Notices by Dr. Lucky Tran :verified: (luckytran@med-mastodon.com), page 7

GOOD NEWS: The US government has announced that it will again offer free at-home Covid tests starting in late September.

You will be able to get 4 more free test kits sent through the mail.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/23/covid-tests-us-will-offer-free-at-home-kits-starting-late-september.html

BREAKING: Disability Rights New York has filed a class action lawsuit against Nassau County.

They are seeking a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order to stop enforcement of the mask ban in Nassau County.

Link to lawsuit: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/i76648z1800hwx0akzui6/1-Class-Complaint.pdf

We are finally getting updated COVID vaccines.

But the CDC's Bridge Access Program, which provides COVID vaccines for free to people who are underinsured, is ending this month.

What is the point of having public health tools if the people who need them most can't access them?

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/bridge/index.html

The FDA just approved the updated COVID-19 vaccines, as we reach the peak of the summer COVID surge.

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-and-authorizes-updated-mrna-covid-19-vaccines-better-protect-against-currently

"Although the Nassau mask ban contains provisions for people who mask for medical reasons it is up to the police to determine whether someone has a medical reason for masking if they are out in public. This means that enforcing the ban is subjective and will disproportionally impact Black people and people of color, who are more likely to be stopped by police and are also more likely to wear masks to prevent Covid."

Great op-ed in STAT by Kaitlin Costello

https://www.statnews.com/2024/08/20/mask-bans-nassau-county-north-carolina-new-york-disabled-rights/

"40% of nurses reported that they have had Covid-19 themselves this summer.

Of those, 21% said they had attended work while infected with the virus."

It's malpractice that hospitals aren't requiring masks and giving workers adequate paid sick leave.

https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/coronavirus/covid-19-nurses-concerned-amid-summer-upsurge-16-08-2024/

Nassau County, NY just passed a mask ban and now residents say they are going to take pictures of anyone wearing a mask and send them to police.

This is why we need to stop any kind of mask ban legislation. They empower vigilantes to harass and surveil people wearing masks for health reasons.

Source: https://archive.ph/1R6Pm

Democrats at the DNC convention keep claiming “COVID no longer controls our lives.”

What scientists say: The global incidence of Long COVID is ~400 million individuals, which is estimated to have an annual economic impact of approximately $1 trillion.

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03173-6

#DNCConvention2024

The FDA looks likely to approve updated COVID vaccines this week, just as we hit the peak of one of the largest summer surges of the pandemic.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/16/health/fda-updated-covid-19-vaccines/index.html

Studies show people of color are far more likely to take COVID precautions like wearing a mask. Any mask ban therefore disproportionately targets and criminalizes people of color.

Source: https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-september-2023/

Don't listen to politicians who lie and say they need mask bans to address hate. There's zero evidence they do this, and in reality they do the opposite. People of color are more likely to wear masks and more likely to be targeted by police. Mask bans are racist policies.

The CDC is joking about mass infection, and still are not recommending masks. This is NOT how to do effective science communication.

When officials say wear a mask “when appropriate” or “if you personally feel you are at risk,” it has the opposite effect and stigmatizes mask wearing.

The best way to encourage mask wearing is to say that it’s a good idea for ANYONE wear a mask at ANY TIME.

Please stop saying we should wear masks "when appropriate."

COVID surges throughout the year, and other viruses, pollution, wildfire smoke etc. are also significant health issues.

It is ALWAYS appropriate to wear a mask.

Please stop saying we should wear masks "when appropriate."

COVID surges throughout the year, and other viruses, pollution, wildfire smoke etc. are also significant health issues.

It is ALWAYS appropriate to wear a mask.

Bernie Sanders: "The time has come to start treating the Long COVID crisis as the public health emergency that it is.

What does that mean?

It means we need to educate medical professionals on how to adequately diagnose Long COVID.

We need to do a much better job at disease prevention. The best way to avoid getting Long COVID is to prevent people from getting COVID in the first place.

We need to do everything we can do to find treatments and cures for Long COVID."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bernie-sanders-america-must-confront-its-long-covid-crisis

IT'S OFFICIAL: The mask ban in Nassau County, NY is now law and takes effect immediately.

It gives police the power to fine people wearing a mask $1,000 and sentence them to jail time.

While the bill includes health and religious exceptions, the broad language means anyone wearing a mask could be arrested.

If you are in Nassau County, please keep wearing mask!

The mask ban bill includes a health exception, so you have the right to assert that you are wearing a mask for health reasons.

But the bill gives cops power to intimidate people wearing a mask, so please be careful.

It's important to know your rights! Even though a mask ban is now law in Nassau County, NY, cops can't:

❌Make you provide a doctors note proving your disability
❌Force you to disclose private health info
❌Make you take off a religious face covering

The Nassau County mask ban applies to all public spaces, not just protests. And the language means that police officers — who are not medical or religious experts — will arbitrarily determine who has the right to wear a mask and who goes to jail.

https://nassaucountyny.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/3192?fileID=247452