Dr. Angela Rasmussen Profile picture
Feb 14 17 tweets 6 min read Read on X
Giving infectious disease research a break, as promised by the MAHA agenda.

Let's break down what exactly this Executive Order is *really* saying. Fortunately, I speak fluent anti-vax grifterese & can translate.

whitehouse.gov/presidential-a…
There's this background section about the terrible epidemic of chronic disease & they are VERY worried about children.

Note the diseases they focus on? Autism spectrum disorders, obesity, & ADD/ADHD = vaccines did it.

"increased prescriptions" = evidence-based medicine is bad Image
What are the solutions?

"fresh thinking" = non-scientific

"over-reliance on medication & treatments" = replacing vaccines and drugs with supplements

"food & drug quality & safety" = vaccines are unsafe, so let's legalize raw milk instead Image
"restore the integrity of the scientific process" = replace legitimate scientists with pseudoscientific quacks

"protecting expert recommendations from inappropriate influence" = removing experts because expertise is a conflict & replacing them with anti-vax scammers Image
Now let's get to the policy.

First up, (a) here is actually proposing to defund much of the NIH's research portfolio and creating a mechanism to deny funding based on "conflicts of interest", "skewing outcomes", or "perpetuating distrust" ie expertise in a subject MAHA opposes Image
Next, more explicitly NIH will not fund research that doesn't focus on "root causes". Here are some "root causes" according to MAHA: vaccines, approved medications, processed food, lifestyle choices (don't use drugs or have sex for fun, unless you're the HHS Secretary, I guess) Image
This seems okay—I've got no objection to supporting farmers or fresh food—but it really means let's deregulate food safety, put moo flu-loaded raw milk in every fridge, and blame obese people for bringing it on themselves Image
"Expanded treatment options" = alternative therapies and supplements instead of approved medications

"flexibility for health care coverage" = insurers will not cover existing evidence-based treatments and will subsidize supplement sellers instead Image
Then we've got the full list of everyone who will stand to profit from this. Got to make sure all the principals get their fair share of this redistribution of taxpayer dollars from the people to their pockets! Image
"absorption of toxic material" = vaccines & drugs

"medical treatments" = vaccines & drugs

"Government policies" = evidence-based health recommendations

"corporate influence or cronyism" = LOL, look who's talking. This refers to medical consensus among experts Image
"over-utilization of medication" = vaccines & drugs

"certain chemicals" = vaccine adjuvants

"chronic inflammation" = catch all for chronic illness because this is so vague it can't be defined so it can be whatever you want in terms of evidence Image
No more anti-depressants, anxiolytics, ADHD medications, or GLP-1 agonists (Ozempic, Mounjaro, etc) for anyone! Unclear if that last category would also apply to treating type 2 diabetes, which is also a chronic disease. Image
Instead of weight loss drugs or evidence-based treatments for mental health, let's send all the fat, sad, neurodivergent kids to wellness camps where they can heal on a steady diet of snake oil these people are selling. Image
Pretty rich to hear this about transparency from an administration that is systematically deleting publicly funded health data from government websites. Of course, that's so it can be replaced with new "integrity"-having MAHA data, which is what is meant by "methodological rigor" Image
"ending Federal practices that exacerbate the health crisis or unsuccessfully attempt to address it" = bye, bye NIAID, NCI, most of CDC's ID epi portfolio, & any other agency that isn't jumping on board the anti-vax gravy train

"expert input" = the anti-vax industrial complex Image
We'll see how this plays out but from what I can see, this is laying the groundwork for a bunch of very bad ideas:

-defunding evidence-based research
-suspending vaccine access for unnecessary safety studies
-replacing medicine w/ supplements
-discrediting scientists
Just watch. This is going to be all about replacing actual science with pseudoscience and millions will suffer as a result. But Team MAHA will not, because they'll be taking the benefits of gutting American science & health straight to the goddamn bank.

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More from @angie_rasmussen

Oct 2
Last year I gave expert testimony to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI). The topic?

H5N1 avian flu in the US

It may not seem obvious, but this is highly relevant to the ostrich situation in Canada.

ourcommons.ca/documentviewer… x.com/ostrichfarmbc/…
I was asked to brief AGRI on the H5N1 situation in the US, specifically the dairy cow outbreak that remains uncontrolled more than a year later.

