tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59399152907949736542024-03-18T16:29:01.191-04:00A Puff of Absurdity"When we remember that we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained." Twain / "I write to keep from going mad from the contradictions I find among mankind - and to work some of these contradictions out for myself." Montaigne / "I write because I have found no other means of getting <i>rid</i> of my thoughts." Nietzsche / "Writing is an integral part of the process of understanding." Arendt / "Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers." Asimov.
Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.comBlogger1043125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-81989267588802614832024-03-18T08:28:00.002-04:002024-03-18T16:28:27.114-04:00You Can't Care about Refugees and Not Care about Covid<p> Disability activist Imani Barbarin made an important connection between Covid precautions and genocide. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWaQuu04O5m2bwfkuae7RsXpGovI-AlDAoiNTyzKOn_QFLwko7KO85t-OGoE46m1Yu86BI4oOC-pfmOmAZljTStzFmChN_Xxna8mvQ7M0u92TuxizQkKtzFJ6q6RB4CeVBGlezXLvVCtshSBYW6Srk3o-9_a8AAmv2z7ZhBo2GfbV03sZA6iA2Bs-xIFR/s1200/mask%20vs%20bedridden.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="943" height="579" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWaQuu04O5m2bwfkuae7RsXpGovI-AlDAoiNTyzKOn_QFLwko7KO85t-OGoE46m1Yu86BI4oOC-pfmOmAZljTStzFmChN_Xxna8mvQ7M0u92TuxizQkKtzFJ6q6RB4CeVBGlezXLvVCtshSBYW6Srk3o-9_a8AAmv2z7ZhBo2GfbV03sZA6iA2Bs-xIFR/w454-h579/mask%20vs%20bedridden.jpeg" width="454" /></a></div><p>In this <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@crutches_and_spice/video/7346681092654517547" target="_blank">Tiktok video</a> she <a href="https://twitter.com/Imani_Barbarin/status/1768744905893978489" target="_blank">explains why</a> "It's wild that people think they can support Palestinians as they're being disabled without disability justice":</p><p></p><blockquote cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@crutches_and_spice/video/7346681092654517547" class="tiktok-embed" data-video-id="7346681092654517547" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@crutches_and_spice?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="@crutches_and_spice">@crutches_and_spice</a> De@th does not follow disabled people, nondisabled people carry it with them to us. <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/greenscreenvideo?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="greenscreenvideo">#greenscreenvideo</a> @mawd ✯ <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7346681841526623018?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - Crutches&Spice ♿️ :">♬ original sound - Crutches&Spice ♿️ :</a> </section> </blockquote> <script async="" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><p></p><p>Here's the first half if you don't want to click on the 3 minute video. She starts with another vid admonishing people who support Palestine but don't mask indoors:</p><p></p><blockquote><span><a name='more'></a></span>"Once people from Gaza and Palestine evacuate the genocide, the greatest tool Israel has to continue that genocide is <i>you</i>. The greatest tool Israel will have to commit ethnic cleansing continuously <i>outside </i>of those borders is you. And I mean that quite literally. Unless you think that a country committing ethnic cleasing and genocide hopped to when it came to making sure that Palestinians had Covid vaccines. Everyone who's coming out of Gaza, whether physically or mentally, will have some sort of disability. For every one person killed in Gaza, there are at least three that are permanently disabled, and disabled people have lesser health outcomes. Not to mention that every single Palestinian that is in Rafah right now is in <i>hugely</i> dense populated settings, and diseases, and Covid <i>especially</i>, are killing them. . . . Every single person that is stuck in Rafah right now, that is around thousands if not millions of other people, will have diseases and illnesses running through their systems. And if they get the opportunity to evacuate, they will have <i>extremely</i> compromised immune systems and will likely experience discrimination, particularly in western countries, not just racially but <i>because</i> they're now disabled. . . . It's why they bomb hospitals because people are already sick when they're there. Stop making people sick."</blockquote><p></p><p>She also appeared briefly in an excellent news segment from <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7Dvbo8pRqQ&ab_channel=AlJazeeraEnglish" target="_blank">Al Jazeera</a></i> on Long Covid (24 min.) which looks at the reality of living with Covid for a growing number of people. </p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k7Dvbo8pRqQ?si=zG3P90VhIU8ESRWz" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p>Long Covid steals your future and the plans of your family and any finances you might have. It brings the most harm to the most vulnerable, which includes refugees coming to our country. If you care about the genocide happening overseas, then you should care about them here, too. So start wearing a well-fitting N95 when you're in public places. </p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-58594654634479612502024-03-17T06:00:00.001-04:002024-03-17T08:34:38.053-04:00Hiding in Plain Sight<p>Anecdotal information - what we see around us - is far, far less accurate when measuring risks than scientific studies; unfortunately, it's far more persuasive. We need to heed the science. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlv7xjfuXbHFTikqfUojS-uHrk5Tu9Pt4LsHE8UdBChL8CepXNlPbfpnFIMd_lJEN5K5SyuMSG2ILCepQuSesqJIzt55-pbkkR6LTW6cFJAH1tVPWEMesEshg5a_Ck09PQSKoJMeaE5swdJWU6pnZlOgv_0gA0aTnZ3VPs7rw_lwfJFi0OWxTMUgfEFotT/s900/aa%20comic.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="900" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlv7xjfuXbHFTikqfUojS-uHrk5Tu9Pt4LsHE8UdBChL8CepXNlPbfpnFIMd_lJEN5K5SyuMSG2ILCepQuSesqJIzt55-pbkkR6LTW6cFJAH1tVPWEMesEshg5a_Ck09PQSKoJMeaE5swdJWU6pnZlOgv_0gA0aTnZ3VPs7rw_lwfJFi0OWxTMUgfEFotT/w490-h153/aa%20comic.gif" width="490" /></a></div><p>I don't actually know anyone who died of lung cancer from smoking. In fact, my grandmother smoked like a chimney and lived a very long life. And, back in my extremely social days of yore, I was a smoker surrounded by tons of people who smoked and none got lung cancer - that I know of. Yet I believe the science when studies show a direct connection between the two, so I quit smoking.</p><p>So many studies show a direct connection between Covid and profound brain damage, cardiovascular damage, lung damage, immune system damage, and so much more. Long Covid is a brutal condition. Jeff Gilchrist wrote out a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/16jhcwz02T4AoIzipf0Z1RQkZSak0UzIm1J_J_W98gv4/edit" target="_blank">very long list </a>of possible damage to a person with even just a mild or asymptomatic initial case. I get that many people don't know <i>anyone</i> who has it, which makes it feel like it can't possibly be that serious or common. That's why its important to look at stats from random samples of the population (and from wastewater measures and from air measures to see how Covid-y it is out there) and to recognize how serious this disease really is. </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>Covid is <i>far</i> more prevalent and with far more frequent long term effects than freakin' <i>polio </i>(which was originally minimized as not as bad as whooping cough!). <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdiDZ_0dzoXNiMCyY19nqIVOrNWm6eVGUPbmCpIJmXipzisUjv3ZyBIeOgGsERnc88Lr92RbdSZiEVd0CFBCTm2CUdY8bQpONs_3qCssJhhwlTfFvDUzCNaC5LTUFDfamRfaAi8F_vuFw5Cm7ogdd7EmNFMrpdQwYz4BiiYUaEVfAwTkCNpo1k9k2_1Unm/s677/aa%20polio.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="636" height="505" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdiDZ_0dzoXNiMCyY19nqIVOrNWm6eVGUPbmCpIJmXipzisUjv3ZyBIeOgGsERnc88Lr92RbdSZiEVd0CFBCTm2CUdY8bQpONs_3qCssJhhwlTfFvDUzCNaC5LTUFDfamRfaAi8F_vuFw5Cm7ogdd7EmNFMrpdQwYz4BiiYUaEVfAwTkCNpo1k9k2_1Unm/w475-h505/aa%20polio.png" width="475" /></a></div><p>From <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_travis/status/1476529717725515777" target="_blank">Gregory Travis</a>: </p><p></p><blockquote>"Polio killed 150,000 in the US between 1890 and 1960 (70 years) [<i>before</i> widespread vaccinations]. Covid killed 150,000 between September 2020 and December 2021. There were 115,000 polio cases at the peak in 1952. There were 34,000,000 Covid cases in 2021."</blockquote><p></p><p>Fewer than<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/polio.html" target="_blank"> 1% of polio infections</a> result in paralysis. Possibly <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/20220622.htm" target="_blank">up to 20%</a> of Covid infections result in Long Covid. Like polio, Covid is biphasic with an initial minor illness that resolves, followed later by a major illness. <i>Unlike</i> polio, we can get Covid over and over and over again, and each new infection dramatically increases the chance of getting Long Covid. It's not 20% of <i>people </i>who will get Long Covid, but 20% of <i>infections</i>. </p><p>That's a fuck ton.</p><p>But where <i>are</i> they all?? </p><p>Up to <a href="https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-percentage-of-smokers-get-lung-cancer-2248868" target="_blank">15% of smokers</a> get lung cancer. Where are <i>they</i> all???</p><p>People don't like talking about their illnesses. And people who get <i>really </i>sick often just quietly slip out of our social circles. It's easy to overlook the people you just don't see anymore. </p><p>But they're there in the stats.</p><p>Some countries are experiencing economic downturns from the sheer number of absences from Covid, currently <i>averaging</i> <a href="https://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/Studie-Rekord-Krankenstand-fuehrte-zur-Rezession-article24690123.html" target="_blank">20 days/year</a> in Germany. In an excellent piece at <a href="https://www.thegauntlet.news/p/germany-entered-a-recession-last" target="_blank"><i>The Gauntlet</i>,</a> Julia Doubleday wrote about, </p><p></p><blockquote>"the media's construction of an artificial out-group, which continually expanded and now comprises everyone harmed by Covid: past, present and future. If your health is harmed or destroyed by Covid, you are no longer part of the oft-mentioned 'most people' who have nothing to fear from the virus. Now you are 'other'. Your fate cannot inspire people to take precautions because you are not like them. You may be pitiable and unfortunate, but you aren't a canary in a coal mine. . . . Rather than limiting its damage to the so-called 'vulnerable', Covid reinfections continue to create <i>more vulnerable people</i>. Yes, the most vulnerable surely were killed at an alarming clip during the initial reopening; but twenty sick days a year for the average worker speaks to the failure of this blood sacrifice to save the rest of us. There was never a binary between 'people who can be harmed' and 'people who can't be harmed' by SARS-CoV-2; the public was simply encouraged to believe this in order to break our solidarity. . . . All of the sociopathic calculations behind the idea that 'letting it rip' would be 'good for the economy' was based on this now obviously false presumption: that herd immunity was achievable. . . . Recurrent infections being the reality - and herd immunity being impossible - the mass, unending infection approach carries obvious and compounding economic consequences." </blockquote><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dRHxHDy1KFoeu7d-P4Cz5hiLL2yvoo_9RekmawdBufZAhL9-ogSt2M7zUyy1x89_EfwMHPJcFcbfESM2I1hHv9kJwyiRohmIWXG-UrBnve4CSlucT337RxHM3g6dLydE4b-94V5a_c2isY2u7iheuY4FcVlZUXwPoKgD8ibe-C_XgiV79iBYd_jp7QYK/s763/aa%20reinfection.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="763" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dRHxHDy1KFoeu7d-P4Cz5hiLL2yvoo_9RekmawdBufZAhL9-ogSt2M7zUyy1x89_EfwMHPJcFcbfESM2I1hHv9kJwyiRohmIWXG-UrBnve4CSlucT337RxHM3g6dLydE4b-94V5a_c2isY2u7iheuY4FcVlZUXwPoKgD8ibe-C_XgiV79iBYd_jp7QYK/w491-h276/aa%20reinfection.png" width="491" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">From "<a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-covid-19-reinfection" target="_blank">What doctors wish patients knew about Covid reinfections.</a>"</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>And from <a href="https://twitter.com/Friesein/status/1766611276497629387" target="_blank">Friesein</a>,</p><p></p><blockquote><p>"There will come a day where the dangers of Covid are as widely-recognized as the toxicity of asbestos or lead. By then, there will be layers of plausible deniability in place for the people who sacrificed the health of our children in exchange for short-term economic interests. . . . We know that some authorities were aware at least as early as 2021 of evidence showing overt long term consequences of Covid-19, often in 30% or more cases studied. And that's not even counting subclinical cardiovascular damage that appears six months to a year later. . . . Authorities around the world know that Covid causes severe health issues even in healthy individuals, but they can't admit it in public or they would be sued into oblivion. So instead, they choose to ignore it. Or, at least, they <i>pretend</i> to ignore it. The virus causing Covid is a SARS virus. The long term effects of SARS viruses (e.g. SARS1, MERS) were well-known before the pandemic. In terms of medical evidence, it is neither surprising nor controversial that SARS-CoV-2 has long term effects." </p></blockquote><p>It's everywhere, and it's dangerous to your health and well-being. Quit smoking to reduce your chances of lung cancer, and wear a mask to reduce your chances of Covid and Long Covid. There's <i>no</i> treatment, only prevention. </p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-36725373301319155172024-03-16T06:00:00.001-04:002024-03-16T14:46:00.651-04:00Why Resist Clean Air?<p>Barry Hunt spent a lot of time in hospitals with a knee injury, but managed to never catch Covid because he <i>knows</i> how to avoid it. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYDljhiix8nDJWKmWbJAsvf1QJ6ZMXe9OAzh0GscH6BsPHDa24cU1MDPkFo_l52eXL5TrBQ8y0eDUUtD1h4HyG9kP6DyD082fbGHNAat2GnKE_-PmHghZI0qvo88_1GW2BJV2K7QpHl4vQv5_B7YRsx_DUDf_2vQvv9MPKYCQVwe05fbIj6bJKI1tDoxk/s612/aa3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="612" height="449" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYDljhiix8nDJWKmWbJAsvf1QJ6ZMXe9OAzh0GscH6BsPHDa24cU1MDPkFo_l52eXL5TrBQ8y0eDUUtD1h4HyG9kP6DyD082fbGHNAat2GnKE_-PmHghZI0qvo88_1GW2BJV2K7QpHl4vQv5_B7YRsx_DUDf_2vQvv9MPKYCQVwe05fbIj6bJKI1tDoxk/w477-h449/aa3.jpeg" width="477" /></a></div><p>It's possible for <i>all</i> of us to avoid it!! He wrote <a href="https://twitter.com/BarryHunt008/status/1475957743466991616" target="_blank">this thread</a> in December 2021, but it's still very applicable. This is all from his thread:</p><p>I keep saying, "Someday I'll write a book" about the struggle to bring an engineering perspective to infection prevention and control in healthcare. For now I'll just write a thread.</p><p>Is there anything worse than knowing there are oceans full of icebergs ahead, how easy it is to engineer systems to detect and steer around them, but not being able to get the owners of the lines or anyone in command to listen as you blindly head straight for them? I've been advocating for engineering and standards for air, water and surfaces in healthcare facilities to ⬇️ disease transmission for over 30 years. The irony of being accused by out-of-touch ID/PH/IPAC/Epi of epistemic trespassing before and during the pandemic is gobsmacking. </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>I started with single patient rooms. In pre-pandemic 🇨🇦 we had the ⬆️ estimated healthcare-associated infection (HAI) rate in OECD, 1/10 inpatients, and the lowest beds and lowest single rooms/capita. We also had sicker patients.😠 Studies now show that single patient rooms cut infection rates in half. 🙂 Ten years ago 🇨🇦 began moving to primarily single patient rooms for new hospital builds - although not 100% because hospitals won't give up preferential private room billing to insurance companies. 😠 In 2007 we formed a small group of volunteers to create a 🇨🇦 National Standard for Plume Evacuation, source control to prevent airborne transmission of disease in ORs. Despite nurses' complaints, we couldn't get support until doctors started getting genital warts in their noses. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XzZSwmxT3BWgtjkcgFbMqffKOhlgw0mfUDjKOoI3ELIIRQnWXcocgXkSeYnaN-2Ah8HuARxX1IhmDxBBv0onH93eNwi8Qqq21Re_mAHzR_MzEqFSfgG1_DGqXAQQc0z9l17z_rOTdlaqQpVnA70zgv8c9x-OZqUegAhDjgHtwgaq4TlVAI8YTRduhaP2/s1348/aa1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="1348" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XzZSwmxT3BWgtjkcgFbMqffKOhlgw0mfUDjKOoI3ELIIRQnWXcocgXkSeYnaN-2Ah8HuARxX1IhmDxBBv0onH93eNwi8Qqq21Re_mAHzR_MzEqFSfgG1_DGqXAQQc0z9l17z_rOTdlaqQpVnA70zgv8c9x-OZqUegAhDjgHtwgaq4TlVAI8YTRduhaP2/w493-h276/aa1.jpeg" width="493" /></a></div><p>We helped ISO develop a similar global standard which was published in 2014. Because laser and electrocautery smoke is clearly visible, and there are now national and international standards the practice of source control in ORs is now well-accepted. Unlike smoke, our breath is not visible, and there are no national or international standards yet for pathogen-free air. However, the principle of air extraction would work in ICUs and patient rooms just as well as ORs. </p><p>Copper was registered as an antimicrobial in 2008, 50 years after silver. Over the past 10 years countless studies showed efficacy, persistence, durability and safety of copper surfaces, but the ID community pushes back with objective conclusions like "too good to be true". /s While ID/IPAC has no budget on their own to implement engineering measures in hospitals, in 🇨🇦 they can and most often do scuttle initiatives in Engineering and Facilities Management and Environmental Services departments to introduce new technologies and materials to ⬇️ HAIs. </p><p>In 2011 I pursued the concept of combining continuous and high-frequency bioburden reduction of surfaces to prevent fomite transmission. Copper could provide 'continuous' ⬇️ on high-touch surfaces while UV, if automated, could provide 'high-frequency' ⬇️ on all surfaces. In 2014 we launched 'AutoUV', built-in fixtures that detected occupancy, monitored whether doors were open or closed, and dosed rooms every four hours and after every exit. As expected, it works. It can't not work. And after seven years in the field it's been shown to be extremely safe. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd680a6L_du7vgFGKnhWJE67_zVSuGWOThTwX91Rr00oDyEMc35EaxhPxvaUjawYHe5rP1VcBW0AI1geblj5UHKSkYhxQux_KC7iWaDDYv4RqWFDA5N2M0mki4Wu-6PitSy1BiGKuXMVV_2LPUl047bGz5OuD10mTaJ6SiY4PTgmsXSO0iKDqv96j9rXjb/s1280/aa2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd680a6L_du7vgFGKnhWJE67_zVSuGWOThTwX91Rr00oDyEMc35EaxhPxvaUjawYHe5rP1VcBW0AI1geblj5UHKSkYhxQux_KC7iWaDDYv4RqWFDA5N2M0mki4Wu-6PitSy1BiGKuXMVV_2LPUl047bGz5OuD10mTaJ6SiY4PTgmsXSO0iKDqv96j9rXjb/w480-h270/aa2.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><p>Bathrooms can be the source of 1/2 of disease spread in hospital. C diff can be colonized in air after every toilet flush. Aerosols drift for minutes to hours. Intestinal and respiratory diseases are often spread through toilet aerosolization. AutoUV = bathroom source control. Today there are 1000's of units in use across 🇨🇦, and the Ontario Ministry of Health has made AutoUV a standard of care for new hospital builds. MOHLTC now mandates and funds AutoUV. Hooray. But IPAC stubbornly pushes back AGAINST the use of AutoUV. 😠 </p><p>In other ironic news, Health Canada is cutting off use of open air UV in healthcare, including Upper Air UV, in the middle of an airborne pandemic due to a flood of household UV devices being sold retail and online that don't work, don't have safeties, or produce ozone. 😠 In 2014 I co-founded <a href="http://chaircanada.org" target="_blank">CHAIR</a>, the Coalition for Healthcare Acquired Infection Reduction. Scientists, engineers, ID docs, and industry working together to engineer air, water and surfaces to ⬇️ HAIs. We naively thought we could achieve an 80% ⬇️ in preventable environmental HAIs with new technologies and materials. We knew legacy industry players in chemical disinfection would be a challenge. We had no idea the biggest battle would come from the ID/IPAC community itself. </p><p>I watched in horror at the denial of airborne transmission of 2003 SARS at a plenary session in May 2014 in Toronto. Playing to the crowd in a very purposeful, dismissive, and comedic way, the speaker claimed "SARS is NOT airborne. The droplets fall to the floor within six feet." Dr Yu, Hong Kong Public Health, had just re-analyzed and re-published the Amoy Gardens study six months earlier on the 10 year anniversary reaffirming airborne transmission of SARS. When I challenged the speaker, he claimed "Oh, don't worry, I know him, he changed his mind". 🙄😠 In 2014 an ID doc from PHO presented at a Toronto IPAC Education Day. He claimed Ebola was DEFINITELY NOT airborne. When challenged with a study showing transmission between caged and separated lab primates he claimed, "Well monkeys have long arms. Besides, they can spit." In a follow-up:
"There's airborne transmission of PRRV in hogs between factory farms kilometers away documented in Veterinary journals.
"I don't read those journals."
"Would you like me to send you some articles?" "Don't bother."
They don't want to know. 😠</p><p>Hospitals are a global network of MDRO incubators. CDI and MRSA spread in hospitals before seeding community acquired versions.
Sinks and drains are known sources of contamination, especially via aerosol route. Pathogens are getting more virulent including MDRO CPE/CRE/CPOs, and C auris. Water contamination, aerosolization, and bacterial, fungal, biofilm reservoir control = engineering.
Progressive examples:
Calgary Health Region - UV all incoming water - no Legionella.
Self-disinfecting sinks - electrocatalytically split H2O into OH-, O-, O3, H2OH = disinfectant.
Water contamination, aerosolization, and bacterial, fungal, biofilm reservoir control = engineering.
Progressive examples:
Calgary Health Region - UV all incoming water - no Legionella.
Self-disinfecting sinks - electrocatalytically split H2O into OH-, O-, O3, H2OH = disinfectant. In Ontario, MOH now funds and mandates self-disinfecting sink and drain technologies. However IPCA/ID continues to push back AGAINST new technologies. 🙄😠</p><p>So why send this thread? Because the current struggle to recognize airborne transmission and the engineered solutions is part of an epic struggle. We've seen how much resistance there has been over the past almost two years. The entrenchment started a century ago as most of us know. But the struggle has been about much more than "airborne". It's a struggle for epistemic control, for critical thinking, for evaluation to first principles, the applied use of deductive reasoning, politics, economics, tension between careerism and Precautionary Principle.
Many in ID/PH have fought against engineering measures but now are giving up on fighting the virus at all. 😠
It's important to not give in to the temptation of accepting "just live with it", "it's endemic now", "it's mild". NO. Not acceptable. </p><p>CoVID is airborne. It's very manageable. Wear an N95 in occupied spaces until case counts are near zero. Make indoor air safe - ventilate, filter, UV. Set national and international standards for safe indoor air. Set a goal of elimination - regional, then national, then global. </p><p>A BIG heartfelt thank you to the increasing number of heroes in ID/PH/IPAC/Epi who have bucked groupthink and siloes and legacy teaching and credentialism. It hasn't been easy for you to go against the flow and you deserve tremendous praise and thanks for your courage. 🙏 And a big heartfelt thank you of course to Team Airborne, ZeroCoVIDCanada, World Health Network, scientists, engineers, doctors, and citizens everywhere who have fought to overcome adversity and agenda and misinformation to help others. 🙏 . . . Florence Nightingale did a remarkable job in hospital design in the 1800s, especially with respect to prevention of airborne transmission.</p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-67507903964060374872024-03-15T11:43:00.006-04:002024-03-16T14:38:14.587-04:00A Long Post for Long Covid Awareness Day!<p>March 15th is LongCovid Awareness Day, recognized in <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/it-is-real-an-ontario-researcher-speaks-out-about-her-18-month-struggle-with-long-covid-1.6808814" target="_blank">the U.S.</a> and <a href="https://gmintegratedcare.org.uk/health-advice/long-covid-awareness-day-15th-march/">the U.K.</a>, and <a href="https://www.newswise.com/articles/international-long-covid-awareness-day-mcmaster-expert-available" target="_blank">in Canada</a>, and <a href="https://www.umu.se/en/news/long-covid-awareness-day--an-occasion-for-sharing-knowledge_11909998/" target="_blank">Sweden</a>, but not yet by the <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/letters/ask-the-united-nations-to-officially-recognize-international-long-covid-awareness-day-and-month?source=direct_l" target="_blank">United Nations</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1JQxlnL6YaIJCEJ39MgJZlDVLkTHD1LiWs7mOZodKYC_4zHXiOwWKnELoecj9EVyKzRomBLoMTCJo5qTKFeKi1b74ZpMbMUVqWWzElenHCQB7YnwXBRQcJcOUSXqZZwpSYD7vaVNx_9jlv12FyPZ5rhfq5FPIP1UYAQ0Nn_qPVAwzxR-FW_drhiLP7bm/s764/aaa.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="764" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1JQxlnL6YaIJCEJ39MgJZlDVLkTHD1LiWs7mOZodKYC_4zHXiOwWKnELoecj9EVyKzRomBLoMTCJo5qTKFeKi1b74ZpMbMUVqWWzElenHCQB7YnwXBRQcJcOUSXqZZwpSYD7vaVNx_9jlv12FyPZ5rhfq5FPIP1UYAQ0Nn_qPVAwzxR-FW_drhiLP7bm/w477-h450/aaa.jpeg" width="477" /></a></div><p>A bit about my biggest concern - the brain - from<a href="https://twitter.com/JamesThrot/status/1768304306623484023" target="_blank"> James Throt</a>, MD:</p><p></p><blockquote>Covid: A Brain Damaging Story
<br />I believe that in the absence of large scale studies and conducting brain imaging on a mass scale, we have to rely upon ourselves to turn to real world examples we may already be witnessing.
Some questions about what you may be seeing. Now before we delve deeper into this, I think it would be felicitous to provide a little background first.
MRI brain imaging has previously revealed that Covid reduces the thickness of grey matter within the frontal and temporal lobes.
This would mimic symptoms of FTD [<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/frontotemporal-dementia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354737" target="_blank">Frontotemporal Dementia</a>].<span><a name='more'></a></span></blockquote><p></p><div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="283"></col><col width="282"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #efefef 1pt; border-color: rgb(239, 239, 239); border-left: solid #efefef 1pt; border-right: solid #efefef 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #efefef 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQicKyjfVJWrO622r7-D1jXdSXA57j_S_Prn-8XJ3Qo4JosGOn-8GkNLB63F6IwJSQKQ2cFTHDdNDOBG75C2oU48a2LS_LGK-DXqEoqYkncyx3Otfi6Y2WACzoKpzLIJU5CZKKDvN5GyrXTDzPd3ZPlDKjiQBJsMyplIWcnIMfLXis7G0DWGAQ0vAWEFO-/s2048/aa1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1253" height="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQicKyjfVJWrO622r7-D1jXdSXA57j_S_Prn-8XJ3Qo4JosGOn-8GkNLB63F6IwJSQKQ2cFTHDdNDOBG75C2oU48a2LS_LGK-DXqEoqYkncyx3Otfi6Y2WACzoKpzLIJU5CZKKDvN5GyrXTDzPd3ZPlDKjiQBJsMyplIWcnIMfLXis7G0DWGAQ0vAWEFO-/w253-h413/aa1.jpeg" width="253" /></a><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"></table></td><td style="border-color: rgb(239, 239, 239); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZm-CfApTuFPfm8BPTeLuTJQcpia-0Y7X_CM-Rky5ew7_PlKxnn0XVI1d1zAlbFHNKnfmv0u-qrmZvsFcIhY7ISVw-JfZBdNAkEfLCsaFrVq4fc7mI6me7tj4ghdoLWQ24-UfwDvIgF6_9LVFtmLop_ftZb17HCW3Y3G186ViMvoqiy-oOhMG7SoN9DzvB/s1345/aa2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1345" data-original-width="1068" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZm-CfApTuFPfm8BPTeLuTJQcpia-0Y7X_CM-Rky5ew7_PlKxnn0XVI1d1zAlbFHNKnfmv0u-qrmZvsFcIhY7ISVw-JfZBdNAkEfLCsaFrVq4fc7mI6me7tj4ghdoLWQ24-UfwDvIgF6_9LVFtmLop_ftZb17HCW3Y3G186ViMvoqiy-oOhMG7SoN9DzvB/w218-h275/aa2.jpeg" width="218" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p></p><blockquote>So to the questions.
I am going to show you a wide spectrum of symptoms which arise from damage to the frontal and temporal lobes. I will be using the NHS’s definition of Frontotemporal Dementia for reference. Are you noticing one or more of the following in yourself or others?</blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqMuf_uweG-W2CUVS7KniFFNNNZYlzw-1y2Aphb6htGhjAkA7LP76PKO1dVQSVNGy96cRmV57bkhDzNef6gY5E0kgQedyoDrZ2x-abJ5e1nzpCDqGEzHsoBq1DlOTNfpKC3GcQQFwtBsRFPnMjkaqUGqrVsllFBzJdBWW3IA7uTHSu73xG-Px0wCJEqbO/s1290/aa3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1290" height="477" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqMuf_uweG-W2CUVS7KniFFNNNZYlzw-1y2Aphb6htGhjAkA7LP76PKO1dVQSVNGy96cRmV57bkhDzNef6gY5E0kgQedyoDrZ2x-abJ5e1nzpCDqGEzHsoBq1DlOTNfpKC3GcQQFwtBsRFPnMjkaqUGqrVsllFBzJdBWW3IA7uTHSu73xG-Px0wCJEqbO/w486-h477/aa3.jpeg" width="486" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqKpliSvb6hZljQPn2_QJsKmEbzUPI0Uu5QA03t7Sx9RprcI-Xrb1xrv4IBfpkAELf1v_AIXi8wAmOoa1cjdytDI2EtjStlH7BPTTC_UuDUKR_oneD7W3C-A78S1GmqICGQ-_I8EEzZYmxaBd7x1TiIHJbnrpVrMGAx0AASlzya1FJsC32nIOyOpNbFIEN/s1290/aa4.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1290" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqKpliSvb6hZljQPn2_QJsKmEbzUPI0Uu5QA03t7Sx9RprcI-Xrb1xrv4IBfpkAELf1v_AIXi8wAmOoa1cjdytDI2EtjStlH7BPTTC_UuDUKR_oneD7W3C-A78S1GmqICGQ-_I8EEzZYmxaBd7x1TiIHJbnrpVrMGAx0AASlzya1FJsC32nIOyOpNbFIEN/w488-h387/aa4.jpeg" width="488" /></a></div><p></p><blockquote><p>Are you noticing one or more of the following in yourself or others?
