With COVID transmission data removed from the CDC website after the end of the public health emergency, wastewater is now our best indicator for surges.
And wastewater data shows that all of NYC has high COVID levels.
Note that NYC switched to a more sensitive COVID wastewater detection method in March. But per Dr. David Larsen who runs the dashboard, this isn't responsible for the increase. So likely uptick is due to real world COVID spread.
Note that New York State COVID wastewater levels are graded high, moderate, and low. These levels correlate to similar ones on the CDC's old transmission map tracking COVID tests. Intent is to make NYS wastewater data easier to interpret to the public & to make policy decisions.
It isn't surprising that we are seeing an uptick of COVID cases at the start of summer of 2023. We've seen a similar pattern ever since Omicron appeared, where there's been a high level of COVID spread throughout the whole year apart from a couple of months in spring.
Previous CDC guidance directed hospitals to institute mask mandates when COVID transmission is high. They removed this when the PHE ended, citing lack of testing data as an excuse.
But wastewater data shows COVID levels are high. NYC hospitals should #KeepMasksInHealthcare!
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Brilliant protest. Yosemite National Park workers hung an upside-down American flag — traditionally a symbol of distress or a national threat — thousands of feet off the ground on the side of El Capitan.
Also, a fired Yosemite National Park service worker rappelled down El Capitan in protest of the illegal cuts.
Statement by Yosemite NPS workers: “These losses, while deeply personal and impactful, may also be invisible to visitors and the public — we are shining a spotlight on them by putting a distress flag on El Capitan in view of Firefall. Think of it as your public lands on strike.”
More details on censorship at the CDC from
@Alexander_Tin. TLDR; Trump officials stopped CDC scientists from publishing data on bird flu in the MMWR. Instead, they forced CDC scientists to publish on the health risks of wildfires to bolster Trump's attacks on CA Gov Newsom.
"As [the] pause has started to lift, Trump officials at HHS, and acting CDC Director Susan Monarez, refused repeated requests by career health officials to publish the completed [bird flu] research, officials say."
"The stalled research includes findings about pet cats owned by dairy workers being infected with bird flu, plus wastewater testing results and antibody testing of cow veterinarians."
The NIH announced it will slash billions of dollars of support to universities and research centers.
This is one of the biggest attacks on science we have ever seen. It could dismantle the biomedical research system, shut down clinical trials, and halt development of treatments.
I can't emphasize enough how disastrous the NIH cuts will be. If implemented as proposed, it could decimate universities and college towns. And it could mean every one of us in the US and around the world will experience shorter and less healthy lives.
This is NOT a drill. The NIH has announced the cuts will take effect Monday.
Do not stay silent. Now is the time to organize your labs, your departments, your campuses, your cities, and push back against this vengeful attempt to destroy science and universities.
The Trump admin has cancelled the panels that approve NIH grants, & is banning scientists from communicating with the public, attending conferences, & hiring.
NIH is the world’s largest funder of biomedical research. This will halt discovery of lifesaving treatments. Devastating
The Trump administration’s NIH freezes do not only affect federal science agencies. NIH grants fund research at universities and many other institutions. Halting NIH grant reviews sabotages important scientific research everywhere.
NIH-funded research does not only benefit people in the US. Researchers with NIH grants often collaborate closely with scientists around the world. And the vaccines, drugs, and treatments developed from NIH-funded research help save the lives of many people all over the globe.
The censorship begins: According to officials, the Trump administration is instructing health agencies including the CDC, FDA, NIH, and HHS to pause all external communications, such as health advisories, weekly scientific reports, updates to websites and social media posts.
Asking health agencies to pause all external communications is NOT typical protocol for administration changes. Generally website updates, disease case counts, and other typical day-to-day work continues.
In their first term, the Trump administration instructed agencies overseeing environmental policy, such as the EPA, and the Agriculture and Interior departments to cease communicating with the public. In their second term, they appear to be targeting health agencies too.
BREAKING: The United States has recorded its first fatal case of H5N1 bird flu.
The death was reported by the Louisiana Department of Health. The patient contracted H5N1 after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds.
Please note that there still is no evidence of person-to-person transmission, which is why public health departments assess the *current* risk as low to the general public. People who work on poultry or dairy farms are most at risk.
Protective measures you can take include:
- Avoiding sick or dead animals
- Avoiding uncooked food product
- Wearing a well-fitting mask, gloves, and other PPE
- Getting your seasonal flu vaccination (to reduce the risk of coinfection)