Doubt and distrust: how Trump’s new public health officials may undermine Americans’ safety

Public health programs, especially disease prevention, only work when enacted on a large scale by the government. When an effort to inoculate a population against a disease is effective, it’s largely invisible. The absence of an outbreak and the lack of a crisis is proof of a successful public health program. The next Trump Administration may leave our public health apparatus in the hands of unqualified people – like RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz – who have pushed disputed, false, or dangerous notions about public health.