Since we are at a very early stage in the progression of such damage, these symptoms could be mild/subtle versions of one or more of these, but should not be disregarded, especially if they’re new or worsening.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQneKGVhDqoJ-bvugqgFRkYgx0aZxG6mrNEeRagZjVcV7XDuzgLQneEqm338TGbtoZg7YPlGhoKK7qNP8tsbEdLQM__fQdHoFqbTGoeb74okzHOQW2GkNnHdUPRiMK4WsrnEIllcYHDWHryUd1ABgHgGDoQdAbtJMMBjuOxeWP3Dk4EEZFXmGLxkVwjJHP/s1383/aa5.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1383" data-original-width="1290" height="519" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQneKGVhDqoJ-bvugqgFRkYgx0aZxG6mrNEeRagZjVcV7XDuzgLQneEqm338TGbtoZg7YPlGhoKK7qNP8tsbEdLQM__fQdHoFqbTGoeb74okzHOQW2GkNnHdUPRiMK4WsrnEIllcYHDWHryUd1ABgHgGDoQdAbtJMMBjuOxeWP3Dk4EEZFXmGLxkVwjJHP/w483-h519/aa5.jpeg" width="483" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk08KNbDnSxpfe7uMC92zcfCH5oS26wDs0TpE1YYmtZsz0XuRSrbqfsZ_hJvMBMSvW4ARU294qSXdqdiJ8amp5hGRryh9m186PTZU8-cDo7oA3kk7YBrbl0EsV9Dl-cIfCn8FKmwML4-sRXkvUYyWh8ewfyE6JAH4nKen0sjzjx0mItDby7U7odvdZ6RCq/s1290/aa6.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1261" data-original-width="1290" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk08KNbDnSxpfe7uMC92zcfCH5oS26wDs0TpE1YYmtZsz0XuRSrbqfsZ_hJvMBMSvW4ARU294qSXdqdiJ8amp5hGRryh9m186PTZU8-cDo7oA3kk7YBrbl0EsV9Dl-cIfCn8FKmwML4-sRXkvUYyWh8ewfyE6JAH4nKen0sjzjx0mItDby7U7odvdZ6RCq/w486-h475/aa6.jpeg" width="486" /></a></div><p></p><blockquote>It should also be noted that damage to this specific area of the brain within the cerebral cortex can cause sociopathic behaviour.
Additionally, this induces the “slow and insidious loss of the capacity for moral rationality.”
Have you noticed anything akin to this?</blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDpO2QRbDAQfGIhYf_EVOcmceQb0qjx9zi_2dv5tCzkfUg5JekS031BlEvqcS73QnqGNYPB8QwMEpCzouDq4Ulmg4UxHffvlZTjXchTog4t6aisT3WgYtqq4FW91ru9yLy14GwLBr-lyxrqFuzM-8wPQm8BnV_90M1oe63jF1tdXeLkKT7mpxH3XXLMUy/s1505/aa7.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1505" data-original-width="1290" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDpO2QRbDAQfGIhYf_EVOcmceQb0qjx9zi_2dv5tCzkfUg5JekS031BlEvqcS73QnqGNYPB8QwMEpCzouDq4Ulmg4UxHffvlZTjXchTog4t6aisT3WgYtqq4FW91ru9yLy14GwLBr-lyxrqFuzM-8wPQm8BnV_90M1oe63jF1tdXeLkKT7mpxH3XXLMUy/w459-h536/aa7.jpeg" width="459" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz29fmvcfItavQUevRz7bMXnLYwEQuhQqOikX_PqPjjl7V7AeMcVcLX6QFRnww5YoZfTTQSqrl9ZTunwvuhdwG71If9O0uaAfpnvL8PXVIAlPoEpJI_vXhwWtxWGJqF-EjWQUp3UDJ2fXK0W5Tt_MHa9PH_FlnVixJwvS0T20-0b8Y1yWmXktwViECzTGm/s1282/aa8.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="1282" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz29fmvcfItavQUevRz7bMXnLYwEQuhQqOikX_PqPjjl7V7AeMcVcLX6QFRnww5YoZfTTQSqrl9ZTunwvuhdwG71If9O0uaAfpnvL8PXVIAlPoEpJI_vXhwWtxWGJqF-EjWQUp3UDJ2fXK0W5Tt_MHa9PH_FlnVixJwvS0T20-0b8Y1yWmXktwViECzTGm/w465-h334/aa8.jpeg" width="465" /></a></div><p></p><blockquote><p>The final question to ask yourself is how might this manifest itself amongst the general population and what might we start to see? Or are we already seeing it?
Think hard. Because if you yourself have such damage, this won’t be easy to recognise due to “impaired judgement”. <b>It will be challenging to recognise this happening to yourself because damage to this area of the brain specifically causes decreased self-awareness.</b>
Patients with FTD rarely ever recognise the alterations in themselves, and rely upon others to notice such changes early on. To be absolutely clear, the damage right now is slight. Many people are only on covid infection number one or two. <b>The damage will be compounded in those with repeated infections</b>.
The progression of such damage can be very slow, so noticing early signs is of paramount importance. As a side note, Alzheimer’s (AD) can take many years to evolve.
Preclinical AD can last for decades and you wouldn’t notice any symptoms during this stage.
I am using AD as an example to show how slow neurological disorders can progress, although progression can be rapid. Facts are indisputable (so don’t claim otherwise), and they are backed entirely by evidence:
Covid damages the frontal and temporal lobes.
Damage to this region of the brain would mimic/cause symptoms of Frontotemporal Dementia.
Piece that puzzle together.</p><p></p></blockquote><p><a href="https://twitter.com/littleann4ever/status/1768394008945143815" target="_blank">Anneke</a> added her own story:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>Case in point: After 1st C19 infection, my kind, independent Mom began exhibiting lack of empathy/apathy. 2+ infections later, dramatic behaviour changes. <b>MRI showed “atrophy disproportionately marked in right to temporal lobe.”</b> Now she’s most difficult resident in 24hr facility. 🙁 MRI summary: Multiple sm areas of increased signal intensity in frontal parietal and posterior temporal lobe white matter consistent w/mild changes of leukoaraiosis. Disproportionately marked in right cerebral hemi, particularly right to temporal lobe. Pattern=possible form of FTD.</p><p>This MRI is a year old now. And it was only made possible after my Dad, desperate for answers, pleaded in person at hospital. By some miracle, my Mom got on a cancellation list and had an appointment within a week. I say this because due to outrageous wait times, there’s so many out there with no MRI/diagnosis.</p><p>To put rapid onset in perspective, my Mom and Dad were still living independently at home until Jan/23. Due to Mom’s decline, we moved them to assisted living with dementia program and sold the house. By July/23, due to shocking behaviour, we had no choice but to move Mom to memory care facility. </p></blockquote><blockquote><p>Suffice it to say, it’s been a devastating year for our family. Especially my Dad, who still spends every day with my Mom and finds ways to cope with her disturbing behaviours. And we’re all still trying to process the loss of our Mom while clinging to brief glimpses of pieces of her still left. I really miss my Mom. And sometimes, I even whisper this to her while I sit in a chair beside her bed on those rare occasions that I can get her to relax enough to lie down, close her eyes and have a much needed nap. </p></blockquote><p></p><p>Dr. Throt responded: "I’m hearing an increasing number of stories all too similar to this.
It’s hard not to despair daily at the fact we’ve allowed covid to run rampant and reinfect the population continually for years.
This will soon be considered common." </p><p>Anneke: "This is unimaginably horrifying. Who will look after everyone? As it stands right now, it’s a struggle to retain proper staff where my Mom is. And with the exception of trusted few, most have no idea how to interact with her. And my Dad is spending his last dollar on a top of line facility." </p><p>Dr. Throt: "<b>Well the younger generations coming through and being repeatedly infected in schools/colleges etc won’t be able to look after anyone, or even themselves, if we carry on this trajectory.
Going to school should help develop the brain, not destroy it.</b>" </p><p>Anneke: "Terrifyingly true.
I have a high schooler, and after two suspected and one confirmed infection - having already had LC symptoms including fatigue, dizziness and digestive issues - this is what I worry about most for him. And for us all.
Thank you for shining this spotlight."</p><p>Another very brief personal example from <a href="https://twitter.com/LongCovidHell/status/1768572014673973361" target="_blank">Dame Sa</a>:</p><blockquote><p>I have organ damage from Covid. People be like:</p><p>*<i> It's vaccines!</i> --> I had Covid in March 2020. Pre-vaccines.</p><p>* <i>You were old/unhealthy!</i> --> I was 39, fit and healthy, with no health issues.</p><p>* <i>It's rare!</i> --> Over 100 million globally. That we know about. So far. </p><p>'With the rise in Covid-19 cases fueled by new variants, the number of Long Covid cases will keep increasing. This is a wake-up call for global and country-level efforts to mitigate the impacts of Long Covid.' [<a href="https://www.globalissues.org/news/2022/09/01/31773" target="_blank">Global Issues, September 2022</a>]</p></blockquote><p>Meanwhile, from <a href="https://twitter.com/D_Bone/status/1768498121313509662" target="_blank">D.Dave</a>, </p><p></p><p></p><blockquote><p>1) USA: Remove isolation, end tele-health for Medicare, end isolation guidelines, Downgrade to BSL2.
<br />2) UK: Convince public that everyone who susceptible to LongCovid already has it, and it’s no longer a concern. <br />3) AUSTRALIA: Tell them to stop calling it LongCovid. </p><p>In my opinion, they are gaslighting the hell out of you, and when you end up like me, I promise you there is no net.
You will be buried in a torture chamber you wish you never discovered. Trapped in a body that destroys you financially, socially and leaves you wishing for death. This virus continues to devastate.
Nobody knows why, nobody knows what to do about it. The cumulative damage is adding up and nobody wants to admit it.
Governments hide the data, they conflate and confuse. They just want you to grind away until you die. And when you’ve become like me, they cast you aside. And you will watch as the rest of the world moves on without you in horror.
You will know what it’s like to be all the things you ignored and you will realize you’ve been duped. Insurance companies don’t want to pay for this. Politicians want no accountability. The public has been lulled into complacency as one by one individuals join our ranks every damn day.
Wake the fuck up. LongCovid is an emergency.</p></blockquote><p></p><p>Thanks for reading THIS far!! But here's just one more thread of recent studies from <a href="https://twitter.com/ejustin46/status/1768582373703033103" target="_blank">Emmanuel</a>:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>If we just take the year 2024,
there have been so MANY STUDIES on LONG COVID !!!
(mega-thread🧵 for those who try to minimize post-acute sequelae)</p><p>1) Organs damage persist one year after, in 59% of Long Covid patients, and MULTIPLE ORGANS damage for 29% patients. A <a href="https://www.rsm.ac.uk/media-releases/2023/organ-damage-for-59-of-patients-with-long-covid-continues-a-year-after-initial-symptoms/" target="_blank">very good article</a>. A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2D1pFqwGbM&ab_channel=SkyNews" target="_blank">video</a>. A <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01410768231154703" target="_blank">study</a>.</p><p>2) the immune dysregulation: A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1044532324000113" target="_blank">very complete review</a>! Section snippets with reference studies: Immune dysregulation and Long Covid. Systemic inflammation is a characteristic feature of Long Covid. Post-Covid-19 dysregulation in myeloid cells and neutrophils. Acute perturbation of NK cells associates with Long Covid development. Elevated SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies and the viral reservoir hypothesis. Herpesvirus antibody responses immplicate immune dysregulation rather than active viremia as driver of Long Covid. Autoimmune antibody responses during Long Covid: are they really the bad guys? LC is associated with active T cell responses particularly in tissue compartments. LC alters T cell phenotypes in ways suggesting changes in functional, migratory, and exhaustion states of T cells. Dis-coordinated T cell and antibody responses in LC. Animal models of LC. Highly recommended review.</p><p>3) The infection of bone marrow: How SARS-CoV-2 'seeds' infection from bone marrow to the platelets (layman terms): Bone marrow plays a vital role in the immune system by producing various types of cells. The production of immune cells is essential for maintaining an effective immune response to protect the body, and unfortunately these cells in bone marrow are infected by the SARS-CoV-2. It infects macrophages present in bone marrow using a receptor other than ACE2, <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.14.439793v1" target="_blank">Neuropilin-1</a>. . . . SARS-CoV-2 infects also in bone marrow <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2473952923001404" target="_blank">the megakaryocytes</a>, large cells found in the bone marrow that are responsible for producing platelets, which are essential for blood clotting. Infection of megakaryocytes is associated with severe viral infection in Covid-19 and drives the formation of pathogenic <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.14.549113v2" target="_blank">afucosylated IgG antibodies</a>. If megakaryocytes become infected, they may 'seed' infection of the platelets. This could lead to degranulation or deficits in platelet energy metabolism. In addition, because platelets harbor and carry saratonin, platelet infection could <a href="https://polybio.org/projects/sars-cov-2-persistence-and-impact-on-long-covid-megakaryocytes-platelets/" target="_blank">contribute to hormonal dysregulation</a>.</p><p>4) Traumatic brain injury: A review with a lot of references studies about "<a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/neur.2023.0067" target="_blank">Traumatic Brain Injury in the Long Covid Era</a>." </p><p>5) The iron dysregulation: "<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-024-01754-8" target="_blank">Defects in iron homeostasis</a>, possibly contribute to inefficient oxygen transport, inflammatory disequilibrium and persisting symptomatology. . . . We present an extended longitudinal characterization of 214 SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals, from asymptomatic to requiring ventilation, who were followed for up to one year from teh first SARS-CoV-2-positive swab or symptom onset. Combined analysis of longitudinal immunological, transcriptomic and clinical data indicated inflammation-driven iron dysregulation that persisted beyond two weeks in patients who were hospitalized with Covid-19 and which had apparent physiologicla repercussions for erythropoiesis and iron homeostasis months after infection. . . . We suggest unresolved inflammation affects long-term pathophysiology through disruptions to cellular iron mobilization and defective, iron-starved stress erythropoiesis that fails to correct the pronounced inflammatory anemia of early disease. Vaccination, or selective antiviral or monoclonal therapy, may prevent sustained disruptions to iron homeostasis driven by severe uncontrolled inflammation. In those with worse disease, treatments directed at correcting abnormal iron distribution might also be considered."</p><p>6) The forgotten of Long Covid: "<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738399124000880" target="_blank">Three months post-ICU</a>, caregivers experienced caregive strain (32%), anxiety (41%), depressive symptoms (16%) and PTSD (24%). Caregiver anxiety symptoms were associated with worse levels of quality of life one year after."</p><p>7) Loss and smell lost: "<a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/14/3/317" target="_blank">One possible mechanism</a> could be the direct penetration of SARS-CoV-2 into the cerebrospinal fluid from non-neural cells of the olfactory epithelium." </p><p>8) The Complement dysregulation: <a href="https://www.cell.com/med/fulltext/S2666-6340(24)00041-2" target="_blank">Complement dysregulation</a> is a hallmark of Long Covid. Complement biomarkers associate with the diagnosis of Long Covid. Complement inhibition is a potential therapy for Long Covid. . . . "Complement dysregulation is a common feature of diverse acute and chronic inflammatory diseases and a major driver of inflammation. There is now a wealth of evidence to indicate that SARS-CoV-2 can persist in tissue reservoirs long after resolution of the acute infection, providing a biologically feasible mechanistic trigger for the inflammatory processes that characterize Long Covid. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 activates the complement system both directly and indirectly, especially via the amplification loop to drive endothelial damage and inflammation in acute Covid-19."</p><p>9) Behind the brain fog, a disruption of blood-brain barrier: "<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01576-9" target="_blank">We show</a> that Blood-brain barrier disruption is evident during acute infection and in patients with Long Covid with cognitive impairment, commonly referred to as brain fog." They examined blood samples from 76 patients who were hospitalized with acute Covid in early 2020, comparing findings with pre-pandemic samples from 25 other patients to look for any differences in coagulation patterns and immune response. Those who reported brain fog had higher levels of a protein (S100ẞ) produced by brain cells not normally found in the blood, which hinted at a 'leaky' blood-brain barrier. . . . "Our results suggest that Long Covid-derived brain fog is associated with BBB disruption and sustained systemic inflammation. BBB dysfunction was unique to the cohort with brain fog, with disruption evident up to 1 year after active infection in multiple neuroznatomical regions, including the TLs and frontal cortex."</p><p>10) The persistent cough and dyspnoea: Persistent diffusion impaired restriction was identified as a <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.02.13.24302781v1" target="_blank">key feature</a> of pulmonary Long Covid. </p></blockquote><p>Maybe question the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/15/long-covid-symptoms-flu-cold" target="_blank">bullocks articles</a> about studies from politicalized CMOs, which got an early release of a pre-print (not yet peer-reviewed), with the headline: "Time to stop using term 'Long Covid' as symptoms are no worse than those after flu," but, near the very end of the article, they say, "The study is observational, based on reported symptoms with no physiological or detailed functional follow-up data," and then further explain that the very high vaccination rate in the area might also affect the results. </p><p>By contrast, <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099%2823%2900684-9/fulltext" target="_blank">a study</a> published in December <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/study-shows-long-covid-worse-patients-long-flu" target="_blank">looked at</a> 81,280 patients hospitalized for Covid-19 and 10,985 patients hospitalized for the flu, and found that Covid-19 patients had a 50% greater risk of death than flu patients:</p><p></p><blockquote>"Influenza patients, more than Covid patients, suffered from poor respiratory outcomes . . . But over and over, the study showed outcomes were worse for Covid patients. . . . Except for the pulmonary system, Covid patients saw adverse health outcomes across all organ systems."</blockquote><p>There's no cure. There is <i>only</i> prevention. Avoid getting Covid like it's the <i>plague</i>!! But you can <i>also</i> avoid the flu! We don't have to accept ongoing illness from viruses. Just wear a well-fitting N95 to keep your brain and body alive! </p><p>ETA: One more thing -- statement from <a href="https://twitter.com/zalaly/status/1768610338377748934" target="_blank">Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly</a>: "Long Covid is a significant global challenge that must decisively be addressed."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0OIK3YXogl33u8SY-yyyqZU_II2ZJkcnTHcgupoaGbk_LJYWHRrVGHsG6xqJ-IDSmeHepeg59AC3rJ9aSjEe_BX-5TYBRCJ2HVY7zISW3OUTZA2SKrGtrx2e6BZoSFspV_b-ZTrPlTr6dVWfcZTJoI7PSLgP4tQOBg8VUReYVKQKjQJOmj7L8uIZsJYW0/s2156/aaaa1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1452" data-original-width="2156" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0OIK3YXogl33u8SY-yyyqZU_II2ZJkcnTHcgupoaGbk_LJYWHRrVGHsG6xqJ-IDSmeHepeg59AC3rJ9aSjEe_BX-5TYBRCJ2HVY7zISW3OUTZA2SKrGtrx2e6BZoSFspV_b-ZTrPlTr6dVWfcZTJoI7PSLgP4tQOBg8VUReYVKQKjQJOmj7L8uIZsJYW0/w484-h327/aaaa1.png" width="484" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">ETA: And <i>another</i> thing:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wMkuL2LBMZJgTJyjPVNV1rv4TmaWd-rrR1pFeR0DLhOuamUKm5z7x0o1h4CBp_1WycnoAKVuRuIgL-GIwWEGViXQHUYLwxBpa6NojJN4XTFL8FdvgUJ0LytJDVLaWNM0otxB4jPbo46vHYf7rODHMFnQFAxtp0e5v-ig8ZdyUkMUDyPhOG2pq-Q3Uzqk/s1883/lc%20awareness%20day.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1883" data-original-width="1080" height="734" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wMkuL2LBMZJgTJyjPVNV1rv4TmaWd-rrR1pFeR0DLhOuamUKm5z7x0o1h4CBp_1WycnoAKVuRuIgL-GIwWEGViXQHUYLwxBpa6NojJN4XTFL8FdvgUJ0LytJDVLaWNM0otxB4jPbo46vHYf7rODHMFnQFAxtp0e5v-ig8ZdyUkMUDyPhOG2pq-Q3Uzqk/w422-h734/lc%20awareness%20day.jpeg" width="422" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-82283480878476382672024-03-15T06:00:00.001-04:002024-03-15T17:12:56.628-04:00Shame-Free Guide to Masks<p><a href="https://twitter.com/whatexactlyisup/status/1766529459455168998" target="_blank">Chuck</a> created a slideshow guide of coping with mask wearing:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83_GA1wgmLeQAPhIi3TWSNX_abeJOZjsHa6qUPonHd90j3qthuG6BwI6HjM1oaOUyXlprvUQ1ApGYXxe1PYGO08jj7GkJBiMavoDpeDyzinHFYgImPbl1AJnvvUtXDmygD2VvDbzh38dZh_duaNrDwPpeXU80WAPyHRCjQSiUhb6syVHCuY_AEwThXaH6/s1196/aa1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1103" data-original-width="1196" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83_GA1wgmLeQAPhIi3TWSNX_abeJOZjsHa6qUPonHd90j3qthuG6BwI6HjM1oaOUyXlprvUQ1ApGYXxe1PYGO08jj7GkJBiMavoDpeDyzinHFYgImPbl1AJnvvUtXDmygD2VvDbzh38dZh_duaNrDwPpeXU80WAPyHRCjQSiUhb6syVHCuY_AEwThXaH6/w472-h435/aa1.png" width="472" /></a><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADpDOJ3jU4duQ3ta4SV-jqSSn3o2vhI5Vg2fEF5kY4HZqeCWDIvNI-sSGMGAh7rVT9PE5mUb9yXU_swSUbEs0WMt8YSzkslPAKgc3JNXEBQsQ_QI3IG7o215Zk94xXo7I9fZKnBVcTja4G5bLW8jSqTvxJlBw0T5Yhyphenhyphenu6pSciRM70zb6ZgmfYbrJf7qcm/s1192/aa2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1107" data-original-width="1192" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADpDOJ3jU4duQ3ta4SV-jqSSn3o2vhI5Vg2fEF5kY4HZqeCWDIvNI-sSGMGAh7rVT9PE5mUb9yXU_swSUbEs0WMt8YSzkslPAKgc3JNXEBQsQ_QI3IG7o215Zk94xXo7I9fZKnBVcTja4G5bLW8jSqTvxJlBw0T5Yhyphenhyphenu6pSciRM70zb6ZgmfYbrJf7qcm/w485-h450/aa2.png" width="485" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE5tdFRX9LGS35x6oTN-fXXNMXrzqkvlSO1EPLAS1JPV2CXyU7Os0x97FGax_u7lDto3RzKpByRikZu5zht1apSGmncB3u2pIUbrVptO8joUTLVU4PRrVAlT0sykBuoCk3n1MCdW4eT9891apDxd9S8_I6-drwyPFrDsBvrgDfUUXSatGh_tKnuC1W3V5c/s1325/aa3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1325" data-original-width="1194" height="531" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE5tdFRX9LGS35x6oTN-fXXNMXrzqkvlSO1EPLAS1JPV2CXyU7Os0x97FGax_u7lDto3RzKpByRikZu5zht1apSGmncB3u2pIUbrVptO8joUTLVU4PRrVAlT0sykBuoCk3n1MCdW4eT9891apDxd9S8_I6-drwyPFrDsBvrgDfUUXSatGh_tKnuC1W3V5c/w478-h531/aa3.png" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="1195" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZkTROkOEvPyjdHGoJs_09XV5rCZ0KK5MQDxAD4DQc0ANEu9_SD4Maa_yNH6CouFpAbwhP9W4GCdDjDazzQcNOSiuf1K0cqYdwCR-HwNkf5hy6EV8gqsMOV9PM9Qgv4SIo52tUz4gXmVJJI8wN0dOU9luxZrpLeWZBDfPfnXdDwaFEXVeoj2V5Wr35SQ4/w479-h360/aa5.png" width="479" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKIeG4OPNGpPzQcVX6KMsoTgTrXqFHMMv-C1nLGf34Pb_mWudCTimYyElYhPw0HZG8AuKQv9kpnhZ-B7DXes4zCUE9BLhskNYcraBoCYmysvbBVZJgf_G2gvqsXjqQUc9uIrS-umWmgOukdYgEYAe-LoZFqkplAL0CLl_OB5LivFpc8NbEIohEvmxMJkB/s1192/aa6.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="1192" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKIeG4OPNGpPzQcVX6KMsoTgTrXqFHMMv-C1nLGf34Pb_mWudCTimYyElYhPw0HZG8AuKQv9kpnhZ-B7DXes4zCUE9BLhskNYcraBoCYmysvbBVZJgf_G2gvqsXjqQUc9uIrS-umWmgOukdYgEYAe-LoZFqkplAL0CLl_OB5LivFpc8NbEIohEvmxMJkB/w480-h275/aa6.png" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQoWQUO7kJig29LLxt7NFTpE8hS431E8Lyt8MqqkpGDYztH7YM04o0lDvh7Oq26-T8ALmGsHEBoSQWbqKTX_WiembJEhV5-yi-NlD1o0njRabpxvWth6l2BN9zjjl8fB-GTxUgLnihV4YkjXZpaxSTZUZ1GabPIHql49A94LOi_ugrtZmd_3zUXLF6JKE/s1195/aa7.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="1195" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQoWQUO7kJig29LLxt7NFTpE8hS431E8Lyt8MqqkpGDYztH7YM04o0lDvh7Oq26-T8ALmGsHEBoSQWbqKTX_WiembJEhV5-yi-NlD1o0njRabpxvWth6l2BN9zjjl8fB-GTxUgLnihV4YkjXZpaxSTZUZ1GabPIHql49A94LOi_ugrtZmd_3zUXLF6JKE/w494-h327/aa7.png" width="494" /></a></div>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-82218442870849728412024-03-14T06:00:00.049-04:002024-03-15T08:13:52.717-04:00Our Curious Relationship with Covid Studies<p>Some questionable ethics in recent studies are making the rounds.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKmIXiO3X-5DPz4D20pSG5-mDrEoM8ESr7dvmOcZiP3XiW6EKL9agCzWObCSdoUQod92Wi8MkC3auqofj3GczCkQ3YUHzA7-fkPb-s3R-plSG3BbUeMTqDV3EywaSK1SjjxIds_v_7QCBqC8szKxL6s0mTrg67rE0DjPMLdlKuTosMJqHofuK5dYs-70PG/s968/aa%20covid.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="961" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKmIXiO3X-5DPz4D20pSG5-mDrEoM8ESr7dvmOcZiP3XiW6EKL9agCzWObCSdoUQod92Wi8MkC3auqofj3GczCkQ3YUHzA7-fkPb-s3R-plSG3BbUeMTqDV3EywaSK1SjjxIds_v_7QCBqC8szKxL6s0mTrg67rE0DjPMLdlKuTosMJqHofuK5dYs-70PG/w483-h486/aa%20covid.png" width="483" /></a></div><p>The process and ethics of Didier Raoult's work, which led to the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as a Covid treatment, was scrutinized in the <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/failure-every-level-how-science-sleuths-exposed-massive-ethics-violations-famed-french" target="_blank">latest <i>Science Magazine</i>.</a> </p><p></p><blockquote>Raoult was saying, ‘I understand everything, I have a solution,’ and people want that kind of information in troubled times, . . . If someone has such a presence in the media landscape, politicians have to listen to him—otherwise they will be really distrusted by the population. On 26 March—amid strong resistance from some other members of the scientific council—Véran issued a decree allowing HCQ to be prescribed to Covid-19 inpatients. . . . Elisabeth Bik decided to take a close look at the HCQ paper. A microbiologist by training, Bik already knew of Raoult and his reputation for prolific publication. On her blog she pointed to several problems she saw with the paper: Patients had not been randomly assigned to the treatment and control groups, which could have biased the results. . . . Besançon, too, was curious. He looked into the paper, which had been submitted to the journal on 16 March and accepted the next day, and noticed that one of the authors was also editor-in-chief at the journal. “So you have a very short reviewing time and editorial conflict of interest,” he says. “I just find this potentially a big red flag. But I thought, it’s just one paper.” . . . </blockquote><blockquote><span><a name='more'></a></span>Despite the growing skepticism from scientists and others, Raoult’s public support endured. . . . Meanwhile, Frank, Garcia, and other critics began their deep look into Raoult’s body of research. Bik says she focused first on images in his papers, because her specialty is detecting image manipulation. But, faced with insults from Raoult—and harassment from his colleagues and supporters—she channeled her frustration into assessing his vast back catalog, finding more studies that appeared to lack proper ethical approval. . . . Many of the papers involved children, and nearly half of them had been conducted outside of France—largely in various African countries—with no or hazy details of whether local ethical bodies had given approval for the research, according to Frank and his collaborators. “There have been so many breaches in ethics law, for so long,” . . . The fact that so many studies involved vulnerable populations, such as those living in homeless shelters, was “outrageous,” Bik says. Vulnerable people may feel they have no choice in whether to participate in a research study, says Lisa Rasmussen, a research ethicist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. “They are not in a position to give authentic consent.” . . . The reports did not specifically blame Raoult for these failings. But they said he tightly held the reins of power in the institute, with testimonies from employees reporting that Raoult was “omnipresent” and the “final decision-maker,” and that other managers were “in total conformity” with Raoult’s views. . . . “Maybe tomorrow—I hope not—we’ll have SARS-3 … and the message sent will be, ‘Don’t worry about public health. Just show your face, say anything you want, and you will sell books, be famous, and get a lot of fans.’ It’s insane.”</blockquote><p>Closer to home, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiae072/7616377?login=false" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">The Journal of Infectious Diseases</a><i> </i>recently published a study on 4,900 school workers in Vancouver that looked at the benefit of using avidity (antibody-antigen binding) to identify reinfections since antibody levels wane rapidly. They took yearly Covid exposure questionnaires, blood samples, and used nasal swabs to confirm each suspected exposure. </p><p></p><blockquote>"As public health authorities have now largely moved away from routine testing, drawing inferences solely based on viral testing data may carry a high risk of bias because it misses asymptomatic and/or unreported cases. The current method could be used to retrospectively track reinfections in existing cohorts. Even if most people have been <b>infected multiple times, which may bolster their immunity</b>, quantifying the trajectory of the health outcomes and incremental risk early on following the first few reinfections may be particularly important in understanding the resulting cumulative long-term health burden."</blockquote><p></p><p>Being infected with Covid can do <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2024/01/covids-immune-response-suppression.html" target="_blank">significant harm</a> to the immune system. It doesn't <i>always</i> harm it, but it does not <i>strengthen</i> the immune system. The very best case scenario is that getting the virus provides <i>very brief</i> immunity (a couple <i>weeks</i>) from <i>just</i> the variant in question. And we're swimming in a soup of variants! Some of the researchers, like Goldfarb, also published an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8983418/" target="_blank">earlier influential study</a> showing similar rates of Covid in schools as in the community and reprehensibly concluding that, therefore, infections <i>aren't</i> spread in schools. (A <a href="https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S1198-743X(24)00114-9/fulltext" target="_blank">recent study</a> of the air in schools found the "weekly probability of airborne detection of 34% for SARS-CoV-2 and 10% for other respiratory viruses." In other words, a 1 in 3 chance you'll find Covid in the air of a classroom.)</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/Belas_ghost/status/1766479994929435109" target="_blank">Social media comments</a> on the article include,</p><p></p><blockquote>"I feel sick. After selling the schools are safe, hybrid immunity bullshit, BC researchers used teachers' blood samples to develop a test for detecting re-infections. . . . If a researcher claims schools are safe, then studies reinfections in schools, isn't that a concerning conflict of interest and ethics? . . . IF THEY HAD 'IMMUNITY' WHY WERE THEY GETTING REINFECTED, BONNIE??! Horrors beyond my imagination. Time to go scream in the woodshed! . . . It's at the point where teachers are in school sick and unmasked because they're given up because everyone else has given up on them. It's a fucking disaster. . . . Covid has highlighted the huge COIs inherent in having people who influence decision-making on life-or-death issues control the research that assesses the consequences of those decisions. There's a reason we don't let Boeing lead the investigations of their own failures. At minimum the COI needs to be transparently reported. Even accepting a few hundred bucks from a drug manufacturer is considered essential to report. A role in policy decisions related to the research, that may have killed or injured people, is a far more serious COI than that."</blockquote><p></p><p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/covid-science-and-post-truth-policy-at-canadian-universities" target="_blank">an article</a> that clearly explains the disconnect within universities that praise and promote research in the field but refuse to actually <i>follow</i> any of it got questioned in the comments like this:</p><p></p><blockquote>"There is a reproducibility crisis in science . . . new research that are hastily done and difficult and often impossible to replicate. . . . It is spurious to pretend that science has all the answer and can explain the world perfectly. Do we really know if masks were effective? Should we really trust MNRA [sic] vaccines when the pharmaceutical industry has failed us so completely in the past? Or have we already forgotten the Oxycodone crisis? Thankfully the masks are gone and things look to be getting better. Obviously, the virus is now endemic and very much part of us."</blockquote><p></p><p>The implication of this is that science is sometimes wrong, and pharmaceutical companies are sometimes corrupt; therefore, we definitely shouldn't mask or vax. I wrote before about the danger of not understanding how to determine the validity of a science article <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2023/11/how-to-know.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2022/12/evidence-on-both-sides.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and also the danger of stepping into the post-truth realm. We can't <i>blindly</i> trust any study that comes out, obviously. We need to look at who's involved, the credibility of their previous work, how the study was devised (random sample, random assignment...), how many were involved, and if their findings actually lead to their conclusion in a logical way. Also, anyone <i>against</i> Big Pharma, should be <i>for</i> N95s and filtered air. <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2024/01/mckinseys-effect-on-public-health.html" target="_blank">Pfuck Pfizer</a> with an N95!! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyhxQLTO0hka3YE8KeG6x9hjX2xFRcnWavrf8d2cQv8U91zQf_ocS7kvDAZd8YTkVj9HwGD-VdsbTzJRGrHHqBgTx-KpmNILA4pWhLMhNl8H-ZodG-FVj-BJCa3_igFRe0wcuXrYJQXpvIERsgdrjploFHaJWE7nQF34qefBlpBxuvNf8OxY8reV90MoSx/s696/aa%20vaccine.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="696" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyhxQLTO0hka3YE8KeG6x9hjX2xFRcnWavrf8d2cQv8U91zQf_ocS7kvDAZd8YTkVj9HwGD-VdsbTzJRGrHHqBgTx-KpmNILA4pWhLMhNl8H-ZodG-FVj-BJCa3_igFRe0wcuXrYJQXpvIERsgdrjploFHaJWE7nQF34qefBlpBxuvNf8OxY8reV90MoSx/w499-h187/aa%20vaccine.png" width="499" /></a></div><p>Another commenter left this rebuttal:</p><p></p><blockquote>"We know that masks are extremely effective, particularly P100/P3, N99/FFP3, N95/FFP2. The evidence is overwhelming. Facts are facts. The government should certainly not be trusted: they're the ones promoting the nutbar wackjob anti-mask lunacy."</blockquote><p></p><p>They included links to <a href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1592658770743955457.html" target="_blank">this thread</a> and <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/upgrading-ppe-for-staff-working-on-covid-19-wards-cut-hospital-acquired-infections-dramatically" target="_blank">this study</a>. Also check out <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2024/01/n95s-reduce-risk.html" target="_blank">this</a> and <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2024/01/we-need-policy-based-on-evidence-not.html" target="_blank">this</a>, and this line I added to the bottom of all my posts for a while:</p><p></p><blockquote>"N95s trap Covid using inertial impaction, diffusion, interception, and electrostatic attraction. <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2022/12/yup-masks-really-work-im-not-sure-why.html" target="_blank">They really work</a>!! (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi_EV4QB3Io&ab_channel=indie_SAGE" target="_blank">2 minute video explanation</a>)"</blockquote><p></p><p>Sure, fit-tested masks work <i>better, </i>but an N95 that is tight to the face works almost as well and often equally well. Yes, the Covid molecules are tiny, but there are three layers to N95s, so it's like throwing a golf ball through<i> three rows</i> of staggered chainlink fences. They really stop the spread! But they work <i>way</i> better if more people wear them. It can't just be left to the immunocompromised to trust one-way masking. </p><p>But it's so bizarre that the first two studies got tacit approval, the first being influential, while well researched and replicated studies showing the same results with masks and vaccines, and publishing in <i>Science</i> and <i>Nature </i>and other very highly reputable journals, over and over for <i>years</i> now are called "spurious."</p><p>Anyway...</p><p>Steve Wilcox's article in question explains the role of neoliberal ideology in Canadian universities' reaction to the pandemic:</p><p></p><blockquote>"In January 2023, Health Canada affirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic is <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/covid-19-pandemic-is-not-over-health-canada-says" target="_blank">not over.</a> Nevertheless, weeks later on February 15, Ontario’s Wilfrid Laurier University abruptly notified its faculty, staff, and students that masks would no longer be required for instructional spaces on campus.
