Black text on a white graph paper background reads, “The Sick Times. COVID-19 trends report: December 2. While all U.S. COVID-19 metrics remain at low-to-moderate levels as of mid-November, wastewater data show clear signs of this year’s winter wave getting started in the Northeast and Midwest. The latest data are from before Thanksgiving, and the increases are likely to continue as outbreaks from holiday travel and gatherings show up in our numbers. — Betsy Ladyzhets CDC wastewater viral activity levels are calculated based on measurements in the last two years only. They do not account for the lower spread that could be possible with more widespread precautions.” A graph at the top of the graphic shows: 

WastewaterSCAN category for SARS-CoV-2 at “medium” with a slight decrease. 

CDC wastewater viral activity level for SARS-CoV-2 at “very low” with a significant increase. CDC COVID-19 test positivity at “moderate” with a slight decrease.

Black text on a white graph paper background reads, “The Sick Times. COVID-19 trends report: December 2. National wastewater trends from the CDC and WastewaterSCAN disagree this week. The CDC reports a substantial increase in its national average between November 15 and 22, while WWSCAN reports a slight decrease between November 12 and 19. Both dashboards agree, however, that the Midwest and Northeast are seeing sustained increases of SARS-CoV-2 in their wastewater, while viral levels in the West and South remain lower and stable.”

Black text on a white graph paper background reads, “The Sick Times. COVID-19 trends report: December 2. Healthcare system data and state-reported data similarly show that the Midwest and Northeast are seeing the start of a likely winter wave before the rest of the country. California reports very low SARS-CoV-2 levels in its wastewater. Kansas also reports low levels, in a new wastewater dashboard the state just launched. Meanwhile, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Vermont (also with a new dashboard, upgrading from weekly reports) report increases in their wastewater.”

Black text on a white graph paper background reads, “The Sick Times. COVID-19 trends report: December 2. "Vaccination rates in the U.S., fall 2025." The chart has four lines representing estimated vaccination rates: flu vaccines in adults and children (purple solid line and purple dashed line, respectively), and COVID-19 vaccines in adults and children (teal solid line and teal dashed line). The purple lines representing flu vaccines are much higher, going up toward 40%, than the teal lines representing COVID-19 vaccines. In the latest estimate, for November 22, only 15% of adults and 6% of children have received COVID-19 vaccines. Text below the title notes: "CDC estimates based on survey data from the National Immunization Survey-Fall Respiratory Virus Module, as of December 1, 2025." Text reads, “Seasonal flu spread is accelerating more rapidly and uniformly than COVID-19, at least in our pre-Thanksgiving data. Flu certainly merits some attention in the winter, but it does not pose as much of a chronic disease threat to every organ system as COVID-19 does. And yet, the CDC’s estimates of vaccinations so far show far more Americans getting their flu shots than their COVID-19 shots.”

While all U.S. COVID-19 metrics remain at low-to-moderate levels as of mid-November, wastewater data show clear signs of this year’s winter wave getting started in the Northeast and Midwest.

Read @betsyladyzhets.bsky.social's full COVID-19 trends report at The Sick Times: bit.ly/4pgWQaD

Oh, neat.

I did pick up ASTM surgicals in a Canadian pharmacy, but that was back in 2021/2022. Haven't looked in US ones recently, but I'd be mildly surprised to find them. Even a Chinatown beauty store didn't have K-masks that I could see.

US Republicans have sabotaged a major part of the world's flu vaccine ability: US military collects lots of data about world flu strains, which will no longer be shared (if even collected) as Trump withdraws from WHO.

Spain hits back: Masks are mandatory again Spain’s Ministry of Health has issued a warning over rising flu cases as winter approaches, preparing to require masks in hospitals, health centres, and elderly-care facilities…

Spain hits back: Masks are mandatory again

Spain’s Health Ministry warns of rising flu and COVID this winter and mandates masks in hospitals, primary care, long term care, and elderly facilities in high-risk areas to protect at risk people, prioritizing nursing homes and immunocompromised patients.

A woman wearing a medical face mask sits on public transport, looking out the window. Other passengers in the background are also wearing masks. A headline on the image says: “Brits told to ‘wear a mask’ as flu spreads across country.” The source shown below is express.co.uk.

UK: "Brits told to 'wear a mask' as flu spreads across country"

Flu positive rate rose to 11.6% weekending Nov 25 (from 10.7%). Health chiefs said the highest positivity was in children aged 5–14.

“We haven’t seen a virus like this for a while… these dynamics are unusual,” said Prof Nicola Lewis.

US hardware stores sometimes have N95s, and Home Depot or Staples had a blip of carrying them during the acknowledged period of the pandemic, but getting good masks has mostly been an online order thing all along, IME.

Lots of FFP2 or FFP3 masks on UK Amazon, though, I just checked. Including 3M's headstrap respirators, like the 9332+. If you don't like Amazon, I'd assume there's some UK equivalent of Grainger for industrial/medical supply.

