Coronavirus Tidbits #199 7/3/22
Announcements:
First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I'm getting.
Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don't be shy about that.
New posts:
Betrayed by a Reactionary SCOTUS
my post on Roe: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/976398?
More Promising Phage News—Using Bacteria-Killing Viruses To Treat Antibiotic-Resistant Infections
News
Covid:
Detailed outbreak transmission assessment of all of these 18 reports in the following settings:
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) June 29, 2022
restaurants, singing events, department store, courtroom, abatement block, quarantine hotel, bus, meat processing plant, office pic.twitter.com/eclb3AMKdl
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And here it is! The final *mic drop* regarding #LongCovid and seroconversion!
— Nwiss 🇸🇪🇪🇸🇺🇸🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@Gronnet) July 1, 2022
”We identified that 42–53% of patients with Long COVID, but without detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, nonetheless have detectable SARS-CoV-2 specific T cell responses.” BAM! 💥 https://t.co/iNXXtUroiH
Monkeypox:
Story is here by the way: https://t.co/YXkx2dRnVj
— Kai Kupferschmidt (@kakape) June 26, 2022
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By the way, note that in addition to monkeypox, @WHO also removed smallpox. A closely related airborne virus is apparently inconvenient at the moment...
— Maarten De Cock (@mdc_martinus) June 24, 2022
Also a missed opportunity to add SARS-CoV-2 to the examples. It is a virus most people know about I should think... https://t.co/jTJHv5d1Er pic.twitter.com/GQjWxOXROm
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CDC head Rochelle Walensky told reporters today that the US has documented 306 cases of #monkeypox in 27 states plus DC. Globally, there have been more than 4,700 cases in 49 nations. She strongly urged health care providers to "have a high clinical suspicion" of the virus. 4/
— Benjamin Ryan (@benryanwriter) June 28, 2022
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So Monkeypox is a STI, but you don’t need to have sex to catch it?
— Pandemic News (@mildanalyst) June 30, 2022
This should break the Internet.
_
H/T @AndrewALover @RosadelasDunas
Link:https://t.co/8a9uVXsDnr pic.twitter.com/CHDreOFsQ4
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Monkeypox soars in Europe, with more than 4,000 cases
Stephanie Soucheray | News Reporter | CIDRAP News| Jun 30, 2022
New data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization European regional office shows the monkeypox outbreak in Europe has grown to 4,177 cases in less than 2 months, with the United Kingdom producing 25% of those cases.
Germany has surpassed Spain and Portugal with a national total reaching 838 cases, compared to 736 cases in Spain and 365 in Portugal. France has 350 cases.
One day after the White House pledged more monkeypox vaccines would be deployed to states seeing outbreaks, the United States is also reporting a significant uptick in cases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US total now stands at 351 cases from 28 states and Washington, D.C. after 45 more monkeypox cases were confirmed yesterday.
Evidence of community spread in Texas
Today the Texas Department of State Health Services said there was evidence of local, community spread of the virus in the state's 12 cases. While the first cases reported in Texas involved international travel, three recent patients report that they did not travel in the 3 weeks before becoming sick.
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Other:
🔍 Feeling ill after going swimming? Microplastics may be behind it
— Telegraph Environment (@TeleEnvironment) June 27, 2022
Research reveals that viruses can survive and stay infectious for up to three days by 'hitchhiking' on plastic pollution in fresh water
🧵⤵️https://t.co/AupZV8mwtr
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Zika, dengue viruses make victims smell better to mosquitoes
Pathogens may promote their transmission by luring the biting insects
Science 30 JUN 2022 BYMITCH LESLIE
The viruses that cause Zika and dengue fever can’t get from person to person on their own—they need to hitchhike inside a mosquito. A new study suggests how they hail these rides: They make their victims smell more attractive to the blood-sucking bugs.
It’s "a big advance," says mosquito neuroscientist Laura Duvall of Columbia University, who wasn't connected to the research. The work shows that "infection with these mosquito-borne viruses can alter the way some people smell … to make them more likely to be bitten."
