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🪬
fuck you
the memories of a generation lost because of Reagan's homophobia will not be erased
i think we should do something in DC that would make david wojnarowicz proud tbh
the memories of a generation lost because of Reagan's homophobia will not be erased
i think we should do something in DC that would make david wojnarowicz proud tbh
November 26, 2025 at 7:27 PM
fuck you
the memories of a generation lost because of Reagan's homophobia will not be erased
i think we should do something in DC that would make david wojnarowicz proud tbh
the memories of a generation lost because of Reagan's homophobia will not be erased
i think we should do something in DC that would make david wojnarowicz proud tbh
Reposted by Mera L🪬
It really is
Our son got his first dose of HPV vaccine when he was 9
Vaccinating boys & men has benefits for BOTH women (e.g., helping to reduce HPV transmission to female sexual partners) AND men (e.g., reducing the risk of oral, head & neck, penile, & anal cancers)
Our son got his first dose of HPV vaccine when he was 9
Vaccinating boys & men has benefits for BOTH women (e.g., helping to reduce HPV transmission to female sexual partners) AND men (e.g., reducing the risk of oral, head & neck, penile, & anal cancers)
November 26, 2025 at 11:20 AM
It really is
Our son got his first dose of HPV vaccine when he was 9
Vaccinating boys & men has benefits for BOTH women (e.g., helping to reduce HPV transmission to female sexual partners) AND men (e.g., reducing the risk of oral, head & neck, penile, & anal cancers)
Our son got his first dose of HPV vaccine when he was 9
Vaccinating boys & men has benefits for BOTH women (e.g., helping to reduce HPV transmission to female sexual partners) AND men (e.g., reducing the risk of oral, head & neck, penile, & anal cancers)
Reposted by Mera L🪬
More attack on vaccine from RFK Jr.
CDC Quietly Turned Off Its Vaccine Search Tool. It’s Not Clear When It’s Coming Back.
“I have heard that they are planning to ‘update it’ and shudder to think what that will mean,” Demetre Daskalakis, a former member of CDC leadership, told NOTUS.
www.notus.org
November 26, 2025 at 2:18 AM
More attack on vaccine from RFK Jr.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
The United States government has ordered its employees not to speak at any events for World AIDS Day or promote them on social media.
I guess they think that if we ignore HIV/AIDS it will just go away.
It didn’t work for Reagan and it’s not going to work now.
I guess they think that if we ignore HIV/AIDS it will just go away.
It didn’t work for Reagan and it’s not going to work now.
1/ ⚠️ Breaking: At CDC, we've been told the US Government will not officially commemorate World AIDS Day this year. No explanation given.
November 25, 2025 at 6:37 PM
The United States government has ordered its employees not to speak at any events for World AIDS Day or promote them on social media.
I guess they think that if we ignore HIV/AIDS it will just go away.
It didn’t work for Reagan and it’s not going to work now.
I guess they think that if we ignore HIV/AIDS it will just go away.
It didn’t work for Reagan and it’s not going to work now.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
The new @unaids.org report shows we were closer than in decades to ending AIDS by 2030, yet new #HIV infections stayed flat in ’24, and even before funding cuts, efforts weren’t enough to drive them down. We must double down with bolder, more strategic action to drive real decline.
In 2025, sudden US funding cuts and reductions from key donors shocked the global AIDS response.
Today, we're releasing a new report showing how these disruptions unfolded & the resilience of communities and countries protecting progress.
Join live at 2pm CET: webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1x...
Today, we're releasing a new report showing how these disruptions unfolded & the resilience of communities and countries protecting progress.
Join live at 2pm CET: webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1x...
November 25, 2025 at 2:24 PM
The new @unaids.org report shows we were closer than in decades to ending AIDS by 2030, yet new #HIV infections stayed flat in ’24, and even before funding cuts, efforts weren’t enough to drive them down. We must double down with bolder, more strategic action to drive real decline.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
🧪PSA
New notices of #NIH awards now have language allowing grants to be terminated if they no longer “align” with agency “priorities”. This will create uncertainty b/c we can’t count on funding if it can be arbitrarily terminated while a study is in progress.
