David Miles
@variolator.bsky.social
Once an immunologist who went to interesting places to do interesting things.
Now an author who writes about people who went to interesting places to do interesting things.
https://www.variolator.com/
Now an author who writes about people who went to interesting places to do interesting things.
https://www.variolator.com/
Pinned
David Miles
@variolator.bsky.social
· Jun 11
How Vaccines Work
Vaccines are a debate, whether we want them to be or not. Now more than ever, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the accusations and arguments that bloom acros...
www.littlebrown.co.uk
How did a slave, a witchfinder, an aeronautical pioneer, a tanner's son and countless scientists save our lives? Answers between the covers:
www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/david...
www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/david...
Still thinking about this. There was a study in Milan that showed installing air filtration improved attendence for less than 11 euros per day of pupil absence prevented. I wonder how much they've paid consultants for coming up with these edicts.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
All schools in England to be given AI-generated pupil attendance targets
Unions decry move, saying it will put more pressure on headteachers without tackling absence from classrooms
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Still thinking about this. There was a study in Milan that showed installing air filtration improved attendence for less than 11 euros per day of pupil absence prevented. I wonder how much they've paid consultants for coming up with these edicts.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Thanks to this article, we know that Watson & Crick didn't steal Franklin's data, although Watson boasted that he did. Long past time to stop amplifyng his boast.
And to remember that Franklin's article was published alongside Watson's and Crick's.
And to remember that Franklin's article was published alongside Watson's and Crick's.
If you believe either that Franklin discovered the double helix, and / or Watson and Crick stole her data, ask yourself how you know this. Then take a read of this article.
If I see one more stupid Rosalind Franklin take I'm going to lose my mind. Thank god for @matthewcobb.bsky.social and @nccomfort.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
November 8, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Thanks to this article, we know that Watson & Crick didn't steal Franklin's data, although Watson boasted that he did. Long past time to stop amplifyng his boast.
And to remember that Franklin's article was published alongside Watson's and Crick's.
And to remember that Franklin's article was published alongside Watson's and Crick's.
So SARS-CoV-2 rise that looked worrying a fortnight ago may have been a flash in the pan but seasonal influenza's coming in early. If what's going on in Japan is any indication, this year's winter flu is going to be a bad one.
It's vaccine and respirator mask time.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
It's vaccine and respirator mask time.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
November 7, 2025 at 4:13 PM
So SARS-CoV-2 rise that looked worrying a fortnight ago may have been a flash in the pan but seasonal influenza's coming in early. If what's going on in Japan is any indication, this year's winter flu is going to be a bad one.
It's vaccine and respirator mask time.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
It's vaccine and respirator mask time.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
A really good explanation of the difference between scientific consensus and ideological dogma, and on why people who find the former inconvenient try to dismiss it as the latter.
“Science is never settled” sounds reasonable—but it’s often a rhetorical trick to undermine consensus on issues like vaccines or climate change.
Science evolves, but some things are overwhelmingly supported by evidence.
My latest for Live Science
www.livescience.com/...
1/10
Science evolves, but some things are overwhelmingly supported by evidence.
My latest for Live Science
www.livescience.com/...
1/10
There is such a thing as 'settled science' — anyone who says otherwise is trying to manipulate you
How bad-faith arguments sow doubt by weaponizing scientific humility.
www.livescience.com
October 28, 2025 at 4:52 PM
A really good explanation of the difference between scientific consensus and ideological dogma, and on why people who find the former inconvenient try to dismiss it as the latter.
Reposted by David Miles
Quick update on Covid in England - hospital data showing that the latest significant Covid wave is - thankfully - on its way down.
This chart by @bob-hawkins.bsky.social and his substack
bhawkins3.substack.com/p/covid-situ...
This chart by @bob-hawkins.bsky.social and his substack
bhawkins3.substack.com/p/covid-situ...
October 23, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Quick update on Covid in England - hospital data showing that the latest significant Covid wave is - thankfully - on its way down.
This chart by @bob-hawkins.bsky.social and his substack
bhawkins3.substack.com/p/covid-situ...
This chart by @bob-hawkins.bsky.social and his substack
bhawkins3.substack.com/p/covid-situ...
Lookks like covid's back with a vengeance. Oh well, it's been a nice year - almost - without too much of it. Time to get the FFP2 masks out and get vaccinated if at all possible.
Thanks to @chrischirp.bsky.social for keeping an eye on it.
christinapagel.substack.com/p/england-is...
Thanks to @chrischirp.bsky.social for keeping an eye on it.
christinapagel.substack.com/p/england-is...
England is now experiencing a significant Covid wave, after 10 months of relative quiet
The latest Covid situation in England and a look at where NHS services are as we head into winter
christinapagel.substack.com
October 10, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Lookks like covid's back with a vengeance. Oh well, it's been a nice year - almost - without too much of it. Time to get the FFP2 masks out and get vaccinated if at all possible.
