ADA compliance rolled back in fed employment 🚨 The threats of RFKJr 💉 Offering vaccines at hospitals should be standard
Paxlovid keeping older vaccinated and unvaccinated patients from severe covid.
DEI initiatives being targeted for elimination are in place for adherence to disability accessibility laws.
The media should be asking stuff like "What are these agencies doing in place of DEI initiatives to comply with ADA law?" because that's what it comes down to.
My letter to reps:
I am concerned hearing about the elimination and firing of federal workers for being involved with civil rights related law adherence like administering disability accommodation in accordance with the ADA law, or eliminating the administering of initiatives to follow ADA law by those positions. Are they going to stop all managers from accommodation or are they going to fire all management and supervisor positions that are involved with Reasonable Accommodation? This sounds like it will lead to breaking the law. This doesn’t seem moral of course but it also doesn’t seem wise. And it doesn’t sound cost effective either considering there’s surely going to be a flurry of lawsuits related to this, and even if the government wins in the end and ruins employment for disabled people, it will still have to spend taxpayer money to defend itself when this all seems like it was was just for hype based on the fancy of some sad tycoon playing around in government.
Please feel free to copy or repurpose the contents of my letter for your own letters to reps.
Democracy Now - Trump’s Attack on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Provokes a Grassroots Backlash - January 23, 2025 By Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan Following the speech, Trump issued a flurry of executive orders. Within hours, a form letter was emailed to federal departments, ordering the suspension, by end of day Wednesday, of any staff working on DEI initiatives, and giving remaining staff ten days to report any ongoing “disguised” DEI activity, ie, to rat out colleagues.
Eliminating people involved in civil rights law adherence (aka DEI) would involve all supervisors and management. Anyone involved in adhering to for example ADA law, would be considered "DEIA".
‘Return to in-Person Work’ Directive Thin on Details - Published: January 21, 2025 By: FEDweek Staff The guidance says that telework-eligible employees should be informed by close of business Friday (January 24) that they “must work full time at their respective duty stations unless excused due to a disability, qualifying medical condition, or other compelling reason certified by the agency head and the employee’s supervisor.”
Agency heads, supervisors. Are they eliminating all management positions because they’re involved in civil rights? Or are they just going to do away with following federal laws altogether and stop them doing “DEI” by eliminating all efforts for ADA accommodation?
Remember that the baddies always seem to go after the disabled first. Yet even Neanderthals took care and looked after the disabled among them, so you have to wonder what kind of people would suggest not doing so?
🗞️ In the news
Reuters - USDA inspector general escorted out of her office after defying White House - By Rachael Levy - January 29, 2025 Security agents escorted the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Agriculture out of her office on Monday after she refused to comply with her firing by the Trump administration, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Phyllis Fong, a 22-year veteran of the department, had earlier told colleagues that she intended to stay after the White House terminated her Friday, saying that she didn’t believe the administration had followed proper protocols, the sources said. In an email to colleagues on Saturday, reviewed by Reuters, she said the independent Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency “has taken the position that these termination notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time.”
Trump Ends Fauci's Security Detail — President says he would feel no responsibility if harm befell the infectious disease expert by Associated Press January 24, 2025 Speaking to reporters in North Carolina on Friday, Trump said he wouldn't feel any responsibility if harm befell the former government officials. A person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues, said that Fauci's federal security detail was ended on Thursday and that he has since hired private security.
AP - CDC ordered to stop working with WHO immediately, upending expectations of an extended withdrawal - By MIKE STOBBE Updated 6:12 PM EST, January 27, 2025 U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official, John Nkengasong, sent a memo to senior leaders at the agency on Sunday night telling them that all staff who work with the WHO must immediately stop their collaborations and “await further guidance.” Experts said the sudden stoppage was a surprise and would set back work on investigating and trying to stop outbreaks of Marburg virus and mpox in Africa, as well as brewing global threats. It also comes as health authorities around the world are monitoring bird flu outbreaks among U.S. livestock.
CIDRAP - Iceland confirms H5N5 avian flu in cat death News brief January 9, 2025 Lisa Schnirring Officials said the 10-week-old kitten died on December 22, shortly after two cats from the same litter died but were not tested. Other littermates had left the home before the other cats were sick and remain asymptomatic.
