Troy Tassier
@troytassier.bsky.social
Public health, health equity, economic inequality, complex systems, social networks
Economist at Fordham
Author: The Rich Flee and the Poor Take the Bus: How Our Unequal Society Fails Us during Outbreaks (JHU Press)
Book webpage: troytassier.com
Economist at Fordham
Author: The Rich Flee and the Poor Take the Bus: How Our Unequal Society Fails Us during Outbreaks (JHU Press)
Book webpage: troytassier.com
Reposted by Troy Tassier
This is not the year to skip your flu shot. Flu season is just beginning and it’s a bad one already. There’s still time to get shots for you, your kids and your parents/ grandparents! Free and easy at a nearby pharmacy.
January 6, 2026 at 1:41 PM
This is not the year to skip your flu shot. Flu season is just beginning and it’s a bad one already. There’s still time to get shots for you, your kids and your parents/ grandparents! Free and easy at a nearby pharmacy.
Reposted by Troy Tassier
The right wants to talk about fraud? Somali fraud? Okay, give me 60 seconds.
January 7, 2026 at 1:41 AM
The right wants to talk about fraud? Somali fraud? Okay, give me 60 seconds.
This is Stephen Miller's childish worldview that is guiding US policy:
“Nobody’s going to fight the US militarily over the future of Greenland,” Mr. Miller told Jake Tapper...
“We live...in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength...governed by force...governed by power,”
“Nobody’s going to fight the US militarily over the future of Greenland,” Mr. Miller told Jake Tapper...
“We live...in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength...governed by force...governed by power,”
Stephen Miller Asserts U.S. Has Right to Take Greenland
www.nytimes.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:30 PM
This is Stephen Miller's childish worldview that is guiding US policy:
“Nobody’s going to fight the US militarily over the future of Greenland,” Mr. Miller told Jake Tapper...
“We live...in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength...governed by force...governed by power,”
“Nobody’s going to fight the US militarily over the future of Greenland,” Mr. Miller told Jake Tapper...
“We live...in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength...governed by force...governed by power,”
Reposted by Troy Tassier
When I rotated on the PICU I helped manage ECMO for two kiddos with complications from the flu. Just tragic. People drastically underestimate the flu - which is part of why the whole narrative around the flu and COVID drove me nuts. Like…you should not want to die from that either!
January 3, 2026 at 10:02 PM
When I rotated on the PICU I helped manage ECMO for two kiddos with complications from the flu. Just tragic. People drastically underestimate the flu - which is part of why the whole narrative around the flu and COVID drove me nuts. Like…you should not want to die from that either!
Most important quote from the article,
“I want to be able to save somebody since my sister wasn’t able to save herself.”
I hope this message gets out.
“I want to be able to save somebody since my sister wasn’t able to save herself.”
I hope this message gets out.
Healthy 16-year-old girl dies from flu complications: ‘It doesn’t make sense’ www.fox8live.com/2026/01/02/h...
Healthy 16-year-old girl dies from flu complications: ‘It doesn’t make sense’
A 16-year-old Ohio girl has died from the flu, marking the state’s first pediatric flu death this year, Greene County officials confirmed.
www.fox8live.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Most important quote from the article,
“I want to be able to save somebody since my sister wasn’t able to save herself.”
I hope this message gets out.
“I want to be able to save somebody since my sister wasn’t able to save herself.”
I hope this message gets out.
Reposted by Troy Tassier
Any pediatrician who has practiced long enough has seen this.
The worst death I ever was involved in was a previously healthy child who was otherwise immunized.
No one was antivax, family just hadn’t gotten around to getting the flu vaccine that year.
Absolutely tragic.
The worst death I ever was involved in was a previously healthy child who was otherwise immunized.
No one was antivax, family just hadn’t gotten around to getting the flu vaccine that year.
Absolutely tragic.
Healthy 16-year-old girl dies from flu complications: ‘It doesn’t make sense’ www.fox8live.com/2026/01/02/h...
Healthy 16-year-old girl dies from flu complications: ‘It doesn’t make sense’
A 16-year-old Ohio girl has died from the flu, marking the state’s first pediatric flu death this year, Greene County officials confirmed.
www.fox8live.com
January 3, 2026 at 9:57 PM
Any pediatrician who has practiced long enough has seen this.
The worst death I ever was involved in was a previously healthy child who was otherwise immunized.
No one was antivax, family just hadn’t gotten around to getting the flu vaccine that year.