Via @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social on IG
New notices of #NIH awards now have language allowing grants to be terminated if they no longer “align” with agency “priorities”. This will create uncertainty b/c we can’t count on funding if it can be arbitrarily terminated while a study is in progress.
Via @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social on IG
November 24, 2025 at 6:48 PM
🧪PSA
New notices of #NIH awards now have language allowing grants to be terminated if they no longer “align” with agency “priorities”. This will create uncertainty b/c we can’t count on funding if it can be arbitrarily terminated while a study is in progress.
Via @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social on IG
New notices of #NIH awards now have language allowing grants to be terminated if they no longer “align” with agency “priorities”. This will create uncertainty b/c we can’t count on funding if it can be arbitrarily terminated while a study is in progress.
Via @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social on IG
Reposted by Mera L🪬
Five years ago, we all applauded nurses, public health, and health care workers every evening for saving lives.
Today, the federal government does not consider these workers professional.
This says everything about the state of US health care.
Today, the federal government does not consider these workers professional.
This says everything about the state of US health care.
November 24, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Five years ago, we all applauded nurses, public health, and health care workers every evening for saving lives.
Today, the federal government does not consider these workers professional.
This says everything about the state of US health care.
Today, the federal government does not consider these workers professional.
This says everything about the state of US health care.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
Remember Andrew Wakefield?
Here he is with his friend RFK Jr. in 2020.
Wakefield is the guy behind the fraudulent, retracted MMR–autism study. He lost his medical license for subjecting autistic children to unnecessary invasive procedures.
Now, with Kennedy in power, he’s getting a second act.
Here he is with his friend RFK Jr. in 2020.
Wakefield is the guy behind the fraudulent, retracted MMR–autism study. He lost his medical license for subjecting autistic children to unnecessary invasive procedures.
Now, with Kennedy in power, he’s getting a second act.
November 24, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Remember Andrew Wakefield?
Here he is with his friend RFK Jr. in 2020.
Wakefield is the guy behind the fraudulent, retracted MMR–autism study. He lost his medical license for subjecting autistic children to unnecessary invasive procedures.
Now, with Kennedy in power, he’s getting a second act.
Here he is with his friend RFK Jr. in 2020.
Wakefield is the guy behind the fraudulent, retracted MMR–autism study. He lost his medical license for subjecting autistic children to unnecessary invasive procedures.
Now, with Kennedy in power, he’s getting a second act.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
ACIP comments are due today! Focus of the meeting will be HepB vaccine and "vaccine schedule" which is vague and ominous. If a guide/template is helpful, you can find it here: hepb.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/EXzaiD...
If you haven't yet done so, Pls submit a brief comment for the #ACIP meeting to www.regulations.gov/document/CDC...
Due by Mon pm. At a min, say something like, "CDC ACIP advisors should support access to ALL vaccines on the current child and adolescent vaccine schedules.
Due by Mon pm. At a min, say something like, "CDC ACIP advisors should support access to ALL vaccines on the current child and adolescent vaccine schedules.
November 24, 2025 at 6:16 PM
ACIP comments are due today! Focus of the meeting will be HepB vaccine and "vaccine schedule" which is vague and ominous. If a guide/template is helpful, you can find it here: hepb.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/EXzaiD...
Evergreen, but currently apropos of a certain Atlantic cover featuring someone who directed one of the organizations that launched a concerted, well-funded attack against possibly the greatest scientific achievement of the 20th and early 21st centuries
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
November 24, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Evergreen, but currently apropos of a certain Atlantic cover featuring someone who directed one of the organizations that launched a concerted, well-funded attack against possibly the greatest scientific achievement of the 20th and early 21st centuries
Reposted by Mera L🪬
Important piece on how we got here.
Brownstone raised millions to undermine COVID prevention policies.
Now at least 8 people with ties to Brownstone hold senior positions at federal health agencies, where they are restricting vaccines and cutting science funding.
Brownstone raised millions to undermine COVID prevention policies.
Now at least 8 people with ties to Brownstone hold senior positions at federal health agencies, where they are restricting vaccines and cutting science funding.
