Flappest

setting up on Mastadon at [email protected]

[Gerard Hughes ( @ghhughes.bsky.social ) @ghhughes]

If you have general questions about masks and mask fit, or are looking for community mask fit testing, check the Fit Testing For Everyone Discord Server:

https://t.co/ONtFLas83Q

For general mask questions you can try the Masks4All sub on Reddit:

https://t.co/oOLnOS4TAb

Check @masknerd's YouTube channel for mask testing. He's got serious engineering chops as well as knowledge of aerosol science and the regulatory landscape for respiratory protection, but makes it easy to understand:

https://t.co/nSUbYKCUPs

And you can check my YouTube for mask and air filtration testing - the Temu version of Aaron Collins :-) :

https://t.co/DEXWjDEFl3

[Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1]

Trump's DHS just ordered migrants who were temporarily allowed to live in the U.S. after using the Biden-era CBP One app to leave the country "immediately."

More than 900,000 people were allowed in the country using the CBP One app since January 2023.
https://t.co/WFcmXjI9tV

[maya benowitz 🕰️ @cosmicfibretion]

It’s only a matter of time until this happens across all fields. We are at the precipice of a scientific exodus similar to 1930’s Germany.

[Democracy Docket @DemocracyDocket]

A Georgia appeals court disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting the 2020 election subversion case against President-elect Donald Trump and dozens of others but rejected a request to dismiss the indictment.
https://t.co/WbAAO1IpVC

[COVID-19 Longhauler Advocacy Project @C19LH_Advocacy]

The number of disabled people in the U.S. jumped nearly **35%** in 4 years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, noting it may be largely related to LC and to post-infection worsening of chronic conditions.

https://t.co/WvO0bmaXtJ

[Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA @michael_hoerger]

PMC COVID-19 Dashboard, Dec 30, 2024 (U.S.)

🔥1 in 50 people actively infectious
🔥1 in 3 chance of an exposure in a gathering of 20 on NYE
🔥6.7 million new infections per week
🔥>300,000 resulting #LongCOVID conditions/week

Info for new readers:

For those unfamiliar with the PMC model, find full weekly reports for the past 1.5 years at https://t.co/xmDnq5NN8N

The models combine data from IHME, Biobot, and CDC to use wastewater to estimate case levels (r = .93 to .96) and forecast levels the next month based on typical levels for that date and recent patterns of changes in transmission the past 4 weeks. Our work has been cited in top scientific journals and media outlets, which are fully sourced in a detailed technical appendix at https://t.co/ddcyi164IX

Examples include JAMA Onc, JAMA-NO, BMC Public Health, Time, People, TODAY, the Washington Post, the Institute for New Economic Thinking, Salon, Forbes, the New Republic, Fox, CBS, and NBC. See pgs 11-13 at the above link.

We will have a pre-print out in the next month documenting very compelling evidence for the validity of using wastewater to estimate case rates. Forecasting is challenging in the context of the current viral evolution, but the real-time estimates of cases are impressively accurate to the best we can evaluate it.

[Aura Bogado @aurabogado]

The CDC made bird flu tests hard to get; that lack of surveillance means that bird flu has likely spread undetected. Even as the virus mutates, the CDC has declined to make the bird flu vaccine available to farmworkers.

This is a disaster.

https://t.co/5wIOOsaXkm

[Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA @michael_hoerger]

This is our best estimate for New Year's Eve, caveat being a nearly 2-week lag in real-time CDC data.

If nobody is testing/isolating...
🔹1 in 4 chance of an exposure at a party of 20
🔹1 in 2 chances of an exposure at a party of 40-50
🔹>3 out of 4 chance on a flight of 100

[julie k. brown @jkbjournalist]

For nearly every record obtained for this story, the Herald had to either consult with its lawyers, get its lawyers directly involved or use other sources to obtain them. Even after paying legal fees and the costs for the documents themselves, not all the public records were turned over.

Read more at: https://t.co/BLWWNMObnt

[Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1]

Key findings from the Senate Judiciary Committee's investigation into the Supreme Court's 'ethical crisis':

• Scalia accepted lavish gifts from billionaires and others with business before the Court for more than a decade, in violation of federal law, including 258 personal trips, dozens of which were never disclosed.

[Michael Olesen 💉😷🇺🇸🇺🇦 @maolesen]

New Mexico. I thought this might be bad data a couple of weeks ago, but now I assess it as a real signal. Dangerous time to be there.

[David Lingenfelter, PhD @dlingenfelter]

1 in 8 citizens of New Mexico (13%) is actively infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with lots of new daily infections being reported and numbers continuing to rise.

[nic @nickelpin]

Taylor Swift Eras Tour Swifties fan project: public health contact tracing all 3 nights of the Vancouver stop! So far, it's at 115 respondents, of 180,000 ticket holders with 70% of ticketholders from outside Vancouver.

[Data Report @CovidDataReport]

The rise in Covid wastewater in the Midwest US right now is alarming, they are now approaching their summer peak. Even if this gets corrected and scaled back some, it is still a very rapid rise.

[Sam Ghali, M.D. @EM_RESUS]

Here’s a photo displaying the relative potencies of Heroin, Fentanyl, and Carfentanil. Each vial contains roughly a lethal dose of the drug.

[Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA @michael_hoerger]

Did anyone notice that the CDC just modified their dashboard to make Covid transmission look lower?

The underlying data are identical. However, the Y axis is rescaled to make everything seem lower.

https://t.co/0ywBlFpAJu

[Kaidi Wu, Ph.D. @kaidi_wu]

Americans have no idea how difficult legal immigration is for "high-skilled immigrants".

I have 4 degrees incl a PhD. Einstein visa. 250K salary at FAANG. Lived in this country since I was a teenager.

I won't be able to obtain citizenship until middle age

Guide for Intl PhDs🧵

[Archive: Rep. Abigail Spanberger @RepSpanberger]

As a former CIA case officer, I saw the men and women of the U.S. intelligence community put their lives on the line every day for this country — and I am appalled at the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to lead DNI. (1/3)

[Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧 @_CatintheHat]

EXCESS DEATHS

In week 44 2024:
▪️Expected deaths: 12,278
▪️Actual deaths: 10,644

In week 44 2023:
▪️Expected deaths: 10,604
▪️Actual deaths: 10,983

They’ve raised the baseline of expected deaths by 16% since this time last year!

No wonder there’s no excess…

/1

[Israel Defense Forces @IDF]

⭕️Hamas placed a rocket launcher aimed toward Israelis in the humanitarian area in Gaza, so a precise IAF strike dismantled it.

Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including numerous advanced warnings.

See for yourself how Hamas continues to use Gazans as human shields: