Read This First, 1. ¿Informed Climate Policy?, 2. Quarantine, 3. Drug Approval, ↕4. Mosquito Borne, 5. Blade Runner 2049, 6. Russia: Flu, TB , 7. Private Sector Science, 8. Anti-Vax Exploitation, 9. Fake Cures, 10. Mothers Day, ↕C. Communications.
-1. Current Climate Change Measurements Mask Trade Offs Necessary for Policy Debates. Scientists and policymakers use measurements like global warming potential to compare how varying greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, contribute to climate change. Yet, despite its widespread use, this measurement fails to provide an accurate look at how greenhouse gases affect the environment in the short and long term, according to a policy piece in Science. Unmask Temporal Trade Offs in Climate Policy Debates. Climate change is a biodisaster and is not a debatable fact (though details are). Arguing, misdirecting effort, debating how to solve, denial, are all related to climate policy, the parademic that is hindering effective response. A cohesive global climate policy can become an effective tool that facilitates response. ¶ EPA Dismisses Half of its Scientific Advisers on Key Board, Citing ‘Clean Break’ with Obama Administration‡, isn’t this an example of political purge [Meme]. Bad timing as Comey was fired next day adding to the sense of a Saturday Night Massacre. At this rate the Sammies will consist of those who are no longer employed by the federal government. The “Sammies” – Therapy for Feds’ During Tough Times under Trump.
-‡ France Sent 42 People to a Global Climate Summit. The Trump Administration Sent 7, An Unusually Small US Delegation Will Defend US Climate Policies in Bonn this Weekend. Environmental Rules Reversed by Trump. EPA Dismisses Half of Key Board’s Scientific Advisers; Interior Suspends More than 200 Advisory Panels. Brian Greene on How Science Became a Political Prisoner. Trump's Budget Would Eliminate a Key Funder of Research on Coastal Pollution. Bannon Is Pulling One over on Trump. There Is Zero Reason to Exit the Paris Climate Accord. UN Climate Talks Begin amid Uncertainty over US Position. We Would Need 1.7 Earths to Make Our Consumption Sustainable. A New Book Ranks the Top 100 Solutions to Climate Change. The Results Are Surprising. Disappearing Montana Glaciers a 'Bellwether' of Melting to Come. Senate Unexpectedly Rejects Bid to Repeal a Key Obama Era Environmental Regulation. Trump Takes Aim at Western Monuments That May Hold Oil Riches, Disruptive Undersea Air Gun Blasts Okayed by Trump, 1Quote, 7, 170430-1.2↓. \fs24ulPressure Mounting for Humans to Step down as Head of Failing Global Ecosystem. Solar Forcing and Climate Change.
-*NOTE: I’ve been keeping a separate section of biotrumpism‡ (BT) each week of items that have not been included in the weekly notes. Like ADDED items to previous weekly stubs, this is all part of the database in case there are inquires about a topic, the possibility a topic will come up again and the background is helpful, or to track the development. Comey is not related to parademic but does represent a trend of obscuring fact, which is concerning when there are those that are already engaged in hiding biodisaster, and would have a vested interest in a hiding an infectious disease outbreak while advocating cutting health insurance and science funding. Comey Turmoil Postpones Senate Health Care Markup, GOP Centrist: FBI Firing Distracting from Healthcare Work, is an illustration of the blurring of biopolitics. As stated Comey was not a parademic issue, but was part of the larger context, and then it became connected to parademic. Another example of this legal and biological fact being blurred is this linguistic one Tomatoes Have Legally Been Vegetables Since 1893.
-Quote: The Worst Planning Assumption is, 'We Have Plenty of Time'. – Eric Holdeman. There will be much hand wringing and finger pointing after the next big one. Today the impacts are predictable. As legislators, government elected officials, business leaders, we are too busy arguing with our counterparts about funding, making money, quarterly profits and a return on investment. Where does public and individual safety fit into our priorities, maybe on the bottom. I've used this phrase before, “If it was illegal to have done any preparation and allocation of resources (and that could happen), would there be enough evidence to convict you”. Tillerson Says US Won't Be Rushed on Climate Change Policies. “Tillerson should get away from his cronies in the oil business and start listening to the people of Alaska, for instance, and the people of the world who are so interested in these issues” 1‡↑ (likely a credible conspiracy theory connection of dots).
-1.1. Trump: Hazardous to Our Health‡. Will Donald Trump’s presidency get rotted out.
Steve Jobs gave an interview positing that empires could crash and burn if the emphasis was on sales rather than product. They have no conception of what’s required to take a good idea and turn it into a good product. In “The Art of the Deal”, Trump said that playing to people’s fantasies and promising the greatest product was “an innocent form of exaggeration”. But it’s one thing when you do that for condos and cologne and mattresses and steaks. It’s another for life or death health care policy. The superrich who are getting a Marie Antoinette [Meme*] wealth transfer at the expense of health care for the poor [Icon] Buffett Calls Obamacare Replacement 'A Huge Tax Cut for Guys like Me', [Cartoon]. *Actually she did not say this [Meme]. A Global Wave of Trump Style Politics. France Signals No.
