Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Pam H

Scott MacFarlane

@macfarlanenews.bsky.social

The week has concluded without release of Epstein Files

January 10, 2026 at 2:13 AM

Reposted by Pam H

MsTerious #WearAMask #CovidIsAirborne

@pattyd.bsky.social

Covid conscious peeps: Trying to convince @1goodtern.bsky.social that it's worth posting on Bluesky. They are constantly being throttled on X. Pls like/repost this so they see the engagement they will get here. #covid19 #CovidConscious #C19

January 10, 2026 at 1:51 AM

Reposted by Pam H

Democracy Docket

@democracydocket.com

BREAKING: In a major win for voters, a federal court blocked key parts of Trump’s anti-voting executive order.

The judge ruled Trump had no authority to rewrite election rules, target mail-in ballots or force new barriers to voter registration.

Federal court blocks key parts of Trump’s anti-voting order, restores states’ control over elections

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

January 10, 2026 at 12:42 AM

Reposted by Pam H

Betty C. Jung

@bettycjung.bsky.social

Follow the American Academy of Pediatrics for all the vaccinations children should get.
downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/AAP-...

January 9, 2026 at 11:45 PM

Reposted by Pam H

Ferric Fang, MD

@fangferric.bsky.social

"Meningococcal disease is a terrible, terrible disease."

- Walter Orenstein, MD, former Director of the US Immunization Program

www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdi...

New CDC Guidance Could Revive a Rare but Deadly Disease

How risk-based recommendation could reshape childhood meningococcal disease

www.medpagetoday.com

January 9, 2026 at 11:40 PM

Reposted by Pam H

Mark Jacob

@markjacob.bsky.social

"Quit demonstrating" is not something that a pro-democracy politician says. It's something that an authoritarian tool says.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23h

Rep. Roger Williams: "People need to quit demonstrating, quit yelling at law enforcement, challenging law enforcement, and begin to get civil."

January 9, 2026 at 1:36 PM

Reposted by Pam H

Yaneer Bar-Yam

@yaneerbaryam.bsky.social

Thank you to everyone who signed. The full letter, including the complete list of signatories, can be found here:
whn.global/a-call-for-t...

Open Letter to WHO: A Call for the Universal use of Respirators in Healthcare - WHN

January 7, 2026 The letter below (a button to download it as a .pdf file is at the bottom of this page) was sent to seven top officials at the World Health Organization on Wednesday 7 January. We wil...

whn.global

January 9, 2026 at 1:11 PM

Reposted by Pam H

Christophe Veltsos

@drinfosec.bsky.social

🎯🧵from Dec 2023 by @prognosticchats.bsky.social on XTwitter:

"Here are the studies🧵Covid can cause;
Cognitive impairment, brain shrinkage, heart attacks, strokes, kidney damage, lung damage, diabetes, clots & other blood disorders, immunological & ..."

Full🧵
threadreaderapp.com/thread/17403...

Here are the studies🧵Covid can cause;
Cognitive impairment, brain shrinkage, heart attacks, strokes, kidney damage, lung damage, diabetes, clots & other blood disorders, immunological & neurological disorders.
It is multisystem, acute & potentially chronic (1 in 10 infections)🧵

January 9, 2026 at 2:50 PM

Reposted by Pam H

Astrid Meyer-Knutsen

@astridmeyerknutsen.bsky.social

- ...many healthcare workers still don’t believe that long COVID is real, despite dramatically disabling symptoms in people with no preexisting risk factors

www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...

Healthcare Workers With Long COVID Struggle to Find Support

Some healthcare workers fail to recognize the symptoms of long COVID in themselves, says one physician.

www.medscape.com

January 9, 2026 at 1:48 PM

Reposted by Pam H

Ruth Ann Crystal

@drruth.bsky.social

New paper from Dr. Pridgen and @putrinolab.bsky.social

👉 Giving Valacyclovir + Celecoxib + 15 days of Paxlovid to people with Long COVID reduced fatigue significantly for up to 2 years in an open-label small study. buff.ly/gVF8Ou0

#medsky #IDsky 🛟😷

Chart in gray and white showing how valacyclovir, celecoxib and paxlovid can reduce activation of latent herpes viruses and SARS-CoV-2 infection.

