"After 4 years of failed aggressive livestock biosecurity interventions, the US avian influenza #H5N1 epizootic rages onward. For public health, veterinary health, and economic reasons, it is now time to develop a H5N1 vaccination program for dairy cattle." #EpiSky #IDSky doi.org/10.1093/infd...

New COVID variant Cicada is in US, with spike mutations raising concern about immune escape. Spring upticks aren’t new. And “no prior immunity” is often overstated. Vaccines broaden immune memory, so your body still responds. Younger kids may show up more in case counts due to less prior exposure.

I’ve started and stopped this platform twice. 2025 wasn’t kind. I lost both my dogs to cancer, 2 days apart. But 2026 offers a fresh start with a new home and a new puppy. I created FC because public health needs credible voices. That hasn’t changed. So I'm committing to showing up. Stay tuned.

When you invert a food pyramid retired 15yrs ago and the food itself looks concerned... #USDA #PublicHealth Image source: The New Yorker

#Influenza viruses persist because their biology is built for constant change. But they aren’t dangerous because we don’t understand them. They’re dangerous because as the old proverb goes, 'Opportunity makes the thief'. The real risk is complacency. Learn the flu basics here 👇. #EpiSky #IDSky

No tolerance for fear-mongering, but the US is in a #seasonalflu surge. H3N2 subclade K is expected antigenic drift, but H3 seasons do tend to be harder. Flu shots still help, esp against severe disease. Now’s the time to layer protections against exposure, not "immune-boosting" hacks #EpiSky #IDSky

Flu-like illnesses are rising in the US. In 1 week, CDC's ILINet shows many states jumping into high/very high activity. These care-seeking patterns are the earliest warning we have for potential strains on our healthcare system. #FluSeason is here. This is when small choices start to matter #EpiSky

Seasonal #flu activity is increasing. But nat'l surveillance is less timely and less granular than before. With H5N1 tracking gone, a limited One Health view across the human–animal interface puts us at an unnecessary disadvantage to add to (waves hands around) everything else. #episky

Are you like me and terrible at cleaning your emotional support water bottle?? 💦 #EpiSky #IDSky

Very perplexed by this move. If we don't even have a concensus on WHAT #ultraprocessed foods are, how are they going to go after companies? How about making fresh foods more affordable??? #PublicHealth

Thanksgiving Science Poll! 😊 What makes you the most sleepy on Thanksgiving? A) Tryptophan in turkey 🦃 B) Booze 🍷 C) Carb + fat meal overload that triggers “rest-and-digest” mode 🍽 D) Passive exposure to football 🏈 E) Other ❓️ (This isn't a quiz with a right answer. It's your lived experience!)

Before the internet ruins your #Thanksgiving side dishes: no, your canned soup does not contain #labgrown or #3D-printed meat. There's no 𝐔𝐒𝐃𝐀 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐥 or 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 for such products. And the cost would be insane. Ignore racist, ignorant rants from a Cybersecurity exec. #Campbells #EpiSky

Spoiler: this claim skips several inconvenient things called laws and approvals #Campbells #3DMeat #EpiSky

If today’s #health and #science news feels more like reality TV than a source of actionable, data-driven insight, this #Substack is for you! #ScienceLiteracy #MediaLiteracy #EpiSky

Decided to embark on a #Substack journey. Follow along! #EpiSky #IDSky

Tatiana is fighting for her life. Her cousin (RFK Jr) is fighting against the very science that could save people like her. Tatiana’s story shows exactly what’s at stake when health policy becomes anti-science. #publichealth

1/ I love my Owala #waterbottles. Not because I collect them. I’m terrible at keeping them clean. And I’m a germophobe w/ a microbiology degree. Irony! Once I see mold, it never feels clean again, no matter how much I scrub. Thus, it completes its transformation into a flower vase 🧵 #idsky #episky

Science is the adult in the room building 30 years of concensus: "Vaccines don’t cause autism" RFK Jr just edits the homepage: "Lol, what if we pretend otherwise?" #PublicHealth #IDSky

No industry is perfect. But the imbalance is hard to miss. One sector must prove its products are safe & effective. The other profits by avoiding that responsibility. If we care about transparency and accountability, scrutiny shouldn’t be one-sided. (Source: For The Greater Glory of Science) #EpiSky

Food and healthcare aren’t optional #budget lines. Pretending basic needs are negotiable engineers harm. Dividing “deserving” vs “everyone else” just keeps people fighting each other instead of seeing who’s pulling resources upward. #publichealth #socialdeterminants www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/u...

"Fall back" hits different when you have kids/pets who don’t care about #DaylightSavingTime. Expect a few weird mornings/bedtimes. Shift routines slowly, get sunlight early, maintain consistent mealtimes, keep nights calm. Understanding circadian biology beats “biohack your sleep!” posts every time.

#Autism isn’t about one pill, one moment, or one soundbite. Risk is multifactorial. The #Tylenol headline? Too simple. The truth is messy. And that's where real science lives. #EpiSky

BARDA cuts mRNA vaccine programs bc they’re not miracle cures. RFK Jr is torching evidence-based innovation for fringe pet projects. This not just sabotages pandemic prep. It cripples cancer & autoimmune research. He's silencing science in favor of ideology. And people will die for it #episky #idsky

21 people incl kids sick from E coli & Campylobacter after drinking #rawmilk sold illegally in FL. 7 hospitalized, 2 severe cases. While influencers and RFK Jr glamorize milk as natural, science says otherwise. Nature gave us germs. Science gave us pasteurization. Choose wisely. #episky #idsky

BREAKING: Scientists trying to protect your land, air and waterways are the real threat. Not the wildfires, lead pipes, microplastics, or greenhouse gases. Obviously. The real pollutant was evidence-based policy all along. #EPA #EpiSky #PublicHealth

Happy July 4th! Public health gave you clean water, safe meat, and emergency services. RFK Jr? He’s trying to dismantle the very systems that make this holiday safe, while blaming his worst ideas on a brain worm.