A person can give off a different body odor when ill, especially with an infection. COVID-19 patients, for instance, release a distinctive mixture of molecules that dogs and electronic "noses" can detect. Similarly, malaria parasites change the scent of human hosts, making them smell irresistible to mosquitoes.
Whether the viruses that cause Zika fever and dengue fever, which together infect up to 400 million people every year, also meddle with odor was unknown. These pathogens travel from person to person in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which also transmit the yellow fever and chikungunya viruses.
https://www.science.org/content/article/zika-dengue-viruses-make-victims-smell-better-mosquitoes
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Glaciers and Global Warming
... researchers explored whether species of bacteria in the snow and ice could make their way to other regions as melting occurs. To find out, they collected snow and ice samples from 21 glaciers in Tibet over the years 2010 to 2016. Each was melted and then tested to see what was in the water left behind. In so doing, the researchers found 968 unique species of bacteria, 98% of which had never been seen before. The findings come on the heels of a study by another team that recently found several viruses in ice that was 15,000 years old—most of which have never been seen before.
https://phys.org/news/2022-06-bacteria-species-glacial-ice-pose.html
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https://twitter.com/MeetJess/status/1542693929153449984?s=20
Diagnostics:
still an incredible, negligent last of testing.
Drugs and Vaccines:
More on Paxlovid resistance
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) June 29, 2022
"It's just a matter of time before we see resistance emerge."—David Hohttps://t.co/pMQTEpL0yb @ScienceMagazine @NewsfromScience @RobertFService pic.twitter.com/FvmEDmfDmF
Rebound is NOT unique to Paxlovid Dr. Topol. We are seeing this in inpatients treated with either Paxlovid or Molnupiravir.
— Elias Said, MD, FACEP (@MdFacep) June 29, 2022
The rates are:
Paxlovid @ 7 days=3%, at 30 days = 5%
Molnupiravir 5.86% and 8.59%
Data was reproduced in thousands of patientshttps://t.co/VNcLNt9v5f
~ ~ ~
.@US_FDA tells Covid vaccine manufacturers to add an Omicron BA.4-BA.5 target to their products. Boosters to be rolled out in the fall will be bivalent, containing the original antigen & the update. @DrewQJoseph reports. https://t.co/4yq6vgLWcp
— Helen Branswell 🇺🇦 (@HelenBranswell) June 30, 2022
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Study of Pfizer vaccine in kids finds moderate Omicron protection
Lisa Schnirring | News Editor | CIDRAP News| Jun 30, 2022
A real-world study in Israeli children ages 5 to 11 found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine provided moderate protection against infection and symptomatic diseases, similar to the pattern seen in adults.
Researchers began measuring the impact of the vaccine starting last November, just as the Omicron variant surge was expanding globally. They published their findings yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
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COVID-19 vaccine protects people of all body weights from hospitalization and death, shows study of 9 million adults
by Lancet JUNE 30, 2022
COVID-19 vaccines have greatly reduced the number of cases of severe COVID-19 disease for everyone regardless of their body size, according to a new study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. Vaccine effectiveness was similar for those with a higher BMI and of a healthy weight, but slightly lower in the underweight group, who were also the least likely to have been vaccinated.
In a further analysis of vaccinated people only, among the fewer COVID-19 cases recorded, people of very low and very high BMI were more likely to experience severe disease than vaccinated healthy-weight people. This replicates the findings seen in a previous analysis before the vaccination program commenced.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-06-covid-vaccine-people-body-weights.html
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Interrupting treatment of patients on immune-suppressing medicine doubles antibody response to COVID-19 booster
A major clinical trial, led by experts at the University of Nottingham working in partnership with several universities and NHS hospitals, has found that interrupting the treatment of vulnerable people on long-term immune-suppressing medicines for two weeks after a COVID-19 booster vaccination doubles their antibody response to the booster.
The Vaccine Response On Off Methotrexate (VROOM) trial, which will have implications for people on immune-suppressing medicines—who are among the millions of clinically vulnerable patients advised to "shield" during the pandemic—was carried out in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Manchester, Imperial College London, the University of Oxford and Queen Mary University London. The study was run by the Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit (OCTRU).
