Gigi Gronvall
@ggronvall.bsky.social
Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering. 1st Hopkins prof to be a Marching Raven! gigigronvall.com
In a timeline of very bad news this is the best news that I have read today. The controversial Hepatitis B study planned by Danish researchers in Guinea Bissau has now been halted. It was unethical when it was proposed and is still unethical today. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
Controversial US-backed vaccine trial in African newborns halted
Hepatitis B study in Guinea-Bissau that was to be funded by CDC and that drew global backlash ‘will not move forward’
theguardian.com
My latest op-ed in The Moscow Times: Labs that study plague deserve scrutiny, but their existence alone is not cause for suspicion. We should expect transparency, safety, and protection for the people doing the work. Also-- the US could-- and should-- lead on biosafety.
The Moscow Times@themoscowtimes.com · 2w agoOpinion: The death of a laboratory worker in Irkutsk has turned the spotlight on how Russian laboratories can ensure workers' safety and improve their transparency, writes @ggronvall.bsky.social.
With this reporting showing that antivax views shelved plans for H5N1 preparedness, it is worth recirculating our article that a "let it rip" strategy in chickens would be a very, very, very bad idea. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The consequences of letting avian influenza run rampant in US poultry
The approach proposed by a high-ranking US government official would be dangerous and unethical
science.org
Politico@politico.com · 2w ago‘It's time to get a vaccine in place’: RFK Jr.’s views helped stall bird flu plan politi.co/47h6fYs
The available evidence around the death of an anti-plague laboratory worker in Siberia “does not point to a global plague emergency,” Gigi Kwik Gronvall writes. “But this tragic death should prompt Americans to question whether we have the capacity to recognize and contain the next disease threat.”
Opinion | Here’s What Worries Me About the Russian Plague Scare
America is not prepared for a major disease outbreak.
nyti.ms
I enjoyed joining Sam and Philipp for Science Counterpunch! We talked biosafety, biosecurity, and why real scientific progress is essential to preparedness. Protecting people requires investing in the science and capabilities that make us all safer. Thank you for having me on!
Sam Gregson@badboyofscience.bsky.social · 3w agoThe Science Counterpunch is back! 🥊 To kick off season 2, we're discuss biosecurity and biosafety with @ggronvall.bsky.social . She recently testified in congress regarding just how unprepared the US is! Check it out! @philippmarkolin.eurosky.social Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqq5... ⚛️🧪
For the record, I prefer games where it is a decisive win. Throughout. No suspense. 🫠
Roberto Rojas@robertorojas97.bsky.social · 4w agoThe Brazilian Portuguese commentary on that Tyler Loop field goal for the Ravens is exactly what everyone needs to hear right now
Finally reading Annie Jacobsen's biological war book. Besides the biological impossibilities, has anyone noted that it is lableak fanfic yet?
The White House budget proposal for FY27 slash NSF funding by more than 50% and would drastically reduce support for PhDs, postdocs & investigator-initiated research. Selling something is not the same as doing something. Science is hard. This 'new golden age' won't make it easier.
🚨 The NIH is moving to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in infectious-disease research projects to the DOD under a secret 10-year pact. Here’s what’s happening inside “Operation Prevailing Edge” 🧵👇 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Revealed: inside the US military's plan to tap huge sums from the NIH
An agreement paves the way for hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of projects to be transferred from the NIH’s institute for infectious diseases to the Department of Defense.
nature.com
"When you find yourself writing such a statement about a topic you’re not an expert in, there are only two possibilities: 1. You are not talking to the right people. 2. You are talking to the right people but you’re not listening" blog.genesmindsmachines.com/p/im-sorry-y...
I'm sorry, you're not going to die from an AI-engineered supervirus
God save us from economists who think they can competently talk about biology
blog.genesmindsmachines.com
Finally listened to this very polite and informative discussion about the origin of COVID-19, and I am struck how deeply in trouble biosecurity is, as a field. For years, there has been a concerted effort to boost US attribution technologies, IARPA projects, contests, etc. because it was important
Zeteo@zeteo.com · 2mo agoThe debate over COVID-19’s origins is back. Republicans argue that the virus came from a lab leak, while the evidence points elsewhere. What’s the truth? We brought together two scientists, Dr. Rasmussen & Dr. Jha, for a debate on the evidence & what we still don’t know. zeteo.com/p/lab-leak-c...
For the 99th time, someone please find out who is bankrolling the WSITY operation because it would be clarifying. -- The Dems -- The Republicans -- The Wellness Industry -- some "disruptor" with $$$ Look, a lot is at stake, and trust is built on truthful exchange. Being this opaque is BS.