A Small Texas Think Tank Cultivated Covid Dissidents. Now They’re Running US Health Policy. - KFF Health News
Fueled by covid backlash, a libertarian author created the Brownstone Institute in 2021. In recent months, people with ties to the group have catapulted to the highest levels of U.S. government, exerc...
kffhealthnews.org
November 19, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Important piece on how we got here.
Brownstone raised millions to undermine COVID prevention policies.
Now at least 8 people with ties to Brownstone hold senior positions at federal health agencies, where they are restricting vaccines and cutting science funding.
Brownstone raised millions to undermine COVID prevention policies.
Now at least 8 people with ties to Brownstone hold senior positions at federal health agencies, where they are restricting vaccines and cutting science funding.
The only thing this issue of The Atlantic is good for is use as a dart board by every desk and workstation of all the scientists/PH professionals/medical professionals whose work this man is crapping all over with his contempt for science and conspiracism. Shame on everyone involved with this story.
Over many interviews, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Michael Scherer about how he plans to remake America’s public-health system. Can he lead the scientific establishment he’s spent much of his life crusading against?
Read more in our new cover story: theatln.tc/q9hXxlbM
Read more in our new cover story: theatln.tc/q9hXxlbM
November 24, 2025 at 7:33 PM
The only thing this issue of The Atlantic is good for is use as a dart board by every desk and workstation of all the scientists/PH professionals/medical professionals whose work this man is crapping all over with his contempt for science and conspiracism. Shame on everyone involved with this story.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
This new policy from NIH is concerning.
It looks like a way to weaponize administrative burden, one of Russell Vought's favorite moves to break gov't.
Background: Program staff / NIH institute directors can move grants around outside peer review order. 1/
It looks like a way to weaponize administrative burden, one of Russell Vought's favorite moves to break gov't.
Background: Program staff / NIH institute directors can move grants around outside peer review order. 1/
This is concerning.
NIH is changing their policy so that staff have to prepare justification for every application that is funded BUT NO DOCUMENTATION FOR APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SKIPPED (BASED ON PERCENTILES).
1/2
NIH is changing their policy so that staff have to prepare justification for every application that is funded BUT NO DOCUMENTATION FOR APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SKIPPED (BASED ON PERCENTILES).
1/2
November 24, 2025 at 3:41 AM
This new policy from NIH is concerning.
It looks like a way to weaponize administrative burden, one of Russell Vought's favorite moves to break gov't.
Background: Program staff / NIH institute directors can move grants around outside peer review order. 1/
It looks like a way to weaponize administrative burden, one of Russell Vought's favorite moves to break gov't.
Background: Program staff / NIH institute directors can move grants around outside peer review order. 1/
Reposted by Mera L🪬
Hearing news that Carl Dieffenbach, the Director of the Division of AIDS at #NIH (NIAID), has been removed from his position because he was "not aligned with HHS/OMB."
Russell Vought continues to remove great scientists as part of the Project 2025 mission to politicize and destroy NIH.
🧪 1/
Russell Vought continues to remove great scientists as part of the Project 2025 mission to politicize and destroy NIH.
🧪 1/
November 24, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Hearing news that Carl Dieffenbach, the Director of the Division of AIDS at #NIH (NIAID), has been removed from his position because he was "not aligned with HHS/OMB."
Russell Vought continues to remove great scientists as part of the Project 2025 mission to politicize and destroy NIH.
🧪 1/
Russell Vought continues to remove great scientists as part of the Project 2025 mission to politicize and destroy NIH.
🧪 1/
Reposted by Mera L🪬
November 24, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Mera L🪬
November 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Mera L🪬
No surprise the Trump NIH director doesn’t understand how science works—doesn’t get NIH has been *the* world-historic leader in innovation.
After all, he’s never actually done any science.
Even before his rightwing pundit career 2020-25, he spent his time with economists, not scientists.
After all, he’s never actually done any science.
Even before his rightwing pundit career 2020-25, he spent his time with economists, not scientists.
The NIH director told attendees the NIH doesn't do enough innovative research.
“What puts lives at risk is doing research that’s incremental,” Bhattacharya said. “All it does is advance the careers of the researchers that do it. It results in publications that don’t get used and aren’t replicable.”
“What puts lives at risk is doing research that’s incremental,” Bhattacharya said. “All it does is advance the careers of the researchers that do it. It results in publications that don’t get used and aren’t replicable.”
November 23, 2025 at 10:28 PM
No surprise the Trump NIH director doesn’t understand how science works—doesn’t get NIH has been *the* world-historic leader in innovation.
After all, he’s never actually done any science.
Even before his rightwing pundit career 2020-25, he spent his time with economists, not scientists.
After all, he’s never actually done any science.
Even before his rightwing pundit career 2020-25, he spent his time with economists, not scientists.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
I feel for the hardworking public health professionals of the CDC
Betrayed by leadership.
Shot at by right-wing terrorist.
Targeted by DOGE.
Watching their career’s work be destroyed.
Those that stay in the hope of rebuilding have my respect. Those that can’t stay like this have my understanding 😢
Betrayed by leadership.
Shot at by right-wing terrorist.
Targeted by DOGE.
Watching their career’s work be destroyed.
Those that stay in the hope of rebuilding have my respect. Those that can’t stay like this have my understanding 😢
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
The CDC’s new autism page reads like an anti-vax blog, and the agency's employees are not happy about it.
The CDC’s new autism page reads like an anti-vax blog, and the agency's employees are not happy about it.
“Embarrassing” and “horrifying”: CDC workers describe the new vaccines and autism page
"The best way I can put it is it feels like we're on a hijacked airplane."
www.motherjones.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:31 PM
I feel for the hardworking public health professionals of the CDC
Betrayed by leadership.
Shot at by right-wing terrorist.
Targeted by DOGE.
Watching their career’s work be destroyed.
Those that stay in the hope of rebuilding have my respect. Those that can’t stay like this have my understanding 😢
Betrayed by leadership.
Shot at by right-wing terrorist.
Targeted by DOGE.
Watching their career’s work be destroyed.
Those that stay in the hope of rebuilding have my respect. Those that can’t stay like this have my understanding 😢
Reposted by Mera L🪬
The extent of the damage done to public health, biomedical science, and healthcare in the US in less than a year will take a generation or more to repair. This is the scale of the destruction. Let that sink in. A new president, Congress won't be enough to reverse things fully. It's that bad.
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 21, 2025 at 11:43 PM
The extent of the damage done to public health, biomedical science, and healthcare in the US in less than a year will take a generation or more to repair. This is the scale of the destruction. Let that sink in. A new president, Congress won't be enough to reverse things fully. It's that bad.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
important to get widespread public opposition on the record with public comment
CDC’s misinformation about vaccines, autism, and science cannot go unchallenged.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is accepting comments ahead of their next meeting—this is our chance to set the record straight.
Submit your comment today: familiesforvaccines.org/acipdec25
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is accepting comments ahead of their next meeting—this is our chance to set the record straight.
Submit your comment today: familiesforvaccines.org/acipdec25
American Families for Vaccines Federal Action Center — American Families for Vaccines
familiesforvaccines.org
November 21, 2025 at 4:48 PM
important to get widespread public opposition on the record with public comment
Reposted by Mera L🪬
VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM, YOU FLAMING SHITBIRDS.
WE HAVE, IN FACT, RULED IT OUT.
WE HAVE, IN FACT, RULED IT OUT.
November 20, 2025 at 3:02 AM
VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM, YOU FLAMING SHITBIRDS.
WE HAVE, IN FACT, RULED IT OUT.
WE HAVE, IN FACT, RULED IT OUT.
Reposted by Mera L🪬
someone's mad at this
November 20, 2025 at 3:14 AM
someone's mad at this
Reposted by Mera L🪬
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 2:26 AM
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
Reposted by Mera L🪬
give me the quadrivalent mRNA flu vaccine right now. put it in me
November 19, 2025 at 10:49 PM
give me the quadrivalent mRNA flu vaccine right now. put it in me
Reposted by Mera L🪬
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
November 19, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.