Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
Health systems researcher, pharmacist, mom, wife. Professor
@BUSPH Promoting equitable and affordable access to and quality use of medicines.
Economics
59%
Public Health
11%
Cholera is spreading fast, yet it can be stopped. Why haven’t we consigned it to history? | Hakainde Hichilema and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Vaccine production must be expanded to combat this ancient disease, especially in Africa, but a lack of political will is holding us back
www.theguardian.com
"Stopping it [cholera] is therefore not a scientific, medical or technical challenge; fundamentally, it’s a political one." Hakainde Hichilema & Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
NIH Institute Director Abruptly Replaced
New NIEHS chief is a friend of Vice President JD Vance
www.medpagetoday.com
"Putting JD Vance's friend as an institute director, breaking the normal process for selecting scientific talent, this is really bad," Mark Histed, PhD, chief of a lab on neural computation and behavior at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). www.medpagetoday.com/washington-w...
The U.S. experiment with profit-driven health care has failed
“The market competition, managed care, and ‘corporate efficiency’ that economists prescribed as the cure for health care inflation instead accelerated it.”
www.statnews.com
"Decommercialized national health insurance: a single, public insurance plan that covers everyone [...] That kind of reform would save both money and lives, and it would put communities, not investors, in control of health care" www.statnews.com/2025/10/21/h...
Kennedy Fires N.I.H. Scientist Who Filed Whistle-Blower Complaint
www.nytimes.com
""The Trump Administration terminated Dr. Marrazzo for her advocacy on behalf of critical health research and for her support of the overwhelming body of evidence that shows vaccines are safe and effective," Ms. Katz said." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/h...
The far-right and health: an evolving political crisis
Across Europe and North America, racism, xenophobia, and far-right nationalism have
become normalised in public and political discourse, leading many people to feel anxiety
and fear of violence, discr...
www.thelancet.com
"Medical and science communities cannot change societies alone. But we can set standards of behaviour and create value systems that resist corrosive social and political forces." www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Sep 19
Who Makes Decisions About Vaccine Policy Now?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has hired longtime vaccine safety skeptics and scientists who are critical of Covid shots and mandates to make immunization policy decisions for Americans.
www.nytimes.com
Who Makes Decisions About Vaccine Policy Now? www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Sep 19
Opinion | Charlie Kirk, Jimmy Kimmel and the Future of Free Speech in America
www.nytimes.com
“Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the unanimity of the graveyard.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/o...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Sep 17
Substantial Number of People Ditch Wegovy Within a Year
Younger users, men were especially prone to quitting
www.medpagetoday.com
Substantial Number of People Ditch Wegovy Within a Year www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcover...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Sep 12
Opinion | Trump’s Policies Are Endangering Your Health
www.nytimes.com
"As is so often the case with Mr. Trump, however, he has both identified a real problem and enacted a set of policies that will worsen that problem. With public health, the damage could be vast. ... rejecting basic medical knowledge and turning back the clock ..." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/o...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Sep 12
$10 Million in Contraceptives Have Been Destroyed on Orders From Trump Officials
www.nytimes.com
“The deliberate destruction of nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives, under the blatantly false pretense that they are abortifacients, is an outrageous act of cruelty,” said Beth Schlachter, director of U.S. external relations for MSI Reproductive Choices. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/h...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Sep 11
democracyforward.org
Through legal proceedings, Democracy Forward obtained a previously secret grant agreement between the U.S. and El Salvador for holding hundreds of Venezuelans removed under the Alien Enemies Act in CECOT. democracyforward.org/wp-content/u...
US ends international push to combat fake news from hostile states
Washington terminates agreements with European countries to fight disinformation from Russia, China and Iran
www.ft.com
The Trump administration has dismantled agencies across the government that sought to protect the integrity of US elections and to combat foreign malign influence at home and abroad.
www.ft.com/content/d31b...
www.ft.com/content/d31b...
Reposted by Raffaella Ravinetto
The FDA’s pivot from ad comms to ‘expert’ panels is bad medicine
G. Caleb Alexander has chaired or served on more than a dozen FDA advisory committees. He’s worried the shift to ‘expert’ panels lacks transparency.
www.statnews.com
Congress should act before this becomes institutionalized. Lawmakers could amend FACA to clarify that any FDA meeting convened to offer regulatory advice — no matter what it’s called — must comply with FACA’s transparency and balance requirements. www.statnews.com/2025/09/05/f...
