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
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!
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.
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.
Reposted by Steve Valeika DVM PhD
A PhD candidate at Harvard Nutrition steps forward, head bowed. Walter Willett, dressed in full regalia, solemnly reaches into two fishbowls. One is full of slips of paper with nutrients/foods on them. The other, diseases. The random pair he withdraws is their dissertation topic. *Trumpets sound*
February 11, 2026 at 10:52 AM
A PhD candidate at Harvard Nutrition steps forward, head bowed. Walter Willett, dressed in full regalia, solemnly reaches into two fishbowls. One is full of slips of paper with nutrients/foods on them. The other, diseases. The random pair he withdraws is their dissertation topic. *Trumpets sound*
Reposted by Steve Valeika DVM PhD
NEW: The FDA just shot down Moderna's new flu shot. From me:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
FDA declines to review Moderna application for new flu vaccine
Moderna requests meeting to discuss refusal as decision could have implications for all new and updated vaccines
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 11:52 PM
NEW: The FDA just shot down Moderna's new flu shot. From me:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Here’s a reporter who can’t tell the difference between “important details” and “unsupported allegations.” I wonder what several months of uncrontrolled spread of a virus with R0~3 and a 0.5% CFR would have looked like in a city of 13 million people 🤔
Some important details from Robert Redfield here: Covid started in the summer of 2019*, which nukes the “wet market” natural origin timeline
And the head of the Chinese CDC told him in early Jan. they had hundreds of cases and it “had nothing to do with the wet market.” Redfield understood that...
And the head of the Chinese CDC told him in early Jan. they had hundreds of cases and it “had nothing to do with the wet market.” Redfield understood that...
February 11, 2026 at 1:18 AM
Here’s a reporter who can’t tell the difference between “important details” and “unsupported allegations.” I wonder what several months of uncrontrolled spread of a virus with R0~3 and a 0.5% CFR would have looked like in a city of 13 million people 🤔
Reposted by Steve Valeika DVM PhD
TrumpRx so far seems all sizzle, no steak. It only lists *43* medications, more than half of which are available in generic form at significantly cheaper prices elsewhere. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Trump Rx prescription drug site ‘not a solution’ for many patients, experts say
New website lists only limited number of medications – and many of them cost less in generic form elsewhere
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 2:35 PM
TrumpRx so far seems all sizzle, no steak. It only lists *43* medications, more than half of which are available in generic form at significantly cheaper prices elsewhere. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
By executive order, in response to last night’s shameful display of
Multiculturalism, Taco Tuesday is now being replaced by Tunafish Sandwich on White Bread Tuesday effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Multiculturalism, Taco Tuesday is now being replaced by Tunafish Sandwich on White Bread Tuesday effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
February 9, 2026 at 2:33 PM
By executive order, in response to last night’s shameful display of
Multiculturalism, Taco Tuesday is now being replaced by Tunafish Sandwich on White Bread Tuesday effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Multiculturalism, Taco Tuesday is now being replaced by Tunafish Sandwich on White Bread Tuesday effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Reposted by Steve Valeika DVM PhD
I made a map of 3.4 million Bluesky users - see if you can find yourself!
bluesky-map.theo.io
I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail
bluesky-map.theo.io
I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail
Bluesky Map
Interactive map of 3.4 million Bluesky users, visualised by their follower pattern.
bluesky-map.theo.io
February 8, 2026 at 10:59 PM
I made a map of 3.4 million Bluesky users - see if you can find yourself!
bluesky-map.theo.io
I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail
bluesky-map.theo.io
I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail
Reposted by Steve Valeika DVM PhD
If “the urgency of normal” is a child development principle, it should apply universally. I’d welcome links if I missed it, but I haven’t seen David Leonhardt, Lucy McBride, TracyBeth Hoeg, Vinay Prasad, David Zweig, or Emily Oster say anything abt kids being denied their right to a public education
"More than half of all multilingual students in South Portland, and nearly half in Portland, were absent on some of the most affected days. Between Jan. 20 and 28, Black and Hispanic students in Portland missed school at a rate 30 percentage points higher than their white peers."
