Heather McSharry, PhD
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pathogenscribe.bsky.social
Heather McSharry, PhD
@pathogenscribe.bsky.social
Virologist turned science writer. She/her. Fighting science misinformation with a podcast/blog. Infectiousdose.com
My views are my own & do not represent any organization
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It’s live. 🌒
🎄 A Consumption Christmas Carol
Merry Christmas Eve!
This month’s #OutbreakAfterDark retells Dickens’ ghost story through the real epidemic that haunted Victorian London — tuberculosis.
#InfectiousDose #Tuberculosis
www.infectiousdose.com/post/oad-chr...
Outbreak After Dark: A Consumption Christmas Carol
SummaryThis month’s Outbreak After Dark is a holiday episode — and a heavy one.In A Consumption Christmas Carol, we retell Dickens’ ghost story through the real epidemic that haunted Victorian London:...
www.infectiousdose.com
However you mark the winter season—Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, or something quieter—I hope it brings moments of warmth and rest in a tumultuous year.

I’m deeply grateful to everyone who listens, reads, questions, and cares.

Happy holidays from Infectious Dose. 🕯️🌲
December 24, 2025 at 4:36 PM
It’s live. 🌒
🎄 A Consumption Christmas Carol
Merry Christmas Eve!
This month’s #OutbreakAfterDark retells Dickens’ ghost story through the real epidemic that haunted Victorian London — tuberculosis.
#InfectiousDose #Tuberculosis
www.infectiousdose.com/post/oad-chr...
Outbreak After Dark: A Consumption Christmas Carol
SummaryThis month’s Outbreak After Dark is a holiday episode — and a heavy one.In A Consumption Christmas Carol, we retell Dickens’ ghost story through the real epidemic that haunted Victorian London:...
www.infectiousdose.com
December 24, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Reposted by Heather McSharry, PhD
Ending a $5 million research study when it is 70% complete does not save $1 million, it wastes $4 million.

When a project loses federal funding before completion, finding alternative resources is challenging. Most philanthropies do not have comparable resources.

🧪 www.forbes.com/sites/brucel...
December 17, 2025 at 4:44 PM
📢New episode: ACIP Undone: Proof, Policy, and Panic Over a Hepatitis B Vaccine

✅The science on the Hep B vaccine didn’t change.
✅The evidence didn’t change.
✅The safety didn’t change.
I cover it all here.

❌What changed was ACIP.
www.infectiousdose.com/post/acip-un...
ACIP Undone: Proof, Policy, and Panic Over a Hepatitis B Vaccine
Learn how the hepatitis B vaccine prevents cancer, why the birth dose matters, and what a policy failure at ACIP reveals about trust in public health.
www.infectiousdose.com
December 17, 2025 at 4:22 PM
🚨 New episode drops tomorrow night at midnight
A cancer-preventing vaccine.
A procedural failure at the highest level.
And a reminder that trust can crack—even when the science holds.
This is the story of the Hep B vaccine.
#PublicHealth #Vaccines #HepatitisB
#InfectiousDose
December 15, 2025 at 6:36 PM
New episode is live!
The FDA Memo That Betrayed Public Trust.
An internal memo claimed COVID vaccines caused pediatric deaths — with no evidence.
I break down what the memo said and why the science still supports protecting kids.
🎧 Listen: www.infectiousdose.com/post/vs9-fda...
#InfectiousDose
Vaccine Safety 9: The FDA Memo That Betrayed Public Trust — What You Need to Know
A leaked FDA memo claimed COVID vaccines caused child deaths. This episode debunks the claim, explains real vaccine safety data, and gives parents evidence-based clarity.
www.infectiousdose.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Reposted by Heather McSharry, PhD
December 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by Heather McSharry, PhD
#medsky #pedsky #idsky #immunosky #episky

I collaborated with exceptionally talented people in infectious diseases to write this Special Article about aluminum salts in childhood vaccines.
We review the evidence base for key safety concerns and offer guidance for communication with caregivers.
The Role and Safety of Aluminum Adjuvants in Childhood Vaccines
Aluminum salts have been used as adjuvants in vaccines for nearly a century, enhancing the immune response to purified antigens and ensuring durable protection against serious infectious diseases. Des...
publications.aap.org
December 3, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Heather McSharry, PhD
New thrust of public health in the US: Measles and Weasels. (Cartoon from the New Yorker)
December 3, 2025 at 3:57 PM
❄️NEW EPISODE❄️
What do citrus, candles, caroling, sauerkraut, & deep-cleaning rituals have in common?
They all played unexpected roles in winter health.
Dive into the hidden microbiology of winter traditions—now live on Infectious Dose or any podcast player.
🎙️🦠✨
www.infectiousdose.com/post/cold-co...
Cold Comfort: What Winter Rituals Got Right About Microbes
Winter rituals once protected us from disease—spices, fires, cleaning, and more. Explore their hidden epidemiology in this episode of Infectious Dose.
www.infectiousdose.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:47 PM
🕯️ Spices. Candles. Cleaning rituals. Citrus in stockings.
What if your favorite winter traditions weren’t just cozy,
but accidental tools in the fight against disease?
🎙️ New Infectious Dose episode drops Tues at midnight!
#InfectiousDose #ColdComfort #Microbiology #PublicHealth
December 1, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Heather McSharry, PhD
Dr. Peter Hotez, MD PhD, is one of the world’s leading vaccine experts. We need more prominent physicians to speak out about the anti-vax campaign and the dire consequences of not vaccinating.
Dr. Hotez, America is extremely grateful for your advocacy for ever improving our healthcare system & the pharmagenomic discussions you present among the various platforms

