niniandthebrain

Or why grandma might no longer get the long-term care she depends on?

Spare us the outrage over cereal.
The real danger isn’t and never was in the dyes. Folks like her have shown their true colors: their silence.

End

Eva Mendes has a children’s book about childhood fears and worries.

Seriously?

Does it explain to kids why their parents can’t afford groceries after HER campaign against food dyes helped gut programs like SNAP?

Does it tell them why they’re losing their health coverage?

4/n

It will be toxic air and contaminated water from rolling back EPA protections.
It will be children with higher risk of disability because of reduced prenatal care and abortion bans.
It will be kids whose grandma worsens after a rural hospital closes.

And the most ironic part?...(wait for it).

3/n

But strangely, she’s had nothing to say about the things that will actually harm and disable countless children in this country.

Because it won’t be food dyes.

It will be the gutting of food assistance programs like SNAP.
It will be cuts to Medicaid, which currently covers 30M children.

2/n

Has anyone heard from Eva Mendes lately? Or Cindy Crawford, for that matter, the one who once demonized food dyes while her husband owns a tequila brand?
Eva deserves an Oscar for her performative outrage over color additives in cereal, and her advocacy for MAHA as an extension of that.
1/n

Too many vaccines in the first year?Your child is 44% more likely to survive to one year if they are vaccinated than if they are unvaccinated.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38367758/
gh.bmj.com/content/9/4/...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

These anti-science wingnuts are sabotaging progress made by OUR tax dollars, our public institutions, and our collective investment in health.

And Makary, Prasad, and Bhattacharya are enabling this, like the pawns they are. They will ALL have blood on their hands.

End

This isn’t about “choice”, it NEVER was.

The language of "medical freedom" was purely co-opted as a deliberate strategy to dismantle public trust in vaccines, all while masquerading as parental rights and empowerment.

9/n

Adjusting for base rate, the risk of hospitalization was double in unvaccinated children relative to vaccinated counterparts.

RFK Jr. is knowingly putting pregnant women and children in harm’s way, all to appease a fringe, pseudoscientific agenda.

8/n

This reflects passive immunity passed from mother to baby.

And children?

We also know that the risk of hospitalization is lower in children ages 5-11 who were vaccinated. Data from the Omicron period in the U.S. showed that a large share, ~87% of the children hospitalized, were unvaccinated.

7/n

This is consistent with CDC data that shows that the risk of hospitalization is 61% less likely in infants (up to 6 months) whose mother was fully vaccinated during pregnancy.

Protection against hospitalization was much higher after 21 weeks (80% at 21+ vs. 32% before that).

6/n

A study in Norway looked at ~20,000+ infants during the Delta and Omicron waves. Infants born to vaccinated mothers had a lower risk of COVID-19 infection relative to unvaccinated ones.

During Delta: COVID infection rate of 1.2 vs. 3.0 per 10,000 follow-up days
During Omicron: 7.0 vs. 10.9.

5/n

Newborns of unvaccinated mothers had an increased risk for neonatal death (double relative to non-infected ones).

Neonates of vaccinated mothers, especially boosted mothers, had a decreased risk for preterm birth, newborn respiratory distress, and NICU days.

4/n

It didn’t drop down below pre-pandemic levels until 2023 (18.6 per 100,000).

A meta-analysis of 67 studies with 1.8+ million pregnant women found that those fully vaccinated had:

61% lower odds of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy
94% lower odds of hospitalization

What about the newborns?
3/n

Just so we are ALL on the same page: This is a deliberate rejection of science in favor of ideology, and it will cost lives.

A quick reality check:

The maternal mortality rate in the U.S. surged from 20.1 in 2019 to 32.9 in 2021 (> 50% spike), due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2/n

Today, RFK Jr., a man with *ZERO medical credentials, ZERO scientific training, and ZERO experience treating a single pregnant woman with COVID-19 complications*, announced plans to eliminate routine COVID-19 vaccination guidance for children and pregnant women.

1/n

Big pharma vs the wellness industry, which is more profitable?

Collab with @niniandthebrain.bsky.social.

(Graphic stolen from the incredible @niniandthebrain.bsky.social)

The risk of becoming disabled or needing long-term care is not an outlier, it’s the norm. These systems are a last resort, not just for the poor, but middle-class folks who may become poor through illness.

Unlike yachts, these aren't luxuries. They are investments in human health + potential.

End

Another study found that low-income seniors and disabled adults (duals) who lost Medicaid also lost vital Medicare coverage that lowers prescription drug costs.

Consequently, they were less likely to fill their prescriptions and were up to 22% more likely to die.

16/n

A study of 37M people found that adults who gained Medicaid through ACA were 21% less likely to die yearly; states that expanded Medicaid saved 27,400 lives (2010–2022). Even younger adults saw strong life-saving effects, likely from mental health and substance use interventions.

15/n

Without Medicaid or early or specialized interventions, that child may go without the support they need, not because the help doesn’t exist, but because it’s out of financial reach. We are both neglecting their potential and locking them out of a full and healthy life before it even begins.

14/n

It then becomes one's financial responsibility, at a time when one is trying to build a life and care for children, too.

And speaking of children, if a child is born with or acquires a disability, their future depends heavily on whether their family can access the right support.

13/n

As Medicaid is gutted, it won’t just affect “other people.”
It leaves parents without home care or pushes them toward disability or long-term care, which is prohibitively expensive and often not covered by Medicare or private insurance.

12/n

That’s not reality for millions of folks.

Healthcare tied to employment is a fragile setup, especially in a country where losing your job can mean losing your doctor, prescriptions, and access to care in a split second.

Many people may not realize this yet, but they’re not immune.

11/n

2 in 5 adults >= 65 report having at least one disability.

Some argue, “Why not just get a better job with better insurance?” That assumes a lot:
– Jobs with coverage are available
– That you’re healthy enough to work
– That your employer plan is affordable and covers what you need

10/n

....you’re separate from this. That cuts to Medicaid or food stamps affect only “other people.”

Social safety nets ARE health interventions. They quietly stabilize lives and reduce risk before things fall apart. You can do EVERYTHING right and still become disabled and financially strained.

9/n

...if circumstances were to change? Or if you live in a rural area where the local hospital shuts down?

Because here's the trajectory:
-As more people lose coverage, rural hospitals close.
-More care gets privatized
-Prices go up for absolutely everyone.

The lie is thinking that...

8/n

The downstream ramifications spiral quickly, resulting in unstable housing, more poverty, and inconsistent access to meds.

Even manageable conditions, like asthma or infections, will turn into ER visits and hospital stays.

You may have a decent plan now through your job. But what happens...

7/n