Sign in

VC

@vgc1720.bsky.social
5.6K followers 4.6K following 2.7K posts

she/her I ❤️ turtlenecks & human rights. MS Informatics & Analytics / Cultural Analytics. Happily 💍 @covidactiongso.bsky.social 😷

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by VC
Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
brief reminder because a TikTok video of an asshole is going around, disabled people trying to avoid illnesses that could make them more disabled is not OCD, it is lived experience with a disability that you do not have, and thus should have your stupid mouth closed and stupid ears open about.
624949
Reposted by VC
Ryan Hisner @ryanhisner.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Had no idea how common dengue has become in Florida. Per the CDC, >1000 non-travel-associated US dengue cases in 2026, mostly Florida. A guy I ran cross-country with in high school lost a teenage daughter to dengue last year. Can't believe this isn't big news. www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-13...
microbe.tv
TWiV 1362: Clinical Update with Dr. Daniel Griffin
In his weekly clinical update, Daniel Griffin and Vincent Racaniello continue their ongoing exasperation over 5 deaths in Pennsylvania associated with measles infections, the absurdity of RFK Jr.’s st...
26030
Reposted by VC
Durham County Department of Public Health (DCoDPH) @durhamhealthnc.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The first step in understanding your #BreastCancer risk: find out if any relatives have had breast cancer & at what ages. This helps decide when you should get screened & more. Learn more, & get tips to start the conversation: www.cdc.gov/cancer/risk-...
breast cancer prevention checklist: learn your family history of breast cancer, tell your doctor about your family history, ask if you should work with a genetic counselor, build healthy habits to lower your risk.
063
Reposted by VC
Durham County Department of Public Health (DCoDPH) @durhamhealthnc.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🎃 October is here, which means it's the start of respiratory virus season 😷 It's not as much fun as spooky season, but there are steps you can take to have a safer, happier fall: stay up to date on vaccines, mask up, keep clean air, wash your hands, and stay home and get tested if you're sick!
0219
Reposted by VC
Dr David Joffe MB BS(Hons), PhD, FRACP @davidjoffe64.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
And my colleagues wonder why I protest in favour of masks in Health Care 😔💔 doi.org/10.1136/bmj-...
doi.org
Covid-19: 40% of affected healthcare workers had long covid, and a quarter still had symptoms after a year
Four in ten healthcare workers worldwide who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic developed long covid, and a quarter still had symptoms after a year, a report has found. The report by t...
45622
Reposted by VC
Jane @fightingpride93.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I'm exactly £587.32 short for rent and it's due tomorrow! ⚠️
12951
Reposted by VC
VC @vgc1720.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Urgent request for a wonderful human. Please share widely and donate anything you might be able to. 🫂
URGENT HOUSING NEED MUTUAL AID REQUESTED
Greetings Folks! My name is RJ and I'm a Black, queer, & disabled educator living w/ PASC/Long COVID. As you may know, I was wrongfully terminated, denied reasonable accommodations, and disciplined for advocating for the legal civil rights of Black, Indigenous, and Latino children living w/ Long COVID in Los Angeles. Despite qualifying for SDI under PASC, Medi-Cal currently doesn't authorize patients to see providers that specialize in Long COVID. Thus, my SDI payments are temporarily paused while I appeal both the EDD and Medi-Cal. I can stay housed through the end of September (instead of entering a shelter as I was planning) if I'm able to raise $300 by Sunday, 9/6 and the
remaining $1200 by Sunday, 9/20.
GoFundMe: gofund.me/fbffbefa
Venmo: @SailorScarletLetter 
PayPal: @SailorScarletLetter
1510
Reposted by VC
Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I’ve been thinking about the Cornell rape all day. And I have to say, there are very good men in my life, many of them, who are confident and would have stepped in. And I also have to say I think something men and women need to reckon with is that those men are the exception.
626833
Reposted by VC
Mark Ungrin @mark-ungrin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
An absolutely damning report on the unnecessary COVID deaths of workers at the Cargill plant in High River, AB, highlighting public health and infection control's mismanagement of the crisis, and failure to engage OHS or follow the precautionary principle. albertapolitics.ca/wp-content/u...
As the evidence marshalled in this report shows, the massive
outbreak associated with Cargill was by no means inevitable. It
occurred because systems designed to protect worker health and
safety failed. And they failed for a number of interrelated reasons.
OHS and AHS Did Not Adopt the
Precautionary Principle
The virus SARS-CoV-2 is spread among humans via aerosol
transmission. The period during which someone with COVID-19
can transmit the virus varies depending on factors such as the
variant and severity of illness, but transmission can occur both
before and after symptom onset. Some infected individuals never
experience illness but still spread the virus to others.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Hinshaw and many other
public health leaders believed that COVID-19 only spread via
large droplets and that asymptomatic transmission was not
occurring. As a result, AHS EPH primarily focused on physical
barriers, physical distancing, hand-washing, and surgical masks as
preventative measures at Cargill.Cargill, AHS, and OHS did not consider the possible range of
aerosol transmission of the virus in a large crowded industrial
work setting and, therefore, did not prioritize — let alone consider
— higher-level control measures such as improved ventilation, air
filtration, and N95 (or equivalent) respirators.
Surgical masks, which were made mandatory at Cargill after April
16, provided inferior protection to workers working eight hours a
day, especially for those working in close quarters with inadequate