January 9, 2026 at 1:38 AM

Reposted by Pam H

Michael Olesen

@molesen.bsky.social

1-2 Pay attention to the part about the "good eggs."

threadreaderapp.com/thread/20092...

Thread by @JamesThrot on Thread Reader App

@JamesThrot: Has police & military behaviour become harsher, more rigid & more escalation-prone since 2020? This isn’t just about politics or “bad apples”. There’s a deeper, biological factor being ig...

threadreaderapp.com

January 9, 2026 at 5:14 AM

Reposted by Pam H

J. Offir, PhD

@joffirphd.bsky.social

Gift 🎁 link.

"the administration is sending a message to the entire country: If you show up for your immigrant neighbors, or even are simply present when those neighbors are taken, your rights will not be protected by the law and your life will be at risk."

🧵1/2

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/o...

Opinion | I’m the Mayor of Minneapolis. Trump Is Lying to You.

www.nytimes.com

January 9, 2026 at 1:26 AM

Reposted by Pam H

Mike Luckovich

@mluckovich.bsky.social

January 8, 2026 at 8:30 PM

Reposted by Pam H

#9 Dream

@gayfabfourfan.bsky.social

“Definitely wash your hands. Please. Viruses can spread in multiple ways, and handwashing helps prevent some of those ways. But you can’t wash away a virus you’ve breathed in…” #MaskUp #COVID

Durham County Department of Public Health (DCoDPH) @durhamhealthnc.bsky.social · 1d

We don’t know who needs to hear this, but the flu is getting out of hand. And we needed to make a post about it. Here are our pretty direct thoughts, because sometimes our social media manager/infographic designer is tired & can’t think of a way to put it more gently. Please make good choices. (1/2)

Here’s the thing: Ridiculous numbers of people are getting the flu right now. Cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are reaching or have already reached record-breaking numbers. People of all ages are getting sick, being hospitalized, and dying, even if they had no other health conditions. And lots of people who are “ok” and don’t require hospitalization are feeling terrible and probably wish they were not sick.

You should really be trying not to get the flu (and
COVID-19 and RSV and more). This means, yes, you should really get vaccinated….Vaccines teach your body how to recognize and respond to the particular viruses they were created for. No amount of washing your hands, eating healthy, sleeping, or exercising can do this for you. Sorry. These are all important for your immune system and other reasons, but they cannot replace the work of vaccines. People of all ages, with or without other health issues, should get vaccinated. Vaccines help prevent infection and severe illness in people of all ages (yes, even kids. Healthy children can and do die from the flu. And most children who die are unvaccinated*). *Sources if you don’t believe us: bit.ly/428YhOU, tinyurl.com/4tmv8km8, bit.ly/mm7241a2. ... and you should wear masks.

If you don’t want to get or spread the flu (or COVID-19 or other things) you should really wear masks. Seriously, people. Yes, we know, some of you love them and some of you hate them. But we’re a health agency so we’re here to share the things that work to protect your health. Masks keep you from breathing in, or breathing out into the air, virus particles that make you and others sick, even if you don’t know you or the people around you are sick (and honestly you often won’t know). You should wash your hands frequently, eat healthy foods, and get plenty of sleep, but no amount of any of this is going to keep you from breathing in virus particles in the air. Definitely wash your hands. Please. Viruses can spread in multiple ways, and handwashing helps prevent some of those ways. But you can’t wash away a virus you’ve breathed in. There’s a reason masks often become required again at doctors’ offices and hospitals whenever virus spread gets bad (like now). It’s because they work.