Absolutely tragic.
The worst death I ever was involved in was a previously healthy child who was otherwise immunized.
No one was antivax, family just hadn’t gotten around to getting the flu vaccine that year.
Absolutely tragic.
One of the best ways to protect people at “high risk” of health complications from infection, is to stop them from getting infected by having widespread vaccine coverage! It is equally important to stop people from spreading disease as it is to stop people from getting infected.
January 6, 2026 at 1:51 PM
One of the best ways to protect people at “high risk” of health complications from infection, is to stop them from getting infected by having widespread vaccine coverage! It is equally important to stop people from spreading disease as it is to stop people from getting infected.
This is not the year to skip your flu shot. Flu season is just beginning and it’s a bad one already. There’s still time to get shots for you, your kids and your parents/ grandparents! Free and easy at a nearby pharmacy.
January 6, 2026 at 1:41 PM
This is not the year to skip your flu shot. Flu season is just beginning and it’s a bad one already. There’s still time to get shots for you, your kids and your parents/ grandparents! Free and easy at a nearby pharmacy.
9 kids dead from influenza already this flu season. 289 last season, w/ 89% of those unvaccinated. It’s not a year to take the risk. Get your kids their flu shots.
January 6, 2026 at 4:30 AM
9 kids dead from influenza already this flu season. 289 last season, w/ 89% of those unvaccinated. It’s not a year to take the risk. Get your kids their flu shots.
Reposted by Troy Tassier
Visitor to Ark Encounter could have exposed others to measles, Kentucky public health officials warn kentuckylantern.com/briefs/visit...
Visitor to Ark Encounter could have exposed others to measles, Kentucky public health officials warn • Kentucky Lantern
Kentucky health officials have identified potential measles exposures in Grant County involving an unvaccinated traveler from another state.
kentuckylantern.com
January 1, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Visitor to Ark Encounter could have exposed others to measles, Kentucky public health officials warn kentuckylantern.com/briefs/visit...
GOP members of Congress are calling the ACA a failed program bc of the subsidies involved in the program. Have they not noticed the $348 billion subsidy given to firms and workers (in the form of tax breaks) for employer sponsored health insurance?
The $348 billion on bottom left bar is the subsidy workers and firms receive from employer provided health insurance. It is mostly from tax breaks that go to firms & workers. It amounts to abt $2,000/ person covered by an employers plan. Why doesn’t the GOP have same outrage over this subsidy? 1/2
January 2, 2026 at 5:30 AM
GOP members of Congress are calling the ACA a failed program bc of the subsidies involved in the program. Have they not noticed the $348 billion subsidy given to firms and workers (in the form of tax breaks) for employer sponsored health insurance?
The $348 billion on bottom left bar is the subsidy workers and firms receive from employer provided health insurance. It is mostly from tax breaks that go to firms & workers. It amounts to abt $2,000/ person covered by an employers plan. Why doesn’t the GOP have same outrage over this subsidy? 1/2
January 1, 2026 at 2:34 PM
The $348 billion on bottom left bar is the subsidy workers and firms receive from employer provided health insurance. It is mostly from tax breaks that go to firms & workers. It amounts to abt $2,000/ person covered by an employers plan. Why doesn’t the GOP have same outrage over this subsidy? 1/2
Just so we’re clear, the federal tax deductions for employer provided health insurance result in a subsidy of about $300 billion per year (in forgone tax revenue). But (to my knowledge) not a single republican has complained about that subsidy.
taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-boo...
taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-boo...
January 1, 2026 at 5:26 AM
Just so we’re clear, the federal tax deductions for employer provided health insurance result in a subsidy of about $300 billion per year (in forgone tax revenue). But (to my knowledge) not a single republican has complained about that subsidy.
taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-boo...
taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-boo...
“Who would (or could) pay $27,000 for employer-sponsored insurance if they had to cover the full cost without any subsidy?”
One thing constantly overlooked, employer provided health ins is also heavily subsidized through the tax breaks that firms receive from providing health insurance to employees
One thing constantly overlooked, employer provided health ins is also heavily subsidized through the tax breaks that firms receive from providing health insurance to employees
ACA subsidies expire tonight—Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel pushes back on a Wall Street Journal piece cheering their end.
One last post for 2025.
open.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 2:16 AM
“Who would (or could) pay $27,000 for employer-sponsored insurance if they had to cover the full cost without any subsidy?”