ventilation. Sometime between the closure of the facility (April
22) and its reopening (May 4), Alberta OHS came to believe that
tight-fitting, higher-filtration respirators (N95 or equivalent
masks) were required, as demonstrated by the ministerial order
approving KN95 masks (May 3) and OHS officers’ decision to wear
N95 masks during their May 4 inspection. However, the evidence
suggests that this view was not shared by Hinshaw.
Ventilation was not identified as a potential factor in the spread
at Cargill until early May, and even then, there is no evidence that
this pathway was further investigated by AHS or OHS.
Had OHS, AHS, and Cargill adopted the precautionary principle,
which requires taking proactive measures to maximize human
safety before the science about the transmission of a new virus
is known, more aggressive control measures would have been
adopted early on. If improved ventilation, provision of N95 masks
(or cartridge respirators), and other actions had been taken earlier,
hundreds of workers may have been spared from illness.None of the evidence we reviewed showed any communication
or coordination between AHS EPH officials and Alberta OHS at
this time. In response to our freedom of information requests for
email correspondence between the manager for OHS in Calgary
and several AHS officials who were directly involved in the Cargill
response, we were informed by the Government of Alberta’s
access to information that “a thorough search […] did not yield any
records responsive to your request.”195
By April 16, the total number of known confirmed positive cases
had reached approximately 550. At this point, there had only
been one in-person inspection of the plant, that being AHS’ April
7 visit, which resulted in non-binding recommendations. And, as
mentioned, there was no epidemiological analysis of the outbreak
showing the temporal pattern of the spread within the plant and
in the community.
An internal AHS MOH update on April 17 noted that “84% of
new COVID-19 cases [in the province] are in Calgary Zone, ‘most
related to Cargill.”196 By this time, a Cargill worker and union shop
steward had been admitted to an ICU. On April 18, another worker
would need life support care in the ICU. Cargill, AHS, and OHS had
lost control of the outbreak.Echoing Cargill’s response to the union’s April 12 letter, Dreeshen
cautioned workers not to listen to “inflammatory rhetoric” and
appealed to them to instead focus on information from public
health experts:
“…On this call are Alberta’s best medical minds and
they provide Alberta’s government with the best up
to date information on a daily basis and I would just
like to encourage everyone to not get distracted by
misleading noise or inflammatory rhetoric because
any government's primary goal — our core goal — is
to keep our people safe…”
Immediately after the town hall, Dreeshen posted on his social
media: “Directly communicated with [Cargill] workers to reassure
them that their worksite is safe.”217 Internal email messages
among senior officials with the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry suggest there was also “a request” to share some “key
messages” about the safety of Cargill’s plant through Hinshaw’s
Twitter account.218
Hours after the town hall, Dr. Nick Etches, acting lead medical
officer of health for the Calgary Zone, wrote to colleagues
requesting assistance with an epidemiological analysis of
the outbreak:
“[Hu] just spoke with [Hinshaw] and she wants us
to answer some questions that will likely require
additional epi support. Essentially we want to
determine the proportion of the Cargill-associated
cases that are due to:
1) Workplace transmission
9208106
Reposted by VC
Chantzy @chantzy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
One of my stats lecturers in a livestream class stood at the front of the classroom in a respirator mask and said she couldn't afford to get Covid, she had very important things to do next week. I could tell right away I picked the right class - math is mathing
614815
Reposted by VC
babs ✨ @itsbabs.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
also worth noting: *covid conscious* lesbians. the right and the left and nigh all major news outlets are very much in lockstep when it comes to ignoring and or belittling airborne safety & sars2’s ongoing harms.
17215
Reposted by VC
Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
After enabling the return of MAGA by promoting Covid disinformation superspreaders, @reason.com now claims they were actually warning about it the whole time. That’s a nice story they tell themselves.
25919
Reposted by VC
Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Does it though?
theatlantic.com
Public Health Needs MAHA
The field must swallow its pride and admit where the insurgent movement is right.
34418
VC @vgc1720.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The majority are quite fine with the elite masking & their staff being required to, but when the rest of us do it there’s a massive tantrum in unison. Do they think the president’s staff, when they mask for him, have full autonomy over that choice? Really?
1181
Reposted by VC
Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I don’t even know what to say anymore. The only thing Covid conscious people are trying to do, truly, is not get sick. That we’ve become the country’s newest freak show is predictable given the pandemic, but truly despicable on a base human level.
14840186
Reposted by VC
MaskTogetherAmerica @togetherwemask.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Our campaign won't work without community support. Please help us break shadow banning on IG & FB: instagram.com/p/Ddt24osRi08/ www.facebook.com/share/r/1EQz... Thank you! ❤️😷
facebook.com
133
Reposted by VC
VC @vgc1720.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
And there is absolutely nothing remotely misogynistic about not believing this issue is real and calling it OCD bc of course it is and the U.S. is known for taking women’s health seriously. genderandcovid-19.org/editorial/ig...
genderandcovid-19.org
Ignored and dismissed: The ongoing struggle of women with long COVID < Gender & Public Health Emergencies
Long COVID is not well-understood, making it difficult to diagnose, and in women symptoms are often brushed aside as mental health problems.
