luckytran

luckytran, 2 days ago to random

News: Biobot is sunsetting its COVID-19 wastewater public data visualization platform.

While Biobot will continue to publish their contextualized weekly respiratory risk reports, this represents another decrease in data transparency, and a step in the wrong direction.

Source: https://biobot.io/from-raw-data-to-actionable-insights-biobots-evolution-of-public-data-sharing/

luckytran, 3 days ago to random

The US government keeps telling us that COVID is fine now because “we have the tools.”

Well, they stopped requiring the reporting of COVID hospitalization data and they have ended programs for free tests, free masks, and now free vaccines.

We absolutely DO NOT have the tools.

luckytran, 3 days ago to random

The US government is ending the program that provides free COVID vaccines to people who are uninsured and underinsured.

This is a public health failure that will further decrease already low vax rates, and puts marginalized communities at greater risk.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4670459-cdc-ending-free-covid-vaccines-uninsured/

luckytran, 3 days ago to random

Please keep signing and sharing this petition against the banning of masks in North Carolina. It’s helping to get more media attention on the issue!

You can sign here: https://www.change.org/p/halt-the-passage-of-nc-bill-237-banning-masks-in-public?recruited_by_id=0e43e830-125b-11ef-b999-6dfe8a4a6443

luckytran, 3 days ago to random

"lf a person refused to (unmask), that right there should cause you some sense of alarm."

NYC Mayor Eric Adams continues to encourage businesses to request customers to unmask. This is ableist, puts people's health at risk, and is NOT required by law.

video/mp4

luckytran, 4 days ago to random

"So this bill will protect the Ku Klux Klan to wear masks in public, but someone who's immunocompromised like myself cannot wear a mask?"
— North Carolina Senator Sydney Batch, who is a cancer survivor

Unbelievable.

luckytran, 4 days ago to random

An NPR reporter collected samples of raw milk from 4 farms in Texas, and asked a USDA-authorized lab to test for bird flu. The lab refused to do it, because the farms wouldn't give them permission to test, even though permission isn't required. Wow.

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/15/1251647612/a-bird-flu-outbreak-among-dairy-cows-sparks-new-warnings-about-unpasteurized-mil

luckytran, 4 days ago to random

There is zero evidence that mask bans help prevent crime. The goal of mask bans is to scare people away from exercising their First Amendment rights to protest, and to give cops more power to target Black and Brown communities.

luckytran, 4 days ago to random

Cops should never have the power to make health decisions on your behalf. But that will soon be reality in North Carolina, thanks to the anti-public health mask ban.

luckytran, 4 days ago to random

It's ridiculous that most Democrats are just watching passively as Republicans are passing mask bans. In states where Democrats hold power, they should absolutely be passing laws that codify and protect people's rights to wear a mask.

luckytran, 4 days ago to random

While Republicans are responsible for mask bans, the Biden White House is also complicit.

They prematurely told the public to unmask in 2021, they encouraged governors to repeal mask mandates, they said states should decide mask policies, they forced workers back into offices.

luckytran, 4 days ago to random

Republicans complained about government overreach at the start of the pandemic. Yet they are now justifying the use of legislative power in order to ban wearing a mask for health reasons. What an absolute farce.

luckytran, 4 days ago to random

Republicans are trying to take away and criminalize the right to make decisions around our own health, whether that’s the right to wear a mask or the right to have an abortion. Unacceptable.

https://www.wral.com/amp/21433199/

luckytran, 5 days ago to random

"The Raw Milk Institute called the warnings "clearly fearmongering." The institute's founder told the LATimes his customers are specifically requesting raw milk from H5N1-infected cows."

This is an example of how minimizing COVID is destructive to public health far beyond COVID.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/05/anti-pasteurization-crowd-reaffirms-love-of-raw-milk-despite-bird-flu-outbreak/

Yet, raw milk enthusiasts are undaunted by the heightened risk. The California-based Raw Milk Institute called the warnings "clearly fearmongering." The institute's founder, Mark McAfee, told the Los Angeles Times this weekend that his customers are, in fact, specifically requesting raw milk from H5N1-infected cows. According to McAfee, his customers believe, without evidence, that directly drinking high levels of the avian influenza virus will give them immunity to the deadly pathogen.

luckytran, 6 days ago to random

"Since March 25, when the bird flu virus was confirmed in U.S. cattle for the first time, weekly sales of raw cow’s milk have ticked up 21% to as much as 65% compared with the same periods a year ago."

This is why we can't have nice things.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/raw-milk-sales-spike-despite-cdcs-warnings-of-risk-associated-with-bird-flu

luckytran, 8 days ago to random

And sometimes we pause to watch the universe in awe….

Northern lights in New York 🌌

image/jpeg
image/jpeg
image/jpeg

luckytran, 9 days ago to random

Aurora borealis starting to faintly show in New York as clouds part. Not yet easily visible by the naked eye.

luckytran, 9 days ago to random

This North Carolina bill is ridiculous. It justifies punishing protestors for blocking emergency vehicles, yet bans wearing masks for health reasons. This bill is dangerously anti-public health and restricts people's ability to protest and exercise their First Amendment rights.

luckytran, 11 days ago to random

Last week, the requirement for US hospitals to report key COVID data to the federal government ended.

But there's a proposed HHS/CMS rule that would change this, and require hospitals to report key COVID, flu, and RSV hospitalization data outside of public health emergencies.