Thousands of Maine kids missed school as ICE carried out heightened operations
Absence rates for multilingual students were near or over 50% in some school districts where immigration enforcement spiked, and educators describe empty classrooms and fearful students.
www.pressherald.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:58 PM
If “the urgency of normal” is a child development principle, it should apply universally. I’d welcome links if I missed it, but I haven’t seen David Leonhardt, Lucy McBride, TracyBeth Hoeg, Vinay Prasad, David Zweig, or Emily Oster say anything abt kids being denied their right to a public education
Is Shaggy running comms for Trump?
February 6, 2026 at 6:40 PM
Is Shaggy running comms for Trump?
For those of you who aren’t public health nerds, what the Bandim project researchers are doing is an epidemiological shell game. Claiming to study one thing, only to hide the ball if their outcomes don’t meet their expectations. It’s scientific malpractice on top of a horrific lack of ethics.
Controversial Danish vaccine research group faces new allegations: new paper shows many of their trial results have not been published.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Controversial Danish vaccine research group faces new allegations
Researchers say they couldn’t find complete data for 10 trials that together enrolled tens of thousands of children in Guinea-Bissau
www.science.org
February 6, 2026 at 3:09 PM
For those of you who aren’t public health nerds, what the Bandim project researchers are doing is an epidemiological shell game. Claiming to study one thing, only to hide the ball if their outcomes don’t meet their expectations. It’s scientific malpractice on top of a horrific lack of ethics.
Reposted by Steve Valeika DVM PhD
Not really a surprise, but it's still surprising to me that some chose to believe his lie
Newly revealed emails undermine RFK Jr testimony about 2019 Samoa trip ahead of measles outbreak
Kennedy later said the purpose of his trip had nothing to do with vaccines. US embassy and UN staff at the time said otherwise, emails show
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Not really a surprise, but it's still surprising to me that some chose to believe his lie
I’m sure there’s an Impressionist painting that looks like this. Dog with Moosehead.
February 6, 2026 at 2:25 PM
I’m sure there’s an Impressionist painting that looks like this. Dog with Moosehead.
Jaw dropping research ethics violations and scientific malfeasance.
In a new paper, Henrik Støvring & colleagues went back & examined what happened to all of the registered trials done by the Bandim Health Project
Rather disturbingly, they found TEN registered trials where the primary outcomes remain unpublished or were only partly published; this is alarming
3/n
Rather disturbingly, they found TEN registered trials where the primary outcomes remain unpublished or were only partly published; this is alarming
3/n
February 6, 2026 at 2:40 AM
Jaw dropping research ethics violations and scientific malfeasance.
Reposted by Steve Valeika DVM PhD
Not only the most corrupt admin (regime) in American history, but also the dumbest bunch of fucks imaginable.
February 4, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Not only the most corrupt admin (regime) in American history, but also the dumbest bunch of fucks imaginable.
Reposted by Steve Valeika DVM PhD
ICE at the polls! Bannon is basically yelling “fire” in a crowded theater here. His objective is to cause chaos (and suppress votes on the left). And it’s already working.
This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose.
Let me explain & offer some advice.
This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose.
Let me explain & offer some advice.
Steve Bannon says the federal government is planning to send ICE officers to patrol polling stations during the midterms.
"We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November."
"We're not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again." www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
"We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November."
"We're not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again." www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Steve Bannon says ICE will ‘surround the polls’ as Trump doubles down on taking over elections
Trump doubled down on his comments to nationalize voting Tuesday during an Oval Office press conference. “If you think about it, a state is an agent for the federal government in elections,” Trump sai...
www.democracydocket.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:13 PM
ICE at the polls! Bannon is basically yelling “fire” in a crowded theater here. His objective is to cause chaos (and suppress votes on the left). And it’s already working.
This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose.
Let me explain & offer some advice.
This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose.
Let me explain & offer some advice.
