, maybe, to less human suffering down the line. So many of us, from medical to legal to environmental to other causes, are fighting the cruelties of this administration on many different fronts, and whether we’re in the US or not, our efforts to care for others show that humanity is always worth fighting for.
I have repeatedly stated, my lexicon & those I have recently acquired or sought after do not convey the magnitude of the soror the decrepits in the current administration has created.
Every day there is another e.g. of egregious behaviour, the moron actually thinks he can acquire my homeland & he mocks the sanctity of the Roman Catholic Church by using AI in impersonate the recently deceased Pope Francis 😥 while there remains a official period of mourning!
As I type this, would this not be the equivalent of being an imposter in "black-faced" 🤔 😥😥
Some time ago, NYT had an article listing the people they could identify as part of DOGE: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/27/us/politics/doge-staff-list.html (last updated April 18). Six were identified as operating within HHS. It would be very useful to have continuing observation of these, and any others, recording specifically what they are doing and how they are being either helped or opposed by HHS staffers - the helpers are every bit as complicit as the DOGE operatives, and should equally be called out and identified. I know this is not something that you, Dr. Faust, can personally add to the invaluable work you're doing, but perhaps one or more of your sources within HHS could include this among the observations they provide to you. Focus on the craven and incompetent individuals who are making the orange maggot's policies work at the most basic levels can only increase awareness of just how bad it is on the ground, and what specifically is being targeted.
Thank you for this. As a research administrator it has been horrifying to witness this attack on science. I feel for our students who had planned to work on a PhD and are now left pondering. This is not making America great - this is the dumbing down of America. I worry about those on the front lines of health who won’t be obtaining accurate news regarding current status of illnesses in the country.
I am very thankful for the experts and what they had to say about our healthcare system in the first one hundred days of the Trump administration.
It is heartbreaking to me and to quote Dr. Choo "it's wrong" what has been done.
I don't feel safe medically for myself, loved ones and our country with the current so called leaders of the Trump government "in charge" of our healthcare system.
Do no harm has become do exponential harm, intentionally or not. The dismantling of research, public health and the creation of non-evidence based decisions as policy. And that's kind of the tip of the iceberg.
Thank you for being so diligent in monitoring the situation and informing us.
This is excellent reporting and also deeply disturbing on how this chainsaw cutting of vital health and human services will have generational negative impacts on all our wellbeing.
I’d also add the cuts to USDA kids food programs will devastating for kids nutritional health, esp. those families that are already hit hard right now.
My question will be what Congress will do with the upcoming HHS budget. The GOP will mainly follow the WH. Will they get RFK Jr, the sub agency heads up to testify & grill them further. A CDC head is still needed. Dems REALLY have to step up. Pretty obvious the House will do a lot of cutting. Senate can stall & filibuster some. Will we get a new Covid 19 vax approved for fall. Sounding less likely at this stage. The guidelines will likely be eh just decide yourself or check with your clinic. Maybe use an older Covid 19 vax- how much will it help protect for this season? Through this year into '26 and the midterms should be QUITE interesting.
First, thank you for opening comments to non-premium subscribers (although I see why you would keep it closed because there are inevitably trolls who try to cause trouble. Second, thank you for the amazing coverage and analysis you have been providing over the past few months. I am always excited when I see you have posted a new article.
Re: the topic at hand, I will say that although I’m fairly certain that most of the agencies/departments and programs that have been destroyed will exist again, I am so fearful about how we will navigate the time in between and the time it will take to rebuild. I am a pediatric nurse practitioner and mom to a 5 year old and I worry so much about what the future for my family will look like with all of the deregulation and destruction. I worry about increased risk of foodborne illness, the rise in vaccine preventable diseases, the loss of research that would have led to break through treatments/cures, the destruction of our environment with toxins/pollutants, and the loss of experts who advised on everything from product safety to newborn screening for heritable diseases…the list is endless really. I just hope that we put a stop to at least some of this destruction and begin to reverse course/recover soon.
