Four out of every ten American children live in low-income families, according to new research from the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. This finding from the 2015 edition of the center’s Basic Facts about Low-Income Children fact sheet series underscores the magnitude of the problem of family economic insecurity and child poverty in the United States. Analyzing the latest available U.S. Census data, NCCP researchers find that 44 percent of children under age 18 lived in low-income families in 2013, and 22 percent lived in poor families. Low-income families are defined as those with incomes less than two times the Federal Poverty Threshold (about $47,000 for a family of four with two children) and poor families are defined as those with incomes below the threshold (about $24,000 for a family of four with two children).
“Far too many American children live in economically insecure families, and this serious threat to our nation’s future does not get the attention it deserves,” said NCCP Director Renée Wilson-Simmons. “NCCP’s Basic Facts about Low-Income Children provides essential data to raise awareness about our most vulnerable children.”
Given the changes in constitutional law, public health, and government regulation, what kinds of public health laws that address contagious diseases might be constitutionally permissible today? A law that authorizes mandatory vaccination during an epidemic of a lethal disease, with refusal punishable by a monetary penalty, like the one at issue in Jacobson, would undoubtedly be found constitutional under the low constitutional test of “rationality review.” However, the vaccine would have to be approved by the FDA as safe and effective, and the law would have to require exceptions for those who have contraindications to the vaccine. A law that authorizes mandatory vaccination to prevent dangerous contagious diseases in the absence of an epidemic, such as the school immunization requirement summarily upheld in 1922, also would probably be upheld as long as (1) the disease still exists in the population where it can spread and cause serious injury to those infected, and (2) a safe and effective vaccine could prevent transmission to others.
The legitimacy of compulsory vaccination programs depends on both scientific factors and constitutional limits. Scientific factors include the prevalence, incidence, and severity of the contagious disease; the mode of transmission; the safety and effectiveness of any vaccine in preventing transmission; and the nature of any available treatment. Constitutional limits include protection against unjustified bodily intrusions, such as forcible vaccination of individuals at risk for adverse reactions, and physical restraints and unreasonable penalties for refusal.
Because I am tired of seeing young people (think 40 year olds!) die horribly of an almost completely preventable disease, and I haven’t seen the obligatory Tumblr PSA about it, so I’m making my own.
1. CERVICAL CANCER IS REALLY BAD
Cancers that have a good prognosis are usually cancers that can be caught early–like skin cancer, which is easily seen, and therefore usually treated very early. Cervical cancer does not give you symptoms until you have very advanced disease, which means unless someone is regularly testing your cervix, you will likely not be diagnosed early. More than half of people diagnosed with cervical cancer present with advanced disease. 75% of them will be dead within 5 years. For comparison, when caught in the earliest stage, there is a 90% 5 year survival rate. Treatment for those diagnosed is chemo and radiation, and believe me, those are not fun. If you do happen to be in the lucky 25% of survivors, if your cancer comes back, you have an 85% chance of dying within a year. Also! We think of cancer as something that happens to old people, but the average age of diagnosis for cervical cancer is 50.
2. WHO GETS CERVICAL CANCER?
Cervical cancer used to be the most common cause of cancer-related death in women in America, but at this point it’s basically a disease of People Without Pap Smears–developing countries, immigrants, low socioeconomic status, BIPOC, rural communities, LGBTQ, etc.
A Pap smear is a screening test for two things: HPV, and your cervical cells. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world. Literally half of the people in America have some strain of HPV on their body. Most HPV infections go away on their own (in people with healthy immune systems), but some strains are Very Bad, and some people are just Very Unlucky, and the HPV starts causing your cervical cells to turn cancerous. 91% of all cervical cancers are caused by HPV. So a Pap smear looks to see if your have HPV, and if so, is it one of the bad ones? And also, do you have any cancerous cells hanging about in your cervix? And! It takes 10-30 years for HPV to turn those cells into cancer, which means you have a really really long time to catch it before it becomes cancer and cut those pre-cancer cells out!
