Tishya Venkatraman
@tishyav.bsky.social
Principal epidemiologist @UKHSA (prev academic at NIHR, Imperial, UCL). Vaccine preventable diseases. Surveillance. Health equity.
London via Bombay.
Swimming, cooking, fiction, running (in that order)
All views are entirely my own
London via Bombay.
Swimming, cooking, fiction, running (in that order)
All views are entirely my own
Relying on personal nutrition and exercise as the main pandemic strategy is a nice idea, but it leaves huge swaths of the pop exposed. Individual agency just isn’t equitable! people don’t all have the same time, resources etc to ‘optimise’ themselves to safety
www.theatlantic.com/health/2025/...
www.theatlantic.com/health/2025/...
RFK Jr.’s Miasma Theory of Health Is Spreading
The agency is picking up Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s argument that a healthy immune system can keep even pandemic germs at bay.
www.theatlantic.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Relying on personal nutrition and exercise as the main pandemic strategy is a nice idea, but it leaves huge swaths of the pop exposed. Individual agency just isn’t equitable! people don’t all have the same time, resources etc to ‘optimise’ themselves to safety
www.theatlantic.com/health/2025/...
www.theatlantic.com/health/2025/...
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
You cant parachute asylum seekers into deprived areas, in completely inappropriate housing, then say those migrants are 'dividing our country'. You divided the country because you can't organise a basic service and process claims in a timely way
November 16, 2025 at 9:28 AM
You cant parachute asylum seekers into deprived areas, in completely inappropriate housing, then say those migrants are 'dividing our country'. You divided the country because you can't organise a basic service and process claims in a timely way
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
Kids rely on adults for safety, but when adults & governments are intentionally spreading anti-vax misinformation, or actively reducing access to essential vaccines, who is to protect kids and safeguard their rights?
@statnews.com with @stefanswartpet.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/c...
@statnews.com with @stefanswartpet.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/c...
Kids have a right to vaccinations. Let's bring in the lawyers
Children suffering from diseases that should have been consigned to history is a moral failure. Access to vaccines is a human right.
www.statnews.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Kids rely on adults for safety, but when adults & governments are intentionally spreading anti-vax misinformation, or actively reducing access to essential vaccines, who is to protect kids and safeguard their rights?
@statnews.com with @stefanswartpet.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/c...
@statnews.com with @stefanswartpet.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/c...
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
Important to understand the Epstein stuff and the fascism and the corruption are, in a lot of ways, really all the same story from different angles: powerful men who can and do abuse vulnerable people around them because they can, and because systems of elite accountability catastrophically failed
November 12, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Important to understand the Epstein stuff and the fascism and the corruption are, in a lot of ways, really all the same story from different angles: powerful men who can and do abuse vulnerable people around them because they can, and because systems of elite accountability catastrophically failed
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
"Others were dismayed by an apparent ignorance... about the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict. At a fractious meeting... the CEO of BBC News told colleagues: “We’ve got to remember that this all started on 7 October.""
Fascinating read from @trillingual.bsky.social at @equatormag.bsky.social
Fascinating read from @trillingual.bsky.social at @equatormag.bsky.social
Inside the BBC’s Gaza Fiasco • Articles • EQUATOR
How the world’s most trusted media organisation fell apart
www.equator.org
November 13, 2025 at 4:43 PM
"Others were dismayed by an apparent ignorance... about the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict. At a fractious meeting... the CEO of BBC News told colleagues: “We’ve got to remember that this all started on 7 October.""
Fascinating read from @trillingual.bsky.social at @equatormag.bsky.social
Fascinating read from @trillingual.bsky.social at @equatormag.bsky.social
I was called “anti national” today. for so many of us, our Indian lineage can be celebrated only if you bow to Modi, embrace Hindutva, don’t utter the words Dalit, Ayodhya 92 or Gujarat 02, don’t mention anti muslim hate, don’t question power and pretend dissent is somehow a threat to the nation
November 13, 2025 at 8:48 PM
I was called “anti national” today. for so many of us, our Indian lineage can be celebrated only if you bow to Modi, embrace Hindutva, don’t utter the words Dalit, Ayodhya 92 or Gujarat 02, don’t mention anti muslim hate, don’t question power and pretend dissent is somehow a threat to the nation
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
In rural Liberia, reaching every child means crossing rivers by raft and navigating miles of dangerous, mud-slicked roads. But due to a lack of funding, many of these vaccinators do it without pay. 🧵
November 13, 2025 at 1:00 PM
In rural Liberia, reaching every child means crossing rivers by raft and navigating miles of dangerous, mud-slicked roads. But due to a lack of funding, many of these vaccinators do it without pay. 🧵
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
A great interview with Professor Mahmood Mamdani in which he discusses his new memoir, the shortcomings of the boycott as a political tool and its implementation in the anti colonial movement, academic freedom, libraries, and the relationship between scholarship and politics.
No talk of Zohran!
No talk of Zohran!