Thanks to @chrischirp.bsky.social for keeping an eye on it.
christinapagel.substack.com/p/england-is...
Thanks to @chrischirp.bsky.social for keeping an eye on it.
christinapagel.substack.com/p/england-is...
"I remember when children were sent home from school with headlice. Now, they’re encouraged to attend school with a dangerous virus."
A child's 2nd infection is more likely to cause long covid than their 1st. The 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc don't bear thinking about.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
A child's 2nd infection is more likely to cause long covid than their 1st. The 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc don't bear thinking about.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
October 3, 2025 at 5:18 PM
"I remember when children were sent home from school with headlice. Now, they’re encouraged to attend school with a dangerous virus."
A child's 2nd infection is more likely to cause long covid than their 1st. The 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc don't bear thinking about.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
A child's 2nd infection is more likely to cause long covid than their 1st. The 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc don't bear thinking about.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Please don't take this seriously. The functional unit of a vaccine is the antigen. A child can handle up to a million at a time. Each bacterium living in the human gut has several thousand. No vaccination has more than 200.
This is a man who has never taken his own children to be vaccinated.
This is a man who has never taken his own children to be vaccinated.
Trump: "It's too much liquid. Too many different things are going into that baby at too big a number. The size of this thing when you look at it. It's like 80 different vaccines and beyond vaccines."
September 24, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Please don't take this seriously. The functional unit of a vaccine is the antigen. A child can handle up to a million at a time. Each bacterium living in the human gut has several thousand. No vaccination has more than 200.
This is a man who has never taken his own children to be vaccinated.
This is a man who has never taken his own children to be vaccinated.
I suppose I should be happy that the emergency test actually worked this time but why did it need to come in the voice of Elon Musk's robot girlfriend?
And can anyone tell me whether the Welsh it lapsed into was as bad as I think it was? pretty sure that's not how to pronounce 'Cymraeg'!
And can anyone tell me whether the Welsh it lapsed into was as bad as I think it was? pretty sure that's not how to pronounce 'Cymraeg'!
September 7, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I suppose I should be happy that the emergency test actually worked this time but why did it need to come in the voice of Elon Musk's robot girlfriend?
And can anyone tell me whether the Welsh it lapsed into was as bad as I think it was? pretty sure that's not how to pronounce 'Cymraeg'!
And can anyone tell me whether the Welsh it lapsed into was as bad as I think it was? pretty sure that's not how to pronounce 'Cymraeg'!
As recommended by the JCVI nearly two years ago and as the USA has been doing for about 30 years.
Better late than never.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Better late than never.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Children offered chickenpox vaccine on NHS
All young children in England and Wales will be offered a free chickenpox vaccine by the NHS from January 2026.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 29, 2025 at 8:40 AM
As recommended by the JCVI nearly two years ago and as the USA has been doing for about 30 years.
Better late than never.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Better late than never.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Saw a copy of this in St Panras Station WH Smiths yesterday. A spectral chap called Richard kept tapping the subtitle and saying, "You mean the LATEST rise and fall of the House of York".
Then he demanded a horse.
Then he demanded a horse.
August 27, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Saw a copy of this in St Panras Station WH Smiths yesterday. A spectral chap called Richard kept tapping the subtitle and saying, "You mean the LATEST rise and fall of the House of York".
Then he demanded a horse.
Then he demanded a horse.
If it smells like a quack, it quacks like a quack and it ducks like a quack when challenged, it's probably working for RFK Jr.
It's frustrating becauseimportant questions around autism going unanswered while these quacks pretend vaccines have anything to do with it.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
It's frustrating becauseimportant questions around autism going unanswered while these quacks pretend vaccines have anything to do with it.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism
Data can easily be manipulated to show causation that doesn’t exist.
www.nytimes.com
August 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM
If it smells like a quack, it quacks like a quack and it ducks like a quack when challenged, it's probably working for RFK Jr.
It's frustrating becauseimportant questions around autism going unanswered while these quacks pretend vaccines have anything to do with it.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
It's frustrating becauseimportant questions around autism going unanswered while these quacks pretend vaccines have anything to do with it.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
The day the Beeb broke Betteridge's law of headlines.
Is a spade a spade? Is the pope a catholic? Is this a picture of a man who can't be trusted with a dead dolphin, his babysitter or decisions that will affect millions of people?
Same answer.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Is a spade a spade? Is the pope a catholic? Is this a picture of a man who can't be trusted with a dead dolphin, his babysitter or decisions that will affect millions of people?
Same answer.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Could RFK Jr's move to pull mRNA vaccine funding be a huge miscalculation?
