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Alastair McAlpine, MD

@alastairmca30.bsky.social
8.2K followers 556 following 181 posts

Pediatric infectious disease physician, author, runner, metal fan. Dislikes Pseudoscience and bigotry. Views ≠ my employer 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ Prescription: Ice Cream available now! www.amazon.com/Prescription-Doctors…

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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
This MAGA/MAHA/Trump/RFK Jr/Dr Oz/Dr Bhattacharya press conference right now is quite possibly the worst press conference—from the viewpoints of medicine, public health, & medical ethics—that I’ve ever seen. These men are so shameless & deeply irresponsible. Wherever happened to science & evidence?
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Rolling the dice on a vaccine preventable illness is never the better option. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a rare and fatal complication of measles that can occur several years after the original infection. This is sad, this is avoidable. Vaccinate kids! www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
nbcnews.com
Los Angeles child dies from rare measles complication years after recovery
The county health department said the death is a "painful reminder" of how dangerous measles can be in unvaccinated people.
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
A reminder that countries that have implemented mass HPV vaccination are on course to ELIMINATE cervical cancer entirely (with no discernible common adverse effects). RFK Jr and Lied Suddenly want women (and men) to die a painful death from a preventable disease.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 18/08/2025
Let me get this straight: RFK Jr’s $500m cut to mRNA contracts was based on a non‑peer‑reviewed, self‑published, anti-vax bibliography authored by his cronies who are all tied to a ‘vaccine detox’ supplement company? Got it 👍 www.importantcontext.news/p/experts-ci...
importantcontext.news
‘Experts’ Cited By RFK Jr. to Justify mRNA Vaccine Funding Cut Have Ties to Anti-vax Supplement Company
Four authors of the non-peer reviewed, anti-vax bibliography cited by Kennedy’s HHS are involved with The Wellness Company.
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
This is clownish nonsense. A) What on earth is Bhattacharya doing on this guy’s show? B) Why is he spreading ridiculous nonsense on this guy’s show? To claim *all* mRNA vaccines are no longer viable is just absurd. He is an embarrassment. Bought and paid for.
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Insanity. No other technology promises to provide as much protection against an array of diseases. Now this anti-vaxx weirdo has shut them all down. Never has America been more vulnerable.
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
EXTREMELY proud to announce that my memoir, “Prescription: Ice Cream”, has been long-listed for the Sunday Times Literary Prize. If you’re interested in a story about working in the busiest hospital in the world, overcoming addition, or finding the meaning of life-check it out!
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
NPR @npr.org · 28/07/2025
It is the first time that Jewish-led organizations in Israel have made such accusations against the country during nearly 22 months of war.
n.pr
Two Israeli human rights groups say their country is committing genocide in Gaza
It is the first time that Jewish-led organizations in Israel have made such accusations against the country during nearly 22 months of war.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Dorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Robert F. Kennedy jr. has taken a slash and burn approach to health agencies. Experts expect people to die from his actions. via @andrewgumbel.bsky.social @observeruk.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/interna...
observer.co.uk
A war on science: Kennedy’s slash-and-burn approach to pu...
The US and the world look likely to pay a high price for the policies of Trump’s ruthless health secretary
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Voices for Vaccines @voices4vaccines.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Charlotte lost her sister to measles. She has a hard time watching today's outbreaks.
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
Serving sugary drinks with cane sugar in glass bottles won’t significantly change anyone’s health. This is performative nonsense that summarizes how silly the “MAHA” movement is.
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
HUGE new study of >1.2 million kids looked to see if the aluminium contained was associated with a number of childhood conditions. Long story short: NO association with ANY of them. The tiny amount of aluminium in vaccines is safe. #Vaccineswork
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