-‡. • Trumpcare Ryan Dismisses Criticism of Health Plan as Bogus Attack from Left [Cartoon, Cartoon]. Rumors and Rhetoric Run Rampant after Vote, but What’s the Truth. Some GOP Congress Members Could Pay Politically for ACA Repeal Vote. [Cartoon]. Different Takes: GOP House 'Victory' on Health Care Could Be a 'Disaster'; Hasty Overall Plan 'A Dangerous Game', McConnell: ObamaCare Replacement Bill 'Will Not Be Quick', Dem Predicts Final Healthcare Measure Will Come after 2018 Elections, Ads Launched to Back House GOP on ObamaCare Vote, Obama Hopes ‘Political Courage’ Can Save Healthcare, Republicans Tout GOP Healthcare Bill on Sunday Shows, Ads Launched to Thank GOP Lawmakers for Passing Healthcare Bill, Support for GOP's ObamaCare Repeal Drops after House Passage, Trump Approval Rating Slides after House GOP Passes ObamaCare Repeal. Krugman: Republicans Party Like It’s 1984, Trump Threatens to Stop ObamaCare Payments, Trump: I Only Needed a Short Time to Understand Everything about Healthcare besides being Dunning-Kruger 170430-10 et al↓, and contradicts other statements 170305-1.1C↓; Trump Needs to Take Health Policy 101, Pandemics, Personnel, and Politics: How the Trump Administration is Leaving Us Vulnerable to the Next Outbreak, The Growing Threat of Pandemics: Enhancing Domestic and International Biosecurity. • Senate The Senate Is Starting from Scratch: Upper Chamber’s Version of Health Bill Expected to Be Radically Different, Collins on All Male Healthcare Working Group: 'The Leaders Obviously Chose the People They Want', Amid Fierce Criticism, McConnell Defends All Male Panel: ‘Everybody Is At The Table’, Contemplating GOP Health Plan Politics: Can the Senate’s Panel of White Men Come to the Rescue. Blunt: Senate Will Wait for CBO Score Before Healthcare Vote, CBO to Release Estimate for House Passed Version of the AHCA Early in the Week of May 22. Republicans Are Just Starting the Hard Part on Health Care, Senate GOP Examining Ways to Repeal ObamaCare Insurance Rules, Here's Another Huge Obstacle to Repealing Obamacare in the Senate, 1.2↓. • Kimmel, Celebrity Effect Health Care Bill Should Pass 'Jimmy Kimmel Test,' Senator Says. Healthcare Vote Puts Heller in a Bind, Kimmel Blasts Critics of Healthcare Plea, Kimmel Returns to the Air, Slams Critics of His Health Care Plea, Jimmy Kimmel Apologizes for Saying All Kids Should Have Health Care. • Opacification: Republicans Scold Tom Price for Potentially Illegal HHS Memo, Price: Trump 'Absolutely' Keeping Promises on Healthcare, Tom Price Says Americans Will “Absolutely Not” Lose Medicaid under GOP Plan. That’s Not True. Reporter Arrested after Repeatedly Questioning Health Secretary, Tom Price Commends West Virginia Officers Who Arrested Journalist Asking Questions. Grassley, Chaffetz Rebuke HHS Secretary for Muzzling Agency Employees, Letter, Experts Chide Price for Saying Addiction Medications Don’t ‘Move the Dial Much’. The Dense Thicket of Lies Around Obamacare Repeal Makes it Hard to Tell What’s Happening, Republicans Misstate, Again and Again on TV and at Town Halls, What’s in Their Health Care Bill. An increasingly likely future for Price, whether or not BioTrumpism continues Venezuela Replaces Health Minister after Data Shows Crisis Worsening.
-1.2. Uncertain if there is a causal relationship here, in part because the connection is not clear, and in part the fact that the word Trump tends invoke reactions that hinder critical thinking [Meme]*. There Are a Few Simple Ways Trump Could Cause Obamacare to Explode [Tweet, Tweet] → Why It’s Still Trump’s Fault if Obamacare Fails → Can Trump Be Stopped from Making Obamacare 'Explode' → Obamacare Implosion: Last Major Healthcare Provider Pulls out of Iowa Leaving No Options in 2018‡ → Iowa Congressman Walks out of a TV Interview and into an Angry Town Hall Meeting. Human physics are not as logical as the Newtonian laws of physics of the universe. For example we know that in the social sphere a action does not result in an equal and opposite reaction, [Cartoon]. Obamacare Is Imploding. Obamacare Is Exploding. Trump has said both. Does he know something about physics that we don’t. [Cartoon, Poem]. ObamaCare → TrumpCare → TrampCare → Traum(a)Care → OramaCare → ObamaCare, Senate GOP Making Tax Credits Look More like … Obamacare 1.1‡↑. *How to Understand the Trump Brand in 2017, Donald Trump Campaign Unveiling New Swastika Like Logo Is Fake News.
