Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
@hannahsays.bsky.social
Parent, public health advocate, and science communicator dedicated to making health information accessible and useful. Usually knitting on Zoom calls.
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
Couldn’t agree more.
The spread of misinformation and disinformation tops the WEF’s list of global risks.
www.weforum.org/publications...
The spread of misinformation and disinformation tops the WEF’s list of global risks.
www.weforum.org/publications...
January 26, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Couldn’t agree more.
The spread of misinformation and disinformation tops the WEF’s list of global risks.
www.weforum.org/publications...
The spread of misinformation and disinformation tops the WEF’s list of global risks.
www.weforum.org/publications...
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
The majority of your exposure to *outdoor* air pollution can happen *indoors*. Insufficient guidance during wildfire to just say "go indoors"; need to pair that with message about filtration (MERV13 in central systems; supplement with portable air cleaner/air purifier with HEPA filters)
January 12, 2025 at 1:37 PM
The majority of your exposure to *outdoor* air pollution can happen *indoors*. Insufficient guidance during wildfire to just say "go indoors"; need to pair that with message about filtration (MERV13 in central systems; supplement with portable air cleaner/air purifier with HEPA filters)
Interesting and important read from @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social and @matthewfacciani.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/theunbia...
open.substack.com/pub/theunbia...
The Cost of Failed Science Communication: Lessons from Los Angeles
Expertise Without Connection Leaves Us Talking to Ourselves
open.substack.com
January 11, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Interesting and important read from @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social and @matthewfacciani.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/theunbia...
open.substack.com/pub/theunbia...
Epidemiology is often invisible but vital to public health. This article sheds light on why it deserves more recognition. #Epidemiology #PublicHealth
bigthink.com/health/the-d...
bigthink.com/health/the-d...
The dangers of keeping epidemiology the “hidden science”
Caitlin Rivers wants to tell the story of epidemiology and the public health heroes who keep the world safe and healthy.
https://bigthink.com/health/the-dangers-of-keeping-epidemiology-the-hidden-science/”
January 10, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Epidemiology is often invisible but vital to public health. This article sheds light on why it deserves more recognition. #Epidemiology #PublicHealth
bigthink.com/health/the-d...
bigthink.com/health/the-d...
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
I wrote this in 2023.
WAY more relevant today.
Is bothsidesism killing us? (And why scientific consensus matters) healthydebate.ca/2023/08/topi...
Our information ecosystem has become a massive false-balance machine.
In coming years, journalists MUST do a better job. Please! 🙏
WAY more relevant today.
Is bothsidesism killing us? (And why scientific consensus matters) healthydebate.ca/2023/08/topi...
Our information ecosystem has become a massive false-balance machine.
In coming years, journalists MUST do a better job. Please! 🙏
Is bothsidesism killing us? (And why scientific consensus matters) - Healthy Debate
Our information ecosystem has become a massive false-balance machine. We need to correct bothsideism and misinformation.
healthydebate.ca
December 18, 2024 at 5:28 PM
I wrote this in 2023.
WAY more relevant today.
Is bothsidesism killing us? (And why scientific consensus matters) healthydebate.ca/2023/08/topi...
Our information ecosystem has become a massive false-balance machine.
In coming years, journalists MUST do a better job. Please! 🙏
WAY more relevant today.
Is bothsidesism killing us? (And why scientific consensus matters) healthydebate.ca/2023/08/topi...
Our information ecosystem has become a massive false-balance machine.
In coming years, journalists MUST do a better job. Please! 🙏
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
Vaccine exemptions in Michigan have nearly doubled since 2020, increasing from 3.2% to 6.2% in 2023.
Cases of whooping cough in Michigan are currently higher than they’ve been for 20 years.
This is what happens when vaccine misinformation flourishes.
www.bridgemi.com/michigan-hea...
Cases of whooping cough in Michigan are currently higher than they’ve been for 20 years.
This is what happens when vaccine misinformation flourishes.
www.bridgemi.com/michigan-hea...
Whooping cough cases skyrocket in Michigan, as vaccinations decline | Bridge Michigan
A potentially deadly disease in infants, whooping cough — pertussis — has exploded in Michigan this year, in part because of decreased vaccination rates.
www.bridgemi.com
December 15, 2024 at 1:19 AM
Vaccine exemptions in Michigan have nearly doubled since 2020, increasing from 3.2% to 6.2% in 2023.
Cases of whooping cough in Michigan are currently higher than they’ve been for 20 years.