. . . While university administrators across Canada decide whether and how to limit the spread of Covid-19, the faculty they represent continue to publish scientific peer-reviewed evidence of the short and long-term implications of contracting Covid-19, and the efficacy of masks in reducing transmission.
For instance, in <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/news/long-covid-linked-lower-brain-oxygen-levels-cognitive" target="_blank">a study</a> by researchers at the University of Waterloo (UW), Long Covid has been connected with lower brain oxygen levels, cognitive problems and psychiatric symptoms, a study UW’s media relations team were <a href="https://twitter.com/UWaterloo/status/1630942635618598913" target="_blank">quick to promote</a> on their social media feeds. Across campus researchers at UW’s Fluid Mechanics Research Lab have shared <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/fluid-mechanics-research-lab/research/covid-19" target="_blank">their findings on mask efficacy</a>, including that they provide “significant benefits,” particularly when in close proximity to others, such as a classroom environment. . . . </blockquote><blockquote>The fact is, <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-masks-reduce-the-risk-of-spreading-covid-despite-a-review-saying-they-dont-198992" target="_blank">masks work</a>, and the precautionary principle remains sound, responsible policy, at least if the intent is to minimize infections. To claim otherwise in the name of science is to so contort the word beyond recognition that it broaches on a post-truth discourse in which the research and evidence produced at today’s universities have little to no bearing on our lives. Beyond the science, the fact that masks can be seen in September of 2022 as a healthy, responsible public health measure, only to be deemed superfluous six months later indicates a capricious and easily swayed decision-making process. . . . Universities commodify the scholarship of their faculty, using their labour, expertise, and rigor to attract students, researchers, and funding. Institutionally, they borrow their prestige and scholarly reputations from their faculty. This works in principle as it generally benefits all parties. But in practice, what we’re seeing is leadership promoting the expertise of their faculty in public, while in private they are choosing to ignore that expertise and instead embrace the more politically expedient approach of decision-based evidence making.
Throughout the pandemic, faculty at various institutions have been subjected to a mix of resounding silence and a steady stream of doublespeak from administrators. . . . </blockquote><blockquote>The risk here—beyond the short- and long-term harm Covid-19 poses to faculty, staff, and students—is a loss of trust in these institutions and their capacity to fulfill their social mission. Whether you work or learn at a university or not, we should all find it troubling to see leaders in higher education picking and choosing when evidence will inform their policies and practices. And we should hold in contempt those who promote science in public—for prestige and academic valour—and ignore it in practice. . . . The question that remains is if this is a crossroads for higher education or simply another step down a path towards the diminished and diminishing role of Canadian universities."</blockquote><p></p><p>The populist mentality is not just in politics. It has infiltrated research organization and universities, and we <i>have</i> to push back on it. </p><p></p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-40110245089821331432024-03-13T06:00:00.001-04:002024-03-13T08:19:19.698-04:00Lewy, Lewy, Me Gotta Go<p>A study from May 2021 is still thought <a href="https://twitter.com/LateStagePlanet/status/1764727549949575372" target="_blank">by some</a> to be the most disturbing Covid paper out there.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSvXNWTbsRE0lxLM1ag83sgALPDr56f_GKU2NZhgA0DEUcjTRcwJgvQaTZLzv3A5MGKJTjY0vZuJ7kjkeaPUnFG8mJq4IpFDce4-X-TtqS-jGahd-u1yojJchxTCR4YdvA4tvOJjgEIJuNxr_gNe3Q_6HDF8YawIhqCRzUGBaSFlyf8d8GnXfOB4JeFU3/s957/no%20onr%20could%20have%20predicted%20this.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="947" data-original-width="957" height="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSvXNWTbsRE0lxLM1ag83sgALPDr56f_GKU2NZhgA0DEUcjTRcwJgvQaTZLzv3A5MGKJTjY0vZuJ7kjkeaPUnFG8mJq4IpFDce4-X-TtqS-jGahd-u1yojJchxTCR4YdvA4tvOJjgEIJuNxr_gNe3Q_6HDF8YawIhqCRzUGBaSFlyf8d8GnXfOB4JeFU3/w486-h481/no%20onr%20could%20have%20predicted%20this.jpeg" width="486" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.23.432474v2" target="_blank">The study</a>, (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9025893/" target="_blank">published in April 2022</a>) looked at how SARS-CoV-2 causes brain inflammation and induces Lewy body formation in macaques. Their conclusion:</p><p></p><blockquote>"We observed Lewy bodies in brains of all rhesus macaques."</blockquote><p></p><p>That's right up there with, "The call is coming from inside the house."</p><p>Lewy bodies are deposits of abnormal protein particles that accumulate in the brains causing Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), which is what Robin Williams had. Read his <a href="https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/wnl.0000000000003162" target="_blank">wife's description</a> of the trauma he suffered from this disease, which ultimately led to his suicide in 2014. Symptoms include (from <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/dementia/dementia-with-lewy-bodies" target="_blank">John Hopkins Medicine</a>):</p><p></p><blockquote><p><b><span></span></b></p><a name='more'></a><b>Fluctuating attention/alertness</b>: These shifts can last hours or go on for days. The person may stare into space, appear lethargic or drowsy, and have hard-to-understand speech, appearing a lot like delirium. At other times, the person may have much more clarity of thought.<p></p><p><b>Visual hallucinations</b>: Often, these are very detailed hallucinations and visions of people or animals, and they can recur.</p><p><b>Movement disorders</b>: Parkinson's-like movement issues, such as muscle rigidity, tremors, falls, or a shuffling gait or way of walking, may occur.</p></blockquote><p></p><p>A <i>Journal of Alzheimer's Disease</i><a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/985010" target="_blank"> report </a>found, </p><p></p><blockquote>"All subtypes of dementia, irrespective of patients' previous dementia types, behaved like rapidly progressive dementia following Covid-19." </blockquote><p></p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/LauraMiers/status/1765129096303128803" target="_blank">Laura Miers </a>writes: </p><p></p><blockquote>"In 2021, <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/11/11/leon-n11.html" target="_blank">Dr. Anthony Leonardi</a> tried to warn us about systematically exposing generations to a virus that may cause Lewy body disease and neurodegeneration. As we hear about 20-year-olds being diagnosed with dementia, remember: <b>It isn't reversible</b>."</blockquote><p></p><p>I used to warn my kids to drive very defensively -- staying well away from all other vehicles -- on Friday nights, when the accident and fatality rates from vehicular collisions jump, likely in part from so many people having a couple beers after work. Now I tell my kids to <i>always</i> drive as if everyone else on the road is drunk. </p><p>In other musical news: You <i>don't</i> give me fever!</p><p>The newest variant, JN.1, is presenting with typical coughing and a sore throat, but many people don't have a fever. From <a href="https://twitter.com/LazarusLong13/status/1765842552018661763" target="_blank">Lazarus Long</a>: </p><p></p><blockquote>"Only 2% of people had a fever with JN.1, the variant du jour, according to the <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/datasets/wintercoronaviruscovid19infectionstudyenglandandscotland" target="_blank">winter ONS report</a>. . . . So, fever is NOT a common symptom of JN.1, the most common variant, and the CDC knows that JN.1 is the most common variant."</blockquote><p></p><p>Fever is the #1 thing that the CDC and others look for as an indication of illness, so that's a problem!! </p><p>A fever is a sign that you're body is fighting off a virus, but David Joffe explains,</p><blockquote><p>"You won't mount a fever with a disabled Interferon response. You won't mount a response with a crippled immune system. JN Clan is all about persistence. Why bother alerting you to its presence?"</p></blockquote><p>From the comments:</p><p></p><blockquote>"A lack of fever is an indication that your immune system has crashed and is no longer able to fight off infection. . . . The virus didn't get mild, we got weaker."</blockquote><p></p><p>We're no long fighting this brain-invasive disease, politically <i>or</i> physically. </p><p>Help your brain to thrive with an N95!</p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-34535477499542574342024-03-12T06:00:00.002-04:002024-03-15T16:17:28.707-04:00For the Next Doctor's Visit<p><a href="https://twitter.com/o_bel_/status/1765569472239391119" target="_blank">Olivia Belknap </a>made some great fact sheets that can be shared with health care providers who question your mask or try to claim you have an anxiety disorder. More at her <a href="https://linktr.ee/o_bel" target="_blank">linktree site here</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0PzVkYlZrCmMvlJ2lQ6ZlUekhMGYcWNOKzlQxBEBFZzESVkbMdom6kz3UbrId5wZdfuOnGrBiYQiuJBZrwCgm7hsCs2n6z_Ldqiuwh_gy-pdmE2078W3FwOh-lp-A4kqTSn8_p5lj8jkPJw1EjIQAcezCjdh5G4Kz98QC_NcsNsXoBZFt2hfCycECnhyphenhyphen/s1067/why%20your%20patient....jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="824" height="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0PzVkYlZrCmMvlJ2lQ6ZlUekhMGYcWNOKzlQxBEBFZzESVkbMdom6kz3UbrId5wZdfuOnGrBiYQiuJBZrwCgm7hsCs2n6z_Ldqiuwh_gy-pdmE2078W3FwOh-lp-A4kqTSn8_p5lj8jkPJw1EjIQAcezCjdh5G4Kz98QC_NcsNsXoBZFt2hfCycECnhyphenhyphen/w454-h588/why%20your%20patient....jpeg" width="454" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhINPz-i3BEButohci5_fpA2KpKH1ceaZChpAN2L3i9oeJRN7_cPnug6wxdqiXo_xtZm6pioq0nXXLHkvyeJRTUMo_OmvrDY3mM-idg7OkqO8vJPD0TBdKUYB80IDrCnJxr8WWcEAr4U16wskghmoVdJ69bDTJqbiIY41LNh9P8bRuB2PmCh_xpB6krEA/s1068/a1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="820" height="589" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhINPz-i3BEButohci5_fpA2KpKH1ceaZChpAN2L3i9oeJRN7_cPnug6wxdqiXo_xtZm6pioq0nXXLHkvyeJRTUMo_OmvrDY3mM-idg7OkqO8vJPD0TBdKUYB80IDrCnJxr8WWcEAr4U16wskghmoVdJ69bDTJqbiIY41LNh9P8bRuB2PmCh_xpB6krEA/w453-h589/a1.jpeg" width="453" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">She made one for Long Covid, too:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhF8wi-ewSHSBHWXC2PVGBpf1Mf-qr-NddthFuelZ8FPA0YxB7NGiUf2ayTDBBNewQvrCjx_1l1pFAvXILCa5fbZtA4x-xqGQVAX-7KM9BlteZe09ZSqCYRlFYAUCZ4FOJ5GCA2MOM0wKGLSfNq_rNzhei_YqdmfQzGV-011OUh9bxtYOesKbWXbnYjtCh/s1055/long%20covid%20info.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1055" data-original-width="828" height="581" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhF8wi-ewSHSBHWXC2PVGBpf1Mf-qr-NddthFuelZ8FPA0YxB7NGiUf2ayTDBBNewQvrCjx_1l1pFAvXILCa5fbZtA4x-xqGQVAX-7KM9BlteZe09ZSqCYRlFYAUCZ4FOJ5GCA2MOM0wKGLSfNq_rNzhei_YqdmfQzGV-011OUh9bxtYOesKbWXbnYjtCh/w456-h581/long%20covid%20info.jpeg" width="456" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-23490208692692130992024-03-11T08:39:00.005-04:002024-03-13T10:23:33.835-04:00At the Movies (nope - not about the Oscars)<p>Cineplex is getting heat for mask and CO2 issues.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPKMOochJG3AFs0rDXNgPxaGS1Yj4fpB7e2jcrslm0qt8O7GuiR6xLEeIppOwqt3PIsr1cq03BPc9Y4uXLdBdnd869HznMRcS9p_jpNqtuby3EQp0IwwukzztrUjw_qlSae_fQd0CZN4r1PTCDIj3WyumBS734HWDtuBCULFN6_fsvdIY5hOVXGtSRstW/s1571/aa%20cineplex.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="1571" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPKMOochJG3AFs0rDXNgPxaGS1Yj4fpB7e2jcrslm0qt8O7GuiR6xLEeIppOwqt3PIsr1cq03BPc9Y4uXLdBdnd869HznMRcS9p_jpNqtuby3EQp0IwwukzztrUjw_qlSae_fQd0CZN4r1PTCDIj3WyumBS734HWDtuBCULFN6_fsvdIY5hOVXGtSRstW/w483-h371/aa%20cineplex.jpeg" width="483" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">From <a href="https://twitter.com/iiHeartPolitics/status/1766944746906280256" target="_blank">LandBack</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It says, "All guests are asked to lower medical masks and hoods while having their tickets scanned."</p><p>Why would Cineplex need people to remove masks and hoods when scanning their tickets?? Tickets can be given to other people so it's not a fraud issue. People aren't being asked for ID for proof of age. These aren't restricted movies. Hmmm....</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/kadamssl/status/1766952690632855798" target="_blank">Kathryn</a> pointed out,</p><p></p><blockquote>"Does Cineplex understand that requiring disabled patrons to unmask would likely constitute a human right violation in Ontario, specifically, that of adverse effect discrimination? Adverse effect discrimination occurs, 'where a requirement, policy, standard, qualification, rule or factor that 'appears neutral excludes or disadvantages a group protected under the Code' (<a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/policy-ableism-and-discrimination-based-disability/3-legal-framework" target="_blank">OHRC, 2016</a>). Friends, keep this in your back pocket. It is powerful." </blockquote><p></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>And I think <a href="https://twitter.com/CovidCanada1/status/1766973808357859759" target="_blank">Covid Canada</a> put it all together well:<p></p><p></p><blockquote>"I wonder if Cineplex is trying to use facial recognition to gather data about its customers. In which case, I wonder if it is a breach of privacy. So there's privacy AND accessibility concerns now."</blockquote><p></p><p>They linked <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10321252/vending-machines-facial-recognition-technology-ontario-waterloo/amp/" target="_blank">this article</a>: "Ontario university to remove vending machines due to facial recognition technology concerns" from last month when the University of Waterloo took out 29 vending machines after a student posted a photo of a machine's error message related to its facial recognition program. A student publication indicated that "express, meaningful consent" is necessary to use facial recognition technology. The university, home to a prestigious computer science program, said it was "unaware of the technology".</p><p>Another <a href="https://twitter.com/UpfrontBricks/status/1766896572934115507" target="_blank">parent commented</a>,</p><p></p><blockquote>"My kid went to your theater with school. As CO2 > 1600ppm, kid went to washroom, then watched movie from hallway, but returned to get stuff and was trapped at seat for a 10 minute discussion, where CO2 reached 2198." </blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj59qsrZHPJHpwvCYw4e7nBZrI4ILxi4-PSp8TE1kWuBu88A_V4VchEBw4k_Tc3h-pBPeU2b8vtEPEACizI-jdpMlwVST4ultcaVM52lQLQsvGTVc0WQGxi9A5w4T3OCnHxHz_bB9a7ZZWATHl7FjrJUs88dZmA1wABoP0dlLXDUZfR11zUkMm8MbyUYTXB/s1213/aa%20movie%20co2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1213" data-original-width="1125" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj59qsrZHPJHpwvCYw4e7nBZrI4ILxi4-PSp8TE1kWuBu88A_V4VchEBw4k_Tc3h-pBPeU2b8vtEPEACizI-jdpMlwVST4ultcaVM52lQLQsvGTVc0WQGxi9A5w4T3OCnHxHz_bB9a7ZZWATHl7FjrJUs88dZmA1wABoP0dlLXDUZfR11zUkMm8MbyUYTXB/w475-h512/aa%20movie%20co2.jpeg" width="475" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><b>And a little part of me wonders if one of the reasons there's been such a fight against masks is because there's facial recognition tech all over the place!! </b></p><p>It's all very curious, eh??</p><p>Here's how well masks work when the CO2 is crazy high:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpVyyyq91eoTkQ0uCiDbD8krSs8scVlqECgrjdAqFaLG9SpCfnyWCcLLaP70vdNeV2lVi-xKYbSLn-iyslnCe1MLIYvzad2bSK2i4iywdQAyUGSJRt95leWY50EPFgHvCSBsp0oGYGgVSt2JDtXJ8CIBtSUQqOxOII3R8NeEeLQD8bVI3XA9bCwzR_PAB/s1044/Covid%20estimate%20by%20mask%20type.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1031" data-original-width="1044" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpVyyyq91eoTkQ0uCiDbD8krSs8scVlqECgrjdAqFaLG9SpCfnyWCcLLaP70vdNeV2lVi-xKYbSLn-iyslnCe1MLIYvzad2bSK2i4iywdQAyUGSJRt95leWY50EPFgHvCSBsp0oGYGgVSt2JDtXJ8CIBtSUQqOxOII3R8NeEeLQD8bVI3XA9bCwzR_PAB/w488-h482/Covid%20estimate%20by%20mask%20type.jpeg" width="488" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Keep masking for your safety <i>and</i> to foil their facial recognition tech!!</div>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-21284058550691244422024-03-11T06:00:00.008-04:002024-03-11T08:40:28.288-04:00A Most Dangerous Place<p>More evidence that schools drive transmission of a virus that has long term effects on multiple organ systems, including the brain. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIV40HvRhtD2odyCz7t96TVlnG4cf5vxHJZbaOLcvosqQ2pXd4fpoFyAUQc2ajcqKukeBwvsz4Gn9MOzE9vrfWDB5jT82yWiF6CYN-Hbzq5SVLcxFbw_WD5CRODzkZ8XGnqniVXT5ThwL4f8Y2-W6UGBlXh4u8rDnfk1VCo_q834wMnRmOZ8rHJlBfc0Cr/s1200/aa%20experiment.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1200" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIV40HvRhtD2odyCz7t96TVlnG4cf5vxHJZbaOLcvosqQ2pXd4fpoFyAUQc2ajcqKukeBwvsz4Gn9MOzE9vrfWDB5jT82yWiF6CYN-Hbzq5SVLcxFbw_WD5CRODzkZ8XGnqniVXT5ThwL4f8Y2-W6UGBlXh4u8rDnfk1VCo_q834wMnRmOZ8rHJlBfc0Cr/w484-h361/aa%20experiment.jpeg" width="484" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>This is entirely from <a href="https://twitter.com/GosiaGasperoPhD/status/1765936855684730960" target="_blank">Dr. Malgorzata Gasperowicz</a>:</p><p>"If someone looking at this graph dares to claim that in-person schools don't substantially contribute to SARS2 spread and 'simply just reflect transmission in community,' she/he they are an intellectual equivalent of flat earthers.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6f0-oiF16RHFBgqDygBQWrfhmrchXNN0jrbSAAb_5txVQtQOPpNIoPPn_GYMP3L27vsxPrxo-n6p7vSuLHzJ-7C9UDj7eboPharN5OO8Ope2ai91pqO84ewL2HAjtze1kfzQq0Upet4cHxhiAPamCAROxDFWSZOZfbQmNUKKNWtqYioJq4XJgd4qN8L2N/s1200/aa1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1200" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6f0-oiF16RHFBgqDygBQWrfhmrchXNN0jrbSAAb_5txVQtQOPpNIoPPn_GYMP3L27vsxPrxo-n6p7vSuLHzJ-7C9UDj7eboPharN5OO8Ope2ai91pqO84ewL2HAjtze1kfzQq0Upet4cHxhiAPamCAROxDFWSZOZfbQmNUKKNWtqYioJq4XJgd4qN8L2N/w493-h368/aa1.jpeg" width="493" /></a></div><br /><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>During summer holidays (in-person school off) spread was driven by young adults, followed by older kids and mid-age adults. Despite being 100% unvaccinated, elementary school kids and small children were relatively protected from infections. Schools reopening changed it.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVcVB4CrxvnqC42uuyCSyl1BHHoQDmofFPx_YjdtGsIQDtCy6hQl531n6eFB5a2UjqaDMq0K9Tybgjpip8lQ_8F76aarP-5YOAnYEkHdeI8-QziFATDJdwpYP8UWwubLRhkxLgQaa9qlvmy71qFn7W4NHbOvT6IsgzmM9YuPTTXXdKbS48c6nmIupI6P7q/s1802/aa2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1344" data-original-width="1802" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVcVB4CrxvnqC42uuyCSyl1BHHoQDmofFPx_YjdtGsIQDtCy6hQl531n6eFB5a2UjqaDMq0K9Tybgjpip8lQ_8F76aarP-5YOAnYEkHdeI8-QziFATDJdwpYP8UWwubLRhkxLgQaa9qlvmy71qFn7W4NHbOvT6IsgzmM9YuPTTXXdKbS48c6nmIupI6P7q/w486-h363/aa2.jpeg" width="486" /></a></div><br /><p>More slides on in-person schools and how they related to SARS2 spread dynamics in Alberta. TLDR: In-person schools reopen: spread accelerates (Rt goes up). In-person schools close: spread slows down (Rt goes down, sometimes dramatically shifting below 1). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQJT4zYGuVBDH1hfXZ0OYlzWlz46RTwACuil1a_eTNSGaGwssTc1fju_FvFgqNdMLSf-m0gE7ofP4Fjl6u7pUZ6CAZoZFoSceromifK7cU8vtnzLpJ6zGbF9YOqLrtiEKiGShByKsXvg4kHa51jcrW2D8dsrY9aZUJ3SDlJbFUFHtqqbN3BLbA4VwTdLE/s1868/aa3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1868" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQJT4zYGuVBDH1hfXZ0OYlzWlz46RTwACuil1a_eTNSGaGwssTc1fju_FvFgqNdMLSf-m0gE7ofP4Fjl6u7pUZ6CAZoZFoSceromifK7cU8vtnzLpJ6zGbF9YOqLrtiEKiGShByKsXvg4kHa51jcrW2D8dsrY9aZUJ3SDlJbFUFHtqqbN3BLbA4VwTdLE/w482-h362/aa3.jpeg" width="482" /></a></div>From Arijit Chakravarty and coauthors: (<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0248509" target="_blank">preprint </a>went up in the fall 2020 just when the schools started reopening): <div><blockquote>"In the long shadow of our best intentions: Model-based assessment of the consequences of school reopening during the Covid-19 pandemic."</blockquote></div><div>A supporting piece of information backing up the modeling in the above paper that basically predicted this: Timing of school opening and closing vs Covid case counts. From Arijit Chakravarty:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqkdQFCrzyx3iuzcDMIpvIPxdgKCZDhpFPnPCakcBY9SPA9wSDdZyzKeAhOZAuPay5QUH3FmwuavbEWZ80B9ALHKjcPrDFuqbXAo2qsb_5axSxrfpcXoWNqLJo5SbYr9IUmvKBTd-XiqJB7vpuhqyHfNZRRRYfrE0yEcMJ07QoKDZgs1Qc3ZZCRWIMTPa/s1608/aa4.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1608" data-original-width="942" height="695" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqkdQFCrzyx3iuzcDMIpvIPxdgKCZDhpFPnPCakcBY9SPA9wSDdZyzKeAhOZAuPay5QUH3FmwuavbEWZ80B9ALHKjcPrDFuqbXAo2qsb_5axSxrfpcXoWNqLJo5SbYr9IUmvKBTd-XiqJB7vpuhqyHfNZRRRYfrE0yEcMJ07QoKDZgs1Qc3ZZCRWIMTPa/w406-h695/aa4.jpeg" width="406" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Cases go down immediately after masks introduction in primary schools in Ireland:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_i2sZxHidVcxzDuOAeeHFXKiRHE_15kh4YnyxBQLOs-4O2zb3ocO-iMRgzsl081ghE-R5tHhYDTdPOtcyLqtugsKxHDWoGyif6kpmxvnmdksc6EzTXstfvsKQH2woBxKjsOaJVsTBXEr8RG7t3pcKOsWRUA_WJqe7colktdsZ7OGd92H7deyCWrhI6rd/s2042/aa5.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2042" data-original-width="1972" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_i2sZxHidVcxzDuOAeeHFXKiRHE_15kh4YnyxBQLOs-4O2zb3ocO-iMRgzsl081ghE-R5tHhYDTdPOtcyLqtugsKxHDWoGyif6kpmxvnmdksc6EzTXstfvsKQH2woBxKjsOaJVsTBXEr8RG7t3pcKOsWRUA_WJqe7colktdsZ7OGd92H7deyCWrhI6rd/w469-h486/aa5.jpeg" width="469" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Half term break in UK (schools closed) --> cases go down (October 2021): <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnx3wf-9bYHYppl9ll3sSoYcb4h40S0UEzlZO8cv4Ohwr61b8M5gVx4XyUMnF1EpSHTQmnioyQIpC7kZB1p_qWcke5yUwj2k0rZr9KyQvQP11jkBUyiEV_YIrGmy8WhVOXDHZAykKqoxr_YhjeZ5CTmEx8Lnw8Z9-OQHwGxKdQrO6a0eNh32eKSt_Lijaf/s1210/aa6.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1210" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnx3wf-9bYHYppl9ll3sSoYcb4h40S0UEzlZO8cv4Ohwr61b8M5gVx4XyUMnF1EpSHTQmnioyQIpC7kZB1p_qWcke5yUwj2k0rZr9KyQvQP11jkBUyiEV_YIrGmy8WhVOXDHZAykKqoxr_YhjeZ5CTmEx8Lnw8Z9-OQHwGxKdQrO6a0eNh32eKSt_Lijaf/w477-h456/aa6.jpeg" width="477" /></a></div><br /><div>Similar effect as in the first tweet. Fall 2021. Opening primary schools without protections --> massive increase in cases in under 15 age group. Notice the effect of half-term break (last week of October). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCk0cfg5dPtGzb0XmzHwRTQe6qgbgQuCsWCOb9VjQwiEEjjr4U913VinjY3SrhRe7G-VKnh-mTqWg7fstYWiNTs_RNEWMDJml_wTkoS2QTdO6V1qQgg11k5gM60GLHlbemvqo7yb8JOZ1Qwxb8OVnmql5_cNJ0AseQuXQTJrUMsye29IERajEeiVB81EZY/s2988/aa7.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="2988" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCk0cfg5dPtGzb0XmzHwRTQe6qgbgQuCsWCOb9VjQwiEEjjr4U913VinjY3SrhRe7G-VKnh-mTqWg7fstYWiNTs_RNEWMDJml_wTkoS2QTdO6V1qQgg11k5gM60GLHlbemvqo7yb8JOZ1Qwxb8OVnmql5_cNJ0AseQuXQTJrUMsye29IERajEeiVB81EZY/w498-h177/aa7.jpeg" width="498" /></a></div><br /><div>England Fall-Winter 2020: schoolchildren are the most infected age group:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNBe_l0472sXRZNlLrqVN5e6bnLFc_LfvJ5uJ89i5kfiJFvk_KY6EocrLZIN7tixrqfE1vr-7jNcUL_TOzMazaUpAmi-3c_4i0T79kVH3cS4g9eVpTna8lYgTOsEGMC1DL4WLYeTY6qUHyjCL90hgDUJwtJA1zk6I1ErKSia5l6iJ1pI-uWOn61-cPEQT/s1408/aa8.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1408" data-original-width="1212" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNBe_l0472sXRZNlLrqVN5e6bnLFc_LfvJ5uJ89i5kfiJFvk_KY6EocrLZIN7tixrqfE1vr-7jNcUL_TOzMazaUpAmi-3c_4i0T79kVH3cS4g9eVpTna8lYgTOsEGMC1DL4WLYeTY6qUHyjCL90hgDUJwtJA1zk6I1ErKSia5l6iJ1pI-uWOn61-cPEQT/w457-h532/aa8.jpeg" width="457" /></a></div><br /><div>England, Fall 2021. Elementary school children drive the spread:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicafSEutYeAjARPjpSeLRvJnzhlHKGiippRxumv1LWWbCOnVFqEozL46Xt7cWwN8PXqb-Bhgypn30nr7Xy7lgFmdktrPIrLd9X-F8QHzjKSQn0lhHmDfoHJ23HW6a-h3nqzUc2yNbVtSlmolIM1xh4QwvjS7wIIjJPjDtt8JUXosZHv9vHQubvhyphenhyphen9zU88/s1940/aa9.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1940" data-original-width="1588" height="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicafSEutYeAjARPjpSeLRvJnzhlHKGiippRxumv1LWWbCOnVFqEozL46Xt7cWwN8PXqb-Bhgypn30nr7Xy7lgFmdktrPIrLd9X-F8QHzjKSQn0lhHmDfoHJ23HW6a-h3nqzUc2yNbVtSlmolIM1xh4QwvjS7wIIjJPjDtt8JUXosZHv9vHQubvhyphenhyphen9zU88/w444-h542/aa9.jpeg" width="444" /></a></div><div><br /></div>UK, Fall 2021. Good questions below. Context: they already had Alpha variant in the UK. Instead of containing/controlling it, they mass-amplified it in their schools and 'exported' to the World, including Canada. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUJtSOPhO18zLyffOi5PbnJXM5ADKDSl8jPZ8IspgKWzuRrWg54fYjWSoHmrKwIuoS-uQ2xLS68IUqVnsCRfS5kGu1zg64vpVbUhbXPyrsyfoyglCE2RiYzJyG1ch05avXhyNfalm12q6vXJlzJGhuU7jpSvUj8uGoiqA7vNDYgXIjh0eTHLl5yZUAHfd/s1276/aa10.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1276" data-original-width="1202" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUJtSOPhO18zLyffOi5PbnJXM5ADKDSl8jPZ8IspgKWzuRrWg54fYjWSoHmrKwIuoS-uQ2xLS68IUqVnsCRfS5kGu1zg64vpVbUhbXPyrsyfoyglCE2RiYzJyG1ch05avXhyNfalm12q6vXJlzJGhuU7jpSvUj8uGoiqA7vNDYgXIjh0eTHLl5yZUAHfd/w477-h507/aa10.jpeg" width="477" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35474742/" target="_blank">Review </a>by Laura White, Ellie Murray, and Arijit Chakravarty: The role of schools in driving SARS-CoV-2 transmission.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0APwJ0UqGvTf0wZO1-ZoAS80cWPESWlRKGYarWsoFdNf3GgLXi8aAgwx6flek1tFpASVKFleQ_tylGeLbKI6q5QGPvJ_oG8Hxxhn8Sre2kFhUqBDKS2B9MQNzO8VvGbxDhaHW67wOYsn_0PdPXR4DFyrqhWRXjTyqXHV-lQjeSPwTt-7K6QfVeERz1DE/s1546/aa11.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1079" data-original-width="1546" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0APwJ0UqGvTf0wZO1-ZoAS80cWPESWlRKGYarWsoFdNf3GgLXi8aAgwx6flek1tFpASVKFleQ_tylGeLbKI6q5QGPvJ_oG8Hxxhn8Sre2kFhUqBDKS2B9MQNzO8VvGbxDhaHW67wOYsn_0PdPXR4DFyrqhWRXjTyqXHV-lQjeSPwTt-7K6QfVeERz1DE/w495-h345/aa11.jpeg" width="495" /></a></div><div></div>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-42894293874486503592024-03-10T06:00:00.063-04:002024-03-10T08:32:53.862-04:00Canadian Covid Society<p>It's officially a thing!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGima6w8Cy7VQ8msDgm94SvTuDHjVFqN89ZmV9jHjwhnt01gBoJv9o4Ri6d6kxh0Z6HNwNFaVIQEgADOMTMVbONfa83KLu5YEdu8jsWKtrFTgQLo92VgFh61n8nJGtij3SI2u3Kt8AB6CA1y6mCvQ1_4szuCl3pVKdiZzUtW-OyR4b8Zs01XLK0gCF9UK/s1664/ccs.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1664" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGima6w8Cy7VQ8msDgm94SvTuDHjVFqN89ZmV9jHjwhnt01gBoJv9o4Ri6d6kxh0Z6HNwNFaVIQEgADOMTMVbONfa83KLu5YEdu8jsWKtrFTgQLo92VgFh61n8nJGtij3SI2u3Kt8AB6CA1y6mCvQ1_4szuCl3pVKdiZzUtW-OyR4b8Zs01XLK0gCF9UK/w489-h281/ccs.jpeg" width="489" /></a></div><p>Dr. <a href="https://twitter.com/KashPrime/status/1765379032525279384" target="_blank">Kashif Pirzada</a> explains how it started:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>Wanted to share with you something near and dear to my heart.