The US is withdrawing $500m for vaccines for diseases like flu and Covid. Health correspondent James Gallagher asks if it's the right call.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 6, 2025 at 8:59 PM
The day the Beeb broke Betteridge's law of headlines.
Is a spade a spade? Is the pope a catholic? Is this a picture of a man who can't be trusted with a dead dolphin, his babysitter or decisions that will affect millions of people?
Same answer.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Is a spade a spade? Is the pope a catholic? Is this a picture of a man who can't be trusted with a dead dolphin, his babysitter or decisions that will affect millions of people?
Same answer.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Interesting to get a view of his home and family life. There's so much information about his work on vaccines but far less about Hilleman outside Merck.
Dr. Maurice Hilleman, an American scientist born in 1919, is credited with saving 8 million lives every year. “Maurice Hilleman: The Man behind the Science,”
A fantastic tool for educators.
Full film on the Vaccine Makers Project YouTube channel:
tinyurl.com/nk8h2a4j
#NIAM2025
A fantastic tool for educators.
Full film on the Vaccine Makers Project YouTube channel:
tinyurl.com/nk8h2a4j
#NIAM2025
Maurice Hilleman, The Man behind the Science - Vaccine Makers Project
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
tinyurl.com
August 5, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Interesting to get a view of his home and family life. There's so much information about his work on vaccines but far less about Hilleman outside Merck.
Looks like our few months of respite from covid waves is about to end. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
Thanks to @chrischirp.bsky.social for keeping track of the little so-and-so.
christinapagel.substack.com/p/latest-cov...
Thanks to @chrischirp.bsky.social for keeping track of the little so-and-so.
christinapagel.substack.com/p/latest-cov...
Latest Covid variants and outlook for UK summer
There probably will be a Covid summer wave.
christinapagel.substack.com
May 26, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Looks like our few months of respite from covid waves is about to end. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
Thanks to @chrischirp.bsky.social for keeping track of the little so-and-so.
christinapagel.substack.com/p/latest-cov...
Thanks to @chrischirp.bsky.social for keeping track of the little so-and-so.
christinapagel.substack.com/p/latest-cov...
Tickets prepped for tomorrow's trip to speak at Pint of Science in Colchester. I'll be talking cheerful subjects like smallpox, rabies and mRNA vaccines right in the footsteps of Boudicca.
pintofscience.co.uk/event/the-in...
pintofscience.co.uk/event/the-in...
The Ingenious Community
Our lives are dictated by the turn of the wheel. Through the centuries, evolution of our healthcare has progressed and given us the tools to survive, but h…
pintofscience.co.uk
May 19, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Tickets prepped for tomorrow's trip to speak at Pint of Science in Colchester. I'll be talking cheerful subjects like smallpox, rabies and mRNA vaccines right in the footsteps of Boudicca.
pintofscience.co.uk/event/the-in...
pintofscience.co.uk/event/the-in...
A couple of days before I talk about how chickens in Paris and self-inoculation with cholera led us to modern vaccination.
Livestream link below.
Livestream link below.
📢🧪 Join us this week to hear from David Miles about the pioneers of #vaccinology and how they paved the way for today’s #vaccine technology and impact on #PublicHealth.
🗓️ 8 May 2025
📍LSHTM | Online
🔗 bit.ly/44h1hKM
🗓️ 8 May 2025
📍LSHTM | Online
🔗 bit.ly/44h1hKM
May 6, 2025 at 10:42 AM
A couple of days before I talk about how chickens in Paris and self-inoculation with cholera led us to modern vaccination.
Livestream link below.
Livestream link below.
Nearly 80 since the precursor to the measles vaccine was isolated from an infirmary full of semi-conscious children in Boston and a crazy old man thinks the sick kids were the best part of the story.
Some days I really miss the enlightenment.
Some days I really miss the enlightenment.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will direct federal health agencies to explore potential new treatments for measles as the U.S. faces its largest outbreak in 25 years. Experts fear the decision could have grave consequences, as studies show the existing vaccine is 97% effective in preventing infection.
RFK Jr. Orders Search for New Measles Treatments Instead of Urging Vaccination
Decades of research have turned up no miracle treatment for measles, but studies show the M.M.R. shot is 97 percent effective in preventing the disease.
www.nytimes.com
May 3, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Nearly 80 since the precursor to the measles vaccine was isolated from an infirmary full of semi-conscious children in Boston and a crazy old man thinks the sick kids were the best part of the story.
Some days I really miss the enlightenment.
Some days I really miss the enlightenment.
Here's me pontificating about the 1918 pandemic, the vaccines made by a brilliant virologist (and terrible poet) and other matters influenzal .
Many thanks to @rmatheists.bsky.social for hosting it.
Many thanks to @rmatheists.bsky.social for hosting it.
