Notices by Dr. Lucky Tran :verified: (luckytran@med-mastodon.com), page 13

LAST REMINDER: Comment on the rule that would reinstate hospital reporting requirements for COVID and other respiratory viruses.

Deadline is TODAY at 11:59 pm EDT.

Comment here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/05/02/2024-07567/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-and-the-childrens-health-insurance-program-hospital-inpatient#open-comment

When you see protestors wearing masks, a big reason is COVID.

The right lies that it's only to hide identities, so they can ban masks and make protesting illegal.

Leftists need to stop repeating right-wing talking points. Always point out mask wearing is also due to COVID!

This is how to protest when you understand that all our struggles are connected ✊

Last month the requirement for US hospitals to report key COVID data to the federal government ended.

This is reckless! But there's a rule that would reinstate hospital reporting requirements outside of public health emergencies.

Comments close Jun 10! ➡️http://bit.ly/covidhospitaldata

Here's a helpful guide from the People' s CDC with tips on what to include in your public comment to reinstate hospital reporting requirements for COVID: https://peoplescdc.substack.com/p/tell-cms-medicaremedicaid-to-protect

It’s unethical that COVID is frequently left out of conversations about public transport accessibility. Many disabled and higher risk people haven’t been able to access public transport for years due to the lack of masks and clean air. This is a huge equity issue.

New poll from Data for Progress finds that 71% of US voters are against mask bans.

Many of us heard that COVID moves like cigarette smoke. That's a great analogy. And like smoke, while it's true that you can still be affected at longer distances, especially if you are in rooms with poor ventilation, it's going to be much worse the closer you are to the source.

“Months of extreme hunger have already killed many Palestinians in Gaza and caused permanent damage to children through malnutrition.

Two UN organisations said more than 1 million people were “expected to face death and starvation” by mid-July.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/05/starvation-already-causing-mass-death-and-lasting-harm-in-gaza-agencies-say

4+ years into COVID and many still missing the nuances:

Often 6ft isn't enough, but increasing physical distance reduces risk

N95s are much better, but surgical masks do help

Outdoors is safer, but you can still catch it

Vaccines reduce transmission, but don't eliminate it

This article is misleading and emboldens pandemic deniers and minimizers.

It's incorrect to say there was no science to support distancing rules.

The science absolutely shows us that increasing physical distance is associated with decreasing risk.

The nuance that is dangerously not conveyed here is that while distancing helps, 6-feet *alone* often isn't enough because COVID is airborne, so we need layered measures like masks and clean air too.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/06/02/six-foot-rule-covid-no-science/

Hospitals in South Australia have paused elective surgeries and declared an internal emergency due to staff being sick with COVID. The pandemic is not over. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-30/sa-public-hospitals-in-internal-emergency/103915690

We are living in an age of denial. Denial of a genocide. Denial of an ongoing pandemic. Denial of a climate crisis.

Acknowledging reality is an act of rebellion.

North Carolina's House has rejected the anti-mask bill! The bill will now go through a compromise process, which could include re-adding a health exemption.

More work needs to be done, but this shows that advocacy is making a difference. Keep going!

https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/nc-house-votes-not-to-concur-with-bill-reinstating-mask-restrictions/

The new review showing the effectiveness of masks addresses the flawed Cochrane study, which was deliberately misinterpreted by anti-maskers & some media to spread misinformation around masks.

This new review will serve as a gold standard reference to debunk mask misinformation.

A new gold standard review of 100 studies finds:

- masks are effective in reducing transmission of respiratory diseases

- N95 respirators are significantly more effective than medical or cloth masks

- mask mandates are effective in reducing community transmission

https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/cmr.00124-23

News: Biobot is sunsetting its COVID-19 wastewater public data visualization platform.

While Biobot will continue to publish their contextualized weekly respiratory risk reports, this represents another decrease in data transparency, and a step in the wrong direction.

Source: https://biobot.io/from-raw-data-to-actionable-insights-biobots-evolution-of-public-data-sharing/

Please keep signing and sharing this petition against the banning of masks in North Carolina. It’s helping to get more media attention on the issue!

You can sign here: https://www.change.org/p/halt-the-passage-of-nc-bill-237-banning-masks-in-public?recruited_by_id=0e43e830-125b-11ef-b999-6dfe8a4a6443

The US government is ending the program that provides free COVID vaccines to people who are uninsured and underinsured.

This is a public health failure that will further decrease already low vax rates, and puts marginalized communities at greater risk.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4670459-cdc-ending-free-covid-vaccines-uninsured/

Republicans complained about government overreach at the start of the pandemic. Yet they are now justifying the use of legislative power in order to ban wearing a mask for health reasons. What an absolute farce.