Coronavirus Tidbits #238 3/26/23

March 25, 2023 /

Quick links

News     Diagnostics     Drugs    Devices    Epidemiology/Infection control     Tips     Politics    Feel good du jour     Comic relief     Perspective/Poem     Bits of beauty

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.

Reminder, Resilience: One Family's Story... is increasingly pertinent, as some of our politicians shift rightward. All proceeds go to Holocaust education.

Available here.

 

 

 

 

My latest post:

Women And Leadership In Global Health—Where Do We Stand Now?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2023/03/22/women-and-leadership-in-global-health-where-do-we-stand-now/?sh=1c61b819754f

News 

Paxlovid reduces Long Covid:

nirmatrelvir use in the acute phase (n = 35 717) was associated with reduced risk of PCC, including reduced risk of 10 of 13 post–acute sequelae in various organ systems, as well as reduced risk of post–acute death and post–acute hospitalization. Nirmatrelvir was associated with reduced risk of PCC in people who were unvaccinated, vaccinated, and boosted, and in people with primary SARS-CoV-2 infection and reinfection.

people who got treated with Paxlovid had 26% reduced risk of developing Long Covid

Paxlovid use was also associated with 47% reduced risk of post-acute death and 24% reduced risk of post-acute hospitalization

The reduced risk of #LongCovid was evident in people who were Unvaccinated Vaccinated Boosted and in people with Primary SARS-CoV-2 infection & Reinfection

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2802878

~ ~ ~

4 ways to reduce the likelihood of Long Covid:

"Novid," aka never get Covid.

Metformin => 42% reduction of Long Covid  with a 2-week course.

Vaccination was associated with an overall 43% reduction of Long Covid.

Paxlovid was associated with a 26% reduction of Long Covid.

https://erictopol.substack.com/p/preventing-long-covid?

~ ~ ~

COVID-origins study links raccoon dogs to Wuhan market: 

Some scientists say the analysis provides new evidence supporting the hypothesis that the virus that causes COVID-19 spilled over from an animal — but falls short of definitive proof.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00827-2

~ ~ ~

Nice article on LDN for #LongCovid: Treatment

Docs Are Prescribing Addiction Drug Off-Label #LowDoseNaltrexone #LDN – Rolling Stone

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/long-covid-treatment-addiction-drug-1234701573/

~ ~ ~

Addressing the Long-Term Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Families

Report from the National Academy of Sciences:

Download Free PDF or https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/26809

~ ~ ~

@MeetJess   Mar 20
“SARS-CoV-2 infection damages the CD8+ T cell response, an effect akin to that observed in earlier studies showing long-term damage to the immune system after infection with viruses such as hepatitis C or HIV” nih.gov/news-events/ne
~ ~ ~

Polio:

Global polio alert expanded:

In the U.S., CDC updated the pediatric and adult polio vaccination schedules in February 2023.

The inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) is recommended within four weeks of travel. Various IPV-containing vaccines are available at most health clinics and community pharmacies.

https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/2023/03/23/global-polio-alert-expanded

~ ~ ~

Mosquito borne diseases in Latin America increase:

...Although dengue and chikungunya are endemic in most countries of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, in the current summer season, increased transmission and expansion of chikungunya cases have been observed beyond historical areas of transmission. Furthermore, 2023 is showing intense dengue transmission. In addition, higher transmission rates are expected in the coming months in the southern hemisphere, due to weather conditions favourable for the proliferation of mosquitoes.

There have been 2.8 million dengue cases reported in the Americas in 2022, which represents over a two-fold increase when compared to the 1.2 million cases reported in 2021. The same increasing trend has been observed for chikungunya, with a high incidence of meningoencephalitis possibly associated to chikungunya reported by Paraguay, which is of further concern....

LINK: Geographical expansion of cases of dengue and chikungunya beyond the historical areas of transmission in the Region of the Americas (who.int)

https://worldhealthorganization.cmail20.com/t/d-e-zhujkz-tjhlldntd-jj/

~ ~ ~

Outbreak of highly resistant Pseudomonas linked to eye drops grows

involves a carbapenem-resistant P aeruginosa (CRPA) strain carrying the Verona integron-mediated metallo-beta-lactamase (VIM) and Guiana extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (GES) genes. Multiple types of infections, including eye infections, have been reported. Of the 68 patients identified by the CDC and state and local health departments as of March 14, 37 were linked to four healthcare facilities. Three patients have died, eight have experienced vision loss, and four have had an eye surgically removed.

