It’s SpOokY season, and Olivia and Ariel are digging into VAERS, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, where one doctor reported turning into the Hulk after his flu shot (and the report was accepted). Olivia explains VAERS as a smoke detector that beeps at both fires (proven vaccine injuries) and burnt toast (lots of unverified reports). She covers where VAERS came from, the real safety signals it has caught, and why raw reports are so easy to misread and easily fearmongered. Then they unpack HHS’s new push to pay doctors for reports, add a VAERS app and QR code, and expand the vaccine injury table, and what all that could set up. Olivia closes with what you should do the next time a scary VAERS number shows up in your group chat.

This episode’s good news is Philly Joy Bank, a no-strings-attached cash program for pregnant mothers in Philadelphia. Also, stick around for Ariel on the HYROX athlete who kept competing through a GI emergency (ew), plus a good ol' list of recalls.

Other Links for This Episode:

• DON'T FORGET TO VOTE! Find your local polling place.
• Measles Counts (thx RFK Jr.)
• Find all recent recalls at: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts

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The views expressed on this episode are our own.

We are available by email at publichealthgroupchat@gmail.com and on Instagram and TikTok at @publichealthgroupchat.

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In this episode, Ariel and Mattie discuss Elon Musk, wealth inequality, and his disastrous influence on public health. Tune in to learn about Musk’s bio, businesses, and his role in the second Trump Administration. Earlier this year, Musk became the world’s first trillionaire after already existing as the wealthiest individual on planet Earth. Billionaires should not exist, and trillionaires are even worse. Wealth inequality is bad for health, and the US ranks high in wealth inequity.

In addition to wealth inequality, we cover the elimination of dog to human rabies transmission in Chile and Taylor Swift. Because why not, when we’re already talking about excessive wealth?

See the most recent recalls here: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts

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We are available by email at publichealthgroupchat@gmail.com and on Instagram and TikTok at @publichealthgroupchat.

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Part two of our Reagan deep-dive picks up where we left off, with Mattie walking us through more of the Reagan Administration decisions that are still shaping public health today: the War on Drugs and the punitive framework it built that we're still dismantling, the roots of the modern homelessness crisis, and the mental health policy choices that gutted the safety net for people who needed it most. If you loved Part One, you're going to love this one too.

Also this week: Colorado's extended public health order making the COVID-19 shot available to everyone 6 months and up without a prescription, and new polling showing just how far trust in government information has fallen — and not just on public health.

Find all recent recalls at: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts

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Part one of our Reagan deep-dive has Mattie leading the charge with Ariel along for the ride, digging into the economic and public health legacy of the Reagan era: Reaganomics and the trickle-down promise that never quite trickled, the AIDS epidemic and the years of federal silence while a generation was dying, and the "welfare queen" myth Reagan built a political career on — where that story actually came from, who it was designed to target, and how it's still doing damage in policy debates today. Part two picks up the thread with Reagan's War on Drugs and the roots of the homelessness and mental health crisis. Heavy history, but the kind that explains a lot about where we are now. And because apparently everything is being recalled lately, we close out with a rundown of the latest round of recalls — because 2026 said no product shall be safe.

Recalls:
Find all recent recalls at: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts

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Part two of our cyclospora deep-dive brings in Dr. Alex Sundermann, DrPH, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, to get into the outbreak detection and surveillance side of things: why cyclospora is so much harder to catch than bacteria, the wild week the Taylor Farms lettuce sample flipped from positive to false positive to epidemiologically linked, and what's lost when institutional knowledge and federal tracking systems get gutted. Also...a rare bipartisan bright spot in the FDA's approval of Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine for adults 50+, and a reminder that behind every outbreak number is a person. We're skipping pop culture and recalls this week, but you can still find those linked below.

Find Dr. Sundermann:
Instagram, TikTok & Facebook: @DrAlexSundermann
Bluesky & Threads: he's also on there, if you want to doomscroll together.

Recalls:
Find all recent recalls at: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts

Referenced Article (if you wanna be a nerd and read it):
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cyclospora/cidrap-op-ed-cyclospora-outbreak-was-and-still-communications-failure

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Cyclospora is having a moment...and not because the parasite got scarier, but because the systems meant to catch it didn't. In this episode, Olivia breaks down what Cyclospora cayetanensis actually is, the history of outbreaks in the US, and the timeline of federal missteps (hi, FDA and CDC) that let this one spiral, including news of the first two deaths tied to the outbreak. This is part one of a two-part series, and part two brings in Dr. Alex Sundermann, DrPH, to dig into the outbreak detection and surveillance side. Also on the agenda: a rare bipartisan bright spot with the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, and a truly unhinged recall roundup (steel in injections, plastic in baby food, and eggs everywhere).

Recalls:
Find all recent recalls at: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts

Referenced Article (if you wanna be a nerd and read it):

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cyclospora/cidrap-op-ed-cyclospora-outbreak-was-and-still-communications-failure

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We are available by email at publichealthgroupchat@gmail.com and on Instagram and TikTok at @publichealthgroupchat.

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In this episode, Ariel breaks down the science and history of sunscreen, covering UVA/UVB/UVC radiation, how SPF actually works, mineral vs. chemical filters, and the newly FDA-approved ingredient bemotrizinol — the first new sunscreen active ingredient approved in the U.S. since the 1990s. The group chat then myth-busts the biggest sunscreen claims making the rounds online: hormone disruption, "sunscreen causes cancer," reef damage, skin irritation, and the viral watermelon-smoothie trend claiming lycopene can protect you from the sun.

Olivia presents some good news: A Lancet study showing HPV and measles vaccines prevent more deaths per dose than any other vaccine funded through Gavi, giving global health leaders a clearer way to prioritize funding amid tighter budgets. Also, stick around to hear Mattie's takes on Meta's Muse Image AI feature and the backlash that got it pulled.

Recalls:
Find all recent recalls at: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts

Referenced Research Article (if you wanna be a nerd and read it):

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00555-6/fulltext

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We are available by email at publichealthgroupchat@gmail.com and on Instagram and TikTok at @publichealthgroupchat.

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In this episode, Ariel breaks down the WIC program (Women, Infants, and Children) as Congress moves to cut its benefits. She covers what WIC provides — cash benefits for healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to other services — plus eligibility and its history dating back to the early 1970s. She shares the data on WIC's impact, including major health care savings and improved birth and child health outcomes, then unpacks a House-passed bill that would strip $141 million in produce benefits from over 5.4 million participants, even as the administration's own MAHA report praises the program. The bill now heads to the Senate, and Ariel shares how to make your voice heard before the vote.

This episode's good news is the reinstated flu vaccine mandate for U.S. service members after a major base outbreak. Also, stick around to hear Mattie talk about World Cup hospitality and what it says about public health.

Recalls:
Find all recent recalls at: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts

Clipped News & Media:

• Forbes Breaking News: Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-CT) criticized cuts to WIC.
• 4 News Now: "WIC prepares for, pushes back against potential funding cuts".

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We are available by email at publichealthgroupchat@gmail.com and on Instagram and TikTok at @publichealthgroupchat.

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