Consider This from NPR The lasting impact of the administration’s changes to health science
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Aug 31, 2025 In this engaging discussion, Dr. Craig Spencer, an emergency medicine physician and public health policy professor at Brown University, shares valuable insights on significant public health changes initiated by the Trump administration. He highlights the turmoil at the CDC and the potential erosion of scientific integrity due to political pressures. Spencer elaborates on the implications for research funding and healthcare access, stressing the need for diverse perspectives in health decision-making and how these shifts could affect the future of American health.
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Leadership Changes Destabilize Public Health
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s tenure has driven major turnover and institutional change at HHS and CDC.
- Craig Spencer warns this destabilization risks both immediate and long-term harm to public health capabilities.
Global Surveillance Undermined
- The administration has disrupted decades-old disease surveillance systems worldwide.
- Spencer says weakening those systems raises the chance dangerous outbreaks reach the U.S.
A Continuous 'Drip' Of Policy Shifts
- The changes are a continuation of policy shifts that began earlier in the administration.
- Spencer calls the ongoing 'drip' of substitutions and removals harmful beyond short-term headlines.