This is what happens when vaccine misinformation flourishes.
www.bridgemi.com/michigan-hea...
Cases of whooping cough in Michigan are currently higher than they’ve been for 20 years.
This is what happens when vaccine misinformation flourishes.
www.bridgemi.com/michigan-hea...
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
With recent talk about #polio, let’s not forget: it was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in 2014 & remains one.
Imagine the consequences if we stop using the #polio #vaccine.
See the August statement from the IHR Emergency Committee
www.who.int/news/item/13...
Imagine the consequences if we stop using the #polio #vaccine.
See the August statement from the IHR Emergency Committee
www.who.int/news/item/13...
Statement of the Thirty-ninth Meeting of the Polio IHR Emergency Committee
The thirty-ninth meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) on the international spread of poliovirus was convened by the WHO Director-General on 20 Mar...
www.who.int
December 15, 2024 at 2:07 AM
With recent talk about #polio, let’s not forget: it was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in 2014 & remains one.
Imagine the consequences if we stop using the #polio #vaccine.
See the August statement from the IHR Emergency Committee
www.who.int/news/item/13...
Imagine the consequences if we stop using the #polio #vaccine.
See the August statement from the IHR Emergency Committee
www.who.int/news/item/13...
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
Wow. I bow down to this clear, engaging explanation. 🧪🛟🩺♾️
Hi Adam, I take your point that the quadratic formula can be presented in a way that does not inspire understanding or affection. And it sounds like that's how it was taught to you. So let me try to make a better case for it. Here's how I discussed it in my book The Joy of x. (1/9)
December 15, 2024 at 4:06 AM
Wow. I bow down to this clear, engaging explanation. 🧪🛟🩺♾️
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
❌ "during the pandemic" — please don't use it.
Here's the WHO chief, today:
"We cannot talk about COVID in the past tense. It’s still with us ... The world might want to forget about COVID-19, but we cannot afford to."
✅ "during the pandemic's emergency phase"
www.who.int/director-gen...
2/4
Here's the WHO chief, today:
"We cannot talk about COVID in the past tense. It’s still with us ... The world might want to forget about COVID-19, but we cannot afford to."
✅ "during the pandemic's emergency phase"
www.who.int/director-gen...
2/4
WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing – 10 December 2024
www.who.int
December 11, 2024 at 4:48 AM
❌ "during the pandemic" — please don't use it.
Here's the WHO chief, today:
"We cannot talk about COVID in the past tense. It’s still with us ... The world might want to forget about COVID-19, but we cannot afford to."
✅ "during the pandemic's emergency phase"
www.who.int/director-gen...
2/4
Here's the WHO chief, today:
"We cannot talk about COVID in the past tense. It’s still with us ... The world might want to forget about COVID-19, but we cannot afford to."
✅ "during the pandemic's emergency phase"
www.who.int/director-gen...
2/4
Let’s stop using absolute certainty in our communication when nuance is worth it:
“The findings highlight the importance of tailoring vaccination campaigns to local COVID-19 trends and personal infection histories for the best outcomes.”
medicine.yale.edu/news-article...
#publichealth #vaccines
“The findings highlight the importance of tailoring vaccination campaigns to local COVID-19 trends and personal infection histories for the best outcomes.”
medicine.yale.edu/news-article...
#publichealth #vaccines
One size doesn’t fit all: Best time for COVID-19 booster depends on where you live, infection history
A one-size-fits-all approach for scheduling COVID-19 booster shots may not be the most effective, according to a new study by researchers at the Yale School of
medicine.yale.edu
December 2, 2024 at 3:40 PM
Let’s stop using absolute certainty in our communication when nuance is worth it:
“The findings highlight the importance of tailoring vaccination campaigns to local COVID-19 trends and personal infection histories for the best outcomes.”
medicine.yale.edu/news-article...
#publichealth #vaccines
“The findings highlight the importance of tailoring vaccination campaigns to local COVID-19 trends and personal infection histories for the best outcomes.”
medicine.yale.edu/news-article...
#publichealth #vaccines
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
Note to journalists: important to communicate that the stated aim of GBD was to have a massive epidemic (immediately before vaccines became available), and also somehow keep it away from older population at higher risk (which would be about 25% of UK population if take age 60 as cutoff)
November 27, 2024 at 11:20 AM
Note to journalists: important to communicate that the stated aim of GBD was to have a massive epidemic (immediately before vaccines became available), and also somehow keep it away from older population at higher risk (which would be about 25% of UK population if take age 60 as cutoff)
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
Not sure this is on the incoming administration's radar, but it ought to be. #H5N1 #birdflu in dairy cows — and poultry, and people — isn't going away. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/26/o...
