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Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD

@mcfreeid.bsky.social
465 followers 325 following 25 posts

virologist, peds ID doc, musical theatre enthusiast, y’all-er in yinzburgh. Product of UKy, Vandy MSTP, CHP PedSTP. #IDsky #lovevirology mcfreelab.org

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Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD @mcfreeid.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
This is what a scientist looks like. 👩🏻‍🔬
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UW Infectious Disease Fellowship Program @uwidfellowship.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Current measles situation… One month into 2026 (left column) we are at 26% of total cases. Cases continue to be overwhelmingly in un- or under- vaccinated children (who are reliant on adults to protect them with vaccination). #IDSky
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UW Infectious Disease Fellowship Program @uwidfellowship.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Measles outbreak at ICE detention center housing families in TX… www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-dil... #IDSky
cbsnews.com
ICE halts "all movement" at Texas detention facility due to measles infections
The measles​ cases at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center were detected Friday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News.
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American Society for Virology @amersocvirology.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Today is the last day to submit an abstract to ASV 2026! www.asv.org/abstract-sub...
asv.org
Abstract Submission
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UW Infectious Disease Fellowship Program @uwidfellowship.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
abc7news.com/post/tubercu... #IDSky
abc7news.com
Tuberculosis outbreak at San Francisco high school halts in-person classes
Reminiscent of the COVID-era, some students at Riordan High School in San Francisco may be forced to stay at home for weeks as the school works with health leaders to contain a tuberculosis outbreak w...
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
There is a cost to science denial.
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Given the current situation, it’s really important to know that a person can get the MMR vaccine for up to three days *after* exposure. This may help reduce the severity of the infection if not ward it off completely, but only for those in whom it’s not contraindicated. (1/2).
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UW Infectious Disease Fellowship Program @uwidfellowship.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
3 unvaccinated children test positive for measles in Snohomish County, WA. Snohomish abuts King County (Seattle) to the north. doh.wa.gov/newsroom/was... #IDSky
doh.wa.gov
Washington confirms its first measles outbreak since 2023
The outbreak includes three children in Snohomish County. Additionally, one individual in Kittitas County has tested positive for measles. DOH urges vaccination as measles surges nationally OLYMPIA – ...
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Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 14/01/2026
Oh cool! There's tons of evidence showing the newborn RSV shots cut hospitalization by ~80% in the first season. But this shows a major benefit persists in the second year, too.
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Shematologist, MD @shematologist.medsky.social · 06/01/2026
The CDC changed the universal vaccine schedule & no longer recommends Rotavirus Hepatitis A & B Meningitis Influenza RSV I’ve cared for previously healthy kids who died from RSV, influenza and meningitis. We all are going to be caring for a lot more now. In our already overflowing hospitals
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Dorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
Viewpoint: The myth of an over-vaccinated America: The US DOES follow global consensus; Denmark stands out, choosing to protect its children less - which may work in a small, homogenous country with universal healthcare, but not in others. www.cidrap.umn.edu/vaccine-inte... @cidrap.bsky.social
cidrap.umn.edu
Viewpoint: The myth of an over-vaccinated America: The US DOES follow global consensus
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Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD @mcfreeid.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
I’m starting to think we should do a #medEd series on ‘recognizing vaccine preventable illnesses’. Anyone interested in coorganizing? #idsky #pedsid @pidsociety.bsky.social @febrilepodcast.com @idsainfo.bsky.social
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
There's a lot of focus right now on a person's right to choose whether to be vaccinated. But the risks falling vaccination rates pose to individuals — especially young babies, the elderly & the immunocompromised — need to be part of that discussion. www.statnews.com/2025/12/23/v...
statnews.com
4 questions to understand the costs of ‘medical freedom’
The choice that one person makes not to vaccinate has real costs — financial and otherwise — for their neighbors.
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
Last weekend #USDA announced that Wisconsin had detected #H5N1 #birdflu in a dairy cow herd. Today the agency revealed that genetic analysis of virus from the herd shows this event was the result of a new spillover from "wildlife." www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-...
aphis.usda.gov
Update: Genetic Sequencing Results for Wisconsin Dairy Herd Detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Contact: aphispress@usda.gov
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Antibiotic Steward 🅱️C🆔🅿️🌟 @absteward.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
FDA approval 📢🔥 US FDA approved Nuzolvence (zoliflodacin) granules that dissolve in water. This medicine can treat uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhea in adults and children 12 years and older who weigh at least 77 pounds. 2 new oral Abx for gonorrhea #idsky gepotidacin www.fda.gov/news-events/...
fda.gov
FDA Approves Two Oral Therapies to Treat Gonorrhea
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved two new oral medicines to treat a common sexually transmitted infection called gonorrhea.
