Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD

This is what a scientist looks like. 👩🏻‍🔬

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

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.

Measles outbreak at ICE detention center housing families in TX…

www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-dil... #IDSky

Today is the last day to submit an abstract to ASV 2026!

www.asv.org/abstract-sub...

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...

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

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

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.

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 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.

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 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

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...

WHO: Measles deaths dropped by 88% in past 25 years, but cases now surging

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

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.

🧪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.

Opinion | We Are Not Going to ‘Solve’ Autism. And That’s OK.

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.”