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Greg Folkers

@gregfolkers.bsky.social
702 followers 41 following 2.9K posts

Washington, D.C.

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Reposted by Greg Folkers
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 11h
My God, imagine getting laughed off the stage at a League of Women Voters event.
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 6h
CBC: Canadian health reporter Helen Branswell dead at 69, remembered as 'pretty kickass' journalist by Nick Logan @nicklogan.bsky.social @statnews.com bit.ly/4hYnbaW 💥
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 15h
It certainly appears that she never passed the bar exam in any state or in DC. She should fit in with the NIH Director Bhattacharya who is listed as "a renowned doctor,..." on the NIH website despite not doing any clinical training after medical school and never (it appears) practicing medicine.
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 11h
Washingtonian: “They Want to Have Their Hands in Everything”: An NIH Insider on How Trump Is Politicizing Biomedical Science by Laurie Wiegler @washingtonian.com @lauriewiegler.bsky.social r.bsky.social bit.ly/4Bb3qpE 💥
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Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 16h
This👇 is such a good example of how on top of her game Helen was. While she was keeping us all updated on Ebola, MERS, flu, and so many of all the other infectious diseases out there, she immediately grasped the gravity of the first warning sign of what we now remember as SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19.
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Dr. Tom Frieden @drtomfrieden.bsky.social · 20h
CDC just closed offices in Angola and South Sudan. Zimbabwe is next; a dozen more may follow. CDC staff overseas support countries to find outbreaks early and stop them before they reach us. Decisions have consequences. Lives will be lost, including American lives. bit.ly/4B5n6uG
beckershospitalreview.com
CDC closes 2 offices in Africa as Trump ties health aid to deals: Politico
CDC closes offices Africa as State Department ties foreign health aid to country-specific agreements under the Trump administration.
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 14h
RTI International to coordinate re-established NIAID Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases Network -- CREID bit.ly/4yoy78b
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 14h
Helen Branswell RIP by Andrew Joseph @statnews.com @drewqjoseph.bsky.social 💔 Helen was a an ace reporter. Thorough, relentless, correct -- and her writing was clear as a bell. If I were a SciJo professor my frst assignment would be: read all of Helen's stories. Every one. bit.ly/4BaR3tI 💥
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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 19h
Comments due by 11:59pm today, 11/13 rfi.grants.nih.gov?s=6a2b1c22c3... Community feedback matters. Perspective on what is at stake along with suggestions on how to respond 👇
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Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 19h
"This wrecks some of our lives," Dylan told me about his experience w/the peptide BPC-157. He wasn't alone. There are entire chat rooms of people who say they've been harmed. Their voices are muffled in MAHA hype. My latest @kffhealthnews.org / @washingtonpost.com kffhealthnews.org/public-healt...
kffhealthnews.org
People Say These Peptides Hurt Them. Their Stories Are Muffled in MAHA’s Push for Medical Freedom. - KFF Health News
People who have taken experimental peptides, such as BPC-157, complain of migraines, eye pain, fatigue, and more. Learning whether these popular but unproven drugs are to blame may become harder if Ro...
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 18h
Healthbeat: When West Nile virus attacks the brain by Alison Young @healthbeat.org @alisonannyoung.bsky.social yikes. Spray that DEET bit.ly/47QLZNr
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 20h
IDSA letter to Jay Bhattacharya: Response to Request for Information on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes From NIH Peer Review (NOT-OD-26-088) @idsainfo.bsky.social bit.ly/4yLxUMZ 💥
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 20h
CDC EID journal: Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis after Measles Outbreaks, the Philippines, 2007–2022 heartbreaking and preventable 💔 Maela P. Palisoc et al bit.ly/47cTGNM 💥
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 20h
OFID: Humoral Immunogenicity of mRNA-1010, an mRNA-Based Seasonal Influenza Vaccine, in Adults ≥50 Years Isabel Leroux-Roels et al @ofidjournal.bsky.social bit.ly/3W6uztw 💥
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 20h
Boston Globe/STAT: Divergent trial results on cancer vaccines have the field grappling with hard questions By Allison DeAngelis @statnews.com @bostonglobe.com bit.ly/3WmT5Xo 💥
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 21h
CEPI: Final preparations underway for pivotal Phase 2/3 Bundibugyo vaccine trial @cepi.net bit.ly/3W7JmnP
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 21h
USPS: Know the Facts About Fentanyl stamp is here bit.ly/3TVft9G
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Reposted by Greg Folkers
Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 22h
I went through the WHO Disease Outbreak Notice about the pneumonia of undetermined aetiology in Siberia. SPOILER ALERT: Russia is lying. About what is less clear but I have some ideas 👇 rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/the-plague...
rasmussenretorts.substack.com
The Plague That Never Wasn’t
