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Thomas Christie Williams

@thomascwilliams.bsky.social
98 followers 101 following 45 posts

Respiratory paediatrician and researcher. Interested in vaccine preventable diseases, childhood infections, viral evolution.

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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
Stuart Gillespie @stuartgillespie.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
“The fact that unprecedented numbers came out today risking arrest and possible imprisonment shows how repulsed and ashamed people are about our government’s ongoing complicity in a livestreamed genocide, and the lengths people are prepared to go to defend this country’s ancient liberties.”
theguardian.com
Police arrest 365 people at protest over Palestine Action ban in London
Met officers and other UK forces form ‘significant presence’ in largest protest since group was proscribed as terrorist organisation
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
WHO @who.int · 06/08/2025
Access to safe abortion protects the health of women and girls. As with all other health services, women and girls should be able to access safe and respectful abortion care, when they need it, without fear of harm, punishment or recrimination. #HealthForAll
Illustration of a woman standing in a lit doorway, casting a long shadow down a dark hallway. Text on the image reads: 'Restricting access to safe abortion drives women and girls to unsafe procedures.'
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Nirsevimab, a long-acting and highly effective monoclonal antibody to protect against RSV will be introduced for high-risk infants across the UK this autumn- learn more about this at this @RCPCHtweets webinar www.rcpch.ac.uk/education-ca...
rcpch.ac.uk
RCPCH Webinar: RSV update 2025 - Changes to monoclonals for preterm infants
In July 2025 it was announced that high efficacy, single dose nirsevimab immunisation will replace the NHS use of monthly palivizumab injections for infants at high risk of severe respiratory syncytia...
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
exciting news for the RSV field as @GAVI approves the opening of a funding window for the establishment of a maternal RSV vaccine programme www.gavi.org/news/media-r...
GAVI board
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
great annotation of this photo by Dr. Emily Willoughby emilywilloughby.com
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
Happy Birthday to Rosalind Franklin! Photograph 51, taken by her PhD student Raymond Gosling, was key to solving the structure of DNA
Photograph 51, XR diffraction image of B form of DNA
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
The Lancet Infectious Diseases @thelancetinfdis.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
Read our August issue! Featuring pertussis vaccination in pregnancy in Gambian women, whether STIs can be prevented using doxycycline post-exposure, and definition of the primaquine dose to treat P. vivax malaria. www.thelancet.com/issue/S1473-...
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
WHO @who.int · 18/07/2025
People are getting killed trying to get food. 877 people have died and 5666 were injured in #Gaza trying to get food in recent weeks.
As of 15 July, 877 fatalities and 5666 injuries have been reported among people trying to access food supplies. Image of an empty bowl and spoon against black background.
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
for a more detailed description of the background to the paper and our findings see this thread x.com/Williams_T_C...
BronchStop logo
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
our new paper just out in @lancetchildadol.bsky.social show that the new maternal RSV vaccine is highly effective in a real world setting- we estimated that it prevented 72% of hospital admissions with RSV infection when given more than two weeks before birth www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... 1/n
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine @lshtm.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
"We must recognise health problems are information problems" @adamjkucharski.bsky.social explains why tools like vaccines are 'not enough' to tackle disease epidemics, #PublicHealth interventions should now include steps to counter health #misinformation. www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/e...
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
WHO @who.int · 18/07/2025
⚠️ Lack of access ⚠️ Conflict ⚠️ Disrupted supply ⚠️ Misinformation are causing millions of children to miss out on one or more life-saving vaccine. Even worse 🚨 over 14 million children received NO vaccines at all in 2024 👉 bit.ly/4kFzSGW
Illustration of a baby. Text reads: 'Immunizations are still not reaching every child, everywhere. 14.3 million children received no vaccines in 2024.'
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
WHO @who.int · 08/07/2025
#Measles can be fatal. Do you know its symptoms? 🔸 Rash that starts on the face and spreads over the body 🔸 Fever 🔸 Runny nose 🔸 Cough 🔸 Red and watery eyes 🔸 Small white spots inside the cheeks Seek health care if you suspect you or your child has measles.
Illustration of a child with spots on the skin. Text reads 'Measles can be fatal. Know the symptoms. 
- Rash that starts on the face and spreads over the body
- Fever
- Red and watery eyes
- Runny nose
- Small white spots inside the cheeks
- Cough'
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
Helen Burstin, MD, MPH @helenburstinmd.medsky.social · 08/07/2025
Very proud of our specialty societies for suing RFK Jr. over changes to COVID vaccine policy. Go AAP, ACP, IDSA, and SMFM! And thanks again to Dr. Georges Benjamin @apha.org who is always on the right side of justice! #MedSky
politico.com
Doctors’ groups sue Kennedy over Covid shot changes for kids, pregnant people
They say the decision “erodes trust” by pitting providers against federal recommendations that aren’t grounded in evidence.
