/ 2025 / … Public health often works behind the scenes—preventing illness, protecting communities, and generating research that too often stays hidden behind paywalls. In a world of eroding trust and rising falsehoods, Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and scientific communicator, explores how we can make the value of public health visible: by telling better stories with data, making science more accessible, and ensuring communities see themselves in the work before, during, and after crisis. Recorded on 10/07/2025. [Show ID: 41066] Donate to UCTV to support informative & inspiring programming: https://www.uctv.tv/donate Please Note: Knowledge about health and medicine is constantly evolving. This information may become out of date. More videos from: UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures (https://www.uctv.tv/grad-council) Explore More Health & Medicine on UCTV (https://www.uctv.tv/health) UCTV features the latest in health and medicine from University of California medical schools. Find the information you need on cancer, transplantation, obesity, disease and much more. UCTV is the broadcast and online media platform of the University of California, featuring programming from its ten campuses, three national labs and affiliated research institutions. UCTV explores a broad spectrum of subjects for a general audience, including science, health and medicine, public affairs, humanities, arts and music, business, education, and agriculture. Launched in January 2000, UCTV embraces the core missions of the University of California — teaching, research, and public service – by providing quality, in-depth television far beyond the campus borders to inquisitive viewers around the world. (https://www.uctv.tv)
/ 2026 / … Mike Benz Discusses Dr Peter Hotez, Vaccine Diplomacy and CIA Involvement in Covid.
1. Dr. Peter Hotez’s Vaccine Diplomacy (2004):
– In 2004, Dr. Peter Hotez wrote a series of approximately five articles titled *Vaccines as Instruments of Foreign Policy*, published on PubMed.
– Hotez cited Henry Kissinger’s 2000 book, which advocated for humanitarian interventions as a means to project U.S. soft power.
– As a medical professional, Hotez argued for intensifying “vaccine diplomacy” to establish U.S. influence in foreign countries under the guise of public health initiatives.
2. Vaccines as Tools of U.S. Statecraft:
– Hotez suggested that vaccines, regardless of their efficacy, serve as a means to gain access to foreign economies and political systems.
– By channeling U.S. funds through public health programs, these initiatives create hubs of influence that can pressure local governments, similar to how pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer influence U.S. media and politics.
– Vaccines were described as having a “dual use,” serving both health and geopolitical purposes, enabling the U.S. to exert soft power.
3. Hotez’s Role During COVID-19:
– Hotez emerged as a prominent spokesperson during the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside figures like Anthony Fauci, advocating for public health measures and vaccines.
– His earlier writings on vaccine diplomacy provide context for his role in shaping public health narratives with potential geopolitical implications.
4. CIA’s Involvement in COVID-19:
– The Wuhan lab, linked to the origins of COVID-19, received $15 million in funding from USAID, identified as a frequent CIA cutout organization.
– Avril Haines, former CIA deputy director under Obama and Biden’s Director of National Intelligence, participated in Event 201, a pre-planning exercise in October 2019 simulating a coronavirus outbreak, two months before COVID-19 emerged in China.
– Haines emphasized the need to pre-censor narratives questioning the origins of the hypothetical outbreak during Event 201.
5. Censorship and CIA Front Groups:
– Graphica, a group with ties to the CIA (its chief strategy officer had 25 years of CIA experience), began censoring COVID-19 narratives online as early as December 16, 2019.
– Graphica was incubated in the Minerva Initiative, a U.S. Department of Defense program focused on psychological operations research.
– The CIA’s involvement suggests efforts to control narratives, possibly to contain scandals related to a “military-generated coronavirus.”
These points highlight Hotez’s advocacy for vaccines as geopolitical tools and the CIA’s alleged role in shaping COVID-19 narratives through funding, censorship, and front organizations.