Steve Valeika DVM PhD
@zoonotic1.bsky.social
DVM (UGA 01) | PhD (UNC 08) | Small Animal Vet | Recovering Academic | Infectious Disease Epi | ID and Public Health consultant for the Veterinary Information Network | Board member for Buncombe County Health Dept. | Family Guy | Son of an immigrant
It’s because they think that 100% of the harms from the pandemic were from the response rather than the virus. And not just the public health response, but the response of HCW’s who put their lives on the line too. And also 👇
It’s extra crazy because if they were to truly institute an actual plan of focused protection a la GBD, it would require an incredibly complex and granular level of detail and planning—beyond them just saying the words “focused protection” over and over with no actionable details.
February 13, 2026 at 8:28 PM
It’s because they think that 100% of the harms from the pandemic were from the response rather than the virus. And not just the public health response, but the response of HCW’s who put their lives on the line too. And also 👇
It’s extra crazy because if they were to truly institute an actual plan of focused protection a la GBD, it would require an incredibly complex and granular level of detail and planning—beyond them just saying the words “focused protection” over and over with no actionable details.
February 13, 2026 at 8:19 PM
It’s extra crazy because if they were to truly institute an actual plan of focused protection a la GBD, it would require an incredibly complex and granular level of detail and planning—beyond them just saying the words “focused protection” over and over with no actionable details.
Reposted by Steve Valeika DVM PhD
It was the deepest honor to announce February 12 as DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS DAY in Athens and honor the band from the stage of the Fabulous 40 Watt Club. LET THERE BE ROCK!
February 13, 2026 at 12:17 PM
It was the deepest honor to announce February 12 as DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS DAY in Athens and honor the band from the stage of the Fabulous 40 Watt Club. LET THERE BE ROCK!
It would be refreshing if he was talking about his past addictions in explicit terms, how he overcame them, and how he is using his position to help others recover. Instead this administration has massively cut evidence-based treatments, and he is stating this to further his germ theory denialism.
February 13, 2026 at 2:31 PM
It would be refreshing if he was talking about his past addictions in explicit terms, how he overcame them, and how he is using his position to help others recover. Instead this administration has massively cut evidence-based treatments, and he is stating this to further his germ theory denialism.
This is a wallpaper sample for the bathroom. That’s supposedly a fire hydrant. 🤔
February 13, 2026 at 2:25 PM
This is a wallpaper sample for the bathroom. That’s supposedly a fire hydrant. 🤔
Emergency puppy repost.
Have you ever smooshed a 7 week old Cairn Terrier against your face? It’s incredibly therapeutic.
February 12, 2026 at 11:28 PM
Emergency puppy repost.
Glad you got the reference. In the hundreds of arrested development gifs available none were from that one.
February 12, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Glad you got the reference. In the hundreds of arrested development gifs available none were from that one.
Needs either a codpiece or Jean shorts to be authentic.
February 12, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Needs either a codpiece or Jean shorts to be authentic.
Yeah. For 20 years the only “new developments” were things like 1/2 ml vaccines or the transdermal FeLv vaccine that you shot into cats with a device that sounded like a gunshot. Pure hype. That’s why I’m kind of psyched about this one. It’s actually new.
February 12, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Yeah. For 20 years the only “new developments” were things like 1/2 ml vaccines or the transdermal FeLv vaccine that you shot into cats with a device that sounded like a gunshot. Pure hype. That’s why I’m kind of psyched about this one. It’s actually new.
Spell check changed “transfect” to “transfer” up there.
February 12, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Spell check changed “transfect” to “transfer” up there.
Finally, you can use the replicon without packaging it in a viral vector at all. It can be packaged in LNPs, endosomes etc. the saRNA means that a single replicon generates up to 10^6 copies of the gene. Rabies vaccine was immunizing with 1 ug of LNP-replicon in a human trial.
February 12, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Finally, you can use the replicon without packaging it in a viral vector at all. It can be packaged in LNPs, endosomes etc. the saRNA means that a single replicon generates up to 10^6 copies of the gene. Rabies vaccine was immunizing with 1 ug of LNP-replicon in a human trial.