CIDRAP - Avian flu strikes second biggest US egg producer - Lisa Schnirring - Jan 29, 2025 Rose Acre Farms, the nation's second largest egg producer, said yesterday that tests have confirmed avian flu at its facility in Seymour, Indiana, which could further stretch the supply of eggs as commercial farms in several states continue to battle the spread of the H5N1 virus. In other developments, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported more H5N1 detections in mammals, poultry, dairy cows, and wild birds, and European health groups issued a guide for assessing avian flu mutations that may pose a risk to humans.
News-Medical.Net - Trump administration’s halt of CDC’s weekly scientific report stalls bird flu studies - KFF Health News Jan 30 2025 The Trump administration has intervened in the release of important studies on the bird flu, as an outbreak escalates across the United States. One of the studies would reveal whether veterinarians who treat cattle have been unknowingly infected by the bird flu virus. Another report documents cases in which people carrying the virus might have infected their pet cats. The studies were slated to appear in the official journal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The distinguished journal has been published without interruption since 1952. Its scientific reports have been swept up in an "immediate pause" on communications by federal health agencies ordered by Dorothy Fink, the acting secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Fink's memo covers "any document intended for publication," she wrote, "until it has been reviewed and approved by a presidential appointee."
MedPage Today - Growing 'Medical Freedom' Movement Poses Challenge for Public Health — The notion isn't new, but is "coalescing, now, around this phrase" by Jennifer Henderson, Enterprise & Investigative Writer, MedPage Today January 10, 2025 "In the past, you didn't hear anti-vax rhetoric be such an explicit part of political platforms," Caulfield said. "You didn't hear the advocacy of unproven supplements as being part of political platforms. And now they are, and that signals to people that these beliefs are ideological flags. ... These are the kinds of things that you should embrace." It has become a "political identity [and] there's this basket of beliefs that go with it," he said, including "more access to supplements, access to unproven stem cell therapies, not being required to use other kinds of public health measures." However, much of this is "informed by misinformation or misleading marketing," he said, and "isn't always supported by the best available evidence." It's not surprising that the COVID pandemic accelerated the movement, experts said.
Kansas tuberculosis outbreak is now America's largest in recorded history Jason Alatidd Topeka Capital-Journal Jan 25, 2025 This outbreak is still ongoing, which means that there could be more cases. There are a few other states that currently have large outbreaks that are also ongoing." She noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started monitoring and reporting tuberculosis cases in the U.S. in the 1950s. Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium that typically affects the lungs, according to KDHE. People with an active infection feel sick and can spread it to others, while people with a latent infection don't feel sick and can't spread it. Tuberculosis is spread person-to-person through the air when a person with an active infection coughs, speaks or sings. It is treatable with antibiotics.
CIDRAP - Tests under way in suspected Ebola outbreak in DR Congo - Jan 29, 2025 - Lisa Schnirring If confirmed, the outbreak would mark Equateur’s province’s fourth Ebola outbreak since 2018.
CIDRAP - BARDA to fund development of COVID preventive drug - News brief January 17, 2025 - Chris Dall, MA The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) announced yesterday that it will give drugmaker Shionogi, Inc, $375 million to develop a drug to prevent COVID-19 infection in people who are immune compromised.
CIDRAP - Captive deer in Texas show evidence of widespread COVID exposure - Stephanie Soucheray, MA January 13, 2025 “Compared with those closely related human samples, the viruses detected in deer did not have unique mutations in the spike protein,” the authors wrote. Researchers were not able to discern how the virus entered the deer population at the private farm. “Given the uncertain public health and animal health implications of viral maintenance within captive deer, agricultural biosecurity practices could be useful in reducing the possibility of establishing long-term animal reservoirs for the virus,” the authors concluded.
Paxlovid keeping older vaccinated and unvaccinated patients from severe covid.
But white patients get it more often than others.
CIDRAP - Paxlovid protects against hospital care, death, especially in older patients, data show News brief January 21, 2025 Stephanie Soucheray, MA Both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients benefitted from Paxlovid when administered within 5 days of COVID-19 infection confirmation, the authors said. But researchers observed lower rates of use among Black and Hispanic patients than among White patients.
Offering vaccines at hospitals should be standard across the board.
Now is the time to track your state level legislation around vaccinations. To find out about bills and actions you can sign up for the free citizen level versions of a variety of "bill tracking services" – apps that will send you emails daily or in weekly digests, on topics and keywords you use.
