Pasteurization is popular. Medicare telehealth coverage expires at the end of March.
Anti-vax ICE official's white supremacist extremist social media alt account revealed.
Pasteurization is popular because milkborne pathogens are not.
Russell W. Currier, John A. Widness, A Brief History of Milk Hygiene and Its Impact on Infant Mortality from 1875 to 1925 and Implications for Today: A Review, Journal of Food Protection, Volume 81, Issue 10, 2018, Pages 1713-1722, ISSN 0362-028X, https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-18-186 Developed by Louis Pasteur in 1864, pasteurization evolved from the commercially important parboiling of wine and beer when the Industrial Revolution was effecting rapid societal change in Western societies. In European and American societies of the early and mid-19th century, infant mortality rates were 30- to 60-fold higher than the current rates of five or six deaths per 1,000 live births per year. With proof of the germ theory of disease came convincing evidence of the role of microbes in the transmission of infections, which led to the discovery that microbial pathogens were transmissible via milk. Diseases caused by milkborne pathogens include human and bovine tuberculosis, brucellosis, salmonellosis, streptococcal infections, diphtheria, and “summer diarrhea.” With pasteurization of milk, infectious diseases with their high infant mortality rates decreased by only half by the early 20th century, despite concurrent medical and dairy hygiene advances.
Or as Jeff Waldorf, who's worked at a dairy farm in the past said: "All pasteurization does is just heat up the milk and destroy the you know the germs from all the poop." And that about sums it up!!
Trump GUTS CDC As Measles & Other Diseases Come ROARING Back - The Logical Leftist "I worked at a dairy farm when I was younger okay cows are dirty. I don't hate cows. I love beef I you know. I like cows but like they're dirty. They're covered in poop. Lots and lots of cow poop."
The risk just isn't worth it. Especially for the cats.
🗞️ In the news
NBC News - Steve Martin blames ‘SNL 50th COVID curse’ after Martin Short and Maya Rudolph test positive The diagnosis of his "Only Murders in the Building" co-star has forced the postponement of shows on the duo's comedy tour, Martin said. Feb. 21, 2025, 11:30 AM EST By Terry Dickerson "Maya had Covid. Marty has Covid. I wonder why? The SNL 50th Covid curse is real," Martin posted to Instagram on Thursday, along with a photo of the "Bridesmaids" star and his “Only Murders in the Building” co-star star sharing a kiss at the star-studded special.
STAT - Meeting of key CDC vaccine advisory panel, under scrutiny by RFK Jr., is postponed - Official says the session will be rescheduled, but provides no details By Helen Branswell Feb. 20, 2025 The meeting — the agenda for which has been online since early January — was to be held to discuss multiple vaccine issues, and to vote on recommendations for the use of a newly approved vaccine to prevent chikungunya, a mosquito-borne disease; a new meningitis vaccine from GSK, to be marketed as Penmenvy; as well as new recommendations on influenza and RSV vaccines. All advisory committee meetings where votes will take place must have a period for public comment. Members of the public can submit written comments, or ask to enter a lottery to be allowed to make a verbal comment during the meeting. But because HHS would not formally authorize the meeting to proceed, the portal through which public comments would be submitted was not opened. Sources said that this was the final trigger for the decision of the CDC’s ACIP secretariat to ask to postpone the meeting. Nixon said in his brief email that the meeting would be “postponed to accommodate public comment in advance of the meeting.”
NBC Montana Proposed bill would ban administration of mRNA vaccines in Montana by Josh Margolis Fri, February 7th 2025 Legislators heard a bill on Friday that would make Montana the first state to ban the use of mRNA vaccines. House bill 371, sponsored by State Rep. Greg Kmetz (R-Miles City) and introduced alongside a dozen other Republicans, would ban the use of mRNA vaccinations on humans, and provide for misdemeanors to be issued to violators.
Louisiana Department of Health says it will no longer promote mass vaccination By Meg Tirrell, CNN Published 7:08 PM EST, Thu February 13, 2025 The directive, first reported by the Times-Picayune, came the same day anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services. It was timing that Dr. Jennifer Avegno, director of the Health Department for the City of New Orleans, said she didn’t think was a coincidence. “Now they have, in the ultimate health authority in America, someone who has been a champion of the same falsehoods that have been promulgated locally,” Avegno told CNN.
CIDRAP - Report: Severe COVID can catalyze arterial plaque growth, sparking deadly heart problems Mary Van Beusekom, MS February 5, 2025 These effects persist post-infection, regardless of age and underlying conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, said Ge, who called for further research into the underlying mechanisms to enable development of preventive and therapeutic strategies. "It's crucial to anticipate a heavier cardiovascular patient burden in the future, as most infected individuals recover from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection," he said.
The New Republic - Hafiz Rashid / February 18, 2025 RFK Jr. Names First Targets in Chilling Speech as Health Secretary. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s revealed some dark priorities in his first speech to HHS staff. Kennedy made a speech to HHS staff at the Washington, D.C., headquarters Tuesday and announced that he planned to begin investigations into whether anti-depressant medications and the childhood vaccine schedule are responsible for chronic diseases in the United States. The speech was intended for staff only, although a livestream link was distributed. “Nothing is going to be off limits,” Kennedy said, and urged staff to keep an “open mind.” “We will convene representatives of all viewpoints to study the causes for the drastic rise in chronic disease,” Kennedy added. “Some of the possible factors we will investigate were formally taboo or insufficiently scrutinized.” Kennedy’s comments on childhood vaccines contradict his testimony during his Senate confirmation hearings, where he told the Senate Finance Committee, “I support vaccines. I support the vaccine schedule. I support good science.”
The New Republic - Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / February 21, 2025 Trump’s Latest Health Care Claim Will Make Your Head Spin Donald Trump pushed a bogus claim about Amish people. Since their invention, vaccines have proven to be one of the greatest accomplishments of modern medicine. The medical shots are so effective at preventing illness that they have practically eradicated some of the worst diseases from our collective culture, from rabies to polio and smallpox—a fact that has possibly fooled some into believing that the viruses and their complications aren’t a significant threat for the average, health-conscious individual.
TPM - New NIH Chief Sends We Love Bobby Email to NIH Staff By Josh Marshall | February 21, 2025 2:56 p.m. Memoli is not a Trump outsider appointee. He’s been at NIH for years. But he came to public attention in 2021 for his opposition at NIH to vaccine mandates. So presumably that’s why he got the nod to serve as acting director.
CIDRAP - CWD spreads to Carbon County, Pennsylvania, with first detection in free-ranging deer - News brief February 14, 2025 - Mary Van Beusekom, MS The severely emaciated deer was found dead on private property located more than 10 miles away from any other CWD-positive cases. Carbon County is in the east-central part of the state.
ProPublica - Dispatches February 22, 2025 · In today’s newsletter: Stephen Engelberg, ProPublica’s editor in chief, on the untrue stat the Trump administration keeps citing as it targets federal workers, and more from our newsroom. The White House did not respond to my questions about why its Jan. 20 statement cited a claim about federal workers that had been so clearly refuted. The portrayal of federal workers as lazy and indolent continues to be a central aspect of the president’s plans to slash government employment. On Wednesday in Miami, Trump said federal workers should “show up to work in person like the rest of us,” adding that: “You can’t work at home. They’re not working. They’re playing tennis, they’re playing golf, or they have other jobs. But they’re not working, or they’re certainly not working hard.” (Multiple news outlets noted that Trump had golfed on nine of his first 30 days in office.)
Anti-vax ICE official's white supremacist extremist social media alt account revealed.
Astonishing reporting:
For over a decade and very recently, this ICE attorney who went to Penn State for undergrad, has been saying stuff on this alt account on social media like: “All blacks are foreign to my people, dumb (f-word)” and "I’m not a commie, I’m a fascist. Fascists solve communist problems. Get your insults right, (r-word).” The article also notes that one of the details that revealed his identity was referring to his wife as a dressage horse trainer.
This right-wing sock puppet influencer was apparently part of a lawsuit seemingly against Dr. Fauci over the government mandate that federal employees were being asked to get vaccinated for covid or get a religious or health exemption. As "GlomarResponder" he expressed a phobia of getting needles, and as an excuse of not needing the shot, he falsely claimed that getting covid was good and immunity from that was superior – even though there has never been evidence of that.
Donald Trump is a remote worker at Mar-A-Lago.
Jesse Dollemore pointed out that Donald Trump is himself teleworking while his administration has been campaigning against telework for federal workers, he's hanging out at Mar-A-Lago. I pointed that out last month, that Trump and also Elon Musk spent the campaign teleworking from Mar-a-Lago, not any office.
Herd immunity misinformation on the left.
Youtube served up a liberal channel with healthcare professionals that were ostensibly criticizing RFKJr – though I feel like they were trying to bothsides the guy, buying into some of his claims they think they agree with. But the issue is that covid vaccine uptake was never great even for the original series, it never reached a point where it would noticeably quell transmission, and most people have not stayed up to date with the latest. In fact, most doctors aren't recommending the updates, and many people don't even know about them. Herd immunity in the context of vaccines means that transmission is quelled to the point that people who can't be vaccinated or who don't get good results from vaccination, or are otherwise at high risk from breakthrough infections, are protected because transmission has been halted by high uptake of vaccination. This is why vaccine mandates are so important, to set a standard to get as many people vaccinated as who can be.