CDC testing identified the presence of VIM-GES-CRPA isolates in opened bottles,

 CDC is advising the public and healthcare providers to stop using EzriCare and Delsam Pharma's Artificial Tears pending further investigation and guidance and is urging anyone who has used the products and has signs and symptoms of an eye infection to seek care immediately.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/antimicrobial-stewardship/outbreak-highly-resistant-pseudomonas-linked-eye-drops-grows-68

~ ~ ~

Other:

PALL OF SUSPICION

The National Institutes of Health’s “China initiative” has upended hundreds of lives and destroyed scores of academic careers.

Science  BYJEFFREY MERVIS  23 MAR 2023

A version of this story appeared in Science, Vol 379, Issue 6638.Download PDF

For decades, Chinese-born U.S. faculty members were applauded for working with colleagues in China, and their universities cited the rich payoff from closer ties to the emerging scientific giant. But those institutions did an about-face after they began to receive emails in late 2018 from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The emails asked some 100 institutions to investigate allegations that one or more of their faculty had violated NIH policies designed to ensure federal funds were being spent properly. Most commonly, NIH claimed a researcher was using part of a grant to do work in China through an undisclosed affiliation with a Chinese institution. Four years later, 103 of those scientists—some 42% of the 246 targeted in the letters, most of them tenured faculty members—had lost their jobs....

https://www.science.org/content/article/pall-suspicion-nihs-secretive-china-initiative-destroyed-scores-academic-careers

~ ~ ~

Autism increasing in US

(CDC), about 4% of 8-year-old boys and 1% of 8-year-old girls, have autism in the U.S.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-03-autism-climb-highs-california.html

the rate rose faster for children of color than for white kids. The new estimates suggest that about 3% of Black, Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander children have an autism diagnosis, compared with about 2% of white kids. [likely due to better dx]

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-03-autism-common-black-hispanic-kids.html

~ ~ ~

US drug supply chain holds federal agencies to account

A lack of transparency in the US pharmaceutical supply chain has limited the government's ability to predict and address the nation's rising number of critical drug shortages, according to a new report from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

shortages peaked at 295 at the end of 2022,

Government lacks list of single-source drugs

In addition to a lack of visibility into the supply chain, economic causes and continued US overreliance on foreign and geographically concentrated sources for drugs and their raw materials can all contribute to supply scarcity.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/resilient-drug-supply/new-report-us-drug-supply-chain-holds-federal-agencies-account

~ ~ ~

Internet Archive:

In an emphatic 47-page opinion, federal judge John G. Koeltl found the Internet Archive infringed the copyrights of four plaintiff publishers by scanning and lending their books under a legally contested practice known as CDL (controlled digital lending). And after three years of contentious legal wrangling, the case wasn’t even close.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/91862-in-a-swift-decision-judge-eviscerates-internet-archive-s-scanning-and-lending-program.html

Diagnostics:

still an incredible, negligent last of testing.

Drugs and Vaccines:

China has approved an mRNA Covid vaccine —its first.

The homegrown shot is a crucial tool that China has been lacking — a vaccine based on a technology considered among the most effective the world has to offer

~ ~ ~

@EricTopol    FDA considering authorizing additional boosters
This action is months overdue. The FDA has left people of advanced age and immunocompromised vulnerable wsj.com/articles/fda-m by

@StephArmour1w/ @mtosterholm
~ ~ ~

Moderna rebuked over plan to hike COVID vaccine to $130

Moderna's chief executive on Wednesday defended the US company's plan to quadruple the price of its lifesaving COVID vaccine to as much as $130 per dose as soon as government stockpiles run out.

Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders lashed out at the price hike, denouncing the "unprecedented level of corporate greed" in the pharmaceutical industry. "And that is certainly true with Moderna," Sanders said.

Moderna has so far charged between about $15 and $26 for doses of its vaccine, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The US government subsidized $1.7 billion of Moderna's research at the start of the pandemic and then purchased $10 billion worth of vaccine, Sanders said at a Senate hearing where the company's CEO Stephane Bancel was testifying.

