New Yorkers are lining up at 83rd and 2nd to buy chicken over rice to support Mohamed Hussein, the street vendor who was harassed by Islamaphobic former US State Department official Stuart Seldowitz. You gotta love this city ❤️
Coronavirus cases:
US - 1,482,916
Russia - 281,752
United Kingdom - 244,603
Brazil - 235,331
The four countries who are hardest hit by the pandemic are all run by right-wing, authoritarian governments.
As someone who trains scientists to speak to the media for a living, I can tell you that if your talking points sound like eugenics, your problem isn't media training, it's ethics.
It's a stunningly dangerous precedent to censure a member of Congress for speaking up about the mass killing of an ethnic group, who is part of that same ethnic group.
"I’m not traveling like this because I want everyone to do so, I’m doing this to send a message that it is impossible to live sustainably today & that needs to change. It needs to become much easier."
Great messaging by
@GretaThunberg
as usual!
#COP25
Let’s get this right. Scientists didn’t fail to communicate the risks of climate change, they have been warning us for a century. Our policies are failing because after knowing the risks, fossil fuel companies spent billions of dollars blocking meaningful action on climate.
When factory workers are fired for leaving before a tornado
When teachers are scrambling on the floor for dollar bills to fund their classes
When healthcare workers are quitting from burnout because we refuse to stop a deadly virus
It's time to radically overhaul your society
Letting a single Trump appointee with no public health experience overrule the CDC in the middle of a deadly pandemic is not a good precedent for how we are going to handle future crises.
100,000 deaths was an “incalculable loss,” but 1 million deaths is “learning to live with the virus.”
A masterclass in narrative control by the rich and powerful.
This is unethical. Bosses are forcing employees to come into work sick with active COVID. This is why labor organizers need to incorporate public health into their demands.
In the coming days, students, teachers, nurses and workers will be striking to demand safer working conditions.
Do not gaslight them. Do not blame them. Do not cross the picket line.
This is the time to show our support and solidarity.
No one is safe until everyone is safe.
For those who keep saying they don't understand why we are so focused on masks: Mask mandates are the policy that would instantly make a huge difference to the lives of higher risk people. It would mean they could go on public transport, access medical care, & other basic needs.
For those saying "there isn't much more the US government can do," look at what someone in Japan gets sent when they test positive for COVID so that they can recover and isolate.
We need to push our leaders to do more, and stop excusing their inaction.
Historically, pandemics are a gateway into fascism.
People are paranoid and crave discipline and order.
It's strange watching it in real time.
Instead of doing anything to question it or prevent it, people eagerly feast upon the boot pressed firmly on their necks.
@MarcusRashford
@England
Taking a penalty in a cup final isn't real pressure.
Real pressure is not knowing where your next meal is coming from.
Thanks to
@MarcusRashford
millions of families around the country will feel slightly less pressure.
Helping others is what true champions do ❤️
The fact that many people are relying on the Walgreens website and Yankee Candle reviews on Amazon in order to get reliable data about COVID surges shows you just how much our leaders have failed at building trust and communicating about the pandemic.
Universal mask wearing is not a lockdown. It’s the opposite: Mask mandates make society accessible to many more people, especially those at higher risk.
Tonight I'm thinking of the 208,000+ Americans who died from COVID-19 because of the utter negligence and cruelty of this administration. They did not have access to the medical care or attention that the President is receiving now.
COVID level: High
Business/Organization: No mask mandate, we are going by county guidelines
County: No mask mandate, we are going by state guidelines
State: No mask mandate, we are going by CDC guidelines
CDC: It’s up to local places to decide
Accountability: Zero
Telling people “you’re going to get infected, better get used to it” is not a public health message. It’s a message of complete government abandonment.
We are not “learning to live with COVID”
When we give up on protecting our healthcare system, workers, the immunocompromised, and the vulnerable, in reality we are “surrendering to COVID”
I keep thinking about this headline.
In May 2020 100,000 deaths was an incalculable loss.
Yet we have now lost nearly 400,000 people to COVID in the US over the last year (Sep 2021 to Sep 2022), & "the pandemic is over."
This is what the normalization of mass death looks like.
Scientists have been warning us for decades that prolonged extreme heatwaves and out of control disease outbreaks will become more frequent and deadly due to climate change.
We need to completely change our ways of living instead of continuing our "back to normal" denial.
We are not only seeing high levels of COVID, but we are also seeing surges in several respiratory viruses all at once.
Masks work against all airborne viruses. Why are we willfully ignoring valuable lessons of the last two years just to go "back to normal"?
It makes no sense that as COVID becomes more highly transmissible, the dominant policy has been to completely abandon masks, when the logical reaction should have been to do the opposite and increase mask protection by recommending and distributing N95s to everyone.
The United Nations building surrounded by an apocalyptic orange sky is the perfect image for how world leaders have failed at stopping the climate crisis.
