Health Justice Commons

A New COVID Variant Is Here, And It's More Transmissible — Here Are The Signs And Symptoms A new COVID variant, known as NB.1.8.1, has made landfall in the United States, and it's more transmissible than other variants.

Mask up NOW

“A new COVID variant, known as NB.1.8.1, has made landfall in the United States, and it's more transmissible than other variants.”

www.huffpost.com/entry/the-mo...

Donald Trump’s proposed budget would gut American science It would slash cancer research, drug trials, space exploration, and so much more.

Cutting $20 billion to NIH over 25 years may save $500 billion on paper, but it’d end up costing $8.2 trillion in lost human health.

But NIH isn't the only thing being cut. The budget also slashes all NSF-funded science by 73 percent. NASA faces “the biggest single-year cut to NASA in history."

Congress: Save Medicaid Now Politicians are attempting to pass devastating cuts to Medicaid right now and we must act fast. Send a message telling your member of Congress to fight back now.

The House passed a bill this morning that makes massive cuts to Medicaid. Now, it goes to the Senate.

Medicaid provides vital, lifesaving care to millions of people with disabilities nationwide. Tell Congress: Protect Medicaid.

Loving Stacey Park Milbern: A Remembrance My friend Stacey Park Milbern died today, May 19, 2020, on her birthday. I haven’t cried yet and am overwhelmed with gratitude for knowing and loving her. I feel sadness and rage but I will not cen…

Five years ago today my dear friend Stacey Park Milbern died. To learn more about her life & disability justice activism: disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2020/05/19/l...

And here’s a syllabus of her writings and talks:

disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2020/05/23/s...

Red background with white text on read reads: "tell your friends. our access to vaccines is under attack." below: "Submit a public comment to the FDA by May 23: We all need access to updated COVID boosters " "Our template makes it easy (link in bio). Comment at tinyurl.com/FDAVaccineMeeting" Yellow People's CDC in lower right corner.

Red background with white text reads: "Vaccine Access is under attack" Under it: "The CDC currently recommends the COVID vaccine for people 6 months and up. But the Wall Street Journal reported that HHS is considering no longer reccomending COVID vaccine access to pregnant people, and children. Robust scientific evidence shows that updated COVID boosters provide important protection against severe illness for all age groups." Below "Comment by May 23 tinyurl.com/FDAVaccineMeeting" People's CDC logo is in lower right.

Red background with white text reads: "Vaccine Access is under attack" Below it: "The FDA recently approved the Novavax, but with no scientific basis, restricted it to people over 65 and 12-64 with certain health conditions. These unfounded limitations likely could extend to all COVID vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna). We need to tell the FDA to make COVID vaccines available for all. Use our template (link in bio) and comment by May 23." And small text: "Comment by May 23 tinyurl.com/FDAVaccineMeeting" People's CDC logo is in lower right.

Our access to COVID vaccines is under attack. It’s more important than ever to make our voices heard by making public comment to the FDA by May 23 at 11:59 PM EST. Use our template available on our substack at peoplescdc.substack.com/p/vaccine-ac...

Stop Medicaid Cuts | Defend Public Health House Republicans have unveiled their updated plans to strip away Medicaid funding. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office assessed that these proposed Medicaid cuts would leave at least 8.6 mill...

Join us in our campaign to stop Medicaid cuts!

The text reads: "How often do you find global Indigenous stories exclusively written by Indigenous authors? Subscribe today to The Magazine. Now's the time!"

The text reads: "And inside our pages, discover a world through an Indigenous lens, with topics like..."

The text reads: "Language, reproductive justice, gender issues, traditions | The Magazine"

How often do you read Indigenous stories by Indigenous authors? #TheMagazine shares bold journalism, art & insights from Indigenous voices worldwide–on traditions, reproductive justice, gender issues, language & more.

Subscribe today here: crushingcolonialism.org/subscribe/

Abortion Bans Are Making It Harder For Some People to Find Basic Health Care Abortion restrictions are having an outsized impact on LGBTQ+ people — making it harder for them to access a wide range of care compared to non-LGBTQ+ people.

New: Abortion bans are disproportionately hurting LGBTQ+ people.

“The attacks on gender-affirming care, the attacks on LGBT rights are about bodily autonomy in the same way that anti-choice efforts are attacks on our bodily autonomy," Caleb Smith, from @americanprogress.bsky.social told me.

Remember, cuts to Medicaid will not hurt all people equally - kids and people of color will be more likely to lose care.

We must protect Medicaid!

www.epi.org/blog/medicai...

NIH building in the background in black and white with a yellowed/faded overlay. Text: SOS Fund the ME/CFS Roadmap.

We are fighting for funding for the ME/CFS Research Roadmap.

We have a letter urging Dr. Bhattacharya to allocate $50 million to fund the ME/CFS Research Roadmap.

Sign our new letter now: bit.ly/MEcfsRoadmap

The more signatures we gather, the louder our call for action.

#PwME #MECFS #NIH

“Without HICPAC’s public meetings, there is no longer any public access to the process for drafting CDC guidance on infection control for health care settings. This further undermines safety for patients, nurses, and other health care workers.”

the HHS report on gender dysphoria in youth is out. i'll be taking a closer look and will likely have deeper analysis out early next week but a cursory look shows 12 new york times citations in this report justifying banning puberty blockers. opa.hhs.gov/gender-dysph...

RFK Jr. to End 'Godsend' Narcan Program That Helped Reduce Overdose Deaths Despite His Past Heroin Addiction Despite overcoming heroin addiction himself, RFK Jr. is backing plans to cut a critical Narcan program that helped reduce overdose deaths.