Worst effects: I have heard via colleagues that the morale among young biomedical scientists is very low. Research faculty at med schools will be looking to exit (much of their salary is “soft money” derived from funded NIH grants). A 40% cut in grants means almost no salary for many
We need stronger, more principled candidates on both sides—Bill Cassidy backing RFK Jr’s confirmation is a clear example of weak leadership. RFK Jr. has continued spreading misinformation even after taking office.
Cutting mental health programs under this administration undermines public safety—when care is defunded, people fall through the cracks, and the risk of gun violence rises. In 2024: 491—gun violence remains a persistent concern, with over 500 deaths and more than 2,100 injuries reported that year.
Working in public health, some cuts to our programs, my grant is "guaranteed" through June 2026. Adjunct teaching in an academic public health program, my collogues are losing their funding for their research. We are trying to show strong support of our graduates now going into public health, while DEI, LGBTQA+, and other social and behavioral determinants of health are being cancelled.
We took so many steps forward in preventative medicine. COVID took us back a little, but now, our taking several steps back. Misinformation and disinformation is mounting. This is harming the health of the public.
I enjoy your writing. I’m a gastroenterologist based in Cleveland, and at this point in my career, I've developed an interest in generating dialogue about issues within the medical field. I thought my work might be a fit for you and your audience. My latest post is about when doctors should refer patients for a second opinion. I hope you'll consider reading it and sharing your thoughts. All best--
I think all the ones gave good concerns, etc from the first 100 days. My question would be ok what's next? How will these concerns and issues be addressed or where do we go from here? Easy to lay out the problems or concerns BUT much harder to put out a game plan or what's next. A new social media strategy, political strategy, etc. What would be the next steps?
Under your watch corrupt The Experts™ have led our nation to the sickest it's ever been. The fact you put together a montage of your colleagues whining about an administration that was elected by an overwhelming majority to clean up the mess you all helped is pathetic. Trust in healthcare is below 40% and this is your response?
“The sickest it’s ever been” — this is a demonstrably ludicrous comment.
In fact it’s the healthiest it’s ever been. “Do your research”
Trump’s slashing the NIH budget by 40% means the pipeline of basic biomed research findings is being shut down with downstream effects on developing novel treatments / vaccines etc.
But you just keep drinking RFK’s “sweet tea” that vitamin A will cure all
Allan...we spend more per capita than any country in the world, just over $14K per person. Second closest country is Switzerland at $9K per person. Over 70% of Americans are overweight or obese. 50% have at least one chronic condition. Life expectancy has decreased despite all that spending and the US has far worse outcomes than any peer nation. I guess if we are comparing how healthy we were in 1900 to today you are correct Allan.
Slashing the NIH budget will hopefully stop them from creating another covid. We are all free to fund research, just take out your checkbook Allan.
Sounds like you are complaining about capitalism — US costs for individual med procedures & prescriptions far outstrip other developed countries that have use their economic power to hold down costs. And obesity arises from the steady drumroll of ‘free market’ ads touting sugary/fatty/salty foods that taste good.
Life expectancy? Has more to do with poverty (no health insurance / availability — hence no inexpensive routine screening for conditions that become expensive chronic diseases) opioids, gun murders, not the NIH.
RE COVID —there are 2 low probability but nonzero possibilities. Lab leak (not *creating* it) or jump in species range. We’ll never know with certainty (intelligence agencies that claim lab leak assert with “low confidence” 🤷)— goal should be to reduce chances of either. Trump cutting CDC etc gives us less chance to intervene early (as with SARS and Ebola)
The overwhelming majority didnt vote! Stay in that silo you enjoy. Hard to make a change from inside a silo though. We have doubled life expectancy last 100 years. For 100,000 years it was less than 38. Whats happened the last 100 years? Could it be better medicine as a result of research? Sorry it isn't perfect! Are you perfect?