The thing my dad said I shouldn’t get because it might make me a slut. Yes! There is an HPV vaccine! You should get it! It protects you against the nine most common cancer-causing types of HPV. It’s recommended starting at age 11, and you can get it up to age 45 now! (It used to be 26, but as of 2020, it’s now extended.)You can get it from most primary care doctors, or from Planned Parenthood,CVS,Walgreens, etc. If you get the vaccine you still need Pap smears.
5. I HEARD YOU CAN ONLY GET THE VACCINE IF YOU’RE A VIRGIN
Fake news. While the vaccine does not treat old infections of HPV, it does prevent new ones, so while the benefits are theoretically decreased in those who have already been sexually active, it does not mean you will not benefit from having it!
6. WHO GETS PAP SMEARS?
Everyone with a cervix starting at age 21, until you lose your cervix or until you’re 65. You should get them every 3-5 years (depending on your exact age and what test your doctor does).
7. BUT I GOT THE VACCINE
Nice! You still need Pap smears.
8. I HAD ONE AND IT WAS HORRIBLE/I’M SCARED OF THE EXAM
Talk to your doctor about this in advance! Good gynecologists (and other providers) will work with you to minimize discomfort as much as possible. They can use a small speculum and lots of gel, prescribe anti-anxiety medications to take in advance, and some people will even use numbing creams and/or laughing gas.
9. BUT I DON’T HAVE/CAN’T SEE A GYN
Most primary care physicians can do them! So do a lot of urgent care centers!
10. BUT I’M A LESBIAN
HPV can be transmitted through oral/genital contact, hand/genital, and even hand-to-hand-then-genital, so you still need Pap smears.
11. BUT I’M A VIRGIN/ASEXUAL
You still need Pap smears. HPV can be transmitted not just through penetrative sex, but also through oral/genital, hand/genital, and hand-to-hand-then-genital, and also 9% of cervical cancers are not caused by HPV.
12. BUT I’M A TRANSGENDER MAN
If your cervix was removed, then congrats! You do not need Pap smears. Otherwise, unfortunately, you are still at risk for cervical cancer and need to be screened.
13. BUT I’M A TRANSGENDER WOMAN
Neovaginas do not need Pap smears! Congrats! Consider getting the vaccine, though, to prevent spreading HPV to others.
14. BUT I’M A CIS-GENDERED MAN
Congrats! You do not need Pap smears! You should still consider the vaccine though, not only to prevent the spread of HPV to others, but also because HPV causes 50% of all penile cancers as well.
In summary: please please please go get your pap smear. Go get vaccinated. The spread of HPV can be prevented, and cervical cancer can be caught and treated before it even becomes cancer.
DON’T FEAR THE SMEAR
#12. I had a fully hysterectomy and it is recommended to get a pap smear every 3 years despite no longer having a cervix. They will swab the inside of the vaginal canal to look for other signs of cell changes.
Transmen may still need swabs even if they do not have a cervix.
I know that the party line right now is “the vaccines don’t keep you from getting COVID, they keep you from getting seriously sick or dying.”
And yes, I’m in favor of not getting seriously sick or dying. I’d take a vaccine just for that. Like I get the flu vaccine every year even though some years it’s had an efficacy rate of like 10%. I’ll take a free 10% reduced chance of getting the flu.
But if there is anyone, anyone at all, reading this who hasn’t gotten vaccinated, for whom “well, it won’t keep me from getting it, so what’s the point” is playing any role in your decision-making…
I want you to know that the vaccines still stand a moderate chance of helping to prevent you from getting it.
The mRNA vaccines show a significantly reduced efficacy against the omicron variant, on top of diminishing efficacy a few weeks to a few months after vaccination.
That efficacy still is not zero. It is not.
Signed someone who spent a week living in a 600 sq. ft. apartment with an infected roommate and didn’t catch it.
We tried to keep the windows cracked before the temperatures outside got way too cold, but we couldn’t avoid sharing a bathroom and kitchen or walking the same hallway, and I never caught it.