The results of the study are published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-06-treatment-patients-immune-suppressing-medicine-antibody.html
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Emerging omicron subvariants BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 are inhibited less efficiently by antibodies
The omicron subvariants BA.1 and BA.2 of SARS-CoV-2 have dominated the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2022. In many countries, these viruses are now outcompeted by emerging subvariants, with BA.5 being responsible for the current uptick of cases in Germany. However, it is at present largely unclear whether the "new" omicron subvariants BA.2.12.1, BA.4, and BA.5 acquired biological traits that allow for more efficient transmission or whether they are less efficiently blocked by antibodies compared to the "old" omicron subvariants BA.1 and BA.2.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-07-emerging-omicron-subvariants-ba2121-ba4.html
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Bad news for Paxlovid? Coronavirus can find multiple ways to evade COVID-19 drug
Lab studies identify resistance mutations in SARS-CoV-2’s protease, and some circulating variants have them
Prescriptions for Pfizer’s blockbuster drug Paxlovid have skyrocketed in recent weeks. That’s good news for many COVID-19 patients, as the pill has been proven to reduce severe disease from SARS-CoV-2 infections. But a bevy of new lab studies shows the coronavirus can mutate in ways that make it less susceptible to the drug, by far the most widely used of the two oral antiviral drugs authorized to treat COVID-19 in the United States. Researchers have found some of those mutations in variants already circulating in infected people, raising fresh concerns that physicians could soon lose one of their best therapies for fighting COVID-19.
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FDA: Don’t rush a move to change the Covid-19 vaccine composition
By John P. Moore and Paul A. Offit
FIRST OPINION June 29, 2022
On Tuesday, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) voted 19-2 to approve the use later this year of Covid-19 vaccines based on an Omicron variant sequence. One of us (P.A.O.) was among those voting “no.” It is possible these vaccines will be two-component designs that also include the current version. Will Americans soon be better protected against Covid-19?
https://www.statnews.com/2022/06/29/fda-dont-rush-to-change-covid-19-vaccine-composition/
Devices and Masks:
Meanwhile, CDC recommends only 5 ACH 🐢, which means the virus hangs out for over twice as long as 12 ACH 🐇 (4/5) https://t.co/U1B4zhmpug
— Devabhaktuni "Sri" Srikrishna (@sri_srikrishna) July 1, 2022
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2. During boarding, the air filtration system is usually not running. You know how stuffy it can get on board a plane on a hot day, when departure is delayed. Before take-off, the CO2 levels climb to eye-watering levels (it should be less than 700ppm) https://t.co/Ye2dVryz3y
— Dr Satoshi Akima FRACP 『秋間聰』 (@ToshiAkima) June 29, 2022
5. There is evidence that in such high-risk scenarios, N95 masks alone may be insufficient unless an air filtration system is operational. This means that when one-way masking on a plane, a P100 elastomeric is preferred
Full thread at https://t.co/dXkNYpY2Zk
Epidemiology/Infection control:
We have policy recommendations that rely on number of new cases as part of the equation. Failing to count new cases accurately will impact these policy levers, and likely disproportionately (based on access to PCR testing).
— Dr. Theresa Chapple (@Theresa_Chapple) June 26, 2022
Not counting cases screws up our denominator so we have a harder time truly assessing severity.
— Dr. Theresa Chapple (@Theresa_Chapple) June 26, 2022
You may say count hospitalizations, but that is not a great indicator for marginalized populations and low income ppl, especially since federal protections have been rolled back.
We also can't track severity by COVID treatment type, especially since meds to prevent severe cases are distributed based more on SES (insurance, education, and access) than risk factors for COVID's severity potential.
— Dr. Theresa Chapple (@Theresa_Chapple) June 26, 2022
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The decision to withhold the names, based partly on fears of embarrassing hospitals + on concerns about duplicative data, denies patients the opportunity to steer clear of health systems w/ poor track records and allows facilities to avoid public scrutiny, patient advocates say.
