The Infectious Dose Podcast (@PathogenScribe) header
The Infectious Dose Podcast (@PathogenScribe) profile picture

PhD Virologist turned science writer. Fighting misinformation w/ fully sourced episodes on infectious diseases. Public health is inherently political.

Joined August 2014
The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
The United States, which has all the resources, infrastructure, and historical capacity to maintain measles elimination - is instead bracing to lose its status this coming week. This will be the first time since it gained elimination status 26 years ago.
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I. AM. NOT. INTERESTED. IN. REACHING. ACROSS. THE. AISLE.
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
Hakeem Jeffries, @RepJeffries There are 14 yr old girls pregnant in an ICE Facility that were NOT when they were detained. We want justice and prosecutions, not reaching across the aisle!
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
The sheer horror of this.
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
Men after the Russell Brand trial: "So we have to get consent for *everything* now??" Yes, mate. Yes you do. That's how being a non rapist works.
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
The awful consequences of measles infection versus the safety of the MMR vaccine
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
We're reporting only a fraction of measles cases in the US; some estimates put it as low as 20% in states like PA. This outbreak is much larger than what's reported and is spilling into highly vulnerable communities like babies and pregnant women. We will lose our Measles elimination status this month, and it will take years of responsible public health management to get it back. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
You are the swamp. How to eliminate chronic disease? Delete the Center at CDC responsible for measuring, preventing , and managing it. Fact: The President’s budget proposals for FY 2026 and FY 2027 sought to eliminate the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP). Its primary mission is to prevent chronic diseases, promote health, and manage complications from existing long-term health conditions across all stages of life.
Draining the swamp is a mandate, and we have an obligation to deliver. Entrenched interests have exercised power in Washington under both parties for decades. President Trump and I intend to keep fighting until the American people—not corporate influence—drive our health policies. I stand firmly behind President Trump and the historic reforms we are advancing together. In less than two years, this administration has rewritten federal dietary guidelines to emphasize real food, secured commitments from major food companies to remove petroleum-based synthetic dyes and other additives, launched systematic reviews of chemicals already in our food supply, and proposed requiring companies to notify the FDA before introducing ingredients they independently deem safe. These are concrete steps toward accountability that Americans demanded. We have hundreds of other accomplishments but there's still more work to do. We must finish food-ingredient reform, advance our work on ultra-processed foods, and put children’s health at the center of federal policy. I will keep pressing those priorities across this administration and work with anyone in either party who will help deliver them. The American people deserve a government that puts their health first. President Trump gave me a mandate to put prevention at the center of health care and end the chronic disease epidemic to Make America Health Again.
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
In the prevaccine era congenital rubella syndrome was a tragic cause of hearing loss and other birth defects (microcephaly, intellectual disabilities, heart defects) in the U.S. Now due to declines in MMR vaccinations in America we should expect the return of not only measles but also rubella cases in pregnancy followed by congenital rubella
About 2 to 3 of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with detectable hearing loss. Research has shown that identifying hearing loss early, and beginning language and other interventions as soon as possible, can make a meaningful difference in a child’s development. That is why advances in hearing research are so important. At NIH’s National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), decades of scientific discovery have helped deepen our understanding of hearing and helped advance solutions across the continuum of care. Beyond early detection, NIDCD research has also helped advance technologies such as cochlear implants, which can provide access to sound for people with severe or profound hearing loss. Continued investment in NIH hearing research can help drive the next generation of discoveries and technologies to improve the quality of life of babies born with hearing loss.
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
Replying to @BetoORourke
We're enjoying the shade of the trees you planted. Thank you for being a tireless champion of Democratic politics in our state! No one has worked harder than you to make blue Texas a reality, and we we will never forget that.
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
Folks in northern Colorado, loads of measles exposures. This child was super sick and in a lot of health care facilities.
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
To those in Congress, it’s time to act. Raise the minimum wage. End the pointless war in Iran. Provide universal healthcare and childcare. Pass comprehensive immigration reform. Implement sensible AI guardrails. Codify abortion rights into law.
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
BREAKING: An infant has died from measles in southwestern Wisconsin, the state’s first measles-related death since 1990, health officials say.
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
Victoria Broderick just won in TN-4 without @RepJeffries ever knowing her name. @AbdulElSayed won in Michigan and @SenSchumer did the opposite of help him. The idea that those 2 take credit for this wave defies logic. Schumer & Jeffries are not the "leaders" 🇺🇸 just voted for.
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
Here is the petition to STOP CHUCK SCHUMER from becoming Majority Leader. Please share and sign. c.org/ynxP8f4Gks
Chuck Schumer is already bragging that he will be the next majority Leader: “The issue is not me. I'll be reelected as majority leader.” The issue is very much Chuck Schumer and the fact that the “Democratic” party exists to serve capital, not people.
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
“We want BOTH - affordability AND accountability” @RepJeffries yet again showing himself out of touch with what Dems actually voted for instagram.com/reel/DfVgZ5khK…
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
The GOP lost because they refused to read the room. Dems, listen to your voters! We want WARRIORS! We want JUSTICE! We do NOT want appeasers. NO to @RepJeffries NO to @SenSchumer NO to @SpeakerPelosi backing the old guard. Bring out the GLADIATORS!! Prepare to FIGHT!!
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
Really great solid advice for members- and senators- elect below: As someone who has worked in both district and DC offices, constituent casework and interaction gets one reelected, though many want to believe it is how many bills you write or laws you enact.
If you’re a new Democratic US Representative or Senator you have an immediate job: Get your constituent services up and running. There are a ton of you in deep red territory and that’s the only way to survive 2028. You entrench yourself as deep into your community as possible
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The Infectious Dose Podcast retweeted
It’s not a question of "getting even." It’s not even a question. It’s a duty. It’s the power and duty of Congress to provide oversight. To ensure that the executive branch is being in accordance with the Constitution and the laws that Congress has enacted on the people’s behalf. And to ensure that tax dollars are being spent in the interests of the people, and not the public servants who control the accounts. This power and duty was exercised by Congress from the earliest moments of the Washington Administration. It has been forsaken by corrupt and craven Congresses of recent years. It is the new Congress's solemn obligation to resume performance of its duty to oversee the executive branch, and any leader who can’t commit to that obligation should stand aside.
Hakeem Jeffries on Morning Joe: The American people don't want us to get even. They want us to get things done on their behalf because life is way too expensive. We ran on affordability, we won on affordability, and now it's our job to govern on affordability.
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Babies in the U.S. don't get routine MMR until 12 months. In a 2019 study, 92% had lost protective maternal measles antibodies by 3 months. Grandparents: check your MMR record. Save and send to a grandparent: celinegounder.com/p/grandpar… Read & subscribe for free: celinegounder.com
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