I don't want the flu either!
Heck, I don't want colds! I might risk it for a party or date or good restaurant, but just travel?

"What if you’re not healthy enough to endure the mask?"

You're obviously not perfectly healthy, or healthy at all. I can work out in N95s and I'm not athletic. Kids can wear masks. If you can't breathe with even a surgical mask, something is very wrong.

It's not just our government, but almost all of them. I'm not sure how much even East Asian governments are pushing it now. Baffling to me, too.

N.J. hospitals ask visitors to mask up as winter viruses spread Face masks are making a comeback amid a surge in respiratory illness.

NJ hospitals are urging and in some instances requiring masks. Covid and flu patients already stressing the system. Just in time for the holiday season. Please get your boosters NOW. Covid is making a comeback in many other states.

www.nj.com/healthfit/20...

Because it's not just a matter of objective evidence; people have differed in how they accept evidence. WHO took 1.5 years to admit covid is airborne, whereas Taiwan and Japan figured it out very quickly. Western med has been reluctant to admit airborne spread of anything.

Well, your original post did imply that flu only spreads by droplets.

Real question: you say most agencies. Were there any that did recommend masking for flu, and if so, was there any pattern, like their being in east Asia?

Polio case and death rates in the United States The reported rates are per 100,000 US population and include both wild- and vaccine-derived poliovirus infections that occurred indigenously and as imported cases.

False. Polio cases were very high right up to the vaccine being licensed in 1955 -- and _then_ plummeted.

ourworldindata.org/grapher/prev...

And you don't respond to smallpox. There's also the eradication of rinderpest. Or the former elimination of measles from continents. Vaccines work.

Would you prefer they wait until monk seals start dying en masse? Bird flu has come to Hawaii and it causes massive death in other seal populations.

This is BS. We have lots of direct tests for covid.

Mass vax is why you no longer get smallpox or polio.

Regular flu is airborne.

Bird flu isn't good at infecting mammal lungs... yet. Still killing off like 50% of walruses and such.

Offit told me that Kennedy is a "liar" and a "terrible human being." I asked him to explain. "It doesn't matter what I say," Offit said. "He thinks the medical journals are in the pocket of the industry, he thinks that the government is in the pocket of the industry, he thinks I'm in the pocket of industry, and he's wrong." Offit continued: "If he has data showing he's right, then fucking publish it. He can't, because he doesn't have those data." I asked Offit if he saw a way to reverse the public's rising distrust in science. "I don't think there is any way to regain that trust other than have the viruses do the education, and the bacteria do the education, and then people will realize they paid way too high a cost," he said.

presented without comment

COVID-19 vaccination linked to reduced infections in children with eczema Children with atopic dermatitis (AD), commonly known as eczema, may experience fewer infections and allergic complications if they receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to new research presented at ...

Interesting news on mRNA COVID vaccinations

medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11...

Clean water and reliable food supply also helped, but yeah vaccines are huge.

A review of studies of children showed that "concern around pain and needle fear are barriers to vaccination in about 8 percent of the general population and about 18 percent in the vaccine-hesitant population," McMurtry adds.

It would also help if they mentioned that vaccine-hesitant people are more than twice as likely to just have a fear of needles. Source: www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-...

I used to be antivax. One of the several things that brought me around to good sense was a video of a baby suffering from whooping cough, and pics of kids with preventable diseases. Show the thing! It works on people! Show what vaccines prevent, and that sobering reality saves lives.

I had measles as a child (1950's) and you have no idea how bad it feels, nor how bad it looks - hundreds of spots all over your body, uncomfortable raised red welts that last for weeks

Just imagining how much better it would be if ALL news stories about vaccine-preventable illnesses were illustrated with pictures of people with the disease, not pictures of needle injections. If you must show something that people will find scary & unpleasant, make it the disease, not the cure.

Flu is airborne, though.

And I'm away from my sources but I'm pretty sure there were studies that supported masking. Also ones that didn't but had obvious flaws, like assuming flu is droplet. if you only tell HCWs to mask near a patient, gee that won't work.

I think even his non-biology books are good. But I got the impression that ejaculating on Twitter was not good for him. Combination of unrevised short-form texts, and maybe age and/or bad social reinforcement.

He'd probably have been for Brexit, but _also_ for Scottish independence, viewing not only the Empire as a mistake, but the United Kingdom as well.

Though, he could write something like that, but also write stories that pretty much show gender roles.

I'd say he's definitely "conservative" overall, but if you try to predict him from a simple idea of 'conservative', you'll go awry a lot.

Wake up babe, a new Tolkien book just dropped. It turns out, Tolkien was an early combatant in the @thewaroncars.bsky.social
Makes sense.

#booksky
#carsruincities

I like to say that mask mandates are a lockdown for noses. You get to still go out mostly-normally, just gotta keep the nose covered.

I dream of what a month of global respirator use would due to most respiratory viruses.