— Rachael Levy (@rachael_levy) June 25, 2022
Over the past mo, hospitals reported an avg of 1,457 patients per week had caught Covid during their stay, per a @POLITICO analysis of data from @HHSGov.
— Rachael Levy (@rachael_levy) June 25, 2022
That follows a record month in Jan. when more than 3,000 patients each week were infected. https://t.co/kO3Ri7mUi9
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https://twitter.com/ABsteward/status/1542289302775808000?s=20&t=KKjVp7gvjR6bsDQrKGA2-Q
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California Department of Public Health (CDPH) requires negative test to self release from isolation. Much better policy than @CDCgov
— COVID19 😷 💉 (@V2019N) June 29, 2022
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Online tool (Covid-Taser) allows users to predict their likelihood of severe illness or death from COVID-19
Are you more likely to die from COVID-19 or in a car accident? A new risk assessment tool can help you figure that out.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-06-online-tool-users-likelihood-severe.html?
calculator: https://www.covidtaser.com/relativerisk
Tips, general reading for public:
Ventilate.
Mask.
Vax.
Politics:
Covid:
https://twitter.com/snarkypeds/status/1541536711699750914?s=20&t=KKjVp7gvjR6bsDQrKGA2-Q
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In a briefing to congress Tuesday FL Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo confirmed the decision to block county health departments from obtaining the COVID-19 vaccines for young children may prevent an estimated 30,000 disadvantaged kids from accessing vaccines. https://t.co/BU2ljoMko0
— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) June 29, 2022
Jan 6:
From a friend. Brilliant. #LockHimUp pic.twitter.com/vsFLgPDg7G
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) June 28, 2022
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NEW: Jan. 6 committee vice chair Liz Cheney shows that witnesses have been receiving mafia-style calls and messages from people close to Trump telling them the former president knows they will remain “loyal” in depositions. Attempted witness tampering.
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) June 28, 2022
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Again re-upping my observation from last week. Prosecutors know what constitutes witness tampering and obstruction of justice. In cities across this country they prosecute alleged gang leaders & conspirators for sending messages like this. To ignore this shreds the rule of law. pic.twitter.com/h8tQTeiCTe
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) June 28, 2022
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We commonly ask witnesses connected to Trump whether they have been contacted by anyone attempting to impact testimony.
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) June 28, 2022
Below are examples of answers we have received to this question. pic.twitter.com/pwxyJBf7Kl
SCOTUS:
***Important reads:
*** Looming disaster: State Legislative Power:
This is the single most important story of the day and the most important story of democracy this week. Yes, it is more significant for the long-term future of democracy than the news from the January 6th hearings.
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) June 30, 2022
Please pay attention.https://t.co/n4q3KrOGXP
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https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1542960822770597888?s=20&t=KKjVp7gvjR6bsDQrKGA2-Q
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2/ Six Republicans on the Supreme Court just announced — a story that has largely flown under the nation’s political radar — that they’ll consider pre-rigging the presidential election of 2024.
— Thom Hartmann (@Thom_Hartmann) July 2, 2022
Full thread at https://t.co/gI3xIRB2GY
Other:
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In 1869, Congress set the number of Supreme Court justices at 9 to align with the fact that there were 9 circuit courts.
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) June 28, 2022
There are now 13 circuit courts.
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I would love to know what is being said here..https://t.co/aqeuEBCpLf
— Vote Blue in 2022 (she/her) (@amyjdean) June 27, 2022
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We don’t have a Supreme Court, we have Justice Kagan, Justice Sotomayor, Justice Breyer — and six Catholic Popes from the 1600s.
— Dr. Jack Brown (@DrGJackBrown) June 27, 2022
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This is the important point. The white wing is not *winning*... they're changing the rules of democracy so that they can institute minority rule. https://t.co/JQY76E6Jce
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) July 1, 2022
Clarence and Ginni:
When you read Clarence Thomas’s concurrence, where he calls into question many other rights based on the fundamental right to privacy, remember that he testified unequivocally in his confirmation hearings that there is a right to privacy in the Constitution.
