@joshuasweitz
Professor of Biology & Institute for Health Computing, U of Maryland; explores how viruses impact human & environmental health; 'Asymptomatic' (JHU Press - https://bit.ly/asymptomatic_book) & 'Science Matters' (https://substack.com/@joshuasweitz)
Just got off a mass call hosted by @50501movement.bsky.social that included @frankabe.bsky.social, @projectsaltbox.bsky.social, @sussexvb.bsky.social, @tifotter.bsky.social, me, & others. So incredible to hear from speakers unearthing plans and finding ways to fight concentration camps nationwide.
Wait, but RFK Jr & Drs Bhattacharya, Makary, Oz, Prasad, & Høeg kept saying that they would “rebuild trust.”
They won’t like this survey showing that:
“The public is differentiating the trustworthiness of career scientists in the CDC, NIH, and FDA from that of the leaders of those agencies.”
National Day of Action, this Saturday March 7, with dozens of events taking place in communities nationwide.
New reporting via @meghanbartels.bsky.social with key quotes from @cdelawalla.bsky.social & @mtosterholm.bsky.social on the moment we face.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/stan...
Not satisfied with the answer? Then, ask them the next question: why is NIH/HHS squandering the experience of midcareer and experienced researchers and the cumulative investment of American taxpayer $?
www.cnn.com/2026/03/05/h...
The next time someone hosts the NIH Director or HHS leadership on a podcast on trust, funding, or medical research, ask them why they are undermining early career researchers who drive science & discovery at NIH?
👇
PEPFAR, the program to stop hundreds of thousands of children and adults from dying of HIV/AIDS, was $6.5 billion a year.
Good news: Scientists were wrong about how bad sea level rise is.
Bad news: It’s even worse than we thought.
Poster with text: "Science. Democracy" with an illustration of hands shaking to signify an agreement. Text: "Take Back Our Science Rally! Washington, D.C. March 7, 2026. standupforscience.net/march7."
Facts aren't up for debate, & science isn't a scam. @standupforscience.bsky.social with people across the nation on Saturday, March 7. 📢 Rally to safeguard science, protect health & defend democracy.
More info on the National Day of Action: vist.ly/4trj5
Looking forward to @standupforscience.bsky.social's National Day of Action, taking place on the National Mall in DC and in dozens of cities/communities across the US.
Join in.
The more you speak up, the more space you create for evidence, accountability, and the rule of law.
Loyalty oaths and political litmus tests won't lead to new discoveries, innovations, or breakthroughs. NIH, NSF, and other mission-driven agencies need to get back to their mission, free of political interference. Oversight needed yesterday, the longer this is delayed, the more damage accumulates.
Stand Up for Science rally poster March 7th, 1:00 PM at Allegheny Landing in Pittsburgh.
Very excited to be speaking at the @standupforscience.bsky.social rally in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
I am speaking just prior to Dr. Rachel Levine
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Dr. “Measles outbreaks are the cost of doing business” Ralph Abraham left his role as Deputy anti-vaxxer at the CDC because of “unforeseen family obligations”.
He’s now the campaign manager for a Republican candidate running against Bill Cassidy in the Senate primary in Louisiana.
A governance and rights crisis will get worse... compounded by a public health crisis unfolding in detention camps with inevitable outbreaks of disease in unsanitary, crowded conditions operated by private companies.
Beyond just this tent camp, the system itself is untenable.
RFK Jr's non-expert #ACIP Has Scheduled a Meeting Next Month, looking to misrepresent the data on COVID-19 vaccines risks and ignore the fact that ACIP has already discussed vaccines risks and VAERS reports many times. vaxopedia.org/2026/03/01/r... via @aboutpediatrics.bsky.social
CIDRAP Op-Ed: The COVID vaccine myocarditis signal was real but is now resolved. ACIP's March agenda pretends otherwise, from @jakescottmd.bsky.social.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/cid...
WELL, DORKS! @timothysnyder.bsky.social says there is nothing more important than science and no one more important than scientists to establish a decent society and politics...which is why we are STANDING UP FOR SCIENCE on MARCH 7TH across the nation!
JOIN US! www.standupforscience.net/march7
All the more reason to Stand Up For Science, public accountability and evidence-based decision making:
www.standupforscience.net
In reality, HHS issues fewer awards and research $-s to science & imposes more red tape/interference as HHS leadership try to align what should be evidence-based decision making by independent civil servants w/administration *political* priorities.
And, the NIH Director? Off managing the CDC.
"At a recent public meeting, [NCI] Deputy Director Doug Lowy noted the NOFO approval process now requires 16 steps. He joked that it’s now more complex than a 1929 Rube Goldberg design for a can opener."
Remember: Gold Standard Science was meant to increase efficiency & let scientists do the work.
Major endorsement of @standupforscience.bsky.social's National Day of Action from @aaup.org... Stand Up For Science on March 7th in a community near you.
Only the best people...
and not just from law schools.
Stand Up For Science this Saturday March 7 at dozens of rallies and pop-up protests in communities all across the US.
@standupforscience.bsky.social
www.standupforscience.net/march7
As the laid off Middle East News Editor, I concur. Management eliminated the positions of every single staff correspondent and bureau chief in the Middle East.
New opportunity via Simons Foundation...
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/pivot-...
“To tell people that they don’t need to be vaccinated is simply promoting disease,” he said. “Not only is it stupid, but it’s immoral.”
from a March 2 2026 profile of Stanley Plotkin by @helenbranswell.bsky.social in @statnews.com.
www.statnews.com/2026/03/02/s...
“Public health is to protect everybody by the participation of everybody in preventing disease from spreading,” Plotkin said. “And that principle has been abandoned. And the principle now is ‘I will accept what I’m willing to accept and to hell with everybody else.’”
The stories and quotes hit hard, as they must.
There's far less understanding and empathy for the children and families who will suffer if we turn our backs on life-saving vaccines.
There is a lot of understanding going around for people advocating bad-faith arguments as an excuse to undo a half-century of public health gains.