Pennsylvania Senate Bill 196 was reintroduced to the PA Senate on Jan. 29, 2025,
Regular Session 2025-2026 Senate Bill 196 reintroduced to the PA Senate on Jan. 29, 2025 Currently, Pennsylvania requires hospitals to offer influenza vaccine during influenza season to inpatients, age 65 and older, prior to their discharge. However, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention now identifies individuals aged 50 and older to be at increased risk for severe illness and complications from influenza. As we age, our immune systems weaken and we are more likely to have underlying health conditions such as diabetes, asthma, or cardiovascular disease. In fact, 60% of all individuals aged 50-64 live with one or more Chronic Health Conditions while 75% of individuals aged 65 and older live with one or more Chronic Health Conditions. Consequently, this legislation lowers the influenza offering from age 65 and older down to age 50 and older and the inpatient may still accept or decline the vaccine for any reason.
My letter to my state senator:
Please support Senate Bill 196 to lower the age to 50 for the Elderly Immunization Act which requires hospitals to offer inpatients the flu vaccine during flu season. The age is currently 65 but it's been recommended for people 50+ and the uptake on vaccines like flu and covid shows that people just don't know,. In fact, At the June 2024 CDC ACIP meeting Dr. Denise Jamieson, MD, MPH felt universal recommendations for the COVID vaccines was imperative because she said: “I was really struck with the low proportion of healthcare providers that recommended, and given what we know about influenza and other vaccines and the critical role that healthcare providers play in recommending vaccines, I wondered what we did know about healthcare provider attitudes and what some of the barriers may be. And as an aside, it worries me that if it were not a universal recommendation, that the role of the healthcare provider in identifying and appropriately counseling those with risk would that would become even more problematic.” I can tell you what the barrier is – doctors are not required to inform their patients, and so they don't. It's really as simple as that. Pennsylvania should expand the rule beyond hospital inpatients. Vaccine uptake requires a concerted campaign.
Please feel free to copy or repurpose the contents of my letter for your own letters to reps.
Bizarre RFKJR confirmation hearing.
RFKJr is a terrible anti-vaxxer. But there are so many other problems as well with him taking over the entirety of the federal healthcare in the US. The threat can't be overstated.
My letter to my US Senators in PA (John Fetterman and Dave Mccormick):
Senator Smith mentioned that RFKJr called people on antidepressants “addicts” because of the side-effects of going off some antidepressants abruptly. This shows an incredible misunderstanding about antidepressants OR a desire to spread disinformation about mental health.
RFKJr was asked if he intends to cut Medicaid and he said Trump isn’t happy with the deductibles and premiums. He was clearly confusing it with Medicare, and I guess he intends to cut Medicare. People don't want that.
RFKJr said he will allow infectious diseases to contaminate the food supply, spreading among livestock and farm workers. He said he's hands off the farms. Letting the chips fall where they may? This will lead to deaths of Americans, harm to businesses, risk the supply chain, and a loss of confidence in the US.
With RFKJr in charge, nobody will be able to trust the healthcare system, or the food supply. Americans will be at the mercy of anyone seeking to do bio-attacks.
RFKJR’s crunchy woo woo cult type opposition to science and experts is embarrassing. This was demonstrated by him having this sort of cult with him at the confirmation hearing.
RFKJr should be rejected outright.
Please feel free to copy or repurpose the contents of my letter for your own letters to reps.
RFKJr tried to get the Supreme Court to give doctors immunity from any consequences for harming or killing people by telling them bad medical misinformation, arguing that doctors should have "free speech" rights to give bad medical advice. That's outrageous, and you can't possibly have a functional society that way, and at least for now, the courts recognized this reality.
NBC News - Supreme Court rejects RFK Jr. group’s attempt to protect anti-Covid-vaccine doctors from investigations - Justice Elena Kagan turned away an emergency request from Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group founded by Donald Trump's pick for secretary of health and human services. Nov. 20, 2024, 4:20 PM EST By Lawrence Hurley The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an attempt by Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to protect doctors being investigated in Washington state for allegedly spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 virus. The emergency application was denied by Justice Elena Kagan on behalf of the court.
RFKJr when explaining why he brought a lawsuit to get rid of all the covid vaccines off the market, he tried to claim wrongly: "most experts agree today even the people who did it back then that covid vaccines are inappropriate for six-year-old children who basically have a zero risk from covid that's why I brought that lawsuit"
This is not true, and it’s evidence that he’s going to try to keep any covid vaccines, or any new covid vaccines, from ever reaching youths. This is a eugenics argument against vaccines.