Today my colleagues and I are proud to launch the <a href="https://covidsociety.ca/" target="_blank">Canadian Covid Society</a>. Covid-19 is thankfully not the threat it once was, but there are still significant issues with having a new disease roughly four times as bad as Flu (and much more contagious) floating around, which also disables a lot of people as well.
In Canada it was the 3rd leading cause of death 2020, 2021 and 2022. We have the Canadian Cancer Society, and Heart and Stroke foundation for the 1st and 2nd causes; it's time we have one for the 3rd leading cause of death. </p></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKYZQqz_tCz1IigTlVzjoBIeju8JxhnT9g46UalEq7EiohLXiDGADUpr28F-8oHPokWJ3KrWrWfL4O1FLU6uUVdGXhBbU3IRsfnW4EcPvnF50uLif5i9JJkMUVEgk6x4nKcrUeaMtN9S32g8LWq34OLMZF1mm34ifBP5H4y8wdZ1nv9ahJi4NzQEfM9-5/s680/aa%20leading.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="680" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKYZQqz_tCz1IigTlVzjoBIeju8JxhnT9g46UalEq7EiohLXiDGADUpr28F-8oHPokWJ3KrWrWfL4O1FLU6uUVdGXhBbU3IRsfnW4EcPvnF50uLif5i9JJkMUVEgk6x4nKcrUeaMtN9S32g8LWq34OLMZF1mm34ifBP5H4y8wdZ1nv9ahJi4NzQEfM9-5/w487-h195/aa%20leading.jpeg" width="487" /></a></div><blockquote><p>It is perfectly natural to not want to deal with this issue anymore. But that's part of the problem isn't it?
Many of us have a visceral aversion to discussing it, perhaps a natural reaction to memories of the most traumatizing days of the pandemic. But the fact remains that it's still out there, that it will continue to cause strain on our health systems, disable people, and shorten life for many of us. We need a national body that will keep advocating for things like updated vaccines and therapies, as well as common-sense fixes that prevent the spread of disease, like cleaner indoor air (which could have been very useful stopping this nasty measles outbreak we're having).
We need a national strategy to support and improve access to care for Long Covid sufferers, many of whom are simply unable to access any care for a devastatingly disabling condition. Two out of the three Long Covid advocates we approached for our launch event were not able to attend due to illness, which should tell you something! There's no way to predict who will get it, when they'll get it, and there is no cure, yet. </p><p>You'll hear more from us as we grow the range of activities offered by the Society. We would love to share resources and help like-minded groups start national societies in their own countries. Would love to see and collaborate with an American Covid Society, a British Covid Society etc.
It is time that we create a permanent effort to fight this disease, and not have these efforts subject to political whims or a societal wish to indulge in denial.</p></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9bdYV39nR5VpJ8ozp6ZL8NF8uL_dc39A_d3DepUjAQZ7OhD-YQ4O40ElV_zP-D4R5L3Tw5PmgToYhztjX9-tajkK14gTHj_uhDhTvTm_sGQOfB3B227T0Wz0hsOK2qsfm7uS23awv63zjLjH6Mf9ouGkYKNCpkvpmNgY1RH2YfRRQUa9R4tv1ywgzncK/s2778/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-06%20at%201.34.25%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="2778" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9bdYV39nR5VpJ8ozp6ZL8NF8uL_dc39A_d3DepUjAQZ7OhD-YQ4O40ElV_zP-D4R5L3Tw5PmgToYhztjX9-tajkK14gTHj_uhDhTvTm_sGQOfB3B227T0Wz0hsOK2qsfm7uS23awv63zjLjH6Mf9ouGkYKNCpkvpmNgY1RH2YfRRQUa9R4tv1ywgzncK/w492-h187/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-06%20at%201.34.25%20PM.png" width="492" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><p></p><p>See their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9FB8FnuZfbUl0ZwerB1W7A/live" target="_blank">press release video</a> from last Wednesday. Here's the gist of it:</p><p>They introduced the board, chairs Dr. Joe Vipond and Dr. Kashif Pirzada, and then engineer Cheryl White, Chris Houston who has work with many organizations including MSF, and physics professor Nancy Delagrave. Their mission: to protect the health and safety of people in Canada -- basically what public health should be doing. Hospital admissions continues to be a stressor on the health system from Covid, which causes immune problems, so it reactivates older illnesses and increased autoimmune illnesses. There's currently a 27% increased mortality in the 0-44 age group. It is decrease life expectancy, and here's no sign of slowing. If we have Long Covid patients, there's nowhere to send them. </p><p>They're soliciting for donations to pay for ongoing staff. They have to be registered as a non-profit for a time before they can get charitable status, so they can only function with grassroots donations. They're working to fill the gap that public health has left open. There's virtually no mention of Covid or Long Covid. It's fallen off the radar. </p><p>Their logo is a dandelion which has the shape of the Covid molecule and blows in the wind to remind us that Covid is airborne. </p><p>The video also has testimony from a Long Covid patient who had every aspect of her identity affected by the illness. She had to pay out of pocket for hyperbaric chamber sessions. There's no single test to find Long Covid, and no treatment, so 70 million people worldwide are doing their own individual work to find solutions. </p><p>Wearing a mask in a hospital or other healthcare facility should be like wearing a hardhat on a construction site. People shouldn't <i>get </i>sick from a hospital. We should never lose masks in hospitals. And the labour shortage of doctors and nurses are, in a big part, due to Covid, either themselves or a family member who now needs their care. </p><p>They plan to look at what's worked in other places, e.g. Test or treat it, you can beat it, from California's public health.</p><p>Personally, I quit smoking years ago to avoid cancer; I exercise and eat well to ward off heart disease, and I wear a mask to reduce the chance of getting Covid. But it's good to know there are organization that can help when needed.</p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-78541813154033892472024-03-09T06:00:00.000-05:002024-03-09T06:00:00.154-05:00Capitalism is Slavery<p> Listen to <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@nathanreo/video/7340430141929065759?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7342149588209665541" target="_blank">Nathan</a> explain the problem with a capitalist structure that forces the elderly to continue working. </p><p></p><blockquote cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@nathanreo/video/7340430141929065759" class="tiktok-embed" data-video-id="7340430141929065759" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@nathanreo?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="@nathanreo">@nathanreo</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/revolution?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="revolution">#revolution</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/deconstruction?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="deconstruction">#deconstruction</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/deconstructingcapitalism?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="deconstructingcapitalism">#deconstructingcapitalism</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/capitalism?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="capitalism">#capitalism</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/socialism?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="socialism">#socialism</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/decentralization?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="decentralization">#decentralization</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/socialprogress?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="socialprogress">#socialprogress</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/awakening?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="awakening">#awakening</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/humanevolution?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="humanevolution">#humanevolution</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/shiftinconsciousness?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="shiftinconsciousness">#shiftinconsciousness</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/consciousness?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="consciousness">#consciousness</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/spirituality?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="spirituality">#spirituality</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7340430194584324895?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - Reo">♬ original sound - Reo</a></section></blockquote><p></p><blockquote>"Capitalism is a gross system of slavery and human rights abuse. . . . It's economic authoritarianism. If you're on a fixed income and now can't afford to live, economic forces have effectively forced the elderly to go back to work. . . .These people shouldn't be driving or part of the labour force. . . . We act like capitalism is a truth of nature, but no. We've only had this kind of capitalism for the last couple hundred years. We should be waking up to that this is real economic slavery. It removes from people the product of their own labour as it's centralized in the hands in a few billionaires. Our system is psychotic, and both political parties are not interested in deconstructing the whole thing. We need a new civil rights movement. MLK recognized he couldn't push this through a couple progressive politicians. . . . The real part of the movement happened <i>outside</i> of politics." </blockquote><p><br /></p><p></p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-47769112526821756932024-03-08T06:00:00.015-05:002024-03-08T07:43:22.479-05:00Nothing Changed but the Rules<p>I might never get used to being the only masked person in a store, but I might never stop, either. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RIJVnSBfSjtj0Y_zG15elVJ7lFIuLFqdPw2E8msfkvjXYemdeKpkxoOtUhYNhcxQ40t22Is83rQVaIKoI3Bq-o3Xx1l4t8WwQyQlDj6HqbaFkNOCUCzFOjZide8cb2J98-ETUdtzLuY05n8dq1f4XIn9a5WT_sad07F3SvuvdCPFwuGC5PLpv2tbeKwi/s1792/cassandra.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1792" data-original-width="1170" height="655" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RIJVnSBfSjtj0Y_zG15elVJ7lFIuLFqdPw2E8msfkvjXYemdeKpkxoOtUhYNhcxQ40t22Is83rQVaIKoI3Bq-o3Xx1l4t8WwQyQlDj6HqbaFkNOCUCzFOjZide8cb2J98-ETUdtzLuY05n8dq1f4XIn9a5WT_sad07F3SvuvdCPFwuGC5PLpv2tbeKwi/w428-h655/cassandra.jpeg" width="428" /></a></div><p>Original art: 'Cassandra' by Evelyn De Moran' (1898, London); Cassandra in front of the burning city of Troy, depicted with disheveled hair denoting the insanity ascribed to her by the trojans. Words, mask, and viruses added by <a href="https://twitter.com/KayElleTweets/status/1764788381618430391" target="_blank">KayElle</a>.</p><p>From <a href="https://twitter.com/GayFabFourFan/status/1765344183517380984" target="_blank">#9 Dream</a>:</p><p></p><blockquote>Trying to warn or inform others now of the dangers of C19 feels like screaming "Fire!" in a burning theater and people saying, "Can you keep it down? I want to see the rest of this movie."</blockquote><p></p><p>Covid didn't go away; it's <i>still</i> a bio-safety level 3 virus, and it's <i>still</i> brain invasive, causing <i>severe</i> brain damage in almost 20% of people with a mild or asymptomatic case and in almost 60% of people with Long Covid. I flippin' <i>love </i>my brain!! I exercise, eat well, and do tons of reading and puzzles and play music, all - at least in part - to stave off Alzheimer's. So of <i>course</i> I'm also going to wear an N95 when I'm inside public buildings, a bike helmet when I'm on my bike, and a seatbelt when I'm in a car. </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>I would be <i>beside</i> myself if I ever gave this virus to my kids. <p></p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/TheChalis/status/1765011782211358956" target="_blank">Chalis Montgomery</a> uses <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/" target="_blank">LitCovid</a> to stay informed. She explains the basics here in 24 points. It's largely American, but we often blindly follow behind. </p><p></p><blockquote>Nothing adds up about the latest Covid news. Apologies to those who think this may be overly conspiratorial, but here’s what we know:<br />1. Covid is not “milder,” though fewer people are dying in the acute stage due to vaccines. It still causes long term harm. <br />2. We know Covid damages the immune system, shows viral persistence, can cross the blood brain barrier and damage brain function, and can cause a range of other autoimmune diseases and leave people susceptible to rare fungal infections and cancers. That hasn’t changed, either.<br />3. We know Covid is airborne like smoke. People who read scientific papers translated from overseas knew that from at least January of 2020, and the rest have been lying to you. If six feet doesn’t work for second hand smoke, it doesn’t work for this.<br />4. We know that the average time for someone to be infectious is around 10 days, though it can frequently be 14 or more.
<br />5. We know the five-day isolation guideline was lobbied for by Delta Airlines due to staffing issues, not science. <br />6. We know isolation guidelines in absence of supportive payments and policies encouraging remote work are not feasible for the majority of working class people. The right thing would have been to create generous paid leave and stop funding schools based on ableist attendance.<br />7. We know that two Vichy Dems in the senate who were the holdouts on most progressive policy have been held up as the excuse for a lack of advocacy for these reforms especially between 20-22. Leaders should have used their podiums to rally behind the right thing. Instead: Narrator: just because something is difficult to pass doesn’t mean you don’t keep fighting for it. Public opinion is powerful. Instead of the GOP being seen as the obstacle here, it’s the Dems themselves. Again even if you think you’ll lose, there are still fights worth having.<br />8. We know that ventilation is extremely important for airborne disease control. We also know we sent money to schools who bought hand sanitizer instead of <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2023/01/leading-by-example-or-whats-good-for.html" target="_blank">DavosSafe</a> ventilation upgrades.
We know many offices have also not seen the kinds of upgrades needed.<br />9. We know (based on basic PHYSICS) that masks with gaps are bad for preventing airborne viruses. Brownian motion, an electrostatic fibers, and barrier all work together to make N95s effective protection against Covid. Public health thought it was too hard to explain. <br />10. Those of us doing the homework our leaders should have been doing and weren’t knew it was likely the vaccines provided temporary, incomplete protection and do not prevent transmission or Long Covid to the degree promised. Vax only is not enough.<br />11. Testing is no longer free because the Biden administration limited how many tests could be sent out per household and then claimed people were not requesting them.<br />12. Whatever you do, don’t Google “Covid placenta.”
Suffice it to say, still a problem for mothers and babies. You know, the ones we claim to care about so much?<br />13. We know that children DO spread Covid. This was one of the more bizarre lies of the past few years. They may <i>appear</i> fine (except for the extra tiredness that lingers, the difficulty concentrating, the moodiness, the constant illness….).<br />13b: We don’t know what repeat infections will do to kids.
We do know each infection can cause damage.
We have infected most children and continue to do so.
That doesn’t seem smart.<br />14. We know that some jobs require a high level of focus which may be in jeopardy with repeat infections.
There are profound implications for medicine, national security, and the airline industry. <br />15. We know that a five day course of Paxlovid is typically not enough, and that rebound effects happen. We likely need a 28 day course of a different antiviral that targets the thymus and preserves T cell function. We could at least start with 10 days Paxlovid as the norm.<br />16. We know that reinfections are not only NOT RARE but the norm. Failing to mitigate the spread of this thing means faster viral evolution and new variants your body doesn’t recognize. <br />17. See above every time people claim there is herd immunity. It’s obviously not the case.<br />18. And so for these and many more reasons, the CDC guidance to YOLO on Covid only makes sense if you’re part of the managerial class.
The only thing that matters to you is money, not people. Not lives, not health, not futures. <br />19. You should also know that should you become disabled by Covid, it will be seen as <i>your</i> moral failing.
It is NOT. But, you’ll be blamed for not staying current on a vax that wanes, not masking though the CDC is relatively silent about it, and not having paid leave.<br />20. In the U.S., we are returning to an era of institutionalization, and it takes on average three years to be approved for social security disability payments.
We are letting Covid have entirely free rein and there is functionally NO SECURITY NET for millions. <br />21. We’ve made terrible policy choices in the face of abundant information warning us to take a different path.
And so I am particularly curious as to why our POTUS
is now also said to be adhering to new CDC guidelines.<br />22. He doesn’t have time to spend four years neck deep in research. So, whose advice is this?
Does the WH make use of FarUV technology and increased ventilation? Probably. But not at a cafe in Iowa. Not on the campaign trail.
Does he use a daily antiviral? Which one(s)?<br />23. As a matter of national security, we are owed answers as to what prevention methods outside of vaccines the president is using.
Because if there is no longer testing, he’ll likely get sick.
The person whose job it is to know this is negligent or needs a visit from Commander
<br />24. And while some are relishing the possibility of FAFO here for a variety of valid reasons, I really want to know who is calling the shots - especially on Covid prevention at the White House.
Because they’re effectively determining policy for all of us, and they’re wrong.</blockquote><p>And the end game: </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbFSL5mt4EmdB-eyVEGEEYI9s4ZGjiK7aVldDGADNqWXwzwQYwr-0I3_EX88_ifjlwRzkb4NxV91ZR2QYmyYwuw9EQet-N2Sy0fSD1pSFll4XlfJ6OUlkYAIiY4Tmo_jQlWuI5Orfsh8AoHd4vUSURq4fyUVHDmkMgC8A3BmhF64ZnzgnrXLw9Vz5m2Gq/s828/cdc%20ends%20benefit.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="828" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbFSL5mt4EmdB-eyVEGEEYI9s4ZGjiK7aVldDGADNqWXwzwQYwr-0I3_EX88_ifjlwRzkb4NxV91ZR2QYmyYwuw9EQet-N2Sy0fSD1pSFll4XlfJ6OUlkYAIiY4Tmo_jQlWuI5Orfsh8AoHd4vUSURq4fyUVHDmkMgC8A3BmhF64ZnzgnrXLw9Vz5m2Gq/w478-h375/cdc%20ends%20benefit.jpeg" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzlUdSh7FS3OxKV6Nuzz-Vy7ADQ_dUSDgRUKg6w2GI_uyf-dqxmZXIcPTSXW1fxQl1cqFfpyHkgS52Qzfd_PKhWNaSLB-yum5JrCTBhhdu9Q9SSkCaQVdR4lYxrYAJsdSfA744dXObL0_gB4UdD4Qf3IHz5EXFqtzfMW92swsCLxmc8vOL1HFmi7gnfwo/s4096/sick%20days.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3716" data-original-width="4096" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzlUdSh7FS3OxKV6Nuzz-Vy7ADQ_dUSDgRUKg6w2GI_uyf-dqxmZXIcPTSXW1fxQl1cqFfpyHkgS52Qzfd_PKhWNaSLB-yum5JrCTBhhdu9Q9SSkCaQVdR4lYxrYAJsdSfA744dXObL0_gB4UdD4Qf3IHz5EXFqtzfMW92swsCLxmc8vOL1HFmi7gnfwo/w487-h441/sick%20days.jpeg" width="487" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p><p></p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-27332267974738690092024-03-07T06:00:00.003-05:002024-03-07T11:06:17.405-05:00How We Look After the Least Fortunate<p>Back in the day, the left was all about protesting for rights for marginalized people, and the right fought for a more individualistic, pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps ideology. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoZ2qWeMy9N2vMD_lsU5mgD_fZw1HOcZv-HVBIE-2oi_4kjMdtDTrMLXIKvO6nHj4LJd3xp9a7mAfk8BaQiv8A8mCvgvHhNiqNn5BYBYkVzMEJmYn9NbsrAk3K21tSAXnWLDkt3gZxRYYQXDTpV4ZGTh2AJ-q8qDP2iMjqbITsbzpRO-eNNJO2x6Y4_ow/s850/aa%20douglas.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="850" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoZ2qWeMy9N2vMD_lsU5mgD_fZw1HOcZv-HVBIE-2oi_4kjMdtDTrMLXIKvO6nHj4LJd3xp9a7mAfk8BaQiv8A8mCvgvHhNiqNn5BYBYkVzMEJmYn9NbsrAk3K21tSAXnWLDkt3gZxRYYQXDTpV4ZGTh2AJ-q8qDP2iMjqbITsbzpRO-eNNJO2x6Y4_ow/w503-h237/aa%20douglas.jpeg" width="503" /></a></div><p></p><p>Another thread from <a href="https://twitter.com/broadwaybabyto/status/1764842826234315082" target="_blank">Kelly</a>, this time on something I've also noticed in my life: this individualistic right-wing ideology in left-leaning friends:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>Had a discussion with a friend on CDC isolation guidelines and how we’re fostering a culture of eugenics and forced infection. Their response? “More like we’re just finally going to stop paying people to sit at home.” </p><p>This is someone who had been a kind and logical person. This type of personality shift is one of the aspects of the pandemic that bothers me the most. This person was kind and considerate and never opposed paid time off. Now they’ve become angry, intolerant and spew right wing rhetoric despite claiming to not belong to any “side.” </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>It started with the stay at home orders in 2020. Despite having negligible impact on my friend (no children, work was not impacted, not a big socializer) they started becoming angry. Then the mask mandates spurred that anger on. In their mind they were young and healthy and therefore had no reason to worry and felt no responsibility to protect others (despite being close friends with a severely vulnerable person - me). Slowly they started listening to right wing podcasts and influencers. We fell out of contact when the vaccine mandates rolled out because they didn’t want any reminder of the vulnerable people “forcing” decisions on them. I tried to explain that people like me were not the ones dictating mandates - but it didn’t matter. Once mandates were dropped they got back in touch - because now their life was “back to normal.” Suddenly they could tolerate me again. <p></p><p>Meanwhile I’m still isolated because of my risk factors and the fact that most people won’t take any precautions to keep me safe. I attempted to mend fences and we plodded along for a while - until the CDC isolation decision last week. I was shocked when my friend expressed it was a good thing so people stopped being paid to stay home and “coddled.” The lack of compassion they showed for people who are genuinely sick and need to be able to stay home and recover was upsetting. This is what pandemic division has created. Four years of listening to right wing propaganda has turned my previously kind friend into an uncaring person. A person who sees the worst in people and only cares about those they see as similar to them. If you’re not actively contributing to the economy, if you’re not healthy, if you aren’t financially well off… you’re “less than” in their eyes. </p><p>I tell this story because this is not an unusual situation. Many disabled people have lost friends and family members in much the same way over the last four years. Being disabled can be incredibly isolating at the best of times - and we are NOT in the best of times. This is why we push back against hateful rhetoric that disabled people are less than or don’t deserve safe access to healthcare and public spaces. This is why we are being loud about the CDC decision to reduce isolation requirements to one day. It’s not because it’s fun for us - we want the pandemic to be over as much as everyone else (probably more). But we also recognize that if people who love us are turning on us because they blame us for losing their sense of “normal” - we aren’t safe anywhere. How can we possibly get strangers to care enough to do the right thing when people who supposedly love us are unwilling? </p><p>So please - be kinder to disabled people speaking up for their safety. You’re just one infection or accident away from becoming like us and you won’t be treated any better when that happens. If we protect our MOST vulnerable we will ALL benefit. The division and anger and constant “othering” of people needs to stop. Covid doesn’t care if you’re left or right leaning - healthy or unhealthy. We all share the air, and until we start working together things are never going to improve. We can choose to be more compassionate. We can choose to support clean air initiatives, masking in healthcare and paid sick time so people CAN isolate when ill. We don’t need to accept constant sickness as our new normal. We can fight back. </p></blockquote><p></p><p>Then someone commented, </p><p></p><blockquote>You’re demanding that everyone cater to you, while saying because they don’t want cater to you, they’re bad people.
