Tara C. Smith's Avatar

Tara C. Smith

@aetiology.bsky.social

Collector of social media sites. Infectious disease epidemiologist. Writes about vaccine hesitancy, science misinfo, zombies. Probably somewhere on a trail. Views own etc.

33,132 Followers  |  2,878 Following  |  5,639 Posts  |  Joined: 28.04.2023
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Posts by Tara C. Smith (@aetiology.bsky.social)

Powerful piece on the new CDC directorβ€”the Great Barrington Declaration/MAGA/MAHA/Brownstone bro who campaigned for RFK Jr when RFK Jr ran for president

This nails it:

"As much as he may claim to be working to restore trust in the agency, his actions seem far more likely to achieve the opposite"

06.03.2026 01:48 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Measles cases in North Carolina rise to 24 since December: health officials There have now been 24 reported cases of measles in North Carolina since December 2025, state health officials confirmed Tuesday.

RFK Jr’s measles outbreak in South Carolina, our neighboring state, has spread to NC

It’s his dream of courseβ€”all part of his extreme anti-vaxx, anti-science, conspiracy theorist, eugenicist plans for the USβ€”but it’s our nightmare

wlos.com/news/local/m...

05.03.2026 12:13 β€” πŸ‘ 85    πŸ” 36    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 1

Try your damndest to live your life so that if you were fired from your job and about to give a speech that someone would tell you.

05.03.2026 19:39 β€” πŸ‘ 758    πŸ” 138    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 2

🚨 THIS IS NOT A DRILL. kristi noem is doing a live speech right now and doesn't know she was fired. 🚨

05.03.2026 19:23 β€” πŸ‘ 3921    πŸ” 691    πŸ’¬ 129    πŸ“Œ 125

If you're at the airport and Kristi Noem is doing the ominous little message from the TSA screens, you no longer have to do anything she says. Leave your laptop in the case, whatever.

05.03.2026 19:22 β€” πŸ‘ 24231    πŸ” 3491    πŸ’¬ 327    πŸ“Œ 144
On behalf of Brian’s family, we want to express our deepest gratitude for the overwhelming outpouring of support, messages, and contributions over the last 24 hours.

At this time, our priority is Brian’s wellbeing. We are taking a necessary step back from the public eye to allow him to focus fully on his recovery in private. While he looks forward to engaging with you all again very soon, his health and his family remain the current priorities.

Thank you for your continued patience and for being such an incredible community. Please keep Brian and his family in your prayers.

β€” Team McGinnis

On behalf of Brian’s family, we want to express our deepest gratitude for the overwhelming outpouring of support, messages, and contributions over the last 24 hours. At this time, our priority is Brian’s wellbeing. We are taking a necessary step back from the public eye to allow him to focus fully on his recovery in private. While he looks forward to engaging with you all again very soon, his health and his family remain the current priorities. Thank you for your continued patience and for being such an incredible community. Please keep Brian and his family in your prayers. β€” Team McGinnis

And for the record, I’ve been running long before this, and yes even after breaking my arm standing up for what I believe in. It’s only made me more determined. Anger is real, and so is resolve. Take care.

And for the record, I’ve been running long before this, and yes even after breaking my arm standing up for what I believe in. It’s only made me more determined. Anger is real, and so is resolve. Take care.

A message from Brian McGinnis, the firefighter and Marine veteran who was forcibly removed and injured by officers during his anti-war protest at the Capitol

05.03.2026 15:57 β€” πŸ‘ 2934    πŸ” 842    πŸ’¬ 38    πŸ“Œ 37

100 girls are dead because of generative AI

05.03.2026 15:00 β€” πŸ‘ 369    πŸ” 198    πŸ’¬ 11    πŸ“Œ 13

It is so damning of US news media that so many outlets refuse to just straight up say that Senator Tim Sheehy assaulted an activist.

He did not "help" Capitol police. They did not need his help. He wanted to assault the guy and did. He should resign.

05.03.2026 03:28 β€” πŸ‘ 19796    πŸ” 5615    πŸ’¬ 498    πŸ“Œ 218
Post image 04.03.2026 17:00 β€” πŸ‘ 3738    πŸ” 748    πŸ’¬ 125    πŸ“Œ 67

Post an iconic horror movie image

05.03.2026 03:37 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 6

PEPFAR, the program to stop hundreds of thousands of children and adults from dying of HIV/AIDS, was $6.5 billion a year.

05.03.2026 02:45 β€” πŸ‘ 2960    πŸ” 1093    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 19
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Galileo’s handwritten notes found in ancient astronomy text Discovery sheds new light on how famed astronomer came to lead a scientific revolution

I love everything about this! The conviction that a major figure was not struck by a bolt of lightning but worked to understand the system he would ultimately critique and help dismantle. The scholarly sleuthing rare books β€” all of it. πŸ˜ŽπŸ€“
www.science.org/content/arti...

04.03.2026 23:33 β€” πŸ‘ 231    πŸ” 88    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 6

"Draft curriculum inspired by Casey & Calley Means"

😢

05.03.2026 00:24 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Not gonna share the video of Republican US Senator Tim Sheehy breaking a protesting Marine's hand, but you can find it on @charlotteclymer.bsky.social's timeline.