WeCanReason Webinar - Influenza: from the Spanish lady to the winter sniffle video released
rockymountainatheists.ca/post/wecanre...
#RockyMountainAtheists #rma #WesternCanadaReason #wecanreason #freedomfromreligion #criticalthinking #skeptics #science
rockymountainatheists.ca/post/wecanre...
#RockyMountainAtheists #rma #WesternCanadaReason #wecanreason #freedomfromreligion #criticalthinking #skeptics #science
WeCanReason Webinar - Influenza: from the Spanish lady to the winter sniffle video released - Rocky Mountain Atheists
https://youtu.be/ie7OWLRiSQM In 1918, an influenza pandemic killed more people than the First World War. The disease was called the Spanish Lady, among
rockymountainatheists.ca
April 26, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Here's me pontificating about the 1918 pandemic, the vaccines made by a brilliant virologist (and terrible poet) and other matters influenzal .
Many thanks to @rmatheists.bsky.social for hosting it.
Many thanks to @rmatheists.bsky.social for hosting it.
I'll be spending the evening talking in Reading. Typing that makes me expect someone to say 'shhh' but I shall persevere with the story of how Pearl Kendrick and a Great Depression-hit city invented a whooping cough vaccine we still use today.
www.meetup.com/chalk-scribb...
www.meetup.com/chalk-scribb...
*ONLINE* Chalk Scribblers writers' critique group and social, Sat, Mar 8, 2025, 10:00 AM | Meetup
Would you like to join a group of writers exchanging constructive criticism of one of our works in progress?
For every session, one of our members shares a story, chapter
www.meetup.com
March 4, 2025 at 9:50 AM
I'll be spending the evening talking in Reading. Typing that makes me expect someone to say 'shhh' but I shall persevere with the story of how Pearl Kendrick and a Great Depression-hit city invented a whooping cough vaccine we still use today.
www.meetup.com/chalk-scribb...
www.meetup.com/chalk-scribb...
Getting into practice to talk about whooping cough vaccines in Lincoln on Tuesday. Always nice to discuss the reason why millions of children haven't died.
lincolnartscentre.co.uk/event/cafe-s...
lincolnartscentre.co.uk/event/cafe-s...
Cafe Scientifique | Feb - Lincoln Arts Centre
A hundred years ago, whooping cough killed more than one in every hundred children born in...
lincolnartscentre.co.uk
February 8, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Getting into practice to talk about whooping cough vaccines in Lincoln on Tuesday. Always nice to discuss the reason why millions of children haven't died.
lincolnartscentre.co.uk/event/cafe-s...
lincolnartscentre.co.uk/event/cafe-s...
This sums up how I feel about... well, everything at the moment. All in 10 minutes. Thank you @writereralk.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
A Point of View - The Overwhelm - BBC Sounds
AL Kennedy reflects on chaos, noise and 'the overwhelm'.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 5, 2025 at 11:18 PM
This sums up how I feel about... well, everything at the moment. All in 10 minutes. Thank you @writereralk.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Heading to Yorkshire to talk influenza with Beverley Cafe Sci tomorrow. If someone could distract the train gremlins, it would be much appreciated.
cafescientifique.org/uk/beverley
cafescientifique.org/uk/beverley
Beverley – Cafe Scientifique
cafescientifique.org
January 26, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Heading to Yorkshire to talk influenza with Beverley Cafe Sci tomorrow. If someone could distract the train gremlins, it would be much appreciated.
cafescientifique.org/uk/beverley
cafescientifique.org/uk/beverley
Looking forward to heading back to Abingdon next week. Hope the ATOM crowd isn't too tired of my talks by now!
Less than a week until our first talk of 2025! With the recent cold weather it's very timely that we'll be hearing from @variolator.bsky.social about Influenza: from the Spanish Lady to the Winter Sniffle. We hope to see you there!
January 16, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Looking forward to heading back to Abingdon next week. Hope the ATOM crowd isn't too tired of my talks by now!
How Vaccines Work is finally available in the USA and Canada. So far, paperback and kindle editions only. Audio version to come.
It's the sort of book that RFK Jr really doesn't want you to read.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0DS19PXHF
It's the sort of book that RFK Jr really doesn't want you to read.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0DS19PXHF
How Vaccines Work: The Science and History Behind Every Question You've Wanted to Ask
Buy How Vaccines Work: The Science and History Behind Every Question You've Wanted to Ask: Read Books Reviews - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
January 8, 2025 at 2:38 PM
How Vaccines Work is finally available in the USA and Canada. So far, paperback and kindle editions only. Audio version to come.
It's the sort of book that RFK Jr really doesn't want you to read.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0DS19PXHF
It's the sort of book that RFK Jr really doesn't want you to read.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0DS19PXHF