The results of HCA greed
“An 88-year-old woman recovering from hip surgery…died after going 13 hours without receiving a needed blood transfusion. Another patient’s heart stopped for 15 minutes leading to brain damage after staff didn’t respond to an urgent request for heart monitoring.” #Asheville
“An 88-year-old woman recovering from hip surgery…died after going 13 hours without receiving a needed blood transfusion. Another patient’s heart stopped for 15 minutes leading to brain damage after staff didn’t respond to an urgent request for heart monitoring.” #Asheville
Two deaths, failure to isolate infectious diseases led to Mission’s latest Immediate Jeopardy • Asheville Watchdog
An 88-year-old woman recovering from hip surgery at Mission Hospital died after going 13 hours without receiving a needed blood transfusion. Another patient’s heart stopped for 15 minutes leading to b...
avlwatchdog.org
February 4, 2026 at 9:24 PM
The results of HCA greed
“An 88-year-old woman recovering from hip surgery…died after going 13 hours without receiving a needed blood transfusion. Another patient’s heart stopped for 15 minutes leading to brain damage after staff didn’t respond to an urgent request for heart monitoring.” #Asheville
“An 88-year-old woman recovering from hip surgery…died after going 13 hours without receiving a needed blood transfusion. Another patient’s heart stopped for 15 minutes leading to brain damage after staff didn’t respond to an urgent request for heart monitoring.” #Asheville
Reposted by Steve Valeika DVM PhD
Reporting this story in Cameroon, I met people who were blind because larval worms died in their eyeballs: NTDs cause immense suffering and disability.
But they're preventable! And treatable! And eliminatable!
But they're preventable! And treatable! And eliminatable!
U.S. tax dollars backed the effort to wipe out neglected tropical diseases for 20 yrs. Many countries eliminated 1 disease, and were tantalizingly close on others. Then the U.S. walked away – jeopardizing all that investment, with diseases poised to come roaring back www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/h...
‘Biblical Diseases’ Could Resurge in Africa, Health Officials Fear
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Reporting this story in Cameroon, I met people who were blind because larval worms died in their eyeballs: NTDs cause immense suffering and disability.
But they're preventable! And treatable! And eliminatable!
But they're preventable! And treatable! And eliminatable!
Blocking every person who criticizes you for being chummy with Epstein is going to make Bluesky a very lonely place for you. You’ll be better off on X Nick.
February 4, 2026 at 5:57 PM
Blocking every person who criticizes you for being chummy with Epstein is going to make Bluesky a very lonely place for you. You’ll be better off on X Nick.
Reposted by Steve Valeika DVM PhD
Only 10 cases of Guinea worm disease were recorded *globally* last year.
It may become the second human disease we eradicate, after smallpox.
It may become the second human disease we eradicate, after smallpox.
February 4, 2026 at 11:38 AM
Only 10 cases of Guinea worm disease were recorded *globally* last year.
It may become the second human disease we eradicate, after smallpox.
It may become the second human disease we eradicate, after smallpox.
Reposted by Steve Valeika DVM PhD
There should be a dog show where they don’t have to be purebred or meet any breed or behavior standards, and everyone just admires how cute they are, then everyone gets a prize cause they’re all perfect.
February 4, 2026 at 4:42 AM
There should be a dog show where they don’t have to be purebred or meet any breed or behavior standards, and everyone just admires how cute they are, then everyone gets a prize cause they’re all perfect.
I mentioned that NC cited our hospital in “immediate jeopardy” for the fourth time since HCA took it over 5 years ago and slashed staff to pay for executive pay packages. This time the failure to isolate symptomatic measles cases with a known exposure to the SC outbreak for 2 hours played a role.
Measles exposure at Mission contributed to new immediate jeopardy citation
The hospital's failure to isolate patients in a timely manner "placed everyone in the hospital at immediate risk for serious infectious disease exposure and development."
www.citizen-times.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:14 PM
I mentioned that NC cited our hospital in “immediate jeopardy” for the fourth time since HCA took it over 5 years ago and slashed staff to pay for executive pay packages. This time the failure to isolate symptomatic measles cases with a known exposure to the SC outbreak for 2 hours played a role.