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
we face a similar, slow burning problem closer to home here in Scotland, with childhood vaccination rates consistently falling over time publichealthscotland.scot/publications...
Vaccination rates in children from 2016 to 2024
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
and a fall in childhood vaccination rates globally www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Global, regional, and national trends in routine childhood vaccination coverage from 1980 to 2023 with forecasts to 2030: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023
Our estimates of current vaccine coverage and forecasts to 2030 suggest that achieving IA2030 targets, such as halving zero-dose children compared with 2019 levels and reaching 90% global coverage for...
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Whilst a lot of attention has focused on Robert F Kennedy's activity in the vaccination sphere in the United States (e.g. www.bmj.com/content/390/...)
bmj.com
US children’s vaccinations to be reviewed, as RFK Jr defunds Gavi
The newly appointed US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has announced two working groups that will review the US children’s vaccination schedule. Opening the first ACIP meeting sin...
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
really excellent post regarding vaccine safety @livvyswann.bsky.social @ting-shi.bsky.social @ryanthwaites.bsky.social @prof-tregoning.bsky.social
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
my favourite section is the really excellent summary of the evidence base for vaccines that have saved millions of lives and years of disability since their introduction @profdevisridhar.bsky.social @helenbranswell.bsky.social
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
this is a sober, detailed and well-informed response to the clear vaccine misinformation provided on national TV by @rfk-junior.bsky.social, Secretary of State for Health and Human Services in the United States
Robert F Kenney in television interview
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
to make sure there are no challenges to vaccination effectiveness as a result of viral evolution
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
a lot of interest now globally on RSV immunisation/vaccination, so a timely release from @who.int iris.who.int/handle/10665... with recommendations for the scale of genomic surveillance required globally - as the vaccine gets rolled out important that we have representative global data
iris.who.int
Respiratory syncytial virus sequencing considerations for an expanded Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
ICYMI: Fired #ACIP member is deeply worried about the committee she worked years to get a seat on, and the future of vaccination policy and vaccine access in this country. www.statnews.com/2025/06/10/c...
statnews.com
Ousted CDC vaccine adviser says RFK Jr.'s message is clear: ‘Scientific expertise is no longer of use’
Terminated CDC vaccine adviser Helen Chu spoke with STAT about her fears for the future of vaccine policy
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
This is “healthcare” in the United States. A pharmacy benefit manager randomly decided they just weren’t going to cover this man’s inhaler anymore, so he couldn’t afford it. He died of an asthma attack. Devastating. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
nbcnews.com
Parents sue over son's asthma death days after inhaler price soared without warning
Cole Schmidtknecht, 22, had insurance but couldn’t afford to refill his asthma inhaler after the cost jumped from $70 to more than $500.
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
when compared to sites in the UK and Italy however year to year variability in LRTI/bronchiolitis attendances/admissions, and differences in coding between sites, might make the impact of maternal vaccination harder to gage
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
our paper just out in @thelancet.com Regional Health Europe just out shows a clear impact for nirsevimab for the youngest infants (0-5m of age) in reducing attendances to, and admissions from, emergency departments in Catalonia, Spain www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Real-world impact of nirsevimab immunisation against respiratory disease on emergency department attendances and admissions among infants: a multinational retrospective analysis
Nirsevimab had a clear impact in reducing attendances and admissions for infants with bronchiolitis aged <6 months in Catalonia. However, the impact on older infants was less clear.
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
there is also a real-time, interactive dashboard for this living review v1xerunt.github.io/VaccineUptak... which will be very helpful in seeing how interventions continue to be rolled our globally
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
however the marginalised groups who are highest risk of severe disease are also those with the lowest uptake, meaning the burden of this now highly preventable disease is distributed doubly inequitably
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
these products are very effective in reducing the risk of hospitalisation with RSV, but uptake has been highly variable
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
congratulations to Daira Trusinska and @ting-shi.bsky.social for their paper just out in @eclinicalmed.bsky.social looking at uptake of new RSV immunisation products: nirsevimab, maternal vaccination, and vaccination for older adults www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
I would say both are fine
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
It highlights the importance of offering extra protection to vulnerable infants in locations where maternal vaccination is the primary prevention approach: nirsevimab should ideally be made available to those born very preterm, or those born less than 2 weeks after maternal RSVpreF vaccination
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
@who.int has just published a comprehensive summary paper on immunisation approaches to protect infants against RSV disease: www.who.int/publications...
