Saskia Popescu

a woman with black paint on her face is sitting in a car ALT: a woman with black paint on her face is sitting in a car

I fell in love with this film - quirky, visually stunning, elegantly written, and carrying a profound and unflinching truth about the female experience. #thebridemovie

FDA’s controversial vaccine chief will exit agency next month | CNN The US Food and Drug Administration’s head of vaccines and biologic medicines will leave the agency at the end of April, a spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Friday.

Vinay Prasad has been an a noxious influence on public health and drug regulation. Good riddance. UCSF should not take him back. He should wander in the wilderness forever. www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/h...

Dynamics of natural selection preceding human viral epidemics and pandemics Using a phylogenetic framework to characterize natural selection, we investigate the hypothesis that zoonotic viruses require adaptation prior to zoon…

There's a common misconception that zoonotic viruses require significant adaptation to jump from animals to cause human epidemics.

Not so 👇.

Further, we see clear signs of 1977 flu experiencing cell passage, prior to epidemic.

SARS-CoV-2? Business as usual.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

ICE detention center under quarantine after measles outbreak could shut permanently Camp East Montana was opened by the Trump administration in Texas last summer but has faced accusations of poor conditions and a number of deaths

14 active measles cases at the center on the Fort Bliss Army base and 112 people are being isolated
www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...

Across ERs, Tylenol orders for pregnant people dropped after health officials linked drug to autism Immediately after U.S. health officials linked Tylenol to autism, the drug's use in pregnant women visiting ERs dropped, new study shows.

“The researchers found that orders of the painkiller initially dipped by 16% before leveling off at a 10% decrease in the twelve weeks after U.S. health officials cautioned against use of the drug. There was no statistically significant drop in the medication’s use among non-pregnant women.”

To any Arizona LDS folks…. two missionary dudes flying back from DCA right now - beyond loud, gross political jokes, one just said “yeah I’m positive about that. Like HIV positive” as a joke.

Come collect your boys. 🤮

Absolute must-read 👇🏻

COVID’s origins: what we do and don’t know Researchers summarize key insights from the world’s first comprehensive investigation into how a pandemic started.

COVID’s origins: what we do and don’t know www.nature.com/articles/d41...

RFK Jr.’s billionaire running mate is making a comedy about the pandemic Nicole Shanahan has recruited a top screenwriter and enlisted Covid contrarian Jay Bhattacharya.

This is gross - making fun of death and a global emergency is truly a bad take.

www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Truly, I cannot express how short-sighted this is. You can do both - these are not mutually exclusive lanes of effort.

100% this @jessicamalaty.bsky.social
I legit just saw a spike of flu in Australia (outside of flu season) & am seeing it around in Thailand now….so when I see influencers telling people “it doesn’t make much sense to get a flu shot now ”, I’m disappointed by their myopic approach to public health.

Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guantánamo Doctors, nurses, and other officers are increasingly being deployed to ICE detention centers. Some have resigned in protest, while others offer a rare look into bleak conditions.

“Doctors, nurses, and other officers are increasingly being deployed to ICE detention centers. Some have resigned in protest, while others offer a rare look into bleak conditions.” - @amymaxmen.bsky.social

US lawmakers introduce bill to screen sales of potentially dangerous synthetic DNA Two U.S. senators this week introduced a bill that would create new rules around the sale of synthetic gene sequences that could be used to create bioweapons.

US lawmakers introduce bill to screen sales of potentially dangerous synthetic DNA

Public health giant William Foege, who helped eradicate smallpox, has died at 89 ‘I wish we could have spared him from seeing that’: Friends of Bill Foege on his legacy, and his anger over anti-vaccination.

Public health giant William Foege, who helped eradicate smallpox, has died at 89 www.statnews.com/2026/01/25/w... via @statnews.com

So many medical professionals are using their platforms to speak out against ICE’s atrocities, because they know violence is a public health issue, and also because they’re good, caring people.

1/2

This is utterly disappointing and bs rhetoric - Africa CDC is an amazing health agency doing vital, collaborative work to ensure health access and equity. Something we should all strive towards.