We will see. My state has a governor's race. You BET I will vote. And the midterms are getting closer for '26. The party in power and the WH most always loses whether Dem or GOP. Don't fluff your feathers too much.
while the many concerns expressed about the trump regime’s attack on our nation’s health and education/science institutions are absolutely on the mark, i fear they miss the target in their specificity. instead, i believe the real challenge before us is the corruption of our democratic principles and the nation’s evolution to a socially just state focused on the welfare and well being of all. i fear that the house of medicine is being brought to heal and corrupted by the authoritarian state, as other authoritarian states have reduced our profession to mere toys of the regime. the professions need to join with others across society to vigorously oppose all the dictatorial moves of this regime. this is no time to “stay in our lane” because if we don’t oppose what is happening our lane will be dictated to us. the questions before us are what side are we on and what did we do? we don’t want to have to give the wrong answers when we are asked this in the future.
Just curious, did you feel the same way when The Experts™, the mainstream media, and our government silenced those with opposing viewpoints (most have been proven correct) on lockdowns and treatments during COVID? Do you oppose big Pharma funding our media and medical journals? The entire system is corrupted by financial gain, which is why nobody trust the healthcare system anymore.
i think i am just going to let you marinade in your own sauce sweet tea
But will you answer her questions?
Of course you didn't. You guys are such hypocrites. You will marinate the rest of your life knowing that you destroyed the healthcare industry and the health of a nation and did nothing about it but attack those that are actually trying to make things better. I hope it was worth it.
sweat tea, don’t know why you think that i am arguing that capitalism is good for health or health care. but the authoritarian trump regime certainly won’t go against a system based on financial accumulation by the wealthy! they will double down on it!
You are labeling the changes this administration was elected to do an attack on health and science yet the system you have been a part of has deteriorated and been corrupted year after year with no sign of improvement even though we spend more than any country on the planet. You can't keep throwing money at the problem because money isn't the issue, it's the people in charge of the system and those in the system just like education. The more we spend the worse the outcomes. You are lashing out at Trump yet your profession has helped to create this mess. I want people to profit from healthcare. The better you are the more you should make, but I don't think you should profit by sickening a nation then keeping them sick because you are too much of a coward to stand up to the people running the system.
Authoritarian regime? Who implemented a vaccine mandate? Who used the media and social media to silence those speaking out who turned about to right? Do you think the Biden administration was authoritarian?
Our healthcare system is a patchwork of government intervention after government intervention over decades that has only produced higher costs and worse outcomes. We have a system that nobody in their right mind would create. It needs to be completely destroyed and rebuilt from the ground up, but NOBODY will touch it left or right. There is too much money being made by the people at the top and the people in the system are too cowardly to speak up out of fear of being cancelled so nothing will change until the system destroys itself which can't come soon enough.
sweet tea. i find your arguments to be discombobulated inconsistent and internally contradictory. you want people to make money but accuse people of being too motivated by money. you attack the process of science but offer no way to do anything different. and so far in terms of having a plan to fix all you claim is broken i find nothing. how about universal medicare? maybe the concept of a plan is enough is enough for you…. it’s very brave of you to make such dramatic claims while standing on such insubstantial grounds. don’t you think data and better concepts would help? and you are completely missing the authoritarian megalomania of the trump regime.
Mandates specifically for vaxes for the most part except for interstate travel, the military, & some Fed workers who had the option to test frequently were up to the states. NOT the Feds or WH or CDC or boogie man Dr Fauci. Masks the same up to the states except for travel. As far as being "silenced" WHY were ones like RFK Jr, Dr Bhatt, Rand Paul on Fox or conservative podcasts, etc whenever they wanted? I heard more than I cared to from them & I wasn't trying to listen to them! Dr Bhatt. was even in the Oval Office along with Scott Atlas. The Supreme Court even ruled they were not silenced!! Not going further but I could refute step by step a lot of your assertions. Also, with a federal system of government you end up in a pandemic with 50 states pretty much doing what they want. Not great as Dr Fauci continuously said in a pandemic.
"most have been proven correct" ummm no. But please do post some links to back up your claims! Can't wait to see them!