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Dr. DaShanne Stokes @dashannestokes.com · 05/12/2025
"About 25% of children who develop chronic hepatitis B will die of their infection." --Dr. Andrew Pavia, pediatric infectious disease specialist, professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Utah, and spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
A picture is worth a 1000 words. The birth dose of hepatitis B vaccines in the USA eliminated perinatally acquired hepatitis B infection from over 20,000 cases a year before the vaccine was introduced to <20 cases a year. The gaslighting by the current members ACIP is obscene, unethical and cruel.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
The #ACIP meets tomorrow to assault on vaccines that protect children. They will be debating the birth dose of the hep B vaccine. I wrote about this previously but we cannot say it enough stopping the birth dose is unethical given the many benefits. bktitanji.substack.com/p/the-hepati...
bktitanji.substack.com
The Hepatitis B Vaccine: Why the Birth Dose Matters and Why We Must Defend It
Defending science, saving newborn lives, and keeping the world on track to end Hepatitis B
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CIDRAP @cidrap.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
CIDRAP’s Vaccine Integrity Project has released a major evidence review: 400+ studies/reports, 40 years of data—and the conclusion is unmistakable. There is no evidence supporting a delay in the hepatitis B birth dose. Full report: www.cidrap.umn.edu/vaccine-inte...
cidrap.umn.edu
Vaccine Integrity Project - Hepatitis B
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UW Infectious Disease Fellowship Program @uwidfellowship.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
www.cidrap.umn.edu/who-measles-... #IDSky
cidrap.umn.edu
WHO: Measles deaths dropped by 88% in past 25 years, but cases now surging
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Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD @mcfreeid.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Excited to be a part of this inaugural class! 🎉 My very first paper was in #JVirology and I’ve been a fan ever since. 🦠
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Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD @mcfreeid.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
I couldn’t WAIT to get nirsevimab for my baby. He barely noticed when RSV circulated in his class. It was amazing. Starkly different from when my older child had RSV as an infant and nearly needed to go to the hospital.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics @ameracadpeds.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
“Since 1998, independent researchers have conducted more than 40 high-quality studies involving over 5.6 million people. The conclusion is clear and unambiguous: There’s no link between vaccines and autism." -Dr. Susan Kressly, AAP President on recent changes to the CDC's website
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Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD @mcfreeid.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Honored to be selected for @socpedresearch.bsky.social and always looking forward to what my team will do next. 🦠
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
You can never be sorry enough for dropping the “h” at the end of Pittsburgh. That h really classes up the name, you know, makes it sound like the home of a Scottish Laird n’at. Cheers to Raleig for owning this treachery.
A photo of a sign at the gate of Raleigh airport that says Pittsburg, leaving off the “h” in Pittsburgh. 

The Raleigh airport added this text Dear Pittsburgh:
Our bad.
Love, Raleig
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Institut Pasteur | 130 years of biomedical research @pasteur.fr · 15/10/2025
Six Pasteur scientists win 2025 L’Oréal-UNESCO Young Talents! 🌟 Yolène: Caribbean plants vs dengue mozzies; Leah: gastruloid biophysics; Marion: cancer immunotherapy; Eulalie: menstruation genetics; Sabrina: fixing hearing nerve; Marie: TB & sarcoid immunity. #WomenInScience
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Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
🧪A good perspective. Mothers from the 1950s, who saw how polio affected children's lives would like a word. For every $ spent on the MMR vaccine, the healthcare system saves $13. Now, The direct medical costs of a measles case is $1793. This translates to $~1.79B/yr for Americans.
statnews.com
RFK Jr. says vaccines don’t save lives. He’s wrong
Now RFK Jr. is claiming vaccines don’t actually save lives. Here’s the math to show what he gets wrong.
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Erin Green @erinrgreen.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Job alert ‼️ UChicago Micro is hiring! Open to tenured/tenure track faculty at all levels in any area of microbiology. Come join our amazing and growing department. apply.interfolio.com/174404
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Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD @mcfreeid.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Viruses will always be relevant.
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Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD @mcfreeid.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
We Are Not Going to ‘Solve’ Autism. And That’s OK. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/o... A beautiful piece by an anthropologist and father of a daughter with autism. “Good science takes years, not months.”
nytimes.com
Opinion | We Are Not Going to ‘Solve’ Autism. And That’s OK.
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Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD @mcfreeid.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Check us out! Recruiting new colleagues!
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Many studies have shown that there is no relationship between MMR vaccine and the development of autism. Here are two of the best. This one followed every single child born in Denmark from 1991 through 1998 (n=537,303). There was no association.
nejm.org
A Population-Based Study of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccination and Autism | NEJM
It has been suggested that vaccination against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) is a cause of autism. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all children born in Denmark from January 1991 th...
