David Higgins
Pediatrician | Public Health Specialist | Immunization Delivery Researcher | Dad | Views are my own. CommunityImmunity@Substack
- Reposted by David Higgins[Not loaded yet]
- New in Community Immunity: Most Americans are still in the malleable middle on vaccines—confused, vulnerable to misinformation, but open. Plus: placebo politics, brutal flu season, measles slowing, and rising pertussis. Read: communityimmunity.substack.com/p/the-mallea...
- In my latest collaboration with Unbiased Science, we break down what placebo-controlled trials are, why they’re sometimes unethical or impossible to conduct, and how “placebo-controlled” has been misused to undermine trust in vaccines. #vaccines #placebo #scicomm open.substack.com/pub/theunbia...
- HHS says: “All new vaccines must undergo placebo testing.” RFK Jr. has pushed for the same, even for already approved vaccines. So, even upgraded versions of safe and effective vaccines must be tested against nothing? Let’s apply that logic elsewhere 🧵👇 www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
- This week on my Substack: A centuries-old wellness hack that actually works — vaccines! open.substack.com/pub/communit...
- “…measles is the canary in the coal mine for vaccine-preventable diseases in childhood… said Dr. David Higgins... Once vaccination rates for measles drop, pediatricians know they have also declined for other preventable diseases including whooping cough.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
- This week in my Community Immunity newsletter: The Elephant in the Room: Why Vaccine Conversations Stall (and How to Fix Them) open.substack.com/pub/communit...
- I had a great conversation on KUNC/NPR to talk about measles in Colorado and how we can prevent future outbreaks. We discussed vaccine confidence, community immunity, and the role of trusted messengers in public health. Listen here 👇 open.spotify.com/episode/0P09...
- Brief update on Community Immunity: What Happened at This Week's ACIP Meeting PLUS: A Measles Scandal in Texas Read more here 👉 open.substack.com/pub/communit...
- A doctor who has pushed unproven—and potentially dangerous—measles “treatments” is now openly treating patients while actively infected. Hippocrates is rolling in his grave! open.substack.com/pub/theunbia...
- Reposted by David Higgins[Not loaded yet]
- When is silence no longer an option? I wrote about the moments that demand those of us in healthcare and public health speak up—even when it’s hard, even when it’s risky. Full piece here: medium.com/@drhigginsmd...
- New in my Community Immunity newsletter this week: Support for childhood vaccines hasn’t vanished—but it’s more fragile than ever. I break down new data, what the headlines miss, and what we can do now. Plus: RFK Jr. finally endorsed the measles vaccine… while completely undermining it.
- The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services has repeatedly claimed: “If you’re healthy, it’s almost impossible to die from an infectious disease in modern times.” That is dangerously false. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...
- “What all these parents have in common, though, is that—like the clinician caring for them—they are trying to do what is best for their children. This is the single most important thing to recognize when communicating with families about vaccines.” jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
- 📣 Colorado: Another measles case has been confirmed — this time in a Denver infant under 12 months old, following international travel. Measles is highly contagious, but entirely preventable with vaccines. Let’s protect our kids and communities! www.cpr.org/2025/04/07/s... #Measles #Vaccines
- This week in Community Immunity: Public health isn’t a faucet you can just turn on and off. Plus, mass HHS layoffs, an NIH lawsuit, and yet another preventable measles death. Read and subscribe here: open.substack.com/pub/communit...
- Tragically, another child has died from measles in Texas — the 2nd entirely preventable pediatric death in a fast-growing outbreak. Meanwhile: • Vaccine clinics are closing • Vaccine research is defunded • Messaging is censored Lives are on the line. Speak up. www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
- “Health secretary says it was ‘always the plan’ to reinstate some health workers” Public health infrastructure is not a faucet you can just turn on and off🚰 These actions have already undermined trust and disrupted continuity among professionals and community services. www.wsj.com/us-news/rfk-...
- Reposted by David Higgins[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by David Higgins[Not loaded yet]
- Not a lawyer, so I can't speak to the legal merits if this, but cutting research funding—like vaccine uptake efforts—harms ALL Americans. Stopping work mid-project wastes taxpayer $, leaving lost data & impact. Leadership matters. apnews.com/article/nih-...
- “Cutting research on vaccine confidence is like flying blind,” I told Medscape. “We can’t improve what we can’t measure or understand… this research is about improving the quality and effectiveness of vaccination services in the US.” 🧵 Read more: 👉 bit.ly/4cl5U8K #Vaccines #PublicHealth #SciComm
- Personal choice isn’t the opposite of recommendation 👇 communityimmunity.substack.com/i/160200040/...
- A must read from @kkjetelina.bsky.social at the end of this tragic day open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...
- Excited to co-chair the APA Immunization SIG at #PAS2025 in Honolulu! 🗓 Sat, April 26 | 7–8:30 AM HST 📍 Room 302, Hawai‘i Convention Center We’ll share real-world strategies to advance #VaccineEquity and how to move forward with this work. See more here: 2025.pas-meeting.org/index.asp?pr...
- These abrupt, sweeping cuts at HHS will harm every American, and for many, the impact on their health will be devastating. This isn’t how you make America healthy again. apnews.com/article/heal...
- “Measles is only a plane flight away.” That’s what I said last week on CNN. Now, Colorado has a confirmed case from international travel. This is how outbreaks start. We’ve seen it before, and we can stop it. Protect yourself and Colorado communities by vaccinating! www.9news.com/article/news...
- 🚨 Colorado just reported its first measles case of the year—an unvaccinated adult returning from travel. My message to fellow Coloradans: Vaccinate. Vaccinate. Vaccinate. Measles is highly contagious—but completely preventable with vaccines. 🧵 Read more: www.cpr.org/2025/03/31/c...
- Excellent piece in JAMA today by mentors and colleagues on the future of research on vaccine uptake at the NIH. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
- Last week, public health was dismantled: funding cuts, a discredited vaccine cynic leading autism-vaccine research, experts forced out, and global vaccine funds axed. So what do we do now?👇
- The FDA’s top vaccine official, Dr. Peter Marks, has been forced out. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/h...
- A reporter recently told me they had spoken with a “doctor” in Texas who claimed you can only overdose on vitamin A in "medication form"—not through cod liver oil or other “natural” sources. I responded unequivocally: That is false! And it is dangerously misleading! www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/h...
- Re vaccines and autism- “It wastes valuable resources to revisit the same question…” Dr Higgins told Axios. “Reexamining settled questions that have already been repeated, replicated, and tested many times is not healthy skepticism; it’s cynicism and science denial.” www.axios.com/2025/03/24/m...
