Robert Fortner

Writings about science, technology, global health, fashion, F1

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

The polio program recognized one "unqualified failure" but their bet on nOPV2 to fix the problem was failing last year, as I wrote for The BMJ.

There have been issues since.

[The BMJ @bmj_latest]

A new report by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative calls the 2016 decision to switch oral polio vaccines “an unqualified failure.”

This BMJ Feature looks at how these ongoing difficulties provide a cautionary tale
https://t.co/WbHEbPirHC

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

@guardian doesn't understand that polio is seasonal. Last March, there were no cases for *six months* during low season in Afghanistan/Pakistan. 19 weeks this year is not better or a sign of progress

Wrong science = good PR as #polio seeks funding

https://t.co/udzuVzoaZA

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

Not a proper comparison. In March of last year, there were also 0 cases in Afghanistan and 0 cases in Pakistan

As GPEI says "From October to May when temperatures are low in Pakistan the virus remains less active"

Seasonality is not progress. Misleading, @WHOPolDirector #polio

[WHO Polio @WHO_Polio]

Wild poliovirus weekly case update from @WHO: No cases this week.
In 2024: Afghanistan: 0; Pakistan: 0
In 2023: Afghanistan: 6; Pakistan: 6.
https://t.co/j22YvKtrRW. #EndPolio.

[Tim Schwab @TimothyWSchwab]

In a world of sloppy journalism ethics, the @AP deserves credit for clearly & prominently disclosing its Gates's funding. But disclosure isn't a solution. It's really bad for journalism to see Gates-funded news outlets publishing puff pieces on Gates, even if they disclose

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

@TimothyWSchwab @AP I pitched a Gates-funded publication on a piece in Africa about Gates-funded practices not in keeping with humanitarian, philanthropic values.

The pub's own reporting supports my findings. Yet, no response. Gates $$$ buys puff pieces *and* non-pieces, self-censoring

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

Quiet miss on goal to #endpolio by year end. Two decades of misses have been followed by "new" plans, new schedules and more funding
Intended to show the power of eradication as policy and of concerted global effort

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

@TimothyWSchwab has done his homework for #TheBillGatesProblem. He's found out more than I knew about @gatesfoundation efforts to derail stories I worked on.

Not pretty; still happening now. We need to reckon with the Bill Gates problem.

[The BMJ @bmj_latest]

One of Britain’s most renowned medical institutions is grappling with its colonial past and the impact on racism in its culture. In the first of two Features, @munkeatlooi asks if @LSHTM decolonisation efforts are sufficient
https://t.co/7g1EJF45HU

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

WHO says reversion of the new, genetically stabilized #polio vax has caused eight vaccine-derived polio outbreaks/emergences. (I understand there are now nine)

@GlobalPolioEI had hoped for zero

https://t.co/ySPYCjpWgY

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

The #polio eradication crusade is wrecking itself, undermining public health and public health institutions

@gatesfoundation vaccine is a fail--as @CDCgov predicted

@bmj_latest
https://t.co/dyPWU35RLp

[Tim Schwab @TimothyWSchwab]

.@robertfortner1 unpacks the hubris, questionable technology & unintended consequences in @gatesfoundation's failing effort to eradicate polio. "At what point do you decide that this is something that we’re not going to be able to stop?” https://t.co/b9boE52iCo

[Mun-Keat Looi @munkeatlooi]

There was hype around a new generation of vaccines against type 1 and 3 polio a few months ago. But the tech is that used for the newer type 2 polio vaccine--which is troubled to say the least. Epic deep dive by @robertfortner1 https://t.co/D3bMmLGN7W @bmj_latest

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

The #polio eradication crusade is wrecking itself, undermining public health and public health institutions

@gatesfoundation vaccine is a fail--as @CDCgov predicted

@bmj_latest
https://t.co/dyPWU35RLp

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

Get Tim's book.

Whether you love/hate market forces, you'll wonder if Gates should be relieved of his self-appointed role as influencer-in-chief

[Tim Schwab @TimothyWSchwab]

Big news to share—my book is available for pre-order

“The Bill Gates Problem” investigates one the world’s most powerful, least scrutinized political actors.

Please retweet & please pre-order!

(ebook/audio/hardback @Henryholt)

🧵 1/

https://t.co/zFuUXyVwER

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

@jimwaterson Billionaires investing in journalism often expect a return. @gatesfoundation has funded @guardian global development coverage for a decade.

Yes, shameless if Vice has sold out
https://t.co/kn0206azVH

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

@TimothyWSchwab @lemonde @lemondefr @LeMonde_EN Incroyable. Pas de honte!

[Adam R Houston @HealthLawAdamH]

"The tale of #snakebite’s fleeting spotlight—and why it encapsulates all that’s wrong with global health"
Super interesting article. The bit about IHME/GBD & the estimate of global burden is 👀.
🐍#NTDs #antivenom
(h/t @julienpotet for recommendation)

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

My latest in @bmj_latest: Snakebite as synecdoche or everything that's wrong with global health in one neglected disease area

Good even noble intentions but the most affected are the least included and might not even benefit

[The BMJ @bmj_latest]

Snakebite is one of the world’s oldest and biggest killers. Yet, despite a shot in the arm five years ago, tackling the burden seems further away than ever. What happened? And why does it epitomise the ownership issue plaguing the global health lobby?
https://t.co/ekMTNK5j7s

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

@jamesstout @undarkmag This was great. In a related vein: the failed effort to open source the Oxford covid vax, but other academics might try something similar... https://t.co/L0jbzZM56T

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

Scientists at Oxford rocked the big pharma world with their plans for open-sourcing their #covid vax. Didn't happen, but could. See my article:

[The BMJ @bmj_latest]

The pandemic brought vaccine equity to the forefront of public health consciousness like never before—yet the world seems no closer to it.

What, if anything, has been learnt? @robertfortner1 reports
https://t.co/6Jga2Oj0uq

[Robert Fortner @robertfortner1]

Not clear that polio in NY/US will just go away. My piece in BMJ

[The BMJ @bmj_latest]

At times, global eradication of polio has been tantalisingly close.

Yet the reappearance of the paralytic disease in New York has brought to light the uneasy choices around which vaccines are used in the goal of eradicating polio, finds @robertfortner1
https://t.co/hibxv7QvkQ