It was a tough time: This spring summer I saw a deliberate anti-science disinformation campaign emerging from the White House, and how it was both targeting scientists (me) and decimating Hispanic and other low-income communities. To say nothing I felt was morally indefensible
I’m in a scary place, definitely out of my comfort zone, but having the support of my family and the scientific community (including many govt scientists who feel similarly threatened), gives me a lot courage to keep going.
Back in May in a paper published in @MicrobesInfect I predicted the attacks on science and scientists would escalate in the weeks prior to the 2020 US presidential election, and pretty much that’s what’s happening.
Also troubling is the accelerating globalization of anti-science and links to QAnon and neo-nazi political activities. I have a new paper out in @MicrobesInfect this coming week..
I took some comfort in the writings of Elie Wiesel, Abba Eban, others, and that helped. Here's what EW said in his @NobelPrize acceptance speech on Dec 10, 1986 in Oslo, Norway. L'Shana Tova
My latest in PLOS Biology: it’s not as dark as you might think, there are still lots of opportunities, but they require strategy, long-term planning, openness to the realities that things will be different. Here are some ideas
1/n Being about the role of Vitamin A and its role in the treatment and prevention of measles. It’s actually an interesting story, but unfortunately one that is being twisted and weaponized by the wellness/influencer $multibillion to push vitamin A like they did for ivermectin
2/n it starts from an interesting findings 1970s/80s that kids in low-income countries with malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency (and xeropthalmia) had higher mortality from infection. Al Sommer an ophthalmologist from @JohnsHopkinsSPH led those studies
@JohnsHopkinsSPH 3/n Dr. Sommer who went on to become dean at @JohnsHopkinsSPH also demonstrated in Tanzania a therapeutic benefit for hospitalized kids under 2 with measles. I think those studies are sound, but remember they’re malnourished kids or with xerophthalmia
Disastrous measles epidemic in my state of Texas now up to 48 in 4 counties: my chart on what happens when children acquire measles vs a very safe and effective MMR vaccine. From my new paper in @PLOSGPH
Long COVID impacting more than 1 million children: CDC study suggests. Also a reason why it was important to vaccinate kids vs COVID. It wasn’t only about deaths and hospitalizations. Covid vaccines reduce the risk of long Covid. Papers attached abcnews.go.com/Health/long-co…
1/n I’ve been writing/speaking about a growing convergence between antiscience & antisemitism. Not only on X, but also emails sent to me, swastikas mailed to my home.
2 major themes:
1. The “plandemic” that we made the SARS-2 virus or H5N1
2. Covid vaccine is the “Jew Jab”
2/n Lots of disturbing images and often Nazi imagery in the shape of vaccine syringes or masks, such as those mailed to my home X2 or distorted images of Jews in biosafety suits
3/n often it’s alleged part of a larger Jewish cabal, sometimes with Jewish scientist vaccine colleagues, others with George Soros or with a member of the Rothschild family