Alina Chan is a discredited crank and it is embarrassing for the Times to publish this
This is the most important thing Alina Chan has said or written.
Relman: we need to be able to trust science! Also Relman: here is my unsubstantiated opinion that does not engage with peer-reviewed science!
Zach Hensel@zachhensel.bsky.social · 2mo agoAbsolutely wild example of "data not shown" here from someone chiding others for their overconfidence.
"Accusing him of crimes and deception wasn’t enough; the release of the diary was meant to inflict public humiliation on him". Very good article and spot on. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Why MAGA Is So Obsessed With Fauci
In the aftermath of pandemics, people either try to forget them or find others to blame for them.
theatlantic.com
In RFK Jr.’s book Vax/Unvax, he and his coauthor minimize the burden of cervical cancer, & describe the safe vaccine as a pharma sale opportunity. Other nations are eliminating cervical cancer. In the US, rates are falling… but much more slowly.
Dorit Reiss@doritreiss.bsky.social · 3mo agoPolizzi underwent hysterectomy because of cervical cancer. "Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide... HPV vaccine is 97% effective and has minimal side effects, research shows." www.today.com/popculture/n... via @todayshow.com
"Claims were generated in online communities, repeated by political figures and amplified by media personalities, who injected these talking points back into supporters’ social media feeds. The repetition made the claims feel increasingly familiar – and familiarity can be mistaken for evidence."
Kristian G. Andersen@kgandersen.bsky.social · 3mo agoSmart take from @progmil.bsky.social "What Jacobsen offers ...is just play-acting. It’s as if someone suddenly woke up to the fact that biological organisms can be deadly and believes that no one else has thought what to do about it. outbreaks." almauroni.substack.com/p/no-one-mak...
No One Makes Good Policy Based on Worst Case Scenarios
It's way past time to stop admiring the advice of doom-sayers
almauroni.substack.com
The Fauci hearing was a disgrace. Here are some reminders of how it really went down in 2020. Never forget.
Continue to be glad we wrote this about 1977 flu. I would like to also write something about Sverdlovsk sometime but it keeps staying on the to do list
Flo Débarre@flodebarre.eurosky.social · 3mo agoRand Paul talking about 1977 flu again. (he also did last time) Likely a bad example with respect to gain of function, see journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... by Rozo and @ggronvall.bsky.social ▫️43/ #faucihearing
History will praise Fauci as a leader and will bunch his accusers with McCarthy and J Edgar Hoover. They praise themselves at the cost of good men and women who know and care and seek to help our country. They have no decency, at long last.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3mo agoFauci accuses Rand Paul of having an "unhinged obsession with calling for my prosecution" and of making "repeated slanderous comments," then says "although it pains me to do so... under advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the 5th Amendment to refrain from answering your questions."
In fact, we have our own social movements, from ACT UP to those who mobilized for access to COVID vaccines globally to learn from, the civil rights, women's and LGBTQ and labor movements before them. Why erase recent and less recent history to elevate MAHA is this way? 3/
Trying to appease liars who seek your destruction for ideological reasons does not, in fact, make them stop trying to destroy you. Abandoning your values to chase after people who oppose you at their very core does not make anyone else trust you more. The results—unsurprisingly—are the opposite.
Well said and I agree, @craigspencer.bsky.social, this is completely off-target and unfortunately a massive boost for a movement that is very specifically anti-science and anti-public health. I know that's not how you see it, but it is - the fact the RFK Jr. is the figurehead is emblematic.
I'm afraid @craigspencer.bsky.social gives MAHA far too much credit. MAHA is just a rebranding of the medical freedom/antivax coalition that has been undermining public health for decades. It isn't unique in caring about healthy food, chronic disease, or healthier children—nearly everyone does.
The Atlantic@theatlantic.com · 3mo agoA lot of people in public health believe that MAHA is “nothing more than a subversive anti-vaccine, anti-science syndicate,” but the movement is an opportunity that the public-health sector “cannot afford to squander,” Craig Spencer argues:
It's not about trust in science or higher ed. It's about corruption, cronyism, brute force, hatred by authoritarians (stop calling them populists) for independent thought, knowledge. Derek Lowe from Science Magazine nails it. This is all BS. To say otherwise is to make excuses for these monsters.
One shot of lenacapavir, a new HIV prevention drug, can protect for 6 months—but aid cuts and uncertain demand mean little drug has reached the countries that most need it. Learn more: https://scim.ag/4hvA6m6