172
Reposted by VC
Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Academic freedom continues to crumble at the hands of Republican Party political appointees at UT.
313065
VC @vgc1720.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Which is why you shouldn’t wear a mask anymore & ignore better clean air standards being proposed by advocates looking out for your health too & the ppl doing those things & encouraging you to & asking you to critically think about your choices around this intersectional issue are problematic. OK.
1166
Reposted by VC
VC @vgc1720.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
I am really fed up w/ ppl punching down at online advocacy and activism when the rest of you refuse to make in-person spaces accessible for high-risk ppl. We have gotten more done in 6yrs online on the most ignored issue in our country with tens of millions chronically ill bc of it, mostly ONLINE.
218939
Reposted by VC
Melissa Gira Grant @melissagiragrant.com · 02/08/2026
if you hated covid "lockdowns" try long covid
42440458
Reposted by VC
Noor Lovelace @noorlovelace.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
As Jessica pointed out, if your rhetoric about disabled people matches up with far-right people, what exactly does that say about you? Disabled and immune compromised people aren’t some hypothetical rare breed. We are everywhere, all the time. We see how you talk about us. And we remember.
1181
Reposted by VC
Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Just gonna say in 24 hours I have not seen a single apology at any level by anyone who used the article as an excuse to bash Covid cautious people or queer people as a whole. I have not seen a word from people who gleefully referred to disabled people as “wreckers”. Not one single oops.
1230687
Reposted by VC
Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 26/09/2026
Damn. With the alt text:
The incident fits a broader pattern in the discourse around 'free speech' and 'cancel culture': 
[Section highlighted]
whatever comes from the top down is freedom; whatever comes from the bottom up is bullying and censorship.
[End highlight]
When Macklemore is dropped at the behest of the billionaire stadium owner Robert Kraft, it's an exercise of the freedom of businesses to 'demonstrate their values' by deciding whom to platform. But when Ed Sheeran's fans decide not to buy tickets to his performances, or even demand refunds, it's bullying, mob behaviour. Since most people are not billionaires and do not own stadiums, they can exercise meaningful power only collectively. The collective exercise of power must therefore be demonised.
3227111
VC @vgc1720.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
A very small and logical act of kindness most people can engage in is wearing a mask at their doctor’s office, even when it is not required. It’s a very anti-fascism and kindness driven action.
26017
Reposted by VC
Jared Yates Sexton @jysexton.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Oh and there’s a nonzero chance they were programmed to do this to push the issue of the government bringing in AI development in order to help mediate their giant financial problems and gain more power and control. Cool stuff, really. Not at all problematic.
13899133
Reposted by VC
Jared Yates Sexton @jysexton.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Just helping with editing here. These bots aren’t sentient. They’re doing what they’re programmed to do. OpenAI, a private company supposedly bound by laws, committed federal crimes.
Screenshot of BBC article: OpenAI bots (struck through) meddled with multiple US government agency sites
17092963068
Reposted by VC
Ryan Hisner @ryanhisner.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Phenomenal 🧵 (& paper) about why Omicron is less efficient at infecting the lung than previous variants. Initial ideas on this were proven wrong, & it's been an utter mystery since. Stuart, doing work on one else is doing, has largely explained it & revealed vital aspects of the SARS-2 life cycle.
05125
Reposted by VC
Chantzy @chantzy.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The Boston Globe article has unearthed some of the most hateful & ableist far-right blue check accounts on X. They are coming out of the woodwork. If we want this site to be a better place, best to avoid supporting that article & punching down on minority groups
26810
Reposted by VC
Tashenubaste @tashenubaste.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
One of my favorite kids, who has lupus, has strep throat rn, which is scary af. H2 will need kidney transplant in the coming years. A friend died of cancer this past winter. So did my sister. My uncle is on his 7th year treatment. You're one shit dice roll from NEEDING a mask. Don't be an ass.
0358
Reposted by VC
Melissa Gira Grant @melissagiragrant.com · 25/09/2026
“'A lot of people just thought we want things to go back to normal,' Noire said. 'Long Covid is something that is disproportionately affecting LGBTQ and Black communities. People are getting long-term effects from getting reinfected again and again.'" thx @greenfieldrecorder.bsky.social
recorder.com
Greenfield takes stock of viral attention: Businesses, officials weigh in after coverage of lesbian bar Last Ditch takes national spotlight - Greenfield Recorder
Local leaders and business owners defend Greenfield's Last Ditch bar amid a viral dispute over Saturday night masking policies.
17921
Reposted by VC
Dr Eleanor Roberts @elbelbumble.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
As a scientist, I studied HIV's actions in the brain when people are 'asymptomatic.' SARS-CoV-2, which causes CoViD, also gets into, and stays in, the brain. We showed inflammatory changes along with small, but measurable, cognitive and movement deficits. So yeah, it's very possibly behind this.
0143
Reposted by VC
Mar Hicks @histoftech.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
As of today, the CDC has changed (reverted) their Covid guidance to make the vaccine recommended for all people over 18. In addition to being a smart public health move, this recommendation also means insurance must cover it. Read more here: www.cdc.gov/covid/hcp/va... Listen to a breakdown here:
131864907
Reposted by VC
Julie Lam @msjulieslam.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Healthy #IndoorAir in schools is a health & human right demanding action! We must address "canary in the coal mine" warnings from rising chronic illnesses caused by virus-laden air & pollution. Proud to represent my community at the global #CleanAir event at the UN today @togetherwemask.bsky.social
A masked selfie taken at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly’s side event organized by the Air Club. Julie, wearing a black duckbill N95 respirator, a canary pin, and a MaskTogetherAmerica button, holds up a CO2 sensor showing a reading of approximately 798 ppm.
16118
Reposted by VC
Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
oh no someone on Bluesky thinks masking is fine, even in 2026; quick, someone use the AssHole Signal, summon the teeming hordes of sneering sportsballfans to tell us why we are just "scolds" and they and they alone understand science, and what is best for OUR bodies (not theirs even, OURS)
4979
Reposted by VC
MaskTogetherAmerica @togetherwemask.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A Global Policy Repository tracked 53 nations: only 8 have a gov't lead on #IndoorAir, just 7 have binding health standards, and only 25/253 policies address schools. Call your local reps and demand #CleanAir in schools! Fight for the kids! Watch: airclub.org/unga-2026
A close-up shot at the Air Club UN event showing a booklet provided to each attendee highlighting the organizers and speakers. Resting on top of the booklet is a flyer titled, “The Global Indoor Air Quality Policy Database.” The Air Club flyer outlines the first comprehensive repository of National Indoor Air Quality Policies, tracking 253 policies across 53 countries. The text notes that only 8 of 53 countries (15%) have a clear government lead on indoor air quality, only 25 of the 253 policies address education settings, and only 7 countries have legally binding, health-based standards across multiple pollutants and settings.
13510
VC @vgc1720.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A lot of ppl on this app sound a lot like this guy and they should examine that. Bc a lot of you are wearing your mask nowhere on purpose when you know that you are sick. So maybe let’s not keep doing that? Idk seems reasonable.
281
Reposted by VC
Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Some of you fail to understand that masking can be something you do because you believe in restricting risks for vulnerable people in your lives: it can be an act of community. Not always of course. But some people don’t mask because they’re disabled, they mask for this reason.
219344
Reposted by VC
han olliver @hanolliver.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
oh okay, the issue isn't that people are suffering from ongoing infection/illness, inaccessible spaces, zero communal/infrastructural support, loss of jobs/money/housing—the real issue is that sick scolds naming the material consequences of individual/collective actions are shaming people? got it. 👍
17613
Reposted by VC
jaydo @jaydocovid.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
For the same time period Jan 2022 to now, there were ten waves of Covid compared to four of Flu A and RSV, and Spring 2026 was the first time in a long time that levels were very low since 2021 vaccine summer:
Wastewater Scan chart of Covid wastewater data Jan 2022-now showing 10 waves and wastewater rarely approaching zero except for Spring 2026.
161
Reposted by VC
han olliver @hanolliver.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
it's not hyperbolic to say that if the ways you talk and think about disabled/sick people (as well as the COVID precautions we may take) are indistinguishable from how fascists talk about disabled/sick people—even down to the same statements—then you have a fucking problem.
321177
Reposted by VC
Chantzy @chantzy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Do they realize how ridiculous they sound when they say that anyone asking for accommodations & masks are taking away their 'freedoms' when its people still taking Covid precautions & those who are disabled or chronically ill who've been unable to safely access public spaces for 6+ yrs?
820043
Reposted by VC
Pandemic 𓅃. Index @panaccindex.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I hate to break your heart, but there is no excuse for repeatedly choosing to be willfully ignorant in a public forum year after year about masking & mask mandates. Read and hush up: www.panaccindex.info/p/answered-c...
panaccindex.info
ANSWERED: Can COVID-19 Be Prevented?
A Collection of Peer-Reviewed Scientific Research (40+ Studies)
39237
Reposted by VC
Clinically Vulnerable Families 💙💜💗 @cvcev.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
💨Healthy Indoor Air in Schools France : 3 Priorities 1. We must make indoor air quality a fully integrated component of public health and prevention policies, particularly in schools and facilities serving the most vulnerable populations.
27534
Reposted by VC
Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I think one reason, and a grim one, that energy-limiting diseases get so little attention (aside from Covid denialism) is that it’s hard to capitalize on those of us with them. We are mostly very poor because our working ability is limited, we have little buying power and thus,little lobbying power.
10253104
Reposted by VC
Sandy Ernest Allen @sandyernestallen.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Trolling the libs for clicks has actual consequences and this isn’t ethical journalism. The Boston Globe is celebrating its new subscribers or whatever but they should be ashamed. This is punching down.
18621
Reposted by VC
Zohran’s Mommy Dommey @loridiletto.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Nothing unites people across the political spectrum like deciding an invisible illness that disproportionately affects women is actually hysteria
830585
Reposted by VC
C.H. Romatowski @chromatowski.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Examples of researchers talking about how many people volunteering for studies as healthy controls turn out to have Long Covid:
Tweet from Putrino Lab @PutrinoLab

