Prof Gavin Yamey
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gavinyamey.bsky.social
Prof Gavin Yamey
@gavinyamey.bsky.social
Hymowitz Family Professor of Global Health & Professor of Public Policy at Duke University. Director of the Center for Policy Impact in Global Health. DJ at WXDU (Thursdays, 4-6pm ET, wxdu.org). TIME columnist. He/him. Tallest Jew on Earth.
Pinned
🚨In a new piece that I co-authored with @michaeldgreen.com for @bmj.com, we argue that Trump's war on DEI in medical education will damage the health of Americans

We present research evidence showing that a diverse medical workforce improves population health outcomes

www.bmj.com/content/391/...
Trump’s war on diversity in medical education could shorten Americans’ lives
Building a diverse medical workforce is a crucial step to improving population health outcomes, write Gavin Yamey and Michael D Green The Trump administration and its allies have recently taken seve...
www.bmj.com
Oh my God, my 10 year old son just asked me:

“Dad, when you were a kid, did you use a quill dipped in ink to write?”

Excuse me while I go and crawl up in a ball on the floor in psychic agony while I ponder my existence….
November 11, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Reposted by Prof Gavin Yamey
He is willfully ignorant and seems to take pleasure in the harm he causes, especially to children.

I’ve written a lot about how he profits off anti-science activism, here is one such article:

news.immunologic.org/p/rfk-jr-des...
RFK Jr. destroyed vaccine trust for decades and now claims he is going to restore it?
RFK Jr has made millions targeting vaccines. Firing CDC’s ACIP to install anti-vaccine allies will not fix anything: it will allow him to finish the job.
news.immunologic.org
November 10, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Reposted by Prof Gavin Yamey
RFK Jr & the MAHA institute are selling anti-vaccine onesies.

When I say they PROFIT by causing preventable illness & death, this only scrapes the surface of their deadly profiteering.

RFK Jr is not a vaccine skeptic.
He an anti-vaxxer.

He is a danger to society.

1/
November 10, 2025 at 11:08 PM
One day I’m a gonna do a long thread on Britfunk, but for the moment here’s an absolutely miraculous tune by an 8-piece band, Funkapolitan, that only released one self-titled album—produced by August Darnell (aka Kid Creole) and with an album cover by Peter Saville!

youtu.be/NWTKlU1uZXc?...
Funkapolitan–As The Time Goes By (Music Video)
YouTube video by Videowave Music Videos
youtu.be
November 10, 2025 at 11:15 PM
I want to say a huge thank you to Dr Harris, who has been a true beacon of integrity during this incredibly depressing & damaging time of Stanford-MAHA-anti-vaxx-Great Barrington Declaration anti-science kookiness
I spoke to CNN about how demoralizing it was to watch Stanford leadership stay silent while contrarians on campus launched unscientific attacks to stifle Stanford researchers. Now, those attacks have gone nationwide and much of MAHA leadership have ties to Stanford.

www.cnn.com/2025/11/08/p...
The Trump-MAHA-Stanford nexus of US health policy | CNN Politics
In early 2022, Stanford medical student Santiago Sanchez set out to organize a campus debate with Jay Bhattacharya — a professor at the university whose outspoken denunciations of pandemic lockdowns m...
www.cnn.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Good summary of the Trump Administration’s record on public health 👇
Bottom line: It's nonsense and poor science.🙄
November 10, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Sadly, RFK Jr, arguably the world’s most extreme & dangerous anti-vaxx activist, & his henchmen—the Great Barrington Declaration (Drs Kulldorff & Bhattacharya) & Drs Makary, Oz, & Prasad—have been wildly successful at interfering with the US public health & vaccination systems 😢
“I’ve come to this anti-vax conference with a message: that we need to be more boldly anti-vax,” said Mark Gorton, the head of the MAHA Institute…(he) called for the elimination of the childhood vaccination schedule & removal of vaccines from the market.

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
‘God is an anti-vaxxer’: Inside the conference celebrating RFK Jr.’s rise
An anti-vaccine conference in Austin celebrated Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s rise to political power, highlighting his influence in Trump’s Washington.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Yes it is
It's amazing that three people who have never taken care of pregnant women or children were considered "expert" enough to make this decision, but that's the hallmark of the Trump administration appointees
November 10, 2025 at 4:11 PM
On May 27 2025, these 3 MAHA/MAGA dudes took to X to say they were no longer recommending COVID vaccination in pregnancy

This was terrible advice:

First, pregnancy is a risk factor for severe COVID-19 (discussed at www.acog.org/womens-healt...)

1/2
November 10, 2025 at 3:50 PM
"A total of 220,000 Americans lost their lives during the 11 weeks between the election and the inauguration. That’s 20,000 deaths every week. A September 11-sized catastrophe happening every day for 77 straight days. Politics kills.

