… in this blog is mentioned the impact of covid infection on TB recrudescence. Studies early in 2921/22 noted this link in those recovering from severe covid. Given the impact of COVID on herpes CMV & EBV, it seems highly likely widespread Covid will have had a population impact on TB prevalence

"Where we have physical phenomena that can be directly measured, such as viral persistence in air, RCTs are unnecessary and can be misleading. We don’t rely on RCTs to justify whether we need to purify drinking water; we measure pathogen loads..." 🎯 letter to JAMA editor from Dr Nicola Boyd!

John Dupuis@dupuisj.bsky.social · 4d ago

Air cleaning technologies and the battle against Randomised Control Trials RCTs are not a 'gold standard' methodology where we can actually measure outcomes mattersofperspective.substack.com/p/air-cleani...

. @lewisgoodall.com said school closures weren't "a price worth paying." But what if we have been asking the wrong question? The Covid Inquiry heard evidence there was a third option. Our latest:

Why are the media still asking the wrong question about schools during the pandemic?

Reflecting last week on his years covering Covid for the BBC, Lewis Goodall told listeners of The News Agents that he was

substack.com

Just roll the dice, what’s the worst that could happen? www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/1-5...

1 in 5 men surveyed had erectile dysfunction up to 2 years after COVID

These men had higher rates of shortness of breath and fatigue than those without erectile dysfunction and had higher depression/anxiety and pain/discomfort scores than before infection.

cidrap.umn.edu

And the risk to kids is not behind us: A large study of children and adolescents found reinfection was associated with a more than doubled risk of Long Covid diagnosis (relative risk 2·08 [95% CI 1·68–2·59]).

Long COVID associated with SARS-CoV-2 reinfection among children and adolescents in the omicron era (RECOVER-EHR): a retrospective cohort study

Children and adolescents face a significantly higher risk of various PASC outcomes after reinfection with SARS-CoV-2. These findings add to previous evidence linking paediatric long COVID to multisyst...

thelancet.com

Guys, I'm breaking the thread for a moment. This should be a regular reminder: Make somebody feel seen. A nurse, a teacher, the dish busser at your favorite coffee shop, somebody with whom you share a slender but real connection. There will come a time when those moments are precious to you.

The obscenity continues These corporations are screwing us and screwing the planet, and no government has the balls or the backbone to act against them They need to be eviscerated and the money used for the common good www.theguardian.com/business/ng-...

Revealed: major oil firms make $93bn profits amid war and climate crisis

Iran conflict windfall over three months reignites calls for companies ‘cashing in on human misery’ to pay for environmental damage

theguardian.com

Lastly, I am the only person I know personally who masks consistently. I have maybe 2 other people in my life that mask at all. I don't live in a bubble where masking is normal & therefore don't ever stick out. I stick out in every single room, every bus I take, every plane I board. And it's FINE.

"Was missing school during COVID rough for kids?" Yeah, for sure. It would, likewise, be rough for them to miss school because the building was on fire. It would be likewise ridiculous to argue that they should have *returned* to the burning building to avoid negative educational outcomes.

A UK trial in 95 nursing homes found HEPA air purifiers didn't reduce winter respiratory infections. However, air quality scientists criticised the study, saying, "Air purifiers only work if they're turned on." The researchers acknowledged poor compliance, making the results difficult to interpret.

Can air purifiers prevent flu and COVID-19 in nursing homes? Only if they’re used properly

cidrap.umn.edu

Reducing your risk of serious illness is not only about diet, exercise and routine screenings. Preventing COVID infections can also be an important part of protecting your long-term health. COVID can affect multiple systems throughout the body and has been associated with (...)

I propose we call this ideology "botulism."

The New Yorker@newyorker.com · 2w ago

New analysis estimates that nearly 60 per cent of internet traffic is nonhuman. “The bot revolution is coming—or is perhaps already here—whether we like it or not,” T. M. Brown writes. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

If everybody did this, even places where people can't mask effectively (restaurants, bars, etc.) would get safer for everyone because transmission would be lower overall. Audiences mask = performers are safer. Students mask = teachers are safer. We have fuckin' got to learn to help each other out.

Turns out Fawlty Towers wasn't a comedy. It was a documentary.

