How Professor Dorit Reiss Became a Leading Voice in Vaccine Law
A leading researcher and voice in vaccine law and policy, Professor Dorit Reiss helps the media and the public make sense of a rapidly evolving federal health policy landscape.
- Professor Dorit Reiss is a leading national voice on vaccine law, regularly interviewed by major outlets like CNN, NPR, and The New York Times.
- Her scholarship examines how law, science, and public health collide鈥攅specially as federal vaccine policy undergoes sweeping change.
- At UC Law SF, Reiss connects legal theory to practice, preparing students to tackle complex challenges in law practice and policymaking.
Viruses don鈥檛 respect borders, and they don鈥檛 care about your politics.
That鈥檚 the message Professor Dorit Reiss wants the public to understand as the federal government enacts sweeping changes to vaccine policy under U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
鈥淚f you have cells, they鈥檒l take you,鈥 Reiss said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 all viruses want.鈥
For over a decade, Reiss has studied how vaccine law intersects with science, public health, and individual rights. Her work covers everything from how vaccines are approved and regulated, to how governments can legally encourage鈥攐r in some cases, require鈥攙accination, and how courts weigh religious and personal freedoms against the collective good.
Her deep expertise has made her a go-to voice in the national media amid what she calls the most dramatic policy shift on vaccines in decades.
鈥淭hey come to me because I know the legal framework,鈥 she said, 鈥渁nd I鈥檝e gotten used to explaining it to people who aren鈥檛 legal scholars.鈥
A Critical Voice Amid Rapid Change
In recent months, Reiss has spoken to , , , and other major news outlets, raising concerns about procedural breaks and ethical questions surrounding Kennedy鈥檚 decisions. Among them: halting Covid-19 booster recommendations for certain groups without standard expert review, installing vaccine skeptics on influential advisory boards, and dismissing career staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
When a newly appointed advisory panel rescinded flu vaccine recommendations in June, Reiss told how off-the-record deliberations could undermine the vote鈥檚 legitimacy and potentially violate the law.
She鈥檚 also concerned about long-term fallout. Layoffs in public health agencies and cuts to research funding, she said, may take a decade or more to undo.
鈥淢anufacturers are looking at this and asking, 鈥楽hould I invest in this new vaccine?鈥欌 she said. 鈥淲e will lose investment, and it takes time to research, create, and distribute vaccines.鈥
From New Mom to Vaccine Law Scholar
Reiss鈥 focus on vaccine law started in 2010, shortly after her first child was born. A science blog comment denying the safety of whooping cough vaccines caught her attention鈥攁nd sparked a scholarly interest that鈥檚 never faded.
She soon discovered a rich and underexplored legal landscape. Her writing has addressed everything from personal-belief exemptions and outbreak-related litigation to how vaccine skeptics challenge public health laws through lobbying and lawsuits.
She has published widely in top-tier journals鈥攊ncluding the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, and University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law鈥攖o name a few.
鈥淧rofessor Reiss is not only a nationally recognized vaccine law expert鈥攕he is also a prolific scholar whose work influences real-world policy debates and inspires students and colleagues,鈥 said UC Law SF Provost & Academic Dean Morris Ratner. 鈥淪he embodies the strength of our faculty in bridging rigorous scholarship and public engagement.鈥
Exploring the Real-World Impact of Law
Growing up in Israel, Reiss was drawn to the social sciences. A family member encouraged her to pursue law, calling it 鈥渢he most practical鈥 path in the field. She earned a degree in political science and law from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, then moved to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in jurisprudence and social policy at UC Berkeley.
What captivated her was seeing how the law shapes on-the-ground outcomes.
鈥淚 found it fascinating,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he connection between legal arguments in court to real-world policy changes that affect people鈥檚 lives.鈥
In graduate school, her curiosity led her to explore how bureaucracies regulate industries like telecommunications and energy.
Eventually, she turned her focus to vaccine law鈥攁 field where science, public health, and policy collide. She saw a chance to apply her knowledge of legal systems and bureaucratic structures to one of the most high-stakes areas of public policy.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an ever-moving subject,鈥 she said, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 never boring.鈥
Today, that deep curiosity is reflected not only in her scholarship but also in the classroom, where she brings the most urgent legal questions into her discussions with students. She teaches courses covering tort law, administrative law, vaccine regulation, courts and politics, and statutory interpretation in the health law space.