Sanders said Moderna was "thanking the taxpayers of the United States" by more than quadrupling the vaccine's price "at a time when it costs less than $3 to manufacture."

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-03-moderna-rebuked-hike-covid-vaccine.html

~ ~ ~

@EricTopol   
A randomized trial of a blood thinner after severe Covid to prevent clothing events. Summary of result: "highly compatible with estimates of efficacy ranging from a 56% reduction to a 95% increase risk of apixiban compared with placebo acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M2@AnnalsofIM

Devices and Masks:

Epidemiology/Infection control:

   Mar 24

RT @VikiLovesFACS
Israel: 48,868 babies followed for first 120 days of life. Does being born after a #CovidVaccine booster in #pregnancy protect against hospitalisation for COVID?

Yes! With 53% effectiveness compared to two doses only.

nature.com/articles/s41591-023

~ ~ ~

@Saffiya_Khan1   Mar 23
There’s been absolutely no interest in child Covid hospitalisations or deaths from politicians or the media basically since the start of the Covid pandemic despite SARS-CoV-2 being a leading cause of paediatric mortality.
Around 58k children have long Covid too. twitter.com/tigresseleanor

Tips, general reading for public:

Ventilate.

Mask.

Vax.

Politics:

Covid:

@chrischirp Prof. Christina Pagel  Mar 23
6. Laura then asks why societies move heaven and earth to stop people getting acutely sick & needing hospital or dying but seem much less bothered about preventing (many more) people developing debilitating Long Covid? And asks why people aren't more scared of Long Covid.
~ ~ ~
@NHeLP_org   
“Forcing people with disabilities who are immunocompromised or high-risk to choose between potential Covid exposure and forgoing vital medications is ableist and dangerous,” said @madeline4health, a federal health policy attorney at NHeLP.
~ ~ ~
Biden’s Proposal to Limit Online Prescribing Is a Raw Deal for the Most Vulnerable Patients

Once the Covid-19 emergency order is lifted, new restrictions proposed by the White House will make it harder for many to access the medications on which they depend, like buprenorphine (Suboxone), Adderall, Xanax

https://newrepublic.com/article/171018/biden-telemedicine-adderall-buphenorphine-restrictions

~ ~ ~

26% of parents lied about child's COVID status

and flouted public health rules.

the most common untruth was “not telling someone who was going to spend time with their child that they knew or suspected the child had COVID-19.”

52.4% of those who lied said they exposed others to their ill child because they wanted to exercise their parental autonomy,

46% wanted their child's life to feel normal

44% said they didn't want to miss a fun event to stay home

10.1% told others that their child was vaccinated when they weren't

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/survey-26-parents-lied-about-childs-covid-status-flouted-public-health-rules

@JeromeAdamsMD   
I wonder how many of those same parents would support laws criminalizing HIV+ people who hide their known or suspected status from someone they were going to put at risk?
~ ~ ~
@RBReich   Mar 22
Moderna is planning to charge $130 for its COVID vaccine, but the vaccine only costs ~$3 to make. Meanwhile, over the last two years, the company made over $19 billion in profits off the vaccine. Textbook corporate greed.
~ ~ ~
Universal income:
A government pilot program in Ireland is giving 2,000 artists $350 a week with no strings attached, allowing them to concentrate on creative pursuits. It's the latest sign of growing international interest in universal basic income.
In early experiments in Finland, California and Germany, people were paid regardless of their profession. But several pilots are now focused on cultural workers, who can spend months, or even years, on unpaid projects.
Last year, in the United States, a privately funded initiative called Creatives Rebuild New York began giving 2,400 artists $1,000 a month. Similar programs are underway in San Francisco and Minnesota. But of these artist-focused efforts, Ireland’s stands out because it is government-run and involves rigorous analysis of the recipients’ finances, work patterns and well-being to gauge the handouts’ impact. The recipients’ livelihoods will be compared with those of 1,000 artists in a control group, who are not receiving any payments.
~ ~ ~

Abortion/reproduction:

