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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

He really is that stupid.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

We still have time to mess this up!

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

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COVID-19

You are here: Home / Archives for Healthcare / COVID-19
“COVID-19 is a novel disease for which treatment protocols are evolving and remain imperfect. With the internet’s eternal tropism towards bullshit, there will be plenty of false or misleading claims about ways of preventing, enduring or “curing” COVID-19 infections. Please don’t amplify them here. If you do have knowledge or experience you feel is of interest to the jackaltariat, please make sure you make it clear where that information comes from: sources, expertise, and so on.  It’s easy to get stuff wrong in a crisis and mistakes can create real harm. So be careful out there…and in here.”

Pandemic / Epidemics Update, June 4, 2025

by Anne Laurie|  June 4, 20256:14 am| 31 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19, H5N1 Bird Flu

FDA approves Moderna's new COVID-19 vaccine
The company's "next-generation" COVID-19 vaccine, mNexspike, was approved for adults 65 and older and younger people at risk of severe disease.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 4:26 PM

#FDA has approved #Moderna's next-generation #Covid shot, with the same use restrictions it imposed on Novavax's vaccine earlier this month.
www.statnews.com/2025/05/31/m…

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— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) May 31, 2025 at 9:43 AM

Exclusive: Pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos of the US CDC resigned as co-leader of a working group that advises outside experts on COVID vaccines and is leaving the agency, two sources familiar with the move told Reuters reut.rs/4ksJLZt

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— Reuters (@reuters.com) June 3, 2025 at 5:29 PM

US Weekly COVID update: June 2, 2025
🔸1 in 211 People Currently Infected
🔸227,000 New Daily Infections
🔸1,589,000 New Weekly Infections
🔸79,000 to 318,000 Weekly Long COVID Cases
🔸600 to 900 Weekly Excess Deaths
Source: pmc19.com/data/

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) June 3, 2025 at 2:42 AM

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According to this chart we are currently experiencing the lowest rate of COVID deaths since March 14, 2020.
covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-t…

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— Michael Hobbes (@michaelhobbes.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 7:01 PM

Exactly. The fact that a lot of Americans have grown complacent over Covid boosters (or seasonal flu shots) is hardly a reason for banning access to them.

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— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec.bsky.social) June 1, 2025 at 11:24 AM

A new variant of COVID-19 is circulating in parts of the world and may be driving an increase in cases in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and western Pacific regions.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) May 29, 2025 at 3:30 AM

In the most recent COVID wave, white people had more than twice the death rate of black people
covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-t…

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— Michael Hobbes (@michaelhobbes.bsky.social) May 30, 2025 at 5:08 PM

A new, highly transmissible COVID subvariant has been detected in California — heightening the risk of a summer wave as recent moves by the Trump administration threaten to make vaccines harder to get, and more expensive, for many Americans.
www.latimes.com/california/s…

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— Ian Weissman, DO (@drianweissman.bsky.social) May 30, 2025 at 11:12 PM

Australia:

“It’s taking off pretty quickly,” said Professor Catherine Bennett, warning that “if you’re exposed, you’re more likely to catch it.”
She added, “We might be in for a bigger winter wave,” and COVID deaths were 5x higher than flu—"So COVID-19 is still to be taken seriously"

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— Denis – The COVID Info Guy (@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 2:57 AM

Local observations are sometimes random noise. But sometimes they're early indicators of trends that take time to show up in regional/national data (collecting & reporting data takes time, even if you care about that sort of stuff, which may not be true nationally).
Why I always mask seeing pts 🤷‍♂️

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— Dimitri Drekonja, MD, MS (@dimitridrekonja.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 5:47 PM

ICYMI: I wrote about ongoing Republican attacks on COVID vaccines, which make use of years of state propaganda claiming COVID is mild, COVID is over, Long COVID isn't real, and that healthy people have nothing to fear from COVID.

www.thegauntlet.news/p/republican…

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— Julia Doubleday (@juliadoubleday.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 12:30 PM

Long-COVID diagnoses fairly common in Medicare claims
Beneficiaries with four or more COVID-19 vaccine doses had a 39% lower adjusted rate of long COVID.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) June 3, 2025 at 3:27 PM

I know we all like to forget COVID, but imo it’s bonkers that politicians talk so much about increasing defence spending, yet we’ve apparently forgotten to spend any time or money guarding against a future pandemic

— Sam Bright (@writesbright.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 4:58 AM


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This very bad thing happened that killed a lot of people a few years ago yet stopping it from happening again isn’t remotely part of the public / political conversation. Barmy.