As a biology professor who specializes in first year courses, the attempts to destroy not only basic research but to destroy education and our belated and still evolving strategies to create classrooms where all students from all identities can be successful. We know that the best research and development happens when diverse voices are engaged and that is being intentionally white washed by the Trump admin.
Watching from outside the US in the medical field, it’s been heartbreaking to see the strain doctors, researchers, and students are under with this massive instability and thoughtless destruction. The devastation, uncertainty, and loss of life this is causing in other areas world-wide shows the problems the US administration are creating don’t just stay within the US.
The disinformation and misinformation the administration is contributing to continue to polarize and prevent people from operating in their own best interests. (We see an example even here in this comment section of either a dis/misinformed USian or a foreign bot trying to sow discord and disrupt discussion. It’s a problem that is ever-growing.)
I am so profoundly sad for all of us. I’m sad for children who are getting liver damage from their parents listening to a supposed authority (Kennedy) who is peddling Vitamin A rather than proven vaccines.
I’m sad for public health colleagues in the US who are desperately trying to do five jobs because the new CDC workers who would have been assigned to help them have all been fired.
I am sad for those dying of, and who will die of, utterly preventative causes because USAID, food programs, and other basics have been destroyed.
I am sad for all of us when the next infectious pandemic lays waste to many more people than it should have, because the US dismantled research and monitoring that should have caught it early and/or created treatments.
I am sad for those who have been given a simplistic view of the world that benefits only a handful of rich people and leads to them caring far less about everyone else, and also leads to them having to live in an alternate reality where they feel persecuted and lied to by every system. Nobody should have to feel like every major structure is arrayed against them, but that’s the situation that has been so cleverly created by political ideologues and foreign governments interested in destabilizing North America.
I am sad for the researchers that spent years of their lives on projects, only to have their work trampled like ants under the feet of angry toddlers.
I am sad for everyone who dies of cancer, tuberculosis, or many other diseases in the future, that would have been spared or had their burden lightened by the results of those research projects (that will now never finish).
I am sad for everyone being rendered invisible right now, all the minorities of different types - racialized, disability, LGBTQ+, etc. - who are being denied opportunities, recognition, a voice, a presence within research.
I am sad for all the undocumented people that have to be terrified of seeking medical care because ICE might come snatch them from the hospital.
I feel like the grief this administration is causing to everyone - including their own supporters, though those supporters are often unable to recognize or acknowledge it because of the alternate reality that has been created for them - will not stop.
Even after this administration ends, the damage they have done will continue to resonate in the lives that were prematurely and unnecessarily ended, the destruction of systems that may take decades to rebuild, the massive amount of money wasted by the destroying of projects that can’t simply be restarted years later, and so forth.
Many of the things being done can’t be repaired; many things have simply been destroyed. The death toll can’t be changed. We simply have to live with the pain of knowing people were harmed in great numbers and even died unnecessarily.
We don’t bear the responsibility for these actions, and we will all continue to do our best to mitigate what damage we can. But we still bear the grief, because anyone who cares about others can’t avoid being affected by this needless trauma.
Thank you for continuing to keep these issues in the forefront. I have to hope that all our efforts now will lead, maybe, to less human suffering down the line. So many of us, from medical to legal to environmental to other causes, are fighting the cruelties of this administration on many different fronts, and whether we’re in the US or not, our efforts to care for others show that humanity is always worth fighting for.
Very well said, Robin.
I concur with your compliment Caren.
I have repeatedly stated, my lexicon & those I have recently acquired or sought after do not convey the magnitude of the soror the decrepits in the current administration has created.
Every day there is another e.g. of egregious behaviour, the moron actually thinks he can acquire my homeland & he mocks the sanctity of the Roman Catholic Church by using AI in impersonate the recently deceased Pope Francis 😥 while there remains a official period of mourning!