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) June 25, 2022
Abortion:
GOP: Maybe she should use protection if she didn't want to get pregnant.
— Sheena (@MomSheenanigans) July 2, 2022
D: she was raped
GOP: *switches talk track* what was she wearing?
D: she's 10.
GOP: *checks notes* this is a blessing from God
MONSTERS https://t.co/HdP0gcFf26
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https://twitter.com/ImSpeaking13/status/1541066370489716736?s=20&t=KKjVp7gvjR6bsDQrKGA2-Q
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Amazon has given $974,718 to anti-abortion political committees.
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) June 26, 2022
AT&T has given $1,472,827 to anti-abortion political committees.
Coca-Cola has given $2,624,000 to anti-abortion political committees.
And they’re not alone. https://t.co/qnbKZcGL1n
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For those who don’t know Cedar Rapids is in Iowa, and Iowa is one of the states that made it legal to run over protesters after the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. https://t.co/WlHZvb9HGe
— Read Wobblies and Zapatistas (@JoshuaPotash) June 25, 2022
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Alito’s boast that his shredding of fundamental personal rights in #DobbsvJackson needn’t worry anyone except women capable of serving as breeders is, shall we say, troubling — being both false and a confession to misogyny. Since when was it a defense to say “I hurt only women”?
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) June 26, 2022
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https://twitter.com/jskilesskinner/status/1541164143314714625?s=20&t=KKjVp7gvjR6bsDQrKGA2-Q
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"Homicide is a leading cause of death during pregnancy and the postpartum period in the United States. Pregnancy and the postpartum period are times of elevated risk for homicide among all females of reproductive age."https://t.co/09awiKjMqB pic.twitter.com/y1niYCkkS4
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) June 27, 2022
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Was just coming to say the same. pic.twitter.com/xMxZqUK6ra
— Michele nash (@Manash60) June 27, 2022
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Not a gaffe. Not a mistake. She is the Nazi fan that said Hitler was right on January 5th. https://t.co/hyO45z5FIt
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) June 26, 2022
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https://twitter.com/TRF_Stories/status/1541699495234359296?s=20&t=KKjVp7gvjR6bsDQrKGA2-Q
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The Mexican abortion rights group “Las Libres” has mailed 1,000 packets of free abortion pills to women in the US & provided virtual companionship to women in TX, OH, OK, & FL, among other states w/tight restrictions.
— Avi Asher-Schapiro (@AASchapiro) June 24, 2022
My colleague @DianaBaptistaR reports:https://t.co/Tljq7Ekqi6
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https://twitter.com/Vinminen/status/1540439331768238080?s=20&t=KKjVp7gvjR6bsDQrKGA2-Q
So those patients are going to have to go off the drugs that were helping to control their condition and have worse health outcomes. People are going to die because of this, in a context miles away from elective abortion, because GOP lawmakers wanted to "own the libs." 2/x
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FACT 4: Many late abortions result from fetal anomalies or risks to the mother's health
— SDL (@SocDoneLeft) June 25, 2022
Precise statistics are unavailable *because* these abortions are so rare, but evidence suggests these late abortions are usually *undesired* by the mothers -- they are medically necessary. pic.twitter.com/dETZiJPETD
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Ohio Rep Jeanne Schmidt is proposing legislation that will require two docs to sign off during an ectopic emergency. Imagine how that will work in a small rural hospital.
