In this episode of A Moment in Health, Dr. Ashish Jha analyzes new data on measles vaccination rates in U.S. counties and a new study evaluating the impact of air pollution on fetal brain development. Professor of the Practice and former Florida State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees joins to discuss the role states should play in ensuring access to vaccines, noting the erosion of public trust in vaccination and warning against the politicization of public health measures.

Dr. Jha discusses:

• Trends in County-Level MMR Vaccination Coverage in Children in the United States — JAMA
• Air pollution and fetal brain morphological development: a prospective cohort study — The Lancet Planetary Health

About the Guest

Dr. Scott Rivkees is a Professor of Practice, Acting Associate Dean of Education, and Vice Chair of Health Service, Policy, and Practice in the School of Public Health. Dr. Rivkees is a pediatric endocrinologist and physician-scientist who served as Florida’s State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health from June 2019 to September 2021. As State Surgeon General, Dr. Rivkees also served as State Health Officer for the Florida Department of Health.

About the Host

Dr. Ashish K. Jha is the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.