Provost & Academic Dean Morris Ratner recognizes Professor Dorit Reiss as a leading and influential vaccine law expert whose scholarship not only informs national policy debates but also inspires students and colleagues.
Shifting Legal Ground
In her early research, Reiss was struck by how firmly U.S. courts have supported the government鈥檚 authority to protect public health.
鈥淲e have a robust jurisprudence that says yes, a community can act to protect its public health,鈥 she said, citing Jacobson v. Massachusetts, a 1905 Supreme Court decision that upheld smallpox vaccination mandates.
But the high court鈥檚 more recent rulings during the Covid-19 pandemic signal a shift, prioritizing religious liberty over public health restrictions in multiple cases鈥攁nd potentially giving vaccine opponents new legal ground.
鈥淚f courts keep chipping away at these foundations, it could seriously undermine our ability to respond to future public health crises,鈥 Reiss said.
She also notes how the pandemic has deepened political divides around vaccines.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a strong connection form between political identity and vaccine rates,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing an increase in vaccine hesitancy related to political identification.鈥
A Landscape of Misinformation
Through her research, Reiss said she was surprised by the extent of misinformation spread by vaccine opponents.
鈥淚 thought some people may be misguided or misinformed but still sincere,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect to see such blatant falsehoods.鈥
She cited persistent claims that the FDA never licensed Pfizer鈥檚 COVID-19 vaccine鈥攅ven after formal approval鈥攁nd Kennedy鈥檚 assertion that vaccine makers have 鈥渮ero liability,鈥 despite his involvement in litigation showing otherwise.
鈥淐ongress created a compensation system for vaccine injuries that limits liability,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut manufacturers are not completely immune, and since he was involved in suing them, he knew that.鈥
Reiss regularly helps debunk myths, such as the idea that vaccine-preventable diseases are mild or treatable with unproven remedies. She also hears recurring concerns about ingredients like aluminum salts and formaldehyde, noting how the amounts used in vaccines are too tiny to be unsafe.
She鈥檚 alarmed that false and unproven claims are now echoed by federal officials.
鈥淭hey are spreading misinformation with the seal of government,鈥 she said.
Public Duty and Personal Stakes
Reiss鈥檚 commitment to this work is deeply personal. She has friends whose children are immunocompromised or were permanently harmed by preventable diseases.
鈥淣obody鈥攃ertainly nobody鈥檚 children鈥攕hould die or be harmed by a preventable disease,鈥 she said.
That belief keeps her going, even in the face of threats and harassment from critics.
鈥淚f someone is pushing against me, I鈥檓 going to push back,鈥 she said.
Professor Dorit Reiss has raised alarms about the potential fallout from policy changes, budget cuts, and mass layoffs of experienced staff at federal public health agencies like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Outbreaks Know No Borders
Since Kennedy took office, Reiss has tracked big changes in federal public health policy鈥攆rom mass layoffs of experienced staff to removing experts from key advisory panels. She fears the fallout will be nationwide.
鈥淐alifornia has robust vaccine laws,鈥 she said, 鈥渂ut there鈥檚 no smoking section on this plane. If there鈥檚 more measles in other states, it will hit us too.鈥
This year, at least three people鈥攊ncluding two children鈥 in the U.S., and two infants in Kentucky. Last year saw at least , according to the CDC.
For Reiss, the link is clear: declining vaccination rates, driven by misinformation, are fueling preventable tragedies.
鈥淚t bothers me that people are misled into not protecting their children,鈥 she said.
The Frontlines of Public Health
Although legal protections make it difficult to hold government officials accountable for spreading misinformation, Reiss believes individuals and institutions still have tools to fight back.
State governments can step in to cover funding gaps, mandate insurance coverage for vaccines, and form their own advisory panels, she said. Medical associations can publish science-based guidance. Private organizations can provide data on disease outbreaks, and community organizations can amplify trusted voices.
鈥淪tates and private actors can also litigate,鈥 she said, 鈥渙r file amicus briefs. And they can speak up鈥攍oudly.鈥
Ultimately, she believes the debate over vaccine safety must also be won in the court of public opinion.
鈥淲e need to do the groundwork of reaching hearts and minds,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd we need trusted voices to reach individuals in areas with low vaccination rates.鈥
At UC Law SF, Reiss continues to lead that effort鈥攏ot just through public commentary and scholarship, but by training future lawyers to understand the real-world consequences of legal decisions that shape public health.
鈥淲e need lawyers and policymakers who understand how the law can save lives,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I hope to instill in my students.鈥