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Patrick J Passarelli

@pjpass.bsky.social

Med-peds|adult infectious diseases in the Northeast US, former Fulbright scholar to Russia, former peds chief. Deputy Editor of ID at theMedNet.org. Lover of πŸΆπŸ―πŸŒΏπŸ¦…

515 Followers  |  1,104 Following  |  44 Posts  |  Joined: 13.11.2024  |  2.0631

Latest posts by pjpass.bsky.social on Bluesky

Doctors are AMAZED at these 10 ways to BOOST your immune system:

The Tetanus vaccine
The Measles vaccine
The Polio vaccine
The Mumps vaccine
The HPV vaccine
The Pneumonia vaccine
The Hepatitis B vaccine
The Rubella vaccine
The Diphtheria vaccine
The Covid-19 vaccine

- @hislopmd.bsky.social

07.07.2025 12:02 β€” πŸ‘ 1538    πŸ” 448    πŸ’¬ 29    πŸ“Œ 22
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Blue line shows ages 0-19: near-zero hepatitis B cases. The birth dose created an entire generation nearly free of hepatitis B. Adults who missed this protection still get infected. That's 30 years of proof this works. Tomorrow's vote could end it.
www.cdc.gov/hepatitis-su...

19.09.2025 01:27 β€” πŸ‘ 46    πŸ” 20    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
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As national medical, scientific, public health and patient organizations, we call for the resignation of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to ensure the health of the American people.

Our statement: https://bit.ly/45LeJHi

03.09.2025 22:30 β€” πŸ‘ 338    πŸ” 182    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 24
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This 🧡 is long so please bear with me. It is compiles evidence in a historical timeline on how effective #COVIDVaccines are. When a pandemic ends we quickly and easily forget the tools that got us out of it. So here is my labour day gift to you prompted by this headline.

01.09.2025 22:38 β€” πŸ‘ 689    πŸ” 309    πŸ’¬ 45    πŸ“Œ 38
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Medical cannabis as the source of Cryptococcus neoformans infection Abstract. Whole genome sequencing demonstrated Cryptococcus neoformans serotype A from cerebrospinal fluid and larynx of a patient receiving therapy for re

Medical cannabis as the source of Cryptococcus neoformans infection

Editor's Choice

Hong Nguyα»…n's team at @idpittstop.bsky.social

#OpenAccess #MedMycoSky #IDSky #TxID

academic.oup.com/cid/advance-...

04.08.2025 17:18 β€” πŸ‘ 23    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

It’s understandable to have questions about aluminum in vaccines. Here are the key facts:
🧡

13.06.2025 17:50 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Statement from LAPD regarding protests in the city of Los Angeles.

08.06.2025 02:28 β€” πŸ‘ 929    πŸ” 314    πŸ’¬ 40    πŸ“Œ 146

Great news! Annie is an advocate for the voiceless. We need more thoughtful people like her in government!

06.06.2025 00:58 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Covid Vaccine-Pregnancy Flip Flop RFK Jr. just made it difficult for pregnant women to protect themselves against Covid. Why?

open.substack.com/pub/pauloffi...
The United States is the only country in the world that does not consider pregnancy to be a risk factor for severe Covid

05.06.2025 09:32 β€” πŸ‘ 90    πŸ” 44    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 3

I tackle this question and discuss the linked paper in my new episode out now, about global measles outbreaks! Also debuts Hot Zone Hotline, the new Q&A segment!
Available on your favorite player, even the free ones! Also free on the website! Infectioudose.com

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

04.06.2025 07:21 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Ardem Patapoutian's story is not just the American dream, it is the dream of American science.

He arrived in Los Angeles in 1986 at age 18 after fleeing war-torn Lebanon. He spent a year writing for an Armenian newspaper and delivering Domino's at night to become eligible for the University of California, where he earned his undergraduate degree and a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience.

He started a lab at Scripps Research in San Diego with a grant from the National Institutes of Health, discovered the way humans sense touch, and in 2021 won the Nobel Prize.

But with the Trump administration slashing spending on science, Dr. Patapoutian's federal grant to develop new approaches to treating pain has been frozen. In late February, he posted on Bluesky that such cuts would damage biomedical research and prompt an exodus of talent from the United States. Within hours, he had an email from China, offering to move his lab to "any city, any university I want," he said, with a guarantee of funding for the next 20 years.

Ardem Patapoutian's story is not just the American dream, it is the dream of American science. He arrived in Los Angeles in 1986 at age 18 after fleeing war-torn Lebanon. He spent a year writing for an Armenian newspaper and delivering Domino's at night to become eligible for the University of California, where he earned his undergraduate degree and a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience. He started a lab at Scripps Research in San Diego with a grant from the National Institutes of Health, discovered the way humans sense touch, and in 2021 won the Nobel Prize. But with the Trump administration slashing spending on science, Dr. Patapoutian's federal grant to develop new approaches to treating pain has been frozen. In late February, he posted on Bluesky that such cuts would damage biomedical research and prompt an exodus of talent from the United States. Within hours, he had an email from China, offering to move his lab to "any city, any university I want," he said, with a guarantee of funding for the next 20 years.

Man comes to the US from Lebanon. Starts out delivering pizzas, becomes a Nobel winning neuroscientist. Trump freezes his funding, he gets an email from China offering to move his lab β€œany city, any university I want" with guaranteed funding for 20 years.

What are we doing?

03.06.2025 19:49 β€” πŸ‘ 3378    πŸ” 1439    πŸ’¬ 93    πŸ“Œ 150
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Post-TB Sequelae: Life and Death After TB Treatment - In Discussion with Prof. Nicolas Menzies - The TBPod Associate Professor Nicolas Alan Menzies, from the School of Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, joins Dr Andrew Burke to discuss hi...