@glastris  March 24
Biden signed legislation providing 12 months of life-saving postpartum care to women on Medicaid. 13 states, nearly all GOP controlled, many with abortion bans and high rates of maternal death, have refused the benefit. ⁦@monthly
~ ~ ~
@CAKitchener   Mar 16 (Texas)
In the last 24 hours, at least two abortion clinics/networks (Trust Women + Whole Womans Health) have announced that they will NOT immediately stop prescribing mifepristone if the judge rules to suspend or withdraw FDA approval. They will await a directive from the FDA.
~ ~ ~
@NPR   Mar 15
.Abortion bans in 13 states & restrictions in 12 others could lead to a surge in premature births, warn maternal-fetal specialists. n.pr/3FpJmo4
~ ~ ~
@Health_Affairs   Mar 21
In their new Forefront article, @juliastrasser + @ellendschenk from @GWpublichealth + @GW_Workforce discuss how nearly 1/2 million women of reproductive health age in the US live in counties with a single prescriber of contraception for every 1,000 women. bit.ly/42iKUdk
~ ~ ~
Honduras ends ban on emergency contraception, an ESSENTIAL reproductive right. We are thrilled for the people of Honduras and applaud the activists and civil society organizations that led this fight, including @CDMHonduras. npr.org/2023/03/09/116
~ ~ ~
@Sky_Lee_1   Mar 23
Let me get this straight Erin Hawley the wife of @HawleyMO is leading the way to ban the abortion pill and…. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk just donated to @HawleyMO campaign! Compromised much, this is another layer on the already bought and paid for judges cake. Deliberation start.
~ ~ ~
Antisemitism:
~ ~ ~
@NewsHour   Mar 23
A new report by the Anti-Defamation League reveals antisemitic incidents increased 36% in 2022, reaching the highest level since 1979. @GeoffRBennett spoke with @JGreenblattADL to learn more. to.pbs.org/3MzB3rB
~ ~ ~
Book bans:
In Utah’s Davis County School District someone has submitted a challenge to the Bible and wants it removed from school libraries.
~ ~ ~
ALA documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022,
This nearly doubles the 729 book challenges reported in 2021.

A record 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship, a 32% increase over the 1,858 unique titles targeted in 2021.

58% of the reported book challenges targeted books and materials in school libraries, classroom libraries or school curricula; 41% of book challenges targeted materials in public libraries.

“The record number of book challenges we’re reporting today are not the result of a parent filing authentic requests for reconsideration. Overwhelmingly, we’re seeing groups and individuals at library board meetings demand the removal of long lists of books obtained from organized censorship groups who share these lists on social media."

- Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom

~ ~ ~

@Laurie_Garrett   Mar 21
Every major HIV/AIDS organization in the US has joined in denouncing Simon&Schuster for next week's publication of "The Real AIDS Epidemic: How the Tragic HIV Mistake Threatens Us All" by AIDS denialist Rebecca Culshaw. Wow. actupny.com/simon-and-schu @gregggonsalves
~ ~ ~
100-year-old Grace Linn stood up to Ron DeDantis and demanded Florida STOP banning books at a Martin County School Board meeting!
~ ~ ~
Climate change:
@craigtimes   Mar 20
The governor of #Florida, the state most vulnerable to sea level rise, where the environment IS the economy, says it's wrong to consider the environment when investing. twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis
~ ~ ~

Guns:

@phoenixlaughter   Mar 15
Policy is stealing futures from our children. “Firearms play a central role in this crisis. They are the leading cause of death among youths aged 1 to 19”@JosephSakran @APSASurgeons We owe our kids more.
~ ~ ~
@mmpadellan   March 25
They want guns in schools, and supermarkets, and movie theaters, and churches, and parks But you can't have a gun at CPAC or an NRA meeting or at a trump rally WHY IS THAT?
~ ~ ~
3/23 Raskin: It's amazing to me to see politicians who defend assault weapons after the massacres at Columbine, after Parkland, after Sandy Hook, after Uvalde, after Santa Fe, that they are going to keep America's children safe by banning The Handmaid’s Tale and 1984.
~ ~ ~

LGBTQ:

42% of homeless youth are LGBTQ+. https://t.co/bpnaK37dE5

~ ~ ~

@MPRnews  March 24

~ ~ ~

@Esqueer_   Mar 15
I see that DeSantis is following the Nazi playbook of supporting legislation criminalizing anyone who shelters a targeted group. This is about as fascist as you can get.
newrepublic.com/post/171137/ro
~ ~ ~
@ReallyAmerican1   Mar 22
Disney has just thrust a major middle finger into the face of fascist Ron DeSantis by deciding to hold the "largest LGBTQ+ conference in the world" at "the happiest place in the world"" Walt Disney World in Orlando! The move is in direct defiance of DeSantis' anti-LGBTQ…
~ ~ ~

GOP/TFG:

Donald Trump just posted a photo of him holding a baseball bat next to a photo of DA Bragg.
~ ~ ~
Steve Herzfeld  @american2084  March 23
Republicans don't say they hate Jewish people. They say George Soros backed. Republicans don't say they hate gay people. They say groomers. Republicans don't say they hate Hispanic people. They say illegals. Republicans don't say they hate Black people. They say ban woke. Be very wary of a political party that uses dehumanizing language. Eventually, they will probably come for you and the people that you care about.
~ ~ ~
@DavidCornDC   
Nixon: Sabotaged the Vietnam War peace talks to win in 1968.
Reagan: Encouraged Iran to hold on to US hostages to win in 1980.
Trump: Aided and abetted Putin’s covert attack on the US election to win in 2016.
It’s a GOP tradition.
~ ~ ~
@jentaub  March 24  
@DeanObeidallah⁩ about Donald Trump’s decision to hold his first campaign rally in Waco in the 30th anniversary of siege [While this rally is over, keep this ploy in mind for the future!]
You TOO can get two tickets — you have no plan to use — to ensure that orange criminal has no audience to incite to further violence on Saturday! MaryTrump has info about how to get your tickets on her page.
per Mary Trump, Hit the link below—each mobile number can register up to two tickets per event, for free. It may not seem like a big deal, but everybody who does this will make a difference. Trust me.
~ ~ ~
@BettyBowers   Mar 15
So today we learn that CPAC is funded by shady Chinese money and Trump’s Truth Social is funded by shady Russian money. When it comes to funding MAGA propaganda, it’s AMERICA LAST. twitter.com/MeidasTouch/st…
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
@SethAbramson   Mar 22
 KSA/UAE poured cash into pro-Trump election interference in 2016. Their focus was digital propaganda. Now they’re giving SpaceX—Twitter’s piggy bank—enough cash to keep Musk’s pro-MAGA-disinformation site out of bankruptcy for the 2024 election cycle. reuters.com/business/aeros
~ ~ ~

Greed:

@MorePerfectUS   
General Mills—maker of Cheerios, Yoplait, Nature Valley, etc—said today that they're making huge profits by raising prices on consumers. Their quarterly profits have increased 20% year-over-year. All the growth came from price hikes.
General Mills has sold fewer units of product every quarter for the last 2 years. But thanks to higher prices, quarterly revenue went up 13% to $5.1B.
~ ~ ~

How Cigna Saves Millions by Having Its Doctors Reject Claims Without Reading Them

1 doc denied 60,000 claims/month

Over a period of two months last year, Cigna doctors denied over 300,000 requests for payments using this method, spending an average of 1.2 seconds on each case,

Cigna covers or administers health care plans for 18 million people.

Cigna estimated that only 5% of people would appeal a denial resulting from a PXDX review.

https://www.propublica.org/article/cigna-pxdx-medical-health-insurance-rejection-claims?

~ ~ ~
@Cpl_Dont_Know   March 21
Cheers to the woman at the ER with the brain bleed who, after being told she was being airlifted to a better equipped hospital, told the doctor 'I'm not getting no $100k bill for a helicopter, I'll drive myself or let me die.' Take a bow, US healthcare.
~ ~ ~
Immigration:
@tomaskenn   Mar 20
DeSantis proposal “requires hospitals to collect data on immigration status and costs to provide care” to undocumented Floridians and to “report the data to the governor and Legislature.” Clear move to intimidate undocumented people from seeking healthcare.
miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/
~ ~ ~
Arkansas:
@Esqueer_   Mar 15
In Arkansas, teens are too young to transition but old enough to work in the mines. They don't actually care about protecting children.
~ ~ ~
Arizona:
@TucsonSentinel   Mar 21
Arizona Senate Republicans agree to ban books with gender fluidity, pronouns bit.ly/3LFNpQT
~ ~ ~

Florida:

"A Florida charter school principal has been forced to resign after a parent complained sixth graders were exposed to pornography during a lesson...that included Michelangelo’s “David”." abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/p

The school supposedly offers "a content-rich classical education in the liberal arts and sciences" ... apparently except Renaissance statues.

