Jorkin Mahjongus

These artists are making concerts safer with COVID-19 precautions - The Sick Times While most of the music industry has moved on, COVID-conscious performers have been working to prevent their shows from being superspreaders.

For @thesicktimes.org, I looked at the state of COVID safety in live music and how artists and event producers can still protect themselves and audiences thesicktimes.org/2026/02/17/t...

Abstract BACKGROUND Amid the declining clinical severity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and diminishing public uptake of annual coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines, contemporary evidence on vaccine effectiveness against clinically relevant outcomes is needed. METHODS We conducted an observational study that used the electronic health records of the Department of Veterans Affairs to evaluate the effectiveness of the 2024-2025 Covid-19 vaccine among veterans who received the Covid-19 and influenza vaccines on the same day (164,132 participants) and in an active-comparator group of veterans who received the influenza vaccine only (131,839 participants), between September 3 and December 31, 2024. Participants were followed for 180 days or until the occurrence of an outcome, whichever came first. We used inverse-probability-weighted models to estimate vaccine effectiveness (calculated as 1 minus the risk ratio) against Covid-19-associated emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths at 6 months.

RESULTS At 6 months of follow-up, the estimated vaccine effectiveness was 29.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 19.1 to 39.2) against Covid-19-associated emergency department visits (risk difference per 10,000 persons, 18.3; 95% CI, 10.8 to 27.6), 39.2% (95% Cl, 21.6 to 54.5) against Covid-19-associated hospitalizations (risk difference per 10,000 persons, 7.5; 95% Cl, 3.4 to 13.0), and 64.0% (95% CI, 23.0 to 85.8) against Covid-19-associated deaths (risk difference per 10,000 persons, 2.2; 95% Cl, 0.5 to 6.9). Vaccine effectiveness against a composite of these outcomes was 28.3% (95% CI, 18.2 to 38.2), with a risk difference per 10,000 persons of 18.2 (95% Cl, 10.7 to 27.5). The Covid-19 vaccine was associated with decreased risks of these outcomes across prespecified subgroups defined according to age (<65 years, 65 to 75 years, and >75 years), the presence or absence of major coexisting conditions, and immunocompetence status. CONCLUSIONS In this national cohort of U.S. veterans, the receipt of the 2024-2025 Covid-19 vaccine was associated with decreased risks of severe clinical outcomes. (Funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs.)

According to the study’s authors, COVID vaccination was effective in all ALL groups and in persons with OR without major chronic conditions.

The study has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. YES, it is PEER-REVIEWED.
• www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

🧪🧵⬇️

Alabama High 1 in 31 (3.2%) Alaska Low 1 in 73 (1.4%) Arizona Very Low 1 in 126 (0.8%) Arkansas Low* 1 in 90 (1.1%) California Very Low 1 in 152 (0.7%) Colorado Low 1 in 97 (1.0%) Connecticut Moderate 1 in 50 (2.0%) Delaware Moderate 1 in 45 (2.2%) District of Columbia Very Low 1 in 130 (0.8%) Florida Very Low 1 in 133 (0.8%) Georgia Low 1 in 79 (1.3%) Guam Very Low 1 in 184 (0.5%) Hawaii Very Low 1 in 207 (0.5%) Idaho Low 1 in 76 (1.3%) Illinois Very High 1 in 27 (3.7%) Indiana High 1 in 29 (3.4%) Iowa Very High 1 in 27 (3.7%) Kansas Moderate 1 in 52 (1.9%) Kentucky Moderate 1 in 44 (2.3%) Louisiana Low 1 in 105 (1.0%) Maine Very High 1 in 22 (4.5%) Maryland Low 1 in 85 (1.2%) Massachusetts Moderate 1 in 42 (2.4%) Michigan High 1 in 39 (2.6%) Minnesota Very High 1 in 12 (8.6%) Mississippi Moderate* 1 in 50 (2.0%)

Missouri Moderate 1 in 54 (1.9%) Montana Moderate 1 in 64 (1.6%) Nebraska High 1 in 36 (2.7%) Nevada Low 1 in 92 (1.1%) New Hampshire Moderate* 1 in 58 (1.7%) New Jersey Moderate 1 in 61 (1.6%) New Mexico Low 1 in 81 (1.2%) New York Moderate 1 in 44 (2.3%) North Carolina Low 1 in 85 (1.2%) North Dakota Very High* 1 in 20 (5.0%) Ohio Very High 1 in 27 (3.7%) Oklahoma High 1 in 37 (2.7%) Oregon Very Low 1 in 116 (0.9%) Pennsylvania Moderate 1 in 46 (2.2%) Rhode Island Moderate 1 in 47 (2.1%) South Carolina Moderate 1 in 45 (2.2%) South Dakota Very High 1 in 21 (4.8%) Tennessee Low 1 in 76 (1.3%) Texas Low 1 in 73 (1.4%) Utah Low 1 in 101 (1.0%) Vermont Moderate 1 in 54 (1.8%) Virginia Very Low 1 in 164 (0.6%) Washington Very Low 1 in 135 (0.7%) West Virginia Very High 1 in 13 (7.5%) Wisconsin Moderate 1 in 43 (2.3%) Wyoming Very High 1 in 19 (5.4%)

Graph of the 12 waves

Proportion Actively Infectious 1 in 71 (1.4%) New Daily Infections 692,000 Infections the Past Week 5,020,000 Infections in 2026 40,000,000 Cumulative Infections per Person 5.07 Long COVID Long COVID Cases Resulting 35,000 to 138,000 from New Daily Infections Long COVID Cases Resulting 251,000 to 1,000,000 from New Weekly Infections Excess Deaths Excess Deaths Resulting 200 to 330 from New Daily Infections Excess Deaths Resulting 1,400 to 2,400 from New Weekly Infections

Nationally, 1 in 71 people are estimated actively infectious, with substantial regional variability. In 10 states, we estimate it's 1 in 30 infectious or worse.

