#us health

[mcfriggingonagall]

Moderator: Do you have a plan

Trump: I have a semblance of a plan. I'm not president right now

Dude aren't you running for president? Would it not be beneficial to come up with a plan if your intention is to make it into the oval office

[the-final-sif]

If you're sexually active and queer, have HIV and/or are a sex worker, please get vaccinated for mpox

Queer people (specifically amab people having sexual with amab people) with more than one sexual partner, people with HIV and sex workers are at much higher risk of catching mpox, it's really important to help get this population vaccinated as we're starting to see cases in the US. Mpox can spread through several kinds of close contact, but sex tends to be the most risky.

MPOX Vaccines are free, they're safe, and they help protect not only you, but everyone around you too. The link above provides resources for finding vaccines in the US, please go check it out.

You need two doses to be fully protected (4 weeks apart), but even just the first dose can do a lot to help protect you. Partial protection is better than nothing, and

IF YOU HAVE A MPOX EXPOSURE, YOU CAN STILL GET VACCINATED IF YOU ACT QUICKLY. AN MPOX PEP VACCINE IS AVAILABLE AND EFFECTIVE.

If you're heading out to pride events, drag events, clubs, etc, any events where you could have sexual or skin to skin contact with possibly infected strangers, then get vaccinated before you go. If you're not sure if you're at risk, go get vaccinated anyways.

Again, vaccination is free, and it's the best tool we have to prevent severe outbreaks.

If you suspect you may have mpox, please get in contact with your local health department so they can get you tested and give you further guidance for what you need to do.

If you're organizing pride events, consider sending out messages encouraging attendees to get vaccinated prior to the event, or even talk to your local health department/hospital about setting up a vaccination station at the event!

Right now cases in the US are scattered, but vaccination rates are low and many people only got partial protection last summer during the outbreak. Let's keep the case count low by getting vaccinated and spreading awareness so people can stay safe!

[fenrislorsrai]

This emergency was predictable: There have been shortages of this drug in eight of the last 20 years. Yet federal health authorities have not prevented the drug shortages in the past and aren’t doing much to prevent them in the future. Syphilis, which is typically spread during sex, can be devastating if it goes untreated in pregnancy: About 40% of babies born to women with untreated syphilis can be stillborn or die as newborns, according to the CDC. Infants that survive can suffer from deformed bones, excruciating pain or brain damage, and some struggle to hear, see or breathe. Since this is entirely preventable, a baby born with syphilis is a shameful sign of a failing public health system. In 2022, the most recent year for which the CDC has data available, more than 3,700 babies were infected with syphilis, including nearly 300 who were stillborn or died as infants. More than 50% of these cases occurred because, even though the pregnant parent was diagnosed with syphilis, they were never properly treated. That year, there were 200,000 cases identified in the U.S., a 79% increase from five years before. Infection rates among pregnant people and babies increased by more than 250% in that time; South Dakota, where Strohfus works, had the highest rates — including a more than 400% increase among pregnant women. Statewide, the rate of babies born with the disease, a condition known as congenital syphilis, jumped more than 40-fold in just five years. - - -

Twenty years ago, there were at least three manufacturers of the syphilis shot. Then Pfizer, one of the manufacturers, purchased the other two companies and became the lone U.S. supplier. Pfizer’s supply has fallen short since then. In 2016, the company announced a shortage due to a manufacturing issue; it lasted two years. Even during times when Pfizer had not notified the FDA of an official shortage, clinics across the country told ProPublica, the shots were often hard to get. - - -

Having only one supplier for a drug, especially one of public health importance, makes the country vulnerable to shortages. With just one manufacturer, any disruption — contamination at a plant, a shortage of raw materials, a severe weather event or a flawed prediction of demand — can put lives at risk. What’s ultimately needed, public health experts say, is another manufacturer. Congressional Democrats recently introduced a bill that would authorize the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to manufacture generic drugs in exactly this scenario, when there are few manufacturers and regular shortages. Called the Affordable Drug Manufacturing Act, it would also establish an office of drug manufacturing. - - - In November, the Biden administration announced it was creating a new syphilis task force.

Bill number is S. 3398 if you want to call your Senator.

[nedcaratacus]

[victusinveritas]

[johnny-depp-is-loved]

Please, spread this for those who might need it right now

U.S. suicide hotline: call or text 988 (available 24 hours)

U.S. trans lifeline: (877) 565-8860 (when you call, you’ll speak to a trans/nonbinary peer operator. full anonymity and confidentiality)

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) – provides 24/7 confidential support and referrals for individuals and families facing mental health and substance use disorders, including panic attacks and anxiety.

LGBT National Help Center: (888) 843-4564

Trevor Project: Call (866) 488-7386, text START to 678-678, or chat online.

Take care of yourself and each other. Please stay safe ♡

[thebibliosphere]

I’ve got my tumblr inbox turned off so I really have to commend the person who actually emailed me to let me know they don’t like the things I’ve posted about the UnitedHealth CEO being murdered on their commitment to their beliefs.

But seen as how you emailed me from a dud email that appears to be bouncing back replies and I really wanted to address something you said to me about violence begetting violence:

My migraine medication, the medication I was given for my debilitating neurological disease that has gotten so bad I spent most of this year actively suicidal, costs $1300 a month.