Opinion | I Ran Operation Warp Speed. I’m Concerned About Bird Flu.
Avian influenza might mutate to enable human-to-human transmission.
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2024 at 4:50 PM
Not sure this is on the incoming administration's radar, but it ought to be. #H5N1 #birdflu in dairy cows — and poultry, and people — isn't going away. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/26/o...
We need the influencer equivalent of Stop-Drop-and-Roll to put out misinformation wildfires. @newslitproject.bsky.social has some good tools - now to get content creators to make good use of them!
Not at all surprised by this.
According to a report by the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural organisation, two-thirds of content creators fail to check the accuracy of their material, making them and their followers vulnerable to misinformation.
www.theguardian.com/media/2024/n...
According to a report by the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural organisation, two-thirds of content creators fail to check the accuracy of their material, making them and their followers vulnerable to misinformation.
www.theguardian.com/media/2024/n...
Online influencers need ‘urgent’ fact-checking training, warns Unesco
Research shows six in 10 social media content creators do not verify accuracy of information before posting it
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2024 at 4:24 PM
We need the influencer equivalent of Stop-Drop-and-Roll to put out misinformation wildfires. @newslitproject.bsky.social has some good tools - now to get content creators to make good use of them!
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
Misinformation + political spin = 👇
Americans are not getting seasonal vaccines ahead of the holidays wapo.st/3OtyycQ
"...could spark outbreaks & increased hospitalizations."
"Some of the hesitancy toward vaccines can be attributed to a swarm of misinformation on social media and the internet..."
Americans are not getting seasonal vaccines ahead of the holidays wapo.st/3OtyycQ
"...could spark outbreaks & increased hospitalizations."
"Some of the hesitancy toward vaccines can be attributed to a swarm of misinformation on social media and the internet..."
Americans are not getting seasonal vaccines ahead of the holidays
Experts worry that the unenthusiastic embrace of vaccines could spark outbreaks and increased hospitalizations.
wapo.st
November 27, 2024 at 4:17 PM
Misinformation + political spin = 👇
Americans are not getting seasonal vaccines ahead of the holidays wapo.st/3OtyycQ
"...could spark outbreaks & increased hospitalizations."
"Some of the hesitancy toward vaccines can be attributed to a swarm of misinformation on social media and the internet..."
Americans are not getting seasonal vaccines ahead of the holidays wapo.st/3OtyycQ
"...could spark outbreaks & increased hospitalizations."
"Some of the hesitancy toward vaccines can be attributed to a swarm of misinformation on social media and the internet..."
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
in a 2023 interview, he said that research into the causal connection between HIV and AIDS was “phony” and “crooked.” This is scientific ignorance, not the healthy skepticism that some supporters allege. No one who asserts such nonsense should be at the helm of HHS. open.substack.com/pub/bariweis...
The Case Against RFK Jr.
A man who asserts nonsense about vaccines and HIV should not be at the helm of Health and Human Services, writes former Harvard Medical School dean Jeffrey S. Flier.
open.substack.com
November 27, 2024 at 2:59 PM
in a 2023 interview, he said that research into the causal connection between HIV and AIDS was “phony” and “crooked.” This is scientific ignorance, not the healthy skepticism that some supporters allege. No one who asserts such nonsense should be at the helm of HHS. open.substack.com/pub/bariweis...
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
November 20, 2024 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
300,000 women die from cervical cancer every year.
But this is a cancer we can effectively eliminate with the HPV vaccine.
This is something very few people know about.
Article from my colleague @scientificdiscovery.dev: ourworldindata.org/hpv-vaccinat...
But this is a cancer we can effectively eliminate with the HPV vaccine.
This is something very few people know about.
Article from my colleague @scientificdiscovery.dev: ourworldindata.org/hpv-vaccinat...
November 21, 2024 at 7:01 AM
300,000 women die from cervical cancer every year.
But this is a cancer we can effectively eliminate with the HPV vaccine.
This is something very few people know about.
Article from my colleague @scientificdiscovery.dev: ourworldindata.org/hpv-vaccinat...
But this is a cancer we can effectively eliminate with the HPV vaccine.
