Richard M. Carpiano, PhD, MPH
LightNews LightNews
banner
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
Richard M. Carpiano, PhD, MPH
@rmcarpiano.medsky.social
13K followers 5.5K following 5.7K posts
Professor, University of California, Riverside School of Public Policy. Public health scientist & sociologist keen on population health & community issues. Sometimes in the news, often for troubling and frustrating topics. Opinions my own. 🇺🇸 🇨🇦
Posts Replies Media Videos
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
We knew we'd see stuff like this when RFK Jr. got appointed, but seeing it unfold IRL is still something... 🛟😷

Brandolini's law example: "72 jabs" claim is old antivax BS--counts combined vaccines (like MMR) as if 1 shot for each. Ironically, HHS called for MMR into M, M, & R, thus 2 shots-->6.
Tweet from President Trump: "Today, the CDC Vaccine Committee made a very good decision to END their Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation for babies, the vast majority of whom are at NO RISK of Hepatitis B, a disease that is mostly transmitted sexually, or through dirty needles. The American Childhood Vaccine Schedule long required 72 “jabs,” for perfectly healthy babies, far more than any other Country in the World, and far more than is necessary. In fact, it is ridiculous! Many parents and scientists have been questioning the efficacy of this “schedule,” as have I! That is why I have just signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Department of Health and Human Services to “FAST TRACK” a comprehensive evaluation of Vaccine Schedules from other Countries around the World, and better align the U.S. Vaccine Schedule, so it is finally rooted in the Gold Standard of Science and COMMON SENSE! I am fully confident Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the CDC, will get this done, quickly and correctly, for our Nation’s Children. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. MAHA!"
December 6, 2025 at 10:46 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
Great turnout for UCR School of Public Policy Dean's Anniversary Event: Creating a Thriving, Prosperous, and Abundant World: What Does That Mean and How Do We Achieve It?
Panelists Christopher Elmendorf, Virginia Postrel, and Steven Teles with SPP Dean Mark Long as moderator.
Photo of stage with left to right, UCR SPP Dean Mark Long and speaker panelists Christopher Elmendorf, Virginia Postrel, and Steven Teles from audience.
December 6, 2025 at 2:06 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
Hmmm... 🛟😷 health policy medsky polisky sociology
Screenshot of post on X from the account of Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D., of Louisiana on Dec. 3, 2025 "I agree with President Trump that we need radical transparency in our public health system. FDA has not published any data around the alleged deaths or explained the process they took to verify it. I’ve asked FDA for a full briefing on this. The American people deserve clarity. Withholding this critical information is not radical transparency and will worsen confusion and fear among patients and parents. We should not move forward on vaccine policy changes without further information. Protecting children’s health has to be the top priority."
December 4, 2025 at 7:29 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
These COVID vax death claims & policy by Vinay Prasad are unsurprising given his long problematic contrarian crusade. If only his BS cld've waited until after the holiday. If past VAERS data claims are indicators, there will be much to scrutinize abt this--& now he's making policy off it. 🛟 😷 medsky
2 screenshots of X tweet thread by journalist Ali Rogin on Nov. 25, 2025. Text below is copy and paste verbatim from her 4 tweets... Tweet 1: NEW: In an email sent to staff this afternoon, CBER chief Vinay Prasad says the @US_FDA for the first time "will acknowledge that COVID-19 vaccines have killed American children," which he calls a "profound revelation." Tweet 2: He says that assessment is based on a "detailed analysis of deaths voluntarily reported to the VAERS system," and that following an initial analysis of 96 deaths between '21 and '24, they've identified "no fewer than 10" that are related to the shot Tweet 3: He says that based on this analysis, "we will take swift action regarding this new safety concern" and "will demand pre-market randomized trials assessing clinical endpoints for most new products." Tweet 4: Prasad also says the FDA will "revise the annual flu vaccine framework" which he calls "an evidence-based catastrophe," and he invites people who disagree with this new direction to resign. "For those who choose to remain... I look forward to working with you," he concludes.
November 29, 2025 at 9:57 PM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
Anyone know about LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center & why they'd be keen to appoint Malone? Hard to believe he didn't have insiders advocating for him.