You’re also saying that because of your much greater needs, you qualify as a larger victim, and that you therefor have more rights in society as someone higher up on the victimhood scale.
People completely resent this.
I want a stay at home Cush job.
I want people to listen to my concerns about my health even when it means they have to inconvenience themselves.
I have to wear ear plugs because my hearing is hypersensitive, you don’t see me bitching that concerts are too loud.
Ultimately, you are more sickly because you are stressed about it. Live your life, or don’t, but stop telling other people they have to stop living theirs. </blockquote><p></p><p>Kelly's response:</p><p></p><blockquote>Actually you missed the point entirely and are proving mine without even realizing it. If you can’t have compassion for those less fortunate than you - scroll on by. I was incredibly fit and healthy - until I wasn’t. I advocate to try and help others so they don’t learn the hard way.</blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjePUkjTK-AdtEntrJHQzthinoBheMIycyT0lc-cufxK9ek48BD2RactRErK3xk3rXHKxNuNI5Nxb8DLoOh7aMJTz5ROCK-IaeHqcqTLH0YKZqtOkveQP-6V9koXvggezYrvyGKPCNrjJHPntlUqUYWO9_UIrCan4qsqOZqnjHD8Fqn3j5AxDXFZVfAXKtL/s1600/aa%20courage.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1335" data-original-width="1600" height="415" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjePUkjTK-AdtEntrJHQzthinoBheMIycyT0lc-cufxK9ek48BD2RactRErK3xk3rXHKxNuNI5Nxb8DLoOh7aMJTz5ROCK-IaeHqcqTLH0YKZqtOkveQP-6V9koXvggezYrvyGKPCNrjJHPntlUqUYWO9_UIrCan4qsqOZqnjHD8Fqn3j5AxDXFZVfAXKtL/w498-h415/aa%20courage.jpeg" width="498" /></a></div>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-65491392806537962352024-03-06T06:00:00.001-05:002024-03-06T07:34:23.010-05:00Erosion of Public Health<p>You would think that after dealing with Covid for over FOUR years that Public Health would be amazing at stopping Measles in its tracks, unless maybe they've been directed otherwise.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqVfoPRt1xpnsKax9x-7BASmAzqlVHS3xlOQj-k2RHoAala7HXJnfRHR4oWPw-lwMyP2EetxwXdxnDw7EFyvQNaGm_qcv86bYC7TouCt8gL5IHBVfvZUFAhBCE_Bcbeg5iPVWjL47Wz_PlnMs-oVVDKnCkpxsvVmo32B5aImH_VMRUuByzJeyX62eh-oOP/s902/aaa%20data.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="631" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqVfoPRt1xpnsKax9x-7BASmAzqlVHS3xlOQj-k2RHoAala7HXJnfRHR4oWPw-lwMyP2EetxwXdxnDw7EFyvQNaGm_qcv86bYC7TouCt8gL5IHBVfvZUFAhBCE_Bcbeg5iPVWjL47Wz_PlnMs-oVVDKnCkpxsvVmo32B5aImH_VMRUuByzJeyX62eh-oOP/w437-h624/aaa%20data.jpeg" width="437" /></a></div><p>From <a href="https://twitter.com/RageSheen/status/1764383514571719092" target="_blank">Henry Madison</a>:</p><p></p><blockquote>Why persist with Covid questions? Because our greatest achievement in history was the invention of public health. Nothing else comes close. We went to war on infections, and suddenly people lived twice as long. Living <i>with</i> infections is a betrayal of our own history.</blockquote><p></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>And Dr. <a href="https://twitter.com/lisa_iannattone/status/1764755446697513219" target="_blank">Lisa Iannattone</a> noticed,<p></p><p></p><blockquote>Public health has changed a lot since Covid. Here’s a really concrete example of that. In 2019, PH in Montreal published a really detailed list of places people were exposed to measles: bus routes, malls, Walmart, etc. In 2024? The list is just healthcare, schools, and the airport (from <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/possible-measles-exposure-in-carrefour-laval/wcm/78df40d7-8c40-4ff4-a53e-4b91db89b8c1/amp/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://santemontreal.qc.ca/en/public/support-and-services/vaccination/measles/" target="_blank">here</a>).</blockquote><p></p><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 14.1732pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="277"></col><col width="293"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #ffffff 1pt; border-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left: solid #ffffff 1pt; border-right: solid #ffffff 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #ffffff 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzBQP0budmzMqtSNUAZ9B31vMG8504BmuOirBqFiGzjdgfqi50qtrrYEE8Hvr7QSCgvHXvVnE_bSa396ZUFegnrt6OSXGdFqpwhGZfmbkXqQOugfe98WcO-tmReRXtLjHqwsVeUhAMj_M1j-ma0BzJ1s9FPgWAaKCDLf19SmBkcDHkkpLSP8mNSw5EEQZ/s2048/aa1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1074" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzBQP0budmzMqtSNUAZ9B31vMG8504BmuOirBqFiGzjdgfqi50qtrrYEE8Hvr7QSCgvHXvVnE_bSa396ZUFegnrt6OSXGdFqpwhGZfmbkXqQOugfe98WcO-tmReRXtLjHqwsVeUhAMj_M1j-ma0BzJ1s9FPgWAaKCDLf19SmBkcDHkkpLSP8mNSw5EEQZ/w190-h363/aa1.jpeg" width="190" /></a><br /></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #ffffff 1pt; border-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left: solid #ffffff 1pt; border-right: solid #ffffff 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #ffffff 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilA_Ph0NbkO-3uDyCUcpkf_R1iHpX71RaArG51Cken5VQDvXS5N_wG9I1MeOjaxB3-wU3gTDQWwRJuQwtzJNrvcyh2vEIcXekSxXrXqqJjd7BEYJXbbC4yTcdgfAOSqs8vYroeSreYNjYOv2ppl-6-JxpgGh6dbFtGLAtD6iOvOrw_K60ZHmxd6azTgFKs/s2048/aa2.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1184" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilA_Ph0NbkO-3uDyCUcpkf_R1iHpX71RaArG51Cken5VQDvXS5N_wG9I1MeOjaxB3-wU3gTDQWwRJuQwtzJNrvcyh2vEIcXekSxXrXqqJjd7BEYJXbbC4yTcdgfAOSqs8vYroeSreYNjYOv2ppl-6-JxpgGh6dbFtGLAtD6iOvOrw_K60ZHmxd6azTgFKs/w208-h359/aa2.jpeg" width="208" /></a></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p></p><p></p><blockquote>Why the sudden change in what information is made public? I highly doubt that <i>none</i> of these measles cases exposed people anywhere else. Did any of them go to a pharmacy or grocery store or coffee shop or hockey rink? And if so, why aren’t any of these locations being published?
Not publishing these locations means 1. people don’t have the opportunity to protect themselves and others post-exposure, and 2. the fact that people are actively being exposed in the community (not just clinics and airports) is not being made explicit for the public. PH’s decision not to share every single exposure location the way they would have in 2019 is absolutely baffling to me. What’s the reasoning? How does the public benefit from withholding that information from us?</blockquote><p>Dr. <a href="https://twitter.com/YouAreLobbyLud/status/1764847316115288078" target="_blank">David Berger </a>suggested, </p><p></p><blockquote>"My theory: prior to Covid, public health measures were not perceived as threatening short term profit generation. Now that they are, they are being rolled back." </blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCF8EFZnup7tnhXPEyI3qtG8SeCzoKbXuQPTGm90TZM4IN3HLOM-0UcXO9Qif-GvUBPyMRt3DF31c11bo938QlsKUPwILPCV3dhbdoXOm0dz9_VFluqe3CNsb0dgz3dDOlTPLTKfp_pcNqsQF6nr52KFgmPEZAvpTDB4MZefOOXgmAnpVth_9CwJDPGcV8/s1000/a%20MLK.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="1000" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCF8EFZnup7tnhXPEyI3qtG8SeCzoKbXuQPTGm90TZM4IN3HLOM-0UcXO9Qif-GvUBPyMRt3DF31c11bo938QlsKUPwILPCV3dhbdoXOm0dz9_VFluqe3CNsb0dgz3dDOlTPLTKfp_pcNqsQF6nr52KFgmPEZAvpTDB4MZefOOXgmAnpVth_9CwJDPGcV8/w479-h268/a%20MLK.jpeg" width="479" /></a></div><p></p><p></p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-2029857314570707922024-03-05T06:00:00.119-05:002024-03-05T07:21:13.456-05:00Maybe Concern with Measles will Save us from Covid!!<p>A thread on how to stay safe from measles and two on why you should keep testing for Covid.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8IX7TOelBaPkpjJNocZFUYwKi-my5c57pHyywyfz4um9BpQzEaCNcQlphLrHhlumSgeuA_0hKMkwQXxr4ChyeLT7avDyYJa1qOKtNbF39-z5Cbk41G46JvsC0u7Xo_kj6A-kqL5YfULsQILo_lRNzqwKBRjVWY2HHj5-Mj1U7ADS-xJF39-JTfoAlRtU/s627/aa%20measles.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="627" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8IX7TOelBaPkpjJNocZFUYwKi-my5c57pHyywyfz4um9BpQzEaCNcQlphLrHhlumSgeuA_0hKMkwQXxr4ChyeLT7avDyYJa1qOKtNbF39-z5Cbk41G46JvsC0u7Xo_kj6A-kqL5YfULsQILo_lRNzqwKBRjVWY2HHj5-Mj1U7ADS-xJF39-JTfoAlRtU/w488-h297/aa%20measles.png" width="488" /></a></div><p>The first, on measles, from<a href="https://twitter.com/jeffgilchrist/status/1764379727341428832" target="_blank"> Jeff Gilchrist</a> (I didn't block quote it all because it's so long - but it stops at the three asterisks and the vaccination poll.)</p><p><b>Increased Measles in Canada - Are you Protected? </b></p><p>As Public Health crumbles and too few people are getting vaccinated for measles, our herd immunity levels have dropped too much, and now many people are at risk for a disease we almost eradicated in Canada. There has been a huge surge in measles cases around the world including cases in the UK and USA. The <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2024/02/statement-from-the-chief-public-health-officer-of-canada-on-global-increase-in-measles-and-risk-to-canada.html" target="_blank">government</a> is strongly advising everyone in Canada to be vaccinated with two doses of measles vaccine, especially before travelling. Popular March break destinations like Florida are having measles outbreaks, and the Florida Surgeon General is no longer requiring children who are unvaccinated to remain home from schools where measles cases are circulating, which means cases will continue to surge there. </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>Measles is one of the most contagious viruses that infect humans, spreads through the air, and requires such a small dose to become infected that 90% of people who are not immune will become infected if exposed. Aerosols can remain <a href="https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/health-officials-renew-call-to-check-vaccination-status-as-measles-cases-spread-worldwide-1.6790157" target="_blank">airborne for hours</a> so even walking into an empty room where a contagious person had been two hours previously can be enough to continue infecting people. <p></p><p>Initial symptoms include fever, red watery eyes, runny nose, cough, followed by a rash that starts on the face and then moves to the rest of the body. Small white (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK549793/" target="_blank">Koplik</a>) spots may also appear in the mouth or back of the throat and usually one day before the onset of rash. Symptoms may develop 7-21 days after exposure; the rash typically appears 3-7 days after symptoms start and lasts 4-7 days; symptoms can last <a href="https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/public-health-topics/measles-red-measles.aspx" target="_blank">1-2 weeks</a>. People can be contagious days before the rash (which is not itchy) and also days after the rash is gone, so just because you feel better doesn't mean you can't infect others. </p><p>Since measles is airborne, cleaning the air (ventilation, filtration) and wearing a respirator can prevent infection. . . . More and more of these almost eradicated or less common diseases are returning including things like scarlet fever. We really should be investing in infrastructure improvements to clean the air like we did for drinking water considering they all spread through the air. The measles vaccine is also highly effective. Before the introduction of the vaccine in 1963, major measles epidemics occurred every 2-3 years killing an estimated <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles" target="_blank">2.6 million people</a> each year. "Measles is among the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK549793/" target="_blank">leading causes of morbidity</a> and mortality worldwide during childhood, particularly in developing countries." This is why there was a concerted effort to eradicate measles and why it is still important for people to get vaccinated for it. Parents should ensure their children and adolescents actually received both of their measles vaccines. These are usually given as a combo MMR (Measles-Mumps-Rubella) vaccine at 12 months and a second dose at 18 months or 4-6 years of age. Infants can receive a dose as early as 6 months if travelling to a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2024/02/statement-from-the-chief-public-health-officer-of-canada-on-global-increase-in-measles-and-risk-to-canada.html" target="_blank">high risk area</a>. In Ontario, measles vaccination rates in 7 year olds were <a href="https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/health-officials-renew-call-to-check-vaccination-status-as-measles-cases-spread-worldwide-1.6790157" target="_blank">only 59%</a> for the 2021-2022 school year where we need closer to 95% to protect the community (herd immunity), so a lot of children will not be protected. Adults also need to double check their vaccination history as some may have only received one dose decades ago. If you are unsure, speak to your healthcare provider about a potential MMR booster dose or getting a blood test to see if they are already immune to measles. Vaccines can also be obtained at walk-in clinics and travel clinics. The MMR booster vaccines are the same ones given to both adults and children. </p><p>Most of us have never experienced measles or even know someone who had it so we do not understand how serious infection can be. Measles infection can lead to brain damage and death in 2-3 of every 1000 cases. If you are pregnant, older than 20, a child < 5, or immunocompromised you are at higher risk of complications. <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles" target="_blank">Measles can also cause</a> deafness, blindness, severe diarrhoea and related dehydration, ear infections, and severe breathing problems including pneumonia: </p><p></p><blockquote>"All children or adults with measles should receive two doses of vitamin A supplements, given 24 hours apart. This restores low vitamin A levels that occur even in well-nourished children. It can help prevent eye damage and blindness. Vitamin A supplements may also reduce the number of measles deaths."</blockquote><p></p><p>Unfortunately infection from measles can also cause <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aay6485" target="_blank">damage to your immune system</a> and eliminates pre existing immune memory from previous infections. Epidemiological evidence found people who had been infected with measles had increased morbidity and mortality for up to five years after infection. Measles may have accounted for up to 50% of all childhood deaths from infectious disease mostly from non-measles infections that children could no longer fight off. Testing before and after infection they found children lost 33% (median) of their total pre-existing pathogen-specific antibody repertoires in mild measles infections and 40% (median) in severe infections while controls retained 90% over similar or longer durations. The study also looked at measles vaccination which confirmed that the vaccine does not impair the immune repertoire like an infection does. </p><p>How does measles do this? It seems that measles can infect 20-70% of immune memory cells including B cells, T cells, and plasma cells in the lymphoid tissue and peripheral blood during the first 3-10 days after infection. T cell immunity may also diminish after measles infection and explain why cutaneous tuberculosis tests no longer test positive and remission of autoimmune related disorders are more common. You can read more about how measles wipes out the body's immune memory <a href="https://asm.org/Articles/2019/May/Measles-and-Immune-Amnesia" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/10/how-measles-wipes-out-the-bodys-immune-memory/" target="_blank">here</a>. When measles vaccination rates are reduced and outbreaks occur, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsif.2021.0153" target="_blank">herd immunity for secondary infectious disease can also be lost</a> due to this destruction of immune memory from measles infections. Protecting against measles also provides added benefits of protecting against other diseases as well. It was expected that people with two doses of measles vaccines may be protected for life, but a study in Brazil found seropositivity may be<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10768653/" target="_blank"> lower than expected </a>in adequately immunized adults. Seropositivity was higher among older individuals and those with a shorter time since the last MMR vaccine dose: </p><p></p><blockquote>"The high rate of seronegative individuals in adequately vaccinated populations raises concerns about the potential role of a third dose of the MMR vaccine, particularly during outbreaks. Our data revealed that 67.3% of young adults considered adequately vaccinated had apparently non-protective IgG antibody titers, which may render them susceptible to measles."</blockquote><p></p><p>Low or undetectable levels of antibodies does not guarantee lack of protection with virus exposure, but it is possible that cellular immune responses that were not measurable at the time <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8537497/" target="_blank">may still provide some protection</a>:</p><p></p><blockquote>"The measles-containing vaccine (MCV) is highly effective, but a small number of two dose-vaccinated people (around 3%) exposed to the virus contract measles. In Spain, from 2003 to 2014, around 3.5% of confirmed cases had received two doses of MMR vaccine, most of them having received the second dose more than 10 years prior."</blockquote><p></p><p>There are already signals that measles may be <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/measles-may-be-spreading-in-some-canadian-communities-officials-warn-1.7131704" target="_blank">quietly spreading in Canada</a> with at least nine confirmed infections in 2024 after two months compared to 12 cases for all of 2023. Two recent cases identified in Quebec and Ontario were not tied to prior travel or came into contact with any known measles cases suggesting they were infected within their community. One case hadn't been vaccinated and the other was a vaccinated man in his 30s who still had a breakthrough infection with milder symptoms. People <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8537497/" target="_blank">previously vaccinated</a> for measles who still get infected can have clinical presentations from mild to an illness that meets the full case definition so can make identification more difficult. </p><p>Cleaning the air isn't just important for measles, but TB, COVID, and respiratory viruses also transmit through the air <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abd9149" target="_blank">via aerosols</a>. For some reason Public Health will easily say that Measles and TB is airborne, but they aren't educating the public that other viruses and bacteria use the exact same transportation network (aerosols) to spread in the air. TB bacteria, which can be as long as <a href="https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/54/suppl_63/PA4605" target="_blank">7000 nm</a>, use the same aerosol transportation as the 47x smaller measles virus (<a href="https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7122368/" target="_blank">150 nm</a>), and the even smaller Covid virus (<a href="https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7122368/" target="_blank">90 nm</a>). While it is important to wash your hands in general, protecting your airways is where the focus and biggest investments should be made. The risk of contact transmission via hands from Covid in a community setting is extremely rare. <a href="https://www.cureus.com/articles/227537-sars-cov-2-contamination-on-healthy-individuals-hands-in-community-settings-during-the-covid-19-pandemic#!/" target="_blank">This study</a> tested 925 swabs and found only 0.32% had any viral RNA detected, and of those, none of the samples contained viable viruses so unable to infect. </p><p>Had Public Health and governments started investing in upgrading the infrastructure for clean indoor air early in the pandemic when it became obvious that Covid and respiratory viruses also spread via aerosols, we would be in a much better position today to deal with outbreaks of other viruses and increasing wildfire smoke pollution</p><p>***</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyd3mq8CwnslWn_GOr-3BN-tmQOgOt2DwfQxGr3HE2BTQGAqWw93PNlocwAPsT8GaXJpZvCU7cVDTvOjtoXHcpX_I17w-TOfVYB8gt8PhC6ovZE8Q7r7VXd9xPKcO9oPue1aC3wo6BBrE3HZgWxRguz7asCRzFMDuN3Tm5SsBlXS4C-YOuVAyhBcOSXlFL/s2786/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-04%20at%207.09.19%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="2786" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyd3mq8CwnslWn_GOr-3BN-tmQOgOt2DwfQxGr3HE2BTQGAqWw93PNlocwAPsT8GaXJpZvCU7cVDTvOjtoXHcpX_I17w-TOfVYB8gt8PhC6ovZE8Q7r7VXd9xPKcO9oPue1aC3wo6BBrE3HZgWxRguz7asCRzFMDuN3Tm5SsBlXS4C-YOuVAyhBcOSXlFL/w482-h125/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-04%20at%207.09.19%20AM.png" width="482" /></a></div>The<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/measles-may-be-spreading-in-some-canadian-communities-officials-warn-1.7131704" target="_blank"> CBC reported</a> this poll and this:<div><blockquote>"If people are choosing not to vaccinate themselves or vaccinate their children, it's goig to come to no ones surprise that we see teh resurgence of vaccine-preventable illnesses, even here in Canada. . . . The virus spreads easily through the air, transmits before people even show symptoms, and can linger inside enclosed spaces for up to two hours. . . . It also has a long incubation period -- usually between 10 and 14 days -- and, in some cases, can lead to life-threatening complications, including pneumonia, brain swelling, or death. Yet health officials stress the two-dose vaccine regimen against measles is more than 95% effective at preventing infection."</blockquote><p>Sound familiar?? </p><p>Some people online are chatting about the idea of "Informed Refusal" for kids in school whose families are opposed to vaccinations. It wouldn't affect their choice to vaccinate or not; it would just necessitate attending an information session and acknowledging that they understand the short term and long term effects of measles, that herd immunity is possible with measles vaccines, that the rate of serious longterm side-effects of the vaccines is extremely small, and that we need to get over 95% vaccinated for everyone to be protected or else we'll start seeing a lot of "breakthrough" cases (cases in vaccinated people). I'd love to see something similar with Covid!! You're free to never wear an N95 or get any vaccination, but first you have to listen and be quizzed on the facts around the condition, short term and long term effects of Covid, how N95s work, why N95s are better than surgical or cloth masks, why we should monitor CO2 in rooms and open windows when it's over 500ppm, and that vaccinations <i>don't</i> work with herd immunity for Covid because of the speed of mutation of the virus, so vaccinations are needed every six months at the minimum! AND that you can be contagious even <i>after</i> all your symptoms clear up!!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TTNcBWUr_ihrKT522pA5lYolVr0E-51J52cFeMP_j2ulIEq_f3GsS48FpdRkR_TZtcN4UvWtHbUWF8K2SA6XWrQSpauHI2DDsbQ6qTVpLuvDSCZ0e2JvkJfA7L2JoEfONxSFtPCh0Qy6uyX_oFG6QMzbiZyAFVAu5JHEG6hS6PFAhJaaaxYcOb4Op_8s/s1217/aa%20cough.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1079" data-original-width="1217" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TTNcBWUr_ihrKT522pA5lYolVr0E-51J52cFeMP_j2ulIEq_f3GsS48FpdRkR_TZtcN4UvWtHbUWF8K2SA6XWrQSpauHI2DDsbQ6qTVpLuvDSCZ0e2JvkJfA7L2JoEfONxSFtPCh0Qy6uyX_oFG6QMzbiZyAFVAu5JHEG6hS6PFAhJaaaxYcOb4Op_8s/w499-h443/aa%20cough.jpeg" width="499" /></a></div><p>If you've followed along with Covid news, so much of the information about measles is similar. Time will tell if the quest to prevent measles has a beneficial effect on Covid cases OR if the corollary happens, and our lackadaisical attitude towards Covid has a disastrous effect on measles cases. Measles is far more infectious, but Covid is sneakier, with a lot more asymptomatic spread. I'm going to try avoiding <i>both </i>with my trusty N95s!! (Check out one <a href="https://hospitalnews.com/an-er-doctors-experience-with-long-covid-my-symptoms-seemed-endless/" target="_blank">Toronto ER doctor</a>'s experience with Covid.) Two much shorter threads:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwkH3r4XFxW0bhtMReUOiyXQUrSHZ7rpvVnE-mleQfQHyqbkN5bvwGxC0aC3wp3_GLe_24E6c5Vzq1qU_X6KAbudmbJuo8hcdts9EjGgqptk6DAJS2WdGCnCE35jKN6eZlhsGxMp1BL1YKU2tBlRaoc5nM3kB90Cmu6aYWq9_iMoVznmkemtmRWNmNLxh/s1200/long%20covid%20image.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="1200" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwkH3r4XFxW0bhtMReUOiyXQUrSHZ7rpvVnE-mleQfQHyqbkN5bvwGxC0aC3wp3_GLe_24E6c5Vzq1qU_X6KAbudmbJuo8hcdts9EjGgqptk6DAJS2WdGCnCE35jKN6eZlhsGxMp1BL1YKU2tBlRaoc5nM3kB90Cmu6aYWq9_iMoVznmkemtmRWNmNLxh/w493-h250/long%20covid%20image.jpeg" width="493" /></a></div><p></p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/broadwaybabyto/status/1764083192997306631" target="_blank">Kelly</a> explains why we <i>really</i> need to keep testing for Covid at any sign of illness in ourselves or after contact with anyone else who gets sick:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>“Why should I bother testing for Covid? If I’m sick I’m sick. Knowing it’s Covid doesn’t change anything.” </p><p>Actually - it does.
If you know it’s Covid there are things you can and should be doing differently - despite what the CDC or other people want you to believe. </p><p>First off - stay home. If it’s at all possible for you to isolate please do so. These guidelines that suggest you can go back into the world as long as your fever is gone or symptoms are improving make ZERO sense. If you’re testing positive - you’re contagious. </p><p>Second - if you share a home with others (yes this includes pets) isolate away from them. Ideally in a room with an open window and HEPA filters. Wear a respirator whenever you go into other areas of the house. </p><p>Third - if you can’t stay home then please for the sake of your fellow human beings PUT ON A MASK. The best mask you can afford that fits your face. Headstrap respirators are the most effective. Try and have minimal contact with others. </p><p>Fourth - REST. Radical rest is important when you have Covid. Some studies suggest you should be resting for a minimum<i> four weeks </i>after infection (yes even if you feel “all better”). Rebound is a concern, and Long Covid risk appears to increase when people don’t slow down. </p><p>Fifth - keep a record of your infection. Long Covid is not rare and it’s not mild. If you become disabled and you need social supports, medical care, disability etc? Guess what? If you can’t prove you HAD Covid you will have a much harder time. </p><p>I’m sure there will be people saying “but you should do all these things for other respiratory viruses,” and I don’t disagree. I think we would all be healthier if people would stay home when sick and wear a mask IF they have to go out. But covid is NOT another respiratory virus. It’s a multi system virus that has proven vascular, neurological and immune system damaging capabilities. It disables 1 in 10 people and the risk of disability increases with each infection. It’s been downplayed for economic and political reasons, but the science is clear. You don’t want to keep getting Covid, and any person who cares a whit about others shouldn’t want to spread it to anyone. If we cared more about who we potentially infect - perhaps we would take more precautions. I’ve had friends say to me “I’m so glad I didn’t visit you because I’m so sick it would have killed you,” and yet they don’t stay home or mask. It doesn’t make sense. Just because you don’t personally KNOW the vulnerable person you infect doesn’t mean you should stop caring. </p><p>So please - keep testing to see if it’s Covid. Don’t buy into the idea that it’s “just another flu”. And if you’re positive take steps to mitigate contagion risk for others and Long Covid risk for yourself. If we do these simple things we would drastically lower transmission. </p></blockquote><p>Then later Kelly added: </p><p></p><blockquote>"I'm shocked - just shocked - that the White House has more stringent guidelines in place for Covid. Shocked! It's almost as though they realize the very serious risk of reinfections and don't want the President and staff exposed. But sure - one day isolation is fine for the plebs."</blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgeWLyjTq_1zZfjgMoExpSOSuByGbETUr4VpcETMnM-L0A73nt9aFhwKq_YLFGUnzEWSYmJBqNRkg6bBL9lZNCDBM55yI2GK3rpPM1SYyyf1_SuJrkmSV3FEHlMWnD5y1SzLr_Q6YxymTHB2BezxqIgEM5lAxeKlVNwXWmMevqxbJKmywtSdnWxk3ZvEg/s1252/aa%20wh.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="1252" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgeWLyjTq_1zZfjgMoExpSOSuByGbETUr4VpcETMnM-L0A73nt9aFhwKq_YLFGUnzEWSYmJBqNRkg6bBL9lZNCDBM55yI2GK3rpPM1SYyyf1_SuJrkmSV3FEHlMWnD5y1SzLr_Q6YxymTHB2BezxqIgEM5lAxeKlVNwXWmMevqxbJKmywtSdnWxk3ZvEg/w483-h234/aa%20wh.jpeg" width="483" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally <a href="https://twitter.com/Sunny_Rae1/status/1764582894998110244" target="_blank">Dr. Rae Duncan,</a> cardiologist and Long Covid researcher, wrote this brief plea:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><blockquote>"It is NOT OK to breech H&SWA and encourage pupils and teachers to repeatedly be reinfected with a BSL3 pathogen that will overtly disable some, and may cause covert damage to brain, blood vessels and immune systems in others. These are our CHILDREN! If you care about our children’s education as you say you do, please protect their health! Sick children can’t learn! Children disabled with long covid - many are too sick to access school. CEV children are too high risk to access school if you keep encouraging schools to be a Petrie dish of Covid, flu, RSV, measles etc! Covid is NOT “just another respiratory virus” - it is a vascular virus via ACE2 infection of endothelial cells and increases risks of future long term chronic diseases and brain changes. If you really want to protect the learning of our children please stop encouraging reinfecting with SARS2 that causes cognitive damage! Children with cognitive impairment will also struggle to learn. Please stop trying to boost attendance figures by forcing infectious kids into unmitigated classrooms to infect everyone else!