One thing constantly overlooked, employer provided health ins is also heavily subsidized through the tax breaks that firms receive from providing health insurance to employees
One thing constantly overlooked, employer provided health ins is also heavily subsidized through the tax breaks that firms receive from providing health insurance to employees
Reposted by Troy Tassier
@kasiunia.bsky.social @tribe-xx.bsky.social @robklippel.bsky.social @adaspota.bsky.social @yanygal.bsky.social @bbjran8.bsky.social @gilaay.bsky.social @sardonicus.eu @wahrhaftig.bsky.social @scilla.bsky.social
BOTD 1946 Patti Smith “Why do we write? A chorus erupts. Because we cannot simply live.”
BOTD 1946 Patti Smith “Why do we write? A chorus erupts. Because we cannot simply live.”
December 31, 2025 at 12:07 AM
@kasiunia.bsky.social @tribe-xx.bsky.social @robklippel.bsky.social @adaspota.bsky.social @yanygal.bsky.social @bbjran8.bsky.social @gilaay.bsky.social @sardonicus.eu @wahrhaftig.bsky.social @scilla.bsky.social
BOTD 1946 Patti Smith “Why do we write? A chorus erupts. Because we cannot simply live.”
BOTD 1946 Patti Smith “Why do we write? A chorus erupts. Because we cannot simply live.”
“In MA, an est 34k residents will lose … coverage starting this Th, according to the MA Health Connector. Many of these individuals are desperately poor & without other options, all of them are lawfully present in the US.”
“No New Year’s cheer for these human beings who deserve better. Shame on us”
“No New Year’s cheer for these human beings who deserve better. Shame on us”
No Happy New Year for Many U.S. Immigrants
Immigrant Cuts and Loss of ACA Enhanced Subsidies Are a Double Hit by Trump
open.substack.com
December 31, 2025 at 2:07 AM
“In MA, an est 34k residents will lose … coverage starting this Th, according to the MA Health Connector. Many of these individuals are desperately poor & without other options, all of them are lawfully present in the US.”
“No New Year’s cheer for these human beings who deserve better. Shame on us”
“No New Year’s cheer for these human beings who deserve better. Shame on us”
If only Bezos, Zuckerberg, Ellison, et. al. were as principled.
"I would never even consider performing in a venue bearing a name that represents overt racism and deliberate destruction of African American music and culture."
Thank you, Billy Harper. You’re a great American!
Thank you, Billy Harper. You’re a great American!
December 30, 2025 at 5:28 PM
If only Bezos, Zuckerberg, Ellison, et. al. were as principled.
Reposted by Troy Tassier
Here's a longer take on the flawed premise (w/my colleague Greg Gibson):
joshuasweitz.substack.com/p/revisionis...
& an alternative, 'Asymptomatic' (JHU Press), on what made Covid so hard to stop and how to confront future pandemics:
www.amazon.com/Asymptomatic...
joshuasweitz.substack.com/p/revisionis...
& an alternative, 'Asymptomatic' (JHU Press), on what made Covid so hard to stop and how to confront future pandemics:
www.amazon.com/Asymptomatic...
Revisionism in the Wake of Covid
A dialogue confronting the premise of revisionist efforts to diminish the pandemic's severity and dismantle public health institutions.
joshuasweitz.substack.com
December 24, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Here's a longer take on the flawed premise (w/my colleague Greg Gibson):
joshuasweitz.substack.com/p/revisionis...
& an alternative, 'Asymptomatic' (JHU Press), on what made Covid so hard to stop and how to confront future pandemics:
www.amazon.com/Asymptomatic...
joshuasweitz.substack.com/p/revisionis...
& an alternative, 'Asymptomatic' (JHU Press), on what made Covid so hard to stop and how to confront future pandemics:
www.amazon.com/Asymptomatic...
Important graph to watch moving forward. During the Biden Covid recovery low wage workers experienced much larger rates of wage growth than high income people. That turned around late in his admin and, not surprisingly, is accelerating now. Graph from @pkrugman.bsky.social substack post 12/23.
December 24, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Important graph to watch moving forward. During the Biden Covid recovery low wage workers experienced much larger rates of wage growth than high income people. That turned around late in his admin and, not surprisingly, is accelerating now. Graph from @pkrugman.bsky.social substack post 12/23.