— Peg Gluntz (@PegGluntz) June 28, 2022
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Deleting Your Period Tracker Won’t Protect You - Text messages, Google search history for abortion pills or the visitation of websites that have information about abortion, #geolocation data, email receipts have been used #privacy #WomensHealth https://t.co/kjBWlNlc3Y
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) July 1, 2022
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Does Plan B Have a Weight Limit? https://t.co/O87W3lDAba #EmergencyContraception #WomensHealth #ReproductiveFreedom
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) July 1, 2022
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OBGYN Colleague in Missouri “We are now observing patients with ectopic pregnancy and hemoperitoneum until they have a documented falling hemoglobin or unstable vital signs”
— Jane van Dis MD (@janevandis) June 28, 2022
1:50 pregnancies is ectopic pic.twitter.com/HwYEMz67su
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“Democrats are blasting President Joe Biden for agreeing to nominate an anti-abortion Republican to a lifetime federal judgeship in Kentucky, less than a week after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.”https://t.co/vx1QJWpbtj
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) July 1, 2022
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#Abortion bans expected to increase maternal mortality by 24%, a 14% increase from the previous data from 2017. For Blacks, the rates jumped 18% to 39%.https://t.co/sUWQJYYf9C #disparities #WomensRightsAreHumanRights
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) July 2, 2022
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Interactive Map: #Abortion Bans and Penalties https://t.co/RH0JHsWjYw
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) July 2, 2022
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Three weeks ago, I had a miscarriage. I was six weeks pregnant. I live in Texas, a state that has effectively banned abortions.
— Janneke Parrish (@JannekeParrish) May 9, 2022
A thread about what it is to cease to be pregnant in a state where abortions are banned:
Full story at https://www.statnews.com/2022/06/29/doctor-suspicion-after-miscarriage-glimpse-of-expanding-medical-mistrust/
EPA:
Important @nytopinion Ed Board statement. I would add this also pertains to recent Supreme Court actions going against vaccines and vaccination mandates. Having the SCOTUS serving has our public health agency only weakens our nation https://t.co/NwgzoXsMPn
— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) July 2, 2022
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A reminder that Neil Gorsuch’s mom was Reagan’s EPA Administrator and had to resign in disgrace. She was the first agency director in history to be cited for contempt of congress.
— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) June 29, 2022
During her tenure she slashed the EPA budget and let pollution run rampant. pic.twitter.com/YUyRp71Gp9
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Tell SCOTUS: #Pollution causes 10% of cancer cases in Europe, EU report finds https://t.co/kcdu9L6cPq
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) July 2, 2022
Gerrymandering:
The new map, which the Supreme Court just reinstated, packs Black voters into a single district, diluting their political power in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. But the far-right justices have effectively repealed that provision already. https://t.co/52d5DpRZbS
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) June 28, 2022
Football prayer:
Compare the school football prayer decision that just came down with SCOTUS’ refusal to grant a stay to an Alabama death row inmate who was prohibited from having an imam with him *as he was put to death*. State only allowed a Christian chaplain https://t.co/dTJd4h0LI0
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) June 27, 2022
~ ~ ~
Opinion | Football coaches have a Constitutional right to lead players in prayer on the field. But everyone who kneels during the national anthem should be banned from the sport for life.
— New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) June 27, 2022
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Here’s the deal: We stop pretending there is any kind of separation of church and state here. Tax them. Tax them hard.
— Andrea Junker (@Strandjunker) June 27, 2022
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Woman's Preventable Death During Childbirth Upheld In 6-3 Supreme Court Vote https://t.co/fPVnVhcvOh pic.twitter.com/2PwJCEjsDo
— The Onion (@TheOnion) June 24, 2022
LGBTQ:
[embedhttps://twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1542144939689185280?s=20&t=KKjVp7gvjR6bsDQrKGA2-Q[/embed]
Guns:
My daughter was murdered in her classroom. When @SarahHuckabee says "We will make sure that when a kid is in the womb, they're as safe as they are in a classroom" I take notice.
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) June 26, 2022
Sarah, your bullshit is deadly to kids when they are born. pic.twitter.com/ubnJeNKTQa
~ ~ ~
The Supreme Court basically said — “nah you can’t kill babies like that, use a gun”
— Sarmad Faiz (@move2strike) June 26, 2022
Full thread at https://t.co/3tj5TeuNxv
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On July 1, South Dakota will become the first state in America to eliminate concealed carry fees!