Forcing infectious sick kids to school with no testing = more kids get infected and sick, some will become disabled by LC = school attendance gets worse not better!
Please stop using unscientific PH campaigns as a short term band aid trying to cover over a gaping and growing abdominal wound! It won’t work and you will and are doing real harm to children’s health. Please instead address the CAUSE of the ABSENCE rates. 2/3 due to children sickness!!! Please sort hybrid options so infectious sick kids, can work from home if well enough until non infectious, and please CLEAN THE AIR in schools! Please help BREAK THE CYCLE OF INFECTION rather than perpetuate it. This really isn’t rocket science. Please, you are risking our children and their families' long term health with your current policies."</blockquote></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvEu4HAfqhVrzMuOao_2UI4xK93IXEkk12BvGA8kC93Gn72sZPIPrLGqhhoGzw4KAFzSB_j-H05ayZyVJdfhZMJZxKe51pcM7POXqPmTkG4BgJp19l4-sOU0Eu2l3ZGPQXZp00NQiATsJTLSWoQM8sk-imCE7Rw6YWZdYi3PoG0ek6Vn29RXyUs45tj4s/s408/not%20a%20problem%20for%20YOU.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="408" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvEu4HAfqhVrzMuOao_2UI4xK93IXEkk12BvGA8kC93Gn72sZPIPrLGqhhoGzw4KAFzSB_j-H05ayZyVJdfhZMJZxKe51pcM7POXqPmTkG4BgJp19l4-sOU0Eu2l3ZGPQXZp00NQiATsJTLSWoQM8sk-imCE7Rw6YWZdYi3PoG0ek6Vn29RXyUs45tj4s/w496-h496/not%20a%20problem%20for%20YOU.jpeg" width="496" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-31732691556163854732024-03-04T06:00:00.003-05:002024-03-04T15:32:21.080-05:00On Feudalism<p>Have we ever lived outside of a system of pseudo-feudalism with peasantry, slavery, or the working poor labouring for the benefit of Kings, land barons, or factory owners? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPuhtXFQa0XS0B9OQBrHIT6MMmibmF-oGVIzUsn2gdHhk4tkZkfl_m5IFRGNspWgxzJw3Nkt5tsStCNZCz-wNQjh75Np5Vvh3Tn6jsBak7kM5hK7EEwS1NoXq5sqw4EUA_cgVEEsCGJuawXI9uWFH7vnLin04M_6882ruf4LBkCRYUJqPkzzJBhhoVIDjr/s767/aa%20desperate%20people.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="601" height="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPuhtXFQa0XS0B9OQBrHIT6MMmibmF-oGVIzUsn2gdHhk4tkZkfl_m5IFRGNspWgxzJw3Nkt5tsStCNZCz-wNQjh75Np5Vvh3Tn6jsBak7kM5hK7EEwS1NoXq5sqw4EUA_cgVEEsCGJuawXI9uWFH7vnLin04M_6882ruf4LBkCRYUJqPkzzJBhhoVIDjr/w452-h576/aa%20desperate%20people.jpeg" width="452" /></a></div><p>One perspective of the past thousand years or so might go something like this: Peasants lived on the King's land, first for free, then later in exchange for a portion of the food they grew or products they crafted. A tax on land started when the Lords realized they could profit more from keeping sheep than people, and peasants had to commodify their labour for the privilege of continuing to live where they had been born. Then we had some revolutions to usher in a whole new way of living, to be able to have individual property rights and to <i>choose</i> our leaders. The wealthy expanded their land into plantations and dragged over people from the colonies to work them in exchange for some food and shelter. It was different in tone the King/peasant dynamic but not result: lords allowing food and shelter on their land to people who already lived there in exchange for their labour compared to landowners providing food and shelter to people they kidnapped in exchange for their labour. That type of labour was never abolished; it was merely outsourced to poorer countries and American prisons. More acknowledged today, we have the working poor who make just enough to barely pay for rent and food. Leaving a horrible job at Amazon isn't a realistic choice without any possibility of saving money. They're free in title but not in practice. They might very well still live on land <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a35zp/jeff-bezos-is-funding-a-real-estate-startup-buying-up-family-homes-to-rent" target="_blank">belonging to their overlord</a>! </p><p>So, <i>when</i> did we have a democracy in which each person's unmanipulated and unfettered vote counts as much as any other, or human rights in which we are all have the <i>right</i> to food and shelter and certain freedoms. Did I blink and miss it? I wrote about this <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2019/01/on-capitalisms-limitations.html" target="_blank">five years ago</a> as well. </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>There has always been a wealthy group at the top who has control over resources and a ton of people having their labour ripped off at the bottom, relying on the whims of their captors, whether a King or plantation owner or Jeff Bezos, to <i>choose</i> to be kind instead of cruel. Check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvW3rLd45Dw&ab_channel=CenterforBrooklynHistory" target="_blank">this great talk</a> between Masha Gessen and Timothy Snyder from shortly after Trump was first elected. Snyder explains that we forever gravitate towards authoritarianism, but then we check ourselves. We don't notice ourselves checking because then the bad thing just doesn't happen. But if we <i>don't</i> check ourselves, we<i> really </i>notice. It sneaks up on us quietly, and then feels very sudden. <p></p><p>We haven't been checking ourselves.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhvlZE9vIc8MjffkDRRT-05g1xSeX2-CvfY11Hl1SpzmHDqLzRvfe2zO5y72-pTRXZkFjjIQcAxSe6I7bR2psvVy3qLYlEnAntn3AZlfiaqFGMuNTeab2wkX-iofPtEBYIzS1Ob3_C85FogX38Fse8FT0erzhVDEcKUR5rBNP9pYyrETRVSRTghSw76gz/s536/aaa%20huxley.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="536" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhvlZE9vIc8MjffkDRRT-05g1xSeX2-CvfY11Hl1SpzmHDqLzRvfe2zO5y72-pTRXZkFjjIQcAxSe6I7bR2psvVy3qLYlEnAntn3AZlfiaqFGMuNTeab2wkX-iofPtEBYIzS1Ob3_C85FogX38Fse8FT0erzhVDEcKUR5rBNP9pYyrETRVSRTghSw76gz/w488-h387/aaa%20huxley.jpeg" width="488" /></a></div><p>Yesterday I introduced a fiction about billionaires in bunkers - that they're <i>encouraging</i> Covid transmission to reduce competition for food - in order to try to figure out the rationale behind current policies, and, at the same time, <a href="https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/entertainment/people-entertainment/2024/03/02/billionaires-building-bunkers" target="_blank">Katherine Guinness and Grant Bell</a> came to a different conclusion about the presence of those bunkers:</p><p></p><blockquote>"What is emerging among billionaires is a belief that survival depends not (only) on hiding out in a reinforced concrete hole in the ground, but (also) on developing, and controlling, an ecosystem of one's own. It's all too easy to assume that, because some of the world's richest people are buying up estates on remote islands and fitting them out with bunkers, they must be privy to some secret inside information. But the truth is simpler, and more brutal, than that. Billionaires are building elaborate properties because they <i>can</i>. . . . This ideological shell game allows us to (fleetingly) acknowledge the damage runaway global inequality is doing to social cohesion and the viability of our ecosystems. . . . Meanwhile, for the actual billionaires, bunkers are just a small part of a 'diversified portfolio' of bets against the future." </blockquote><p></p><p>That doesn't explain why we are being presented with policies that will decidedly <i>further</i> the spread of Covid and now measles and tuberculosis as well. But it does further the argument that we live in a feudal system. </p><p>Well beyond 1,000 years ago, slavery was accepted and promoted with rules to govern it. It's in <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp" target="_blank">Hammurabi's Code</a>, from over 4,000 years ago:</p><p></p><blockquote>"If any one receives into his house a runaway male or female slave of the court, or of a freedman, and does not bring it out at the public proclamation of the major domus, the master of the house shall be put to death."</blockquote><p></p><p>And in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+21&version=NIV" target="_blank">Exodus 21:2-21</a>:</p><p></p><blockquote>"When you acquire a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years. . . . When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not be freed as male slaves are. . . . When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod, and he dies there and then, he must be avenged. But if he survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, since he is the other's property."</blockquote><p></p><p>Then <a href="https://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.1.one.html" target="_blank">Aristotle</a> justified slavery as <i>natural</i> to society: </p><p></p><blockquote>"For that which can foresee by the exercise of mind is by nature intended to be lord and master, and that which can with its body give effect to such foresight is a subject, and by nature a slave. . . . a complete household consists of slaves and freemen. . . . But is there any one thus intended by nature to be a slave, and for whom such a condition is expedient and right, or rather is not all slavery a violation of nature? There is no difficulty in answering this question, on grounds both of reason and of fact. For that some should rule and others be ruled is a thing not only necessary, but expedient; from the hour of their birth, some are marked out for subjection, others for rule." </blockquote><p></p><p>And <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_47" target="_blank">Seneca</a> hoped to merely inspire kindness in the ownership of others, maybe unable to step outside of the system in place:</p><p></p><blockquote>"Deal with your inferior the way you wish your superior would deal with you. . . . Associate with your slave on kindly, even on affable terms; let him talk with you, plan with you, live with you. I know that at this point all the exquisites will cry out against me in a body; they will say: 'There is nothing more debasing, more disgraceful, than this.'"
</blockquote><p></p><p>But by the 18th century a few philosopher started vehemently disagreeing with the very nature of slavery of any kind:</p><p><a href="https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/montesquieu-complete-works-vol-1-the-spirit-of-laws#lf0171-01_label_1087" target="_blank">Montesquieu </a>wrote, </p><p></p><blockquote>"The state of slavery is, in its own nature, bad. It is neither useful to the master nor to the slave; not to the slave, because he can do nothing through a motive of virtue; nor to the master, because, by having an unlimited authority over his slaves, he insensibly accustoms himself to the want of all moral virtues, and from thence becomes fierce, hasty, severe, choleric, voluptuous, and cruel. . . . In democracies, where they are all upon an equality, and in aristocracies, where the laws ought to use their utmost endeavours to procure as great an equality as the nature of the government will permit, slavery is contrary to the spirit of the constitution: it only contributes to give a power and luxury to the citizens which they ought not to have."</blockquote><p></p><p>And then <a href="https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/economics/rousseau/social-contract/ch02.htm" target="_blank">Rousseau </a>argued, </p><p></p><blockquote>"No citizen should ever be wealthy enough to buy another, and none poor enough to be forced to sell himself."</blockquote><p></p><p>And then <a href="https://www.google.nl/books/edition/The_Sphere_and_Duties_of_Government/uQacgdC3t9sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA30&printsec=frontcover&dq=slavery" target="_blank">Wilhelm von Humboldt</a> wrote (h/t <a href="https://digressionsimpressions.substack.com/p/wilhelm-von-humboldt-on-slavery-and" target="_blank">Nescio13</a>), </p><p></p><blockquote>"It cannot be doubted that freedom is the indispensable condition, without which even the pursuits most happily congenial to the individual nature, can never succeed in producing such fair and salutary influences. Whatever man is inclined to, without the free exercise of his own choice, or whatever only implies instruction and guidance, does not enter into his very being, but still remains alien to his true nature, and is, indeed, effected by him, not so much with human agency, as with the mere exactness of mechanical routine. The ancients, and more especially the Greeks, were accustomed to regard every occupation as hurtful and degrading which was immediately connected with the exercise of physical power, or the pursuit of external advantages, and not exclusively confined to the development of the inner man. Hence, many of their philosophers who were most eminent for their philanthropy, approved of slavery; thereby adopting a barbarous and unjust expediency, and <b>agreeing to sacrifice one part of mankind in order to secure to the other the highest force and beauty</b>. But reason and experience combine to expose the error which lies at the root of such a fallacy. There is no pursuit whatever, nothing with which a man can concern himself, that may not give to human nature some worthy and determinate form, and furnish fair means for its ennoblement."</blockquote><p></p><p>Unfortunately, in the middle of all that, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGfFXc0TwhU&ab_channel=Chomsky%27sPhilosophy" target="_blank">James Madison</a> convinced the founding fathers that because the poor outnumber the rich, we have to limit democracy in order to keep the riffraff from trying to take all their stuff! If people were <i>really</i> allowed to understand the system and vote without an Electoral College to sway the results, then they might vote to outlaw exploitation or for guaranteed basic income, or maybe for a limit to how much a factory owner can make relative to their lowest-paid worker. </p><p>It makes perfect sense for Marx and Engles to have followed this lineage towards, not just freedom from slavery, but freedom from the conditions that prevent the working poor from actually being able to make important choices in their own lives:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpEsxPAgdTrON4rcPa5VjaawcPU6S4LCG-CdFixvT_W97OXZ7_Ljak7SLmP_nxsxYDc6eDV71J_Xyle0wJPXrlOC7l1PevsHqQ8ScYPdBTMxxmAxrGXnmsQx7c7IpoZY-J6p-iAnFyrt9X26mLcWLiq-dnBihi7lHGe09hD1GzUa_1yqDyjjdoUjqZcVi/s960/aaa%20slaves%20vs%20workers.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="471" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpEsxPAgdTrON4rcPa5VjaawcPU6S4LCG-CdFixvT_W97OXZ7_Ljak7SLmP_nxsxYDc6eDV71J_Xyle0wJPXrlOC7l1PevsHqQ8ScYPdBTMxxmAxrGXnmsQx7c7IpoZY-J6p-iAnFyrt9X26mLcWLiq-dnBihi7lHGe09hD1GzUa_1yqDyjjdoUjqZcVi/w471-h471/aaa%20slaves%20vs%20workers.png" width="471" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p>We <i>continue</i> to be willing to sacrifice one part of mankind in order to enable the very best possible life for a teeny tiny portion of us. We're <i>still</i> living with the economic disparity that keeps some people working almost all their waking hours just to stay in one place, but now we've been convinced to <i>like</i> it. </p><p>We signed up for democracy as the rule of the majority with respect for the minority. I'm not sure we've seen that happen yet. </p><p>The rise of private property has enabled a few people to gain enormous personal wealth without having been born into the royal class, but it has brought with it an individualism that has all competing against all. We have an illusion of freedom under corporate dictatorship, i.e. a freedom to choose from a multitude of products we don't need but have been convinced to buy. We've lost communal values to the point that many see having them as a threat to this bizarre version of freedom. Instead of fighting for the freedom for all to live with dignity even when unable to work and for everyone to have leisure time each day and a generally less stressful existence, we fight for the freedom to insult others, to honk horns all night while people try to sleep, to drive where we want as fast as we want with the biggest vehicles we can afford, to not <i>have</i> to think of one another or the future. It's a childish version of freedom at a time when we need a <i>serious</i> revolution, a check on our gravitation towards authoritarianism, in order to salvage our public health care, public education, and environment protections from a government set on selling off our province. The values of individualism keep us swimming in this feudalistic condition, oblivious to its trajectory. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbbX8Q8zxh7bOzWw7ozrTgzE2lBOTlBDEsUIY1SL6rn8-MU0QVxb_7TpK4uJODfXwgWw2lzUJW_vkCqhYTR6w4qfwFAeLU3tRIieHV5ITB9lnEx2SAVgOsZ2MyyN2ytI3UIXJ5XZeLDSsVWQU_w29Ydoglrn0duX2TPbtcj0tmQHi1zPsgYfLo2o_wzRi/s1031/aa%20soma.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1031" data-original-width="735" height="615" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbbX8Q8zxh7bOzWw7ozrTgzE2lBOTlBDEsUIY1SL6rn8-MU0QVxb_7TpK4uJODfXwgWw2lzUJW_vkCqhYTR6w4qfwFAeLU3tRIieHV5ITB9lnEx2SAVgOsZ2MyyN2ytI3UIXJ5XZeLDSsVWQU_w29Ydoglrn0duX2TPbtcj0tmQHi1zPsgYfLo2o_wzRi/w438-h615/aa%20soma.jpeg" width="438" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">ETA:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAattXjuh8idJH1bKqrzCB7Z_MB9yknyrVCaktn6gtQESN5uxrVXwmTl_SpJl6QVuzkDxMbBKSIZqnNBozzrUgo6pXmqRPvEAI-MePqaK433EeFT8XzbfoigPPI0Z7LmzJPqJSonbQ8qM5vHF_1ucJpebOaCZF75cHUy0aaQuDjDrKQxV7m-wkkYrH9epQ/s1984/aa%20cure.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1984" data-original-width="1179" height="691" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAattXjuh8idJH1bKqrzCB7Z_MB9yknyrVCaktn6gtQESN5uxrVXwmTl_SpJl6QVuzkDxMbBKSIZqnNBozzrUgo6pXmqRPvEAI-MePqaK433EeFT8XzbfoigPPI0Z7LmzJPqJSonbQ8qM5vHF_1ucJpebOaCZF75cHUy0aaQuDjDrKQxV7m-wkkYrH9epQ/w410-h691/aa%20cure.jpeg" width="410" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And this one:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOP_qyr_9pBnrtgQaod9HEMpkWjKkoRRqzabdFHB1qJTJqVmTTFmulqCzPzMEIlNt35tLYoUIi6WHehMk3JYJG7S8un6JJUaB-bFuW___VuDVe_bLhl-dAJGWjX1hmkoc4ekwiHlaY8WDp265FTZROV_XPmchVBo2g8bVJLfgR3jyri9QafC_3g0UZyoWd/s1254/aa%20free.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="1254" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOP_qyr_9pBnrtgQaod9HEMpkWjKkoRRqzabdFHB1qJTJqVmTTFmulqCzPzMEIlNt35tLYoUIi6WHehMk3JYJG7S8un6JJUaB-bFuW___VuDVe_bLhl-dAJGWjX1hmkoc4ekwiHlaY8WDp265FTZROV_XPmchVBo2g8bVJLfgR3jyri9QafC_3g0UZyoWd/w486-h418/aa%20free.jpeg" width="486" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-68114539560933084712024-03-03T06:00:00.016-05:002024-03-03T08:10:36.413-05:00Avoiding Pathogens Benefits Babies<p>My mom was right after all: We really<i> should</i> do everything we can to keep babies from getting sick. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8v_ZEwKwnmbqaVE2owP_-3jeD-y4RqVO4Fxd76hEXrFclsXnwMnrEk9tV3Tx7XAlDbOV-aD_ZeHGVHfl-3TkBee9C6qI9U9a4Vz7SOQeJCDK8OZPzk_4nUR14xUF4QTH_GLDjUVMEgUGltkY8He__kHeRKW4WPPTyTqT4MgfE6o2eCiZFtpNtKnkZTar/s675/aaababy.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="675" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8v_ZEwKwnmbqaVE2owP_-3jeD-y4RqVO4Fxd76hEXrFclsXnwMnrEk9tV3Tx7XAlDbOV-aD_ZeHGVHfl-3TkBee9C6qI9U9a4Vz7SOQeJCDK8OZPzk_4nUR14xUF4QTH_GLDjUVMEgUGltkY8He__kHeRKW4WPPTyTqT4MgfE6o2eCiZFtpNtKnkZTar/w489-h185/aaababy.png" width="489" /></a></div><p>When I was close to the due date of my first child, my mom warned me not to pass around the baby to people or let lots of people into the house no matter how much they beg to see the baby. <i>Everyone's</i> going to want to see the baby, but the baby shouldn't be in contact with anyone who could be sick. And you can't always tell if someone's sick. </p><p>Then suddenly, for just the past four years or so, the general populace seemed (seems?) to think that children <i>should</i> get as many infections as possible when they're young - and many think they <i>also</i> shouldn't get the inert version of infections offered by vaccines. Funny that. </p><p>But now the old ways - the pre-2020 ways - have even further evidence. </p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/NateB_Panic/status/1763846753101512969" target="_blank"><span></span></a></p><a name='more'></a><a href="https://twitter.com/NateB_Panic/status/1763846753101512969" target="_blank">Nate Bear</a> wrote: <p></p><p></p><blockquote>"A very problematic study for immunity debt grifters. Babies born during lockdown had healthier microbiomes because they WEREN'T exposed to pathogens, meaning they required fewer antibiotics (17% compared to 80% for normal times babies) and subsequently developed fewer allergies. <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/02/240229124144.htm" target="_blank">The study</a> analysed stool samples from 351 babies born in Ireland during lockdown and compared them with samples from non-lockdown babies. Important to note that the researchers also attributed the healthier microbiomes to 'increased duration of breastfeeding.' Lockdowns boosted opportunities for the mother-baby contact that this system so often deprives to new mothers."</blockquote><p></p><p>I've written about the bizarre immunity debt rationalizing before, accumulating studies and my posts <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sueIuOAKXV97gtuW1GYoXWfKjrqdsHPkmM7a8oK6imM/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">in this doc</a>. But what would possibly cause medical professionals to question something they learned in school, that has been found to be the case over and over and has <i>not</i> had any significant breakthrough study to the contrary - nothing that hasn't been withdrawn for shoddy research that is??</p><p>Consider this completely fictional scenario: Imagine that you have some position of power and influence, and you've got all sorts of data available to you about all the worldwide issues, and tons of advisors at your fingertips, and things look pretty bleak. I'm not talking about typical front-line healthcare workers, but the bosses of their bosses. Then you're approached by colleagues who say something diabolical like this: </p><p>"Climate change will cause imminent food shortages. The world will only be able to feed a fraction of the population when more droughts and floods and fires ravage crops within the next decade. <i>You</i> can be in the fraction that survives <i>iff</i> you join us to convince most people to take greater risks with their health. We've got this <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2024/01/lab-leak-theory-has-backing.html" target="_blank">man-made virus</a> that can disable most of the population so that they can't fight back if we get authoritarian. The disease moves just slowly enough to be normalized to the public, and the disability doesn't start for months after infection, so people don't even link the two. And then if we <i>also </i>support regimes elsewhere as they let children starve to death, hey, maybe that can be normalized too! So, all you have to do to be <i>in</i> with us is to convince people not to ever wear masks, even in hospital wards where everyone wore masks for decades, and not to isolate more than a day even if they're visibly ill and definitely contagious." </p><p>Okay, maybe they didn't plan it so intentionally or nefariously; maybe they're just taking advantage of the situation as it unfolds. But, would you join the "in" crowd of survivors if you could?? </p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1763981007773155413" target="_blank">Eric Topol</a> explains how badly the CDC got it wrong:</p><p></p><blockquote>"The new CDC Covid 'no isolation' guideline promotes <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00822-w" target="_blank">people shedding virus</a> to infect others. Most people will still be infectious, as assessed from rapid antigen tests (and the new recommendation ignores the use of rapid tests)." </blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYgGIK-j0v-Y9SRI2hkyQW1XPtjEsPHY1Y4rRtlziLdsuPHTuSmLcKFa4nuW1tA419mgK4ipKHNjfVpZQzk9t_-BQ_05SbHURvqbjn3B9zD9fNyqFHLQHUc55vsJfozmhrCd5VK4MFIY6MQWhjvLF_GuNcq5oilBxMxVikERy4R1z5igIAou4xMBC7Kxj/s2586/aanature.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="2586" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYgGIK-j0v-Y9SRI2hkyQW1XPtjEsPHY1Y4rRtlziLdsuPHTuSmLcKFa4nuW1tA419mgK4ipKHNjfVpZQzk9t_-BQ_05SbHURvqbjn3B9zD9fNyqFHLQHUc55vsJfozmhrCd5VK4MFIY6MQWhjvLF_GuNcq5oilBxMxVikERy4R1z5igIAou4xMBC7Kxj/w469-h220/aanature.jpeg" width="469" /></a></div><p>And Dr. <a href="https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1764120068948934991" target="_blank">Eric Feigl-Ding</a> questioned how some medical professionals switched teams:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>"Strangely funny and odd. When Ashish and I used to be on the same side of protecting people from Covid and criticizing the CDC, he strongly praised me for 'holding the CDC accountable.' But now if one advocates to protect people--they are just a 'random anonymous dude'? Truly odd."</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p></blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd7PGtnWoHNavjBiQ17S2PcNLuRT33UYi7gSDFnOt1CvAiG1_7yiiAodyQ_Sw3_4v3K-AAcyy9rLfprjjPZGujR2nEb9YLhRhdqcz4iLflSewWD43yXRHBwGgoIy5hNY65mdLEoretncTY8ypTwL2Qqd3lMsz0nmladun1CHRuqERZhaU9tBuDZPfm1swp/s1068/aa%20random.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1068" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd7PGtnWoHNavjBiQ17S2PcNLuRT33UYi7gSDFnOt1CvAiG1_7yiiAodyQ_Sw3_4v3K-AAcyy9rLfprjjPZGujR2nEb9YLhRhdqcz4iLflSewWD43yXRHBwGgoIy5hNY65mdLEoretncTY8ypTwL2Qqd3lMsz0nmladun1CHRuqERZhaU9tBuDZPfm1swp/w421-h329/aa%20random.jpeg" width="421" /></a></div><p></p><p>It might be a very teeny tiny group writing the script but with enough authority that many many health professionals parrot their words despite how little sense they make and despite all the research to the contrary. Those would be people who might not have access to the backstory, and won't ever be in the "in" crowd, but they serve their masters regardless. <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-big-lie-of-covid-herd-immunity.html" target="_blank">Arijit Chakravarty</a> explains the phenomenon of experts-in-error:</p><p></p><blockquote>"The situation is the same for covid now as it was for tobacco then. There is a flood of information pouring out literally every week about how much harm the 'unlimited covid' strategy is doing to individuals, public health and the economy. This is where the always-wrong 'expert opinion' comes in. There are people out there willing to say anything (for money/clout); it's these people that the media specifically seek out. They almost always take positions that are unsupported by the data. This is not a bug - it's a feature. . . . The people who are willing to play this game are not part of a giant conspiracy. They're just rats in a Skinner Box: they know that if they push the lever clearly labeled 'bullshit' they will be rewarded for it." </blockquote><p></p><p>I can't help reasoning it in reverse that <i>why</i> they might be rewarded has to be because it's <i>benefitting</i> somebody somewhere. Rising Covid illnesses don't seem to be helping the economy or lining pockets as much as might have been imagined, so I'm going down the path of just basic <i>survival</i> from the deaths and disability of many over the next few years. </p><p>It's just a thought.</p><p>And then we can't blame the general public for not being sure what to believe or for not having the time or inclination to read <i>Nature</i> studies, so they to lean to the message they <i>prefer</i> - the one they <i>want</i> to be true, from these healthcare workers who tell them not to worry about it at all. And now they can make more money for their families by going to work even when they feel like shit, and sending their kids to school coughing and sneezing and dragging themselves through the day, provided they don't feel <i>worse</i> than yesterday!! And it helps employers who can <i>demand</i> that you come back to work or else! But going to work sick only really helps in the very short term.</p><p>I previously wrote a bit about <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2023/07/intersecting-crises-winning-mindset.html" target="_blank">Billionaires in Bunkers</a> and the toxic <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2024/01/mckinseys-effect-on-public-health.html" target="_blank">McKinsey</a>'s hand in it all - the guys who turbocharge fossil fuels, tobacco and opioids. If it's <i>not</i> the case that the people at the top, Chomsky's <i>elites</i>, somehow benefit from the masses falling ill, then their ignorance of the data around Long Covid and around shortening the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/01/health/covid-isolation-cdc.html" target="_blank">isolation period</a>, means they're all complete imbeciles. It's still a toss up! </p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/PlaguePoems/status/1763658721228390634" target="_blank">Plague Poems:</a></p><p></p><blockquote>All of us were told<br />that we must be willing<br />to make sacrifices<br />unfortunately<br />as it turns out<br />some of us are the sacrifice<br />others are willing to make.</blockquote><p></p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-53834092321899197592024-03-02T06:00:00.034-05:002024-03-02T06:00:00.149-05:00No Going Back<p>Conflict, climate, and covid are showing us the worst of ourselves, but it might be what we need to find our collective humanity.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4BRNhtxyy4t2QQJ8Ni6bOQuGNjTpeGZ57vIjcd5wwAfzOwhpon1-HwoXkFdVOoIQdz7WGrfNG6lRYPXu1B_eoLqOckcamYNlxGFSKu3J6ACHdIOBLEkwFEkuqZlIyS8KAAeWnnuJpOCzJNkjompR1jhP1Br3lVOQRcTDvV4Hc3g5n5OnlR7C4Vnad7Yx/s960/aaa.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="871" data-original-width="960" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4BRNhtxyy4t2QQJ8Ni6bOQuGNjTpeGZ57vIjcd5wwAfzOwhpon1-HwoXkFdVOoIQdz7WGrfNG6lRYPXu1B_eoLqOckcamYNlxGFSKu3J6ACHdIOBLEkwFEkuqZlIyS8KAAeWnnuJpOCzJNkjompR1jhP1Br3lVOQRcTDvV4Hc3g5n5OnlR7C4Vnad7Yx/w489-h444/aaa.jpeg" width="489" /></a></div><p><a href="https://twitter.com/ecomarxi/status/1763330092116181236" target="_blank">Tiberius </a>wrote:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>"The old world is no longer dying, it is dead.
