Angie Rasmussen
@angierasmussen.bsky.social
Virologist. PI at VIDO, University of Saskatchewan. Co-EiC of Vaccine. 🇺🇸 in 🇨🇦. Emerging viruses, pathogenesis, zoonosis, host responses, dogs, football, off-color language, transcriptomic chaos. Opinions my own.
Pinned
So this interview lasted 2 hours so this “you’re scaring me” part might seem like an overreaction or fearmongering to someone without that context.
There’s a lot of evidence to support my hypothesis that a potential H5N1 pandemic would be worse than COVID.
There’s a lot of evidence to support my hypothesis that a potential H5N1 pandemic would be worse than COVID.
I really did not enjoy Jay Bhattacharya & Matthew Memoli’s screed against pandemic & virology research for the flagship blog of a “free-market think tank." Instead of getting mad, I accepted @jeremyfaust.bsky.social's kind invitation to take a factual & scientific blowtorch to it.
We've got a MASSIVE DEEP-DIVE rebuttal to the NIH leadership’s recent essay. They're arguing for a head-in-the-sand approach to pandemic preparedness.
The great @angierasmussen.bsky.social joins me in an extraordinarily detailed, line-by-line fact check.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/a-rebuttal...
The great @angierasmussen.bsky.social joins me in an extraordinarily detailed, line-by-line fact check.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/a-rebuttal...
A rebuttal to NIH leadership's screed against pandemic preparedness.
Dr. Angela Rasmussen joins Inside Medicine for a tag-team response to a poorly reasoned essay by NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and his deputy, Dr. Matthew Memoli.
insidemedicine.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 9:28 PM
I really did not enjoy Jay Bhattacharya & Matthew Memoli’s screed against pandemic & virology research for the flagship blog of a “free-market think tank." Instead of getting mad, I accepted @jeremyfaust.bsky.social's kind invitation to take a factual & scientific blowtorch to it.
Sen @murray.senate.gov continues to fight for accountability in the destruction of American biomedical science and politically-motivated retaliation against our brave colleagues who dissent, as is their right.
Jay Bhattacharya must go.
Jay Bhattacharya must go.
November 15, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Sen @murray.senate.gov continues to fight for accountability in the destruction of American biomedical science and politically-motivated retaliation against our brave colleagues who dissent, as is their right.
Jay Bhattacharya must go.
Jay Bhattacharya must go.
Reposted by Angie Rasmussen
This is a very dangerous moment for the country and the world. A cornered rat will do anything to escape.
November 14, 2025 at 11:27 PM
This is a very dangerous moment for the country and the world. A cornered rat will do anything to escape.
Wow! What a lineup! Don’t miss this one 👇🏻
Remember when several high-ranking #CDC officials resigned after #RFKJr refused to follow scientific evidence & federal procedures in #vaccines & #publichealth policy? Here's a chance to hear from three of them on Nov 19 w @healthjournalism.org
Register here!
healthjournalism.org/event/trust-...
Register here!
healthjournalism.org/event/trust-...
Trust, public health reporting and the CDC: Insider perspectives
In this webinar, we'll talk with former CDC officials on where to go for reliable reporting resources after the dismantling of the agency.
healthjournalism.org
November 11, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Wow! What a lineup! Don’t miss this one 👇🏻
I spoke to @cohenjon.bsky.social yesterday about the great H5N1 ostrich cull. The biggest tragedy of is that it could have been avoided if the farm owners had responsibly enacted basic biosecurity & followed CFIA guidance for exemption.
They chose to do otherwise.
www.science.org/content/arti...
They chose to do otherwise.
www.science.org/content/arti...
Canadian government kills ostriches afflicted by H5N1 despite appeal from RFK Jr.
Culling proceeds after Canada’s Supreme Court ends heated 11-month battle over the fate of more than 300 birds
www.science.org
November 11, 2025 at 10:23 PM
I spoke to @cohenjon.bsky.social yesterday about the great H5N1 ostrich cull. The biggest tragedy of is that it could have been avoided if the farm owners had responsibly enacted basic biosecurity & followed CFIA guidance for exemption.
They chose to do otherwise.
www.science.org/content/arti...
They chose to do otherwise.
www.science.org/content/arti...
Yesterday Canada lost its measles elimination status after a year of continuous transmission. Like measles itself, this was preventable. We need to step up our efforts to make vaccination available to all. I talked to CBC about it live from @astmh.bsky.social:
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
The National | Canada loses measles elimination status
Nov. 10, 2025 | Canada loses its measles elimination status after more than 12 months of sustained transmission. U.S. President Donald Trump pardons Rudy Giuliani and other loyal allies. Plus, the rac...
www.cbc.ca
November 11, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Yesterday Canada lost its measles elimination status after a year of continuous transmission. Like measles itself, this was preventable. We need to step up our efforts to make vaccination available to all. I talked to CBC about it live from @astmh.bsky.social:
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
Started to freak out about bucatini but then I remembered I live in Canada, so the only barrier continues to be which grocery stores are sophisticated enough to carry it
Dumping? FFS Italian pasta has always been more expensive than American brands. He’s a f***ing moron.
www.wsj.com/world/europe...
www.wsj.com/world/europe...
Italian Pasta Is Poised to Disappear From American Grocery Shelves
The Trump administration is set to impose duties of 107% on Italian pasta imports, among most punitive of the tariffs it has levied.
www.wsj.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Started to freak out about bucatini but then I remembered I live in Canada, so the only barrier continues to be which grocery stores are sophisticated enough to carry it
I am so grateful for colleagues & friends, who keep fighting despite losing almost everything for nothing of substance. Thank you @peterdaszak.bsky.social & David Morens for your courage. Thank you @microbetv.bsky.social for training me & your tireless evidence-based advocacy for our profession. ❤️
November 11, 2025 at 3:51 AM
I am so grateful for colleagues & friends, who keep fighting despite losing almost everything for nothing of substance. Thank you @peterdaszak.bsky.social & David Morens for your courage. Thank you @microbetv.bsky.social for training me & your tireless evidence-based advocacy for our profession. ❤️
“I’ve come to this anti-vax conference with a message: that we need to be more boldly anti-vax,” said Mark Gorton, the head of the MAHA Institute…(he) called for the elimination of the childhood vaccination schedule & removal of vaccines from the market.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
‘God is an anti-vaxxer’: Inside the conference celebrating RFK Jr.’s rise
An anti-vaccine conference in Austin celebrated Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s rise to political power, highlighting his influence in Trump’s Washington.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:29 PM
“I’ve come to this anti-vax conference with a message: that we need to be more boldly anti-vax,” said Mark Gorton, the head of the MAHA Institute…(he) called for the elimination of the childhood vaccination schedule & removal of vaccines from the market.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
We don’t talk enough about how Operation Warp Speed saved many lives in spite of Trump, nor how many people died because of his failure of leadership. Great piece from my great colleague @maciekboni.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/maciekbo...
open.substack.com/pub/maciekbo...
COVID’s leadership failures
Two moments that were too big for us, and the unfixable chain of mistakes that was set off after November 2020
open.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:34 PM
We don’t talk enough about how Operation Warp Speed saved many lives in spite of Trump, nor how many people died because of his failure of leadership. Great piece from my great colleague @maciekboni.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/maciekbo...
open.substack.com/pub/maciekbo...
I read The Double Helix as an undergraduate. I was a science major at a women’s college taking molecular biology. Our professor taught us that Watson & Crick screwed Rosalind Franklin over.
So I read the book to learn more. I’ll never forget how reading this passage made me feel.
So I read the book to learn more. I’ll never forget how reading this passage made me feel.