My insurance covered it. But only because my doctors office went to fucking war for me because I’m a high anaphylaxis risk for the drugs the insurance wanted me to try.

Because that’s the thing.

My doctors knew, based on my documented medical history, I likely wouldn’t be a good fit for the “first line” of preventative migraine drugs, but because of insurance, I had to be given drugs that were contradictory to my other life threatening conditions, because otherwise insurance wouldn’t cover anything else.

I failed them. Spectacularly and with an anaphylactic reaction to one of them. And I was still warned insurance would fight me because I hadn’t tried the remaining drug they wanted me to try.

A drug which I would have to take in an ER waiting room because my mast cell disease is unpredictable but insurance wouldn’t cover in-patient treatment to let me try it safely under medical supervision.

Is that not violence?

Were all the times I was denied coverage for vital and necessary procedures that could have prevented my disabilities from worsening not violence?

Maybe not in the sense you mean. But I assure you it felt very much like violence to me.

Do I condone murder? No, obviously. But I’m also sick and tired of people pretending that what is happening to the American people every day isn’t eugenics through class warfare.

Violence begets violence.

It sure fucking does.

Maybe these insurance companies should have thought of that first.

[itsbansheebitch]

Briana Boston faces terrorism charges and CEOs are getting free therapy

Briana Boston is a 42 year old mother of three from Florida who is under house arrest for expressing her frustration at her insurance (which she PAYS for) who denied her claim. She owns ZERO guns and doesn't have a criminal record.

She was originally held in prison for $100,000 bail. They have not dropped the charges and she is under house arrest even after widespread backlash.

They are trying to charge her with terrorism. They want her to spend 15 years in prison.

They are calling her a Luigi Mangione copycat. As if she killed someone. She made a indirect, not at all credible threat.

Meanwhile...

I want every woman who has ever faced threats online, stalking, etc to bring this Briana Boston up at every opportunity. Every time you were told by police that there was nothing they could do, know that they not only CAN do something, but they WILL do something, just not for you.

[marzipanandminutiae]

"hey why are all the barrier garments like linen shirts or chemises or combinations going away?"

"oh we have more washable fabrics now! you don't need to worry about sweat reaching your outer clothing when you can just chuck it in the washing machine!"

"cool!"

[100 years later]

"so uh all of those new washable fabrics are leaching microplastics into our water, and the constant machine-washing wears garments out faster. they're also not really sturdy enough to be mended, so we keep having to throw them out and now the planet is covered in plastic fabric waste that will never break down. also it turns out that the new washable fabrics hold odor-causing bacteria VERY well. so could we get those barrier garments back please?"

"sorry babe linen now costs $100000/yard and since it's been so long without them, nobody knows how to adapt barrier garments to the current styles anyway"

"..."

"maybe try this new $50 undershirt made of Special Sweat-Wicking Plastic Fabric! :) :) :)"

[politijohn]

Source

[davidaugust]

Scares the Dickens out them. 😳

[sajirah]

To put into perspective my feelings on the United Healthcare CEO story, I'm gonna tell you a super fun story.

Around six years ago I was dying of organ failure.

Like, full on organs-shutting-down-couldn't-eat-anything-for-weeks-could-hardly-function organ failure. I had surgery scheduled to help reverse some of this. Hope was on the horizon. I was going to live. I was going to be okay. I just needed to get to my surgery date.

And then the day before that surgery I got a call.

"We've been fighting with your insurance company for weeks," said the lady on phone. "They keep telling us your procedure isn't 'medically necessary'. Dr. [Surgeon] screamed at them for a half an hour yesterday...but they still refuse to cover it."

I was given a choice during that conversation: go ahead with the surgery anyway and be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars...or don't get the surgery...and almost certainly die.

I'm sure you can guess which one I chose.

I'm sure you can also guess what the name of my insurance company was at the time.

[stil-lindigo]

lead balloon (the tumblr post that saved me)

if this comic resonated with you, it would mean the world to me if you donated to this palestinian family's escape fund.

--

no creative notes because this isn't that kind of comic.

I know I don’t owe any of you anything but I still felt compelled to write about my long term absence. And I feel far enough away from the dangerous spot I was in to be able to make this comic. I have a therapist now, and she agreed that making this could be a very cathartic gesture, and the start of properly leaving these thoughts behind me. I am still, at seemingly random times, blindsided by fleeting desires to kill myself. They’re always passing urges, but it’s disarming, and uncomfortable. I worry sometimes that my brain’s spent so long thinking only about suicide that it’s forgotten how to think about anything else. Like, now that I've opened that door for myself, I'll never be able to fully shut it again. But I’m trying my best to encourage my mind in other directions. We'll see how that goes.

I am still donating all proceeds from my store to Palestinian causes. So far, I've donated over $15K, not including donations coming from my own pocket or the fundraising streams which jointly raised around $10K. In the time since I made my initial post about where this money would be going, the focus has shifted from aid organisations to directly donating to escape funds.

If you'd like to do the same, you can look at Operation Olive Branch, which hosts hundreds of Palestinian escape funds or donate to Safebow, which has helped facilitate the safe crossing and securing of important medical procedures for over 150 at-risk palestinians since the beginning of the genocide.

[daily-spooky]

[victusinveritas]