TBPod is back!

Associate Prof. Nicolas Menzies joins Dr Andrew Burke to unpack the hidden burden after TB treatment, on life-years, quality of life & long-term risks. #TBPod #Tuberculosis #GlobalHealth

Listen via the link below.

www.buzzsprout.com/851944/episo...

02.06.2025 02:41 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

105 controlled vaccine trials.
110 yrs. 1.8 M participants.
All in one live, crowd-sourced sheet.

Built by contributors worldwide to counter the myth that vaccines weren’t tested with controls.

Quiet work still breaks through the noise.
www.bradspellberg.com/vaccine-rcts
@bradspellberg.bsky.social

06.05.2025 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 195    πŸ” 102    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 5
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Training Interruptedβ€”The Hidden Costs of Secure Messaging on Medical Trainee Learning This essay describes the negative impact of secure messaging on attention, learning opportunities, and autonomy for medical trainees.

Are we even docs anymore if all we are doing is texting all day?!

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

28.05.2025 02:00 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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I’m a dentist from India. The fluoride debate in the U.S. horrifies me While debates in the U.S. rage about potential overexposure to fluoride, people worldwide still lack basic access to it.

"For many of these people, unfluoridated water may not pose an immediate risk β€” they have the means to compensate through private care. But the bans they advocate for extend far beyond their communities, stripping others of a preventive tool they cannot easily replace."

24.05.2025 17:52 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Some of my best attendings are also moms who have taken off from work to parent. Glad to have had their influence in my education, and I’m sure their kids are glad to have had that time with them. Win win πŸ’ͺπŸ»πŸ€“

21.05.2025 02:08 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Taking time to parent your kids doesn't make your credentials disappear. Many women in STEM take extended maternity leave, stay-at-home parent, etc.It doesn't make them any less valuable as professionals. Respecting women means respecting their career choices, not erasing past accomplishments πŸ§ͺπŸ‘©β€πŸ”¬πŸŽπŸ₯½βš›οΈπŸ§¬

20.05.2025 15:05 β€” πŸ‘ 56    πŸ” 13    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

Does vaccination of infants prior to 12 months blunt overall vaccine effectiveness long term?

bsky.app/profile/pjpa...

19.05.2025 18:54 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

Seems there’s a meaningful signal, but this was my key takeaway:

β€œ..absence of detectable antibodies does not necessarily mean loss of MeV-specific immunity. Immunity can persist due to immunological memory, allowing the immune system to mount a rapid and effective response upon MeV re-exposure..”

19.05.2025 02:32 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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How ID Doctors Get Paid -- The Bread, Butter, and Budget Deficits of Infectious Diseases Two decades ago, Dr. Atul Gawande wrote a memorable piece for The New Yorker about how doctors in the United States get paid. Providing a nice mix of self-reflection about his own experience and some ...

We love what we do. But yes, we’d also like to get paid. ID is a cognitive, consult-heavy specialty -- and often a β€œloss leader” in a fee-for-service world.

A look at how the money actually flows (or doesn’t), Part 1. #IDSky blogs.jwatch.org/hiv-id-obser...

18.05.2025 11:26 β€” πŸ‘ 57    πŸ” 13    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 3
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Novo Nordisk (Ozempic) | Acquired Podcast The complete podcast (and transcript!) of Novo Nordisk’s history and business strategy.

The story behind GLP1 development is also fascinating! There's a good review article (www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...), and @acquiredfm.bsky.social did a nice deep dive.

17.05.2025 20:44 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Snapshot showing absurdly expensive cost of infectious diseases certification exam

Snapshot showing absurdly expensive cost of infectious diseases certification exam

Speaking of greed...

#ABIM

@katiekwonmd.bsky.social

www.newsweek.com/certified-me...

17.05.2025 12:04 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Actually in this case my friend is an NP screaming about stewardship and how they shouldn’t be treating asymptomatic bacteruria and running things by me cause she knows it’s nuts, and her MD supervisors are pushing treatment to bill higher level visits. The problem is GREED

17.05.2025 02:18 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

No! It’s being done as a shotgun approach the way we would send routine micro tests. Also being used for people with asymptomatic bacteruria, and apparently abscesses too. The reports give multiple results and even PCR for resistance genes. And apparently UC managers encouraging ABX no matter result

16.05.2025 17:16 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Is anyone else seeing the widespread application of broad bacterial PCR testing for urine, skin and soft tissue infections in urgent cares? This is a disaster…

#IDsky

14.05.2025 23:17 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 0
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Peter James Krause, MD Dr. Peter J. Krause is Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale School of Public Health and Yale School of Medicine,

ysph.yale.edu/profile/pete...

14.05.2025 08:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
AAP Statement on HHS Report Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is deeply alarmed by the report released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today on medical care for transgender and gender-diverse ind...

β€œPatients, their families, and their physiciansβ€”not politicians or government officials β€”should be the ones to make decisions together about what care is best for them based on evidence-based, age-appropriate care.”

www.aap.org/en/news-room....

12.05.2025 22:43 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This has strong Father Earth vibes @nkjemisin.bsky.social

13.05.2025 01:12 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Measles virus and rinderpest virus divergence dated to the sixth century BCE Measles virus diverged from rinderpest virus in the sixth century BCE, indicating an early origin for human measles.

Measles likely came from cows (via rinderpest) around the 6th century BCE.

For 2,500 years, we didn’t evolve superhuman resistanceβ€”children just died. Real protection only came in the 1960s, with vaccines.

Our superpower isn’t evolving into superhumans. It’s outthinking pathogens.

06.04.2025 13:42 β€” πŸ‘ 629    πŸ” 251    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 19

@pjpass is following 20 prominent accounts