If March 2020 was mismanagement, November 2020 was abandonment."
We don’t talk enough about how Operation Warp Speed saved many lives in spite of Trump, nor how many people died because of his failure of leadership. Great piece from my great colleague @maciekboni.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/maciekbo...
COVID’s leadership failures
Two moments that were too big for us, and the unfixable chain of mistakes that was set off after November 2020
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Reposted by Prof Gavin Yamey
Or to quote another philosopher, Confucius, “A man who has committed a mistake and does not correct it is committing another mistake.”
November 9, 2025 at 7:57 PM
When it comes to music, am I prone to drama, exaggeration & hyperbole?

Of course!

But is this one of the most beautiful recordings in history?

Certainly

And today it got its first ever reissue

Recorded in ‘93 for Chicago’s Adler Planetarium

kelanphilcohranlegacy.bandcamp.com/album/africa...
African Skies, by Kelan Phil Cohran & Legacy
7 track album
kelanphilcohranlegacy.bandcamp.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Reposted by Prof Gavin Yamey
every time you think the new WaPo editorial board can't embarrass itself any more, they manage to find a way.

Left: 'Texas gerrymandering is no big deal!', from August.
Right: 'Maryland gerrymandering is an affront to Western civilization!', from today.
November 7, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Reposted by Prof Gavin Yamey
I’m just a lowly public health professor so what do I know, but I would call starvation irreparably harmful.
The Trump administration tells the Supreme Court it can’t be compelled to fully fund SNAP because paying out the money would “irreparably harm” the government, while SNAP beneficiaries … *won’t* be irreparably harmed by going hungry? The balance of equities here is completely upside down.
November 8, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Reposted by Prof Gavin Yamey
Yes, some people's legacies are complicated. For example, Watson. After all, though he was racist, don't forget his other traits. For example, he was also sexist. And also anti-semitic. And a data / idea thief. So let's not forget all the different facets.
November 8, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Reposted by Prof Gavin Yamey
A massive JAMA Internal Medicine study of 1.8M Americans found last season’s COVID booster still packs a punch—especially against severe illness and death.

The data are clear:

📉 Infection risk ↓ 45% at 4 weeks, 36% at 10 weeks,

#BlueSky #MedSky #SciSky #IDSky #NurseSky #EMSky
Opinion | How long does covid booster protection last? A new study offers answers.
More evidence highlighting the benefit, and limitations, of covid-19 vaccines
shorturl.at
November 8, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Reposted by Prof Gavin Yamey
“Dr Bob Morris founder of @scienceai.bsky.social compared public health to a house on fire: ‘We must put out the fire. We'll need to rebuild the house. But first, we need to get rid of the arsonist, RFK has got to go!’ he said.” www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcover...
Public Health Workers March to HHS, Demand RFK Jr.'s Removal
American Public Health Association closes its annual meeting with organized protest
www.medpagetoday.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Superb thread 👇👇👇
It's sad to see @scholars.org giving credibility to "In COVID's Wake" once again. 1/
November 8, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Reposted by Prof Gavin Yamey
Oh yeah, we women who spent decades getting high-level degrees and working in male-dominated industries fighting the good-ole-boys clubs are definitely the problem for christofascist Republicans.
Trad Wives to the rescue!
WTAF?

What the hell is wrong with conservatives?
November 7, 2025 at 7:15 PM
WTAF?

What the hell is wrong with conservatives?
November 7, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Prof Gavin Yamey
Once again: this is not what “feminism” means.
JUSTICE AMY CONEY BARRETT:

“Being a conservative woman in a law school, particularly, takes a lot of courage and independence, and in many ways shows more feminism than just falling into some predetermined vision of what a woman should be.”
November 7, 2025 at 6:40 PM
On Dec 2 2025 at 10am ET, I'll moderate a webinar on:

"Global Health After the Breakpoint: Evidence for What Comes Next"

Key note speaker: John-Arne Røttingen, CEO, Wellcome Trust

4 panelists: Ebere Okereke, Osondu Ogbuoji, Sam McPherson, Nina Schwalbe

1/2
Register:
duke.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Global Health After the Breakpoint: Evidence for What Comes Next. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
2025 has been a breakpoint for global health. Aid donors have slashed billions in funding, triggering catastrophic impacts. Amid these cuts, the global health system faces cascading shocks including g...
duke.zoom.us
November 7, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Probably the album I’ve been most looking forward to, released today, which I pre-ordered on vinyl (you gotta BUY music & support the artists who bring us so much joy!)

One of the most exciting, innovative bands in America right now IMHO

intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/how-yo...
How You Been, by SML
13 track album
intlanthem.bandcamp.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Oh. My. God.
Cornell agreed to pay $30m, hand over admissions data with demographic breakdowns, produce annual "campus climate" surveys to check on antisemitism and changes "since October of 2023," and—here's the dumbest part they agreed to—that the govt can open new investigations whenever it wants.

Appeasers.
Cornell has reached an agreement with the federal government to restore our funding:

statements.cornell.edu/2025/2025110...
November 7, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Certainly one of the greatest house tracks of all time

youtu.be/C5xX8krgxmA?...
Dubtribe Sound System - Do It Now (Album Version)
YouTube video by midimopo
youtu.be
November 7, 2025 at 5:22 PM