Status they afforded him aside, Malone now has a formal institution to apply for research grants/contracts through. 🛟🧪
Screenshot on X from Robert W Malone's account (@RWMaloneMD) on 11/18/25 saying: Very grateful to be able to announce that I just accepted an appointment as Professor, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University. Many thanks to all that made this possible. Gradually, gradually recovering from five years of being defamed, gaslit and blacklisted for speaking truth to power. Still perm banned from linked in though.
November 19, 2025 at 12:27 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
(cont'd)
Screenshot of a section of the linked article in the OP. "Reaction to the Strategy Despite the secretary’s frequent criticisms of corporate influence over food and drug policy, the strategy is not likely to trouble corporate America. In fact, the White House encouraged the secretary to meet with industry representatives before the assessment was released, with additional meetings following its release. These closed-door meetings with industry appear to have had an impact. Specific references to seed oils and the pesticide glyphosate appeared in the assessment but not in the strategy. Similarly, ultraprocessed foods, one of the 4 principal drivers of the pediatric chronic disease epidemic according to the assessment, garnered only a single mention in the strategy, simply urging the government to better define the term. After all the emphasis on the harmful effects of ultraprocessed foods, there was no action to address them. The strategy seems to have laid bare a rift among MAHA supporters, with several decrying what they saw as on undue focus on vaccination at the expense of measures to address food additives and pesticides."
October 24, 2025 at 5:09 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
(cont'd) So the name/face of the Brownstone Institute who RFK Jr. and Bhattacharya hang with isn't just a prolific writer of anarcho-capitalist ideas, but has faced multiple accusations of inappropriate statements and behavior towards women co-workers (corroborated by others)...
Screenshot from the linked story (1 of 2): Seven months after publishing the declaration, after Ann Grochmal, a colleague at AIER accused him of sexual harassment, Tucker quit and founded Brownstone. AIER settled a lawsuit with Grochmal earlier this year, according to Massachusetts court records. AIER also settled an earlier sexual harassment suit involving Tucker, according to a deposition of Tucker in the Grochmal suit. The earlier case involved a woman named Alexandra Hudson. Tucker’s motion to dismiss Grochmal’s suit was denied. In his court filing in response to the complaint, Tucker denied the allegations. In her lawsuit, Grochmal alleged Tucker pressured female colleagues to drink and model fur coats, inappropriately touched female employees, including pulling an intern into his bedroom while wearing only boxers, and publicly discussed the many women he was involved with at work and the prior sexual harassment settlement. Three people who did work for AIER at the time told POLITICO they’d experienced or witnessed similar behavior from Tucker. Two former colleagues including a senior leader at Tucker’s prior employer, the Foundation for Economic Education, another libertarian think tank, told POLITICO that Tucker was fired following sexual harassment allegations. These individuals were granted anonymity because they feared professional retaliation or to disclose confidential workplace information. Screenshot from the linked article (2 of 2): “He would serve copious amounts of very strong alcohol and make comments about sex acts, women’s bodies,” said Tricia Beck-Peter, who worked with Tucker at FEE and AIER and was told to wear furs at the Great Barrington campus. The lawsuit and settlements involving Tucker have not been previously reported. In her complaint, Grochmal alleged that Tucker would tell AIER employees about previous sexual harassment allegations, calling the women who had accused him “tramps” who wanted money. Grochmal also alleged that Tucker pressured her and other women to wear furs, with Tucker telling Grochmal in February 2021, “Wear this fur, you’ll be beautiful.” In his motion to dismiss Grochmal’s case, Tucker said his behavior did not constitute sexual harassment. “The isolated remarks are just that, innocuous isolated remarks that occurred over a one-year period, and which would not offend the reasonable person,” his attorney, Andrew Schneiderman, wrote in April 2023 on Tucker’s behalf. Tucker did not respond to requests for comment about the sexual harassment allegations."
October 20, 2025 at 12:06 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
Today's lesson in logic fallacies via Moms for Liberty: ambiguity fallacy in defining book bans vis-a-vis what they as an org strive to do--using a double meaning or imprecise/ambiguous language to mislead in making a claim...

(Also perhaps "special pleading/moving the goalposts" fallacies too)...
From article linked in post "Moms For Liberty: A banned book means the government has restricted or forbidden the book to be published or sold. Cultivating a public school library with age-appropriate, high-quality books that support learning and development is what responsible adults do for children."
October 12, 2025 at 1:06 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
WaPo-KFF Poll July 18-Aug. 4, 2025 shows heartening & disturbing results:

Q: In general, how much do you trust each of the following to provide reliable info. abt vaccines?