This is something very few people know about.
Article from my colleague @scientificdiscovery.dev: ourworldindata.org/hpv-vaccinat...
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
“One result might be lower vaccination rates — and worse public health outcomes — in red states than in blue…similar to the pattern that played out w/the Covid-19 💉 .”
Ppl disproportionately died in red states. Is that going to happen to kids? Senate must vote No.
www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/h...
Ppl disproportionately died in red states. Is that going to happen to kids? Senate must vote No.
www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/h...
Five Ways R.F.K. Jr. Could Undermine Lifesaving Childhood Vaccines
If he is confirmed as H.H.S. secretary, the longtime vaccine critic would be in a position to change the government’s immunization recommendations and delay the development of new vaccines.
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2024 at 12:56 PM
“One result might be lower vaccination rates — and worse public health outcomes — in red states than in blue…similar to the pattern that played out w/the Covid-19 💉 .”
Ppl disproportionately died in red states. Is that going to happen to kids? Senate must vote No.
www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/h...
Ppl disproportionately died in red states. Is that going to happen to kids? Senate must vote No.
www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/h...
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
Seriously, everyone needs to know this story, and know it well.
Here is a gift article from The NY Times that also describes the disinformation-fueled measles epidemic in Samoa which killed over 80 people, most of them small children, and RFK Jr’s considerable role in fomenting it:
www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/w...
www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/w...
November 20, 2024 at 5:44 PM
Seriously, everyone needs to know this story, and know it well.
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
Vaccines save lives and reduce healthcare costs. Those are facts. It is dangerous that RFK Jr., a political figure with no medical or public health training, is the choice to take the nation’s most powerful and important public health job.
www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/o...
www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/o...
Opinion | What R.F.K. Jr. Might Do on Vaccines
As the nation’s top health official, he could discourage vaccine research and production, and dissuade Americans from getting shots.
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2024 at 6:10 PM
Vaccines save lives and reduce healthcare costs. Those are facts. It is dangerous that RFK Jr., a political figure with no medical or public health training, is the choice to take the nation’s most powerful and important public health job.
www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/o...
www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/o...
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
One of my biggest recommendations for academics who are just starting out writing for a lay audience - avoid acronyms.
AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE.
I know writing things out can be tiresome. But 99% of the world has no idea what you're talking about when you use acronyms, and that's bad.
AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE.
I know writing things out can be tiresome. But 99% of the world has no idea what you're talking about when you use acronyms, and that's bad.
November 20, 2024 at 10:56 PM
One of my biggest recommendations for academics who are just starting out writing for a lay audience - avoid acronyms.
AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE.
I know writing things out can be tiresome. But 99% of the world has no idea what you're talking about when you use acronyms, and that's bad.
AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE.
I know writing things out can be tiresome. But 99% of the world has no idea what you're talking about when you use acronyms, and that's bad.
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
NEW: How can HHS, FDA, & CDC influence vaccine policy, use and availability? Despite limits, federal officials have significant authority in this area (though they cannot impose mandates or change local vaccination requirements). w/ @joshmich.bsky.social
www.kff.org/policy-watch...
www.kff.org/policy-watch...
How HHS, FDA, and CDC Can Influence U.S. Vaccine Policy | KFF
This policy brief highlights areas in which HHS, FDA, and CDC have authority to shape U.S. vaccine policy with a specific focus on vaccine approvals and recommendations for the public. Ultimately, whi...
www.kff.org
November 20, 2024 at 8:56 PM
NEW: How can HHS, FDA, & CDC influence vaccine policy, use and availability? Despite limits, federal officials have significant authority in this area (though they cannot impose mandates or change local vaccination requirements). w/ @joshmich.bsky.social
www.kff.org/policy-watch...
www.kff.org/policy-watch...
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
avoiding all the stuff that doesn’t support your argument does not, in fact, make your argument stronger
November 21, 2024 at 12:06 AM
avoiding all the stuff that doesn’t support your argument does not, in fact, make your argument stronger
Reposted by Hannah Mestel, MPH, MBA
Here’s another nice starter pack for those, like me, interested in misinformation/disinformation, media literacy and fact-checking …
go.bsky.app/RiLKpt
go.bsky.app/RiLKpt
November 20, 2024 at 10:21 PM
Here’s another nice starter pack for those, like me, interested in misinformation/disinformation, media literacy and fact-checking …
go.bsky.app/RiLKpt
go.bsky.app/RiLKpt