Fenit Nirappil
LightNews LightNews
banner
fenitn.bsky.social
Fenit Nirappil
@fenitn.bsky.social
3.8K followers 1.8K following 410 posts
I edit coverage of public health and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the Washington Post.

Contact: fenitn.33 on Signal; [email protected]
Posts Replies Media Videos
fenitn.bsky.social
Two paths to Thanksgiving drama offered by two departments at The Washington Post. Do you choose violence?

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
November 27, 2025 at 3:10 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 3:34 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
The “walk with your cousin” before Thanksgiving dinner is out.

This walk is in www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...
November 24, 2025 at 3:28 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
Cassidy's response (which does not directly address Kennedy)
Cassidy's post says: I’m a doctor who has seen people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. What parents need to hear right now is vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis B and other childhood diseases are safe and effective and will not cause autism. Any statement to the contrary is wrong, irresponsible, and actively makes Americans sicker. We need to understand the real causes of autism. Studies show there’s a genetic predisposition when a mom who’s pregnant is exposed to environmental toxins which can increase a child’s risk of autism. It’s deeply troubling that, according to HHS officials, they appeared to have canceled hundreds of millions in research on autism genetics. Redirecting attention to factors we definitely know DO NOT cause autism denies families the answers they deserve. We had two children die and many more hospitalized nationally from measles this year. Louisiana is experiencing its worst whooping cough outbreak in 35 years. Families are getting sick and people are dying from vaccine-preventable deaths, and that tragedy needs to stop.
November 20, 2025 at 8:30 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
To win Sen. Bill Cassidy’s vote for confirmation, Kennedy explicitly pledged to not remove vaccines don’t cause autism language from the CDC website.

And this is how he got around that wapo.st/4idz3Wn
November 20, 2025 at 12:41 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
I watched “All Her Fault” because I wanted to read this @monicahesse.bsky.social column, and it DELIVERS www.washingtonpost.com/style/2025/1...
November 19, 2025 at 1:47 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
I am so invested in this drama just a few paragraphs in www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
October 26, 2025 at 4:23 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
NEW: A Washington Post deep dive into surgeon general nominee Casey Means found she blurred sponsorship lines as she promoted supplements and products outside the medical mainstream.

Here’s one example.

And a gift link to read more: wapo.st/46LWoKQ
Means did a YouTube video titled “Unbox My Genova Metabolomix+ Nutrition Test With Me! 🧪” about a test that can cost hundreds of dollars. Genova Diagnostics is a sponsor of her book tour and newsletter, according to her financial disclosures, for $20,000 and listed as a partner of her book launch on her website. She did not expressly disclose that connection in the video, but did note viewers could get 10 percent off in the description. She also did not disclose the partnership in a May 2024 newsletter when she promoted the brand.
October 9, 2025 at 2:12 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
I wonder how the Washington Post covers it www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
October 9, 2025 at 11:51 AM
fenitn.bsky.social
The CDC's acting director urges vaccine manufacturers to break up the MMR vaccine.

This is a longtime talking point of anti-vaccine activists
October 6, 2025 at 3:01 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
It’s great to have a Portland-based reporter like @caseyparks.bsky.social to ground the news in reality www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
Hell? Here?
For many Portlanders, the city is something closer to heaven. The trees stay green all year long. The coffee is good at every shop. You can get to a mountain or the Pacific Ocean in an hour, and if you don’t feel like traveling, there are bookstores and parks in every neighborhood, not to mention some of the best restaurants in the country.
September 28, 2025 at 1:57 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
The anti-vaccine group founded by RFK Jr. on Trump going after the childhood immunization schedule:

“History is being made right now”
September 26, 2025 at 9:57 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
Andrew Wakefield, whose retracted study triggered the vaccines cause autism movement, takes a victory lap after Trump’s attack on vaccines yesterday.