The youtube healthcare professionals however WRONGLY claimed that the covid vaccines brought herd immunity to the American population and this allowed people to go back to normal life. But the truth is that high risk people have never been abel to go back to normal life, the way that would be true if there was herd immunity from vaccines. The truth is of course that Joe Biden campaigned on actually making that happen, but instead of making that happen, he appointed Jeff Zients, a corporate person to the project, and so the Biden administration caved to right-wing and industry interests, decided it was too hard to promote public health, caved to Republicans when liberals were tricked into being anti-mask by right-wing ad campaigns, presided over the ending of all the popular covid supports, pushed for butts in seats downtown to cater to commercial real estate and fossil fuel, and chose instead to pretend it was a win with the Democratic Party strategy being to prioritize that thing they call The Economy, and to believe that winning over Republicans by trying to out-MAGA the covid contrarians was the answer to ensuring Democratic Party victories while appeasing business interests.
That worked out so well, right? Ugh.
I happen to think it would’ve been better to just be straight with people about how infectious disease and public health works, and garner support and solidarity instead of trying to silence the disabled, seniors, the careful and the immunocompromised, for reminding people that there’s still a problem with our accessibility needs. And how about when market research finds that we aren’t fully engaging in the economy, blame the market, not the people who are choosing not to participate.
Don’t shove dubious stuff up your nose, just put on an N95 mask.
Does nasal hydrogen peroxide help prevent infections? What helps prevent infections? Dr. Zachary Rubin Feb 16, 2025 While on the surface it may make sense to try and clean your tissues to help prevent germs from entering your body, it may be counterproductive. Hydrogen peroxide can be an irritating substance that can lead to tissue damage and inflammation. In addition, mucociliary clearance may be affected by hydrogen peroxide. That means that the hair cells called cilia do not properly function to clear out germs and mucus from the respiratory tract.
The Best Approach to COVID Prevention? It’s Not Up Your Nose Nasal sprays aren’t part of a science-based multilayered COVID-prevention strategy Kaitlin Sundling Apr 29, 2024 Unproven products can seem attractive, especially when social media marketing overhypes potential benefits, without mention of risks or uncertainties. Even for people who are highly informed about COVID, it is easy to be swayed by aggressive advertising and personal anecdotes about unproven products. Unproven methods for COVID prevention can cause harm in at least three ways: 1. Direct harm from the product itself. Unproven approaches may have insufficient information available about potential risks. Some products may have known risks, although those risks may not be included in advertisements or promotions of those products. 2. Indirect harm due to creating a false sense of security, such that effective precautions aren’t taken. For example, someone may attend a social gathering maskless because they are using an unproven nasal spray, resulting in unnecessary exposure to COVID. 3. Financial harm due to money spent on a potentially ineffective or harmful product. Money is best spent on proven COVID prevention approaches.
Ignore nose hype and don't waste money. More pandemic profiteering that might violate regulations, and definitely isn’t ready for prime time. Chloe Humbert Dec 03, 2024 I’ve seen multiple accounts in discord forums where desperate parents have been using these nasal sprays with prophylactic claims, some purchased on the internet from foreign countries with wire transfers, and giving it to the kids 4 to 5 times a day and asking about the safety of this because their kids are getting sore throats or nose bleeds. I’ve also heard of people getting bounced and banned from Facebook groups for warning that this might not be safe, or even just that they’re not approved by the FDA. I have also heard that the company has reached out for partnership of some type with covid influencers or precaution organizations. I’m not sure what guidance those people and organizations are given, but they would be responsible for adhering to the FTC which states that: “Marketers of dietary supplements and other health-related products should ensure that anyone participating in marketing is familiar with basic FTC advertising principles.” and “The FDA has primary responsibility for claims that appear in labeling, including the package, product inserts, and other promotional materials available at point of sale. The FTC has primary responsibility for claims in all forms of advertising.”
Medicare telehealth coverage expires at the end of March 2025.
My letter to reps (congressperson and us senators):
Telehealth services via Medicare must not expire. Telehealth service should be a permanent option for all patients, and covered by all insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Please feel free to repurpose for your own letters to reps.
Quote:
"At the main anniversary event in the Kigale Stadium, I met with Tutsis who had survived the brutality of the genocide in ways I could not fathom but deeply admired. I was dismayed to discover that they had been displaced by the Tutsi diaspora who returned after the fighting stopped. Many who had stayed through the genocide had also stayed in Rwanda, rather than fleeing, through independence in 1962, and had also lived through the subsequent coups and civil wars. But they were often treated as collaborators instead of courageous survivors. They received no compensation for their losses or acknowledgement of their agonies during the genocide. If they had died, they would have been honoured and commemorated, but because they were alive they were treated with suspicion, like second class citizens or worse. This injustice shook my feelings of commitment and faith in the Rwandans’ desire for nation building. Not only did reconciliation between the Hutus and the Tutsis remain extremely challenging, but there were clearly serious divisions within the groups too. I was amazed that after having been taught the consequences of such discord in the bloodiest and most murderous of ways, they were still capable of maintaining divisiveness and hatred. The situation left me with a dangerous feeling of fatalism."
— Roméo Dallaire, Waiting for First Light: My Ongoing Battle with PTSD, 2016