Holly Olson, BCPA

😢

Fair winds and following seas, Walter Koenig. Thank you, sir.

The bad: measles cases in the U.S. are more than double what they were last year, with 96% of cases being unvaccinated. The good: Pennsylvania has so far administered 14,000 more vaccines this year than last. The dream: The anti-vax movement is deservedly shunned and everyone gets vaccinated.

We are seeing a hunger disaster unrolling before our eyes. Since Republicans passed the Big Beautiful Bill, 2 million kids have lost food assistance. These are by far the deepest SNAP cuts in history, and each month, we find out it’s even worse than we thought. The worst is yet to come.

1/ Fall in the Northeast means colorful leaves, apple cider donuts, and… measles, flu, and fall allergies? This week in the Northeast Dose, we’re tracking measles, what’s circulating as respiratory season begins, and how communities are tackling health risks from vaping to sexual violence. 👇

1/ While the headlines have faded, the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa hasn't. The outbreak of Bundibugyo Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to grow, and there’s been some concerning updates that have largely gotten lost in the news. Here’s the current situation.

1/ Last week, three children and a teacher were killed, and another child and teacher were seriously injured in a school shooting in Bend, Oregon. Among those killed was a 5-year-old, the youngest person killed in a school shooting since Education Week began tracking these incidents in 2018. 🧵

Bet you'll watch this more than once...

The fact that Amy Acton was removed from her mother’s care and went on to obtain an MD and flourish in public health makes her even more of a hero in my eyes. This type of trauma never really goes away. Yet when there was a fork in the road, she chose the one where she helps others. Hero.

It helps to understand the germ theory of disease to answer this question. The answer is no.

Don't get over-confident about the election. Run through the tape. Vote early and vote in person if you can. Bring friends and family to the polls.

NBC News: "Hunger grips a rural community hit by Trump’s cuts" www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Hib is a devastating pathogen of young children that virtually disappeared in the US as a result of the Hib vaccine.

Reports of another Russian who’s fallen ill.

Russia says there was no lab accident and the situation is stable. Maybe. But when someone working at a plague research facility suddenly dies from mysterious pneumonia, possibly plague, and hospitals start locking down, “trust us, bro” isn’t going to cut it.

THIS 👇👇👇

"As flu season begins, Emory Healthcare employees have until Nov. 1 to get vaccinated. Emory Healthcare says those who miss the deadline without an approved exemption will be suspended without pay." www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news...

There is a moment at the very very end of Abdul El-Sayed's podcast with Ezra Klein (book recommendation section) where he talks about the idea of "speaking truth to pain" and this will be staying with me for an extremely long time. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/o...

This is medicine at its finest, its most compassionate, & its most noble—thank you @thanh-neville.bsky.social for sharing it! Also: all those stupid stupid articles saying AI will replace physicians are so utterly misguided, and this is one of many millions of examples of why AI isn’t “medicine”

I'll die on this hill.

No. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

If, like me, you're prone to neurosis & over-thinking (!), you also might appreciate this meditative minimalist album by ELEH; it is 20 yrs old "Critics, fans & neurologists have praised the music of ELEH as aiding attention and focus while seeming to slow time" eleh.bandcamp.com/album/floati...

This week’s #ShareCanGeo spotlight goes to Lisa Connor (@lisaconnorwildlife), who captured this honeybee perched on a purple coneflower in a garden in Stoney Creek, Ont. Remember to use #ShareCanGeo in your captures for a chance to be featured.

Appreciating how one can open their lives to help others as they navigate Alzheimer's Disease. It takes courage for the patient and the family to face this, currently, incurable disease. #sully #alzheimers #courage #dementia abcnews.com/amp/GMA/News...

My comments with the Houston Press www.houstonpress.com/news/whateve...

Dr Oz says the Trump administration will kick more than a million people off health insurance because some of them have "never filed a claim"

Even after the CDC changed the way it counted measles deaths, it should now have updated numbers - but still nothing. My latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

There is something so unbelievably bleak about an article that calmly walks readers through how to navigate being laid off after 50, losing your health insurance, and somehow surviving the years until Medicare. What a broken country.