I'll just say that in a functional country, Sheehy would be expelled by the Senate.

Democratic Senators should publicly push for that.

04.03.2026 22:48 β€” πŸ‘ 4330    πŸ” 1255    πŸ’¬ 32    πŸ“Œ 66

Farmer (paternal); Coast Guard then rural letter carrier (maternal).

04.03.2026 22:39 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Florence ICE detainee dead after untreated tooth infection, official says An ICE detainee, who had been at a Florence detention center for four months, died Monday following an untreated tooth infection.

An ICE detainee in Arizona has died of a TOOTH INFECTION after it went untreated for weeks, a local official says. He was a Haitian asylum seeker imprisoned in Florence, Arizona. @emilybregel.bsky.social reports.
tucson.com/news/local/b...

04.03.2026 16:24 β€” πŸ‘ 2872    πŸ” 1754    πŸ’¬ 164    πŸ“Œ 333

How about Ohio's, that out AG voluntarily sent?

04.03.2026 22:36 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Vaccine Integrity Project kicks off evidence review of #Tdap vaccine in pregnancy

Experts say they expect the findings to show how effectively the vaccine reduces pertussis infections, hospitalizations, and deaths among infants.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/v...

04.03.2026 20:47 β€” πŸ‘ 70    πŸ” 18    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

okay, Ill bite.
What do you think the point of reading for and writing a literature review is? The process of reading and writing is crucial for THINKING. Your ideas are shaped by all of this, offloading it to gAI, no matter how "good" you think gAI is at it defeats the purpose entirely.

03.03.2026 19:01 β€” πŸ‘ 1353    πŸ” 285    πŸ’¬ 51    πŸ“Œ 32
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RFK Jr. wants Dunkin’ to prove drinking its iced coffee is safe - The Boston Globe The warning comes as Kennedy is leaning heavily into his agenda to improve American diets.

This is what the revolution was fought over. Gift link.

www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/04/n...

04.03.2026 15:30 β€” πŸ‘ 147    πŸ” 31    πŸ’¬ 15    πŸ“Œ 16
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RFK Jr. wants Dunkin’ to prove drinking its iced coffee is safe - The Boston Globe The warning comes as Kennedy is leaning heavily into his agenda to improve American diets.

This moron has no idea how much of a third rail this is. If he goes through with a public fight with Dunkin he will never live this down. In the words of my people "fuck ya motha."

04.03.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 10557    πŸ” 1668    πŸ’¬ 1025    πŸ“Œ 685
The Mystery of Losing Your Taste From Long COVID May Finally Have an Answer Learn how researchers may have finally uncovered why some people experience long-lasting taste loss after COVID-19.

The Mystery of Losing Your Taste From Long COVID May Finally Have an Answer www.discovermagazine.com/the-mystery-...

04.03.2026 15:58 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Bro, ICE is still here kidnapping people, now they’ve even got transit vans advertising fake companies.

04.03.2026 04:14 β€” πŸ‘ 2154    πŸ” 1115    πŸ’¬ 10    πŸ“Œ 10
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CIDRAP Op-Ed: The COVID vaccine myocarditis signal was real but is now resolved. ACIP's March agenda pretends otherwise.

CIDRAP Op-Ed: The COVID vaccine myocarditis signal was real but is now resolved. ACIP's March agenda pretends otherwise, from @jakescottmd.bsky.social.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/cid...

04.03.2026 00:03 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 17    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Patriot. Mother. Wife.
Read a bit about her here.

bsky.app/profile/aubr...

04.03.2026 01:42 β€” πŸ‘ 266    πŸ” 77    πŸ’¬ 16    πŸ“Œ 2

Oh god why why

04.03.2026 02:19 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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Iowa College Student With β€˜Bright Future’ Among U.S. Soldiers Killed U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady, 20 years old, of West Des Moines, Iowa, was a student at Drake University. He studied information systems, cybersecurity and computer science, according to a spoke...

Tragic.

www.wsj.com/livecoverage...

04.03.2026 02:16 β€” πŸ‘ 28    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 2

Measles is so contagious that for every one person infected they can infect 18 more people

04.03.2026 01:34 β€” πŸ‘ 170    πŸ” 82    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 3
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Parents Tried to Shield Their Children From Vaccines. Instead They Got Measles.

Parents Tried to Shield Their Children From Vaccines. Instead They Got Measles: rising exemptions are playing a big role in the measles outbreak that is sickening, hospitalizing, and killing children in the U.S.. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/u... @nytimes.com

03.03.2026 23:52 β€” πŸ‘ 91    πŸ” 32    πŸ’¬ 11    πŸ“Œ 12
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Texas AG Paxton Declares Therapists Affirming Trans Youth To Be Illegal And Child Abuse The declaration echoes his 2022 efforts to target parents of trans youth with child abuse, and may force conversion therapy on trans youth in the state.

1. This morning, Texas AG Ken Paxton just released a chilling new declaration:

Mental health therapists, counselors, and psychologists must cease affirming trans youth - using their name and pronouns - or potentially face child abuse charges and loss of licensure.

Its a horrifying escalation.

02.03.2026 18:44 β€” πŸ‘ 2438    πŸ” 1118    πŸ’¬ 144    πŸ“Œ 182