There is no going back to how things were after this genocide has been live-streamed in high definition and Technicolour for the world to see and our leaders to endorse. The bloodthirsty status quo has been revealed to too many people, and some cats will simply not go back into their bags. </p><p>I know what the inside of skulls look like now.
I know how bodies burn and how limbs come off.
I know that children never look more devastatingly innocent than when they’ve been killed by a vicious army using the world’s most advanced weaponry. I know this because I’ve seen so many of them now—so many more than the sum of all the living children I will likely ever know.
I know how much pain a person can bear and still exist in this world—just ask any Palestinian still alive.
There are so many images I will never forget that everything outside of Gaza seems as meaningless as what colour socks I wear. </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>But it’s not just the horrors of the moment—those horrors aren’t new. In spite of the increased severity, Palestinians have known these horrors for longer than I’ve existed.
It’s what this horror means, as well. It means that any single tyrant can murder any of us at will with our entire families, neighbourhoods and communities and world leaders will not act to stop them.
It means that savages in suits can kill us all with advanced drones and we can share the corpses of our children with billions of people, and the media will excuse it, scapegoat our kin and divert attention away by any means necessary.
It means the legal apparatus set up in the wake of the Holocaust to prevent another Holocaust from occurring is meaningless, because the very nations who ratified it in law will ignore its clear imperatives and even subvert and attack those who try to enforce it. <p></p><p>In this moment, Israel’s actions have cost the entire world more than anyone can quantify, and the depraved and twisted Western coalition that has supported the Israeli regime has ensured that cost is deep and that we all must bear it.
We will either drift further into chaos and warfare that will touch us all, or we will achieve material change that denounces and fundamentally alters the mechanics of power—those that currently deem the blood of tens of thousands of children an insufficient currency for purchasing peace.</p><p>This, I believe, is the great battle of our time, and it’s not going away. The old world is dead, that’s for sure, and the monsters are fully in control. The question is, what can we do about it?"</p></blockquote><p>And in the comments: </p><p></p><blockquote>"I remind people who are horrified by what is going on that over a million were killed in Iraq alone just two decades ago, but there was no social media as we have it today. . . . To be honest, the old world was only any good for the people who sat in their privilege. It's shameful it's taken the slaughter of Palestine for us to get our heads out of our arses and realise just how bad life is for so so many."</blockquote><p></p><p>And then <a href="https://twitter.com/SocioAnalytic/status/1763459259608563907?s=20" target="_blank">Bruno Boccara</a> responded at length:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>"This is a very harsh, albeit truthful. Yet I would like to contribute what I believe is a fundamental point. </p><p>In psychosocial analysis (think psychoanalysis applied to entire societies), early indicators, at times even seemingly (but wrongly) insignificant, can reveal with an acute precision where we collectively are at psychosocially. As such, the manufactured yet accepted willingness of individuals everywhere to let go of public health during the pandemic was actually (and not in hindsight) when the world died (notice that I even abstracted from using old). Compassion and empathy, even for one’s own children not to mention oneself, disappeared then. </p><p>This implies that the capacity and willingness to identify with one another had been erased. There is no such thing as society once that capacity seizes to exist. And rather than pandemic policies being manufactured by the Deep State, they were first and foremost a response to the extinction anxieties brought upon by the pandemic and, even if more unspoken, climate change. </p><p>The pandemic is the fatal deed, our collective ground zero, in the sense that it revealed and exacerbated the psychosocial dynamics that became the backbone to the Age of Contempt that is now upon us. I agree that the costs of the horrors we are witnessing today exceeds our imagination. I agree about the likelihood of chaos and warfare. I also agree that major changes are urgently needed. However, as I have argued often, these will require a profound modification of our psychosocial environments. </p><p>This implies working through collectively the myriad of societal level, largely unconscious, collective defenses mobilized that have led us where we are at right now. This goes beyond the power structure and the obvious depravity that can come with it. While it may be too late in what are likely now pre extinction ages, a good place to start - while of course stopping the genocide immediately- remains public health. If we are unable to work through collectively on an issue that affects us all directly, there is no hope to successfully address at the level of entire societies issues such as genuine capacity for identification which has been eroded by primary narcissism and grandiose fantasies fueled by consumerism and social media."</p></blockquote><p></p><p>And some comments,</p><p></p><blockquote>"The loom of climate change is eclipsed by the smaller more immediate Covid and now genocide. Maybe this is an issue with instant gratification hard wired into us but made pathological by capitalism? . . . Also further back. Iraq. Neoliberalism. Vietnam. McCarthyism. Atomic bomb. Residential schools. The Trail of Tears. Slavery. Terra Nullius. It's a social fabric built on death. On a hierarchy of who lives on top of the corpses of who. It's always been decaying. . . . I'm not sure anymore that We, identifying as a complex, disembodied, digitally mediated, mass production and consumption system, can collectively 'work through' the issues, because the issues are precisely a product of this over-inflated faux community of individual units. But, if we're lucky, the collapsing will paradoxically bring us back to living at a more human, organic level with each other, where at least there is a chance of 'working through' problems in actual physical communities over which we each have some real agency."</blockquote><p></p><p>There have always been wars and people turning their backs on the slaughtered, and I've taught about many of them for decades, but now we can see it in real time from civilian phones. There's no ideal conflict-free time to go back <i>to</i>. Having resigned myself to a world with continuous wars, it was public health and governments turning their backs on their own people, here and now, that was the gut-punch. In my city, that felt like removing protections went hand in hand with bulldozing the property of unhoused people. It doesn't compare to the severity of genocide, but the carelessness and heartlessness of official actions against our own really exemplifies that this is a class conflict at a time and place where we like to pretend there are no class divisions! All are welcome, but not if you're poor or try to help prevent the spread of disease for people not privileged enough to attend private schools or work at Queen's Park, where the CO2 levels are kept low. Or attend a <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2023/01/leading-by-example-or-whats-good-for.html" target="_blank">Davos Forum </a>where they require a Covid PCR test upon arrival and have state-of-the-art ventilation systems with N95s available throughout. </p><p>The bulk of us are expendable, required to work without precautions even <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2024/03/willful-blindness.html" target="_blank"><i>while</i> <i>sick </i></a>and contagious. We are and will be cannon fodder if/when the conflicts continue to grow. </p><p>But I appreciate that final commenter - that maybe we've all seen things that will bring us around to finally working collectively and globally, towards a sense of humanity and community. We <i>did</i> used to care about collective public health after all. From <a href="https://twitter.com/RageSheen/status/1763362393772707847" target="_blank">Henry Madison and commenters</a>:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>"70% of those infected with polio are asymptomatic. 25% get mild disease. And yet there was a global effort to eliminate, and now eradicate, the disease. Because once upon a time communities didn't partition themselves into 'normal' and 'vulnerable' people. . . . Fewer than 1% experience any sort of paralysis, and only like 0.01% of people needed an iron lung. . . . And yet we still mounted a massive international effort to eliminate and then eradicate the disease. . . . It was, still is, possible to eliminate SARS-CoV-2. It is actually quite easy, but it will not be done because humanity has mentally and morally fallen to a level from which it can no longer recover, so it is heading towards self-extinction. . . . These days, the mantra is 'if it doesn't personally affect me right now, then it doesn't matter.' . . . The adolescent life philosophy. Though I think that even short-changes adolescents now. . . . And communities and leaders didn't homicidally obfuscate with blather about 'individual choice' and 'individual responsibility' that atomizes any shared effort/shared reality. And parents literally protested energetically that the polio vaccines weren't available fast/fully enough. </p></blockquote><p>I hold out a sliver of hope that we can find ourselves again. But the big question is, how far will the pendulum swing towards acceptance of atrocities before it begins its journey back again.</p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-26872597943307383232024-03-01T09:04:00.003-05:002024-03-02T08:01:41.780-05:00Willful Blindness<p> Margaret Heffernan explains the term and the CDC provides a great example of it!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBeSfhZIZGXEkNGLhqj1Dq75D5xxlUsIcTtKg2et51ftsxRpTzJi5REHDKkTdmrf_uZtUFUyYxUUanIRslh4R-lreh5ToHUEme2iOz8vBzpLb4lzHPBR9QARmcp5C6dyGNtBA7kmVEfxo_UlFQ5Qwo0iVK2BOxi7aidBpFUWJt332rCWCAm0SQlB2gP3n/s660/gayla.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="660" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBeSfhZIZGXEkNGLhqj1Dq75D5xxlUsIcTtKg2et51ftsxRpTzJi5REHDKkTdmrf_uZtUFUyYxUUanIRslh4R-lreh5ToHUEme2iOz8vBzpLb4lzHPBR9QARmcp5C6dyGNtBA7kmVEfxo_UlFQ5Qwo0iVK2BOxi7aidBpFUWJt332rCWCAm0SQlB2gP3n/w473-h313/gayla.jpeg" width="473" /></a></div><p>Heffernan lectures to MBA classes and runs a few businesses and such, so she's not someone I'd typically follow, but this is a great talk, and only 14 minutes, but the gist of it is in the slightly abridged transcript below:</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PCetmZUzB5w?si=4tNIex_jsRO4uklv" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><blockquote><p>In Libby, Montana,
there's a rather unusual woman named Gayla Benefield [pictured above].
She always felt a little bit of an outsider,
although she's been there almost all her life
—a woman of Russian extraction.
She told me that when she went to school,
she was the only girl who ever chose to do mechanical drawing.
Later in life, she got a job going house to house
reading utility meters, gas meters, electricity meters.
And she was doing the work in the middle of the day.
And one thing particularly caught her notice, which was,
in the middle of the day, she met a lot of men who were at home
— middle-aged, late middle-aged —
and a lot of them seemed to be on oxygen tanks.
Struck her as strange. </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>Then, a few years later, her father died at the age of 59,
five days before he was due to receive his pension.
"He'd been a miner," she thought,
"he must just have been worn out by the work."
But then, a few years later [in 1998],
her mother died,
and that seemed stranger still,
because her mother came from a long line of people
who just seemed to live forever.
In fact, Gayla's uncle is still alive to this day and learning how to waltz.
It didn't make sense
that Gayla's mother should die so young.
It was an anomaly
and she kept puzzling over those anomalies
and as she did, other ones came to mind.
She remembered, for example, when her mother had broken a leg
and went in the hospital and she had a lot of X-rays.
Two of them were leg X-rays, which made sense,
but six of them were chest X-rays, which didn't.
She puzzled and puzzled over every piece of her life and her parent's life,
trying to understand what she was seeing.
She thought about her town. <p></p><p>The town had a vermiculite mine in it.
Vermiculite was used for soil conditioners,
to make plants grow faster and better.
Vermiculite was used to insulate lofts;
huge amounts of it, put under the roof
to keep houses warm during the long Montana winters.
Vermiculite was in the playground,
it was in the football ground, it was in the skating rink.
What she didn't learn until she started working this problem,
is vermiculite is a very toxic form of asbestos.
When she figured out the puzzle,
she started telling everyone she could.
What it happened, what had been done to her parents,
and to the people that she saw on oxygen tanks,
at home, in the afternoons.
But she was really amazed, she thought:
"<b>When everybody knows, they will want to do something."
But actually, nobody wanted to know</b>. </p><p>In fact, she became so annoying as she kept insisting on telling the story
to her neighbours, to her friends, to other people in the community,
that eventually, a bunch of them got together and made a bumper sticker
which they proudly displayed on their cars, which said:
"Yes, I'm from Libby, Montana, and no, I don't have asbestosis."
But Gayla didn't stop.
She kept doing research.
The advent of the Internet definitely helped her.
She talked to anybody she could.
She argued and argued and finally she struck lucky
when a researcher came through town studying the history of mines in the area.
And she told him her story,
and at first, of course, like everyone, he didn't believe her,
but he went back to Seattle and he did his own research,
and he realised that she was right.
So, now, she had an ally. </p><p>Nevertheless, people still didn't want to know.
They said things like: "<b>Well, if it were really dangerous,
someone would have told us</b>."
"If that's really why everyone was dying,
the doctors would have told us."
Some of the guys used to very heavy jobs, said:
"I don't want to be a victim, I can't possibly be a victim,
and anyway, every industry has its accidents."
But still, Gayla went on,
and finally succeeded in getting a federal agency to come to town
and to screen the inhabitants of the town,
15,000 people.
And what they discovered
was that the town had a mortality rate
80 times higher than anywhere in the United States.
That was in 2002,
and even at that moment,
no one raised their hand to say:
"Gayla, look in the playground where your grandchildren are playing.
It's lined with vermiculite." </p><p>This wasn't ignorance.
It was willful blindness.
Willful blindness is a legal concept
which means if there's information that you could know and you should know
but you somehow manage not to know,
the law deems that you are willfully blind,
you have chosen not to know.
There's a lot of willful blindness around these days.
You can see willful blindness in banks,
when thousands of people sold mortgages to people who couldn't afford them.
You could see them in banks when interest rates were manipulated
and everyone around knew what was going on,
but everyone studiously ignored it.
You can see willful blindness in the Catholic Church,
where decades of child abuse went ignored.
You could see willful blindness
in the run-up to the Iraq war.
Willful blindness exists on epic scales like those,
and it also exists on very small scales,
in people's families, in people's homes and communities,
and particularly, in organizations and institutions.
Companies that had been studied for willful blindness,
can be asked questions like:
"<b>Are there issues at work
that people are afraid to raise?</b>"
And when academics have done studies like these
--of corporations in the United States--
what they find is 85% of people say yes.
<b>85% of people know there's a problem,
but they won't say anything.</b>
And when I duplicated the research in Europe,
asking all the same questions,
I found exactly the same number,
85%.
That's a lot of silence.
It's a lot of blindness. . . . </p><p>What the research shows is that some people are blind out of fear,
they're afraid of retaliation,
and some people are blind because they think:
"Well, seeing anything is just futile, nothing's ever going to change.
If we make a protest, if we protest against the Iraq war,
nothing changes, so why bother?
Better not to see this stuff at all."
And the recurrent theme that I encounter all the time is people say:
"Well you know, the people who do see, they're whistleblowers,
and we all know what happens to them."
So there's this profound mythology around <b>whistleblowers
which says, first of all, they're all crazy</b>.
But what I've found going around the world and talking to whistleblowers
is, actually, they're very loyal
and quite often, very conservative people.
They're hugely dedicated to the institutions that they work for
and the reason that they speak up, the reason they insist on seeing,
is because <b>they care so much about the institution
and want to keep it healthy</b>.
And the other thing that people often say about whistleblowers
is: "Well, there's no point
because you see what happens to them,
they're crushed, they're destroyed.
Nobody would want to go through something like that."
And yet, when I talk to whistleblowers,
the recurrent tone that I hear, is pride. . . . </p><p>We all enjoy so many freedoms today,
hard-won freedoms:
the freedom to write and publish without fear of censorship,
a freedom that wasn't here the last time I came to Hungary.
A freedom to vote,
which women in particular had to fight so hard for.
The freedom for people of different ethnicities,
and cultures, and sexual orientation,
to live the way that they want.
But freedom doesn't exist,
if you don't use it.
And what whistleblowers do,
and what people like Gayla Benefield do,
is they use the freedom that they have.
And what they're very prepared to do
is recognise that "yes, this is going to be an argument,
and yes, I'm going to have a lot of rouse
with my neighbours and my colleagues and my friends.
But I'm going to become very good at this conflict.
I'm going to take on the naysayers
because they'll make my argument better and stronger.
I can collaborate with my opponents
to become better at what I do."
These are people of immense persistence,
incredible patience,
and an absolute determination
not to be blind
and not to be silent. </p><p>When I went to Libby, Montana,
I visited the asbestosis clinic
that Gayla Benefield brought into being.
A place where, at first,
some of the people, who wanted help and needed medical attention,
went in the back door,
because they didn't want to acknowledge that she'd been right.
I sat in a diner and I watched
as trucks drove up and down the highway
carting away the earth out of gardens,
and replacing it
with fresh uncontaminated soil.
I took my 12-year-old daughter with me
because I really wanted her to meet Gayla.
And she said, "Why? What's the big deal?"
I said: "She's not a movie star, and she's not a celebrity,
and she's not an expert,
and Gayla's the first person who'd say she's not a saint.
The really important thing about Gayla
is she's ordinary."
She's like you, and she's like me.
She had freedom,
and she was ready to use it.</p><p></p></blockquote><p>Heffernan doesn't mention the lawsuit Gayla helped win for workers in her town to the tune of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/25/us/asbestos-libby-montana.html" target="_blank">$36.5 million</a>. </p><p>I don't know how people can be so willfully blind to the most recent studies, and the <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2024/02/your-brain-on-covid.html" target="_blank">many studies</a> that have come out since 2020, that show that Covid has long term effects on children, particularly their brain development. People just keep hoping the data are wrong or that the children in their lives will beat the odds and not be in the 19.4% of people with <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2024/01/more-on-covid-and-brain.html" target="_blank">severe brain damage</a> after a mild case, or the 53.5% of people with severe brain damage with Long Covid. They might not believe it's true until they know someone, personally, who's profoundly disabled by Covid. But now that we've stopped testing, we run the danger that many cases will be mislabelled, and then we'll feel even <i>safer</i> from a very real and present danger. </p><p>Dr. <a href="https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1763402220668658163" target="_blank">Eric Feigl-Ding</a> is using <i>his</i> freedom to call out the CDC today for their complicity in perpetuating transmission of Covid by doing shoddy data analysis to conclude that it's cool to go to work and school when you're sick as long as you feel better today than yesterday. This is American, but we tend to follow their lead, so it'll be coming here too. In a nutshell, the economy can't manage with so many off work sick and there are concerns with so many kids missing so much school because they're sick, so, instead of <i>preventing</i> illness, the Center for Disease Control <i>and Prevention </i>is just changing the rules to make it so you have to work <i>while</i> still sick (and contagious)!! Clever monkeys!</p><p></p><blockquote><p>I am devastated—I saw with my eyes what’s coming from CDC tomorrow. My sources told me on what their rationale is based. And based on what I know (epidemiologist for 20 years)—it is complete bullshit crafted on thin flimsy data. I can’t believe CDC has such incompetent leaders. What the CDC is doing is relaxing the guidelines of isolation to effectively ‘you can go out and have fun as long as you’re improving since yesterday’. Yes it’s ridiculous. Others have written on it. And it is totally public health abdication. What are the hell are folks at the CDC thinking??? </p><p>First of all, someone in CDC did a very basic short term state-level analysis of a certain unnamed states (you can guess which) that did the shitty policy early and look at the rough short term correlations. But covid had already peaked / peaking in the big state by the time the crap policy was enacted!!! Why is this junk? Well if they base recommendations on a peak that is passing / has passed, then there would be little signal. In epidemiology, the “signal to noise” ratio matters to detect a signal over background noises in the data. Also if it based on mainly one major (mega) state— then any signal's hard to see. Plus, third no signal seen if ALMOST NOBODY IN LAY PUBLIC HEARD THE POLICY in first place! </p><p>Now let’s talk about junk state level ECOLOGIC CORRELATIONS— When I first started my doctoral epidemiology program, I was warned by faculty mentors of a golden rule in epidemiology — never trust short term ecological studies. I was taught to almost never do state level epidemiology correlations because of their notorious unreliability in short term data for both reasons of ECOLOGIC FALLACY, CONFOUNDING bias, and junk NOISE NOISE NOISE! What “Ecological fallacy”? Well it’s when you label a higher unit of analysis with the same label pretending people inside the group do the same thing — eg correlation analysis of “violent crime by state, versus condom / BC pill use frequency by state” — if you did such an analysis you would spuriously conclude that birth control use leads to violent crime, or crime leads to pill use” — it is not only CONFOUNDED, but you also <i>don’t know</i> that PILL USERS are the actual ones who committed the crime!!! Or in our case that just cuz a policy was quietly enacted in a mega state that anyone heard about it or actually did the thing the policy told them to. This is the ecologic fallacy of state level data—you don’t know who’s actually doing the thing.</p><p>Now about the other CONFOUNDING bias problem — as we all know US states are highly highly different from one another—a myriad of social cultural political and demographic difference between states. Whenever you do correlation analysis of them (especially in short term data), the correlation with “other factors” besides the X factor of interest can completely bias the results. Classic example is a study of people’s “condom use and household appliances” — very strong association - but does it mean using condoms will lead to spontaneous more toasters and TVs? Or buying TV sets will lead to more condom use? Of course not. Such a factor is confounded by other variables like wealth and education, etc. But that’s why STATE LEVEL analysis is very tricky - especially in short term data. I can try to statistically adjust for them, but in short term data it’s very unstable to do so in data. I’ve tried in my early career 20 years ago - got scolded by a trust faculty mentor (who is now a Dean of a major SPH) who told me never try to publish or base policies on state level analysis— short term CONFOUNDING AND ECOLOGIC FALLACIES renders them shoddy and unstable 99% of the time. Yet, this is what the new CDC guidelines are supposedly based on!!! Wtf. They fail Epidemiology 101!!! </p><p>According to sources, the data analysis is mainly based on change in COVID levels after a certain state announced & enacted a similar controversial isolation relaxation policy — on Jan 9th 2024!!! It’s a brand new policy after the Nov-Dec 2023 wave had already peaked! The peak is visible in the Biobot Analytics and CDC’s very own NWSS data. Thus using state data (see other major flaws above) for analyzing a policy enacted after the national wave has already peaked and hoping to find a signal above the noise of the immediate post-holiday season is ludicrous—especially with such short term data!!! Not finding any signal would be the expected default — which is what this kind of shoddy analysis is pre-destined to do! Again, what the holy hell CDC. </p><p>Also, even worse—the enactment of this rule to relax isolation guidelines without any period of public comment is potentially illegal / inappropriate under California law. The <a href="https://whn.global/" target="_blank">WHN</a>
will soon be filing a formal complaint that under CA legal framework - “Underground Regulations” - such a health guideline cannot be enacted without a period of public comment. We at the WHN will be posting a formal complaint to CA very shortly. Stay tuned. But hey, CDC will jump at the chance to use shoddy data based on shoddy enacted state level policy. If you want to complain to the
@CDCgov
- then feel free to call the CDC tomorrow at 1-800-232-4636 and tell them how you really feel about their new supposed “health” guidelines. . . . Think about this— what if the CDC says - 📌‘NO NEED FOR CONDOMS ANYMORE IF YOUR HERPES OR SYPHILIS SYMPTOMS ARE IMPROVING SINCE YESTERDAY!!!’📌—because that is exactly the analogous policy the CDC is now enacting with their new ‘to hell with it’ respiratory guidelines! </p></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6WeUrG_X80xBobtyIcqMBP8RiJ4nCWu10ikax6-BCyG7TFwOkpul4TJCGR-Ffsq-m3AGMxvlmRBxl98vWAPzL5o_vp5RfRaClBUJvjDzWNHWUXQ9KKMuwV_znT3aVYz7MHjBKAFZb2dW3etCYAbuba-xyq2-vjxCHAqRWYz3It24BrIwJ0zaSm2Vh-tM/s1155/aaa%20cdc.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="1155" height="407" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6WeUrG_X80xBobtyIcqMBP8RiJ4nCWu10ikax6-BCyG7TFwOkpul4TJCGR-Ffsq-m3AGMxvlmRBxl98vWAPzL5o_vp5RfRaClBUJvjDzWNHWUXQ9KKMuwV_znT3aVYz7MHjBKAFZb2dW3etCYAbuba-xyq2-vjxCHAqRWYz3It24BrIwJ0zaSm2Vh-tM/w484-h407/aaa%20cdc.jpeg" width="484" /></a></div><br /><p> </p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-44214315198445523502024-02-29T07:33:00.002-05:002024-02-29T07:33:18.399-05:00Permitting Preventable Suffering in Children<p>Recent studies <i>still</i> show that Covid is serious, particularly in children, and that masks and filtering the air in schools can dramatically reduce the spread.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_iTjeFtWJ1UWvx7N_IWFRKD9JtsEOz8XBw8EzkX5YPBNonqKdZUuRSKDSyOgdPFiWd7udn36Y0e7g-uyWmsw3jw43NSJQFPRjMrUpGqaTSBtfMTiZkufOCX9A6Fccg9-1Nfp4iwdkWqYny7JsUcLo9wz5EBp1CZk4NoX2P58ROKnmEmJMn0VjsWlgV2qc/s1200/aa%20brains.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1200" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_iTjeFtWJ1UWvx7N_IWFRKD9JtsEOz8XBw8EzkX5YPBNonqKdZUuRSKDSyOgdPFiWd7udn36Y0e7g-uyWmsw3jw43NSJQFPRjMrUpGqaTSBtfMTiZkufOCX9A6Fccg9-1Nfp4iwdkWqYny7JsUcLo9wz5EBp1CZk4NoX2P58ROKnmEmJMn0VjsWlgV2qc/w475-h278/aa%20brains.jpeg" width="475" /></a></div><p>Katherine Wu, in<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2024/02/covid-anniversary-flu-isolation-cdc/677588/" target="_blank"> <i>The Atlantic</i></a> asks, </p><blockquote><p>"Why are we still flu-ifying Covid? The diseases are nowhere near the same. . . . In 2023, Covid hospitalized more than 900,000 Americans and killed 75,000; the worst flu season of the past decade hospitalized 200,000 fewer people and resulted in 23,000 fewer deaths. A recent CDC survey reported that more than 5% of American adults are currently experiencing Long Covid, which cannot be fully prevented by vaccination or treatment, and for which there is no cure. Plus, scientists simply understand much less about the coronavirus than flu viruses. Its patterns of spread, its evolution, and the durability of our immunity against it all may continue to change. . . . And yet, the CDC and White House continue to fold Covid in with other long-standing seasonal respiratory infections . . . show[ing] how bent America has been on treating Covid as a run-of-the-mill disease--making it impossible to manage the illness whose devastation has defined the 2020s. . . . The less people test, the less they'll be diagnosed--and the less they'll benefit from antivirals such as Paxlovid."</p></blockquote><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>She explains that most dangerous is the idea that one vaccination/year is enough, that isolating briefly when actively sick is enough when "symptoms alone don't yet seem enough to determine when mingling is safe . . . infected people can shed the virus after their symptoms beginning to resolve." And then she comes to the biggest disappointment:<p></p><p></p><blockquote>"America's leaders blew right past a middle ground. The U.S. [and Canada] could have built and maintained systems in which everyone had free access to treatments, tests, and vaccines for a longer list of pathogens; it might have invested in widespread ventilation improvements, or enacted universal sick leave. American homes might have been stocked with tests for a multitude of infectious microbes, and masks to wear when people started to cough. Vaccine requirements in health-care settings and schools might have expanded. Instead, 'we seem to be in a more 2019-like place than a future where we're preventing giving each other colds as much as we could,' Bhattacharyya told me. That means a return to a world in which tens of thousands of Americans die each year of flu and RSV, as they did in the 2010s. With Covid here to stay, every winter for the foreseeable future will layer on yet another respiratory virus--and a particularly deadly, disabling, and transmissible one at that."</blockquote><p></p><p>Instead of evolving to better preserve life, we've just expanded our tolerance for preventable suffering. </p><p>Two new studies came out showing the long term harm to the brains of children. The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-55597-2" target="_blank">first study</a> collected brain scan data found brain abnormalities in over 40% of pediatric Covid-19 patients including neurovascular findings, ADEM-like lesions, encephalitic patterns, myelitis, and transient splenial lesions. <a href="https://ijponline.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13052-024-01609-w" target="_blank">The second</a> study looked at the effects of neonatal infection on long-term neurodevelopment, and found that Covid in pregnancy portends prolonged developmental disruptions including impaired psychomotor development and smaller head circumference.</p><p>And the solutions are so <i>easy</i>!! A <a href="https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/3/2/pgae065/7606553?login=false" target="_blank">recent study</a> on mask use when we just had crappy surgical masks found an almost 50% reduction in cases in schools with mandates. But even if you're triggered by masks, we can clean the air! Persistent absence rates in the UK are up to close to a <i>quarter</i> of students, and a recent <a href="https://www.sec-ed.co.uk/content/blogs/school-attendance-time-to-clean-the-air" target="_blank">RCT study</a> found that adding in CR-boxes or HEPAs, that are well-placed and actually running all day, reduced absence rates by more than 20%. <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2023/08/sleeker-and-even-quieter-pc-case-fan.html" target="_blank">These ones are super quiet</a>, almost <i>inaudible</i>, and a low energy draw, and the fact that they're still banned in public schools here is unconscionable. Maybe the increase in wildfire smoke coming our way will change that policy, but what a thing to have to hope for!!</p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-48429468144971915012024-02-27T06:00:00.001-05:002024-02-27T06:00:00.129-05:00Covid Info for Therapists<p>Many people are seeking out therapists to help them with the mental health issues that are a result of Long Covid.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0vgaoSkaIAm4a6f8uFWyUgrqn9qD3EpAIGMhcdsHEacfnZi2uhMAUmcQc15qztcNhORtIcz8ZXM-p5lPvouSU09d3uvH2Qodl5kZ20CI09-BlFF8ygKvaImktgbdb9b70NUxErCxiaPneOoswDV_6hMjGFkm0W8OMYUrChKlGUvtkoNloXMLxsBfNfPb/s1340/aac.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1340" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0vgaoSkaIAm4a6f8uFWyUgrqn9qD3EpAIGMhcdsHEacfnZi2uhMAUmcQc15qztcNhORtIcz8ZXM-p5lPvouSU09d3uvH2Qodl5kZ20CI09-BlFF8ygKvaImktgbdb9b70NUxErCxiaPneOoswDV_6hMjGFkm0W8OMYUrChKlGUvtkoNloXMLxsBfNfPb/w480-h258/aac.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><p>Some of their experiences have been horrific. I've <a href="https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2023/10/inaccessible-accessibility.html#more" target="_blank">written about</a> my own experience with a mildly annoying therapist who wanted to treat my "germophobia" with some CBT and a 5G repeller! The gaslighting is bad enough when you're trying to get help for dealing with administrators that turn a blind eye to the ongoing pandemic, but it's so much worse when you're seriously ill with a virus people still try to deny. The AIDS protests and ME/CFS activists have paved the way for Long Covid sufferers, but it's still frustrating that we have to do it all <i>again</i>! You'd think we could learn from the past 40 years. </p><p>And little is worse when you're sick than being told that it's all in your head. </p><p>Luckily, two burgeoning Marriage and Family Therapists, Olivia Belnap and Erin Batali, created a lovely and <a href="https://covid-for-therapists.my.canva.site/" target="_blank">informative slide deck</a> designed for therapists to help understand clients with Long Covid, and it could be shared with any prospective therapist to ensure they're on the same page <i>before</i> you start therapy. Beyond that, it would be useful for <i>anyone</i> in healthcare to scroll through to make sure they understand the seriousness of this. Or <i>anyone</i> really. </p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-81495698772373699272024-02-26T06:00:00.005-05:002024-03-07T09:34:39.469-05:00Changing Perceptions of Autism<p>I compiled some posts from here into a summary of recent studies on Autism at <i><a href="https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2024/02/perceptions-of-autism.html" target="_blank">3 Quarks Daily</a>, </i>but the word count limit there forced me to cut this bit on the history of our understanding of autism:</p><p><b>1908</b> - "The term ‘<a href="https://www.news-medical.net/health/Autism-History.aspx" target="_blank">autistic</a>’ was used to classify schizophrenic patients who were “severely withdrawn,” setting a trend to diagnose ASD as 'childhood schizophrenia' until the 1940s.