Is it a lab leak? Is it a bioweapon? Is it even plague? Who knows! But if it was a lab leak, Darya Shipilova didn’t know about it.
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 22h
medRxiv: Temporal and Phylodynamic analyses of the 2026 Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo estimates the time of emergence as late February 2026 Tony Wawina-Bokalanga et al bit.ly/4ese4hG
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Lancet: 21st century global threats to health are not what you think by J Stephen Morrison @csis.org @thelancet.com bit.ly/3U0vIST
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Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
The End of Free Speech is the End of Science
A Personal Covid Perspective
Jay Bhattacharya MD PhD
Stanford University
April 2024
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
New NIH Funding Opportunity & WEBINAR (10/19): Implementation Science to Advance HIV Prevention, Treatment, and Care (RFA-AI-27-018) bit.ly/4s6i79k
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Lancet editorial: Rethinking threats to human survival bit.ly/4yd9hI5 💥 @thelancet.com
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Ranking Member Raskin Statement on Federal Search Conducted on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Home bit.ly/4yj7H7B @raskin.house.gov @ilhanmn.bsky.social @democrats-judiciary.house.gov
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Reposted by Greg Folkers
Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Nature Communications / Luca Giurgea, Matthew Memoli et al: Safety and immunogenicity of a BPL-inactivated, whole-virus, universal influenza vaccine: a randomized, double-blinded, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, phase 1 clinical trial go.nature.com/4etN3ui
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
New Yorker: Kramer and Fauci—Enemies to Friends to Protagonists By Michael Schulman @newyorker.com @michaelschulman.bsky.social bit.ly/4yK9VxH
bit.ly
Kramer and Fauci—Enemies to Friends to Protagonists
The playwright and the immunologist famously argued about AIDs live on C-SPAN, in 1993. Their heated exchange now unfolds in a new play that almost included a “Guys and Dolls” song break.
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Nature Q+A: Plague scare: what scientists know, and what Russia won’t say by Max Kozlov @nature.com @maxkozlov.bsky.social go.nature.com/47QMerM
go.nature.com
Plague scare: what scientists know, and what Russia won’t say
Unverified rumours swirl around the death of a Siberian laboratory technician. Nature talks to a biosecurity specialist to unpack the fallout.
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Reposted by Greg Folkers
Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 12/10/2026
Massive outbreaks and death aren't the only fallout from anti-vaxxers' rhetoric. Now they're going after the doctors who treat measles patients, reporting them to the state medical board. Thrilled to team up with @walkerbragman.bsky.social on this one! www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Anti-vaxxers target Texas measles doctors to cast doubt on deaths amid outbreak
Children’s Health Defense and RFK Jr publicly dispute recent measles deaths to ‘distract’ from damage caused and question vaccines, experts say
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Advocate: Why scientific breakthroughs won't end HIV if communities are left behind by Jeremiah Johnson @advocate.com bit.ly/4yMmI2X
bit.ly
Why scientific breakthroughs won't end HIV if communities are left behind
OPINION: New tools can transform HIV prevention and treatment. Their reach depends on confronting the barriers that keep people from care.
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Reposted by Greg Folkers
Liz Szabo @lizszabo.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
A sixth measles death in PA. www.pennlive.com/health/2026/...
pennlive.com
Central Pa. woman dies after contracting measles, coroner says
The county coroner's office said that the woman had several underlying conditions, including a past diagnosis of measles.
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
NYT: We Aren’t Ready for the New Age of Biological Threats By Jeff Coller @nytimes.com @jmcoller.bsky.social nyti.ms/4yFsiE1
nyti.ms
Opinion | We Need an Operation Warp Speed for New Biological Threats (Gift Article)
This is a hair-on-fire moment for the biosecurity community.
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Nature Communications / Luca Giurgea, Matthew Memoli et al: Safety and immunogenicity of a BPL-inactivated, whole-virus, universal influenza vaccine: a randomized, double-blinded, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, phase 1 clinical trial go.nature.com/4etN3ui
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
NYT: He Helped Discover Ebola 50 Years Ago. He’s Still Worried. Peter Piot by By Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social @nytimes.com nyti.ms/4jSWI13
nyti.ms
He Helped Discover Ebola 50 Years Ago. He’s Still Worried. (Gift Article)
In an interview, Dr. Peter Piot recalled when he first saw the spindly virus under a microscope and reflected on a five-decade career spent fighting two deadly pathogens.
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Positively Aware: HIV advocates sound alarm as NIH hits ‘pause’ on new HIV clinical trials by Larry Buhl  bit.ly/4duCwPk
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
ACLU: The NIH is Censoring Researchers and Blocking Scientific Progress @aclu.org cc Jay Bhattacharya bit.ly/3TYuIyD 💥
bit.ly
The NIH is Censoring Researchers and Blocking Scientific Progress | #aclu #shorts #censorship | ACLU