Child's pediatrician highly trusted across groups BUT 54% of Republicans trust RFK Jr. “a great deal”/“a fair amount.”
Screenshot of graph in weblink provided in the post showing responses to that q by all parents, democrat parents, republican parents, and independent/other parents with regard to "your child's pediatrician" (overwhelmingly the most endorsed across those categories from 82% for Independents/other to 85% for Republicans to 93% for Dems) and other sources of information including "your local public health dept.," The CDC, friends and family, the FDA, Pharmaceutical companies, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
October 11, 2025 at 3:20 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
RFK Jr.'s confirmation bias strikes again...

FYI: US circumcision rates declining for decades (1 example here) while autism prevalence has increased (likely bc of diagnostic changes & ⬆️ surveillance). Plus, prior circum-autism findings highly problematic... 1/
Graph showing rates of circumcision performed on male newborn infants discharged from short-stay hospitals in the US 1979-2010. The line trends downward (and at points flat) from ~65% in 1979 to ~60% in 2010 and the trend since 2000 has gone from ~63% to ~60%. Graph showing rise in autism prevalence per 1000 children in US among boys and girls from 2002 to 2022. Trend for boys is higher at 2002 and shows stronger increase over entire period (from ~11% to ~50%) than does the trend for girls (<5% to just under 15%).
October 10, 2025 at 3:24 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
10 great years of success! Our Dean Mark Long kicks off the first of UCR School of Public Policy's several 10th anniversary events this year with a packed house of students, alumni, friends, and faculty.
Photo of Dean Long at front of room speaking to a packed crowd.
October 7, 2025 at 1:05 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
LATimes released details of Trump admin's >7300 word doc of demands to UCLA.

Signs of hasty drafting: Nouns & verbs sometimes don't match tense, ref's to UCLA "president" (not "chancellor"), ref to its med facilities uses (Northwestern U's) “Feinberg School of Med.”
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Screenshot of text from the linked article: "The more than 7,300-word proposal outlines a three-year agreement that calls on UCLA to: -Make five years of payments — $200,000 annually — and set up a $172,000 fund for people with claims of civil rights violations. -Ensure foreign students who are “anti-Western” will not be admitted. -Pay for all costs of the settlement, including the fee for an outside monitor. -Annually release demographic data for hires as well as students who have applied or have been admitted, broken down by “race, color, grade point average, and performance on standardized tests.” -Make a public statement declaring that transgender people’s identities are no longer recognized. -End gender-affirming care for minors at medical facilities. -Give the government access to “all UCLA staff, employees, facilities, documents, and data related to the agreement” not protected by attorney-client privilege."
September 16, 2025 at 8:30 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
Not to blame the victims here, but...
Screenshot of 2024 Presidential election results for North Dakota showing Trump received 67.0% of votes. Corresponding map of ND counties show only two of several dozen total counties in the state that went for Harris.
September 15, 2025 at 1:14 PM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
New FDA guidance too?
Cartoon of scientist in a white coat with clipboard in a room telling people sitting around a table with little white cups in front of them: "Some of you will receive a placebo, and the rest of you will also receive a placebo, thanks to new CDC guidance. Signed by (presumably the cartoonist) Bloper.
September 11, 2025 at 6:29 PM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
7/7 Last pt: e.g., here are:
a) Pew poll trends (all adults, not just parents) w/ different q wording* www.pewresearch.org/science/2023...

b) KFF trends from 2019 & 2022 for parents focused only on MMR* www.kff.org/covid-19/kff...

*Neither explicitly mentions exemptions; but med. exemption implied
Screenshot of fig. described in first link in post showing Pew poll results over 3 periods (June 2016, Oct. 2019, and March 2023) for US adults, Re/Lean Republican respondents only, and Democrat/lean Democrat respondents only for two items--the first of which is relevant to this thread: "Healthy children should be required to be vaccinated to attend public schools bc of the potential risk to others" (shows % across 3 years as 82%, 82%, and then 70% in 2023. The breakdown by party affiliation shows the drop is attributable entirely to Republican/lean Republican respondents. Screenshot of fig. 3 in second link in post entitled "Compared to 2019, more adults now say parents should be able to decide not to vaccinate their children for measles, mumps, and rubella. Among results are those just for parents of children under age 18 for two items--one most relevant to this thread is item "Healthy children should be required to be vaccinated in order to attend public schools bc of the potential risk for others when children are not vaccinated," showing decreasing support (76% in Oct. 2019 and 65% in December 2022).
September 5, 2025 at 2:49 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
5/n

This all has practical relevance: Most states permit non-medical exemptions (even though major faiths have no issue w/ vaccinations), thus providing parents relatively easy opt-outs & thus lower coverage/local pockets of infection outbreak risk.

www.ncsl.org/health/state...
Screenshot of link in post showing map of US states colored by whether they have religious, personal, religious and personal, or no non-medical exemption for school immunizations.
September 5, 2025 at 2:49 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
These pre-FL news vaccination-related poll results seem strong, but I think q wording matters. Non-medical (relig./philosophical) exemptions have been increasing, undermining herd immunity & this q has wording caveats: "w/ some exceptions" & "public schools." Wording might matter, why? See my 🧵 1/n
Screenshot of figure 1 from the link below entitled "Eight in ten parents nationally and in Florida support public school vaccine requirements for measles and polio." The responses are to the question/responses, "In general do you think...? There are two options: 1. Public schools should require vaccines for measles and polio, with some exceptions. 2. "Public schools should not require measles and polio vaccines for any student." Results of support (%) for each of those 2 option are shown for several categories of respondents (I report % for just the first response option above) Total parents (81%), Florida parents (82%), democrats (91%), Independents (80%), Republicans (75%), and among Republicans, MAGA (73%) and non-MAGA (80%). Link: https://www.kff.org/quick-take/most-parents-nationally-and-in-florida-want-schools-to-require-vaccines/ Screenshot of KFF report graph showing rise in exemptions over the 2019-2020 to 2024-25 school years by thresholds of percentages and number of states in those thresholds. The number of states in the highest category of >=5% exemptions has increased from 9 in 2019-20 to 17 in 2024-25 and the overall trend shows growing exemptions in that category and the next lowest (3%-4%). Source: https://www.kff.org/medicaid/kindergarten-routine-vaccination-rates-continue-to-decline/
September 5, 2025 at 2:49 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
2/2 "State Rep. Rafael Anchía...unsuccessfully tried to rename HB 25 the 'Darwin Awards Act.'"

Antivax grp Texans for Vaccine Choice celebrating this. Screenshot is from their X acct. posting vid of this event where RFK Jr. is acknowledged along w/ other MAHA movement ppl present like Callie Means
Screenshot is of tweet on the X/Twitter acct of Texans for Vaccine Choice, an antivax activism grp, Aug. 27, 2025 that says, "NOW-- As the House prepares to pass HB 25, Ivermectin Liberty, over to the Senate, Secretary Kennedy is present and honored on the House floor." There is an accompanying video of this event where RFK Jr. is acknowledged along with other people present who are involved in the MAHA movement like Callie Means.
August 28, 2025 at 11:06 PM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
Jay Bhattacharya’s “plan to drive Gold Standard Science”: A Trojan horse for “Lysenko-izing” the NIH

sciencebasedmedicine.org/jay-bhattach...
Screengrab from link in post: "While Dr. Bhattacharya is correct to point out that the NIH has long championed rigorous science, the immediate question anyone reading this document should ask is: What is Dr. Bhattacharya proposing under the administration buzzword of “Gold Standard Science” that is different from what the NIH had long been doing to improve the scientific rigor and reproducibility of the research it funds dating back to decades before Dr. Bhattacharya had emerged from the primordial soup of COVID-19 contrarian narratives to proclaim himself a free speech martyr, just because the “let ‘er rip” natural herd immunity approach to the pandemic codified in his “Great Barrington Declaration” was correctly and roundly criticized by real public health physicians and scientists? Reading this document, my feeling was a lot like what the late great Harriet Hall used to say about naturopathy, and I’ll paraphrase a bit to make the analogy fit: What is good about this plan is not unique (or new) to the administration’s “Gold Standard Science,” and what is new or unique in this plan is not good."
August 27, 2025 at 4:22 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
Seems Cracker Barrel stock has been taking a dive since circa March 2021. But sure political pundits, focus on the sign change impact.