There are few things as cost effective as Narcan, especially in a country where (entirely preventable) opioid overdoses have been a leading cause of death for years. For every 6 kits distributed 1 OD is prevented. The $56M in this grant trained >66K people and distributed >282,500 kits in 2024 alone

Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi freed after federal judge orders release Palestinian, a lawful permanent US resident, was detained and ordered deported despite not being charged with crime

‼️ Mohsen Mahdawi has been freed:

"Mohsen Mahdawi has walked out of immigration detention after a federal judge in Vermont ordered his release."

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

The fascists are actively killing marginalized people. And this is only the beginning. I fear things will become much worse before they become better. We need to organize as communities to fight for our right not to live, but to thrive. We are all that we have & there is power & beauty in unity.

"There are at least two concerning Project 2025 recommendations that we have yet to see play out. The playbook recommends rescinding Medicare coverage for gender-affirming surgery ... and suggests classifying trans-affirming educators as 'sex offenders.'"

Disability protection groups in two states pause services after missing federal funds "We are fighting for our very survival."

Two disability-focused state organizations, Disability Rights New Jersey and Disability Rights Arkansas, have paused services due to not receiving federal funds. New from me at @motherjones.com. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Texas v. Kennedy (formerly Texas v. Becerra): What it is and How You Can Help Stop the Attack on Section 504 | DREDF This page explains what the lawsuit Texas v. Kennedy (previously Texas v. Becerra) is, how Texas v. Kennedy threatens Section 504, and why Section 504 is important. Learn what you can do to help…

Check out DREDF's explainer on Texas v. Becerra, how it can harm Section 504, and how you can help! dredf.org/protect-504/

Slide 3 contains a screenshot two screenshots. The top one is a photo of smoke rising from a chemical plant in what is known as "Cancer Alley" in Louisiana, with the text, "research has shown a correlation between air pollution and COVID-19 deaths, with places with higher levels of air pollution having higher COVID-19 infection rates." Below this is another screenshot with a photo of a Native person receiving medical treatment with the words, "Native tribal lands, for eg., have experienced much higher COVID-19 infection rates, with infection rates among Native Americans shown to be 3.5 times higher than for white Americans."

Health Justice Commons @hjcommons.bsky.social

Safety Is a Practice We Enact Together: Building Solidarity Under Trump 2.0 As authoritarian forces try to fracture our communities, we must remember that our collective survival is intertwined.

"As authoritarian forces try to separate our communities, we must act to defend each other, knowing that our fights — and our collective survival — are intertwined."

-@naomipaik.bsky.social, Toby Beauchamp, Damian Vergara Bracamontes

truthout.org/articles/saf...

@crushcolonialism.bsky.social needs your support.

“Crushing Colonialism, itself a Two-Spirit, Trans, and Gender-Nonconforming led organization, is being directly targeted by these anti-trans, anti-Indigenous attacks. But we will not be erased. We will not comply."

📢 Please amplify and support!

Collage graphic showing President Trump holding a chainsaw, standing in front of a sign for the CDC’s campus. The image is cast in red light and has a foreboding vibe. The text reads, “The Sick Times. $11 billion CDC funding cuts may decimate Long COVID response in several states. By Betsy Ladyzhets.”

Black text on a white and red-ish background reads, "Much of HHS’s rationale for terminating the grants relies on the argument the COVID-19 pandemic is “over,” even though the disease is still circulating widely in the U.S., with hundreds of deaths reported each week — likely an undercount — and many people newly developing Long COVID. - Betsy Ladyzhets, The Sick Times co-founder + managing editor."

The Trump administration recently canceled $11 billion in CDC grants to state and local health agencies. The Sick Times has identified specific #LongCOVID programs impacted, including state-level research, outreach, partnerships with community organizations, and more. bit.ly/4jjeAzi

I have really good news to announce to everyone.

Because of our reporting and many readers contacting Planned Parenthood of Arizona, the organization will NOT over comply with Trump, and is restarting its trans adult care.

Good work everyone.

This may be a wise time to stock up on masks.

For anyone unable to stock up right now, it may be wise in the near future to purchase masks manufactured abroad that meet their country's safety regulations.

Though we can't entirely predict the consequences of these layoffs, it's possible that there will be shortages in the future of masks with authentic safety certifications.

HHS cuts eliminate NIOSH respirator certification staff The NIOSH layoffs impact nearly 200 employees, including mining safety and protective equipment programs as part of a broader federal workforce reduction under a Trump-era executive order

Cuts to NIOSH may impact access to safe masks!

NIOSH is the organization that oversees workplace safety and certifies safety equipment, including N95 masks and other similar respiratory safety equipment.

www.ems1.com/public-healt...

"People w/chronic pain are already up against many difficulties in finding & receiving treatment. We are fighting to be believed in a hyper-capitalist society where health care is not a human right." @sfdirewolf.bsky.social on the many ways medicine fails to diagnose & treat pain. #IllnessPolitics

Here we go again… Texas mask ban in the works.

Masks should never be criminalized. They’re an essential public health tool. They allow disabled people to safely access public spaces.

Mask bans disproportionately harm the disabled, marginalized & people of colour.

See below for ways to fight back

CDC faces backlash for cutting sickle cell, adult disability programs Nearly half of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities was laid off.

Nearly half of CDC's developmental disabilities and birth defects center is now off the job

Secy Kennedy's layoffs included entire team working on sickle cell disease

www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-cut...

The US has three measles-related deaths and hundreds of cases. Here's what to know Three people have died from measles-related illnesses in the U.S. since the highly contagious virus started ripping through West Texas in January.

Where public health is concerned, what the U.S. chooses to do will impact the world.

US reports 3rd death from measles & World Health Organization are saying an outbreak in Mexico can be traced back to Texas.

The measles vaccine is effective & all but eradicated the disease. This is not normal: