On the latest @inthebubblepod, I talk with @SykesCharlie, founder and editor of @BulwarkOnline, about the emergence of Ron DeSantis as the presumptive leader of the far right wing of the Republican Party. Here are my takeaways in a 🧵
Listen here: link.chtbl.com/InTheBubble?si… 1/ “Ron DeSantis ​​is taking the politics of being a bully to a different level,” Sykes tells me. “He’s decided he's going to move as hard and demagogically to the right as he can. He’s learned something from Donald Trump: you don’t need to be a nice guy.” 2/

Some thoughts on using Twitter:
With Musk inviting back people who use the platform to threaten rape, to lie at scale & become whatever else his whims decide, here are some actions worth considering … -Mute all advertisers in your feed. I’m not going to be a revenue source & don’t want those who advertise here to be encouraged.
-If you have a lot of followers or post a lot, consider moving the bulk of your content elsewhere. Post looks promising. (I’m @ASlavitt there.)

COVID Update: It’s time for one as we look ahead to the winter.

The real question is whether we will have another 2021 with a lot of disruption— on a more modest wave— or nothing at all.

There is early data to help answer this question. 1/ Currently there are lots of Omicron sub-variants co-circulating around the globe.

Household names like:
BA.4.6
BQ1.1
XBB

While it’s all a little hard to follow, there’s something interesting about the nature of these variants. 2/

NEW: COVID vaccines will now be recommended annually, with the flu shot.

I spoke to the White House yesterday about the plan. 1/ Rather than an ad hoc schedule which confuses many as to when to get vaccinated, the thinking is that an annual shot will result in many more people getting vaccinated.

They point to 2/3 of adults who take the flu vaccine vs 1/3 of adults over 50 who have been taking COVID. 2/

COVID Update: When will we have new boosters and when should we take them.

I’ve asked 5 of our top scientists & policy leaders and here are answers and other COVID news (good and bad). (1) The new boosters are bivalent vaccines. Ancestral strain plus Omicron. The idea is broad protection from a virus that is strayed quite a lot. (2)

Over time, the climate legislation which Congress passed has the potential to become one of the most popular pieces of legislation ever passed.

Rivaling Social Security and Medicare.

The reasons include __things, many of which don’t meet the eye. 1/ 1- The first reason is simple. As younger generations grow older, they will mark the shift in the slowing of carbon emissions to this bill.

Floods, fires, heat waves, and rising sea levels won’t abate. We are not cooling. 2/

There is a major victory that hasn’t gotten enough attention.

In the last 2 months, we have passed national legislation that:

-The Gun Lobby
-The Pharma Lobby
-The Fossil Fuel Lobby

have been fighting against successfully for decades. These wins are long overdue by decades. It is a shame it had to get this bad— raging wildfires; consumers not able to afford basic medicine; frequent senseless & outrageous shootings— for there to be action.

Until now corporate money prevailed.

Post-Trump we are living in the age of the blowhard, the pretender, and the pseudo-macho. Josh Hawley fires up the insurrectionists to storm the Capitol than runs like a coward.

But he’s just par for the course.

A few comments about President Biden’s COVID case and how it’s been handled.

Have talked several times to the White House today. 1/ First and most importantly, the President is doing quite well. A combination of being double boosted, being fit, and having Paxlovid available means he’s well enough to work in isolation. 2/

We are all hearing what a tough political environment it is for Democrats in November. But things are getting worse for the Republicans by the day.

If things continue on their course, this is what it could look like in November. 1/ This is what Democrats around the country will have to run on:

-The best job creation since Carter
-A recent reduction in gas prices & as a result inflation after massive tax cuts & overheating by Trump/McCarthy, even in the face of Ukraine war 2/

COVID Update: a new highly mutated variant nicknamed Centaurus (BA2.75) is emerging around the world.

Even as BA.5 makes its mark in the US, Centatus has 11 unique mutations from BA.5. This gives a strong clue for what the future holds. 1/ The world we live in is one with not only continue waves, but waves so frequent that you. And see the next one emerge even as you go through the current one.

BA.5 is just taking hold in most of the country even as we see new ones emerge. 2/

This 4th of July we are face to face with the systematic violation of “the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness.”

The common ordinary things that make life worth living are being taken from us with the full support of radical judges & politicians. Going safely to school, to a parade, to see a fireworks display without a risk of being ravaged by a months long wildfire & exerting the right to vote are all more fundamental to freedom than carrying an AR-15 or polluting the planet.

COVID Update: We are getting a new booster for the Fall.

We have both more clarity and some important questions. Will recap where we are w vaccines & what we need most right now. 1/ There have been ups and downs. Few doubt that millions of lives have been saved across the globe from the rapid creation & distribution of vaccines.

But, the original promise, to prevent infection & spread, was overcome by events. Well, one key event in particular. 2/

COVID Update: Good news if you can tolerate it. Times 4. With the 4th maybe being the best & most surprising.

Still some requisite warnings— but that’s not the lede. 1/ Good news 1: COVID down around the globe. Cases are lower this week by 13% & lower in every continent.

Down in some countries in Europe by 40% w over w.

And in the US… 2/

COVID News: FDA examiners consider Moderna and Pfizer vaccines safe & effective for kids < 5.

Approvals could come this week after a review on Wednesday. 1/ This 19 million person group is the last one that can’t access a vaccine. It will be a watershed moment that within a week vaccines will be approved for all ages. 2/

COVID Update: The next version of our mRNA vaccines took a step today. Moderna announced positive results for a bivalent omicron + current vaccine.

Now the questions and steps that remain… 1/ What is it?: An updated vaccine that’s 1/2 the current vaccine & 1/2 Omicron

Timing?: Data will be submitted & reviewed, ideally by end of June & available end of summer 2/

COVID Update: The COVID we think we know one day has continued to evolve to something different every 4-6 months.

What’s happening now that’s painting the picture for COVID at the end of the year? 1/ Today’s events that we spend our time looking at— case rates, hospitalizations, reinfections— were set in motion months ago. And while there are things we can do to keep ourselves & some others safe, it is too late to stop the wave that is here. 2/

COVID Update: We are experiencing a significant wave of case growth.

We may be getting clues as to what endemic COVID looks like. If so, it feels different from other endemic diseases in some important ways. 1/ Endemic is this word that’s been bandied about a lot. For the purpose of this discussion, let’s just assume “endemic” means “steady state.”

In other words, what will COVID look like when it no longer surprises us? 2/

NEWS: A Trump judge invalidated the Biden Administration’s mask mandate for travel.

I will be on @cnn discussing this in the 9pm Eastern hour. And will add a thread here shortly. Donald Trump appointed 234 judges. After he lost the election in 2020, he appointed a Justice Thomas clerk, 33 year Kathryn Mizelle. The bar association had this to say… 2/

abajournal.com/news/article/f…

COVID Update: COVID may not be remembered primarily for the full hospitals, unpredictable variants, mask & vaccine controversies, or even the massive loss of life.

It may be thought of primarily as chronic disease affecting 10s of millions. 1/ Already today many are more worried about long-COVID than they are about simply getting a bout of COVID.

For good reason. If you’re vaccinated & boosted, surviving COVID is less of a concern. What comes next is. 2/

COVID Update: I want to summarize priorities and expectations for what’s next.

I have made the rounds of key DC decision makers, epidemiologists & scientists & put this list of 10 Priorities together. Not listed by order of importance. 1/ Priority 1: Kids 0-5 — This remains the gaping hole as trial data & dosing have meant delays.

The latest expectation is approval in June. 2/