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) June 29, 2022
It will not cost you a penny to exercise your #2A rights in South Dakota. We will even pay for your federal background check. https://t.co/QJqfTkiKTp
State Funding private religious schools:
https://twitter.com/TheCharlieGirl/status/1540906440398843904?s=20&t=KKjVp7gvjR6bsDQrKGA2-Q
EPA:
Justice Elena Kagan,writing for dissenters:“The Court appoints itself—instead of Congress or the expert agency—the decision maker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening.”#SCOTUS @USSupremeCourt
— Boomers Rock (@Boomers_Rockon) June 30, 2022
Gorsuch wants to carry out his mom's legacy to gut the EPA
~ ~ ~
— HereObserving 🇺🇸🇺🇦 🌻Slava Ukraini (@HereObserving) June 30, 2022
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Full opinion here. https://t.co/OLWVyBuuL6
— Kimberly Atkins Stohr (@KimberlyEAtkins) June 30, 2022
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Today’s decision is a disappointment, but it's not a surprise. It's the result of coordination by the fossil fuel lobby to dismantle progress toward climate solutions. This ruling does not mean we are out of options! We must call on Congress to pass climate legislation. 1/2
— Al Gore (@algore) June 30, 2022
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Other, non-Supremes
Wow. Lt General Michael Flynn, a lifelong military member and a three-star general, took the fifth amendment when asked if he believes in the peaceful transfer of power in the United States, a question one might assume would have been part of his oath.#January6thHearings
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) June 28, 2022
Racism:
I'm a reproductive rights organizer & State Senate candidate. Last night, after speaking at our Roe rally, my Republican opponent – a police officer – violently attacked me.
— Jennifer Rourke (@JenRourke29) June 25, 2022
This is what it is to be a Black woman running for office. I won't give up.pic.twitter.com/ZREDP2dvXY
Facebook:
In a test, the @AP found that Facebook removed a post offering to mail abortion pills within one minute. It did not remove similar posts offering to mail a gun or marijuana. https://t.co/tdUdM3bOy6
— Amanda Seitz (@AmandaSeitz) June 28, 2022
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Uvalde:
they're never going to forgive this women for being braver than them https://t.co/JsqJDhpruO
— ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper) June 27, 2022
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Education:
Next up: Texas educators propose eliminating the word "Holocaust" from textbooks, replacing it with "bonfire of the unsaved." https://t.co/eonsrlhClt
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) June 30, 2022
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Dems v GOP
82-year-old Patrick Leahy needs hip surgery after falling in his Virginia home. Unclear how long he’ll be out in the 50-50 Senate. Senators are on recess next week as well. His office notes he was “born blind in one eye” and “has had a lifelong struggle” with depth perception pic.twitter.com/9JhgypezIi
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 30, 2022
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Wait, Biden's deal with McConnell is that Biden gets 2 TEMPORARY prosecutors in return for a LIFETIME appointment to the federal bench?!
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) July 1, 2022
That's unconscionable. @DickDurbin should pledge that Meredith will receive no hearing. And @SenSchumer should pledge he'll get no floor vote. pic.twitter.com/4lV5BTpq1A
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This wasn't SNL on a Thursday night.
— The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) July 1, 2022
This was Wyoming's Republican primary debate. pic.twitter.com/PUHeOMdx7I
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California:
California became the first state to guarantee free health care for all low-income immigrants, regardless of immigration status https://t.co/PPYxuNdAnS # via @HuffPostPol
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) July 2, 2022
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Pennsylvania:
“Mastriano, a close ally of former President Trump, posted a tweet on 11/27/20, that swapped primary & general election data, creating the false impression that more mail ballots had been counted than were sent out in PA.” It has been RTd >30K times. 1/ https://t.co/6fOgVHUnJq
— jennycohn@toad.social ✍🏻 📢 (@jennycohn1) June 29, 2022
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Ukraine/Russia
In normal times, Ukraine is a leading exporter of foodstuffs. A Russian naval blockade now prevents Ukraine from exporting grain. 2/16
— Timothy Snyder (@TimothyDSnyder) July 2, 2022
If the Russian blockade continues, tens of millions of tons of food will rot in silos, and tens of millions of people in Africa and Asia will starve.