— Sam Bright (@writesbright.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 2:35 PM

Long COVID is now the most prevalent chronic disease in American kids, surpassing ASTHMA. Children/ teens are NOT immune to damage from covid.
"Long COVID is common, affecting up to 10% to 20% of children with a history of COVID-19."
That means ANY covid infection.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam…

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— EvolutionaryEve (@evolutionaryeve.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 11:30 PM

The parents of kids in the original pediatric Covid vaccine trials care more about scientific integrity than the people leading our scientific agencies.
Unbelievable. And maddening.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025…

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— Alt CDC (they/them) (@altcdc.altgov.info) June 2, 2025 at 10:19 PM

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RKF Jr. May Have Just Ruined Our Best Weapon Against Bird Flu www.thebulwark.com/p/rkf-jr-ken… from @citizencohn.bsky.social

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— Catherine Rampell (@crampell.bsky.social) June 1, 2025 at 9:15 AM

Study finds live avian flu virus in raw milk for more than 1 day at room temperature, 1 week in fridge
The preprint findings highlight the risk of contracting #H5N1 avian flu from raw milk or occupational exposure in dairies.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/a…
Photo: xymox / Flickr cc

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 12:15 PM

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Dataset shows national decline in MMR vaccine uptake since peak of COVID

Of the 2,066 counties, 1,614 (78%) showed a decline in MMR coverage.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/m…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) June 3, 2025 at 4:06 PM

US CDC updated its measles travel advisory:
'International travellers should be fully vaccinated with measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.' @cidrap.bsky.social
Highly infectious, it can remain in the air for up to 2 hours after an infected person leaves the area.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/us-m…

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— @DrJoePajak CSci CChem FRSC (@drjoepajak.bsky.social) May 31, 2025 at 7:32 AM

Pandemic / Epidemics Update, June 4, 2025Post + Comments (31)

Pandemic / Epidemic Updates, May 28 2025

by Anne Laurie|  May 28, 20256:20 am| 136 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19, H5N1 Bird Flu

The CDC is pulling its Covid-19 vaccine recommendation for healthy children and pregnant women, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced.

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— Politico (@politico.com) May 27, 2025 at 2:13 PM


====

A reminder that CDC's COVID-19 vaccine recommendations are directly tied to:
– requirements for what health insurance is required to cover with no out-of-pocket costs
– liability protections expanding access to COVID shots in places like pharmacies
www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-…

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— Alexander Tin (@alexander-a-tin.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:16 PM


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By changing CDC guidelines on who can get the COVID vaccine
It will likely not be covered by insurance and Medicare/Medicaid
So if people want it, they’re going to have to pay for it
Meaning that those who can’t afford it are out of luck

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— Adam Cohen (@axidentaliberal.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:19 PM


====

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From the CIDRAP Vaccine Integrity Project
Viewpoint: Making key COVID vaccine decisions without input, transparency is a public disservice
Rollout of new rules suggests that federal officials are opposed to open discussion & transparency
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) May 21, 2025 at 4:00 PM


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FDA Commissioner Makary: "The day of rubber-stamping covid vaccines for young healthy kids is over. You cannot send us an application for a new covid booster each year with no new updated clinical trial data and expect the FDA to just blindly rubber-stamp it … people don't trust us."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 25, 2025 at 10:43 AM


====

“A CDC report found that among pregnant U.S. women infected with COVID-19, about 1 in 80 deliveries was a stillbirth — the loss of a fetus anytime after 20 weeks. That’s compared with 1 in 155 among uninfected women”
Pregnant women need access to Covid boosters.
TW for photos of Covid placenta:

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— Kelly (@broadwaybabyto.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 5:50 PM


====

“Experts have been closely watching the variant, which is now dominant in China and is on the rise in parts of Asia. Hong Kong authorities say that rates of COVID-19 in the city have climbed to the worst levels they have seen in at least a year…”

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— Matt Novak (@paleofuture.bsky.social) May 22, 2025 at 9:14 PM


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WHO adds NB.1.8.1 as SARS-CoV-2 variant under monitoring
TAG-VE said illnesses don't seem more severe and more studies are needed to further assess the risk of antibody escape.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…
Photo: NIAID/Flickr cc

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 2:55 PM


====

CDC posted updated #SARSCoV2 genomic surveillance today (<-that's good)
XFC is now showing growth, ~10% of new cases. It's a recombinant of LP.8.1 (dominant variant) + LF.7 (not the same as XFG, but related).
Unclear if this or the others in the mix (XFG or NB.1.8.1) can/will drive a wave here.