As I type this, would this not be the equivalent of being an imposter in "black-faced" 🤔 😥😥
Some time ago, NYT had an article listing the people they could identify as part of DOGE: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/27/us/politics/doge-staff-list.html (last updated April 18). Six were identified as operating within HHS. It would be very useful to have continuing observation of these, and any others, recording specifically what they are doing and how they are being either helped or opposed by HHS staffers - the helpers are every bit as complicit as the DOGE operatives, and should equally be called out and identified. I know this is not something that you, Dr. Faust, can personally add to the invaluable work you're doing, but perhaps one or more of your sources within HHS could include this among the observations they provide to you. Focus on the craven and incompetent individuals who are making the orange maggot's policies work at the most basic levels can only increase awareness of just how bad it is on the ground, and what specifically is being targeted.
Thank you for this. As a research administrator it has been horrifying to witness this attack on science. I feel for our students who had planned to work on a PhD and are now left pondering. This is not making America great - this is the dumbing down of America. I worry about those on the front lines of health who won’t be obtaining accurate news regarding current status of illnesses in the country.
I am very thankful for the experts and what they had to say about our healthcare system in the first one hundred days of the Trump administration.
It is heartbreaking to me and to quote Dr. Choo "it's wrong" what has been done.
I don't feel safe medically for myself, loved ones and our country with the current so called leaders of the Trump government "in charge" of our healthcare system.
Our country is in a very bad situation.
💔
Do no harm has become do exponential harm, intentionally or not. The dismantling of research, public health and the creation of non-evidence based decisions as policy. And that's kind of the tip of the iceberg.
Thank you for being so diligent in monitoring the situation and informing us.
This is excellent reporting and also deeply disturbing on how this chainsaw cutting of vital health and human services will have generational negative impacts on all our wellbeing.
I’d also add the cuts to USDA kids food programs will devastating for kids nutritional health, esp. those families that are already hit hard right now.
I wrote about it here https://open.substack.com/pub/achievebalance/p/how-the-usdas-1billion-federal-food
My question will be what Congress will do with the upcoming HHS budget. The GOP will mainly follow the WH. Will they get RFK Jr, the sub agency heads up to testify & grill them further. A CDC head is still needed. Dems REALLY have to step up. Pretty obvious the House will do a lot of cutting. Senate can stall & filibuster some. Will we get a new Covid 19 vax approved for fall. Sounding less likely at this stage. The guidelines will likely be eh just decide yourself or check with your clinic. Maybe use an older Covid 19 vax- how much will it help protect for this season? Through this year into '26 and the midterms should be QUITE interesting.
First, thank you for opening comments to non-premium subscribers (although I see why you would keep it closed because there are inevitably trolls who try to cause trouble. Second, thank you for the amazing coverage and analysis you have been providing over the past few months. I am always excited when I see you have posted a new article.
Re: the topic at hand, I will say that although I’m fairly certain that most of the agencies/departments and programs that have been destroyed will exist again, I am so fearful about how we will navigate the time in between and the time it will take to rebuild. I am a pediatric nurse practitioner and mom to a 5 year old and I worry so much about what the future for my family will look like with all of the deregulation and destruction. I worry about increased risk of foodborne illness, the rise in vaccine preventable diseases, the loss of research that would have led to break through treatments/cures, the destruction of our environment with toxins/pollutants, and the loss of experts who advised on everything from product safety to newborn screening for heritable diseases…the list is endless really. I just hope that we put a stop to at least some of this destruction and begin to reverse course/recover soon.
Worst effects: I have heard via colleagues that the morale among young biomedical scientists is very low. Research faculty at med schools will be looking to exit (much of their salary is “soft money” derived from funded NIH grants). A 40% cut in grants means almost no salary for many
I have been attempting to view the video without success. Perhaps there was a time limit on how long it could be accessed?
We need stronger, more principled candidates on both sides—Bill Cassidy backing RFK Jr’s confirmation is a clear example of weak leadership. RFK Jr. has continued spreading misinformation even after taking office.
Cutting mental health programs under this administration undermines public safety—when care is defunded, people fall through the cracks, and the risk of gun violence rises. In 2024: 491—gun violence remains a persistent concern, with over 500 deaths and more than 2,100 injuries reported that year.