-‡. • Insurance Why So Many Insurers Are Leaving Obamacare/ This Is How Obamacare Explodes, it will hit areas of the country that are rural and poor — and predominantly supported Trump — very hard; BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Steps in to Fill Knoxville Market Gap, A Health Insurer Steps in to Stop Tennessee’s Obamacare Marketplace from Exploding, ObamaCare Uncertainty Driving Premium Hikes, Aetna Drops Last 2 State Markets under Affordable Care Act, 170507-1.1A↓. White House Says Diabetics Don’t Deserve HealthInsurance. I am actually in sympathy with this modest proposal but it does not go far enough. Congress should have the exact same healthcare and the laws they make for others. In addition if you don’t vaccinate you should not get treatment for a vaccine preventable disease, and if you spread misinformation about health (to include vaccination) you should be liable for persecution and civil suits for outbreaks, hospital expenses, public health expenses, and resulting deaths 4.1↓. • Backlash Juan Williams: GOP Health Moves Set to Backfire, They Voted to Repeal Obamacare. Now They Are a Target, Protesters Hold 'Die In' Outside GOP Rep's Town Hall.
-1.3. I’m skeptical about this type of profiling, but this does seem to be a repeated pattern of behavior. This may provide insights into possible responses to a biodisaster. Why Trump Expected Only Applause When He Told Comey, 'You’re Fired' [Cartoon], it’s an illustration of several core character traits: a belief that the past doesn’t matter, a penchant to act swiftly and unilaterally, and a conviction that even the most unpopular actions can help build his brand. These are not the qualities one looks for in a disaster.
-1.4. U.S. Spy Agencies Wimp out on Science of Climate Change, but Still Say It’s a Security Threat. U.S. national security is being threatened by improvements in artificial intelligence (AI) and genome editing, as well as the impacts of climate change, overfishing, and biodiversity loss, concludes the latest edition of an annual report released today by the U.S. intelligence community. But the #Document 2017 Worldwide Threat Assessment (Page 13), tries to avoid the increasingly politicized fight over climate science – without denying the existence of global warming. On climate change, the intelligence agencies go out of their way to state that “we assess national security Implications of climate change but do not adjudicate the science of climate change”. That’s a big change from last year’s #Document Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community (Page 13), blunt assertion that “human activities, such as the generation of greenhouse gas emissions and land use, have contributed to extreme weather events including more frequent and severe tropical cyclones, heavy rainfall, droughts, and heat waves”. However that statement on Health (Page 14 of both) appears to be stronger this year that last.
-1.5. Trump’s Disdain for Environmental Regulations Stems From His Misunderstanding. He thinks it’s all about cost, and he seems uninterested in assessing the critical benefits the laws provide 4.1C↓. [Quote]. EPA Head Says He Wants to ‘Prioritize’ Superfund Cleanups. Scott Pruitt said the cleanup efforts “will be restored to their rightful place at the center of the agency's core mission”. Not necessarily inconsistent with stance that dismisses climate change. If money is put into this, it would be massive amounts of money for business’ that can be paid to clean up the environmental messes they created.
-2. This question came up during Ebolaphobia, but was never answered as the politcs of fear ruled. To Quarantine or Not to Quarantine. During an infectious disease outbreak, is it best to quarantine those who have been exposed to the disease – who may or may not be infected – or is it sufficient to send the person home for monitoring of symptoms. In the case of Ebola the disease was not infectious until symptoms appeared, so monitoring would have been sufficient, but being isolated at home was still a paranoid response. Other diseases (Measles) can be spread while an exposed individual is still incubating the disease to those who are not innoculated. 8 et al↓.
-3. A close call about 60 years ago. The Woman Who Stood Between America and an Epidemic of Birth Defects. In 1960, America had a stroke of luck. That was when the application to begin mass marketing the drug thalidomide in the United States landed on the desk of Frances Oldham Kelsey, a reviewer at the Food and Drug Administration. Today we know that the drug causes severe, devastating birth defects when taken by pregnant women for nausea. But the time, thalidomide’s darker effects were just becoming known. With Trump's Top FDA Choices Could Bolster 'Right to Try' Movement ‡1 there is a possibility that something like this could happen 170430-4*A, 170423-10.1, 170319-6↓+. However this is a continuation of a trend that started before Trump became president, though it could still be linked to antecedents of biotrumpism from hidden pressures that eventually resulted in the 2016 election, and can be exacerbated lineunder Trumpism with insistence of approving drugs faster and to make cheaper. One Third of New Drugs Had Safety Problems After FDA Approval ‡2.
-‡1. • Are 'Right to Try' Laws Good Medicine or Partisan Politics, 'Right to Try' Is a Sham, Dying Patients Want Easier Access to Experimental Drugs. Here's Why Experts Say That's Bad Medicine, “Right to Try” Laws and Dallas Buyers’ Club: Great Movie, Terrible for Patients and Terrible Policy. • Senate Expected to Begin Debate Soon on Gottlieb’s Nomination to Head FDA. Trump’s Pick to Lead FDA Has Backing of Big Pharma, Senate Confirms Trump's FDA Pick, Despite Senators’ Concerns over Ties to Pharma Industry, Gottlieb Confirmed to Lead FDA, Scott Gottlieb Wins Confirmation as FDA Commissioner.
-‡2. Nearly 1 in 3 Recent FDA Drug Approvals Followed by Major Safety Actions, Trump Wants Faster FDA Action, but 1 in 3 Drugs Have Safety Issues after Approval. Side Effects Emerge after Approval for Many US Drugs. FDA Proposes That Doctors Learn about Acupuncture for Pain Management.
↕4. #Document, CDC Zika Interim Response Plan. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance and resources for responding to cases of Zika virus infection in the continental United States and Hawaii. This guidance is targeted to state, local, and tribal jurisdictions, which are responsible for responding to Zika virus disease in their communities. This guidance may also be used by jurisdictions in US territories and freely associated states as applicable and adapted as needed. Information is provided to assist jurisdictions in protecting pregnant women and infants and responding to travel-associated, sexually transmitted, and locally acquired Zika virus infections in the United States. This document serves as a reference for public health decision making and is not meant to be prescriptive or comprehensive, as activities and decisions are jurisdiction and event specific. The response activities outlined in this plan are based on currently available knowledge about Zika virus, its transmission, and its effects on pregnant women and infants. These activities may change as more is learned about Zika virus. This is called adaptive planning, a euphemism that plans rarely meet the situation of what actually happens. This May 5, 2017 version replaces previous July 31, 2016 version. Note that US territories, such as Puerto Rico 170507-4↓ are not part of this plan. ¶ #Document Public Health Preparedness and Response National Snapshot 2017.
-4.1. #Document. 2017-2022 Hospital Preparedness Program Performance Measures Implementation Guidance. This is preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the adverse health effects of emergencies and disasters. This is accomplished by supporting the nation’s ability to withstand adversity, strengthening health and emergency response systems, and
enhancing national health security. ASPR’s Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) enables the health care delivery system to save lives during emergencies and disaster events that exceed the day to day capacity and capability of existing health and emergency response systems. HPP is the only source of federal funding for health care delivery system readiness, intended to improve patient outcomes, minimize the need for federal and supplemental state resources during emergencies, and enable rapid recovery. HPP prepares the health care delivery system to save lives through the development of health care coalitions (HCCs) that incentivize diverse and often competitive health care organizations (HCOs) with differing priorities and objectives to work together. This appears to be intended to help with medical surge in local disasters, but does nothing for national level catastrophes of biodisasters where resources are depleted. It is not a plan for a pandemic (such as Flu and mosquito borne disease), drought, famine - malnutrition, Hazmat, contaminated air, severe heat, syndemic, severe cold, soil depletion, water toxins and availability 7.1↓, invasive species, maintaining capabilities, poverty, vaccine preventable disease 1.2‡↑, 8↓. In short any biodisaster, just the secondary medical problems (mostly trauma) that are associated with other disasters. Also noted that there were no provisions for coordination with appropriate agencies for civil unrest, protests, labor strikes, hijacking supplies, theft and cyberattacks‡. If any of those coincide with a bioevent the impact in increased dramatically.
-‡. ∩ 'Ransomware' Cyberattack Cripples Hospitals Across England, UK Hospitals Turn Away Patients after Major Ransomware Attack, Cyberattacks in 12 Nations Said to Use Leaked N.S.A. Hacking Tool, Britain’s Health Service, Targeted in Cyberattack, Ignored Warnings for Months, The Ransomware Meltdown Experts Warned about Is Here, Ransomware Attacks Ravage Computer Networks in Dozens of Countries. With Hospital Ransomware Infections, the Patients Are at Risk locking up patient data, disrupting medical care, and the problem is set to get worse, Dozens of Countries Hit by Huge Cyberextortion Attack. 170305-11↓. Roughly akin to biothreats that not only get through the immune system, but attack the social immune systems (hospitals) directly. [Photo]. HHS Update: International Cyber Threat to Healthcare. Global ‘Ransomware’ Attack Slows; Hackers Hit Hospitals for Cash. Repercussions Continue from Global Ransomware Attack.
-A. ∩ Readers will note the analogues to an outbreak and a temporary and partial cure Ransom Hackers Who Hit Hospitals Dealt Setback. This is like a biodisaster. After years of warning and small problems there has finally been a global cyber virus*B↓. This may lead to new policy, funding, misdirected efforts, corrections and finally effective action. Another similarity with biothreats is that the threat will evolve against treatments. Until there is a treatment, and even when there is one, the major protections remain behavioral, prevention and preparing before the event, 8.1↓. How to Protect Yourself as Ransomware Attack Spreads Around the Globe. Providers Now Required to Change EMR Password Every 20 Minutes. Global Ransomware Attack 'Accidentally' Halted But It's Probably Not Over. Hackers Behind Massive Ransomware Attack Have Made an Embarrassingly Small Amount of Money.
-*B. ∩ Unfortunately it is more likely there will be another similarity to the pattern of biodisaster. If the threat goes dormant, is perceived as being over (burned itself out), the reservoir will not be located, protective measures will be deemed adequate, the event will be perceives as an inconvenient nuisance to mitigate, effort will be made to adapt to this as the norm and actions selected will cheap or steal from other funds. The reality is that this is likely a trough in the continual waves, though it could be a long time until the next wave, probably when complacent behavior to preventing infection sets in again Nations Grapple with Huge Cyberattack, but More’s Coming. This particular cyber pandemic was probably not intended but like its biological counterpart crashed into a set of circumstances that permitted to grow quickly, far faster than the spreaders were able to exploit, and one that drew more attention than desired. It could be because human intention was involved that someone went all in to get as much as they could, seeing that there was a cure on the horizon that would eventually neutralize this specific threat. Given that it was stolen those who used it don’t have the expertise to develop ransomware on their own With New Tools, Even Nonexperts Can Lock Up Data. Again like a novel disease this is more scary as it is intentional harm by those who are unable to see long term consequences to themselves. It would not be surprising if the rest of the cybersphere – both the officials charged with protection, and unofficial - criminal hackers – will now be on the hunt to neutralize them, Cybersecurity Experts Race to Contain Fallout From Attack. This would be a counterpart to the invisible microbiome which is more of less in constant biowarfare. Global Cyber Attack Hits Hospitals and Companies, Threat Seen Fading. There is also the possibility that the attack was intended for a different target in retaliation for election influencing Russia, this Time the Victim of a Cyberattack, Voices Outrage and like a intentional disease or malicious rumor release got out of hand.
-C. NHS Seeks to Recover from Global Cyber Attack as Security Concerns Resurface. In December it was reported that nearly all NHS trusts were using an obsolete version of Windows for which Microsoft had stopped providing security updates in April 2014. Data acquired by software firm Citrix under freedom of information laws suggested 90% of trusts were using Windows XP, then a 15 year old system. ¶ Critics should take into account the complexity of keeping systems up to date. It’s easy to blame people who don’t upgrade, but in practice things are often more complicated: operations teams may not touch legacy systems for a number of reasons. In some cases they may even be unaware that such legacy systems are running in their infrastructure. ¶ H5N1 Comment: But just think of the money British taxpayers have saved by not updating hospital computers' software for over 15 years 1.5↑. When Our Modern Infrastructure Fails. ¶ Guess this is another area than was more complicated that he assumed, or didn’t consider that when one has to learn everything immediately is what is a defacto crisis situation, it takes more time, Trump's Cybersecurity Plan Is Officially Late, but at least it was done one day before, Trump Signs Order Aimed at Upgrading Government Cyber Defenses, New Presidential Executive Order on Cybersecurity, Yawn. You don't want to say "I'm ready for anything", and on the other hand, you don't want to say, "We are toast and our efforts have proven futile to date". So something like, "We are doing everything possible with the resources we have now, but more needs to be done" is the likely response, to be given — in a 100 page report from each agency. [Photo, Photo, CGI]. Twitter Users Exploit Trump Website Vulnerability to Mock President, Slam GOP Health Bill, 170507-1.1E-ADDED↓
-D. Nations Race to Contain Widespread Hacking. Hospitals called ideal targets.
Health care IT experts said it was no surprise that hospitals so easily fell victim to the ransomware attack. Health systems have faced hundreds of ransomware attacks in the past two years. They are the ideal target for this type of malware due to a “perfect storm” of factors. For one the data that they have is incredibly time sensitive, making them most susceptible to ransomware. If no one ever paid these ransoms, the hackers would have no reason to launch these attacks, but I’m not the one sitting in a hospital in need of immediate medical attention. ¶ Hospitals also lag far behind other industries in upgrading their security and doing basic software updates. Health care organizations in general spend 2 to 4 percent of their operating budgets on information technology, compared with 25 to 35 percent for financial services. We spend billions on new technology, yet the reality is that we’re still as vulnerable as our most gullible employee. Health care organizations in the United States are also subject to additional regulations, which constrain their ability to do updates. Many updates require systems to go dark for some period of time, and many hospitals are not allowed to put critical systems out of use. Poorer hospitals are particularly vulnerable. While wealthy hospitals have effectively built cybersecurity war rooms over the past two years, some smaller hospitals don’t have enough budget to keep the lights on. They often cannot afford to backup data, perhaps the most critical tool in fighting ransomware.
-4.2. Except for the long term consequences of Zika Virus: Brazil Says Emergency Is over, and the Yellow fever outbreak in Brazil, 12 May 2017 170430-4.1↓, and the other mosquito borne diseases, things are now fine. ¶ How Illegal Gold Mining Relates to the Spread of Malaria.
-4.3. India: Kejriwal Reviews Preparedness to Handle Dengue, Chikungunya; Promises Mosquito Free Delhi. This sounds great except mosquito larvae eat algae, plankton and micro organisms in water and are a major food source for fish. If they pull this off expect an unintended consequence of a massive fish die offs and biogrowth in the rivers and lakes around Delhi. Both could lead to water becoming too toxic for human consumption and overwhelming water sanitation.
-5. Blade Runner 2049's First Full Trailer Is Smart, Layered, and Gorgeous. Moving from a hyper real cityscape [Photo] created by humans to a wasteland [Photo] likewise created by human society [Poster]. 170430-8, 170101-1↓. Anthropogenic Landscapes. This appears to correlated with health inequality Enormous Disparity in Longevity Rates Between Counties Is Only Getting Worse [Photo].