By terminating research grants like Kelton's to censor views it doesn’t like, the NIH is blocking scientists from work that would advance public health for all of us. We're pushing back. Tell Congress to demand the NIH restore terminated grants and stop its censorship campaign at https://aclu.org/nih-censorship
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
People with long Covid have drastically different microbiome in their lungs and mouth bit.ly/4zssmqW
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Vaccine Injuries Are Real, Rare, and Dwarfed by the Diseases They Prevent History of Vaccines blog @historyvaccines.bsky.social bit.ly/4yeXRDA 💥
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Virginian-Pilot: Column: Protecting NIH research is urgent — and personal by Kathleen Kelly Sharp bit.ly/3TLxxD7
bit.ly
Column: Protecting NIH research is urgent — and personal
At a time when 7.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, we should be accelerating research, Kathleen Kelly Sharp writes in a guest column.
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Unbiased Science: Which Families Count in the Vaccine Debate? ... this was a devastating week for public health, so much so that it’s hard to know where to begin. @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social bit.ly/47OVcpq 💥
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Grant Witness: All NIH Awards and Obligations bit.ly/3UliiAX @grantwitness.org
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
The Lancet: New Commission provides roadmap to protect economies, security and global stability from catastrophic threats to health and human survival bit.ly/47fp1zn
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Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I would add an 18th catastrophic threat: the rise of far right, authoritarianism, backed by technofascist billionaires
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: This Penn State Health pediatrician never thought he’d see measles. Now, he treats it every day. by Hanna Webster @post-gazette.com bit.ly/4AZTSxv
bit.ly
This Penn State Health pediatrician never thought he’d see measles. Now, he treats it every day.
HERSHEY, Pa. — When Evan Shirey learned about the measles virus, it was through medical textbooks and hypotheticals. He never thought it would become...
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Reposted by Greg Folkers
Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
But Jay Bhattacharya has a pandemic plan- we all need to hit the gym.
sciencebasedmedicine.org
Goodbye to Focused Protection. Jay Bhattacharya’s Latest 1-Page Pandemic “Plan” is for Vulnerable People to Stop Being Vulnerable.
Jay Bhattacharya's new "plan" is really an admission that if there's a new pandemic, he’s not competent enough to do any of the incredible things he “would have” done regarding COVID. He's not
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
WHO Disease Outbreak News Pneumonia of undetermined etiology - Russian Federation 10 October 2026 @who.int 👉 bit.ly/47cbOYa
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
NYT: A Week Later, Russia Hasn’t Said What Pathogen Killed Plague Researcher Experts said they believed that with modern testing technology, the Russian authorities should know the answer by now. @nytimes.com by @paulsonne.bsky.social and @julianbarnes.bsky.social nyti.ms/4jfInf4
nyti.ms
A Week Later, Russia Hasn’t Said What Pathogen Killed Plague Researcher (Gift Article)
Experts said they believed that with modern testing technology, the Russian authorities should know the answer by now.
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Politico: Eric Schmitt and the Twilight of the Covid Republican / Resistance to pandemic lockdowns and mandates created a generation of Republican stars. Nearly all have faded away. By Kathy Gilsinan @politico.com @kgilsinan.bsky.social politi.co/3VBwaaF
politi.co
Eric Schmitt and the Twilight of the Covid Republican
Resistance to pandemic lockdowns and mandates created a generation of Republican stars. Nearly all have faded away.
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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 09/10/2026
Trump and RFK jr. want to use your tax dollars to let children die from preventable diseases in Guinea-Bissau. Stand Up For Science says: NOT ON OUR WATCH!
NEWS ALERT banner over portraits of RFK Jr and Trump with a bold headline that reads "Trump and RFK jr. want to use your tax dollars to let children die from preventable diseases in Guinea-Bissau"
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Compelling
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Holy shit FOUR members of the ethics committee in Denmark that gave the green light to allow the widely-condemned RFK Jr-funded trial to proceed in Guinea-Bissau have now resigned in protest This quote is 🔥 Great reporting by @melodyschreiber.com www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Stig Børsen Hansen, a founding member who was one of two reviewers who presented the study to the Danish committee, resigned from the group in protest on Friday, citing major ethical issues with the study.

“You are now enrolling newborns in a lottery to test a hypothesis,” Hansen said. The children who are randomly selected not to receive the birth dose of the vaccine, those who “lost the lottery”, face in their earliest days the risk of contracting hepatitis B, which can cause irreversible lifelong damage. “They contract hepatitis B in the context of being part of a research project,” Hansen said, which made their infection happen, in effect, “by design”.

Three other members of the committee have also resigned in protest.
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