George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 2w ago

Just loving how John Cleese, now reduced to one of his own caricatures, rages about immigrants coming to the UK and failing to accept "our" culture, from his home in ... (checks notes) ... Nevis in the Caribbean.

A devoted partner and caring father who spent nearly three decades volunteering his time to rescue strangers has died while mountain biking in Squamish. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

B.C. man who devoted nearly three decades to rescuing strangers dies in Squamish | CBC News

Michael Coyle had worked with Coquitlam SAR for years and helped many other teams in B.C.

cbc.ca

Australian children had to be 5+ in 2021-22 to get vaccinated. Since then, not eligible until they turn 18, so over a decade to go for many.

I mask in public still because no one has given me any convincing scientific evidence that getting repeat COVID infections is safe or sustainable for health, especially brain health 🧠

Another reason for the JCVI to revisit their decision not to vaccinate all children and all pregnant mothers against Covid Because they didn’t take this into their cost-benefit calculations

Long term cardiovascular effects on COVID-19 infection in children. The need for monitoring

Although SARS-CoV-2 infection has been associated with mild illness in children, concerns have emerged regarding potential long-term cardiovascular and systemic effects, even in previously healthy ped...

internationaljournalofcardiology.com

Ok but what if lettuce diarrhea is actually good for you because then you avoid lettuce diarrhea debt and instead you get natural immunity to lettuce diarrhea which helps you not get lettuce diarrhea? Is it weird how vastly, manifestly stupid that is for lettuce diarrhea but it's policy for COVID?

Imagine if, rather than One Nation boosterism, MSM devoted even a fraction of their attention to Independents & Greens - actually our best promise for good policy, climate change action, anti-gambling reform, AUKUS exit, transparency & ethical Govt?? We deserve so much better than clickbait trash

Look at the impact of the pandemic on type 2 diabetes incidence 👀

The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology@thelancetendo.bsky.social · 3w ago

Published in @lancetrh-europe.bsky.social Trends in type 2 #diabetes incidence and #BMI at diagnosis by age, sex, and ethnicity, 2011–2024: a population-based analysis of the English National Diabetes Audit www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... #OpenAccess #MedSky #EndoSky

Worth a read 🙏🏻 The #Leonardi_Effect is very much real www.ovid.com/10.1097/MS9....

Emerging trends in post-COVID immune... : Annals of Medicine & Surgery

Background:Long coronavirus disease (COVID), or post-acute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, is a...

ovid.com

Healthcare workers have died, become disabled, and left careers they loved after contracting COVID on the job—often while wearing the exact protection they were told was enough. Occupational health and safety laws are meant to protect workers from airborne hazards. (...)

Centrelink customers who suffered #RoboDebt had to go to court in a class action to get their justice. A RoboDebt whistleblower is now in court to get her justice. But none of the perpetrators has been anywhere near a court to get their justice. #auspol

Robodebt whistleblower was told her royal commission evidence ‘could cost you your job’, court hears

Exclusive: Jeannie-Marie Blake is suing the Australian government over alleged threats, which her department denies making

theguardian.com

Those thousands of studies showing viral persistence or sequelae that arise months or years after infection. Apparently not worth spending the £25 on in an attempt to reduce their affect. Typical short-term, election cycle, government thinking.

Modelling shows universal masking by healthcare workers leads to huge reduction in healthcare worker illness, even when people unmask in breakrooms www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Might watch Death in Brunswick tonight. Missing John Clarke too.

Beloved actor and Jurassic Park star Sam Neill dies aged 78

Neill only recently revealed he was living cancer free with his family saying the loss was ‘sudden and unexpected’.

7news.com.au

More women have been murdered since 2024 by men than all Australians killed by terrorism globally in the past 100 years. Yet there are no Royal Commission’s for women still. No emergency task forces.

I find it rather bizarre when teams will try and do so many things to get a competitive advantage they don't appear to try to minimise the spread of illness. One of those things I thought would change with knowledge and yet hasn't.

It's a collective psychopathy, which treats disabled people, elderly people and people with long-term conditions as disposable. We see it in the Covid-19 pandemic. We see it in the heatwaves. Their deaths are inconvenient reminders that a favoured policy is disastrous. So they must be dismissed.