Also, it’s very unkind to choose to be unmasked around others if you know you’re sick (and if there’s no reason you can’t wear a mask). For you, maybe it’s “just” the flu or a mild case of another illness, and you don’t care if you’re sick. But for the person you pass it to, it could be: Too much for their body to handle in addition to their chronic illness | The illness they pass to a loved one who has cancer | The reason they are sick on the day of an important life event | A hospital stay for a child | The infection that leads to a disability | Their cause of death. If you are sick, please be kind and stay away from others as much as possible, and wear a mask if you have to spend time away from home. PS: A lot of cases of illness spread by people who don’t have symptoms, so if you want to be even more considerate, it’s a good idea to mask around other people even if you don’t think you’re sick.

January 8, 2026 at 7:23 PM

Reposted by Pam H

Data Report

@datareport.bsky.social

New York State just reported the highest number of Covid hospital admissions since May 2025.

January 8, 2026 at 7:30 PM

Pam H

@glad2behere.bsky.social

I need a covid vaccine but had a steroid shot in my knee yesterday. I've read that I should wait 2 weeks. Is that correct?

January 8, 2026 at 6:12 PM

Reposted by Pam H

Data Report

@datareport.bsky.social

COVID continues to exact heavy toll on older US adults, study suggests www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/cov...

COVID continues to exact heavy toll on older US adults, study suggests

www.cidrap.umn.edu

January 8, 2026 at 12:19 PM

Reposted by Pam H

Mike Hoerger, PhD, MSCR, MBA

@michael-hoerger.bsky.social

The U.S. is in the middle of a 12th wave of COVID. Career scientists at the CDC summarized this week in JAMA Internal Medicine that COVID continues to directly cause >100,000 deaths/year, with many excess deaths on top of that.

More at pmc19.com/data

Heat map of CDC data and PMC prevalence estimate

January 8, 2026 at 4:41 AM

Reposted by Pam H

MaskTogetherAmerica

@togetherwemask.bsky.social

🚨From Oct 1- Dec 27, 2025, CDC preliminary estimates for Flu: 11M - 20M lab-confirmed cases, 5.2M - 9M medical visits for flu-like illnesses, 120K - 260K hospitalizations, and 5K - 25K deaths, including children! #MaskTogetherAmerica please!
See CDC Flu Burden: bit.ly/CDCFluBurden...

Headline: From Oct 1- Dec 27, 2025, CDC preliminary estimates for Flu:
11M - 20M lab-confirmed cases,
5.2M - 9M med visits for flu-like illnesses,
120K - 260K hospitalizations,
and 5K - 25K deaths, including children!

Visual: Graphic from CDC FLu Burden estimating the flu burden thus far this flu season, with data estimates representing Oct 1 2025 through Dec 27, 202.
Title: Preliminary 2025-2026 U.S. Flu In-Season Disease Burden Estimate.
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/flu-burden/php/php/data-vis/2025-2026.html

Since October 1, 2025, CDC Estimates there have been between:
—11 and 20 million people who have caught the flu
—5.2 million and 9 million medical visits for the flu
—120-260 million hospitalizations for flu.
—5,000 and 25,000 Flu Deaths.
Because Influenza surveillance does not capture all cases of flu, CDC provides these estimated ranges to better reflect the full burden of the flu in the United States. These estimates are calculated using a mathematical model based on CDC’s weekly influenza surveillance data and are preliminary and are updated weekly.

January 8, 2026 at 12:25 AM

Reposted by Pam H

Dr David Joffe MB BS(Hons), PhD, FRACP

@davidjoffe64.bsky.social

Hmmmmm... I'll just leave this here

www.jabfm.org/content/earl...