In case you were worried by this despicable lie: There is ZERO association with receipt of vaccination and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In fact, many studies have found a negative association between vaccines and SIDS (ie they’re associated with REDUCED SIDS)
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
Disingenuous nonsense. We know why autism rates have increased. Expanded diagnostic criteria and increased awareness. The causes are not fully elucidated, but predominantly genetic. (RFK Jr wants to blame vaccines. We all know it).
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
I thought I would spend my days on social media making funny memes and nerding out with fellow medics. Instead, I’m debunking AI-generated anti-vaxx slop from the head of frikkin Health & Human Sciences. While pointing out that Pubmed searches aren’t evidence. Astonishing.
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Kennedy provides a bunch of references for his claim that thimerosal in vaccines (barely used anymore) is harmful. If a high-school student submitted this as their reference list, they would fail. I will do what Kennedy didn’t - actually look at them. 🧵
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
The result of the antivaxx movement is death for kids. Whooping cough can be fatal for young infants - it causes them to stop breathing. Kids can only be vaccinated at 6-8w of life. Before then, protection is provided by vaccinating mum during pregnancy.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
Two babies have died from whooping cough in Kentucky. Neither they nor their parents had been vaccinated. The current whooping cough outbreak in the U.S. hasn’t grabbed the media spotlight as much as measles has, but it’s important to update your vaccination if you’re going to be around babies.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 02/06/2025
These parents clamored to enroll their children in the Covid vaccine trials. But they say it'll be tough — and unethical — to enroll children in placebo trials again. And they feel betrayed that their sacrifices are now going ignored. My latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
A ‘war on children’: as US changes Covid vaccine rules, parents of trial volunteers push back
Frustration and anger mount as Trump administration contemplates new trials and restrictions for Covid vaccines
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
The intellectual dishonesty to publish a paper showing that pregnancy is a risk factor for severe COVID… … and then to stand with an antivaxxer and NOT recommend the vaccine for that high-risk group … is astonishing.
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
RFK Jr and MAHA promised a return to “gold standard science.” Their report (likely AI generated) cites studies that don’t exist, and misrepresents existing ones. “Gold standard”? I’d fail an undergrad kid for this.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Harm reduction reduces harms. Period. That’s why it’s called that. We have decades of data. There are mountains of evidence showing that it does not increase drug harms (a pure fallacy) & does not increase drug use. Most of the data actually shows harm reduction interventions LOWER rates of drug use
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Jay Bhattacharya is a profoundly weak and unserious man who is WAYYYY outta his depth. www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
‘It’s been a tough period’: NIH’s new director speaks with Science
Jay Bhattacharya discusses staff morale, grant cuts, and “rumors”
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Pertussis (whooping cough) causes babies to stop breathing… I’ve seen older children cough so hard their eyes bleed… It’s an awful illness and it’s prevented by an incredibly safe vaccine. Mums should get it when they’re pregnant and babies when they’re old enough.
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
Couldn’t disagree more. Medicine and the real world are inextricably intertwined. To advocate for our patients is to engage beyond simple academia. Essentially, this article argues we should remain detached in our ivory towers. THAT is what causes decreased trust.
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
A total bald-faced lie. There is NO fetal tissue in the MMR vaccine. Period. This man is unfit to lead HHS.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
This isn't a new product. It's an updated vaccine to account for new strains and viral evolution. Are they going to do this for all COVID and influenza vaccines yearly? Because that effectively shuts them down. There isn't enough time between identification of strains included & release of vaccine.
Tweet from Marty Makary "To be clear, this is a new product that Novavax is trying to introduce to the market with a study of a different product from 2021. New products require new clinical studies.

