Tara C. Smith
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aetiology.bsky.social
Tara C. Smith
@aetiology.bsky.social
33K followers 2.8K following 5.4K posts

Collector of social media sites. Infectious disease epidemiologist. Writes about vaccine hesitancy, science misinfo, zombies. Probably somewhere on a trail. Views own etc.

Videos

The Smith special counsel investigation was a special counsel investigation that was opened by U.S. attorney general Merrick Garland on November 18, 2022, three days after Donald Trump announced his campaign for the 2024 United States presidential election. The investigation was created to continue two investigations initiated by the Justice Department (DOJ) regarding former U.S. president Donald Trump. Garland appointed Jack Smith, a longtime federal prosecutor, to lead the independent investigations. Smith was tasked with investigating Trump's role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack and Trump's mishandling of government records, including classified documents. .. more

Political science 39%
Economics 19%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Smith

numb.comfortab.ly
Comfortably Numb @numb.comfortab.ly · 10h
Literally
Grok says flu vaccine is not recommended

Reposted by Smith

gregfolkers.bsky.social
Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 11h
Atlantic: Rotavirus Could Come Roaring Back—Very Soon

By Katherine J. Wu @theatlantic.com

bit.ly/3YWlGAS
Rotavirus Could Come Roaring Back—Very Soon
A leading vaccine expert on what the country’s newly overhauled immunization schedule means for children
bit.ly

Reposted by Smith

helenbranswell.bsky.social
Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 12h
#HHS unveiled a new childhood vaccination schedule today. The pared-down schedule was developed in secret, not using the normal public science-based process. With the change, the US recommends fewer vaccines than Germany, Israel, Spain, China, & many other countries. www.statnews.com/2026/01/05/c...
Federal health officials slash recommended childhood vaccinations under Trump’s directive
The number of recommended childhood shots drops from 17 to 11.
www.statnews.com

Reposted by Smith

tyrannosaurid.bsky.social
Lex Luthor @tyrannosaurid.bsky.social · 12h
I had a friend in college who had had bacterial meningitis in high school. She said she went to bed with a fever and headache and woke up in the hospital much later as a multiple amputee. Everyone had to be vaccinated for college, but that was too late for her.

Reposted by Smith, Richard M. Carpiano

shematologist.medsky.social
Shematologist, MD @shematologist.medsky.social · 12h
This is purpura fulminans, a severe complication of meningitis (which as of today is no longer on our universal vaccine schedule)

Micro clots & bleeding into the skin cause skin & tissue death. It’s more common in kids & associated with 20-70% mortality.

Those who survive often lose limbs.
Necrosis of extremities. Necrosis of extremities.

Reposted by Smith

tomlevenson.bsky.social
Boston Tom Levenson @tomlevenson.bsky.social · 14h
As someone who endured a severe bout of Hep A a year or so before its vax was approved in the US, can confirm: this is bone stupid & will kill Americans.

I lay out the historical roots of RFK Jr.'s murderous stupidity in A Pox on Fools, out this May. It may help you talk to folks about this.

Reposted by Smith

bartekzech2.bsky.social
Bart @bartekzech2.bsky.social · 17h
I'd be happy with big non politics accounts.

aetiology.bsky.social
Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 18h
Absolutely ill about this even though we knew it was coming. Zero expert input, no meetings, just a fiat and poof, done.
US revises childhood vaccine schedule to recommend fewer shots
The move advances one of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s long-term goals.
www.reuters.com

Reposted by Smith

bethlinas.bsky.social
Beth S Linas, PhD, MHS @bethlinas.bsky.social · 18h
This is a five alarm fire. If you dont think this impacts you, think again. Public health is in grave danger www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
U.S. overhauls childhood vaccine schedule, recommends fewer shots
The U.S. no longer broadly recommends vaccines for flu, hepatitis A and B, and RSV. Health officials say the guidance aligns with that of peer countries.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Smith

gavinyamey.bsky.social
Prof Gavin Yamey @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 20h
People keep telling me we just have to "accept" the harms of ChatGPT as the necessary price of progress, & that I'm a Luddite for not using it, but, well, I'm genuinely finding it hard to accept that so many kids simply "have to" die. IMHO it needs a product recall.

www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
A Calif. teen trusted ChatGPT for drug advice. He died from an overdose.
"Who on earth gives that advice?"
www.sfgate.com

aetiology.bsky.social
Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 20h
Yep. Bad vaccine news out today too. Every day is a new level of demoralization.

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Kris Inwood, Smith , and 6 more

alvesduarte.bsky.social
Matheus Duarte @alvesduarte.bsky.social · 21h
I'm hiring 2 postdocs on my Wellcome project "How Did Infectious Diseases Become Wild?: Plague, Yellow Fever, and Disease Ecology in the Brazilian Hinterland (1920-1975)"

Department of Global Health and Social Medicine
King's College
3 years 01/10/26- 30/09/29
Deadline: 01/02/26
shorturl.at/KZ6Vh
Postdoctoral Research Associate | King's College London
www.kcl.ac.uk

Reposted by Nandita Sharma, Richard S.J. Tol, Joe R. Feagin , and 32 more

brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 22h
What in the Gestapo is going on in Grand Rapids?

Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Michael E. Mann, Lisa W. Fazio , and 21 more

sfcpoll.bsky.social
Scott Clement @sfcpoll.bsky.social · 22h
One of the most lopsided results you'll ever see in a poll, from our weekend Washington Post poll www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

Reposted by Michael E. Mann, Kim L. Scheppele, Paul R. Bierman , and 8 more

sifill.bsky.social
Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 1d
We cannot become numb to the outrage of this. The wife of the President’s Senior Advisor threatens a sovereign nation.

aetiology.bsky.social
Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 1d
@ncse.bsky.social any use?

Reposted by Smith

johnwares.bsky.social
John Wares @johnwares.bsky.social · 1d
Anybody want the first decades of journal ‘Evolution’ I have dozens of early issues pay shipping and donate $100 to a good progressive cause (I’m the arbiter) they are yours. Trivia q no google: who is 1st author to appear in journal as in 1(1):1-?

Reposted by Howard Williams, Smith, Janet Murray , and 1 more

iansociologo.bsky.social
Ian Carrillo @iansociologo.bsky.social · 1d
A major use-case for AI is reality destabilization.
shayan86.bsky.social Shayan Sardarizadeh @shayan86.bsky.social · 1d
This video, viewed millions of times on TikTok, Facebook and X, claims to show Venezuelans taking to the street to thank the US for detaining Maduro.

But the video is a combination of four AI-generated clips and was first posted on TikTok by a user who frequently shares AI videos. It's not real.

Reposted by Joshua S. Weitz, Scott L. Greer, Sarah E. Gollust , and 9 more

elizabethjacobs.bsky.social
Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 1d
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), run by Oz and his boss, RFK Jr., will no longer require physicians to report vaccination rates.

Instead, they plan to start having doctors report if they’ve discussed “alternative” vaccine schedules.
CMS to stop requiring states to report childhood vaccination levels
www.cidrap.umn.edu

Reposted by Jason Mittell, Peter Thorne, Gavin A. Schmidt , and 25 more

joegross.bsky.social
The Joe Gross @joegross.bsky.social · 1d
Literally a publication for eight-year olds 40 years ago

Reposted by Smith

profciara.bsky.social
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy @profciara.bsky.social · 1d
These are allegations by the Government of the US Virgin Islands against the Epstein Estate.

"Air traffic controller reports state that some
victims appeared to be as young as 11 years old."

#doj #epstein files 👀⚖️♀️

www.justice.gov/multimedia/C...

aetiology.bsky.social
Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 1d
Loved this book!
chuckwendig.bsky.social Chuck Wendig @chuckwendig.bsky.social · 1d
The book gods have determined that THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS is a mere $1.99 on your favorite electromagnetic reading platform if you’d like an easy entry point to friendship breakups, broken people, creepy interstitial terrain, and a haunted house that is a house that haunts. Tell your friends!
Text: ON FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 1998, five teenagers went on a camping trip in the middle of the forest. ONLY FOUR OF THEM RETURNED.

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Smith, Margot C. Finn , and 1 more

deborahb.bsky.social
Deborah Blum @deborahb.bsky.social · 1d
Oh, just get vaccinated (part 5,000)

"Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found." (gift article)
Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew
www.nytimes.com

aetiology.bsky.social
Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 1d
Yes, it is a leading cause of bankruptcy in the US. Some more data. Most people with medical debt have insurance. eg I had $1300 out of pocket for a mammogram last year (long story). I was able to pay but for many that could easily start to cascade.
The burden of medical debt in the United States - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker
Despite over 90% of the United States population having some form of health insurance, medical debt remains a persistent problem. This analysis shows that 20 million people (nearly 1 in 12 adults) owe...
www.healthsystemtracker.org

Reposted by Smith

grandmastershah.bsky.social
Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 1d
"The survey also found that 17% of those who expressed a lack of confidence in vaccines say they get their information from US government websites."
Canadian officials say US health institutions no longer dependable for accurate information
Misinformation from the Trump administration is cited as fuelling Canadians’ concerns over childhood vaccinations
www.theguardian.com

aetiology.bsky.social
Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 1d
Does it.. what? Exist? In the US it does.

Reposted by Smith

joho.bsky.social
Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 1d
In 2020, Bhattacharya and Kulldorff pushed back on the "misconception" that they wanted to do "nothing".

Now that they have power, as flu and other pathogens fill up hospitals, that's exactly what they are doing.

Nothing.

Reposted by Smith

chuckwendig.bsky.social
Chuck Wendig @chuckwendig.bsky.social · 1d
The book gods have determined that THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS is a mere $1.99 on your favorite electromagnetic reading platform if you’d like an easy entry point to friendship breakups, broken people, creepy interstitial terrain, and a haunted house that is a house that haunts. Tell your friends!
Text: ON FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 1998, five teenagers went on a camping trip in the middle of the forest. ONLY FOUR OF THEM RETURNED.

Reposted by Smith

flyingtrilobite.com
Glendon Mellow @flyingtrilobite.com · 2d
Deleted a repost of a thread.

Looking closer, the person is comfortable sharing AI images & video. Was the thread also AI? Was it accurate?

I’d rather not take the chance and share it.

Journalists, keep this in mind. “Fun” AI videos & images undercut your credibility.

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Anna O. Law, Fabián Muniesa , and 7 more

futurism.com
Futurism @futurism.com · 2d
He put his complete trust in a chat bot that turned him into a savage murderer.
Disturbing Messages Show ChatGPT Encouraging a Murder, Lawsuit Alleges
A lawsuit against OpenAI reveals the chilling ChatGPT messages that drove a middle aged man to kill his 83-year-old mother.
trib.al