For the facts we all need to know, and the bullshit that we need to know are not facts.
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The products made by the pharmacy, Fullerton Wellness LLC, in Ontario, California, include semaglutide, which is intended to mimic brand-name weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. Fullerton also made tirzepatide, which is intended to mimic weight-loss and diabetes drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro.
The initial complaint was made to the FDA in mid-August. California officials reported to the FDA the next month that they had found problems during an inspection of the company’s facility and that Fullerton Wellness has voluntarily ceased operation. On October 17, officials from the FDA and the state returned to inspect the facility. They concluded that “Fullerton Wellness used non-sterile ingredients to make these injectable drugs and took no steps to sterilize them which could introduce health risks.”
Bringing over the thread from TOP. Seems like a good one to start with.
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IV fluid-maker Baxter Inc, which runs the Marion plant inundated by Helene, said Thursday that the restarted production line could produce, at peak, 25 percent of the plant’s total production and about 50 percent of the plant’s production of one-liter IV solutions, the product most commonly used by hospitals and clinics.
I cannot even begin to express how important this is. Maybe in a few weeks we will be in a better place, but right now it has been rough.
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And so it begins…
Trump’s win may bring changes to health care safety net : Shots - Health News : NPR
NPR did an interview with RFKjr this morning. The antivaxx/conspiracy loon Trump has promised to “go wild” on healthcare. While it is unclear what his actual function, if any, will be, he certainly seems to think he will be the czar to dictate healthcare policy. His initial focus seems to be to eliminate water fluoridation and “while I do not want to take vaccines away from anyone, it is very important that the true facts about vaccines be made known.” Or words to that effect. AS the torrent begins, I will try to keep up with the bullshit that will flow from his oral asshole, but having dealt with his nonsense previously, I suspect it will be very hard to keep up with. He is a master of zombie arguments. You can disprove them over and over and they keep coming back. I expect more of same form him in his new position of power, whatever it is. Just as an aside, he has a pretty severe speech impediment that makes him really hard to understand, and I have seen folks take that as he is not a threat, or not intelligent. Neither is true. So, since he started with the “risk” of water fluoridation, let’s go there. As in most things, the dose makes the poison. At high doses (>2x the recommended drinking water levels) there is evidence that there is an association with decreased IQ scores. This is true. He also believes it causes cancer. The American Cancer Society says:
In 1991, the US Public Health Service issued a report on the benefits and risks of fluoride. When looking at a possible link with cancer, they first reviewed the results of studies in lab animals. They concluded that the few studies available “fail[ed] to establish an association between fluoride and cancer.” They also looked at population-based studies, including a large study conducted by the National Cancer Institute. They concluded: “Optimal fluoridation of drinking water does not pose a detectable cancer risk to humans as evidenced by extensive human epidemiological data available to date, including the new studies prepared for this report.”
He also believes fluoridation causes arthritis. The kernel of truth is that fluorosis does, in fact, lead to increased risk of osteoarthritis. However, the level required is much higher than what is found in drinking water. Some is good, more is not.
He is an idiot, but a very dangerous one. The next 4 years will be challenging. I will do my best. Apologies in advance for whatever I miss.
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I am already so tired
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We all cope in our own way. This is one of mine. I am going to attempt to counter whatever bullshit comes from these asshats. It makes me feel better, if nothing else. If it makes it marginally more difficult for them to pass their lies off as truth, so much the better.
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I’m glad you have a coping strategy that is helpful to others and I appreciate the work that will inevitably go into this.
Though I’m at the point where anything that jerk says must be false. He starts at “bullshit” on my credibility meter.
The foodborne illnesses are going to get a lot worse.
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Long overdue action, that I suspect will not survive the change in administrations. This stuff is useless and should have been gone long before now. But it makes money, which is of course much more important than the public good.
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I nominate Dr. Mike. And Chubbyemu. I’d nominate ViolinMD as well, but she’s Canadian. On the bright side, so’s Jordan Peterson, so at least he won’t get into a position of power and send psychological care back to the 50s.
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If Trump were a deep-state asset [sarcasm] being used to drag terrible people out into the open, expose their weird corrupt rapist shit, and be internationally humiliated, would we be able to tell the difference?
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I don’t know that this is healthcare, but it’s definitely a PSA.
FTA: West Virginia-based Berkeley Club Beverages, Inc. has voluntarily recalled more than 150,000 bottles of water as they may contain coliform bacteria.
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I completely disagree that phenylephrine is ineffective. It was quite effective at giving me palpitations*. It wasn’t effective at anything else, tho.
*Real-deal pseudoephedrine doesn’t do that to me.
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I was going to post the CBC article on 
's first case of H5N1 flu, but it is all video and a bit fluffy. The spread of the virus itself appears to be from Washington state, but the British Columbia teen infected doesn’t have a clear route of exposure, and was healthy.
/me Clicks to set the counter to 0000.
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Does that matter for cabinet? Or for someone willing to violate norms?
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So, we have options here, none of which are terribly good. Option 1, and IMHO, most likely, healthy teenager with very reactive immune system driven into cytokine storm by viral infection. Option 2, apparently healthy teen who had some previously undiagnosed immune issue. Option 3, and the scariest, this is a new clade that has gained some new, more pathogenic, abilities. No data on any of these just yet, but it will come. Scary times, my friends. But I am sure RFKjr will fix it all.
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This is, at least currently, more of a local problem, but I suspect not for very long. We are still dealing with a pertussis outbreak, which seems to be getting worse. Also, as posted upthread, there is a remarkable uptick in mycoplasma pneumonia. What do these have in common? The treatment. Both require macrolide antibiotics, and for kids, generally this means azithromycin (Zithromax). Well, guess what we have no more of, and no prospects for getting more? Yup. FUBAR as usual. But I am sure RFK jr will fix this whole thing right up. God, I seriously hate this timeline…
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There are some caveats to this. Ultra-processed is much more buzzword than well-defined scientific term, it’s a machine-learning based study, which always makes me a little leery, although that may be because I am just that old, and this is just weird:
Compared to those who consumed the least amount of ultra-processed foods, those who consumed the most were generally younger, more educated, less active, and more urban, and they tended to be free from chronic diseases.
I guess my prejudice is that ultra-processed foods are typical of lower income, less educated folks. But I am certainly open to being corrected in that. The conclusion is not that surprising, and I welcome any increase in info that we need to consume more real food and less “better living through chemistry” sort of crap. So I’ll take it.
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If you have kids who are of the right age, they can get the HPV vaccine starting at 9 years old.
This article is focused on girls but all children should get it
I thought we’d have to wait until 11. We won’t be waiting.
Girls can get the HPV vaccine as early as 9 years old: Technically Speaking: Why HPV Vaccination Before Age 11 Years Is a Good Idea | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
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I have a family member who freaked out about the covid vaccine, despite being a rational person previously. When it came time for their kids to be vaccinated for HPV, their other parent made as little noise as possible about it and just had it done like it was a normal thing that is normal. I hate that it had to be that way, but those children are protected at least.
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