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
to a BBC Radio 4 programme on bronchiolitis which mentions the study, and to a podcast on the RSV maternal vaccine by one of our team, Simon Drysdale.
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
the BronchSTOP study has a live dashboard which summarised recruitment and virology in RSV vaccine eligible infants this past 2024-2025 winter bronchstop.netlify.app we now have a tab where you can find a link to our papers so far ,
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
really interesting paper @lancetchildadol.bsky.social on community acquired pneumonia in children, showing best indicators for severity of disease appear to be oxygen saturations and clinician documented work of breathing www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health @lancetchildadol.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Our June 2025 issue is now live with content on managing glycaemic abnormality in #CysticFibrosis, predicting the severity of community-acquired #Pneumonia, real-world & long-term effectiveness of nirsevimab for #RSV, & more 👉https://bit.ly/3FjByaz #MedSky #PedSky #IDSky #EndoSky
Cover image by Edwin Felipe Castillo Angulo, age 10 years

El Amor es la Mejor Medicina (Love is the best medicine) at University Hospital of Valle in Cali, Colombia.
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
"The proliferation of AI tools in science risks introducing a phase of scientific enquiry in which we produce more but understand less"
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
WHO @who.int · 14/05/2025
When streets are safe for walking & cycling, people spend more time outdoors, supporting local businesses & keeping city centres alive. 👍Good for business 👍Great for communities 👍Essential for safer & healthier cities 🔗 bit.ly/4jPzXsa #RoadSafety #StreetsForLife
Illustration promoting car-free areas for road safety. A large "No cars" sign is shown alongside people walking, including an elderly person with a cane, a child, and market vendors. The background includes trees, buildings, a bicycle, and clouds. Text reads: “CAR-FREE areas boost businesses and make streets SAFER.”
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
many thanks to our numerous collaborators we hope this shows the families of those affected by this sometimes devastating condition that we are committed to finding out all we can about this disease and doing all we can to reduce the risk of children and young people deteriorating with it
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
to identify those with life-threatening iGAS before they deteriorate
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
We found opportunities for interventions: existing vaccines (influenza/chickenpox/RSV)and vaccines in development (HMPV and of course GAS) and 45% of those who died had sought medical attention in an episode prior to their final care-seeking episode, suggesting there are opportunities here
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
we found that the 2022-2023 season was indeed worse in terms of numbers of cases (but not deaths) than any previous season in the last 10 years, and that this was driven by an increase in respiratory cases, and associated with an increase in human metapneumovirus infections
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
with help from the two PICUs in Scotland, @publichealthscot.bsky.social, and a fantastic team of paediatric pathologists across Scotland, we identified all paediatric iGAS cases requiring level 3 intensive care or who sadly died
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Following the spike in iGAS respiratory cases in the 2022-2023 winter season (see our previous paper @thelancetinfdis.bsky.social www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... ) we wanted to put this spike in the context of all life-threatening iGAS disease
thelancet.com
National case series of group A streptococcus pleural empyema in children: clinical and microbiological features
In the autumn of 2022, clinicians working at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow, UK, observed an unusually high number of admissions for paediatric pleural empyema. We questioned whether this hi...
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
After hard work from collaborators across Scotland, our new paper looking at the burden of life-threatening invasive Group A Streptococcus infection is now out @pidjournal.bsky.social journals.lww.com/pidj/fulltex...
journals.lww.com
National 10-year Cohort Study of Life-threatening Invasive... : The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
ession to death. Methods: Retrospective, multicenter, national cohort study in Scotland investigating critically unwell iGAS cases ≤15 years old from October 01, 2013 to September 30, 2023. We incl...
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Thomas Christie Williams @thomascwilliams.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
Ern400 @ern400.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Thank you.
Poster for International Nurses Day, May 12th, 2025.
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Reposted by Thomas Christie Williams
MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
📄 NEW | Genetic Study shows that Wildlife Trade sparked COVID-19 Virus Emergence in Humans SARS-CoV-2 arrived in Wuhan too quickly for bat hosts to have carried it there. cell.com/cell/fulltex... gla.ac.uk/research/az/... @davidlrobertson.bsky.social @spyroslytras.bsky.social @bljog.bsky.social
cell.com
The recency and geographical origins of the bat viruses ancestral to SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2
Recombination-aware evolutionary analyses of the entire genomes of SARS-CoV-1-like and SARS-CoV-2-like viruses indicate that SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 descend from bat coronaviruses that circulated as...
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