1/ Schools are back, which means respiratory viruses are starting to pick up right on schedule. How do we track those numbers? One of the things we watch is influenza-like illness, or ILI. Each week, clinicians report how many patients they’re seeing with symptoms like fever, cough, and sore throat.

1/ Pennsylvania has now reported a fourth measles-associated death in 2026. That’s the most measles deaths the U.S. has seen in a single year since 1992. The first two were infants, followed by a 40 year old woman, and now an 18 year old. The state has reported 693 confirmed cases so far this year.

That moment when you go into suspended animation - the audio book pauses while 'real life's commences. *sigh* #booklover #audiobook #libby #library #thesilversmith

Okay everyone. Here’s the YouTube interview with @jimmykimmel.com and @jamestalarico.bsky.social You know what to do. Watch it. Share it. Donate. Bury them. youtu.be/WLDE9LrGpNk?...

The number of cases of cervical cancer reported in Scotland among women given the HPV vaccine at 12-13 years of age is now zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. www.bbc.com/news/article...

A former Republican operative, previously charged with sex offenses, donated $10,000 to Ramaswamy. Amy Acton-called it out. So the operative’s brother, armed with guns and a taser, tried to attack Acton-hurting bystanders Rather than back down, Acton-a doctor-went to treat the injured victims Hero

Just in time for the 2026-2027 vaccines, a new review shows that COVID19 vaccination significantly reduces the risk of severe illness and hospitalization across all age groups, including kids. Pregnant women were also protected, as were their babies. Don’t forget to schedule your vaccination!

RFK Jr's food policies Cartoon by Alex Fraga, from @newyorker.com (www.newyorker.com/cartoons/dai...)

🔭 Our new policy blog post shows that the number of astronomical sciences research awards made by NSF has decreased by 57% since last year, corresponding to a 51% reduction in funding. (1/2)

Reminds me of Donald Trump on Covid: "If we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any" Truth disrupts the goals of authoritarianism & fascism, thus truth (& a shared reality, based on facts, data, & evidence) must be destroyed. In its place comes data manipulation & propaganda.

I was born in 1954. I think I received the Salk vaccine at age 5 or 6. I got the Sabin vaccine a year or two later. I don’t remember much about those experiences except for the fact that all the adults were INCREDIBLY happy that these vaccines were available. We kids wouldn’t get polio!!!

Dolly Parton's $1M seed $ via the Dolly Parton research fund spurned 37 research papers on the mRNA Covid vaccine. This is one of them. That $1M provided the pivotal support for developing the vaccine & assessing the antibody response. My kind of philanthropy. 🧪 www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

This is the stuff of goosebumps It can’t happen here, of course, cuz the man in charge of the US health system says women who get the HPV vaccine have a higher risk of cervical cancer (this is a big lie) & he made $$$ suing the vaccine maker (Martin Kulldorff did the same, it’s part of the grift)

"Vaccine resisters should be thought of like drunken drivers: people who recklessly endanger innocent strangers.”

Do not normalize children dying from measles. Measles was previously eliminated in the US, thanks to vaccines. When children die from measles, it means that adults have catastrophically failed to protect them because they have rejected basic science.

There is no such thing as “conservative-based” science. If you’re not doing evidence-based science, you are making up fairy tales.

Photos via Instagram riverreachconstruction, which has turned into a cat account.

I am pleased Shapiro is calling RFK Jr out Kennedy has been spouting the most vile, dangerous, deadly, horrific anti-vaccine disinformation & conspiracy theory BS

Dolly Parton is credited in at least 37 research papers on the COVID vaccine, including the first phase I trial results published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2020.

Devastated. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Live your life like Dolly Parton

Dolly was a public health & vaccination warrior—her visible advocacy was AMAZING Also, she gave $1M to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2020 to fund research that resulted in the Moderna mRNA Covid vaccine It had a 95% efficacy. I feel that this was channeling Dolly—it was working 9 to 5!