Economic Burden of Long COVID: Lost Labor Costs in US Adults

Introduction: Long COVID (LC) is associated with significantly more days of work missed due to illness. Given this impact on the workforce, we estimated the lost labor costs associated with these addi...

www.jabfm.org

January 8, 2026 at 12:36 AM

Reposted by Pam H

Data Report

@datareport.bsky.social

MD Currently as of the time of this post has 40 hospital with an ER status of level 4. what is level 4? Level 4 is when the ER is operating at 131% or greater of occupancy, meaning the ER is beyond FULL. You can view them all at the link below.
edas.miemss.org/dashboard

Maryland Emergency Department Advisory System (EDAS)

edas.miemss.org

January 7, 2026 at 10:16 PM

Reposted by Pam H

Data Report

@datareport.bsky.social

This is Paoli hospital in Paoli, PA. EMS are stuck waiting to discharge patients because the ER is full of patients waiting to be admitted because there are no available beds.

January 7, 2026 at 10:02 PM

Reposted by Pam H

Durham County Department of Public Health (DCoDPH)

@durhamhealthnc.bsky.social

Babies are at high risk of severe illness and death from preventable illnesses, but vaccination helps prevent early death, lifelong health damage, and disability. Protect your child's lifelong health by getting them vaccinated on time, and talk to your doctor if you have questions.

Why do babies need vaccines? Because they are exposed to lots of germs and do not yet have immune systems strong enough to fight those germs. Babies are born with weak immune systems that need time to develop, so they are extremely vulnerable to diseases and infections older children and adults can more easily fight off. This puts them at much higher risk of getting sick, and if they do get sick, they are much more likely to experience serious illness, long-term health damage, or death. Vaccines significantly reduce these risks.

$Is it safe for my baby to get multiple vaccines at once? Yes! Babies and children are exposed to thousands more antigens in daily life than in any combination of vaccines they receive. Antigens are the parts of germs that help the body learn to fight off diseases. The antigens in vaccines are weakened or killed so they can’t cause your baby to develop a disease, but they teach your baby’s body to fight off the disease if they’re exposed to it later. The antigens in vaccines are a tiny fraction of the number of antigens babies are exposed to in daily life, and they cannot hurt your baby even when multiple vaccines are given at once.$

Are vaccine side effects safe for babies? All recommended infant vaccines have been thoroughly tested and proven safe for babies, and side effects are significantly safer than the diseases they protect against! All medications and vaccines can have side effects, but vaccine side effects are almost always mild and go away in a few days. Serious side effects are rare, and the health risks from vaccine-preventable illnesses are significantly greater than any risks from vaccines! Vaccine injuries are very rare. Serious illness or death by vaccine-preventable illnesses in unvaccinated babies is common. Your baby is significantly more likely to experience serious health consequences by skipping vaccines than by getting vaccinated.

Can I delay my baby’s vaccinations until they’re older? Delaying vaccinations does not help your baby in any way, and it puts them at risk of serious illness or death from preventable illnesses. Babies are vaccinated because they are at higher risk from preventable illnesses than people who are older. For example, the hepatitis B vaccine is administered within 24 hours of a baby’s birth because babies typically develop chronic infection for the rest of their lives if exposed while they are babies, and mothers often pass it to their baby during birth without even knowing they have it. Hepatitis B is just one of many infections that can cause mild illness adults but usually causes severe consequences in babies, so it’s critical to vaccinate them as soon as possible. Delaying vaccination does not help babies in any way but can damage their health for life.

January 7, 2026 at 9:58 PM

Reposted by Pam H

#9 Dream

@gayfabfourfan.bsky.social

There's no such thing as super flu. But unfortunately, there is such a thing as immune system damage from repeat COVID infections, which can make you more susceptible & less able to fight off the flu, as well as other serious illnesses.

#MaskUp with a good mask & protect yourself & others.

Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 3d

Repeating to correct an error:
There's no such thing as super #flu. But there is a doozy of a flu season underway right now. Here's what you need to know about subclade K, the #H3N2 variant making so many people sick. (Earlier I said H5N1. This is not that!!!) www.statnews.com/2026/01/06/f...