This is what a scientist looks like. 👩🏻🔬
Posts by Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD
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
Measles outbreak at ICE detention center housing families in TX…
www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-dil... #IDSky
abc7news.com/post/tubercu... #IDSky
There is a cost to science denial.
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).
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
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.
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
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
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
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...
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-...
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/...
"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
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.
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...
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...
www.cidrap.umn.edu/who-measles-... #IDSky
Excited to be a part of this inaugural class! 🎉 My very first paper was in #JVirology and I’ve been a fan ever since. 🦠
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.
“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
Honored to be selected for @socpedresearch.bsky.social and always looking forward to what my team will do next. 🦠
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
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.
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
🧪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.
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
Viruses will always be relevant.