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
25% of Drs in US are foreign grads. Many are on an H1B visa. This will hit health systems hard especially rural hospitals and hospitals in underserved areas that sponsor these visas through waiver programs. The old cost was about 5000$ a year. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Trump signs proclamation imposing annual $100,000 fee on H-1B visas
Move deals potentially major blow to US tech industry, which relies heavily on workers from India and China
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Waggoner Lab @labwaggoner.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Human myelinated brain organoids with integrated microglia can be used to investigate demyelination, remyelination, and remyelinating therapies www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
The second to last child in this line to get his polio shot is none other than my friend @jimalwine.bsky.social. You know what’s even cooler? He went on to became a famous virologist who was one of the inventors of the Northern Blot. He wrote a blog post about this, which can be found below.
Screenshot of a newspaper article from 1955 that shows one child getting a polio vaccine from a doctor in glasses, a white shirt and a tie. Behind them in line are five other kids, one of whom is Dr. Jim Alwine. The paper is “The Gazette and Daily” from York, PA, and the headline says “Youngsters get first Salk shots”.
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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Really incredible effort by the indefatigable @nurseteria.bsky.social to raise awareness of what we are going to bring back by stripping access to vaccination 👇🏻
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Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Acetaminophen/Tylenol use during pregnancy was not associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in sibling control analysis. This suggests associations observed in other, less rigorous analyses may have been attributable to familial confounding (aka erroneous finding):
jamanetwork.com
Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability
This nationwide cohort study with sibling control analysis examines the association of acetaminophen use during pregnancy with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability.
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Alexandra Petri @petridishes.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Florida Decided There Were Too Many Children
theatlantic.com
Florida Decided There Were Too Many Children
The state’s elimination of vaccine mandates is a courageous first step toward decluttering itself of any excess kids.
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Patrick Hickey, MD @pwhickey.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Must read - Powerful warning to the nation as @drdemetre.bsky.social resigns as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and posts this post on X. Well done, Sir! 🔥💪 “My resignation letter from CDC. Dear Dr. Houry, 1/x
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
New York Times story with profiles of researchers whose grants were terminated. [Gift Link] www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | America First? Not When It Comes to Your Health.
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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
My comments with the Houston Press www.houstonpress.com/news/cuts-to...
houstonpress.com
Hotez Says RFK’s Slashed Funding on mRNA Vaccines Could Have Deadly Results
Global immunization expert Dr. Peter Hotez says the federal government’s recent decision to slash $500 million in research funding for mRNA vaccines is dangerous, and potentially deadly, for Americans...
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Cincinnati Children’s Research @cincyresearch.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Scientists are still talking about the advanced #LiverOrganoid developed by experts @cincychildrens.bsky.social and the Institute of Science Tokyo. Congrats to Takanori Takebe and colleagues! Study: www.nature.com/articles/s41... New story: www.biotechniques.com/cell-and-tis...
biotechniques.com
Liver cells self-organize to form vascularized liver organoid
Using a novel 3D culture system, an international team of researchers have created the first vascularized liver organoid.
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Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD @mcfreeid.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
I’m so excited that our collaborative work with @dermodylab.bsky.social and @jgecko77.bsky.social is now published in @jclinical-invest.bsky.social! I’ll plan to do a full unroll soon, but for now, here’s the link: www.jci.org/articles/vie...
jci.org
JCI - Immune cells promote paralytic disease in mice infected with enterovirus D68
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UW Infectious Disease Fellowship Program @uwidfellowship.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
Hey #IDSky 👋 - working on growing the network for our BlueSky account after relocating from that other place (🤫)… Follow us for the best of ID training and #IDSky. Let us hear from you so we can follow you! UWID Fellowship - your place for ID news, publications and education. #allarewelcomehere
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
1. I am glad CDC scientists are continuing to do important public health and outbreak reporting in very challenging times . 2. Here is the just published MMR report on an outbreak of Salmonella linked to commercial raw milk in CA. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
cdc.gov
Outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium Infections Linked ...
This report describes a Salmonella outbreak linked to ...
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American Society for Virology @amersocvirology.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Come visit us at the ASV table and win some virology swag! We’ll be open this morning 8:30-10:30 AM and this afternoon from 2:00-4:00 PM. #ASV2025 #LoveVirology
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Edward Nirenberg @enirenberg.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Responses to the Sounding Board piece by Prasad and Makary are now posted: www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.... Had I known that character limits would be so liberal I would have submitted a response, but these replies hit on all the key points.
nejm.org
An Evidence-Based Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination | NEJM
To the Editor: In their Sounding Board article (June 26 issue),1 Prasad and Makary ignore the fact that the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection extend beyond acute outcomes such as hospitalization and de...
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Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD @mcfreeid.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Looking forward to the @pittpediatrics.bsky.social Grand Rounds tomorrow by @drannieandrews.com about her advocacy efforts. #pediatriciansforsenate
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
July 1st is my favorite day in the hospital calendar. So many young talented physicians across the US officially start their physician careers today. Welcome to the new interns. It's a privilege to mentor you and see you blossom into caring doctors. We all were once interns 😊
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Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD @mcfreeid.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
here’s to doing more good science with good people. 🎉
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