"COVID is just a Flu."
"#LongCovid isn't real"
Meanwhile, in the scientific world, my boss will present my poster on the connection between #Alzheimer and #NeuroCovid at one of the most important scientific meetings on the planet. Details below, stop by if you are around! #SfN25
Nov. 14 update on infant botulism outbreak: 23 infants sick in 13 states. Do not use ByHeart infant formula. Seek immediate medical care if infant shows: Poor feeding, loss of head control, difficulty swallowing, or decreased facial expressions. https://t.co/DspNrV4HZm
We who study autoimmune disease have known for years that Epstein–Barr virus is far more than an epidemiological curiosity — it is implicated across a wide range of autoimmune conditions, including systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, myasthenia gravis, Sjögren’s syndrome, etc. Our group and others proposed a mechanistic model some years ago explaining how Epstein–Barr virus can break immune tolerance and drive autoimmunity; more recent reviews continue to support this framework (see our model and review: https://t.co/T3Th0oFvaj , https://t.co/hdc9KNiyiC , https://t.co/UmOUlWVdwi and https://t.co/IZgPn3HhQN).
Many autoimmune flares coincide with reactivations of Epstein–Barr virus — and other herpesviruses — and there is increasing mechanistic and clinical evidence that these reactivations can trigger pathogenic autoreactive B-cell and T-cell responses. In addition, a shared HLA class II genetic susceptibility appears to predispose certain individuals to present Epstein–Barr viral antigens in a way that promotes autoimmunity, which helps explain why only some infected individuals go on to develop these diseases.
Given all of this, it is difficult to justify how rarely chronic antiviral strategies (such as prolonged treatment with valacyclovir or acyclovir in selected patients) are considered in routine clinical practice. The lack of recent, well-designed randomized trials — rather than any compelling evidence against antivirals — is what keeps the field stagnant. We urgently need prospective, targeted trials. In the meantime, clinicians should seriously consider antiviral therapy for patients whose flares clearly correlate with documented herpesvirus reactivation, instead of assuming these reactivations are “controlled like in healthy people.”
The link between Epstein–Barr virus and multiple autoimmune diseases, the clear coincidence of flares with viral reactivation, and the shared HLA class II susceptibility form a coherent, testable clinical hypothesis. It is time for the clinical community to stop dismissing viral reactivation in these patients and to start evaluating antiviral strategies properly — for the sake of the patients who are suffering today.
For the sake of patients with these autoimmune diseases — and for those with emerging conditions such as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long COVID, many of whom develop autoimmune features linked to Epstein–Barr virus — we must act now to evaluate antiviral interventions and stop leaving patients without options.
Every school has a policy to protect those with a peanut allergy (1-4%), but 8.2% of American children have Long Covid (climbing every day) and 100% are susceptible.
Children didn’t consent to having their lifespan cut in half or being sentenced to a life in bed.
Clean the air!
Can't really overstate this enough.
Our Flu vaccines don't match the current flu strain, which is spreading everywhere; it's probably going to be worse than COVID this year.
We're dealing with big-time immune evasion.
Hospitalizations are already up in a number of countries.
Let’s talk about one of the most dangerous and under-discussed consequences of SARS-CoV-2: neurological damage. More specifically, frontal lobe dysfunction.
This is being deliberately downplayed, in part due to a misguided weaponisation of “ableism” discourse. That’s a problem🧵
1/5 🧵
🎙️ Just delivered “Herd Immunity to BS: Building Resilience to Misinformation in the AI Age.”
Small crowd.
Big topic.
Essential conversation.
Finally got a photo with Dr. Rachel Hoopsick — one of the sharpest voices in our field.
My talk covered:
• How exercise really affects immunity
• Why misinformation spreads faster than pathogens
• What Long COVID + chronic disease data actually show
• Why clean air > hand sanitizer
• And how to build your “immune system” for nonsense in the age of AI
Dropping the full script below — and I’ll be sharing my Living Library next: a public archive of all the receipts, references, and evidence showing how we got here.
If you’re tired of spin, vibes, and post-pandemic amnesia… Stay tuned.
👇 Script:
A group of physicians, occupational disease researchers, etc. are urging WHO to make N95/FFP2-3 respirators the standard for healthcare, with clear allowances for “off-ramps.” Surgical masks are ineffective. Please sign w/100s of others, w/our thanks. https://t.co/D2Y5cVBs0u
Nurse 1: Can we swap patients?
Nurse 2: Why?
N1: I’ve got Covid, & can’t go near her.
N2: But I’ve got Covid too!
They both left the room (4 beds). Couldn’t find a Covid-negative nurse on shift.
N1: The team will look after you today!
Me: At least the asymptomatic ones?! /
@KCMartinStone You're welcome! Sounds like you and your daughters are doing well on the masking/isolating front. 🤞
You may be doing this already, but always running HEPA filters/CR boxes is a good idea. Plus, they clean air of particulates from air pollution, cooking, and allergens!
@KCMartinStone I'm sorry to hear that. Attached shows 3 easy&safe things research shows reduce viral load & bad outcomes: (1) Anti-viral nasal sprays, i.e. Enovid, (2) CPC or Betadine gargling, (3) Zinc lozenges or supplements. Amazon should be able to send overnight.
More in post⬇️ Good luck.
If we’re wrong about Covid - the worst that’s happened is we’ve worn a mask and cleaned the air.
If others are wrong - they’ve potentially saddled themselves with lifelong chronic health issues. Infected & harmed someone else.
They NEED to be right. We WANT to be wrong.
We’re in Year 6. If you were following, you’d see the thread unraveling long ago.
It’s infuriating. These anti-thinkers. These "I’m not sick"-ers.
Year 6. You’re sicker & a sucker. Your persistent gut punch is coming.
The reckoning doesn’t care about your disbelief—it’s coming, whether it hits your marrow or meninges.
I’m seeing so many Democrats panic about the incoming administration’s public health stance after spending the last 3 years pretending COVID no longer exists amid record disability & death. There was ZERO public education, & the newly disabled were subjected to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell & abandoned by society. Amid RECORD communicable disease—record TB, syphilis/congenital syphilis & other STIs, strep, mosquito-borne diseases, RSV, pertussis, drug resistance, record foodborne pathogens, etc—NO ONE SAID A THING. There was only silence since a Democrat was in power. NO ONE protested living & dying for corporate profits, or transferring workers’ rights back to employers, or the MASSIVE wealth transfer from the bottom to the top, & we deserve everything that is coming.