CIDRAP - Early-life infection burden continues throughout childhood, new data reveal - Chris Dall, MA January 6, 2025 New data from researchers in Denmark suggest that children who have a lot of common infections early in life have higher risk of moderate to severe infections and antibiotic use throughout childhood.
Reasonable doctors disagree with RFKJr, and in fact think he’s dangerously wrong.
Jen Rubin interviews Dr. Rob Davidson Jen speaks with Dr. Rob Davidson about how public health is at severe risk, especially in light of RFK Jr. and his potential confirmation, but what he and his group have done to try to prevent that. The Contrarian Jan 28, 2025 It's concerning to put this guy at the head of the biggest organization controlling healthcare in this country to be the mouthpiece of public health. That's the concern. We're worried that they could change childhood vaccination schedule. We're worried that they may add things like autism, which has been shown conclusively to not be caused by vaccines, specifically the MMR vaccine. We're concerned they could add that to diseases that are considered related to vaccines. So I think that's a big one. Certainly, he's got some very strange health views. He has said very clearly he is not sure HIV causes AIDS. That is a concern. HIV does cause AIDS. People doing research, the amazing work since I remember in the mid-80s when I was a teenager when AIDS was a death sentence and now it's a chronic disease, right? And we can we can manage it. We can we can help prevent people from getting it. We can help people live full, healthy lives with HIV and not move on to get AIDS. You know, but we're also concerned about his really lack of any record talking about Medicaid, Medicare, the ACA. We know Trump. We know Congress. Many people in Congress want to go after Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and massive corporations.
There are some weirdo doctors of course — many want to sell you “alternatives” to vaccines or real medicine.
Docs Organize Against, and for, RFK Jr.'s Nomination to Run HHS — Letters, visits to senators among their strategies by Joyce Frieden, Washington Editor, MedPage Today January 13, 2025 Last Updated January 14, 2025 For groups opposing Kennedy, his skepticism on vaccines is among their biggest objections. Kennedy "has stated that he doesn't think any vaccine is safe and effective," Rob Davidson, MD, MPH, executive director of the Committee to Protect Health Care, which opposes the nomination, said in a phone interview with a press person present. "To propose that this guy should lead the biggest health agency in the U.S., dictating policy and just having a mouthpiece -- being the official government spokesperson for how we should run our health system -- I think it's terrifying. It will erode trust in this critical tool we have to prevent disease." The group has more than 19,000 signatures on a letter opposing Kennedyopens in a new tab or window, more than 15,000 of which are physicians, while a number of the rest are healthcare professionals, Davidson said.
The anti-vax ivermectin doctors haven’t gone away, they’re just rebranding.
Important Context Ivermectin Doctors Rebrand and Rally for Kennedy Confirmation Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance is rebranding for the anti-vaxxer’s Senate confirmation battle. Walker Bragman Jan 29, 2025 As with CHD, the spread of COVID misinformation has proven lucrative for the FLCCC, Washington Post analysis of tax records revealed. As WaPo reported, the group “went from receiving $1 million combined when they formed in 2020 to collecting more than $21 million combined in 2022.” Important Context has previously revealed that FLCCC and CHD receive money through major donor-advised funds and have also shared donors like the Crary Social Ecology Fund. The groups both promote the same narratives. Kennedy has claimed that the “early treatment” drugs were “suppressed” and that those promoting them, despite their proven lack of efficacy, were “censored.” In the recent pseudo-documentary Covid Collateral: Where Do We Go For Truth?, Marik made a similar claim, calling ivermectin “a big threat,” wrongly claiming if it “proved to be an effective drug for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2, the vaccination program would have been deemed null-and-void.” The documentary was funded by a company tied to the pro-Trump Epoch Times and the Falun Gong Chinese cult.
Surely there must be more than one republican who wants to not get sick all the damn time as well?
STAT - At confirmation hearing, RFK Jr. refuses to say that vaccines don’t cause autism - HHS nominee’s refusal appeared to imperil the support of at least one senator Republican - By Rachel Cohrs Zhang and Matthew Herper Jan. 30, 2025 Cassidy (R-La.) finished the hearing with a monologue questioning whether RFK Jr. could harm President Trump’s legacy, and said he has not decided whether to support his confirmation. During a hearing before the Senate health committee, Cassidy pressed Kennedy on the issue of whether vaccines cause autism.
Quote:
"Nominating an anti-vaxxer like (Robert F.) Kennedy to HHS is like putting a flat Earther at the head of NASA." — Peter Lurie, MD, MPH