Protesters demand release of HIV funds ‘illegally’ withheld by Trump
People take to streets against Trump administration plans to rescind funding for life-saving international programs
www.theguardian.com
People take to streets against Trump administration plans to rescind funding for life-saving international programs. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Prominent critic of RFK Jr. blocked from FDA vaccine committee
Paul Offit, a pediatrician and co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, can no longer participate in the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.
www.washingtonpost.com
“It’s like this country at its worst,” Offit said in an interview, recalling how he witnessed a 9-month-old girl die of rotavirus as a medical resident before the vaccine was invented. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Opinion | We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health
www.nytimes.com
"The men and women who have joined the C.D.C. across generations have done so not for prestige or power.....they deserve a health and human services secretary who stands up for health, supports science and has their back. So, too, does our country." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
Reposted by Raffaella Ravinetto
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Aug 30
CDC’s crisis marks a dark moment for public health
“The firing of Susan Monarez, the first Senate-confirmed CDC director in history, was more than just unprecedented,” writes Ashish K. Jha.
www.statnews.com
"This amounts to a very dark moment for public health. There is no clear way out other than a new secretary of Health and Human Services — a change that more public health experts and lawmakers are beginning to demand." www.statnews.com/2025/08/28/c...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Aug 25
www.gatesnotes.com
In a connected world, malaria is affecting all
www.gatesnotes.com/work/save-li...
www.gatesnotes.com/work/save-li...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Aug 25
We Are All Lisa Cook
Nobody is safe from weaponized government
paulkrugman.substack.com
Paul Krugman "Nobody is safe from weaponized government"
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/we-are-all...
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/we-are-all...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Aug 21
American Bar Association Resolution "... opposes any efforts by any government actor to punish or threaten to punish lawyers, law firms, or other organizations for representing or having represented any particular client or cause disfavored by the
government" www.americanbar.org/content/dam/...
government" www.americanbar.org/content/dam/...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Aug 21
Kennedy’s Anti-Vaccine Strategy Risks Forcing Shots Off Market, Manufacturers Warn - KFF Health News
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is targeting the government’s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, without which manufacturers might cease producing shots.
kffhealthnews.org
“The compensation fund, if it’s gone, would impact decisions to proceed or not to proceed,” said David Dodd, president and CEO of GeoVax Labs, a biotechnology company developing vaccines and immunotherapies. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Aug 12
Opinion | A Dangerous Escalation of the Science Wars
www.nytimes.com
It should not be partisan to say that political violence is wrong, that corrupting science and manipulating data is wrong and that public service is patriotic. Restoring that shared base line is the only way to safeguard [...] the health of our democracy. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/o...
Sorry America, but it's not Australia's fault that your healthcare system is failing you | John Quiggin
Donald Trump has blamed ‘freeloader’ countries like Australia for the high cost of medicines. Unfortunately the grim statistics tell a different story
www.theguardian.com
"Sorry, America, but it's not Australia's fault that your healthcare system is failing you"
Donald Trump has blamed 'freeloader' countries like Australia for the high cost of medicines. Unfortunately the grim statistics tell a different story www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Donald Trump has blamed 'freeloader' countries like Australia for the high cost of medicines. Unfortunately the grim statistics tell a different story www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Trump accuses foreign nations of ‘freeloading’ on drug prices as Australia insists PBS prices won’t rise
Pharmaceuticals – already covered under existing US free trade agreement – on PBS ‘not up for negotiation’, Labor says
www.theguardian.com
"The PBS [Australia] is not up for negotiation," a government spokesperson said. "Our government is getting on with the job of delivering cheaper medicines for Australians." www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Massachusetts governor proposes $400 million for colleges, citing federal ‘uncertainty.’
www.nytimes.com
"Under Ms. Healey’s plan, $200 million would go directly toward supporting research projects at hospitals, universities & independent research institutions. Another $200 million would help cover [..] research, partnerships & joint ventures at public universities." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/u...
The Changing Politics of Masks
www.nytimes.com
"[...] With ICE, the individuals arguing that they need cover are doing so because of actions taken under orders from the state." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/s...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Jul 30
Opinion | Doctors Have Lost Their Mount Olympus of Medicine
www.nytimes.com
"I now question whether that’s a recommendation I can trust. When the F.D.A. commissioner says he wants to change how the agency approves or rejects new treatments, I no longer feel sure that science is driving those decisions." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/o...
Reposted by Els Torreele
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Jul 24
US-funded contraceptives for poor nations to be burned in France, sources say
U.S.-funded contraceptives worth nearly $10 million are being sent to France from Belgium to be incinerated, after Washington rejected offers from the United Nations and family planning organisations to buy or ship the supplies to poor nations, two sources told Reuters.
www.reuters.com
"Sarah Shaw, Associate Director of Advocacy at MSI Reproductive Choices, told Reuters [MSI] had volunteered to pay for the supplies to be repackaged without USAID branding and shipped to countries in need, but the offer was declined by the U.S. government." www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Jul 23
Opinion | This system is critical to Americans’ health. We must defend it.
Medical progress depends on independent journals to advance science without political interference.
www.washingtonpost.com
"Just as democracy depends on a free and independent press to hold power accountable, medical progress depends on independent journals to vet, challenge and advance science without political interference." www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Veronika J. Wirtz
@verowirtz.bsky.social
· Jul 21
"Robert J. Cindrich, who helped found the group, said the country is not yet in a constitutional crisis but that the strain on the courts is immense.[.] “The judiciary is being put under siege. "https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/21/trump-court-orders-defy-noncompliance-marshals-judges/