Mahmood Mamdani Doesn’t Want to Talk About Zohran
The Columbia scholar, and father of the mayor-elect, on politics, academe, and antisemitism.
www.chronicle.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:33 AM
A great interview with Professor Mahmood Mamdani in which he discusses his new memoir, the shortcomings of the boycott as a political tool and its implementation in the anti colonial movement, academic freedom, libraries, and the relationship between scholarship and politics.
No talk of Zohran!
No talk of Zohran!
Some extraordinary work here By Freja and co. We are seeing an early flu season with a drifted strain currently but early vaccine effectiveness data are encouraging! Get your flu jab! www.gov.uk/government/p...
Pre-print: Early influenza virus characterisation and vaccine effectiveness in England in autumn 2025
New data on early influenza virus characterisation and vaccine effectiveness in England in autumn 2025, a period dominated by influenza A(H3N2) subclade K.
www.gov.uk
November 12, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Some extraordinary work here By Freja and co. We are seeing an early flu season with a drifted strain currently but early vaccine effectiveness data are encouraging! Get your flu jab! www.gov.uk/government/p...
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
EVERY left-leaning media outlet contributes to this—most are instigators.
+ most Dem politicians, especially ones who pass legislation sponsored by groups like EWG.
Selective science denialism crosses ALL ideologies —bc strong opinions replace logic even with those who think they follow data.
2/
+ most Dem politicians, especially ones who pass legislation sponsored by groups like EWG.
Selective science denialism crosses ALL ideologies —bc strong opinions replace logic even with those who think they follow data.
2/
October 7, 2025 at 1:25 AM
EVERY left-leaning media outlet contributes to this—most are instigators.
+ most Dem politicians, especially ones who pass legislation sponsored by groups like EWG.
Selective science denialism crosses ALL ideologies —bc strong opinions replace logic even with those who think they follow data.
2/
+ most Dem politicians, especially ones who pass legislation sponsored by groups like EWG.
Selective science denialism crosses ALL ideologies —bc strong opinions replace logic even with those who think they follow data.
2/
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
Another risk of a vax-hesitent population: folks don't realize they're missing vaccines.
Those in this story found out after enlisting in the military or starting hc jobs that require proof of immunity, or the hard way - by catching vax-preventable diseases.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Those in this story found out after enlisting in the military or starting hc jobs that require proof of immunity, or the hard way - by catching vax-preventable diseases.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Their parents never got them vaccinated. As young adults, they faced a choice.
Falling vaccination rates around the country mean more will grow up without protection from debilitating diseases until they are old enough to decide for themselves, typically at age 18.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 5, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Another risk of a vax-hesitent population: folks don't realize they're missing vaccines.
Those in this story found out after enlisting in the military or starting hc jobs that require proof of immunity, or the hard way - by catching vax-preventable diseases.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Those in this story found out after enlisting in the military or starting hc jobs that require proof of immunity, or the hard way - by catching vax-preventable diseases.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
I don't know where this revisionism has come from about the suffragettes - people saying "if the suffragettes were around today, they'd be considered terrorists."
The suffragettes were arrested and tortured, sexually assaulted and beaten by the state. They *were* considered terrorists!
The suffragettes were arrested and tortured, sexually assaulted and beaten by the state. They *were* considered terrorists!
October 4, 2025 at 3:49 PM
I don't know where this revisionism has come from about the suffragettes - people saying "if the suffragettes were around today, they'd be considered terrorists."
The suffragettes were arrested and tortured, sexually assaulted and beaten by the state. They *were* considered terrorists!
The suffragettes were arrested and tortured, sexually assaulted and beaten by the state. They *were* considered terrorists!
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
🎨 Theming got a huge overhaul with the latest #ggplot2 release. In honour of that @teunbrand.bsky.social has written a comprehensive deep-dive into styling your plots, covering both old and new functionality. Grab a coffee and dive in!
#rstats
#rstats
ggplot2 styling
This post discusses one function in ggplot2: `theme()`. Find out about the glamour of graphics in this deep-dive article.
www.tidyverse.org
October 1, 2025 at 8:10 AM
🎨 Theming got a huge overhaul with the latest #ggplot2 release. In honour of that @teunbrand.bsky.social has written a comprehensive deep-dive into styling your plots, covering both old and new functionality. Grab a coffee and dive in!
#rstats
#rstats
I really struggle to understand what the endgame is for seriously damaging the health of your population. Yes it will disproportionately affect women and children but it impacts everybody. What is the intended goal?
September 24, 2025 at 8:56 AM
I really struggle to understand what the endgame is for seriously damaging the health of your population. Yes it will disproportionately affect women and children but it impacts everybody. What is the intended goal?
Sign up here! Polio continues to remain a very very real threat
Clinicians & laboratory staff can register for a free online webinar on acute flaccid paralysis and myelitis, run next month by UKHSA, NHSE & MHRA.