I know that right now we’re supposed to somehow simultaneously believe that we’re not supposed to just be resigned to catching it, but also that being vaccinated won’t prevent us from catching it, and that feels impossible. Because it is impossible.
But getting vaccinated can still help keep you from catching it.
Hey Americans, USPS is sending out one (1) package of four (4) free COVID test kits per residential address, you can sign up here: https://special.usps.com/testkits?s=09
Obviously Joseph Robinette thinks everyone lives in single-family homes in nuclear family units & if you are one of the many people whose communal living arrangement looks like “a regular house rented as separate units but not zoned as apartments” or “an illegal basement” or one of the other myriad ways landlords artfully dodge property taxes / avoid dotting the i’s & crossing the t’s of municipal bureaucracy, good luck & godspeed. Please pass this on!
Also fucks over households with multiple generations or several children, but still get your free tests if you can.
They’re apparently working on the apartment building/multiple units at the same street address/PO Box not registering as a residential address thing. Don’t give up.
A damning new report shows that one of the leading COVID-19 vaccine makers appears to have played a role in restricting access to those very vaccines. The report, “Pfizer’s Power,” published this week by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, examines Pfizer’s contracts with the United States, United Kingdom, European Commission, Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic and Peru. They offer a rare glimpse into the power Pfizer has to silence governments, throttle supply, shift risk and maximize profits in the middle of a public health crisis.
“Open up the window, let some air into this room.”
Good classroom ventilation was important in 1916, just as it is now. This open-air school was on Moore St. in Richmond, Va.
Creative fundraising supported the schools. Prominent women of the city served as hostesses in the palm garden of the Jefferson Hotel for a series of “golf teas” where indoor golf contributed to the afternoon’s enjoyment. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 2, 1916)
Image courtesy The Valentine via the Social Welfare History Image Portal.
Generally, food intake measurement relies on an individual’s ability to recall what and how much they ate, which has inherent limitations. This can be overcome using biomarkers, such as urine, which contains high amounts of data, and looks to be a promising new indicator of nutritional status.
Healthy diet
In one study, a group of researchers from Imperial College London, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, and Murdoch University analysed metabolites in the urine to measure the health of an individual’s diet.
Funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and Health Data Research UK, the group of scientists analysed levels of 46 different metabolites in the urine of 1,848 people in the U.S, publishing their findings in the journal Nature Food.
The team illustrated the effectiveness of using metabolites in urine as an alternative approach to obtaining information on dietary patterns. Analysing the urinary metabolic profile of the individuals, they found that the 46 metabolites in urine accurately predicted healthy / unhealthy patterns, making the link between 46 metabolites in urine, as well as the types of foods and nutrients in the diet.
Urine test sample
The team believes that this technology could inspire healthy changes as health professionals could be better equipped to provide dietary advice tailored to their individual biological make-up. As Dr Isabel Garcia-Perez, author of the researchalso from Imperial’s Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction explained: ‘Our technology can provide crucial insights into how foods are processed by individuals in different ways.’
To build on this research, the same Imperial team, in collaboration with Newcastle University, Aberystwyth University, and Murdoch University, developed a five-minute test to measure the health of a person’s diet.
This five-minute test can reveal differences in urinary metabolites, generating a dietary metabotype score for each individual. As part of this research, 19 people were recruited to follow four different diets ranging from very healthy to unhealthy. The experiments indicated that the healthier their diet, the higher the DMS score, associating higher DMS score with lower blood sugar and a higher amount of energy excreted in the urine.
Heart in hands
Professor John Mathers, co-author of research and Director of the Human Nutrition Research Centre at Newcastle University said: ‘We show here how different people metabolise the same foods in highly individual ways. This has implications for understanding the development of nutrition-related diseases and for more personalised dietary advice to improve public health.’
Without warning, on 3 July 2020, the Victorian Government placed 3,000 people living in nine social housing towers into a police-enforced lockdown. They aimed to contain the spread of COVID-19 infection by targeting disadvantaged migrants who were in a dependent relationship with the state (social housing tenants live in buildings owned by the Government). Ultimately, this racial targeting did not work. The entire state of Victoria was still placed into lockdown, which lasted almost four months.
