Democratic members of the #House select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic defended Dr. Anthony #Fauci ahead of Monday's hearing about the #US’ #COVID19#pandemic response, policies & transparency.
The representatives blasted #Republicans’ claims of Fauci’s involvement in starting [for real they had to say this] or covering up the pandemic as a “dangerous” & “cartoonish” narrative.
"The states that mandated paid sick or family leave for hourly workers are in mostly-white states. Given that nearly 20% of low-wage workers are Black, that means they are disproportionately more likely to live in an area where they can't care for themselves or their loved ones if they fall ill during the work week."
"Latin America is experiencing its worst dengue fever outbreak on record. Case numbers in the first 4 ½ months of 2024 are already 238% higher than they were by this time last year, which itself ended with a record 4.1 million cases, according to the Pan American Health Organization. Cases are more than 400% higher than the five-year average."
"The very first canon of nursing … is this: to keep the air [the patient] breathes as pure as the external air, without chilling him.” —Florence Nightingale, c. 1850
Our #PublicHealth systems have learned nothing in 175 years
"A bold project to adopt a pandemic 'treaty' at this week’s World Health Assembly was shelved on Friday as 2 1/2 years of work ran into disagreements over sharing information about pathogens that cause pandemics and the technology used to fight them.
Experts say the best chance now to address pandemics at the assembly will be proposed changes to the WHO’s International Health Regulations, which were set up in 2004."
The CDC’s reported COVID wastewater levels by state show that viral activity is currently “Very High” in Hawaii and “High” in Utah, Wyoming, and Maine. Wastewater levels are “Low” or “Minimal” across all other reporting states and territories as of May 23
"The country's ambulance service is funded by Te Whatu Ora - Heath New Zealand and ACC, which fund about 82 percent of the service, at a cost of about $380 million a year.
The rest is made up through donations, and a part charge of $98 for patients transported by ambulance."
«"I had lots of people say, 'Who cares about the mammary glands? Why do you care about what happens if an influenza virus infects a breast?'" recalled the virologist [Dr. Alyson Kelvin].
"Well, I have a long list of reasons. But it was really hard to get more funding to understand the answers to those questions."»
"Amid ever-stricter regulation targeting cigarettes, big tobacco companies and new entrants have begun offering smoking alternatives such as vapes, which they say are aimed at adult smokers.
But the WHO and industry watchdog STOP said in a joint report these products are often marketed to youth, their design and fruity flavours appeal to children and young people are more likely to use them than adults in many countries."
"For years, oil refineries across the country have pumped out dangerous levels of benzene, a toxic chemical that can cause leukemia and other blood cancers.
But in a rare example of environmental progress, benzene emissions from nearly all of those refineries have recently plummeted due to strong federal regulations and oversight, according to a new analysis by a watchdog group."
"Private equity firms owned more than 20% of the health-care companies that went bankrupt last year. The nonprofit Private Equity Stakeholder Project, which investigates multiple industries, said it spotted at least 17 such bankruptcies in 2023, compared with eight in 2019 and even fewer during the previous three years, marking a 112.5% increase over the last five years."
With private equity firms failing to find success in healthcare, and with rural hospitals unable to keep their doors open, now is perfect time for the US government to take the healthcare industry public.
Profit and healthcare don't mix. Scoop up the hospitals and clinics for pennies on the dollar and restore healthcare access to rural areas.
#IDMastodon#publichealth A longer flight duration is associated with a greater risk of #SARSCoV2 transmission (> 6 hours markedly increased risk (25X) . 😷 & sanitation based on travel duration may become important for air travel safety in future epidemics or pandemics
"When her doctor recommended that she not lift more than 25 pounds, her employer wouldn’t let her move temporarily to a role where she didn’t need to lift furniture, even though those roles were available, she said. She was forced to go on leave and then lost her job. Her marriage unraveled and she spent time after the birth in emergency housing."
People in Baltimore have been dying of overdoses at a rate never before seen in a major American city.
The city was once hailed for its response to #addiction. But as #fentanyl flooded streets & ofcls shifted priorities, deaths hit unprecedented heights.
The organizers of @pycon have given community organizers a massive gift 🎁
Let's not squander it!
A sold out#PyConUS 2024 proved that even large events can prioritize safety and inclusion for caregivers and immunocompromised people by way of requiring masks, and gathering venue data to calibrate their policy from year-to-year. Smaller events have proven it's possible at that scale, too.
Now is the time for at least one other large event to step up.
When H5N1 goes off the rails as it almost certainly will in the not-too-distant future, who do you want to be in charge of the country?
Competent leaders and scientists or a clown show. Because this stuff is not a joke.
A new unreviewed preprint is ringing alarm bells about the possibility of human to human transmission coming from cows. (Similar to the problem with pigs.) It's not good.
“As a physician I am deeply concerned about North Carolina’s potential total ban on mask-wearing. It’s disturbing to think immunocompromised and cancer patients could be deemed criminals for following medical advice aimed at safeguarding their health,” [Jerome] Adams said in one post.