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— Eric Topol (@erictopol.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:25 PM


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A reminder that South African researchers gave the world crucial early insights into the Beta, Omicron BA.1 and BA.4/5 variants, as well as valuable ongoing work into many other pathogens/outbreaks…

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— Adam Kucharski (@adamjkucharski.bsky.social) May 23, 2025 at 1:38 AM


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Macedo and Lee are cranks.
20% of the population got COVID in 2020, pre-vaccine, and 350k died.
If we’d just thrown caution go the wind, as these crackpots suggest (views that editors should be more skeptical of), the death count would have been MUCH, MUCH higher and hosp. capacity collapsed.

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— Clean Observer (@hammbear2024.bsky.social) May 26, 2025 at 8:37 AM


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Quick COVID update from me discussing latest variants and prospects for summer here.
open.substack.com/pub/christin…

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— Prof Christina Pagel (@chrischirp.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 3:15 AM


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#USDA confirmed 2 more #H5N1 #birdflu infected dairy herds in Idaho, bringing the state's total to 107.
The cumulative national total is 1072 in 17 states.
www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-po…

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— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) May 23, 2025 at 12:29 PM


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This is really stupid and unnecessary: latest on measles outbreak cases in the U.S.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/…

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— Rasmus E. Benestad (@brasmus.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 12:02 PM


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'A national scandal': US excess deaths rose even after #pandemic, far outpacing peer countries
The United States has been in a 'protracted health crisis' for decades, the researchers say.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) May 23, 2025 at 1:34 PM

Pandemic / Epidemic Updates, May 28 2025Post + Comments (136)

Final Reminder: If You Want That Novavax Booster…

by Anne Laurie|  May 23, 20259:06 am| 46 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19

I just left a comment.
If you are concerned that RFK Jr.'s FDA chief Marty Makary is limiting the Novavax COVID booster to those over 65 or with underlying conditions, and may do the same for Pfizer/Moderna as well, consider leaving a comment as well.

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— Carl T. Bergstrom (@carlbergstrom.com) May 21, 2025 at 12:05 AM


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This is absolutely terrible news.
With the shifting regulatory climate (i.e., antivax ratfuckery), Moderna has withdrawn their application for their eagerly anticipated COVID-flu combo vaccine. This vaccine offered better protection than getting each shot separately.
h/t @merz.bsky.social

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— Carl T. Bergstrom (@carlbergstrom.com) May 22, 2025 at 2:46 AM


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I can guaranfuckingtee that Moderna has market research that proves this is a lie

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— Chris Labarthe (@chrislabarthe.bsky.social) May 22, 2025 at 11:10 PM


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I've never seen it so well put before.

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— Mary Pezzulo (@marypezzulo.bsky.social) May 22, 2025 at 8:02 PM


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GOP attacks on public health are attacks on public *life.* It is becoming increasingly risky to participate in big events and enter public spaces
We’re already seeing these headlines about measles exposures at airports. We’ll see thee from sporting events, graduations, 4th of July parades, etc.

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— Dr. Katherine Haenschen (@drkath.bsky.social) May 22, 2025 at 9:38 AM

Final Reminder: If You Want That Novavax Booster…Post + Comments (46)

Novavax Update: If You Hate the Current Age Restriction…

by Anne Laurie|  May 21, 20253:54 pm| 44 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19

I just left a comment.
If you are concerned that RFK Jr.'s FDA chief Marty Makary is limiting the Novavax COVID booster to those over 65 or with underlying conditions, and may do the same for Pfizer/Moderna as well, consider leaving a comment as well.