Of all the "COVID-recovered" people who are kindly emailing us to participate in our study (meaning they had COVID >12 weeks ago and feel recovered), only about 1 in 5 are actually passing our screening questionnaire. The rest actually have persistent symptoms. #LongCOVID

1:18 PM • 2/23/22 From EarthScreenshot from CNN Health

Putrino said they had the most difficult time, in some respects, recruiting people to their control groups. "We had all of these people saying, 'I had Covid, and I'm fully recovered. Can I be in your study?' "

Upon further questioning, however, Putrino says they'd tell him things that would suggest they weren't really back to normal. "They'd say, I'm fully recovered. I just don't go to the gym anymore.' " Why don't you go to the gym anymore? 'Well, when I exercise, I feel really terrible," he said. Disabling fatigue after exercise is a common symptom of long Covid called post-exertional malaise.

He says that ultimately, about 50% of participants who were screened to be part of the control group couldn't be included because of continuing symptoms.Tweet from Alba Azola, MD
@AzolaAlba

For those doing LC research... around you having trouble finding controls? We are experiencing that most of our "HC" volunteers, when further assessed, end up having post COVID symptoms

9:56 AM • 8/8/24 From Earth • 6.2K Views
07129
Reposted by VC
Kristin Meekes @kmeekes.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
OMFG if I see one more person suggest that people talking about Covid in 2026 want permanent lockdowns I’m going to lose it The asks are clean air in public places, treatments for long covid, masks in places like healthcare + normalization of masking elsewhere, expanded vaccine access, sick leave
727072
Reposted by VC
DreadwoodGirl @redwoodgirl.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I'm shocked also. One study estimates that the total cost for Long COVID globally come to about $1 trillion/year. That's a lot of money for something that's not real. doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
Economic burden of long COVID: macroeconomic, cost-of-illness and microeconomic impacts - npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine
npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine - Economic burden of long COVID: macroeconomic, cost-of-illness and microeconomic impacts
0417