More on the escalation of anti-vaccine rhetoric to the Oval Office: www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
An X post from Wakefield: President Trump adopts Wakefield recommendations on separating MMR and calls for major reforms in the childhood vaccine schedule. In a bombshell White House briefing President Trump summarized his position on putting an end to the autism epidemic. Alongside all his senior health officials and advisers Trump committed to identifying the causes of the current autism epidemic.
September 23, 2025 at 11:15 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
Above the fold on the Sunday front page
September 21, 2025 at 2:39 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
Very confusing what ACIP is trying to do on coronavirus vaccines www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Retsef Levi, the ACIP panelist who leads the coronavirus vaccine work group and has previously called for a halt to mRNA coronavirus vaccines, said the group wanted to address communicating risks and uncertainties of the shots to patients more consistently. “We are going to focus on personalized risk-benefit analysis, and we’re going to very much stay away from the narratives or the statements about safe and effective,” said Levi, a professor of operations management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “We don’t believe that these are appropriate or scientific language to talk about the issues related to vaccination.”
September 19, 2025 at 2:35 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
This part of the CDC Senate hearing stood out to me about Kennedy pushing the CDC director to speak to a lawyer for an anti-vaccine organization.

Gift link to our coverage: wapo.st/3I2IESn
Monarez also said Kennedy asked her speak to Aaron Siri, a lawyer for a top anti-vaccine organization and an ally to Kennedy. Siri previously petitioned the government to reconsider its approval of one of the polio vaccines.
September 18, 2025 at 12:29 AM
fenitn.bsky.social
Susan Monarez, who was fired as CDC director and said RFK Jr. pressured her to alter vaccine policy, is testifying before the Senate at 10 a.m.

We're covering it live - and already have a scoop from @lenasun.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
September 17, 2025 at 1:25 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
Our in-depth polling on who rejects vaccine recommendations and why is above the fold on the front page today. Gift link: wapo.st/3K4aFcG
September 16, 2025 at 1:40 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
Concerns about vaccine safety far exceeded challenges with vaccine access when we asked parents why they skipped or delayed vaccines wapo.st/3K4aFcG
More than 80 percent of parents who skipped or delayed vaccines said they were concerned about side effects. By comparison, 12 percent said the costs were too high or insurance did not cover costs.
September 15, 2025 at 5:27 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
Here is the demographic breakdown

For all the talk of Black/Latino vaccine hesitancy, we saw Whites were most likely to reject vaccine recommendations, especially if they were very religious. wapo.st/3K4aFcG
Skipping or delaying vaccines is more common among parents who home-school children, are Republicans, are young, or are White and religious
September 15, 2025 at 5:27 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
All but one state with a Democratic governor has now moved to end prescription requirements for coronavirus vaccines.

D.C. has not (CVS Minute Clinic and going to MD/VA are options) www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
September 13, 2025 at 3:10 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
The headline and subhed alone tell a powerful story www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/20...
September 9, 2025 at 12:17 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
Florida’s surgeon general said state officials did not analyze the risk of infectious disease resurgence before pushing to end all school vaccine mandates.

@douglasmac.bsky.social watched the interview
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, Florida surgeon general Dr. Joseph Ladapo said the state did not perform any research or analysis on how many new cases of diseases could result from the state’s decision to lift vaccine mandates for schools. “Ultimately, this is an issue very clearly of parent’s rights,” Dr. Ladapo said. “Do I need to analyze whether it’s appropriate for parents to decide what goes into their children’s bodies? I don’t need to do an analysis on that.” “We’re not taking vaccines away from anyone. What we said was that if you want them, god bless you, you can have as many as you want. And if you don't want them, parents should have the ability and the power to decide what goes into their children's bodies.”
September 7, 2025 at 2:48 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
The No. 2 at NIH repeatedly insisted vaccines are unnecessary in a healthy society even when presented evidence healthy children died of flu, according to whistleblower complaints.

@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social reports www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...
September 5, 2025 at 12:35 PM
fenitn.bsky.social
We are asking now as part of covering the difficulties Americans are facing getting coronavirus vaccines, and our reporters follow up to verify any of these stories we use in stories. Our Florida coverage ran at the top of the home page and front page www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
September 5, 2025 at 12:19 PM