-5.1. All the Trees Will Die, and Then So Will You. This would just be a scary story for arborists and tree huggers, except: Fusarium dieback is on track to kill 26.8 million trees across Southern California in the next few years, almost 40 percent of the trees from Los Angeles to the Nevada border and south to Mexico. That’s more than just an aesthetic tragedy. It means that thousands of human beings are going to die, too. ¶ I’m not just being a monkey wrenching fear monger. Dead trees mean dead people, and scientists are finally starting to figure out why. In the 1990s, spurred by a program to plant half a million trees in Chicago, researchers started trying to quantify the value of a tree beyond the fact that one is, like, at least slightly more lovely than a poem. It’s a field of study today called ecosystem services. ¶ At the base Public health impacts, differences in illness and death in populations that live near greenery versus those that don’t. It’s only been in the past few years that anyone has been willing to go out on a limb and associate morbidity and mortality numbers with nature. ¶ Whether the mechanism is stress reduction, pollution reduction, or increased physical activity, somehow trees make a difference. The biophysics is less important than the epidemiology. ¶ The few studies that had tried to take up the issue showed that higher exposures to green space, even controlling for things like poverty and education level, resulted in a statistically significant reduction in death from cardiovascular disease. Other outcomes, like higher birth weight babies, and lower rates of antidepressant prescriptions, have also shown up in the literature. ¶ That means that if Southern California doesn’t somehow stave off the loss of 11 percent of its tree cover, that loss is going to be deadly over time. It’d probably be unwise to say that’s going to be X thousand people. But the risk isn’t one of overstatement. Southern California has a much higher population density than the areas studied, anticipating a major public health impact. [Photo].
-6. Russia: More Bird Flu Reports continues with dozens of media reports in the past few hours of suspected (possibly confirmed) HPAI H5 at a large poultry facility, and fears contaminated poultry products may have entered the local food supply. ¶ Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Strains Gain Foothold in Russia. Despite advances in detection and treatment of the disease, a new model predicts that the country will have a massive problem with MDR strains of TB by 2040 unless the country overhauls its response to the disease. This could be a foreshadowing of the US by 2050 if current trends continue and are not reversed. Drug Resistant TB Is Predicted to Steadily Spread in 4 Countries and is expected to increase globally over the next two decades. TB will become far more common in Russia, India, the Philippines and South Africa by the year 2040.
-6.1. With Bird Flu Surging, U.S. Needs to Do More to Prevent Possible Pandemic, GAO Says, USDA Unsure if Bird Flu Guidelines are Helping, GAO Finds. Outmoded Policies May be Undermining Our Ability to Safeguard Against Infectious Diseases #Book [Cover] Biosecurity Dilemmas: Dreaded Diseases, Ethical Responses, and the Health of Nations. ¶ Trump’s Expected Choice for USDA Science Job Lacks Hard Science Background. Sam Clovis is a former economics professor and talk radio host in Iowa who served as one of the Trump campaign’s first policy advisers. He's also a doubter of climate change, which is frequently associated with those who also doubt disease spread models and tend to be anti-vaccination. ¶ Is this my imagination but does this sound like a flu that is on the verge of becoming sustained H2H transmission. China Reports 23 More H7N9 Cases, 7 Fatal, in its fifth and by far largest wave of H7N9 illnesses, a season that has been marked by a shift to a highly pathogenic form of the virus in poultry and a wider distribution of human cases beyond the poultry production areas of the southeastern provinces. + Chinese Chicken Is Headed to America, but It's Really All about the Beef + Equivalence of China’s Poultry Processing and Slaughter Inspection Systems + Trump Budget Proposes $4.7B in Cuts to USDA + Flu Vaccine Coverage Remains Low this Year = Nothing to worry about [Photoshop]. Arboterrorism: Doubtful Delusion or Deadly Danger.
-6.2. Years ago when making presentations about emerging resistant microbes I would include that microbes have been around since the Proterozoic Era. This means they were practicing biological warfare 3.5 billion years ago. Given that most of our antibiotics are derived from microbes this gives them an awesome arsenal for defense, attack, and resistance. Antibiotic Resistant Microbes Date Back to 450 Million Years Ago, Well Before the Age of Dinosaurs. Survival of mass extinctions helps to explain near indestructible properties of hospital superbugs. Leading hospital 'superbugs,' known as the enterococci, arose from an ancestor that dates back 450 million years – about the time when animals were first crawling onto land. [Cartoon, Cartoon, Cartoon, Cartoon, Cartoon, Poster]. Superbugs 'Crawled Out' of the Ocean 450 Million Years Ago. Moreover multicellular life began about a billion years ago, which provided single celled life a new niche to exploit and coevolve with. Add the fact that many of these single cells have remained unchanged for billions of years and have relatively few species as compared to animals, outnumber multi celled life by trillions, makes them more perfect, more highly evolved and able to adapt to a wider range of conditions. They have not suffered a mass extinction in billions of years, while multi celled life have suffered several mass extinctions in the last billion years. I would say the safe money would be to bet on the single celled life, than the species homo sap.