Sign up here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/3cf12d5d-02a7-4ffc-b846-746ec8833ba9@ee4e1499-4a35-4b2e-ad47-5f3cf9de8666
Sign up here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/3cf12d5d-02a7-4ffc-b846-746ec8833ba9@ee4e1499-4a35-4b2e-ad47-5f3cf9de8666
September 23, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Sign up here! Polio continues to remain a very very real threat
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
the most important thing to remember when you see eugenicists who don’t believe that autistic people should exist rambling about “the autism epidemic” is not that they’re wrong about the “cause” (although they are absolutely wrong about it); it’s that they are eugenicists
September 23, 2025 at 5:20 PM
the most important thing to remember when you see eugenicists who don’t believe that autistic people should exist rambling about “the autism epidemic” is not that they’re wrong about the “cause” (although they are absolutely wrong about it); it’s that they are eugenicists
It’s easy to disregard the value of vaccines and modern medicine and science when 9 out of 10 of your siblings didn’t die prematurely. How do we convey that to people - that the absence of tragedy is not the absence of risk
August 22, 2025 at 12:04 PM
It’s easy to disregard the value of vaccines and modern medicine and science when 9 out of 10 of your siblings didn’t die prematurely. How do we convey that to people - that the absence of tragedy is not the absence of risk
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
May this portion of the dissent by Ketanji Brown Jackson haunt John Roberts forever and be the final word on his tenure as Chief Justice.
August 21, 2025 at 9:43 PM
May this portion of the dissent by Ketanji Brown Jackson haunt John Roberts forever and be the final word on his tenure as Chief Justice.
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
🗨️ “The stagnation and reversals of progress for women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health...are devastating and enraging.”
Helen Clark and Rajat Khosla outline how @pmnch.bsky.social is doubling down on its strengths: bit.ly/45tItXB
Helen Clark and Rajat Khosla outline how @pmnch.bsky.social is doubling down on its strengths: bit.ly/45tItXB
The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health: 2026–30 strategy
We are witnessing a cascade of global crises on every front. War and devastation in
Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine, and forgotten conflicts elsewhere that are rarely acknowledged.
Climate-related disasters ...
www.thelancet.com
August 12, 2025 at 11:53 AM
🗨️ “The stagnation and reversals of progress for women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health...are devastating and enraging.”
Helen Clark and Rajat Khosla outline how @pmnch.bsky.social is doubling down on its strengths: bit.ly/45tItXB
Helen Clark and Rajat Khosla outline how @pmnch.bsky.social is doubling down on its strengths: bit.ly/45tItXB
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
Wondering whose White House job it is to protect Americans from bio threats - and why that matters? As of this week, it is *nobody's* full-time job. Here is what that means for all of us. Thanks to Jon Finer & @spsaki.bsky.social who lay it out with me here: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
No One in the White House Knows How to Stop Ebola
We had a playbook for handling biothreats. Then Trump pushed out the people who knew how to use it.
www.theatlantic.com
August 11, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Wondering whose White House job it is to protect Americans from bio threats - and why that matters? As of this week, it is *nobody's* full-time job. Here is what that means for all of us. Thanks to Jon Finer & @spsaki.bsky.social who lay it out with me here: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
Trying to change the population is creepy and dangerous, full stop. But pronatalism is also wrong on the science, particularly the US brand of it. Here's a nice explainer on some of its more egregious logical flaws.
From @lesja.bsky.social @karenguzzo.bsky.social and @shelleydclark.bsky.social
From @lesja.bsky.social @karenguzzo.bsky.social and @shelleydclark.bsky.social
Fears that falling birth rates in US could lead to population collapse are based on faulty assumptions
While the changes in population structure that accompany low birth rates are real, the impact of these changes has been dramatically overstated.
theconversation.com
August 7, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Trying to change the population is creepy and dangerous, full stop. But pronatalism is also wrong on the science, particularly the US brand of it. Here's a nice explainer on some of its more egregious logical flaws.
From @lesja.bsky.social @karenguzzo.bsky.social and @shelleydclark.bsky.social
From @lesja.bsky.social @karenguzzo.bsky.social and @shelleydclark.bsky.social
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
I would real the hell out of this. I suspect it's linked to what Jefferson Cowie describes in FREEDOM'S DOMINION: a perverse notion of "liberty" rooted in oppression. "Personal responsibility" becomes the freedom to be reckless with not only one's own health, but others.
August 4, 2025 at 11:30 AM
I would real the hell out of this. I suspect it's linked to what Jefferson Cowie describes in FREEDOM'S DOMINION: a perverse notion of "liberty" rooted in oppression. "Personal responsibility" becomes the freedom to be reckless with not only one's own health, but others.
Reposted by Tishya Venkatraman
NEW PAPER in @bmj.com "Dealing with continuous variables and modelling non-linear associations in healthcare data: practical guide"
--> www.bmj.com/content/390/...
#methodologymatters #StatsSky #EpiSky
--> www.bmj.com/content/390/...
#methodologymatters #StatsSky #EpiSky
July 16, 2025 at 11:59 AM
NEW PAPER in @bmj.com "Dealing with continuous variables and modelling non-linear associations in healthcare data: practical guide"
--> www.bmj.com/content/390/...
#methodologymatters #StatsSky #EpiSky
--> www.bmj.com/content/390/...
#methodologymatters #StatsSky #EpiSky