As the increased threat of H5N1 hits the news, I’m reupping my piece about how govt propaganda threw public health itself under the bus in order to normalize recurrent COVID infections.

thegauntlet.news/p/institutiona…

My sister ended up in ER for heart issues (she’s fine). She sent me a text acknowledging how severe my cardiac issues are & saying “I had no idea how scary it was & I hate that the hospital can’t just fix you the way they fixed me.” This is how you validate a sick loved one.

Thinking about the lesbian on zerocovidcommunity who trusted her girlfriend to mask everywhere and take Covid precautions like nasal spray … only to surprise her at work seeing her with NO MASK on.

The betrayal must have felt like no other.

People are starting to understand violence against women doesn’t mean ALL men.

I wish people understood ableist violence against Disabled people doesn’t mean ALL non-disabled people.

We’ve the worst outcomes of all marginalised groups.

We need your voices, care and allyship.

I love Alice’s anthologies because they highlight diverse disabled voices. Many people have preconceived notions of what disability looks like & the essays she features challenge those ideas. They encourage people to think differently & hopefully with more compassion for others.

A society that understands that viruses can float in the air would be prepared. A society where people think that respiratory protection is a useful tool for every person to have on hand would be prepared. A society where people think that getting sick is bad would be prepared

Incredible article about the vulnerability & imbalance of power facing disabled people in our healthcare system. We know our bodies best - but often when you advocate you’re “annoying” instead of “knowing.” This mistreatment has cost people life & limb. We need a safer system.

Communication has been severely lacking throughout pandemic. People like Dr Moriarty have been doing work of public health with their COVID reporting. It’s tragic that ppl aren’t advised there’s still a threat. They should be masking, cleaning the air & have access to treatments.

If hospitals refuse to adopt infection control measures like masking & clean air… then when they infect us with covid and further disable us we will get expedited treatment. Right? Or at least they will agree not to push medically assisted death?

Wrong. We are on our own.

Kelly Win+win moments are worth shouting from the rooftops. 🎉

Nice to know this place can still bring out our humanity. 🙏

Kelly I was disabled in an MVA while on duty with the military, b/c of a military driver showing off.

That’s ended two careers.

Not sure how any of that was discretionary on my part.

If I’d been able to stay in uniform I’d already been selected for promotion and further post-grad.

What’s terribly sad is that just by being a big white man in the room… Lazarus is all but ensuring his aunt & mom receive better care. Even if he doesn’t say a word.

This is medical misogyny and it needs to change. Many women don’t have a Laz they can bring with them.

Fantastic piece on middle option bias from Dr Jessica.

“If you’re a HCW, not being willing to put on any mask at all makes you an a**hole, but patient demands to switch out the mask you’re already wearing for a more “extreme” version makes the patient an unreasonable zealot.”

I’m absolutely overwhelmed with gratitude at the outpouring of support for my friend Tory. He’s hit his goal & will be donating the excess directly to those in need in his community.

His partner Brynn posted an update (on the GFM)… we’ve really saved a life. Thank you all!

Was out & about in a local town earlier & had an interesting conversation with a couple of people I didn’t know.

Short 🧵

One mentioned a “cold” she’d got over a week or so ago & she said she’d heard “rumours” that “covid is on the rise again”, her daughter had sent her…

This article from April 2023 outlines how H5N1 could go human to human if it acquired the E627K mutation.
The E627K mutation has now been found in the infected farm worker who suffered from conjunctivitis.
It’s just a matter of time now. science.org/content/articl…

Besides being found in 6 different mammals so far in 13 different U.S states, what concerns me more is the casual mention of the presence of the E627K mutation. It allows faster viral replication in mammalian cells at the upper respiratory tract and is well-known to scientists.…

This is a mindset I desperately hope to change. People look at disability as a personal failing because they’re too afraid to face reality that health is temporary. One day they will become disabled… it’s terribly sad that for many they will only care when it happens to them.

Parents and adults with small faces, this is a draft chart comparing the sizes of small masks, feedback on the relative sizes of these masks or others similar in size would be appreciated

Thank you for this wonderful story. Just donated. I hope that Tory is able to heal so that he and Brynn and all who love him will have him in their lives for a LONG time!