For anyone who just wants to know what component: they want to drop the influenza B/Yamagata variant of the flu virus since it appears to have gone extinct in the wild.
And it didn't just go extinct by luck. It's a good case study of how to control and/or eliminate a virus (e.g. COVID):
"The rapid and global implementation of social distancing measures, masking, and the profound early reduction in international travel resulted in a substantial reduction in flu transmission."
I was all in for social distancing and so on for the time when covid was new and we didn’t have vaccines etc., but it also did a lot of damage to young people, me somewhat included. That idea has a good intention, but it will do more damage in other sectors than it does good in that sector.
These seem like skills that can easily be caught up on. I would be worried more about the social anxiety the isolation brought to children in early puberty. It’s heartbreaking to see them like that.
Much as I agree that more could and should have been done, I don’t think there is any way to contain this particular coronavirus (unlike the original SARS, which did go extinct from similar measures). SARS-CoV-2 transmits readily between people and animals. It would be impossible to avoid transmitting it to pets and farm animals, and from there impossible to avoid transmitting it to wild animals, and back again.
We absolutely can slow it down to avoid healthcare systems collapsing under the strain but I don’t think it is possible to eliminate it and there probably never was a time when that was realistic, given how infectious it is and how many people are infectious but asymptomatic for at least a day or two if not longer.
The only reasonable way to mitigate the risk in the long-term is proper ventilation/filtration in all enclosed public spaces, schools and workplaces. Plus ongoing six-monthly vaccinations at least until a vaccine which provides durable immunity is developed.
I live this every day. I’ve had a United Medical Director tell me that being able to feed yourself was “not an essential skill” worthy of rehab because it could be performed by staff or a family member.
This man tried to tell me that my patient in their late 60s was unworthy of a rehab stint for strengthening their upper arms to be able to feed themselves because someone else could do it for them for the rest of their lives.
Stay the hell away from Medicare Advantage plans. No matter what they promise, it’s irrelevant because they won’t actually provide it when the time comes.
I don't think flu has a big pay time between becoming infectious and becoming symptomatic though, like COVID does. That makes it easier to avoid (if I'm right.)
Edit: Looks like people average one day infectious before they themselves show symptoms.
True, but these people are the same ones who don’t stay home when symptomatic, or even cover their cough or sneeze with their elbow. They’re probably still out and about infecting people.
Yeah I totally get that. But apart from forcing these people there's no reasoning with with anymore. So if they are gonna go without vaccines (and they definitely will) I'm not gonna lose a lot of sleep over them landing in the ground when it's all over with.
I say boomer specifically because they're the age group most likely to die from covid or the flu. Definitely know there's plenty of dumbass younger people too.
But it’s not just them it affects unfortunately. I’ve personally seen previously totally healthy kids die from the flu. It’s a nasty virus anyone is better off without. And there’s many people out there of all ages who are immuno compromised or at increased risk from the flu through no fault of their own, or can’t be properly vaccinated for a variety of reasons.
Did US health insurance end up deciding to cover the new COVID boosters?
There was a lot of mixed messaging there for a while about how the prices were going to be like 10x as much and coverage was uncertain. That uncertainty can't have helped getting people in to get that and their other seasonal vaccines, even if it ended up getting resolved.
This is actually quite scary that the recommendation is for children as young as 13 years old. Research shows that a lot of gender dysphoria is the result of puberty and medicalizing treatment of it creates a pipeline to further transition including surgeries, while if not treated, the dysphoria often desists after puberty. Growing up is difficult and confusing - how many of us decided we were Absolutely Something as a kid and then shrugged it off later? Something as life-changing as hormone therapy for a physically healthy child should be handled very, very carefully.
ETA: for a thoughtful discussion of these and other topics, I suggest reading Holly Lawford-Smith’s book Gender Critical Feminism (extremely well cited with primary sources) and Helen Joyce’s book Trans.
… quite scary … pipeline to transition … dysphoria often desists …
You worked really hard to throw every catch phrase possible into that.
It’s telling that the first one is you’re scared … which is a poor motivator because it means you make important decisions based on falsehoods and fear-mongering.
It includes 13 year olds because puberty blockers are included. No one is giving estrogen to children. If a child experiences gender dysphoria, their parents can have them work with a psychiatrist and their doctor to make sure they delay puberty so the child can keep growing and decide if they want to transition when they approach adulthood.
Everything else you’ve said is bullshit. Your ignorance is not a free pass to make up facts and spread misinformation.
Research shows that a lot of gender dysphoria is the result of puberty and medicalizing treatment of it creates a pipeline to further transition including surgeries, while if not treated, the dysphoria often desists after puberty.
This right here, this is evil. If someone took you at your word here, they may choose to ignore or punish their child if they were experiencing gender dysphoria. I know you have no sources from any respected institution, and the medical community en masse rebuke this line of thinking.
Edit: Both of the books the original commenter added to try and support their claims are books that posit TERF views that sex is biological and gender either doesn’t exist or is equally biological and cannot change. They dehumanize trans folks and their struggles. They are not medical studies or journals supporting their claims.
Good thing hormones are only prescribed in a minority of trans kids anyways, even though the vast majority of them do not desist as they get older. In fact, the majority of them continue on to transition as adults, and 99.5 or so percent of trans kids given just puberty blockers, much less hormones, grow to adulthood with no regrets.
Also, before you ask, I can provide sources, but that which is declared without evidence can be dismissed without evidence, especially when the dismissal is in line with literally every major medical organization, including the World Health Organization, due to the sheer amount of clear evidence that transition is a safe and effective treatment for gender dysphoria at any age.
Something as life-changing as puberty should be too. What if you grow up to regret having gone through forced puberty like I did? The damage is unbelievable and, in some instances, can never be reversed.
If hormones for trans teens are “quite scary” then necessarily puberty for all teens is “quite scary”. Should we thusly force everyone to take puberty blockers until they’re 18? Or do you trust cis children to know their gender but not trans children?
You clearly don’t even understand what trans people are. It’s really not something you can simply convince yourself of, and by the age of 13 under direct supervision of psychologists and doctors a trans child should be able to avoid going through what I and many other trans people go through. I knew I wanted to be a girl when I was 5. I never had access to gender affirming care until I was 18. It has traumatized me for life and done untold amounts of damage to my body and my mind. I am not alone. Knowing that you’re a girl is different than “playing pretend” or “having a phase”. It’s not even remotely the same. It’s something fundamental about who you are, something that affects every single aspect of your life from the day you’re born until you die. Trans children should be allowed to go through the hormonal development they choose. No one should be forced to undergo hormone changes that mortally horrify them. No one should be forced to pretend they’re a gender they aren’t.
This shit takes lives. Trans kids are one of the highest risk categories for young suicide. This isn’t a joke, this isn’t a game, and it’s about time that you and other ill-informed people sat back and let actual professionals take care of their patients.
Gender Critical Feminism is the conceptual framework that gender is a social construct, innate gender identity doesn’t exist, and biological sex is a class that causes oppression of women.
I have trauma related to my uterus (nice armchair diagnosis there!) And yet my oppression is due to my societal gender role, not the organ I possess that you just accused me of having trauma from?
statnews.com
Oldest