www.google.com/search?clien...
Screen shot from the weblink showing Cracker Barrel's stock price since before 1990 through to today. The trend shows its stock price persistently being much lower than what it is currently ($54.85) but steadily growing. This persisted up until circa 2012 then a steady climb to a high of >~$150.00 until 2020 when it dove to below $100, reclimbed back to >~$150.00 around March 2021 and then steadily declined ever since. Relatively speaking, the drop today is tiny.
August 23, 2025 at 12:17 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
Ouch...
Screenshot of a tweet on X by Gavin Newsom's press office account quote tweeting a tweet by Eric Daugherty. Newsom: "After their bankruptcy and closure of every store, like most Americans, we thought Bed, Bath & Beyond no longer existed.  We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a 2nd store." Daugherty's OP: "BREAKING: In another stunning embarrassment for Gavin Newsom, the Chairman of Bed Bath & Beyond announces they will NOT open any retail stores in California. "We're taking a stand because it's time for common sense." The reasoning: - High taxes - High fees - Forced, unsustainable wages "California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses in America." The Chairman said, "We will have stores in almost every other state." Rumor has it, Gavin Newsom's team is currently plugging this press release into ChatGPT and asking for a Trump Imitation response as a coping mechanism. @GovPressOffice"
August 22, 2025 at 1:08 AM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
By @rickabright.bsky.social, former Director of BARDA...
🛟medsky 🧪 health policy sociology polisky idsky 😷
Screenshot from the linked Aug. 17, 2025 NY Times' opinion piece by Dr. Rick Bright: "The Department of Health and Human Services recently announced it would wind down 22 mRNA vaccine development projects under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, halting nearly $500 million in investments. This decision undercuts one of the most significant medical advances in decades, technology that could protect millions more people from the threats ahead. I know the stakes because I was BARDA’s director when the United States made the decision to invest heavily in mRNA. That investment did not begin with Covid-19. It began in 2016, when we faced the Zika virus outbreak. We needed a way to design a vaccine in days, not years, to protect pregnant women and their babies from devastating birth defects. Older vaccine approaches were too slow. The solution was mRNA: a flexible, rapid-response technology that could be reprogrammed for any pathogen once its genetic sequence was known. That early investment laid the groundwork for the lightning-fast Covid-19 response four years later."
August 18, 2025 at 11:36 PM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
Like the drunk driving ads, health journalists shldn't let hlth journalists write BS puff pieces of free PR for med tech co. CEOs, hyping immaterial details (e.g., celeb funders) & trashing med. care w/ overgeneralizations. US med. care & health status have flaws, but this is no serious fix.🛟 Medsky
Screenshot from the story in the link: "I, too, have given the company dozens of vials of my blood: When I found out about Function last year, I hadn’t been to the doctor in about a decade (a shameful confession for a health journalist). I was tired of what felt like a broken health-care system, but I knew I needed a check-up, so I signed up for Function, which costs $499 per year and includes two rounds of blood testing. First, you get an initial assessment with 160 lab tests, and then three to six months later, a follow-up including 60-plus retests to see how your numbers are changing. While no treatment regimen is provided based on results, clients receive personalized written insights from Function’s team of clinicians."
August 17, 2025 at 9:03 PM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
Does she have a new book to plug? Amazing how people like her (& Monica Gandhi, Vinay Prasad, etc.) opine about eroded trust in public health, yet show no evidence of self-reflection on how they contributed to it.
Screenshot of Emily Oster's comment in the piece linked in the OP: "Oster: I am not very optimistic about restoring trust in these broader public health institutions, in part because I feel that it was lost for some set of people, and it’s really hard to regain trust once you’ve lost it. And then we brought in a group which now another set of people distrust."
August 15, 2025 at 9:25 PM
rmcarpiano.medsky.social
Letter to RFK Jr. from Sen. Richard Blumenthal calling for the dismissal of antivax/mRNA crank Robert Malone from his RFK Jr.-appointed position on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices... 🛟 health policy 😷 medsky lawsky

www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
Screenshot of text from the first page of Sen. Blumenthal's letter... "Dear Secretary Kennedy: On August 8, 2025, a gunman opened fire on the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), killing DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose and leaving public health workers at the CDC and around the nation fearing for their safety after years of increasing threats following the COVID-19 pandemic.1 While the investigation is ongoing, early reports suggest that the gunman, who fired nearly 500 rounds during the attack, was motivated by his misinformation-fueled belief that his depression and suicidality were caused by the COVID-19 vaccine.2 Just hours before a police officer was brutally murdered and CDC headquarters would be scarred with bullets, forcing hundreds employees into lockdown, Dr. Robert Malone, whom you recently appointed to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), uploaded a post to his personal blog that included an image of a revolver loaded with a single bullet and the words “Five out of six scientists have proven that Russian roulette is harmless.”3 Less than 48 hours after the attack, Dr. Malone issued a meme-filled post that included violent and threatening images that appeared to be directed at government officials, writing, “if you need a disarmed society to govern, you suck at governing.”
August 14, 2025 at 8:54 PM