-7. People Don’t Trust Scientific Research When Companies Are Involved, but sometimes, they should. soda company sponsoring nutrition research. An oil conglomerate helping fund a climate related research meeting 1‡↑ . ¿Does the public care who’s paying for science? In a word, yes. When industry funds science, credibility suffers. And this does not bode well for the types of public and private research partnerships that appear to be becoming more prevalent as government funding for research and development lags. The recurring topic of conflict of interest has made headlines in recent weeks. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine has revised its conflict of interest guidelines following questions about whether members of a recent expert panel on GMOs had industry ties or other financial conflicts that were not disclosed in the panel’s final report. Our own recent research speaks to how hard it may be for the public to see research as useful when produced with an industry partner, even when that company is just one of several collaborators. So if science research and institutions are not funded by government or business, what happens. ¶ Anti-GMO have used corporate associations to promote fear, same as anti-vax about BigPharma. Some People Who Avoid Gluten Also Avoid Vaccines, despite the fact that there's no evidence that any vaccines are made with or contain gluten, when people in the study were asked, “Do you think vaccines contain gluten” a majority responded by saying either yes or that they were not sure. More Anti-Vaccine Pseudoscience.
-7.1. People will also fall for scams that are not scientific (pseudoscience) – except in the sense of brilliant and nefarious marketing research – but are pushed by a company. 15 Facts That Show Why Bottled Water Is One of the Biggest Scams of the Century. 10) The recent resurgence in bottled water's popularity may be due to rising concerns about the purity of tap water. A recent Gallup poll found that 63% of Americans worried a 'great deal' about the pollution in drinking water – the highest percentage since 2001, 4.1↑. The Labels Said 'Organic.' but These Massive Imports of Corn and Soybeans Weren't.
-8. 4.1↑, 170507-1↓, Economic costs are typically associated with parademic from a biodisaster. Measles Sweeps an Immigrant Community Targeted by Anti-Vaccine Activists ‡. Minnesota Health Officials Seek $5 Million for Measles Outbreak, Minnesota Measles Outbreak to Cost State $1 Million.1 Minnesota Health Officials Seek $5 Million for Measles Outbreak. Typically the total costs of an outbreak come out about a year after the event, and during the outbreak are severely underestimated. The underestimate is because it is easy to identify direct costs, but indirect ones such as days off work, closures of schools, isolation of an area, decontamination, monitoring, contact tracing, diversion of resources, emergency medical services and vaccination. ¶ Noticed that this [Cartoon] does not reflect the actual demographics of the outbreak, Minnesota Measles Outbreak Rises to 41 Cases. Possibly this was to make the outbreak seem more threatening than by using a more accurate image of ages and ethnicity, and that the white community would have gotten it from the Somali one (and therefore a remote threat). The cartoon also used a generalized middle age white male (icon of oppression) [Chart, Cartoon] as the cause, when an accurate portrayal would have been a caricature of a real person ‡.
-‡. Anti-Vaccine Groups Step up Outreach to Minnesota Somali Families over Measles Outbreak. Why Minnesota Lost a Battle Against Anti-Vaccine Campaigners, Doctors Weren’t Listening To Somali Immigrants’ Autism Concerns. Then Anti-Vaxxers Did. Minnesota’s measles outbreak is an awakening for how public health officials interact with immigrant communities. Speaker Says Vaccines and Autism May Be Linked, a View Denied by Public Health Officials. Activist drew a crowd of 90 mostly Somali parents even as measles outbreak continues. Minnesota Anti-Vax Mom: Dying from Disease is “Part of the Plan”. Minnesota Measles Outbreak and Play at the Goodman Show Endless Risks for Refugees. Measles, Vaccines and Rights Debated at Minnesota Somali Forum. • Anti-Vax DTP Vaccinated African Infants Had a Higher Death Rate than Unvaccinated Infants, According to New “Vax/Unvax” Study. Pilot Comparative Study on the Health of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated 6-12 Year Old US Children, Age of Autism; A Horrendously Bad “Vaxed/ Unvaxed” Study Rises from the Dead Yet Again. The Mawson “Vaxed/Unvaxed” Study Retraction: the Antivaccine Movement Reacts with Tears of Unfathomable Sadness, No, Two (Now Retracted) Studies Purporting to Show That Vaccinated Children Are Sicker than Unvaccinated Children Show Nothing of theSort, Vaccinated vs Unvaccinated Survey, Another Measles Outbreak That Didn’t Have to Happen. • Wakefield Watchdog Scrutinises Charity Linked to Disgraced ex Doctor Andrew Wakefield, Trump, Vaccine Conspiracy and the ex Doctor Who Milked a Charity for Own Salary. The Somali Measles Outbreak in Minnesota: Thanks Again, Andy (and American Antivaxers), for the Measles. Anti-Vaccine Doctor Meets with Somalis an organizer said Andrew Wakefield is helping build support for a study of autism in the Somali community. Mark Blaxill, Executive Leadership Team of Health Choice.
-Quote: The Somalis had decided themselves that they were particularly concerned. I was responding to that. I don’t feel responsible at all. – Andrew Wakefield
8.2. Immigration Fear Mongering. The Right Should Blame Trump’s Anti-Vaxxer Pals, Not Islam, for a Measles Outbreak in Minnesota This measles outbreak, conservatives argue, is evidence of the threat refugees pose to the nation. Writers on right wing websites, with headlines like Measles Outbreak in Minnesota Somali Community; Muslim Parents Refuse to Vaccinate Children and Quran Blamed in New U.S. Disease Outbreak, are advancing erroneous claims that Islam forbids followers from vaccinating their children. Breitbart’s Measles Outbreak in Minnesota Within Somali Community Spreads Through State, lays down several non sequiturs: the percentage of Minnesota tuberculosis cases contracted by Somalis; the practice of female genital mutilation; and the violent crimes committed by two random Somali refugees in two different states. Another Breitbart article Measles Outbreak in Minnesota Somali Community Imported by Traveler from Foreign Country, wonders if it might have been stopped by Trump’s proposed travel ban. Right Wing Tries to Seize on Minnesota Somali Measles Outbreak.