If you are recommending masks instead of requiring them, that means you know what is the right thing to do, but you'd much rather placate a minority of selfish anti-maskers instead of protecting the health of the majority.
Saying you "can't take COVID precautions forever" but also "people who are immunocompromised, disabled, elderly etc. can stay home to protect themselves" is completely ableist.
We need policies like mask mandates & ventilation to keep society safe, open, & accessible to all.
I don't know how many times we need to say this, but the transport mask mandate doesn't just apply to planes. It applies to buses and trains too.
Millions who rely on buses and trains to get to work, and access essential services every day, will now be put at much greater risk.
Almost 30% of all global COVID deaths a week are happening in the US, despite the US containing only 4% of the world's population.
Yet, headlines are claiming COVID is under control in the US. American exceptionalism is deadly.
Long before COVID appeared, everyone should have been staying home when they were sick, and wearing a mask when they really needed to go out anyway. It’s incredible that we are still struggling to do this in the midst of a pandemic that has killed millions.
This is big news that isn't being reported widely enough: The Supreme Court has ruled that the TSA can issue mask mandates on planes, trains and other forms of transport.
Saying "we can't mask anymore, because at some point we have to get back to normal" is racist. Asian countries have been masking for years. What is normal is taking collective action in order to protect others, especially those most vulnerable.
#BringBackMasks
According to the latest CDC COVID-19 wastewater data, we are currently in the second-biggest surge of the pandemic.
It will peak in the next week, with ~2 million infections per day. During this surge, ~100 million people total (~1 in 3 people in the US) will likely get COVID.
This Japanese poster is around 100 years old. It reads: "The germs of the fearsome influenza! If you don’t wear a mask, you don’t value your life!"
Japan's success with COVID can be traced back to the 1918 pandemic, while the West ignored key lessons & paid the price years later
The world owes a lot to South Africa's incredible monitoring of variants.
Many countries have been silent on genomic surveillance, because it is politically inconvenient to report a variant, & be (wrongly) blamed for it.
But to end the pandemic, we need data & transparency.
Pfizer says it will price Covid treatment Paxlovid at $1,390 for a five-day course, which researchers estimate only costs Pfizer $13 to produce.
That's a 10,000%+ markup. Shameful.
Just days after the CDC weakened its COVID isolation guidelines, the White House is suspending its free home rapid test program.
This week is your last chance to order free COVID rapid tests here:
People at higher risk for severe COVID—the immunocompromised, disabled, elderly—have every right to take precautions and have every right to be angry. They are not "hysterical" or "risk averse." They are being intentionally excluded from society by bad pandemic leadership.
The truth is that unless we rapidly reorganize society to center around the collective instead of the individual, we will continue to completely fail at dealing with global crises like COVID and climate change.
The White House is not following the CDC’s COVID isolation guidance. They are actually going way beyond and telling people to stay home if they have tested positive within 10 days (ie. following what the science tells us). Very indicative.
Currently,
@WhiteHouse
website says "Within the 10 days prior to the public tour, anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19, has had any COVID-19 symptoms, or been in close contact with someone confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19, should stay home"
Breaking: Biden is announcing a COVID task force, which will be chaired by 3 scientists: former Surgeon General
@vivek_murthy
, former FDA Commissioner
@DavidAKesslerMD
and
@Yale
epidemiologist Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.
Imagine if instead of making COVID isolation guidelines as weak as the flu...
We approved combo rapid tests and made them free and available for everyone...
So that people could tell how long they need to isolate based on science and not feelings, whatever the pathogen.
When people get COVID, they should not have to work. They should get paid time off.
Leaders should stop doubling down on toxic work culture, and provide sick pay and financial support for those impacted by COVID.
Western Australia just confirmed its *first* COVID-19 case in 10 months. The response? Full lockdown & mandatory masks.
The US has had *hundreds of thousands* of new cases every day for several months. The response? Reopens indoor dining for Valentine’s & allows big weddings.
Studies show white people are less likely to wear a mask, less worried about spreading COVID to others, and are less supportive of safety measures after learning COVID disproportionately harms communities of color. If you are a leftist that's ignoring COVID, what are you doing?
"It's up to individuals to decide their own risk tolerance" they say, while also taking away the tools like testing and case rate reporting that provide people with the data they need to actually understand what risks they are facing.
Reminder: The tools that protect us from COVID — masks, air filters, and structural policies like expanded healthcare access — are the tools that we need to protect us from the climate crisis, which is causing a decrease in air quality and increase of disease outbreaks.
Hey
@WhiteHouse
and
@CDCgov
, you know what would be a more effective policy for slowing COVID spread than travel restrictions for a single country? Reinstating the mask mandate for airplanes and public transportation.
#BringBackMasks
If you've fallen out of practice of wearing a mask, this would be a good week to start again! COVID rates are rising because of a new variant, and because many people will have gotten sick over Thanksgiving. Your best protection is wearing a high quality mask.