The horror of Putin's hunger plan is so great that we have a hard time apprehending it. We also tend to forget how central food is to politics. Some historical examples can help.
The idea that controlling Ukrainian grain can change the world is not new. Both Stalin and Hitler wished to do so.... (see Holodomor)
Russian memory politics prepared the way for a 21st-century hunger plan. Russians are told that Stalin's famine was an accident and that Ukrainians are Nazis. This makes theft and blockade seem acceptable.
Putin's hunger plan is, I believe, meant to work on three levels. First, it is part of a larger attempt to destroy the Ukrainian state, by cutting off its exports.
Putin's hunger plan is also meant to generate refugees from North Africa and the Middle East, areas usually fed by Ukraine. This would generate instability in the EU.
Finally, and most horribly, a world famine is a necessary backdrop for a Russian propaganda campaign against Ukraine. Actual mass death is needed as the backdrop for a propaganda contest.
When the food riots begin, and as starvation spreads, Russian propaganda will blame Ukraine, and call for Russia's territorial gains in Ukraine to be recognized, and for all sanctions to be lifted.
Russia is planning to starve Asians and Africans in order to win its war in Europe. This is a new level of colonialism, and the latest chapter of hunger politics.
Feel good du jour:
Across at least 12 million acres of Niger, woodlands have been re-established by farmers with little outside help, almost no money, and without driving people off their land. Read their inspiring story https://t.co/E0tVSXik12
— National Geographic (@NatGeo) June 28, 2022
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Just a regular Thursday here 🥰🍑🍓 with all the rescued strawberries + rescued peaches for @15104FreeStore #endfoodwaste pic.twitter.com/2cL77mobQs
— Gisele Barreto Fetterman (@giselefetterman) June 30, 2022
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made a dog library for our neighborhood. but instead of books, it’s filled with toys and sticks. i hope everyone likes it. #spreadjoy #dogsoftwitter #dogtwitter #seniordog #sundayvibes pic.twitter.com/MTVJiOhXpB
— Toby the dog (@fulcandles) June 26, 2022
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"Art is standing with one hand extended into the universe and one hand extended into the world, and letting ourselves be a conduit for passing energy" Albert Einstein
— Arys🏺🪶 (@ArysPan) July 1, 2022
The ancient art of some beloved civilizations. Chinese, Maya, Egyptians, Greeks, Indians, Persians#Archaeology pic.twitter.com/d1Fhh7t7q2
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‘I was crying’: rocker Randy Bachman reunites with stolen guitar 45 years later https://t.co/a4SpnTqEEI
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) July 2, 2022
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These wooden spoons carved by Giles Newman are sublime pic.twitter.com/5VKDRYqyVO
— Into The Forest Dark (@ElliottBlackwe3) June 29, 2022
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https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1542952067513319427?s=20
Comic relief:
JUST IN: The White House has unveiled it’s official portrait for donald j. trump. pic.twitter.com/oCEL2DaYLF
— Jo 🌻 (@JoJoFromJerz) June 29, 2022
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Governor Greg Abbott failed to secure https://t.co/19pNjmysL0 so now I own the domain and I’ve created his new website. Enjoy!
— Toby Morton (@tobymorton) July 1, 2022
Check out his links. Brilliant work!
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When you were going to watch TV but there's a baby goat in your spot pic.twitter.com/Brr8wdyLW0
— Jane of the North (@JaneotN) April 30, 2021
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My dog often picks up and carries stuff she finds in the street. This evening it was this. pic.twitter.com/S4Hq56F6ZN
— Sam (@sam_waymont) June 29, 2022
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https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1543319405383360513?s=20
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https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1542977623814447104?s=20
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Age is just a number.. pic.twitter.com/u6vNvqUbgE
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) July 1, 2022
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Puppy thinks he’s a bunny.. 😅 pic.twitter.com/7sIs2zGfWq
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) June 30, 2022
Perspective/Poem
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”
— Sayed Tabatabai, MD (@TheRealDoctorT) June 28, 2022
-Lenin.
Bits of beauty:
