I’ve gotten a few messages about #NIPAH cases in India & COVID style airport protocols. Extra surveillance can feel scary, but it does not mean it is the next pandemic. It means public health is doing standard containment and monitoring so we can catch signals early and prevent any global spread.

South Carolina DPH just reported 89 new #measles cases since Friday. Upstate total: 789. We’re clearly in a sustained transmission. If you are in SC and you do not know your MMR status, check it and get protected.

Dr. Bill Foege was a giant who helped deliver smallpox eradication, one of public health’s greatest achievements. He changed the game by advancing surveillance containment, often called ring vaccination. His legacy lives on in each of us fighting for public health prevention in our communities.

#WinterStormFern We're still holding power. Although, it's going to be a frozen mess in the morning because the last part of the storm was mostly sleet. My proposal defense got canceled due to storm impacts. I am disappointed but also grateful we can reschedule. Back to the work.

Bill Foege was a public health legend. His loss is profound, particularly at this time. That he died at the end of the week in which the US withdrew from #WHO & the chair of ACIP mused about whether polio & measles vaccination are still needed — no words. www.statnews.com/2026/01/25/w...

I’ve weathered hurricanes, tropical storms and pre and post disaster work. I went into this storm better prepared than I was for most events so I've felt solid but the anticipation for 1"+ ice is going to make it a long night and day tomorrow. It almost here, so now we wait #WinterStorm

Great example of what I was saying in my previous post.

Picking up a few supplies for this storm had me thinking about how exposures keep widening. Heat lingers longer. Smoke ignores state lines. Hurricanes like Helene push further inland. We’re seeing climate/environmental hazards show up in places and seasons, where we simply didn't used to expect them

I’m currently preparing to defend my dissertation proposal with my committee, also preparing for a major ice storm tomorrow and I just learned we canned the WHO. This is the kind of institutional failure that will have a body count.

The number of confirmed #measles cases in South Carolina has hit an astonishing 558 in an outbreak that started in October. For context: that is more cases in 4 months than the entire US racked up most years in the past 30+ years. www.reuters.com/business/hea...

As an epidemiologist, this is the data that keeps me up at night. We need 95% for herd immunity. When we drop the shield, the virus finds the gap. #measles

A 30% surge in the state doesn't happen by accident. When most impacted areas sit on a 90% vaccination rate it is simply too low to stop this virus. We’ve broken the herd immunity threshold. This is what a preventable crisis looks like. #Measles

Just this evening we got another update from SCDPH that you can add an additional 124 new cases of #measles in the state since Friday, bringing the total number of cases in South Carolina related to the Upstate outbreak to 434. There are currently 409 people in quarantine and 17 in isolation.

Off season heat can bring real disease risks. Warmer winters can extend transmission windows, affect vector and pathogen survival and leave communities more vulnerable when systems are not heat ready. It has been unusually warm in SC for January. These are not good signs.

Reminder that #Measles has an R0 around 12 to 18. It is airborne and can hang in the air for up to 2 hours after someone leaves. Translation: if susceptibles exist, measles will find them. Vaccinating or boosting is the intervention to reduce your risk, not a debate club.

Some people collect magnets on vacation. Apparently we are collecting measles cases instead 🫣. SCDPH updated that Spartanburg County, SC is up 100 cases since Tuesday. Please check your #MMR status and vaccinate.

The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. - George Orwell - 1984

Lost science: “I can’t imagine something more related to the E.P.A.’s mission than understanding wildfires and protecting people in their homes…This is the kind of research that can have direct and immediate impact — not 10 or 20 years in the future, but this year, when the next wildfire hits.”

“To move forward in 2026, we must be honest about what this year exposed: the U.S. healthcare system is officially broken” @ucheblackstockmd.bsky.social time.com/7342307/amer...

Wishing those that celebrate a day filled with peace and beautiful memories 🎄🌲

If you’re in public health and on Substack, let me know so I can follow your work

Pretty sure I either met #norovirus or its evil cousin this weekend. I am now in the “can eat again but my stomach is emotionally unavailable” phase. Reminder from your friendly public health Epi to wash your hands, stay home when you are sick and please do not share whatever this is.

Vaccinating newborns against hepatitis B saves lives. Why might a CDC panel stop recommending it? The universal HBV birth dose has prevented more than 90,000 childhood deaths since 1991, but a federal vaccine advisory group may vote to end the practice. www.cidrap.umn.edu/c...

Sweater weather is a state of mind.

Is it just me or has the media whiplash over the last few days been really intense. It feels like the story, tone and “main character” keep changing so fast that it is hard to even process what is happening.

Morning conversations with my teen daughter can be light or serious and today it was all news. I never thought I’d have to explain that the #CDC blurred the #science on #vaccines and #autism. As an epi, it hits hard. Vaccines do not cause autism. The public deserves clarity, not confusion.

The CDC’s primary job is to communicate science with precision and the evidence is very clear. Anything that blurs the line between evidence and fear puts lives, especially children’s, at risk.

#Marburg confirmed in Ethiopia for the first time and with no licensed vaccine available underscores the significance of this event. Understanding transmission dynamics in a region with already limited diagnostic reach is going to be critical. A reminder that pathogens have no borders. #EpiTwitter

The flu doesn’t take holidays off. It takes about 2 weeks after your shot to build immunity, so get vaccinated now to stay healthy through the season. 💉✨ #FluPrevention#Vaccinate

Honored to have been part of the team as co-author and data specialist that helped secure a $996K grant for the Julie Valentine Center, a rape crisis/child advocacy center. This funding will help their clinical program by expanding mental health services for survivors in our community. #PublicHealth

The pattern is familiar: spillover, spread, under-reporting. #H5N1 continues to evolve under weak surveillance and fragmented response systems. Silence and complacency will not stop this. #PublicHealth #OneHealth

Watching Jurassic World Rebirth. Best quote and reminder “Science is for all of us, not some of us”

#SNAP benefits still down. Saw two shoppers at the supermarket have leave their carts. The cashier tried so hard to be discrete but you could see mix of shame and frustration they had. No one should ever feel like that for just trying to eat. This is what policy failure looks like in real time

Surveillance gaps aren’t just data issues, they’re policy failures. Without sustained investment in monitoring and coordination, we’re flying blind into the next outbreak. #PublicHealth #Preparedness

We know there’s a gap in surveillance and that’s the risk. Limited detection doesn’t mean limited transmission. Europe continues to track #H5N1 spread, while U.S. reporting remains sparse to silent. Preparedness requires data visibility, not silence. #Birdflu

Nearly 42 million Americans are poised to lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. USDA says they’ve run out of emergency funds. That isn’t just about hunger this is a public-health crisis in real time. #FoodSecurity #HealthEquity

Drove by the line at the food pantry this morning. It said what the data already has: this isn’t just about food, it’s about policy and already strained systems breaking under the weight of inequality tightening the gap.

The government shutdown is about to hit home in homes with the least capacity to weather shortfalls. Millions who rely on #SNAP to feed their families are caught in the crosshairs. “We need to remember that #SNAP is the safety net. Below the safety net is concrete.” www.statnews.com/2025/10/27/s...

As I and several others (including @simonfhaeder.bsky.social) discuss with NYT today, pet parent vaccine hesitancy isn't just a health risk for our four-legged friends. It's a complex health policy challenge with important public health implications. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/s...

Forget horror movies for a scare. What keeps me awake is watching #H5N1 cross species lines overseas, while here, no one seems to be talking about it.

Parts of Jamaica may see more than 30 inches of rain from Hurricane Melissa This is the mark of an overheated earth, and the damage it causes will be terrifying. Please be prepared to help those providing aid

Canceled all my extra digital subscriptions tonight. I can’t cancel cable since it’s included with my apartment but I’m saving about $100 a month now. It might not sound like much, but as a doctoral canddate feeling the weight of this economy, every dollar feels political.

Co-signed. Restricting #SNAP access will not lower prices. It will deepen hunger, strain already impacted resources, and destabilize local food economies. SNAP is not just a safety net, it is economic infrastructure that keeps communities healthy and resilient. #Econ #FoodPolicy

I’m sure this has been asked before but we are systematically tracking every HHS reorganization, funding cut, and policy shift to understand the scope of future reversal efforts, right? Right??

If SNAP funding halts in November, the effects won’t stop at the grocery line. Food insecurity is a determinant of health, this is a policy failure with epidemiologic consequences. #PublicHealth #SNAP #FoodSecurity

At my daughter’s pediatrician’s office for her #flu shot. Because in this household, we believe in science and we know vaccines save lives. 💪💉

It’s getting increasingly harder to convince anti-vaxxers bc it is no longer about science & evidence. It is about identify & belonging. It’s not just accepting a vaccine, it’s about leaving behind their sense of self & community. It’s about security. This is why throwing data will never work.

The US is now more vulnerable to a biological attack of other serious disease emergency than it has been in a very long time. www.wired.com/story/cdc-te...

H5N1 is on the clock. We saw how a single genetic leap enabled human-to-human respiratory transmission with COVID-19. The latest HPAI data shows 6.4 MILLION birds affected in the last 30 days. High animal circulation = high mutation risk. We have to act before that jump. #BirdFlu #PandemicRisk

Protecting the nation’s public health demands data, whether it be new measles cases, a surge in ER visits, or shifting patterns in obesity. The most recent job cuts at the CDC threaten the mostly unseen foundation of that research enterprise. www.statnews.com/2025/10/14/c...