Our sincerest gratitude Sir!
a man wearing glasses says we thank you from the bottom of our hearts while sitting in a chair
ALT: a man wearing glasses says we thank you from the bottom of our hearts while sitting in a chair
media.tenor.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:26 PM
NEW EPISODE IS LIVE!
The Thanksgiving Outbreak After Dark episode is here.
Pilgrims, plagues, colonial immunity, invisible epidemics, and the stories we were never taught.
A campfire deep-dive into history, harm, survival…and truth.
Listen now or read:
www.infectiousdose.com/post/oad-2-p...
Outbreak After Dark 2: Pilgrims & Plagues
Thanksgiving myths meet infectious history in this episode exploring Pilgrims, Indigenous nations, and the epidemics that shaped early America.
www.infectiousdose.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Vaccines do not cause autism. RFKjr is lying and putting Americans at risk. He needs to resign.
To understand how we know that vaccines do not cause autism, check out my episode:
www.infectiousdose.com/post/vaccine...
Vaccine Safety 3: Vaccines Do NOT Cause Autism
Heather discusses the data showing zero correlation between vaccines and autism.
www.infectiousdose.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Reposted by Heather McSharry, PhD
Utah, South Carolina confirm more measles as CDC call suggests US elimination status in jeopardy

Today the South Carolina Department of Health reported 5 new cases in Spartanburg County.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/m...
November 18, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Reposted by Heather McSharry, PhD
📣 Attention #AMRSymposium2025 attendees!

We’re looking for research on resistance development, cross-sector transmission, mitigation strategies, and more. Submit to the Canadian Journal of Microbiology by Jan 31, 2026 ▶️ https://ow.ly/ZrN950Xnk7e

#OneHealthAMR2025 #AMR #WAAW
November 19, 2025 at 5:45 AM
New #InfectiousDose episode is LIVE — in recognition of AMR Awareness Week:

A Prescription for Pestilence: The global spread of antimicrobial resistance

How we build superbugs. How they spread. Why this crisis is accelerating.
www.infectiousdose.com/post/a-presc...
A Prescription for Pestilence: The Global Spread of Antimicrobial Resistance
Explore how modern medicine, agriculture, global systems and our individual choices fuel drug-resistant microbes. A clear, compelling look at the growing antimicrobial resistance crisis.
www.infectiousdose.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:19 PM
New episode drops tomorrow, midnight!
Superbugs aren’t sci-fi villains — we’re cultivating them.
Hospitals are seeing “routine” infections turn untreatable.
Farm use, global travel, broken surveillance… it’s all fueling the rise.
💊🦠🔥
#InfectiousDose #AMRAwarenessWeek
November 18, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Reposted by Heather McSharry, PhD
The wild form of the poliovirus has been found in wastewater samples in Germany. The discovery comes more than 30 years after the last cases of wild-type poliovirus was reported in the country. www.reuters.com/business/hea...
www.reuters.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Heather McSharry, PhD
I purposely gave my email address to The Epoch Times. Know your enemy and all that.

They are *relentless*. My inbox has been *inundated* with a constant flow of propaganda dressed up as news.

This is what we are up against. If you repeat a lie enough it becomes a truth to some.
November 15, 2025 at 3:51 PM
New episode is out now! 🎙️🦟

Rift Valley fever is surging across Mauritania & Senegal—and now The Gambia. Hundreds sick, dozens dead.

What’s happening, why now, and what it means for the region?
Listen here 👇
www.infectiousdose.com/post/rift-va...
#RiftValleyFever #GlobalHealth
Rift Valley Fever: When the Rains Bring Life and Loss
Rift Valley fever outbreak 2025: how the virus spreads from livestock to people in Mauritania, Senegal, and beyond.
www.infectiousdose.com
November 12, 2025 at 10:55 PM
📢New episode drops tomorrow night at midnight!
The largest Rift Valley fever outbreak in years is unfolding across Mauritania and Senegal — fueled by rain, livestock, and mosquitoes.
🎧 on any podcast player or the website: infectiousdose.com
ALSO👇👇

#RiftValleyFever
Home | Infectious Dose
Infectious Dose is a science-forward podcast by virologist-turned-science-writer Heather McSharry, PhD, breaking down vaccine myths, viral threats, and public health headlines — one episode at a time.
infectiousdose.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:47 PM
US repubs look for 1 reason to vote for someone. Like abortion. & nothing else matters. They vote. US dems do the opposite. Look for 1 reason to not vote for someone. One criticism & nothing else matters, no vote. Candidate A is great but not perfect? Fuck em. Maybe let’s stop doing that.
November 10, 2025 at 2:15 PM