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— Carl T. Bergstrom (@carlbergstrom.com) May 21, 2025 at 12:05 AM

Novavax Update: If You Hate the Current Age Restriction…Post + Comments (44)

Parsing the Pandemic Pause

by Anne Laurie|  May 21, 20256:01 am| 326 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19, H5N1 Bird Flu

FDA approves Novavax COVID vaccine with new conditions reut.rs/4mmmkCc

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— Reuters (@reuters.com) May 17, 2025 at 10:40 PM

There has been a dearth of aggregateable news on all my usual sources since March, and I don’t think it can all be blamed on a deliberate cover-up. After five years, our collective immune systems are less susceptible… and, of course, there’s a lot of other vaccine-related outrages…

Health officials are making a renewed call for vigilance against bird flu, but some experts are puzzling over why reports of new human cases have stopped.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) May 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM

Health officials are making a renewed call for vigilance against bird flu, but some experts are puzzling over why reports of new human cases have stopped.

Has the search for cases been weakened by government cuts? Are immigrant farm workers, who have accounted for many of the U.S. cases, more afraid to come forward for testing amid the Trump administration’s deportation push? Is it just a natural ebb in infections?

“We just don’t know why there haven’t been cases,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University. “I think we should assume there are infections that are occurring in farmworkers that just aren’t being detected.”…

In the last 14 months, infections have been reported in 70 people in the U.S. — most of them workers on dairy and poultry farms. One person died, but most of the infected people had mild illnesses.

The most recent infections confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were in early February in Nevada, Ohio and Wyoming…

During a call with U.S. doctors this month, one CDC official noted that there is a seasonality to bird flu: Cases peak in the fall and early winter, possibly due to the migration patterns of wild birds that are primary spreaders of the virus.

That could mean the U.S. is experiencing a natural — maybe temporary — decline in cases.

It’s unlikely that a severe human infection, requiring hospitalization, would go unnoticed, said Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases.

What’s more, a patchwork system that monitors viruses in sewage and wastewater has suggested limited activity recently.

New infections are still being detected in birds and cattle, but not as frequently as several months ago.

Dr. Gregory Gray said he wasn’t concerned about the CDC not identifying new cases in months.

“I don’t think that anybody’s hiding anything,” said Gray, an infectious disease speicialist at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

But Osterholm and some other experts think it’s likely that at least some milder infections are going undetected. And they worry that the effort to find them has been eroding.

The CDC characterizes the risk to the general public as low, although it is higher for people who work with cattle and poultry or who are in contact with wild birds.

Earlier this month, an agency assessment said there is a “moderate risk” that currently circulating strains of bird flu could cause a future pandemic, but the CDC stressed that other emerging forms of bird flu has been similarly labeled in the past.

Still, research is continuing…

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FDA significantly limits COVID-19 vaccine recommendations
Critics said today’s announcement is more evidence of the current administration’s willingness to undermine public trust in vaccines.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) May 20, 2025 at 3:38 PM

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Prohibiting children from receiving the COVID vaccine violates my religious beliefs. My faith obligates me to protect others from avoidable harm, & withholding vaccines risks tremendous harm on the entire population. I am asserting my right to a religious exemption so my children can be vaccinated

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— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) May 20, 2025 at 1:23 PM

Under 65 years old? No Novovax COVID vaccine for you this year.
As expected, the Republicans have enabled RFK Jr. and his coterie of antivax grifters to take away your right to make your own medical decisions in consultation with your doctor.
Gift Link: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/17/h…

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— Carl T. Bergstrom (@carlbergstrom.com) May 18, 2025 at 12:11 AM

I remember a time when Novavax was championed by these very people as the better vaccine because it uses an "older"platform compared to mRNA vaccines. Everything to them is a ruse and the real end goal is to limit vaccine access to align with their antivaxx views.
apnews.com/article/nova…

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— BK. Titanji (@boghuma.bsky.social) May 19, 2025 at 7:12 AM

Wisconsin to begin milk sampling for H5N1 avian flu
In other H5N1 developments, the USDA confirmed an outbreak at an Arizona layer farm that has more than 2 million birds.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/a…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) May 20, 2025 at 4:15 PM

This from the NYT ed board after they platform unqualified cranks who push discredited gain of function/lab leak conspiracies or in other cases give false equivalency to them. They need some self reflection here and understand that they’ve been part of the problem
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/o…

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— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social) May 19, 2025 at 8:18 AM