-8.3. This is reminiscent of the non Ebola pandemic in the US that caused the parademic of Ebolaphobia. At Least 1 Person Dies of Ebola in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ebola Returns to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Announces 9 Suspected Ebola Cases, Including 3 Deaths, The Confusion Over the New Ebola Outbreak, a mistranslation is spreading two of its primary symptoms: confusion and misinformation. Ebola Returns in Congo, a Test of Next Time, Ebola Vaccine Could Get First Real World Test in Emerging Outbreak, 2, 4.1‡↑. ¶ This is all part of a long American tradition A Federal Immigration Building With a Dark Past.
-9. Fake Medical News Can Now Be Fact Checked in India. Whatsapp is spreading bogus medical advice in India. A website called Check4Spam is debunking the claims. Whatsapp has become a primary mode of communication for a large part of the country. India doesn't have a culture of questioning and verifying shared information. The messages might seem legit because alternative medicine is part of Indian culture. Then there is this idea in India that homespun therapies or advice handed down over generations is more valuable: a sacred truth is contained, it will restore our health. Doesn’t sound that different from US culture, except that those who pass misinformation in the US are likely to attack the debunkers. Inoculating Against Misinformation. A new study confirms what we suspected, you can't just correct misinformation with information, you have to expose the tactics of deception so people can recognize them for themselves. This is emotional stories from friends have more impact than factual data from those who are unknown. Denmark: Side Effects Stories Affecting HPV Vaccination Numbers.
-10. Happy Mothers Day. Moms: Your Kids Hijacked Your Brain for Life. Scientists and philosophers have spent quite a bit of time thinking about what that night and day transition of childbirth means for mothers, who (often along with a partner) go from having one kind of life to another in less than a year. Philosophers have labeled childbirth a “transformative experience”, arguing that because a parent literally cannot know what it will be like to have a child until it happens, they can’t make informed decisions about whether to have a baby or not. Some other transformative experiences by philosophers’ estimation: gaining the ability to hear, emigrating to a new country, going to war. What all four of those experiences have in common is that they can alter the brain – dramatically, and maybe irreversibly. After pregnancy, the many traces of having become a mother are littered throughout the body, and biologists are just starting to tease apart what they are and what they might mean.
-10.1. Coincidentally, despite Mother Warriors*, May 14, 1796 Jenner Tests Smallpox Vaccine. *Full disclosure, I added to the Summary citation 4 A Critical Look at Defeat Autism Now and the DAN Protocol in the summary to replace {Citation Needed}.
↕C. Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) Corner [Logo]. Newsletter Archive.
First Message in a Crisis. People are more likely to remember and believe the first message they hear after an emergency occurs. The first CERC principle is for your organization to “be first.” The context, content, and delivery of the first message that you put out about the emergency are critical. Your first message should: 1) Express empathy by acknowledging the feelings or emotions surrounding the event in words. 2) Give any confirmed facts and try to answer who, what, where, when, why, and how. 3) Tell your audience what you do not know about the situation. Not all information will be confirmed right away and it is better to acknowledge what you do not know than to leave room for rumors or suspicions that you are withholding information. 4) Explain what you will do to find more answers and how you will keep the public updated. 5) Express you and your agency’s commitment to staying through the emergency and recovery. 6) Tell people where they can find more information, such as a hotline number or a website. ¶ Immediately following an emergency, the public has a greater appetite for information. Beyond this want for information, populations directly affected by an emergency need to know certain information to protect their lives and their community. The right message, at the right time, from the right person can save lives in an emergency. Make sure your first message has all of the components to make it credible, well received, and effective for promoting action.
-C.1. HHS Essential Elements of Information for Emergency Managers. This guide, geared towards emergency management officials, highlights an agreed upon definition of the information sharing components necessary for successful cross jurisdictional information sharing. Essential Elements of Information Publication Guidance. In the ESF #8 Incident Manager (Radiological Dispersal Device Information Collection Plan), the first 6 EEI are specific to a radiological event (which is a biodisaster) but can be easily changed for other bioevents. The remaining, up to 96 are generic. 170507-C↓. ¶ Tunnel Collapse Latest Safety Issue at Washington State Nuclear Site, Atomic Town Revels in Plutonium past as Tunnel Failure Fuels Contamination Fears.
-C.2. A Failure to Over Communicate. Emergency managers (and others) often fail to truly engage and educate their various stakeholders. With numerous competing priorities and a vast array of information outlets to contend with, getting a message to resonate requires more effort than ever before. As such, emergency managers must be willing to over communicate and explore new ways to educate people. Much like disaster preparedness, communication is an ongoing process that requires a sustained commitment. Have to disagree here. There is value to repetitive and simple to get attention, but for biodisaster this is a recommendation for listening fatigue, the subject is complex and cumulative. Unless there is a reason to learn it will be tuned out.
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