Mera L🪬
@mlicc1701.bsky.social
Duke University alumn. Virology research specialist in the Sheahan Lab at CVRG (y'know, at that other blue school). Pop punk millennial. she/they. ✡️•🏳️🌈•🖖
Reposted by Mera L🪬
This is designed to tank public health & primary care by excluding public health professions, advanced nursing practice, physical & occupational therapy from loans that can cover the cost of education. This is going to make an existing workforce crisis worse.
aspph.org/department-o...
aspph.org/department-o...
Department of Education Proposal Excludes Public Health Degrees from “Professional Degree” Definition
Discover the new results and implications of Dept of Ed consensus regarding professional degree programs and public health education.
aspph.org
November 14, 2025 at 11:23 AM
This is designed to tank public health & primary care by excluding public health professions, advanced nursing practice, physical & occupational therapy from loans that can cover the cost of education. This is going to make an existing workforce crisis worse.
aspph.org/department-o...
aspph.org/department-o...
Reposted by Mera L🪬
During the height of the pandemic, Tyson used Palantir to predict Covid-19 infections among meatpacking workers down to a nearly exactly figure. But rather than using this data to increase worker protections, Tyson used it plan for labor shortages + plant closures
My latest for @sentientmedia.org
My latest for @sentientmedia.org
November 13, 2025 at 7:49 PM
During the height of the pandemic, Tyson used Palantir to predict Covid-19 infections among meatpacking workers down to a nearly exactly figure. But rather than using this data to increase worker protections, Tyson used it plan for labor shortages + plant closures
My latest for @sentientmedia.org
My latest for @sentientmedia.org
Reposted by Mera L🪬
i’m proud to have studied and worked with many chinese public health scientists over the years. this red scare bullshit is unjust, bigoted, and utterly self-destructive
The only way we will win a better world is not only leftism for America, but internationalism. “Researchers who have anything to do with China should have their careers ended” is a bipartisan position, and it can’t be anymore. If we live in a fragmented world, it will burn in our lifetime
November 14, 2025 at 6:36 AM
i’m proud to have studied and worked with many chinese public health scientists over the years. this red scare bullshit is unjust, bigoted, and utterly self-destructive
Reposted by Mera L🪬
Prohibited activities include advising Chinese graduate students. For reference, a recent Georgetown report estimated 16% of STEM graduate students in the US are Chinese nationals.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Prohibited activities include advising Chinese graduate students. For reference, a recent Georgetown report estimated 16% of STEM graduate students in the US are Chinese nationals.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
@jenna-m-norton.bsky.social has more integrity and spine than the entire HHS "leadership"
In a video, Norton confirms the news and says: "I strongly suspect it is because I have been speaking up in my personal capacity about the harms I have been witnessing inside the NIH.
Putting me on admin leave was designed to scare and silence me. I will not stop speaking out," she says.
Putting me on admin leave was designed to scare and silence me. I will not stop speaking out," she says.
I guess I am hitting a nerve, because they just put me on admin leave.
TikTok video by Jenna
www.tiktok.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:30 AM
@jenna-m-norton.bsky.social has more integrity and spine than the entire HHS "leadership"
Reposted by Mera L🪬
How President Donald Trump’s administration has undermined efforts to develop vaccines and drugs for the next viral scourge
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
The Trump administration is dismantling efforts to fight the next pandemic
A retreat from investments in drugs and vaccines leaves U.S. less prepared for the next viral scourge, experts warn
www.science.org
November 13, 2025 at 11:14 PM
How President Donald Trump’s administration has undermined efforts to develop vaccines and drugs for the next viral scourge
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Mera L🪬
November 13, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Reposted by Mera L🪬
BREAKING: "The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has notified the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) that Canada no longer holds measles elimination status."
Statement from the Public Health Agency of Canada on Canada’s Measles Elimination Status
Following over 12 months of transmission across the country, PAHO confirms Canada's loss of measles elimination status. We are coordinating efforts with provinces and territories to restore the status...
www.canada.ca
November 10, 2025 at 2:36 PM
BREAKING: "The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has notified the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) that Canada no longer holds measles elimination status."
Reposted by Mera L🪬
*deadpan*
This is particularly enraging because 1) @standupforscience.bsky.social is doing a LOT against RFK Jr/MAHA and we are just getting started and 2) because I HAVE SPOKEN WITH HIS WRITERS AND PRODUCER.
@thedailyshow.com hit me up!