And BTW all the ideas mentioned in this ed board piece seem fine and are welcomed

— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social) May 19, 2025 at 8:35 AM

The World Health Organization's member countries have approved an agreement to better prevent, prepare for and respond to future pandemics in the wake of the devastation wrought by the coronavirus.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) May 20, 2025 at 6:30 AM

US measles outbreak grows to 1,024 cases
Texas remains the country's hot spot, with 718 cases.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/m…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) May 16, 2025 at 4:17 PM

Measles cases in Texas rise by four to 722, state health department says reut.rs/3H56tIo

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— Reuters (@reuters.com) May 20, 2025 at 11:50 AM

Poll: 83% of Americans say benefits of MMR vaccines outweigh risks
Fifty-seven percent of those polled said they were unsure of complications if a pregnant woman contracts measles.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/m…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) May 19, 2025 at 4:33 PM

Parsing the Pandemic PausePost + Comments (326)

Covid Update: Covid’s Deadliest Effect Took Five Years to Appear

by Anne Laurie|  April 2, 20256:05 am| 160 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19

Covid’s Deadliest Effect Took Five Years to Appear

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— Reinold O.B. Gans (@gansrob.bsky.social) March 11, 2025 at 11:56 AM

Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee. at the NYTimes: [gift link]

… It has been five years since the world was blown into the tumult of a lethal pandemic. Back then, deserted streets and distant coughs, to say nothing of ambulances docking into hospitals, would have carried a very different meaning. But as Proust wrote, the moments of the past do not remain still. We have metabolized a global trauma — millions of deaths, nations brought to their knees, a generation scarred by grief, isolation and loss — so rapidly that it seems, at times, not to have happened at all.

As the pandemic rose, I saw my patients get sick and in some cases die, including a 42-year-old mother of two young children whose loss is seared into my soul. As it receded, I served on then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s commission to rebuild New York’s health infrastructure. Back then, the overwhelming public sentiment was: never again. Today, it seems: never what?

But Covid didn’t just change billions of individual lives. It changed our country’s basic approach to public health, in fundamental ways that are becoming fully visible only now — and that the Trump administration looks likely to render irreversible….

It came as a surprise for me. when Dr. Céline Gounder, an infectious disease doctor and a member of President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 Advisory Board, said that public health was nearly dead. It was October 2024, and we were seated in a chilly tent at the National Academy of Medicine meeting in Washington.

Dr. Gounder was referring to what she calls the “unglamorous public infrastructure” — the interlocking institutions that function constantly and invisibly and don’t depend on private enterprise or personal decisions. Yes, we conquered Covid, but “if we are inclined to think of our victory against Covid as a public health success,” she warned me, “we should really reconsider.”

What seemed to succeed, instead, was a deployment of private enterprise (backed by state subsidies): the invention of vaccines by pharmaceutical companies; their delivery in significant measure through private hospitals and clinics; the ascendancy of private decision making by individuals, schools and businesses; and the surveillance of the pandemic by private institutions.

Covid was a privatized pandemic. It is this technocratic, privatized model that is its lasting legacy and that will define our approach to the next pandemic. It solves some problems, but on balance it’s a recipe for disaster. There are some public goods that should never be sold.

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Dr. Gounder checked off the basic mechanisms by which public health experts confront a pandemic: They create systems to understand and track its cause and spread; they identify the people most at risk; they deploy scalable mechanisms of protection, like air and water sanitation; they distribute necessary tools, such as vaccines and protective gear; they gather and communicate accurate information; and they try to balance individual freedoms and mass restrictions.

In the case of Covid, each of these responsibilities became increasingly relegated to the private sphere. In one of President Trump’s first national speeches about Covid, he told the nation, “You’re going to be hearing from some of the largest companies and greatest retailers and medical companies in the world.” And so we did.