Notice in the wave graph how transmission is lingering.

THREAD 2 of 4 🧵

Heat map form CDC data with PMC estimates of 1 in 71 actively infectious, nearly 700,000 new daily infections.

PMC COVlD Report, Week of Feb 16, 2026 (U.S.)

14 states are still experiencing High/Very High COVlD levels amid a lingering 12th wave.

Minnesota may be at an all-time high.

THREAD 1 of 4 🧵

antivax Michaelangelo: what's up Shred man, any room in your bubble for these lab leaks

antivax Leonardo: i knew it, he's got the whole foot clan masked up

antivax Raphael: who cares. the whole world is sick

antivax Donatello: masks have been proven time and again to have no effect against airbor

I thought this was Christian Bale playing John Travolta

Today, in what the fuck are we doing: "large events may pose risk for months."

This Is How a Child Dies of Measles When your family becomes a data point in an outbreak

This is a bracing read, and also one to share with anyone you know questioning the severity of this virus:

A photo shows German biathalete Justus Strelow in Munich, Germany during an pre-Olympics event on January 19, 2026. He is a young white man and wears a black, high quality mask and a red t-shirt. Behind him are logos of brands and the German Olympic team. The text reads, “The Sick Times. Winter Olympic athletes are rightfully taking COVID-19 precautions. By Miles W. Griffis.”

"Many of these athletes are also taking precautions by isolating and masking around family members and friends — something disabled people, including those with Long COVID, have been doing since the beginning of the pandemic." — Miles W. Griffis, Winter Olympic athletes are rightfully taking COVID-19 precautions

Some Winter Olympics athletes, teams, and their loved ones are protecting themselves from airborne pathogens by masking and isolating.

Meanwhile, the media stigmatizes disease prevention while minimizing serious risks of Long COVID.

Read more from @mileswgriffis.bsky.social: bit.ly/4rHDA6R

Oh the irony…

yea why not start an article about the benefits of mitigation by undermining it

Not a single thing we were told about #COVID turned out to be correct. A long thread 🧵

Good on them. It's smart to protect your chance to be at the Olympics through remaining healthy. And to preserve your health for the future.

U.S. women's cross country ski team at a press conference in Tesero Italy - all 6 Team members in masks, mainly respirators

U.S. Men's cross country team - poses at press conference in Italy. 4 men in white earloop respirators

Looking good, Olympians! The U.S. cross country teams know what's up.

So now we have athletes & astronauts wearing respirators. Seems like masks are a symbol of strength & resilience, not fear 🙌🏼 (h/t @lazaruslong13.bsky.social)

Someone has to have beat me to the “tripping balls” joke eh

a blue dumpster is floating in a flooded area near a sign that says 5 ALT: a blue dumpster is floating in a flooded area near a sign that says 5

When I see elderly folks carrying handgel only to protect themselves from COVID for a predominantly airborne virus, it really makes me upset. Health messaging is a bin fire.

#Covidisairborne

When people tell me the pandemic is over because "we have to get back to normal," I *wildly gestures in air* am like *this normal??* This sad state of affairs is what you want me to sacrifice my health for?

YouTube video by Al Haddrell Modelling Airborne Virus Transmission Risk: an Overview

'The exhalation plume is the cloud of infectious aerosol that leaves your lungs with every single breath. Larger exhaled droplets rapidly exit the plume and fall to the ground. The smaller aerosol will, for the most part, remain within the plume as it evolves and moves throughout the room.'

I used to think cock rings were a safety device to keep your condom on. And I still think that

Think Post infection risk

A powerful introduction to a parliamentary debate in the Netherlands on post-acute infection syndromes (PAIS), including #LongCOVID, #MECFS, chronic Lyme & post-sepsis conditions.

Dutch MP Kostić describes it as one of the biggest medical scandals of recent decades. (29/1/26)

“Feeling real harm” is a hell of a euphemism for “a sense of grievance rather than any real harm” 😂

"Precarious teachers and students they work with are especially at risk, considering schools are superspreader spaces and teachers are one of the most impacted professions from COVID."

Long COVID is here to stay—even in children Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC, also known as long COVID) are complex, multisystem, long-lasting complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection that profoundly impact the daily life of those...

“The take-home message from this study is clear: long COVID is here to stay, even in children, & can be exacerbated by reinfections and sustained by high viral circulation. …Without decisive action, the long-term societal cost of long COVID will continue to rise.”

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

I am hearing that RFK Jr.’s minions are going to go after HPV vaccines. I’ve got problems with these people and now you’re going to hear about them, first from a personal perspective and then from a professional one.

It all boils down to this: WE HAVE A SAFE VACCINE THAT PREVENTS CANCER.

The Pandemic Never Ended. We Only Pretend it Did Six years into COVID-19, the world has moved on while the virus continues to disable millions. An examination of the ongoing pandemic, long COVID, and our collective failure to prevent a mass disablin...

“There are a group of people who are trying to shake everyone else awake—urgently trying to inform us that COVID-19 is ongoing. That COVID-19 is an existential threat. I want to listen to them.”
brennan.day/the-pandemic...

Hey quick question: what the fuck

When you’re a professional loser, gearing up to lose some fuckin midterms hell yeah

gordon ramesses: it's fucking Ra!!!