…on a single plasmid, there were rare instances of the VSPs and GOI swapping leading to replication competent vectors. Doesn’t happen with the 2 plasmid method. Also, the VSPs are from an attenuated VEEV strain that is already used as a vaccine in horses. 2/3
February 12, 2026 at 2:54 PM
…on a single plasmid, there were rare instances of the VSPs and GOI swapping leading to replication competent vectors. Doesn’t happen with the 2 plasmid method. Also, the VSPs are from an attenuated VEEV strain that is already used as a vaccine in horses. 2/3
They’ve been studying these since 1987. The replication issue is pretty well worked out. They transfer cells with two plasmids, one with the replicon (polymerase plus GOI), the other with vital structural proteins. Magic of molecular biology creates non replicating vector. When they put everything…
February 12, 2026 at 2:54 PM
They’ve been studying these since 1987. The replication issue is pretty well worked out. They transfer cells with two plasmids, one with the replicon (polymerase plus GOI), the other with vital structural proteins. Magic of molecular biology creates non replicating vector. When they put everything…
Have you ever smooshed a 7 week old Cairn Terrier against your face? It’s incredibly therapeutic.
February 12, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Have you ever smooshed a 7 week old Cairn Terrier against your face? It’s incredibly therapeutic.
That’s some strong Tapetum game right there.
February 12, 2026 at 2:25 PM
That’s some strong Tapetum game right there.
I know about Eiderdowns because they appear in the lyrics of THREE Pink Floyd songs.
February 12, 2026 at 2:12 PM
I know about Eiderdowns because they appear in the lyrics of THREE Pink Floyd songs.
I get that. But they admit in the article there’s no easy fix, can’t remove that antigen from the vector. It ranks as easily one of the most gruesome side effects I can think of from a vaccine.
February 12, 2026 at 2:02 PM
I get that. But they admit in the article there’s no easy fix, can’t remove that antigen from the vector. It ranks as easily one of the most gruesome side effects I can think of from a vaccine.
So much awesome stuff out there. Hopefully our anti-science NIH doesn’t pull the plug on it. The nice thing about vector vaccines is they are essentially mRNA vaccines, but you don’t have to tell anyone! Merck is calling them
RNA particle vaccines which seems like a marketing self shot to the foot.
RNA particle vaccines which seems like a marketing self shot to the foot.
February 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM
So much awesome stuff out there. Hopefully our anti-science NIH doesn’t pull the plug on it. The nice thing about vector vaccines is they are essentially mRNA vaccines, but you don’t have to tell anyone! Merck is calling them
RNA particle vaccines which seems like a marketing self shot to the foot.
RNA particle vaccines which seems like a marketing self shot to the foot.
Those are also really cool. Especially the ability to target specific cell types. Viral vectors are nice for vaccines because they stimulate innate immunity really well. The non-replicating VEEV vector in these new vaccines I use also target dendritic cells, which is pretty cool.
February 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Those are also really cool. Especially the ability to target specific cell types. Viral vectors are nice for vaccines because they stimulate innate immunity really well. The non-replicating VEEV vector in these new vaccines I use also target dendritic cells, which is pretty cool.
Remains to be seen, but the alphavirus replicon vaccines using a VEEV vector seem to make a lot more antigen with a lot less “stuff” in the vial. Very small head to head data of alphavirus replicon vs canarypox FeLV shows superiority of the former. But, that’s according to manufacturer, small n
February 12, 2026 at 5:32 AM
Remains to be seen, but the alphavirus replicon vaccines using a VEEV vector seem to make a lot more antigen with a lot less “stuff” in the vial. Very small head to head data of alphavirus replicon vs canarypox FeLV shows superiority of the former. But, that’s according to manufacturer, small n
Will be doing a thread soon on the VEEV vector vaccines we are already using in dogs and cats for influenza, feline leukemia virus and rabies.
February 12, 2026 at 3:50 AM
Will be doing a thread soon on the VEEV vector vaccines we are already using in dogs and cats for influenza, feline leukemia virus and rabies.
Great work. Also begs the question of whether this is a viable platform going forward. Why use a DNA virus at all? Requires an extra inefficient step to make antigens. And it require a lot of vector. I’m putting my money in alphavirus vectors. That replicon is crazy efficient at producing antigen.
February 12, 2026 at 3:50 AM
Great work. Also begs the question of whether this is a viable platform going forward. Why use a DNA virus at all? Requires an extra inefficient step to make antigens. And it require a lot of vector. I’m putting my money in alphavirus vectors. That replicon is crazy efficient at producing antigen.