~ ~ ~

@HollyBullardFL  March 22
I had a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction in 2020, because, cancer. I don’t want to overstep but I’m assuming Florida’s First Lady did too. HB1421 that passed today has this language that REALLY seems to ban insurance coverage of breast reconstruction after cancer.
~ ~ ~
@NPR   
Joseph Harding, the Florida Republican who sponsored the "Don't Say Gay" bill, has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining COVID relief funds. He faces up to 35 years in prison.
~ ~ ~
March 14, the DeSantis administration revoked a Miami Hyatt Regency’s liquor license for hosting a “Drag Queen Christmas” with minors present.
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
A publisher removed references to Rosa Parks' race in a draft of its textbook to comply with Florida's laws, NYT reports
businessinsider.com/florida-te
~ ~ ~
~ ~  ~
The administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is moving to forbid classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades, expanding the current so-called “Don't Say Gay” law. apnews.com/article/dont-s
~ ~ ~
Georgia:
@anitawadhwani   Mar 16
A Black family from Georgia was pulled over in rural Tennessee for driving with 'dark tint and traveling in the left lane while not actively passing' Within hours, they had lost custody all five of their children, including a nursing baby tennesseelookout.com/2023/03/16/a-b via @TNLookout
~ ~ ~
Idaho: 
GOP calls free tampons in schools too "woke." Only 15 states have provided free menstrual products in schools.
~ ~ ~
Kentucky:
#Kentucky's Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, has vetoed a Republican bill to ban #transgender youths from gender-affirming health care and restrict public toilets they use. #LGBTQ
~ ~ ~
@WillieETCarver   Mar 7
Republicans in Kentucky and Tennessee have totally banned drag but haven't banned the KKK (also men in dresses) -- because they argue that the KKK has the right to freedom of expression. Note : the KKK routinely demonstrate in both states. They were in Morehead, KY recently. pic.twitter.com/OB4yiI3nSM
Missouri:

Missouri lawmakers move to strip public library funding in retaliation over book ban lawsuit

nordot.app/1012044056118394880

~ ~ ~

New Jersey:
@CBSNews   Mar 23
Two New Jersey mothers are suing hospitals after testing positive for opiates because they had eaten bagels with poppy seeds, and were subsequently reported to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency. cbsn.ws/3ZkhYiA
~ ~ ~
Ohio:
   March 24

Cops raided Afroman’s home, then sued him for using footage in music videos arstechnica.com/?p=1926613

suing HIM for invasion of privacy and emotional distress after he used footage of their mangled raid in his music videos

theguardian.com/us-news/2023/m

~ ~ ~

@TheTNHoller   Mar 13
OHIO: Nazis, Proud Boys, Patriot Front, others protested outside a drag show in Wadsworth. And a Nazi banner was hung thanking @GovBillLee for signing the bill in Nashville. White supremacy/Nazis are a real problem. Drag queens are not.
~ ~ ~
Tennessee:
@Laurie_Garrett   March 23
SEN #RandPaul introduced a bill, the NIH Reform Act, which eliminates the National Inst. Of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, creates 3 mini-insts., let's POTUS name 3 leaders, and limits them to 5-year terms. He hates #TonyFauci so much...
~ ~ ~
@PeterHotez   
Tragic @Laurie_Garrett, meanwhile as the US Congress aspires to dismantle NIAID, multiple virus pathogens threaten the United States before the end of this decade: a 4th major coronavirus pandemic/epidemic after SARS MERS Covid; zoonotic flu; pandemic flu; Nipah; Zika V.2.0
~ ~ ~
@NewsHour   Mar 15
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee rejected more than $8 million in federal funding for HIV prevention. @lbarronlopez spoke with advocates who have sounded the alarm about the looming impact. to.pbs.org/40dB3DA
~ ~ ~
Texas:
@daustinsanders  March 23
Austin police officers arrested a deaf, elderly woman at ABIA for trespassing, but she just misunderstood instructions from a ticket clerk. Because she’s elderly and deaf. [She was stripped, then] She spent 3 nights in the Travis County Jail, where a jailer broke her arm. She wasn’t taken to the ER.
So many failures here. Why did the ticket clerk call the cops? Why did officers arrest her? Why did jail staff use so much force on an old woman that it broke her arm? Why have the city and county abandoned a policy that could have prevented the jailing in the first place?
~ ~ ~
@TexasTribune   Mar 21
Anti-abortion advocates are trying to revive the long-dormant 1873 Comstock Act, which banned the mailing of anything related to abortion or contraception, in a lawsuit about mifepristone, an abortion-inducing drug. bit.ly/3Fzvo2Q
~ ~ ~
Utah:
  Mar 24