Reposted by Troy Tassier
My takeaway from this nice read: seems you could build a semester-long course about misinformation tactics by just using Peter McCollough and Andrew Wakefield's report on vaccines and autism. Bad scientific claims, misleading graphs/data, many bad citations, bad science advocacy into policy, etc. 🛟😷
New piece from @celinegounder.com about how antivax disinformation tactics are making their way to the CDC via the McCullough foundation.
What the CDC’s Vaccine Language Shift Reveals About Pseudoscience
Researchers see a pattern in how unverified studies gain traction online, shaping perceptions of official science before data can catch up
drcelinegounder.substack.com
December 20, 2025 at 8:51 PM
My takeaway from this nice read: seems you could build a semester-long course about misinformation tactics by just using Peter McCollough and Andrew Wakefield's report on vaccines and autism. Bad scientific claims, misleading graphs/data, many bad citations, bad science advocacy into policy, etc. 🛟😷
One of our abysmal failures following the height of the Covid pandemic. We greatly, greatly reduced childhood poverty through government assistance in 2021 and then (largely) decided to go back to our old ways.
December 17, 2025 at 4:02 PM
One of our abysmal failures following the height of the Covid pandemic. We greatly, greatly reduced childhood poverty through government assistance in 2021 and then (largely) decided to go back to our old ways.
Reposted by Troy Tassier
The entire workforce at the BlueOval SK (BOSK) electric vehicle battery park in Hardin County is being laid off as Ford announces a major restructuring.
www.lpm.org/news/2025-12...
www.lpm.org/news/2025-12...
BlueOval SK in Kentucky will lay off entire workforce as Ford announces restructuring
Ford will turn the BlueOval SK factory in Glendale into a battery-storage business for customers such as utilities, wind and solar developers, and massive data centers.
www.lpm.org
December 16, 2025 at 4:33 PM
There's a lot of action on that other site abt the lack of job growth being due to firing "unproductive" govt workers. Well, here's a pretty clear picture showing that Trump's blue collar supporters aren't doing well and the lack of job growth isnt' abt Fed Govt job loss.
The US is losing blue-collar jobs for the first time since the pandemic—year-on-year job losses have hit 65k as manufacturing, transportation, & mining industries lose jobs at a rapid pace while growth in construction has nearly zeroed out
December 17, 2025 at 2:42 PM
There's a lot of action on that other site abt the lack of job growth being due to firing "unproductive" govt workers. Well, here's a pretty clear picture showing that Trump's blue collar supporters aren't doing well and the lack of job growth isnt' abt Fed Govt job loss.
Reposted by Troy Tassier
A must read, must share article dispelling dangerous misconceptions about the flu vaccine.
If all health journalists were as excellent as
@egpayne.bsky.social we’d be in a lot less trouble. Do consider giving her a follow.
#VaccinesSaveLives
#Flu
#medsky
ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...
If all health journalists were as excellent as
@egpayne.bsky.social we’d be in a lot less trouble. Do consider giving her a follow.
#VaccinesSaveLives
#Flu
#medsky
ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...
No, you can’t get the flu from a flu shot — and other misconceptions
Dr. Anne Pham-Huy, a pediatric infectious disease specialist, debunks some common misconceptions about the flu and the flu shot
ottawacitizen.com
December 17, 2025 at 12:21 PM
A must read, must share article dispelling dangerous misconceptions about the flu vaccine.
If all health journalists were as excellent as
@egpayne.bsky.social we’d be in a lot less trouble. Do consider giving her a follow.
#VaccinesSaveLives
#Flu
#medsky
ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...
If all health journalists were as excellent as
@egpayne.bsky.social we’d be in a lot less trouble. Do consider giving her a follow.
#VaccinesSaveLives
#Flu
#medsky
ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...
Scary part: This isn’t RFK at HHS-yet. This is his work yrs & yrs before, that came to fruition with greatly increased belief & religious based vax exemptions the past 10-15 yrs. The harm of RFK at the HHS hasn’t been realized yet, and the damage he will cause will dwarf this.
Measles didn’t make a comeback on its own.
This is RFK Jr’s anti-vax movement and his disinformation campaign. And equally as disturbing, some people are perfectly fine with this outcome.
This is RFK Jr’s anti-vax movement and his disinformation campaign. And equally as disturbing, some people are perfectly fine with this outcome.
December 15, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Scary part: This isn’t RFK at HHS-yet. This is his work yrs & yrs before, that came to fruition with greatly increased belief & religious based vax exemptions the past 10-15 yrs. The harm of RFK at the HHS hasn’t been realized yet, and the damage he will cause will dwarf this.