![“By choice [Rosalind Franklin] did not emphasize her feminine qualities.. There was never lipstick to contrast with her straight black her, while at the age of thirty-one her dresses showed all the imagination of English blue-stocking adolescents. So it was quite easy to imagine her the product of an unsatisfied mother who unduly stressed the desirability of professional careers that could save bright girls from marriages to dull men.. Clearly Rosy had to go or be put in her place. The former was obviously preferable because given her belligerent moods, it would be very difficult for Maurice [Wilkins] to maintain a dominant position that would allow him to think unhindered about DNA.. The thought could not be avoided that the best home for a feminist was another person’s lab”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:opitzjj6oapo6y3cr5ipwfdu/bafkreibj5i6hdhoinpdbtx5ij7e56lz5v6zg6d6aompkuvrxrdnmkfvj2m@jpeg)
November 8, 2025 at 4:02 PM
I read The Double Helix as an undergraduate. I was a science major at a women’s college taking molecular biology. Our professor taught us that Watson & Crick screwed Rosalind Franklin over.
So I read the book to learn more. I’ll never forget how reading this passage made me feel.
So I read the book to learn more. I’ll never forget how reading this passage made me feel.
Co-sign. Also fuck a molecular biology chalk talk delivered by a rheumy-eyed ass-pinching gremlin
Jim Watson was a peevish bigot. He sold off his Nobel Prize medallion in 2014 (but got it back) because he was so mad that people objected to his bigotry. Please do speak ill of the dead. slate.com/technology/2...
James Watson Is Auctioning Off His Nobel Prize. Please Do Not Bid on It.
Jim Watson is one of the most important scientists of the 20th century. He is also a peevish bigot. History will remember him for his co-discovery of...
slate.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Co-sign. Also fuck a molecular biology chalk talk delivered by a rheumy-eyed ass-pinching gremlin
The ostriches have been culled and that particular H5N1 outbreak has finally been contained.
Here is @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social's reliably excellent account of the entire ordeal.
www.msnbc.com/news/news-an...
Here is @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social's reliably excellent account of the entire ordeal.
www.msnbc.com/news/news-an...
Why the conspiratorial right rallied around a flock of ostriches
The anti-vaccine, anti-government crusade to save "the miracle cure birds" is over — and the fringe activists lost.
www.msnbc.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:17 AM
The ostriches have been culled and that particular H5N1 outbreak has finally been contained.
Here is @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social's reliably excellent account of the entire ordeal.
www.msnbc.com/news/news-an...
Here is @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social's reliably excellent account of the entire ordeal.
www.msnbc.com/news/news-an...
QuackCon kicks off TONIGHT! You won’t want to miss this.
As a member of the hated academic establishment, I do like a good conference preview, so I thought I’d review the program. Get ready for some preventable disease!
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/all-roads-...
As a member of the hated academic establishment, I do like a good conference preview, so I thought I’d review the program. Get ready for some preventable disease!
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/all-roads-...
All Roads Lead to Antivaxapalooza
The Venn diagram of lab leakers, climate change deniers, and anti-vaxxers has become a perfect circle
rasmussenretorts.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:08 AM
QuackCon kicks off TONIGHT! You won’t want to miss this.
As a member of the hated academic establishment, I do like a good conference preview, so I thought I’d review the program. Get ready for some preventable disease!
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/all-roads-...
As a member of the hated academic establishment, I do like a good conference preview, so I thought I’d review the program. Get ready for some preventable disease!
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/all-roads-...
Today the Supreme Court of Canada cleared the way for the H5N1 outbreak on the BC ostrich farm to finally be contained. Unfortunately, the deaths of the ostriches won't end the disease their followers have spread.
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/release-th...
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/release-th...
Release The Ostriches' Grippe
The Supreme Court of Canada has cleared the way for the ostrich cull, but fascist extremism isn't so easy to euthanize
rasmussenretorts.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Today the Supreme Court of Canada cleared the way for the H5N1 outbreak on the BC ostrich farm to finally be contained. Unfortunately, the deaths of the ostriches won't end the disease their followers have spread.
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/release-th...
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/release-th...
Reposted by Angie Rasmussen
Welcome to the Cabal, @angierasmussen.bsky.social The rest of you can sign up at www.911forhealthandscience.org
November 5, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Welcome to the Cabal, @angierasmussen.bsky.social The rest of you can sign up at www.911forhealthandscience.org
Reposted by Angie Rasmussen
Great article from @virginiagewin.bsky.social showing that across the Federal science ecosystem, research that benefits the American public is being delayed or completely halted, and remaining programs are being consolidated under close partisan political control. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Dismantling of US federal agencies will ‘destroy science’
From NASA to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies conduct research that universities cannot. Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and ...
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Great article from @virginiagewin.bsky.social showing that across the Federal science ecosystem, research that benefits the American public is being delayed or completely halted, and remaining programs are being consolidated under close partisan political control. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
If only Vinay Prasad had stayed gone. Since his return, he turned a previously standard-setting agency into a hot mess, complete with backstabbing, interoffice warfare, secrecy, & despotic management.
He thinks he's a big deal, but he is a small man.
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/the-small-...
He thinks he's a big deal, but he is a small man.
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/the-small-...
The Small Men Making a Big Mess at FDA
Turns out that putting Vinay Prasad in charge of regulating drugs and vaccines was a bad idea
rasmussenretorts.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:53 PM
If only Vinay Prasad had stayed gone. Since his return, he turned a previously standard-setting agency into a hot mess, complete with backstabbing, interoffice warfare, secrecy, & despotic management.
He thinks he's a big deal, but he is a small man.
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/the-small-...
He thinks he's a big deal, but he is a small man.
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/the-small-...
Reposted by Angie Rasmussen
The Small Men Making a Big Mess at FDA open.substack.com/pub/rasmusse...
@angierasmussen.bsky.social on Vinay Prasad and George Tidmarsh and the venomous atmosphere from Prasad
@angierasmussen.bsky.social on Vinay Prasad and George Tidmarsh and the venomous atmosphere from Prasad
The Small Men Making a Big Mess at FDA
Turns out that putting Vinay Prasad in charge of regulating drugs and vaccines was a bad idea
open.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:04 PM
The Small Men Making a Big Mess at FDA open.substack.com/pub/rasmusse...
@angierasmussen.bsky.social on Vinay Prasad and George Tidmarsh and the venomous atmosphere from Prasad
@angierasmussen.bsky.social on Vinay Prasad and George Tidmarsh and the venomous atmosphere from Prasad
What happened here?
A. Vinay Prasad schemed to oust Tidmarsh
B. Prasad & Tidmarsh wars compromised both CBER & CDER
C. Tidmarsh abused his position to shit talk his ex-friend’s drug via LinkedIn subtweet
D. All of the above. FDA is a hot mess
Answer is D
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...
A. Vinay Prasad schemed to oust Tidmarsh
B. Prasad & Tidmarsh wars compromised both CBER & CDER
C. Tidmarsh abused his position to shit talk his ex-friend’s drug via LinkedIn subtweet
D. All of the above. FDA is a hot mess
Answer is D
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...
FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation
George Tidmarsh, the FDA's top drug regulator, has been placed on leave after being accused of abusing his regulatory authority, STAT has learned.
www.statnews.com
November 2, 2025 at 10:25 PM
What happened here?
A. Vinay Prasad schemed to oust Tidmarsh
B. Prasad & Tidmarsh wars compromised both CBER & CDER
C. Tidmarsh abused his position to shit talk his ex-friend’s drug via LinkedIn subtweet
D. All of the above. FDA is a hot mess
Answer is D
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...
A. Vinay Prasad schemed to oust Tidmarsh
B. Prasad & Tidmarsh wars compromised both CBER & CDER
C. Tidmarsh abused his position to shit talk his ex-friend’s drug via LinkedIn subtweet
D. All of the above. FDA is a hot mess
Answer is D
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...
Reposted by Angie Rasmussen
Some charts for those who don't know the extent of the US public (and private) investment in research (particularly in biomedical research) compared to other countries and institutions. The destruction of the US' scientific institutions has global implications.
November 2, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Some charts for those who don't know the extent of the US public (and private) investment in research (particularly in biomedical research) compared to other countries and institutions. The destruction of the US' scientific institutions has global implications.
I am officially part of an “anti-Kennedy cabal” lol
(In reality my advisory role is voluntary and involves me providing my opinion or expertise when asked and that’s about it)
(In reality my advisory role is voluntary and involves me providing my opinion or expertise when asked and that’s about it)
MAHA Action, the 501(c)(4) dark money group founded to support (and sell) Robert Kennedy Jr.’s anti-science agenda at HHS, is attacking the March for Science and Health.
In its “report,” it calls @accountabilityji.bsky.social “a pro-censorship group.”
And I think that’s objectively hilarious.
In its “report,” it calls @accountabilityji.bsky.social “a pro-censorship group.”
And I think that’s objectively hilarious.
With Deep Pockets, the Anti-Kennedy Cabal Wants to Remove the Secretary From Office. They Will Fail.
By Adam Garrie, Contributor, The MAHA Report
www.themahareport.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:30 PM
I am officially part of an “anti-Kennedy cabal” lol
(In reality my advisory role is voluntary and involves me providing my opinion or expertise when asked and that’s about it)
(In reality my advisory role is voluntary and involves me providing my opinion or expertise when asked and that’s about it)
Reposted by Angie Rasmussen
“Furin cleavage site”, that is. Just casually, and naturally, sitting there in one of the most evolutionarily active parts of the genome.
Mystery solved.
Mystery solved.
CIDRAP: New coronavirus subspecies with SARS-CoV-2–like mutation discovered in Brazilian bat
by Mary Van Beusekom
@cidrap.bsky.social
bit.ly/4hHRfam
by Mary Van Beusekom
@cidrap.bsky.social
bit.ly/4hHRfam
November 1, 2025 at 6:15 PM
“Furin cleavage site”, that is. Just casually, and naturally, sitting there in one of the most evolutionarily active parts of the genome.
Mystery solved.
Mystery solved.
How much do you want to bet the motives are going to be aligned with the relentless violent anti-science, anti-public health rhetoric that pours from this administration at every opportunity?
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Authorities Investigating Explosion at Harvard Medical School, Believed To Be Intentional | News | The Harvard Crimson
A device exploded inside the Goldenson Building in Harvard’s Longwood medical campus early Saturday morning, according to a message from the Harvard University Police Department to University affiliat...
www.thecrimson.com
November 1, 2025 at 11:48 PM
How much do you want to bet the motives are going to be aligned with the relentless violent anti-science, anti-public health rhetoric that pours from this administration at every opportunity?
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Such a tremendous honour to be part of this final discussion. Science in Action lasted decades and I’m so grateful to have contributed to its legacy in a small way. I’ll just have to keep putting science in action going forward. ❤️🫡
It's the end of the road for BBC Science in Action. But science itself is facing growing roadblocks. For this terminal edition of SinA I'm joined by @naomioreskes.bsky.social @drdebhoury.bsky.social @michaelemann.bsky.social & @angierasmussen.bsky.social for where now?
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...
BBC World Service - Science In Action, How science got here, and where next
As anti-science leaves research reeling, does evidence-based policy have a future?
www.bbc.co.uk
October 31, 2025 at 4:40 AM
Such a tremendous honour to be part of this final discussion. Science in Action lasted decades and I’m so grateful to have contributed to its legacy in a small way. I’ll just have to keep putting science in action going forward. ❤️🫡