Notices by Augie Ray (augieray@mastodon.social)

Just got my #COVID19 and flu shot! (I think this is my 10th COVID vaccination.)

Of course, there are people who like to act like the COVID vaccine doesn't work because we need to keep getting it—but today was my 10th flu vaccination in the past decade, so…

Get vaccinated!

Imagine you go back in time to 1928 to 1933—a period during which ordinary Germans could have prevented Hitler from rising to power through elections, protests, and strikes—and you ask Germans why they didn't act. If they told you, “Well, I did not want to annoy my friends,” “It was inconvenient,” or “My boss might have seen and objected,” would you accept that?

1/6

The Epstein files remain hidden; the Trump family is profiting off his office; Americans are losing their lives in a senseless war; inflation and national debt are rising; the Trump administration lies repeatedly about wars, safety, and the economy; and roving bands of masked federal agents are harassing and sometimes killing people within the US. If this isn't enough to move you to speak up and act, what will?

4/6

We can turn back tariffs, end stupid wars, protect lawful immigrants, defend rights, and prevent the weaponization of the justice system; or we can sit back and see just how far the nation can fall into division, violence, and undemocratic chaos.

Speak up. Press your conservative friends on Trump's broken promises. Let your MAGA family members know the time has come to vote for the nation, not the cult. And please commit to voting (in person, since God knows if mail ballots will count).

3/6

Would you think it was fine that 35 million to 40 million people perished in Europe in WWII because ordinary Germans passed on opportunities to speak up, voice their concerns, vote, and act?

I ask, because absolutely vital midterms are only two months away, and I see very little about it. In November, we can contain Trump and his dangerous administration, or we can leave the world and nation defenseless.

2/6

Study after study say: Vaccinations work.

People say: 🤷♀️

STUDY found that multiple #COVID19 vaccinations progressively reduced the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events.

One jab: 4% reduction
Two jabs: 18% reduction
Three jabs: 42% reduction

https://academic.oup.com/ehjqcco/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ehjqcco/qcag139/8776131?login=false

Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs.

Giant Trump MAGA superstore selling off its remaining inventory at a 50 percent discount and closing its doors “for lack of business.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-merchandise-store-out-of-business-b3033705.html

Conservatives ignoring science and putting their health at risk is nothing new. A new study found that, in the 2010s, “conservative Americans experienced worsening health and higher mortality than liberals.” Among the causes is “declining trust in medical professionals among right-leaning individuals, including lower willingness to seek care, follow clinical advice or believe in medication effectiveness, even for issues unrelated to COVID-19.”

FAFO!

https://www.fastcompany.com/91561329/widening-health-gap-between-liberals-and-conservatives

There is no evidence that #COVID19 is beginning a surge at this point. The WastewaterSCAN dashboard has bounced around a little, but the overall trend has been stable. The positive rate of testing has also been very stable and low.

Not only are both of these at the lowest level in five years, but they are also steadier than they've ever been. Since 2020, COVID has always been in flux, rising or falling every week, but the situation has been extraordinarily steady for almost two months now.

New wastewater data from the CDC: No sign of the US summer #COVID19 surge—yet.

The NWSS data (as of 6/6) shows no upward trend. Every state still at very low activity except MS (moderate) and LA (low).
https://www.cdc.gov/wastewater/respiratory-viruses/national.html?cove-tab=1

Biofire still shows no upward trend in positive rate.
https://www.syndromictrends.com/

But there may be EARLY signs of an upward trend on WastewaterSCAN. Recent data (as of 6/8) may suggest an uptick, but we need to see if this is a trend.

https://data.wastewaterscan.org/tracker?charts=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%3D&selectedChartId=f5efc9

1/2

A study may suggest that #COVID19 is running out of evolutionary room—with some caveats. (I am an informed person, not an expert, so take my interpretation with care.)

The study notes, "Could another drastic event change the mutation landscape again? At least from the stability of Omicron mutations under our HSS and LSS (high- and low-stringency selection) conditions the answer is no. However, a drastic shift in evolutionary pressure could change this prediction."

What does this mean? 1/4

COVID may be running out of steam to evolve and overcome our defenses. There are still risks that could cause a major saltation and could cause more serious waves of infections, but this research seems to indicate Omicron is the natural destination for SARS-CoV-2, at least when it comes to the receptor
binding domain (RBD) on the Spike (S) of the virus. Might this be COVID's end-game? Time will tell, I guess.

https://phys.org/news/2026-06-lab-evolution-recreates-covid-path.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-72312-z

What does the quote in my first post (about if we could see a significant change in the mutation landscape) mean?

This implies the natural evolution isn't likely to alter current trends, given Omicron's dominance. However, some rare situations might occur, such as zoonotic spillover (from animals) or agentic shift (different strains combining in an individual.) Low vaccination rates might also change evolutionary pressure, but we may have enough immunity to prevent that.

3/4

The researchers found that strong selection pressure starting with the Wuhan wildtype virus causes the virus to develop into Omicron—which means their tests aligned with the reality of what has occurred. And when they tested different COVID variants, they also evolved into Omicron. It seems Omicron is the most humanized of COVID variants.

Does this tell us anything about the future of #COVID19? The study hints at this (and again, take my interpretation cautiously.) 2/4

When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace becomes a circus.

I don't know about you, but I think it should concern us that the President of the United States is losing his mind. This is a real post from Truth Social.

Ah, yes, the return of free speech, where you can punch down on women, the disabled, the LGBTQ community, and people of color with slurs. But don't you dare make a joke on late-night TV, post about military law, ask the president a valid question during a presser, share an unflattering photo of a Cabinet member, or criticize the president, because that's treason!

The Southern Poverty Law Center does excellent work fighting hate groups. Republicans have long complained that the SPLC is overly leftist and partisan because the #SPLC investigates and reports on white supremacist groups. I have been a longtime supporter of the SPLC and could immediately see the BS in the Trump DOJ's indictment of the SPLC this week. 1/2

https://www.justsecurity.org/137171/indictment-southern-poverty-law-center-splc/

Trump is picking a fight with the Pope. Trump is losing that fight.

Just read a study that noted, “Unvaccinated residents showed higher hazards for transitioning to COVID death.” I am not sure that I've seen “dying” framed in such a delicate way.

“Is he dying, doctor?”
“No, he is merely transitioning to death.”