Under this administration, we are prioritizing the Gold Standard of Science--not what saves pharma companies "tens of millions of dollars."" Included is a headline saying "FDA Asks Vaccine Maker to complete new clinical trial for delayed COVID-19 shot A new randomized study could cost Novavax tens of millions of dollars, vaccine experts say."
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
An absolutely catastrophic consequence of the antivaxx movement. Thousands of children potentially harmed. Some of whom will die. All because of misinformation around a safe vaccine. Horrific.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Gabriel Bosslet @gbosslet.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Well the NIH has cancelled the Women's Health Initiative, the largest study of women in history It has been running continuously since 1991 and has provided massive key knowledge about diseases in women Unreal www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
NIH cancels its first and largest study centered on women
The Women’s Health Initiative has produced numerous influential findings
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
There are things you just don’t cut. A hotline for suicidal youth is one of them. Taking away a basic call for help when someone is at their lowest is not just cold. It’s evil.
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
To talk about children with autism like this - like they are irreparably damaged and a burden to society - is ignorant, mean and callous. This man simply has no idea what he’s talking about. He brings shame to America.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
David Higgins, MD, MPH @drhigginsmd.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services has repeatedly claimed: “If you’re healthy, it’s almost impossible to die from an infectious disease in modern times.” That is dangerously false. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...
medscape.com
Experts Push Back on RFK Jr’s Infection Comments
The new Secretary of Health and Human Services has made claims about measles and other communicable diseases that could lead to sickness, and even death, his critics claim.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
A THREAD 🧵: Why “studying” the vaccine-autism link again is dangerous pseudoscience and not “open-minded inquiry”
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin don’t treat measles (it’s a virus- it doesn’t respond to antibiotics). For the head of HHS to be messaging this in the middle of an outbreak that has killed two children is… despicable.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Marc Veldhoen @marcveld.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia Neurotropic herpes viruses may be implicated in the development of dementia. Can vaccines reduce this risk? Yes, they can! www.nature.com/artic... 1/10
nature.com
A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia
Nature - Using a natural experiment that avoids common bias concerns, this study finds that the live-attenuated shingles vaccine reduced the probability of a new dementia diagnosis within a...
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Brandy Zadrozny @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Kennedy's dismantling of public health has begun. Thousands of doctors, scientists & admins, w deep cuts to HIV, minority health & injury prevention. Several CDC center directors—have been offered a random (and likely remote) reassignment: Indian Health. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
CDC ordered staff this week not to release their experts’ assessment that found the risk of catching measles is high in areas near outbreaks where vaccination rates are lagging. “The decision to vaccinate is a personal one,” a spokesperson said, echoing a line from a recent editorial RFK Jr. wrote
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
If you accept that non-citizens have no right to due process, you are accepting that citizens have no right to due process. All the government has to do is claim that you are not a citizen; without due process you have no chance to prove the contrary.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Tim Carvell @timcarvell.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
School Bully Shocks Nerds With Further Lunch-Money Demands
"I will tell you right now that Columbia has not in my opinion - and the opinion of the Department of Justice - has not cleaned up their act," Mr. Terrell said. "They're not even close, not even close to having those funds unfrozen."
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
*Unvaccinated child gets measles, develops pneumonia which is a well-known complication of measles, and tragically passes away.* Anti-vaxxers: “See?! It was pneumonia, not measles, that killed her! This was medical error!” 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Good. An immature billionaire and his crew of adolescents don’t have the right to shut down life-saving functions that benefit the poorest and neediest.
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
🤣🤣🤣
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
RFK Jr with more scientifically illiterate ramblings: The vaccine confers life long immunity to 95-98% of people who get 2 doses. Breast milk does NOT provide reliable protection to infants, regardless of mother’s immunity (infection vs vaccine).
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Lemme get this straight - Trump inherited a booming economy with stocks at an all-time high… And now he’s crashed it and made a recession very likely… All over stupid tariffs and other poor decisions?
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Marco Rubio announces that he has killed PEPFAR. An organization that provided critical HIV care to the poorest and neediest. All while professing to follow the teachings of Christ.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Ilan Schwartz @germhuntermd.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
Killing PEPFAR means killing millions of people All to save 0.08% of the budget. www.vox.com/future-perfe...
vox.com
Killing PEPFAR means killing millions of people
All to save 0.08 percent of the budget.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
According to a former editor of JAMA, we need more studies on whether or not vaccines cause autism. What mistakes does he make? 🧵
Interesting that some Senators criticized @DrJBhattacharya for saying he would fund research at the @NIH to show that vaccines do not cause autism. The critics argued that this was 'settled science.'

Yes, there is compelling evidence against the vaccine-autism relationship. However, a large swath of the public do not believe it. Because of public skepticism, it is not settled science.

There is a need for further research intentending to convince the public regarding vaccine safety. It is not good enough to say "I am a scientist at a prestigious university, and you should believe what I say because of who I am."

That does not work anymore, especially after the pandemic when science's reputation took a big hit...
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Alastair McAlpine, MD @alastairmca30.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
Please don’t have “measles parties.” Even for kids who fully recover, measles is a miserable experience. And a substantial number will have complications. Just get vaccinated instead.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Cartoon by @billbramhall.bsky.social.
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Reposted by Alastair McAlpine, MD
The Onion @theonion.com · 27/02/2025
RFK Jr. Vows To Make Measles Deaths So Common They Won’t Be Upsetting Anymore
theonion.com
RFK Jr. Vows To Make Measles Deaths So Common They Won’t Be Upsetting Anymore
WASHINGTON—Addressing the ongoing outbreak in Texas that has infected at least 124 state residents and killed one child, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowed Thursday to mak...
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