As the new administration engulfs Washington, we are witnessing the further, and perhaps final, phase of this retreat. In its first weeks, the Trump administration announced far-reaching cuts in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as reportedly severe restrictions on the kind of research its employees can conduct. It moved to dismantle the U.S.A.I.D., even though the agency funds crucial health efforts around the world, including an early detection system for epidemics. The president proposed slashing funding for medical research at universities. And of course, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, he chose Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who might have done more than anyone else alive to recast the miracle of vaccines as a dark and dangerous conspiracy…

Later that afternoon, as I returned home to Chelsea, I walked past the triangular park that marks the AIDS memorial. I doubt New York City will build a Covid memorial park any time soon, but if it does, it will probably be “sponsored.” Perhaps some of the “largest companies and greatest retailers” would chip in, and maybe they’d charge admission (with a percentage no doubt donated to a good cause of their choosing). No names of the deceased would be carved in stone. The memorial sculpture would be some rendition of a strand of mRNA. Or a great glass bubble representing, simultaneously, the lipid nanoparticles within which some of the vaccines were suspended and the ultimate separation of the public air outside and the private air inside.

Covid Update: <EM>Covid’s Deadliest Effect Took Five Years to Appear</em>Post + Comments (160)

H5N1 & COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: March 26, 2025

by Anne Laurie|  March 26, 20253:16 am| 27 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19, Foreign Affairs, H5N1 Bird Flu

Also that the deaths and suffering were largely invisible on TV news

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— BeijingPalmer (@beijingpalmer.bsky.social) March 24, 2025 at 7:31 PM


 

Not an auspicious date: 1 year ago today #USDA confirmed #H5N1 #birdflu in dairy cows in Texas, a first.
Since then nearly 1000 infected herds have been confirmed; lord knows how many others missed detection. 70 human cases were confirmed in the past year; again the true number is likely higher.

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— Helen Branswell (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 3:11 PM

#H5N1: About 150 hens & other birds in a New York City live poultry market have died of #birdflu. This is the 1st NYC #birdflu outbreak since Feb when >1000 live poultry market birds died. The latest involved 2 markets, which were detected during routine inspections abc7ny.com/post/nyc-bir…
.

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— Delthia Ricks (@dricks.bsky.social) March 24, 2025 at 12:41 PM

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#USDA confirmed another California dairy herd has been infected with #H5N1 #birdflu. That brings CA's total to 756. The CA Dept of Ag. says 422 of those herds have recovered & cleared quarantine.
Cumulative national total = 990 herds in 17 states. This doesn't include the herd MN reported y'day.

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— Helen Branswell (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 9:57 AM

I missed this y'day about the new report from Minnesota of an #H5N1 #birdflu infected herd: The herd in question was previously infected. As such it's not going to be counted again.
Just guessing, but I'd wonder if the bulk milk testing showed they never managed to clear the earlier infection.

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— Helen Branswell (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 10:36 AM

Though I didn't have sheep on my #H5N1 #birdflu bingo card, by this point nothing should surprise me or us about this tricky, tricky virus.
The UK has found an infected sheep. Where there's one, there certainly could be more. www.gov.uk/government/n…

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— Helen Branswell (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) March 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM

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— Medical Xpress – medical research advances and health news (@medicalxpress.com.web.brid.gy) March 25, 2025 at 11:45 PM

A different strain of #birdflu has wiped out a Mississippi poultry farm. H7N9 has been detected elsewhere in the world & hadn't been confirmed in the U.S. since 2017. The strain was found in Noxubee County & 46k birds either died or were euthanized after infection spread phys.org/news/2025-03…

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— Delthia Ricks (@dricks.bsky.social) March 19, 2025 at 5:19 PM

Current antivirals—including Tamiflu—are ineffective against #H5N1 in raw cows’ milk. While human infections have been rare, more than 60 people infected at dairies were exposed to H5N1 via raw milk reaching their noses or eyes in splashes or aerosolized particles www.genengnews.com/topics/infec…

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— Delthia Ricks (@dricks.bsky.social) March 19, 2025 at 7:22 AM

Cat food products have been recalled for #birdflu risk: Here are the latest ones👇
Savage Pet recalled 66 of its large 84 oz. chicken products & 74 of its smaller 21 oz size due to possible #H5N1 flu virus contamination. They join other recalled products: Wild Coast Raw, Northwest Naturals, & more

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— Delthia Ricks (@dricks.bsky.social) March 21, 2025 at 1:15 PM

Like it or not, we have entered 'a forever war' with #birdflu. The threat of an #H5N1 pandemic is here to stay www.theverge.com/science/6326…

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— Delthia Ricks (@dricks.bsky.social) March 22, 2025 at 10:07 AM

***********

Times are going to get hard — harder — for public health departments. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt…

