These blog posts are a compilation of Irwin’s op-eds, publications, media interviews, and a variety of other features.
The degradation of the hard-earned world recognition of America's medical science and public health expertise goes far beyond what RFK, Jr. alone represents. It is about the wide-scale dismissal of NIH scientists, the attacks on university-based research, the withdrawal of the U.S. from WHO, and the elimination of USAID.
So with all that we know about Mr. Kennedy’s truly outlandish ideas, it’s particularly surprising that we have heard nary a word from the A.M.A that should be strongly and publicly opposing Mr. Kennedy’s nomination. Now is their time to protect the nation’s health — not just the special interests of their members.
The deadly building collapse in South Florida is a searing reminder that fragile infrastructure can have tragic public health consequences.
One day after the Trump-inspired attack on the Capitol by a violent mob of delusional, Fox-watching, bullshit-believers, the U.S. reached a major milestone of COVID-19 fatalities. The threshold of more than 4,000 pandemic deaths in a single day was breached just as the insurrectionists breached the U.S. Capitol.
Just in the last few days, as the World Health Organization declared a Global Health Emergency and a similar Public Health Emergency declaration was made in the U.S., there has been growing evidence of possible person to person transmission of the Wuhan coronavirus, and it is increasingly likely that people can be contagious even before the appearance of symptoms. So, it should come as no surprise that public concerns about this new public health threat are also on the rise. Still, many questions remain unanswered and unanswerable at the moment.
As a pediatrician — and grandfather — I ask myself: What would I do if I had family members raising kids in Flint, Mich., right now?
The answer is anything in my power to get them out of that toxic, distressed and struggling city. And if that’s the right answer on a personal basis, it offers a critical insight into what has to be considered on a general policy level for the health and well-being of a community where water for drinking and bathing has been contaminated with lead for almost two years.
