Health and Sanity category archive
Vaccine Nation, Science Schmience Dept. 0
Steven M. is not sanguine, as he hears more Republicans seem to say
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“Herd immunity.”
Republican Family Values 0
At the Des Moines Register, Elise Free marvels at the me-me-me-and-to-heck-with-thee. A snippet:
The vast majority of my family will vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
My daughter has cystic fibrosis. Even though for 19 years they have witnessed our life-or-death struggles with the U.S. health care system, and supported our cystic fibrosis fundraising efforts, I cannot convince them not to vote for a man who has repeatedly promised to take my daughter’s health care protections away the minute he steps into office. Again.
The Hurricane Disinformation Hurricane 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Susan A. Nolan and Michael Kimball look at the swirl of falsehoods that followed hurricanes Helene and Milton and at the reasons some persons allowed themselves to be swept up in the cyclone of claptrap. They also offer some suggestions for preparing a storm cellar in which to shelter from the stormers.
In view of the amount of traffic on the disinformation superhighway, I find it a worthwhile read.
Vaccine Nation 0
Rebecca Watson discusses how the anti-VAXX movement is endangering everyone. An excerpt from her discussion of a study reported in The Lancet:
But now back to the bad news: that “trend” I said they noticed? They found that the number of people who contracted measles during that time period were MORE likely to be vaccinated, compared to previous decades. The number of vaccinated people getting measles TRIPLED, but why?
The models showed that the protection offered by the vaccine was superb, so how is this happening? Because of herd immunity. If 95% of people were immunized, we wouldn’t see these breakout infections, but in England during that time period only 85% of kids got both doses. That drop of just ten percentage points tripled the number of cases showing up in vaccinated people, even for a vaccine with an incredibly high level of effectiveness, which should give you some insight into why we’re still dealing with COVID-19, considering that only about 80% of Americans ever got even a single vaccination for it.
Or you can read the transcript.
Medicare Disadvantage 0
Thom reports that hospitals are increasingly frustrated at dealing with Medicare “Advantage” plans, because those “insurers” just don’t want to, well, pay for medical care, because actually paying for stuff cuts into their profits.
As far as I am concerned, Medicare “Advantage” was a con and scam from the git-go. It was created solely to allow private companies to get their paws on public money. When I qualified for Medicare (yeah, I’m old), I made sure to avoid Medicare “Advantage” for the same reason I don’t answer phone calls when the caller ID reads “Scam Likely.”
But that’s just me.
Facebook Frolics 0
Farron dissects the doubletalk.
The Climates They Are a-Changing 0
It appears that climate change may be going viral.
Vaccine Nation 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Dr. L. Kenneth Zweig points out that, despite the scare-mongering from anti-VAXXers, side effects from vaccinations are almost always good things. A snippet:
Follow the link for the full picture.
Vaccine Nation 0
At The Seattle Times, physicians and medical school professsors Christopher A. Sanford and Paul Pottinger debunk de anti-vaxxer bunk.
I find the article commendable not because it breaks new ground. It does not. But it thoroughly demolishes the four primary anti-vaxx lies in one succinct piece.
News You Can Lose 0
There’s an old saying that “no news is good news.”
At Psychology Today Blogs, Arthur Dobrin argues that too much news is bad news. A snippit:
Follow the link for his suggestions as to how to keep up to date without being driven up a wall.
Lab Leak Lunacy 0
Rebecca Watson explores the susceptibility of some to the COVID “lab leak” theory, which is supported by zero evidence whatsoever, and what that theory’s persistence portends for the polity. Her analysis motivates one to be less than sanguine about the sagacity of the susceptible. (Warning: Mild language.)
If you prefer, you can read the transcript.
Afterthought:
We are becoming a nation unmoored from factual reality.
The Privatization Scam 0
Thom dissects the con behind Medicare (Dis)Advantage and the con that is coming.
The Privatization Scam 0
Thom talks with Dr. David Himmelstein about the deleterious effects of Medicare (Dis)Advantage.
Vaccine Nation 0
David debunks yet another anti-Vaxxer lie. (Warning: Short promo at the end.)
There’s over two centuries of evidence that vaccines work.
Heck, I’m old enough to remember when vaccines made polio go away. When the polio vaccines became available, my parents had me at Doctor Henderson’s office quick like a bunny, because my parents were not stupid.
There’s no evidence that vaccines don’t work, and even less than no evidence that they are somehow inimical. (Yeah, I know that “less than no” seems to be irrational, but irrational numbers are a thing and we seem to have become an irrational society, so I’m going with it.)
Sadly, though, there is no vaccine against stupid, and we seeing an epidemic of stupid.
Vaccine Nation 0
A prescription for peril:
The stupid. It burns.