This is particularly enraging because 1) @standupforscience.bsky.social is doing a LOT against RFK Jr/MAHA and we are just getting started and 2) because I HAVE SPOKEN WITH HIS WRITERS AND PRODUCER.
@thedailyshow.com hit me up!
November 9, 2025 at 12:18 PM
*deadpan*
This is particularly enraging because 1) @standupforscience.bsky.social is doing a LOT against RFK Jr/MAHA and we are just getting started and 2) because I HAVE SPOKEN WITH HIS WRITERS AND PRODUCER.
@thedailyshow.com hit me up!
This is particularly enraging because 1) @standupforscience.bsky.social is doing a LOT against RFK Jr/MAHA and we are just getting started and 2) because I HAVE SPOKEN WITH HIS WRITERS AND PRODUCER.
@thedailyshow.com hit me up!
Reposted by Mera L🪬
Her role as one of the first structural virologists is underappreciated.
It's International Women in Science Day ♀️, and I want to talk briefly about Rosalind Franklin.
A conventional choice for unconventional reasons: Dr. Franklin was one of the FIRST STRUCTURAL VIROLOGISTS. Let's talk about her work outside of the Crick & Watson debacle.
A conventional choice for unconventional reasons: Dr. Franklin was one of the FIRST STRUCTURAL VIROLOGISTS. Let's talk about her work outside of the Crick & Watson debacle.
November 7, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Her role as one of the first structural virologists is underappreciated.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
This is a total outrage and has crippled SARS-CoV-2 variant tracking and evolutionary analysis.
Updating a file and giving access to Nextstrain & Cov-Spectrum does not require extensive resources, so the official justification is a lie. There has to be an ulterior motive here.
Updating a file and giving access to Nextstrain & Cov-Spectrum does not require extensive resources, so the official justification is a lie. There has to be an ulterior motive here.
Nextstrain's daily-updated tree of SARS-CoV-2 genomes was my gateway into the world of viral phylogenetics in early 2020, and Nextstrain's beautiful interactive tree display is crucial to making usher.bio results usable. GISAID cutting off data harms global surveillance efforts. 🧵👇
On Oct 1, 2025, GISAID informed us that they had ended updates to the flat file of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences and associated metadata that we had used to update Nextstrain analyses since Feb 2020. GISAID's stated rationale was that their "resources are limited". 1/5
November 7, 2025 at 12:18 PM
This is a total outrage and has crippled SARS-CoV-2 variant tracking and evolutionary analysis.
Updating a file and giving access to Nextstrain & Cov-Spectrum does not require extensive resources, so the official justification is a lie. There has to be an ulterior motive here.
Updating a file and giving access to Nextstrain & Cov-Spectrum does not require extensive resources, so the official justification is a lie. There has to be an ulterior motive here.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
This piece by my friend and fellow co-founder of Defend Public Health @gregggonsalves.bsky.social is a must-read. In it he shares the reasons why public health practitioners and allies must rise up to meet this moment.
Public health has had to fight deniers for centuries, and we must do it now.
Public health has had to fight deniers for centuries, and we must do it now.
Public Health Was a Place for Warriors Once. It Needs to Be Again.
www.thenation.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:51 PM
This piece by my friend and fellow co-founder of Defend Public Health @gregggonsalves.bsky.social is a must-read. In it he shares the reasons why public health practitioners and allies must rise up to meet this moment.
Public health has had to fight deniers for centuries, and we must do it now.
Public health has had to fight deniers for centuries, and we must do it now.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
WHO has a long history of coordinating scientific networks - for flu samples, they've been doing it for 70 years. Global South countries have been begging for this, and have been ignored. The world is stuck in a hostage crisis with a shady businessman: www.science.org/content/arti...
The ‘invented persona’ behind a key pandemic database
GISAID offers a safe space to post viral genomes. Peter Bogner, its perplexing creator and overseer, may be jeopardizing its future
www.science.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:33 PM
WHO has a long history of coordinating scientific networks - for flu samples, they've been doing it for 70 years. Global South countries have been begging for this, and have been ignored. The world is stuck in a hostage crisis with a shady businessman: www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Mera L🪬
🚨 NEW: The majority holder of the world's genetic sequence data is a bad actor who can cut off access to critics and competing services. We've tolerated this for years, and now it threatens the pandemic treaty. Time for WHO to step in. With @ctrlalttim.com: www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/to-f...
To Finish the Pandemic Agreement, WHO Needs a Trustworthy Viral Database | Think Global Health
Online platforms for sharing virus sequences are in disarray. The World Health Organization has a chance to build something new
www.thinkglobalhealth.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:31 PM
🚨 NEW: The majority holder of the world's genetic sequence data is a bad actor who can cut off access to critics and competing services. We've tolerated this for years, and now it threatens the pandemic treaty. Time for WHO to step in. With @ctrlalttim.com: www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/to-f...
Reposted by Mera L🪬
“When those viruses are not coming in, we don't know what to put in the vaccine. And you're going to have less effective vaccines, but also, you're not going to know when these unusual influenza viruses are emerging in other parts of the globe.” www.npr.org/2025/11/04/n...
With fewer samples from other countries, CDC has dimmer global view of flu and COVID
There's been a significant slowdown in influenza and COVID samples sent to CDC from other countries, which could impair pandemic preparedness and vaccine development
www.npr.org
November 5, 2025 at 4:37 PM
“When those viruses are not coming in, we don't know what to put in the vaccine. And you're going to have less effective vaccines, but also, you're not going to know when these unusual influenza viruses are emerging in other parts of the globe.” www.npr.org/2025/11/04/n...
Reposted by Mera L🪬
I said this in 2020. I was right then and I am right today. The furin cleavage site is the grassy knoll of COVID-19 conspiracy freaks.
A new bat coronavirus discovered in Brazil confirms what we already knew: nature handles furin cleavage sites just fine.
Lab leakers, don’t worry, you've got the track record to pivot seamlessly to a career in creative fiction writing.
Quick update on the news:
open.substack.com/pub/protagon...
Lab leakers, don’t worry, you've got the track record to pivot seamlessly to a career in creative fiction writing.
Quick update on the news:
open.substack.com/pub/protagon...
The Brazilian clue
Or: another L for lab leak believers
open.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:44 PM
I said this in 2020. I was right then and I am right today. The furin cleavage site is the grassy knoll of COVID-19 conspiracy freaks.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
Can't overstate how fucked up it is that unraveling what is arguably the greatest achievement in the history of humanity is now a motivating issue of one of the two dominant parties in the U.S.
FL is moving forward w/ plan to end all childhood vaccine mandates. Starting with hepatitis B, chickenpox, and the bacteria causing meningitis and pneumonia. Then next year GOP FL legislature is expected to revisit 1977 law re: whooping cough, measles, polio, rubella, mumps, diphtheria, and tetanus.
October 31, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Can't overstate how fucked up it is that unraveling what is arguably the greatest achievement in the history of humanity is now a motivating issue of one of the two dominant parties in the U.S.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
the "federal agency that coordinates the government’s responses to public health crises and maintains the nation’s medical stockpile" should not be led by an unqualified crank
October 30, 2025 at 5:51 PM
the "federal agency that coordinates the government’s responses to public health crises and maintains the nation’s medical stockpile" should not be led by an unqualified crank
Reposted by Mera L🪬
Defaulting to surgical masks in health care settings in 2025 is one of the most dissapointing examples of reluctance to change despite overwhelming evidence.
Even defaulting to KN95 style would significantly increase protection of the most vulnerable.
Infuriating inertia in the HC industry.
Even defaulting to KN95 style would significantly increase protection of the most vulnerable.
Infuriating inertia in the HC industry.
October 30, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Defaulting to surgical masks in health care settings in 2025 is one of the most dissapointing examples of reluctance to change despite overwhelming evidence.
Even defaulting to KN95 style would significantly increase protection of the most vulnerable.
Infuriating inertia in the HC industry.
Even defaulting to KN95 style would significantly increase protection of the most vulnerable.
Infuriating inertia in the HC industry.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
The utterly disgraced Andrew Wakefield, who was struck off the UK medical register for dishonesty & failing to act in the best interests of vulnerable children, is now a key MAHA actor; he's seeing his dream come true (he falsely believed the combined MMR vaccine 'overloaded the immune system')
Q: The president has called for breaking up the MMR vaccine into 3 separate shots. Is that something you're going to direct ACIP to consider or take action on?
RFK Jr: We're looking at the feasibility of that now
Q: Can you say anything more?
RFK Jr: ... ... ...
RFK Jr: We're looking at the feasibility of that now
Q: Can you say anything more?
RFK Jr: ... ... ...
October 29, 2025 at 6:53 PM
The utterly disgraced Andrew Wakefield, who was struck off the UK medical register for dishonesty & failing to act in the best interests of vulnerable children, is now a key MAHA actor; he's seeing his dream come true (he falsely believed the combined MMR vaccine 'overloaded the immune system')
Reposted by Mera L🪬
NEW: The entire staff supporting ACIP was laid off, and most working groups haven't met in months.
That means the US may not make routine vaccine recommendations for more than half of children in 2026, and it could halt new vaccines in the pipeline. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
That means the US may not make routine vaccine recommendations for more than half of children in 2026, and it could halt new vaccines in the pipeline. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Threat to US vaccines as CDC staff supporting key advisory panel laid off
Critics say scientists ‘held hostage’ by RFK Jr as changes mean vaccine development and guidance in peril
www.theguardian.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:20 PM
NEW: The entire staff supporting ACIP was laid off, and most working groups haven't met in months.
That means the US may not make routine vaccine recommendations for more than half of children in 2026, and it could halt new vaccines in the pipeline. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
That means the US may not make routine vaccine recommendations for more than half of children in 2026, and it could halt new vaccines in the pipeline. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Mera L🪬
Vaccine refusal is antisocial. The consequences are the same as driving drunk or shooting into a neighborhood. Antivaxx dogma is not about medical freedom, it's about risking your life and the lives of anyone you happen upon. No exemptions that aren't medically necessary. #Momvocate
Wave of Anti-Science Bills Pushed by Kennedy Allies Hits Statehouses www.medpagetoday.com/publichealth...
Wave of Anti-Science Bills Pushed by Kennedy Allies Hits Statehouses
Longstanding public health protections like vaccines, milk safety, and fluoride are targets
www.medpagetoday.com
October 23, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Vaccine refusal is antisocial. The consequences are the same as driving drunk or shooting into a neighborhood. Antivaxx dogma is not about medical freedom, it's about risking your life and the lives of anyone you happen upon. No exemptions that aren't medically necessary. #Momvocate
Reposted by Mera L🪬
H5N1 is exploding in North America right now. I spoke with @brishti.bsky.social about everything BC bird flu ostrich horde:
What's their deal?
Why cull them?
Why can't we test?
Are they scientifically useful?
Are they pets or meat?
...and lots more!
pressprogress.ca/podcast-bc-o...
What's their deal?
Why cull them?
Why can't we test?
Are they scientifically useful?
Are they pets or meat?
...and lots more!
pressprogress.ca/podcast-bc-o...
October 22, 2025 at 10:41 PM
H5N1 is exploding in North America right now. I spoke with @brishti.bsky.social about everything BC bird flu ostrich horde:
What's their deal?
Why cull them?
Why can't we test?
Are they scientifically useful?
Are they pets or meat?
...and lots more!
pressprogress.ca/podcast-bc-o...
What's their deal?
Why cull them?
Why can't we test?
Are they scientifically useful?
Are they pets or meat?
...and lots more!
pressprogress.ca/podcast-bc-o...
Reposted by Mera L🪬
Been thinking about how MAHA in its current articulation is a movement that allows them to harness people's real and justified anger at things like the betrayals of healthcare and insurance and turn it on scientists as scapegoats, by using conspiracy theories
October 22, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Been thinking about how MAHA in its current articulation is a movement that allows them to harness people's real and justified anger at things like the betrayals of healthcare and insurance and turn it on scientists as scapegoats, by using conspiracy theories
Reposted by Mera L🪬
In @bmj.com , @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social warns decision to end $500m in #mRNA vaccine research in the US “turns its back on one of its greatest pandemic achievements.”
mRNA tech could be key in the fight against future pandemics, cancer & HIV. If the US walks away, others must step up.
More here ⤵️
mRNA tech could be key in the fight against future pandemics, cancer & HIV. If the US walks away, others must step up.
More here ⤵️
Defunding mRNA vaccine research leaves us all more vulnerable to future health emergencies
Multilateral initiatives are needed to signal confidence and fill funding gaps in mRNA research, writes Jennifer B Nuzzo
Recently the US secretary of health and human services Robert F Kennedy Jr dec...
www.bmj.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:20 PM
In @bmj.com , @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social warns decision to end $500m in #mRNA vaccine research in the US “turns its back on one of its greatest pandemic achievements.”
mRNA tech could be key in the fight against future pandemics, cancer & HIV. If the US walks away, others must step up.
More here ⤵️
mRNA tech could be key in the fight against future pandemics, cancer & HIV. If the US walks away, others must step up.
More here ⤵️