<br /><b>1924</b> - <a href="https://www.spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/history-forgot-woman-defined-autism/" target="_blank">Grunya Sukhareva</a> published reports on children she described as having “schizoid psychopathy.” Despite the name, her theory is very similar to how autism is described today.
<br /><b>1938</b> - <a href="https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-018-0208-6" target="_blank">Hans Asperger</a> received funding from the Nazi party to research children to determine which are more worthy of life. He noticed that some children were very cognitively advanced despite isolating socially, which he named Asperger's Syndrome. <br /><b><span></span></b></p><a name='more'></a><b>1943</b> - <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29667863/" target="_blank">Leo Kanner</a> noticed differences between schizophrenic patients and this group of symptoms that he named ‘Kanner Syndrome'. He started the "refrigerator mother" theory to align with the pervasive Freudian belief at the time that psychological disorders are caused by childhood trauma. Interestingly, "Kanner’s own research classified very few parents as ‘cold’, meaning that this theory was not only wrong, it was obviously wrong," and in <a href="https://simonsfoundation.s3.amazonaws.com/share/071207-leo-kanner-autistic-affective-contact.pdf" target="_blank">Kanner's original paper</a>, he specifically referred to autism as an innate disorder. <br /><b>1964</b> - <a href="https://autism.org/giants/" target="_blank">Bernard Rimland </a>wrote<i> Infantile Autism</i>, and argued that autism was not the result of emotional neglect, but due to neurological and genetic issues from birth, and physicians started to treat ASD using methods more similar to those used with other biologically-based disabilities. <br /><b>1965</b> - <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3571656/" target="_blank">Ivan Lovaas</a> published articles on using "errorless learning" to teach nonverbal children to speak, which included the use of punishers like electric shocks and withholding food. This was the precursor to ABA (applied behavioural analysis) therapy. <br /><b>1967</b> - <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1967-35028-000" target="_blank">Bruno Bettelheim </a>wrote <i>The Empty Fortress</i>, which expanded on Kanner's notion of the cold-hearted mother as the singular cause of ASD in which he compared being autistic to living in a concentration camp. From <a href="https://www.autism-help.org/points-refrigerator-mothers.htm" target="_blank">Autism Help</a>: <p></p><p></p><blockquote> "Some authority was granted to this as well because Bettelheim had himself been interned at the Dachau concentration camp during World War II. The book was immensely popular and Bettelheim became a leading public figure on Autism until his death, when it was revealed that Bettelheim plagiarized others' work and falsified his credentials. Also, three ex-patients questioned his work, characterizing him as a cruel tyrant."</blockquote><p></p><p><b>1974</b> - Lovaas conducted <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1311956/" target="_blank">conversion therapy experiments</a> on a possible trans girl, and he gave <a href="https://just1voice.com/neurodiversity/autism/ole-ivar-lovaas-interview-about-autism/" target="_blank">this interview</a> in which he said, </p><p></p><blockquote>"You start pretty much from scratch when you work with an autistic child. You have a person in the physical sense--they have hair, a nose, and a mouth--but they are not people in the psychological sense. One way to look at the job of helping autistic kids is to see it as a matter of constructing a person. . . . She hit herself again, and I really laid it on her. You see, by then I knew that she could inhibit it, and that she would inhibit it if she knew I would hit her. So I let her know that there was no question in my mind that I was going to kill her if she hit herself once more."</blockquote><b>1980</b> - Autism was added to the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-021-04904-1#Sec3" target="_blank">DSM-III</a> under Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), which was a new class of conditions. The addition was largely due to Kanner's work.
<br /><b>1981</b> - <a href="https://www.spectrumnews.org/opinion/remembering-lorna-wing-1928-2014/" target="_blank">Lorna Wing</a> and <a href="https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/autism-training-and-best-practice/diagnostic-services/the-lorna-wing-team/dr-judith-gould" target="_blank">Judith Gould</a> diagnosed a variety of children in psychiatric hospitals and noticed the variety of behaviours being lumped under one term. They came up with the <b>spectrum theory of autism</b>, divided into four main types: classic autism, Heller's Syndrome, Asperger's Syndrome, and PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified). They also translated Asperger's work into English, and it subsequently became more known in North America.
<br /><b>1987</b> - Lovaas developed ABA or EIBI (early intensive behavioural intervention) with a heavy emphasis on eye contact and language. The punishers of the 60s were replaced with loud noises or a slap to the thigh.<br /><b>1990s</b> - Larger studies were conducted beyond psychiatric institutions, on kids in mainstream schools, and the prevalence rate increased seven times, from 0.1% to 0.7%, or from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in every 140 kids.<br /><b>1994</b> - The <a href="https://www.as-az.org/dsm-iv-diagnostic-classifications/" target="_blank">DSM-IV</a> used Wing & Gould's four categories, dividing autism into different categories.<br /><b>1996</b> - <a href="http://www.myspectrumsuite.com/meet-judy-singer/" target="_blank">Judy Singer</a> coined the term "<b>neurodiversity</b>" to emphasize that many people on the spectrum are different rather than being something in need of fixing.<br /><b>2004</b> - <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/113/5/e472/66709/The-Genetics-of-Autism?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank">Studies</a> identified over 100 genes related to autism, with no difference between the four types, so anyone with autism could have any combination of these genes. More recently, they found <a href="https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2022/august/largest-study-to-date-identifies-new-autism-genes" target="_blank">185 specific genes</a>. So saying there are different types of autism is true like there are different races: it's true practically speaking, but it's not biologically true. Autistic traits, like racial traits, are from many different genetic combinations.<br /><b>2005</b> - <a href="https://www.themarysue.com/the-autism-speaks-controversy-explained/" target="_blank">Autism Speaks</a> was founded to find a cure to end autism with a "Light It Up Blue" campaign.<br /><b>2013 </b>- Because of the genetics findings, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html" target="_blank">DSM-5</a> amalgamated all types of autism diagnoses into ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) with three levels based on how much assistance the person needs with daily functioning.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQZzdrE2DzgANG2VE7NLnIHrTTFhbHISMwLPQu2rFCXCoDowGHQpqElD3LC_e-R2AqKXlkJIxBLGNRIZpP09FA8MpBDmIA-B6ndqs6LiEPujF7kzShkBjCRILc6D5bbP3L-MvIBIGZvRWCdBNrpY3Cu-Adgp9P25A4nWNiJSE_4fWIskUXDMTumdRvyMz/s512/aaa.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="512" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQZzdrE2DzgANG2VE7NLnIHrTTFhbHISMwLPQu2rFCXCoDowGHQpqElD3LC_e-R2AqKXlkJIxBLGNRIZpP09FA8MpBDmIA-B6ndqs6LiEPujF7kzShkBjCRILc6D5bbP3L-MvIBIGZvRWCdBNrpY3Cu-Adgp9P25A4nWNiJSE_4fWIskUXDMTumdRvyMz/w489-h326/aaa.png" width="489" /></a></div><br /><b>2015</b> - <a href="https://intheloopaboutneurodiversity.wordpress.com/2019/03/20/the-ableist-history-of-the-puzzle-piece-symbol-for-autism/" target="_blank">Alanna Rose Whitney</a> started #WalkInRed or #RedInstead as an alternative to #LightItUpBlue, and Steve Silberman wrote <i><a href="https://shop.wordsworthbooks.com/item/OLhLtY6DRbSq_sB0EK9H5A" target="_blank">NeuroTribes</a></i> <p></p><p></p><blockquote>"Instead of investing millions of dollars a year to uncover the causes of autism in the future, we should be helping autistic people and their families live happier, healthier, more productive, and more secure lives in the present. . . . Imagine if society had . . . denied wheelchair users access to public buildings while insisting that some day, with the help of science, everyone will be able to walk. Viewed as a form of disability that is relatively common rather than as a baffling enigma, autism is not so baffling after all. Designing appropriate forms of support and accommodation is not beyond our capabilities as a society . . . but first we have to learn to think more intelligently about people who think differently."</blockquote><p></p><p><b>2019</b> - A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8783568/" target="_blank">meta-analysis of early interventions </a>for ASD found that developmental approaches (intentional support in natural development) and Naturalistic Developmental Behaviour Interventions (NDBI) (teaching skills as part of the natural environment) both show far better effects than behavioural (rewards/punishment) approaches like ABA. However, from what I've seen anecdotally, current ABA practices are much closer to NDBI than anything resembling the original horrific ABA practices, but that's a controversy for another day.</p><p>On a lighter note, comedians are currently some of the best resources for what it's like to live with autism. Here's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaqsScc32nQ&ab_channel=TheLastLeg" target="_blank">Fern Brady</a> on using a different operating system (2 min. video), and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lXbpgU9OWk&ab_channel=NetflixIsAJoke" target="_blank">Hannah Gadsby</a> on being level one (7 min. video) and on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaT__mzkHbA&ab_channel=Skavlan" target="_blank">being wired differently</a> (18 min. video). <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11904786/" target="_blank">Love on the Spectrum</a></i> shows a wide variety of real people with ASD trying to find love. Finally, a few people have written "diagnoses" of Neurotypical behaviours (NPTD) to show people what pathologizing behaviours look like <a href="https://embraceautism.quora.com/A-pathological-look-at-neurotypical-behavior-Part-1" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://theeducationalblog.quora.com/Neurotypicality-as-Pathology" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://troycamplin.medium.com/a-pathological-look-at-neurotypical-behavior-ee77d41e7e81" target="_blank">here</a>. And check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZomGtlmfXE&ab_channel=I%27mAutistic%2CNowWhat%3F" target="_blank">9 Signs You're Probably Not Autistic.</a></p>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-81015702517163766382024-02-25T06:00:00.073-05:002024-02-27T09:21:01.399-05:00Two Steps Forward...<p> It's amazing to get so far in our scientific advances, only to have it tossed aside by misinformation. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApssqh8FAV8gSbGkWI2nHS_ZgT2fll2GjbB8zJ3ThJbPY4NcEqzFGdV1ipBHyWiNHMHCqxR88BIV9fYus_bUEyqN3jqRIY6DtCqnwS8y_s7HSSgAgWGKrM_lTQT6km8o658k2vOzGfoY0K2kI8eIN6L0LonC9dm3lSZZTIpNBvDSOUcrUfH5Femn6jAnx/s500/vaccine.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApssqh8FAV8gSbGkWI2nHS_ZgT2fll2GjbB8zJ3ThJbPY4NcEqzFGdV1ipBHyWiNHMHCqxR88BIV9fYus_bUEyqN3jqRIY6DtCqnwS8y_s7HSSgAgWGKrM_lTQT6km8o658k2vOzGfoY0K2kI8eIN6L0LonC9dm3lSZZTIpNBvDSOUcrUfH5Femn6jAnx/w488-h488/vaccine.jpeg" width="488" /></a></div><p>A <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13100755/Largest-Covid-vaccine-study-finds-shots-linked-small-increased-risk-neurological-blood-heart-disorders-extremely-rare.html" target="_blank"><i>Daily Mail</i> </a>article explained the conclusion of a study that,</p><p></p><blockquote>"They confirmed that the shots made by Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca are linked to significantly higher risk of five medical conditions - including a nerve-wasting condition that leaves people struggling to walk or think."</blockquote><p></p><p>And anti-vaxxers are spreading the news far and wide. </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>The article <i>also</i> says, <p></p><p></p><blockquote>"13 billion doses of vaccines have been administered and there have only been 2,000 cases of all conditions [or 1 in 6.5 million]. . . . They can save millions of lives, and there can be a small number of people who've been adversely affected. Covid vaccines are estimated to have averted more than 19 million deaths worldwide, including three million in the US alone," </blockquote><p></p><p>But that part didn't get as much traction online.</p><p>Employing one of the best uses of Twitter, <a href="https://twitter.com/Debunk_the_Funk/status/1759910756064084296" target="_blank">Debunk the Funk </a>called on the study's author for help on one of the threads: </p><p></p><blockquote>"Hey @ander_hviid, is this an accurate portrayal of your study?'</blockquote><p></p><p>Anders Hviid responded,</p><p></p><blockquote>"The myocarditis/pericarditis associations have been described already. The association between the first Moderna dose an ADEM, if causal, corresponds to 1 case in 1.75 million vaccinated. Extremely rare and only possible to detect because of the huge size of the study. . . . The few serious side effects observed in this and other studies have been rare."</blockquote><p>Why does it matter when so few people are getting vaccinated for Covid <i>anyway, </i>and there are no mandates for it anywhere as far as I know?? </p><p>Because that same rhetoric has dramatically affected vaccination rates for measles too. It started before Covid, but it's gotten worse. The measles vax is so different from the Covid vax in that it actually <i>can</i> eliminate the virus if enough people get it, but the misinformation has taken its toll. At least we have the ability to call on scientists to help, but I'm not beyond some means to stop misinformation on social media. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHI9TWf9u9oLEEayKNlAjR0tcxPtE5dMtflwtKjmJrwRTwOC1uNDZSif7KjB-FadXepmW_8fmZN8mOU2Y4EUnDhiln_hnyXZP8bicEyrHqX7xkgDk5VrOu0wIwN6ZfZ6lDK-KF5FwrQLSzAly3vopFbxZjFGPGqhu9brGS502_h_b252Rh_L5CIl2msmY/s751/age%20specific%20measles%20vax.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="751" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHI9TWf9u9oLEEayKNlAjR0tcxPtE5dMtflwtKjmJrwRTwOC1uNDZSif7KjB-FadXepmW_8fmZN8mOU2Y4EUnDhiln_hnyXZP8bicEyrHqX7xkgDk5VrOu0wIwN6ZfZ6lDK-KF5FwrQLSzAly3vopFbxZjFGPGqhu9brGS502_h_b252Rh_L5CIl2msmY/w494-h275/age%20specific%20measles%20vax.jpeg" width="494" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And from<a href="https://twitter.com/1goodtern/status/1761347079996080130" target="_blank"> tern</a>, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><blockquote>"You see, they've hamstrung themselves.
They've painted themselves into a corner.
They can't mount a strong, appropriate, and adequate response to Measles, because they've ruled it out for Covid. If they acknowledge that Measles is airborne, they have to acknowledge that Covid is airborne. If they acknowledge that respirators work for Measles, they have to acknowledge it for Covid. If they acknowledge isolation works for Measles, they have to do it for Covid. The main defence against Measles in the community is vaccination.
But they've been telling everyone that kids need to catch up with their infections, and enough people have believed them to cause a massive problem. They never said which infections you should and shouldn't get. They've actively told parents that kids will get immunity by catching covid, and they're now afraid to say "no! it's not the same for measles!". If they say "no, it's better to stay off school than to catch measles", then they acknowledge that health is more important than attendance, and you know they've been telling you to send your kids sick to school for nearly two years now. If they start referencing the long term effects of Measles, then questions will be asked about the long term effects of Covid. </blockquote><blockquote>I told you this years ago.
It was part of the inevitable progression when you let political appointees put extremely thick people in charge of public health.
And Measles may get very messy, but it's not going to be the last highly infectious and damaging pathogen to spread. We're entering an age of unreason."</blockquote><p>It's the age of political health instead of public health.</p><div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7KxCYGHgFx6pp3fHRxxFGtXgnvPjLl_Ywx3fGCCA1ql_szjeI4x6518K2OebR486dPk2_hVX6c4yfDQgEMyvMHgHDiK-tVS4XzaiFnj6hYrj8UAi7r_pQ8jfklM_T2WC6E4oiypEkMlGXfQkKgLEEafd39qlP9k_avOoJDte_CnEmpnrgZF_HIWZPfQHd/s2048/aa%20measles%20increase.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1204" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7KxCYGHgFx6pp3fHRxxFGtXgnvPjLl_Ywx3fGCCA1ql_szjeI4x6518K2OebR486dPk2_hVX6c4yfDQgEMyvMHgHDiK-tVS4XzaiFnj6hYrj8UAi7r_pQ8jfklM_T2WC6E4oiypEkMlGXfQkKgLEEafd39qlP9k_avOoJDte_CnEmpnrgZF_HIWZPfQHd/w162-h276/aa%20measles%20increase.jpeg" width="162" /></a><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="279"></col><col width="263"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #ffffff 1pt; border-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left: solid #ffffff 1pt; border-right: solid #ffffff 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #ffffff 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVtPK_EtO2_NvEu5rJy5PwBrAP0d55v7ICpeo97Ekp5hm8PK_YdhaS8BPSqecqWDBptkJDV0h9hHKspC2ZI8fgzuX0XC0tOiBNsp6tyG_ieLVK3bjOCVtbsmpMtBpWSBEWIkLvdVPi3eT5Vc0oWPRPXKCt_KKbpTrobLRGB8lY-H3pvnQ_w10gWqreaLyc/s1940/aa%20measles.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1618" data-original-width="1940" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVtPK_EtO2_NvEu5rJy5PwBrAP0d55v7ICpeo97Ekp5hm8PK_YdhaS8BPSqecqWDBptkJDV0h9hHKspC2ZI8fgzuX0XC0tOiBNsp6tyG_ieLVK3bjOCVtbsmpMtBpWSBEWIkLvdVPi3eT5Vc0oWPRPXKCt_KKbpTrobLRGB8lY-H3pvnQ_w10gWqreaLyc/w273-h271/aa%20measles.jpeg" width="273" /></a></td><td style="border-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a31df5bd-7fff-ad9c-78f3-55354d544735"></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-32997847386646624272024-02-24T06:00:00.017-05:002024-02-25T06:58:54.386-05:00Infection Control Measures Work<p>A <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(23)00312-7/abstract" target="_blank">Lancet study </a>found that there's little Covid transmission in schools WHEN infection control measures were in place. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNXIzKMPHaDSP8dq5AXtXwGjbRej3JNLRl0lsrG0UM0VKSgALnVJk8tsk95PM4WSz6CNdUse1CCEZkYUAjrqplehdHcA_gIRCO9FyZEAkt8aYHR5Kndt1dqYi2GYG9pzkSqzEp4RVnWMd47djRUUwrLbmFYddYHLPzTeEmIhIBQba58Rr_1EJLnXN-EQrM/s2608/Ontario%20Hospitalization%20Jan%2030%202024.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="2608" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNXIzKMPHaDSP8dq5AXtXwGjbRej3JNLRl0lsrG0UM0VKSgALnVJk8tsk95PM4WSz6CNdUse1CCEZkYUAjrqplehdHcA_gIRCO9FyZEAkt8aYHR5Kndt1dqYi2GYG9pzkSqzEp4RVnWMd47djRUUwrLbmFYddYHLPzTeEmIhIBQba58Rr_1EJLnXN-EQrM/w498-h216/Ontario%20Hospitalization%20Jan%2030%202024.png" width="498" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Since we stopped all mitigation efforts, hospitalizations for Covid in Ontario have increased year-round. We don't need lockdowns for Covid, but we do still need N95s until we can clean the air. <div><br /></div><div>From <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/school-closures-may-not-have-been-necessary-to-prevent-spread-of-covid-19-researchers-at-mcmaster-find-1.6770642" target="_blank">CP24</a>:</div><div><blockquote>"The review found that masking, vaccinations and test-to-stay policies were the best methods to reduce Covid-19's spread in schools and daycares. The effectiveness of strategies like mandatory quarantining, cohorting, and hybrid learning is uncertain and may have made 'little to no difference in transmission.'"</blockquote></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span>However, in comments on the study, developmental biologist<a href="https://twitter.com/GosiaGasperoPhD/status/1759965473066959249" target="_blank"> Dr. Malgorzata Gasperowicz</a> said, </div><div><blockquote>"Two-way masking as a Public Health tool got destroyed by flawed studies and bad journalism combo. Now school closures, which is a very effective Public Health tool to sharply reduce the spread of a new or out-of-control pathogen, is being destroyed. That's a reckless game, which weakens our biosecurity. . . . When a pathogen with RO>>3 and IFR>>10% will come and the spread won't be quickly quenched and many people will die because your city/province/state will hesitate for too long to close schools, remember today's dismantling of this biosecurity/Public Health tool." </blockquote><p>And biologist <a href="https://twitter.com/arijitchakrav/status/1759592244456108244" target="_blank">Arijit Chakravarty</a> pointed out elsewhere (and was tagged in this), </p></div><div><blockquote>"Studies that are used to infer a lack of transmission are deeply flawed methodologically, as we explained years ago in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33948609/" target="_blank">this preprint</a>. You cannot use the fact that infection rates are similar between schools and communities to infer that schools are. not driving spread, as we explained in that preprint. And as common sense should make apparent, too - that's using correlation to infer a lack of causality, which is just plain sloppy reasoning. Contract tracing as it was implemented in schools identified about 1% or so of all transmission events, as we explained in <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.03.27.23287812v2" target="_blank">this preprint</a>. So, rigorous studies show that children are often the index case inside households, while sloppy studies (with different methods) show transmission doesn't happen in schools." </blockquote></div><div>To clarify, the Lancet study doesn't say transmission doesn't come from schools, but that transmission doesn't happen much in schools <i>with mitigations</i> that include well-fitting masks. </div><div><br /></div><div>A bigger flaw/omission in the study is that it didn't look <i>at all</i> at cleaning the air in any way. Ideally, masks are in place <i>until</i> we have CO2 levels consistently down to 500ppm in <i>each</i> classroom, with monitors on display everywhere. Add in some upper room UV, and Bob's yer uncle! <a href="https://www.lep.co.uk/education/give-children-and-teachers-the-same-covid-protection-politicians-get-call-for-clean-air-in-lancashires-classrooms-4528491" target="_blank">In one article</a> it was estimated that,</div><div><blockquote>"The cost of installing air filters in every classroom in the UK would be 'eclipsed' by the health, educational and financial benefits of reduced absence and illness amongst pupils and staff who are being exposed to repeat Covid infections."</blockquote></div><div>Covid is a biosafety risk #3, and it's screwing with the economy from so many people being out of work.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL5Xwk75qQyUWxyHFEXoiVuUJ_K-B3xZdvloeGbmr8Zy4T3yHVH4lfZ2vVh_sANkgf-Sqkks1UynRkuVVB6faa5Opcvwhvm1lypOB5yqSZRd2I_Ul3Etg_Ashq57xjHTVGUvi67MEXzh1z082KjdVALXzGmgNSJXO8y6KMPVcnQozPpifBqGLSZ7QBBc3/s1000/biosafety%20risk.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="1000" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL5Xwk75qQyUWxyHFEXoiVuUJ_K-B3xZdvloeGbmr8Zy4T3yHVH4lfZ2vVh_sANkgf-Sqkks1UynRkuVVB6faa5Opcvwhvm1lypOB5yqSZRd2I_Ul3Etg_Ashq57xjHTVGUvi67MEXzh1z082KjdVALXzGmgNSJXO8y6KMPVcnQozPpifBqGLSZ7QBBc3/w489-h268/biosafety%20risk.jpeg" width="489" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rea3ZAGqhf9_p5O0-Nq-6jHg3zZ4CK_YBDA9FhE00iySsClV3B-ewhlQ9cGZgN3dIMhejeugAxAT28_PN-RDLBRzTDDaqe-NmiQEUTlG0djs8YejgWdNonkwMEN2YNeT-diA0dtZ_B7Q12FAFZ98mRwDHzfrcqoNbyqd7wgRKkZH6GaIR9yu4zYj0Run/s2048/out%20of%20work%20due%20to%20illness.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2046" data-original-width="2048" height="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rea3ZAGqhf9_p5O0-Nq-6jHg3zZ4CK_YBDA9FhE00iySsClV3B-ewhlQ9cGZgN3dIMhejeugAxAT28_PN-RDLBRzTDDaqe-NmiQEUTlG0djs8YejgWdNonkwMEN2YNeT-diA0dtZ_B7Q12FAFZ98mRwDHzfrcqoNbyqd7wgRKkZH6GaIR9yu4zYj0Run/w485-h485/out%20of%20work%20due%20to%20illness.jpeg" width="485" /></a></div><div>We know what to do to reduce transmission, we just need the leadership to do it. As much as I'm against the privatization of education, if I had kids in school right now, I'd be sending them to a private school where they <i>are</i> doing everything to clean the air. Nobody (people or animals in labs) has survived getting Covid more than 10 times, and kids are getting it 1-2 times each year. Looks like we're just going to wait to see how bad it can get before we act collectively to implement the solutions <i>we already have</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>In 1985, the CDC complacently reported that 2/3 of men HIV+ for five years didn't develop AIDS, so no worries, right? Not so fast. Another five or ten years down the road, those men were all dead. THIS is why we need to use the precautionary principle when dealing with a novel virus. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmaoomtzGBK_LWtW9YdTcZRylHob4HkvK8dgZRJAY1pOOy7gexd2o8e2JL04JoykfWRRZFKjzeRxExOzr1prxsRA2546kkHAEmcpJhAZzRDwQUdZwIfwg4O4vrmPgI3tVKZz5SkiFEfrSN86DBQpLj5rYJiuhl6pYRhNCIBFOOWFLbCBQ1nV7AS4Wr88X/s2048/aids.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1049" height="759" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmaoomtzGBK_LWtW9YdTcZRylHob4HkvK8dgZRJAY1pOOy7gexd2o8e2JL04JoykfWRRZFKjzeRxExOzr1prxsRA2546kkHAEmcpJhAZzRDwQUdZwIfwg4O4vrmPgI3tVKZz5SkiFEfrSN86DBQpLj5rYJiuhl6pYRhNCIBFOOWFLbCBQ1nV7AS4Wr88X/w389-h759/aids.jpeg" width="389" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The study also thankfully didn't mention handwashing or having kids <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3846148/" target="_blank">cough into their elbow</a>, but maybe those have been debunked enough to just go away. I doubt it, but <i>maybe</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtZwzBj-4Z4P_9eDoHmqPmYlL7_FaOt6Odhi8OQyRZEAfUfoQSIxs5tEbuYc0Pre0IUZTDxqG32GuoRUWPvJ9JeiDy_o0Az75cUQ_dAfmFQGaefigH5lQpcQE6S8hK6JBpVIbAKLLllWahZZLeZ3lXIg6nhxYMNadCMjCxyuWxog1G6R8mph2QaBYgKi1/s626/hand%20washing.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="626" height="477" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtZwzBj-4Z4P_9eDoHmqPmYlL7_FaOt6Odhi8OQyRZEAfUfoQSIxs5tEbuYc0Pre0IUZTDxqG32GuoRUWPvJ9JeiDy_o0Az75cUQ_dAfmFQGaefigH5lQpcQE6S8hK6JBpVIbAKLLllWahZZLeZ3lXIg6nhxYMNadCMjCxyuWxog1G6R8mph2QaBYgKi1/w489-h477/hand%20washing.jpeg" width="489" /></a></div><br />Marie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.com0