A Utah parent says the Bible contains porn and should be removed from school libraries. Here’s their full challenge. The parent writes that the book should be considered indecent under Utah’s new book banning law, after seeing the other titles that have been pulled.

“Incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape, and even infanticide,” the parent wrote in their request, listing topics they found concerning in the religious text. “You’ll no doubt find that the Bible, under Utah Code Ann. § 76-10-1227, has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition.” sltrib.com/news/education/2023

~ ~ ~

@sltrib   Mar 21
Utah Rep. Burgess Owens — who has filed for bankruptcy protection five times — is against President Biden's student loan forgiveness program, saying, "debt cannot be canceled." trib.al/Lt1IWF5
~ ~ ~

Wisconsin:

@voteractionproject Feb 16
GREAT MOVE: Gov. Evers is pushing for automatic voter registration, making it easier for Wisconsinites to cast their ballots. We are thankful for leaders like Tony Evers who want to make sure everyone has access to the ballot box in fair, free elections. apnews.com/article/politi
~ ~ ~

India:

The main opposition leader in the world's biggest democracy, Rahul Gandhi, has been sentenced to years in prison for criticizing the authoritarian dear leader

bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-

~ ~ ~

Russia/Ukraine:

#Norway, #Sweden, #Finland, and #Denmark struck a deal to run their 200+ advanced fighter jets as a single fleet, creating a new headache for #Russia:
businessinsider.com/norway-swe

~ ~ ~

International Criminal Court issues warrant of arrest for Putin.

~ ~ ~

Iran:

@omid9   Mar 15
The courage of Iranian women is staggering. This is well known activist #SepidehQolian 4 years & 7 months in prison, released literally moments ago and the FIRST thing she does (by the gates) is: “Evil Khamenei, we’re going to bury you!” #IranRevoIution en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepideh_Q
According to news reports she was kidnapped by security forces just hours later. Sources say 10 vehicles pulled up outside her home and attacked her family. Abducted and now in an unknown location. This is 2023. And this is the Islamic regime.

 

Feel good du jour:

@KQEDnews   Mar 18
Gov. Newsom today announces that California will produce its own affordable insulin in a partnership with drugmaker Civica Rx, with similar plans for Naloxone/Narcan, which is used to treat opioid overdose. kqed.org/news/11944046/
~ ~ ~
@mhdksafa  March 24
It took 96 weeks and thousands of volunteers to clean up Versova Beach in Mumbai, India. The payoff? Hundreds of thousands of seaturtles hatching. First time in decades. Anything can be cleaned! Don’t skip this without leaving a heart for them.
~ ~ ~
A decades-old neighborhood project in Tucson provides food to residents as well as shade to cool streets in the third-fastest warming city in the US
‘A living pantry’: how an urban food forest in Arizona became a model for climate action . #drought #climatechange #urbanplanning

Comic relief:

~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~

https://twitter.com/ModelAyshaMirza/status/1637668604752658432?s=20

Perspective/Poem

Chat GPT in the voice of Shakespeare:

~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~

among the books consigned to the flames in 1933 were the works of the nineteenth century Jewish poet Heinrich Heine, who in 1822 penned the prophetic words, “Where they burn books, they will, in the end, burn human beings too.”

Bits of beauty:

 

Share this post:
fb-share-icon
Tweet
fb-share-icon

You May Also Like

Coronavirus Tidbits #104 12/16/20

December 16, 2020

Coronavirus Tidbits #127 3/7/21

March 7, 2021

Coronavirus Tidbits #85 9/24/20

September 24, 2020