This Big Beautiful bill will drag our healthcare system backward. It will strip coverage from up to 16 million Americans by 2034. It will make it harder for working families, children, and the chronically ill to stay insured. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

RFK Jr just fired all 17 independent experts on the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee. Expect anti-science replacements. If ACIP falls, states, schools, and insurers will be on their own. Federal leadership may be gone, but the science isn’t. 🔗 www.axios.com/2025/06/09/r... #EpiSky #IDSky #Vaccines

When science is silenced, blame finds a target elsewhere. Scapegoats get louder. Yet risk remains. Suppressing science won't fix the problem. It shifts the blame until the consequences catch up. Science will never stop being true because it’s politically inconvenient or difficult to understand.

"MILK - Maliciously Ignorant, Like Kennedy". 🥛 Maybe I'll start using this. 🤣 When the world feels like a dumpster fire, sarcasm is self-care. ❤️ #EpiSky #IDSky

#RFKJr ’s week in #PublicHealth: #Misinformation, infected ostriches, a dash of AI, and other 'bang-head-against-wall' absurdities. The scientific community can’t fix this alone. Together we speak up and push back. You don’t need a PhD to stand up for #science. #IDSky

#Fluoride Myths vs Facts. #PublicHealth policy deserves evidence, not internet rumors. www.factcontagion.org/water-fluori...

Because nothing says personal liberty like elective tooth decay. Let’s talk #fluoride: www.factcontagion.org/water-fluori... #PublicHealth

UT banned it. FL is next. RFK Jr wants to scrap CDC guidance entirely. Fluoridated water has protected millions from preventable oral disease. Now it’s under attack. Not by new data. By the tried and true misinformation playbook. Here’s what to know about #fluoride and its coordinated unraveling.

Decades of public health warnings against swimming in sewage-contaminated DC-area waters, and RFK Jr thought, “Perfect spot for a photo op with my grandkids.” When your public health platform is “do the opposite of scientific consensus,” this tracks.

The misinformed anti-mRNA sentiment is so strong, that it has caused deep funding losses in the US. Scientists fear that this novel technology, widely seen as the next generation vaccines & therapeutics, won't see its full potential. Brandolini's Law applies here🧪 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

This story sheds light on one researcher’s experience. But it’s far from an isolated case. The Trump administration’s abrupt funding freezes have derailed vital medical research. Behind every paused study are real patients, real losses, and years of progress undone by politics.

She once criticized "the science" as a mind-control term. Nothing says public health leadership like spewing conspiracy theories as clickbait. Her journey proves that in 2025, a strong social media presence outweighs an active medical license when vying to be our top public health spokesperson.

McSweeney's usually posts satire, but this is raw truth. RFK Jr isn’t just spreading anti-vaccine misinformation. He’s scapegoating the neurodivergent community to stoke fear in parents and line his own pockets through lawsuits that target vaccine makers for profit, not justice.

Nothing says "trust the science" like letting the guy who hyped hydroxychloroquine run your pandemic playbook. 😠

Because apparently, injecting a vaccine is scary, but popping pills with side effect profiles, along with unregulated supplements and whatever "natural" modality is trending this week? Totally fine. Almost like tearing down vaccines is good business, if you’ve got nutraceuticals to sell. 🤔

Large (300 millions) study of covid-19 vaccines cut by HHS before completion. Someone who wants information on vaccine safety or transparency would not do this. Someone who wants people to fall for conspiracy theories he sells rather than data would. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

When "do your own research" is both encouraged and escalates to federally funded rehashing of a long-debunked vaccine myth… congratulations, we’ve officially institutionalized internet science.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁 #𝗩𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵𝘀? 🧵

#Vaccine trust is unraveling. Measles is surging. #RFKJr is recycling MMR-autism myths like it’s 2005. Some politicians want to strip COVID-19 vaccines from the childhood schedule. But the science community isn’t backing down. They're coming together to confront the crisis head-on. #PublicHealth

The US is facing a significant #measles outbreak. Nearly 900 cases across 30 states as of 4/24. Its resurgence is accompanied by a wave of misinformation. In #KFF poll, 60% of US adults have heard MMR-autism myths. >50% are unsure if false. 24% of misinformed parents delayed or skipped vaccines.

💉 It’s World Immunization Week! #Vaccines save 2–3 million lives every year, yet myths persist: MMR causes autism (nope), natural immunity is safer (wrong), vaccines are toxic (false). #Misinformation kills. What’s the wildest vaccine myth you’ve heard? Let’s bust it! #Publichealth

April 24–30 marks World Immunization Week, aiming to raise awareness about the importance of vaccines in preventing diseases. Despite vaccines averting 2-3 million deaths annually, misinformation continues to hinder immunization efforts worldwide.

Because what’s more American than treating preventable diseases after they become expensive? But good news: Supreme Court seems inclined to uphold ACA's preventive care mandate. Glad they can recognize that preventing disease is still a good idea.

So just to recap: COVID is a hoax, but also a global bioweapon conspiracy. That’s quite the Schrödinger’s virus. #IDSky #EpiSky