‘People will die’: Trump administration cancels up to $1.9bn for substance use and mental health Funding to end immediately for up to 2,800 grantees of US agency that serves thousands seeking help and in recovery

NEW: The Trump admin unexpectedly canceled almost $2 billion in funding for substance use and mental health. Organizations today are forced to lay off staff and scale back lifesaving services, like opioid reversal medications for first responders. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Make America Denmark Today! With Angie Rasmussen, Jessica Malaty Rivera, and Saskia Popescu YouTube video by Angela Rasmussen

Confused about why the US decided to make Denmark first about the childhood vaccine schedule? What is "shared clinical decision-making"? Why is a random sports medicine doc in charge of this?

Me, @jessicamalaty.bsky.social, & @saskiapopescu.bsky.social get into it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBnV...

‘The Pitt’ Is a Brilliant Portrait of American Failure The HBO Max show has a moral clarity that’s hard to find of late on television.

“The Pitt has an emphatic moral clarity that feels awkward only because we haven’t seen it for so long. It refuses to both-sides issues that it considers straightforward. Should you vaccinate your children against measles? Yes, The Pitt says”

On Being Denmark President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order asking the United States to align itself with other countries and give fewer vaccines. Why?

Take it from a real vaccine expert, @pauloffit.bsky.social, this move is baseless and dangerous. pauloffit.substack.com/p/on-being-d...

Children will die with RFK Jr.'s new vaccine recommendations. We're NOT doing the "experts disagree" game. The US vaccine schedule was painstakingly constructed through a deep & thorough process by experts with unquestionable expertise. This is policy by fiat. It is pre-meditated murder. 1/

The Trump Administration’s Most Paralyzing Blow to Science Cuts to research may have spoiled the country’s appetite for bold exploration.

“Science has always required creativity—people asking and pursuing questions in ways that have never been attempted before, in the hope that some of that work might produce something new.” Dr. @katherinejwu.com

Five Takeaways From CFR's 2026 Conflict Risk Assessment Every year, the Preventive Priorities Survey asks experts to rank thirty conflict scenarios in terms of likelihood and potential impact. This year's results paint a picture of a more violent and dang...

Every year, the Preventive Priorities Survey asks experts to rank thirty conflict scenarios in terms of likelihood and potential impact.

This year’s results paint a picture of a more violent and dangerous world in 2026:

Protecting Children from Biological Weapons in Armed Conflict Working paper

www.unicef.org/innocenti/re...

Measles’ Most Deceptive Trait Most cases are mild, obscuring the disease’s worst outcomes.

The U.S. will very likely lose its measles-elimination status next month, and Americans will have to confront how difficult this virus can be to control, @katherinejwu.com reports:

CDC awards $1.6 million for hepatitis B vaccine study, likely to controversial Danish researchers

CDC awards $1.6 million for new hepatitis B vaccine study in Guinea-Bissau. Although the award recipients aren't named, the grant seems tailored to Danish researchers whose work is championed by anti-vaxxers but challenged by mainstream scientists.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...

Bird flu hasn't reached Australia, but researchers are prepping for when it arrives Bird flu, or H5N1, has touched most of the globe, but there is one spot it hasn't reached. Researchers down under are preparing for it, but gaps in bird flu surveillance elsewhere makes it difficult.

So far, Australia has not found #avianflu in its bird populations. Listen as @npr.org follows Australian researchers monitoring and planning for #H5N1's arrival.

www.npr.org/2025/12/08/n...

HHS changed the name of transgender health leader on her official portrait Admiral Rachel Levine was the first transgender person to be confirmed by the Senate to serve in the federal government. Her official portrait at HHS headquarters has been altered.

Not surprising and still disappointing.

Scene from OFFICE SPACE with Michael Bolton replying to Samir Nagheenanajar: “No way. Why should I change? He's the one who sucks.”

when someone tells me not to use em dashes because AI uses em dashes

Trump Administration Will No Longer Commemorate World AIDS Day

Trump Administration Will No Longer Commemorate World AIDS Day www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...