Vermont Public Health Association

09/23/2025

RFK Jr. is not fit to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. Regarding the science on acetaminophen and autism, please see the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists statement below....

ACOG reaffirms the safety and benefits of acetaminophen use during pregnancy.
More than two decades of research have found no causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in children. Acetaminophen continues to be an important and safe option for managing pain and fever in pregnancy—conditions that can pose serious risks to pregnant patients and their fetuses if left untreated. Learn more about acetaminophen use during pregnancy: https://bit.ly/4mqIzWr

09/23/2025

The Association of Public Health Nurses is hosting an information webinar today, Tuesday September 23rd, to discuss updates to the 2025-2026 Covid-19 vaccines.

The webinar is at 2:00pm Eastern Time.

To register:, go to:

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Updates to the 2025-2026 Covid-19 Vaccines. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

09/20/2025

Interested in the impact of screens and social media on kids? This lunch-hour event on Monday may be for you.

Join Smartphone Free Childhood US and Susan Linn for a conversation on the importance of organizations focused on children’s health and welfare to assert independence from commercial industry influence.

Representative Angela Arsenault (VT) will facilitate the conversation with Dr Linn about how corporate influence compromises trusted messengers—including researchers, institutions, and media—and how independence allows organizations to better support their mission and values.

Come with questions! What are the clear lines in the sand organizations in this space need to maintain?

Dr Linn is the author of Who’s Raising the Kids? Big Tech, Big Business, and the Lives of Children, a powerful, eye-opening book exploring how corporations and tech companies are shaping kids’ values, behaviors, and development in ways that often undermine their well-being.

Monday, September 22 at 12pm. Register here:
https://Jefferson.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VyHHbEjPQmeAS9Lbs3rwFw

09/20/2025

Continuing with an ACIP Day 2 recap - again from Your Local Epidemiologist...

This is a circus and a sham that has real world impacts on the health of all Americans.

Day 2 of ACIP

09/19/2025

As Day 2 of RFK Jr's ACIP meetings resume, here's a a solid rundown of what happened yesterday with regards to Hepatitis B and MMRV vaccination recommendations. Thank you Your Local Epidemiologist for the concise summary.

This is reckless. These changes are NOT based in any reputable science. There is no other way to put it: RFK, Jr. and his hand-picked committee are endangering our children.

Today's ACIP meeting

09/18/2025

The Vermont Department of Health has released timely updated guidance on respiratory virus vaccinations.

You can find the guidance document here:
https://vtpha.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/han-respiratory-virus-vaccine-recommendations-2025-2026.pdf

We applaud VDH for their steadfast commitment to science-based vaccination guidance.

This guidance is being released on the same day that RFK's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meets. We will be watching their deliberations closely, especially their recommendations with regards to Hepatitis B and MMRV (Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella) vaccinations.

09/18/2025

More Vermonters will likely go hungry this year as a result of SNAP cuts mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill. According to Feeding America, 79,010 people are facing hunger in Vermont - and of them 15,960 are children.

How is that possible in a country as wealthy as this? Almost 16,000 Vermont children are hungry.

Please consider supporting organizations like Hunger Free Vermont and the Vermont Foodbank. They need your help more than ever.

As the state attempts to provide clarity for those who will lose benefits, advocates say the Vermont food assistance network is under increasing pressure.

09/04/2025

Florida's recently announced intention to end school vaccine mandates will make children sicker. Period. While it is hard to imagine Vermont taking such a regressive step, we would be wise to watch how this plays out closely.

The AAP believes every family should have access to immunizations to keep their community healthy. Schools are an important part of that community, but close contact with other kids makes it easy for contagious diseases to spread quickly. That’s why most schools require routine childhood immunizations. When everyone in a school is vaccinated, it’s harder for diseases to spread.

Today, Governor DeSantis shared his plans to end vaccine requirements in the state of Florida. We are concerned that today's announcement will put children in Florida public schools at higher risk for getting sick, and have ripple effects across their community.
https://wapo.st/4p7bTnE

04/29/2025

Very excited to welcome so many of you at our Annual Meeting tonight! We have close to 100 registrants, the LARGEST Annual Meeting VtPHA has ever put on.

When: 4:30pm Today (Tuesday, 4/29)
Where: Hula, 50 Lakeside Ave, Burlington, VT
Tickets and a lot more info: https://vtpha.org/vtphas-2025-annual-meeting/

Come join with other public health champions for a panel discussion on "Advancing Public Health in an Age of Misinformation." Help honor our Public Health Champion Awardees. Socialize, network, and enjoy the company of your public health peers.

See you there!

Join us at VtPHA’s 2025 Annual Meeting! Date: April 29, 2025Time: 4:30pm – 7:00pmLocation: Hula, Reef Room, 50 Lakeside Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401Food: Appetizers by Sugarsnap CateringPrice: Members – $30; Students – $20; Non-Members – $45Membership: Not a VtPHA member? Join before you r...

04/21/2025

Many thanks are in order for our bold partners at Braver Angels.

Last Thursday, VtPHA hosted a workshop with two Braver Angels facilitators on "Managing Difficult Conversations in Public Health."

At a time when political polarization only seems to deepen, public health workers must have the skills to speak effectively across ideological divides. This is not an easy task, but Braver Angels is working to provide our communities with tools to bridge the gaps.

Special thank you to our facilitators Beth Malow and her fearless partner Leslie Lopato. VtPHA looks forward to finding more opportunities to add similar programming in the future.

Know of a speaker or workshop that you think fits the bill? Reach out on Facebook and let us know.

04/18/2025

On Wednesday, VtPHA hosted a diverse panel of public health practitioners to share their thoughts on the hiring landscape, how candidates can position themselves for success, and what skills and attributes are most needed for a career in public health.

Our panelists included workforce development specialists from Vermont's two largest health employers, a professor that helps students make the leap from the classroom to employment, and a recent graduate who shared her job search experience. They were:

Jae Basiliere, Ph.D., Vermont Department of Health
Noah Barclay-Derman, University of Vermont
Michael Leyden, The University of Vermont Health Network
Evelyn Gearty, The Vermont Community Foundation

Due to a serious Zoom outage, we needed to change meeting platforms in the minutes leading up to the event. Apologies to anyone that missed the email with that change.

A recording of the entire discussion can be found here. Thank you to our wonderful panelists!
https://vtpha.org/panel-discussion-recap-finding-a-job-in-public-health/

04/18/2025

On Friday, April 11th, 2025, to celebrate National Public Health Week, VtPHA hosted a unique Public Health Caucus meeting that brought together public health students from Dartmouth College and the University of Vermont with Vermont legislators for a roundtable discussion on the state’s most pressing public health issues.

Two themes resurfaced time and time again: political polarization and misinformation. When neighbors stop talking to neighbors and facts become indistinguishable from fiction, public health suffers.

In this context, how can Vermonters be effective champions for community health and wellbeing?

As students and legislators at the roundtable articulated, public health will not be improved without addressing the growing dysfunction in our civic dialogue. Without relationships and trust, there will be no healing.

Thank you to University of Vermont senior capstone students Yangdon Fenner, Ella Kenney, and Ariana Lewis for helping to make last Friday’s roundtable discussion such a success! Thank you, too, for the time and insights shared by panelists Megan Fuerst, Sarah Kelleher and Johanna Miller (She/Her) and all of the legislators that took time from a busy day to engage with these students.