Working in public health, some cuts to our programs, my grant is "guaranteed" through June 2026. Adjunct teaching in an academic public health program, my collogues are losing their funding for their research. We are trying to show strong support of our graduates now going into public health, while DEI, LGBTQA+, and other social and behavioral determinants of health are being cancelled.
We took so many steps forward in preventative medicine. COVID took us back a little, but now, our taking several steps back. Misinformation and disinformation is mounting. This is harming the health of the public.
Hi there,
I enjoy your writing. I’m a gastroenterologist based in Cleveland, and at this point in my career, I've developed an interest in generating dialogue about issues within the medical field. I thought my work might be a fit for you and your audience. My latest post is about when doctors should refer patients for a second opinion. I hope you'll consider reading it and sharing your thoughts. All best--
https://mkirsch.substack.com/p/when-should-your-doctor-refer-for
This might be best to send to Those Nerdy Girls.
I think all the ones gave good concerns, etc from the first 100 days. My question would be ok what's next? How will these concerns and issues be addressed or where do we go from here? Easy to lay out the problems or concerns BUT much harder to put out a game plan or what's next. A new social media strategy, political strategy, etc. What would be the next steps?
Under your watch corrupt The Experts™ have led our nation to the sickest it's ever been. The fact you put together a montage of your colleagues whining about an administration that was elected by an overwhelming majority to clean up the mess you all helped is pathetic. Trust in healthcare is below 40% and this is your response?
The arrogance is breathtaking.
"overwhelming majority" - BS; the orange maggot was elected with less than 50% of the votes cast. Yes, your arrogance is indeed breathtaking.
“The sickest it’s ever been” — this is a demonstrably ludicrous comment.
In fact it’s the healthiest it’s ever been. “Do your research”
Trump’s slashing the NIH budget by 40% means the pipeline of basic biomed research findings is being shut down with downstream effects on developing novel treatments / vaccines etc.
But you just keep drinking RFK’s “sweet tea” that vitamin A will cure all
Allan...we spend more per capita than any country in the world, just over $14K per person. Second closest country is Switzerland at $9K per person. Over 70% of Americans are overweight or obese. 50% have at least one chronic condition. Life expectancy has decreased despite all that spending and the US has far worse outcomes than any peer nation. I guess if we are comparing how healthy we were in 1900 to today you are correct Allan.
Slashing the NIH budget will hopefully stop them from creating another covid. We are all free to fund research, just take out your checkbook Allan.
Sounds like you are complaining about capitalism — US costs for individual med procedures & prescriptions far outstrip other developed countries that have use their economic power to hold down costs. And obesity arises from the steady drumroll of ‘free market’ ads touting sugary/fatty/salty foods that taste good.
Life expectancy? Has more to do with poverty (no health insurance / availability — hence no inexpensive routine screening for conditions that become expensive chronic diseases) opioids, gun murders, not the NIH.
RE COVID —there are 2 low probability but nonzero possibilities. Lab leak (not *creating* it) or jump in species range. We’ll never know with certainty (intelligence agencies that claim lab leak assert with “low confidence” 🤷)— goal should be to reduce chances of either. Trump cutting CDC etc gives us less chance to intervene early (as with SARS and Ebola)
It is you & others who are so sadly misinformed that allowed for Trump to be elected...reap what you sowed! 😢
JJF Phm 🇨🇦
The overwhelming majority didnt vote! Stay in that silo you enjoy. Hard to make a change from inside a silo though. We have doubled life expectancy last 100 years. For 100,000 years it was less than 38. Whats happened the last 100 years? Could it be better medicine as a result of research? Sorry it isn't perfect! Are you perfect?
Not only the Electoral College but the popular vote. You Trust The Science™ crowd are hilarious. You are in for a long 4 years.
We will see. My state has a governor's race. You BET I will vote. And the midterms are getting closer for '26. The party in power and the WH most always loses whether Dem or GOP. Don't fluff your feathers too much.
I'm not fluffing anything. He had a decisive victory, but that doesn't mean anything come the next election.