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— Helen Branswell (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 3:49 PM

In <24 hours, Covid funding is DOGEd across HHS, CDC, NIH as if it and Long Covid didn't exist and there is no worry for future pandemics
www.science.org/content/arti…
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt…
www.science.org/content/arti…

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— Eric Topol (@erictopol.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 6:30 PM

Last night's update: 136,257 new cases, nearly 1,000 new deaths https://t.co/obHAfa7XlX

— BNO News (@BNOFeed) March 24, 2025

March 21st update:
The decline has stuttered over the past couple weeks, and NWSS also re-adjusted a couple of the past values upwards. South and Midwest both at medium levels, W/NE are low. Latest WW estimates:
🔸328,000 new infections/day
🔸~1 in 100 currently infected

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— JPWeiland (@jpweiland.bsky.social) March 21, 2025 at 9:19 PM

======

The stark contrast between Rwanda’s handling of a deadly Marburg virus outbreak this year & the rest of the world’s chaotic response to #Covid provides textbook lessons in how to properly respond to a threat and how to make a threat worse www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt…

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— Delthia Ricks (@dricks.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 4:10 PM

======

Today's update. Sad to see. A pill vaccine would have been a positive step forward.
www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/vaxa…

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— Eric Topol (@erictopol.bsky.social) March 21, 2025 at 11:58 AM

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— Medical Xpress – medical research advances and health news (@medicalxpress.com.web.brid.gy) March 25, 2025 at 11:42 AM

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— Medical Xpress – medical research advances and health news (@medicalxpress.com.web.brid.gy) March 24, 2025 at 11:46 AM

Uncertainty about long COVID lingers years after the pandemic began
Nine percent of people who described themselves as permanently sick or disabled had long COVID.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) March 18, 2025 at 5:07 PM

As more States attempt to enact mask bans & Trump continues to dismantle public health, it becomes increasingly clear that we’re on our own.
Masks should be mandatory in healthcare, yet you will often see more patients masking than healthcare workers.
My guide to avoiding hospital acquired COVID

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— Kelly (@broadwaybabyto.bsky.social) March 22, 2025 at 11:54 PM

======

Seismic scoop from @lenasun.bsky.social: A long-time anti-vaxer who was disciplined for practising medicine without a license has been selected by #HHS to conduct the study RFK Jr. wants looking yet again at whether vaccines cause autism. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/…

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— Helen Branswell (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 7:15 PM

An antivax nightmare is about to unfold: The Texas measles epidemic could possibly continue for a year. Vaccination efforts have already faltered & many residents have turned to loony alternative treatments endorsed by RFK Jr. Dangerous times are ahead www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/h…

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— Delthia Ricks (@dricks.bsky.social) March 22, 2025 at 9:11 AM

More states are reporting measles cases amid rising instances of vaccine misinformation. Ohio, Maryland & Alabama among states outside the Texas-New Mexico-Oklahoma epidemic to report cases. The TX-NM-OK epidemic has >350 cases. All other states bring the total to 378

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— Delthia Ricks (@dricks.bsky.social) March 23, 2025 at 2:01 PM

The ultimate Gain of Function laboratory is Mother Nature.
Let a virus spread and spread, spill over again and again to mammals that share more genes with people, like cats and rats and cows, maybe a few mink and ferrets, and we end up with a problem much bigger than what we have now – for people.

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— Infectious Diseases (@infectiousdz.bsky.social) March 18, 2025 at 4:02 PM

Parents of the child who died of measles have joined RFK-founded Children's Health Defense. Anti-vaccine groups excel at swooping in for tragedy, offering parents a cause.
“Don’t do the shots,” her mother said, measles is “not as bad as they’re making it out to be.”
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt…

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— Brandy Zadrozny (@brandyzadrozny.bsky.social) March 20, 2025 at 9:42 AM

Parents of unvaccinated child who died of measles still tell other parents to be anti-vax.

Mother: "We would still say don't do the shots… It’s not as bad as they're making it out to be."

Father: "The measles are good for the body… in long run you won't get cancer as easily… pic.twitter.com/ICCwXGYmgE

— LongTime??FirstTime????? (@LongTimeHistory) March 20, 2025

H5N1 & COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: March 26, 2025Post + Comments (27)

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