Look who else was there: top officials from CFIA.

AGRI wanted to assess how to best protect Canadian agriculture & food security Image
Here’s my statement updating the committee on the US H5N1 situation. It was bad then. It is worse now.

I think there is a lot of bird flu everywhere down south. And we don’t know about most of it.

Out of sight, out of mind until it causes a pandemic.

ourcommons.ca/Content/Commit…
Read 19 tweets
Sep 29
This is interesting. The BC ostrich farmers have consistently misrepresented the “scientific research” they were conducting, but it seems they also may have not been entirely truthful about their ostrich meat, oil, & leather business, as well 👇🏻
The ostrich farm claims they are a scientific research facility to study ostrich antibodies. Birds have antibodies in their egg yolks & ostrich eggs are huge, so you can get a lot of antibodies from them. The farmers implied they were studying antibodies to COVID & flu.
But there’s nothing to show that’s true. They’ve never published a paper on the research or shared data/results. There’s a difference between doing research & producing antibodies to sell. According to court documents, they were producing eggs for the latter purpose.
Read 19 tweets
Sep 28
I am always happy to talk to reporters like Nancy MacDonald @globeandmail covering the BC bird flu ostrich story with objectivity & a focus on the evidence.

I hope this clarifies why I think the cull of these birds should proceed whether they are tested or not. Short thread 🧵
The thing people need to realize is that, although the ostriches were infected 10 mo ago, they still pose a health risk & a HUGE economic risk. If CFIA spares them, Canada will violate trade agreements, jeopardizing the entire $2B poultry export market.
CFIA is responsible for ensuring the safety & health of Canadian people & animals by regulating agriculture & food. A big part of the agricultural mandate is to ensure compliance with trade partners' import requirements, to maintain trade.
inspection.canada.ca/en/animal-heal…Image
Read 25 tweets
Sep 25
I'm not uncomfortable with an interview. I don't wish to contribute to anti-government extremist propaganda that imposes the will of a few on Canada's health, food security, economy, & $2B poultry export market. I believe in upholding the law.

But I will answer your questions🧵
1. You can test these ostriches for antibodies. To do it reliably you need to do either a microneutralization or a hemagglutinin inhibition (HAI) assay. These require a high containment lab & trained personnel with HPTA security clearance because they use live virus. Image
Not many labs in Canada can do these tests. You can't do ELISAs due to cross-reactivity across other flu subtypes. Many overlapping subtypes circulate in birds (H5Nx; HxN1) & humans (H1N1). So you can't just measure antibody binding by ELISA, you must do HAI or microneuts.
Read 26 tweets
Sep 4
I take Ozempic, a GLP-1 agonist, for weight loss. I lost 80 lbs. It has completely transformed my life and health, both physical & mental. But it is not without cost.

Microdosing without evidence is a bad idea. Here are a few reasons why👇🏻

washingtonpost.com/health/2025/09…
I wrote about this about 6 months ago, when the MAHA Executive Order came out hinting that these drugs are bad. I’ll never stop Ozempic unless forced to. It has improved my life immeasurably.

But I knew the risks & benefits because it had been tested extensively for weight loss
Our methods for evaluating drugs rely on rigorous, well-controlled clinical trials. It allows patients & doctors to make informed decisions. GLP-1 agonists are great for diabetes & weight loss in many people. We know this because of a mountain of clinical trial data.
Read 21 tweets
Jun 25
Very disappointing from @janeqiuchina, since she is well aware that scientists haven’t shut down legitimate inquiry into a “lab leak.” There is no evidence to support it.

Trust is lost not by scientists publishing evidence, but by dishonest actors misrepresenting the evidence. Image
Here’s a link to the entire odious piece. It reads like it was ghostwritten by Alina Chan:
-scientists silenced dissenting opinion
-virology is dangerous
-virologists are arrogant
-some people think it was lab leak
-trust is gone!

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
I note she neglects to even discuss the actual body of evidence supporting one origin hypothesis over another. Instead she brings up the same tired tropes that you hear from the likes of Rand Paul: reckless virology, overconfident virologists, GOF, conflicts of interest…
Read 9 tweets

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