We can not underestimate the devastating ecological impact of the
#AustraliaFires
. 6 million hectares have burned, an area inhabited by 500 millions animals, many endangered. The climate crisis is transforming Australia forever.
#AustraliaBurns
"We proof buildings for earthquakes that happen once every 50 or 100 years. We invest millions.
Why can't we do the same thing to make sure that our buildings are proofed against natural hazards like airborne pathogens?"
@zalaly
on the urgent need for clean air
#HELPLongCovid
COVID minimizers: We can't expect people to do lockdowns forever.
Us: We agree! Let’s all wear masks to keep businesses, schools, and services open, and so everyone can participate in society safely.
COVID minimizers: No way, masks suck. The vulnerable should stay home forever.
Unbelievable. The CDC website lists some of the actions that individuals can take to prevent
#LongCOVID
. They include vaccination, ventilation, testing, and even hand-washing... but they leave out, you guessed it, masks!
People in Asian countries have been masking voluntarily for decades in order to protect their communities.
Why do white Westerners think that acting in the interests of public health is so impossible, when the majority of the world has been doing it for a long time?
It’s horrible the media is more focused on trying to frame people who are masking as “hold outs”instead of investigating why political leaders prematurely dropped protections to serve corporate interests when polls show the majority still support mask mandates.
One week ago, a court in California ruled that employers cannot be sued for spreading COVID to their workers due to lack of protections.
This week, In-N-Out banned their employees from wearing masks.
This is horrible.
Richarlison, who just scored two goals in Brazil's World Cup opener:
- Is a science ambassador & raised awareness of COVID vaccines
- Donates 10% of his salary to help house ppl undergoing cancer treatment
- Is anti-Bolsonaro & spoken out against police killings
What a guy!
Ending public health measures while you are seeing record numbers is not “Living with COVID.”
It is SURRENDERING to COVID.
Governments should at least start being honest about this.
Policies that support remote work could simultaneously help address 3 global crises:
- rising gas prices due to war
- climate change
- spread of COVID
But instead, our leaders would rather help landlords and oil companies get richer.
@CDCDirector
You could easily mitigate the spread of COVID and make it safer for all travelers by reinstating the mask mandate for public transportation. Instead, you are choosing an ineffective policy that will only lead to more xenophobia and hate attacks against Asian people in the US.
This is unacceptable.
Dr. Fauci, one of the world's top infectious disease scientists was just censored live at a White House press conference.
He was interrupted and prevented from answering a question about hydroxychloroquine.
Studies show that you need to rest when in you have COVID to reduce your risk of Long COVID. The CDC shortening their COVID isolation guidelines will put people at greater risk of Long COVID.
It's surprising, but fantastic, to see a mainstream media outlet in 2024 recommending wearing N95 masks, and guiding consumers on where to purchase them.
This is the kind of content we need to normalize the wearing of masks in the long-term!
Link:
The fact that people are more willing to wear a mask in zoos to protect animals, but not in hospitals to protect patients shows how badly governments and public health departments are failing.
Zookeeper: “meerkats can catch viruses like cvd & the flu so can everyone pls put on mask to protect them?”
Safest, cutest, most fun outing in Melb - outdoors, everyone masked (keeper in P2 earloop) & meerkats 😍
plus lunch outdoors afterwards with my 2 younger daughters 🥰
Moderna is hiking its vaccine prices up to $130. Meanwhile, billionaires at Davos are sparing no expense to protect themselves from COVID-19, with HEPA filters, ventilation, UV and easy access to N95 masks, tests, and Paxlovid. This is a class war.
#DavosSafe
#DavosStandard
The rich are continuing COVID precautions like requiring masks & tests, indoor air cleaning infrastructure, & priority access to vaccines & treatments. But they're telling the rest of us the pandemic is over because they think protecting the working class will cut their profits.
Look at how the
@MTA
signs for masking on public transport have changed. The MTA is now appeasing anti-maskers and spreading public health misinformation that confuses people who still want to mask.
The rich don't care about your physical and mental health. The reason they are pushing a coordinated media campaign against remote work is because the only thing they really care about is all the money they are losing from empty offices.
This is APPALLING. Just one week after the midterms, the Senate has voted to end the COVID-19 Emergency Declaration. This will affect the cost of vaccines, tests, and treatments, restrict access to medicaid and telehealth, & restart student loan payments.
If you are a white liberal who chanted "Stop Asian Hate!" when Trump called COVID a "Chinese virus," but are silent when Biden implements an ineffective travel restriction that only encourages more xenophobia and attacks, you are part of the problem.
Portugal has a 90% vax rate, and hardly anyone is anti-mask. Why?
"We know that freedom is something else. We have lived in a dictatorship until '74. So, we know that removal of 'freedom' is something else" says infectious disease expert
@MariaMMota2
A leftist actually told me their excuse for not masking was that shaming individuals was not a good way to build solidarity 🙄
You know what really breaks solidarity? Locking the most vulnerable out of society because you won’t do the bare minimum.