The Melbourne example shows police-enforced segregation of multicultural communities is an ineffective public health model. It is therefore profoundly concerning that such recent history is currently being repeated in Sydney almost exactly one year later.
Announced suddenly on 30 July 2021, police and the military have been deployed into eight multicultural suburbs in South West and Western Sydney, to enforce lockdown through door-to-door visits. Military personnel are not mandated to be vaccinated. This show of state force was not used in previous outbreaks involving white, middle class people in the Northern Beaches, or at the start of the present lockdown, in Bondi.
Heavily policing public health in places where Aboriginal people, migrants and other working class people live sends a damaging message to those communities. There are potential health risks with this plan, including to mental health and safety.
Let’s reflect on some of the lessons from Melbourne, and then explore how racist ableism is operating in the current “hard lockdown” of select multicultural suburbs in Sydney.
In Episode 3 of Race in Society (video below), Associate Professor Alana Lentin and I lead a panel about how mainstream media create sensationalist accounts of the pandemic, and the proactive ways in which Aboriginal people and Asian people in particular lead their own responses. We spoke with Dr Summer May Finlay, a Yorta Yorta woman and Public Health Researcher at the Universities of Wollongong and Canberra. In our video below, she details how Aboriginal community controlled health organisations have effectively dealt with COVID-19 using social marketing campaigns. We also chatted with Dr Karen Schamberger, an independent curator and historian. She covers the history of Australian sinophobia (the fear of China, its people and or its culture), and how anti-Chinese racism plays out in media reports on racism and the COVID-19 pandemic. This issue remains pertinent, given that the suburbs currently under strict lockdown in Sydney have relatively large Asian populations.
The third most populous U.S. city, Chicago, is acutely divided by race and ethnicity. More affluent and mostly white neighborhoods are located along the waterfront of Lake Michigan, while many Black, low-income neighborhoods are located in the southern and western parts of the city. ThesemapsfromBloomberg CityLab use data from the Census Bureau and the City of Chicago and show Black residents are more than twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than their white neighbors.
Analysts point to a variety of factors that lead to health disparities in Chicago: higher rates of poverty, unemployment, air pollution, and asthma incidence rates, making it more difficult to access quality health care, and increasing severe health risks when contracting the virus. The state of Illinois has seen 295,720 confirmed cases and almost 9,000 deaths from COVID-19 according to Johns Hopkins University.
“The recall is limited to specific lots of U by Kotex® Sleek® Tampons, Regular Absorbency, that were manufactured between October 7, 2016 and October 16, 2018 and distributed between October 17, 2016 and October 23, 2018. Consumers can identify this product by looking for specific lot numbers found on the bottom of the package. A full list of recalled lot numbers is available on the U by Kotex® website. Retailers have been alerted to remove the recalled lot numbers from shelves and post a notification in their stores. “
Makes me think of the Star Trek: TOS episode “The Cloud Minders,” when Droxine suggests calling the filter masks for the at-risk miners “protectors” instead of the drier technical term “filters.” And I 100% agree with Dr. Blackstock.
JOHN IS NOT REALLY DULL - He may only need his eyes examined
Back in the 1920s, my grandpa (of course also named John) was held back in first grade for seven years. Despite being able to recite poetry and do mental math very proficiently, he couldn’t read worth a ding dang half-rotten cabbage.
When he was 12, though, his school instituted the first vision iteration of vision testing of students, and his parents found out that he wasn’t illiterate because of adisability an inability to comprehend written words, but because he couldn’t see the letters! And because he didn’t know this, he couldn’t have articulated that.
After he got glasses, he managed to not only catch up with, but surpass his peers - he graduated a year early, and became an accomplished engineer, serving his country in the Signal Corps in WWII, and going on to outfit many schools and other public buildings with modern power distribution centers.
ETA:I should have been more clear when I said “he wasn’t illiterate because…” - I repeated the story just as my grandma told it, but should have considered wording!
