Call me Ishmael
@thewhitewhale.bsky.social
books, words, left politics, learning stuff, long covid (he/him). A citizen of the world.
Views expressed here are my own.
Views expressed here are my own.
Pinned
Hello world.
I'm Michael, a thirty something dude from Australia. Interested in books (literary/fantasy/sci-fi/history/philosophy/etc) and other places cool words are written. Always keen to learn new things.
Afflicted with long covid, and following the science.
I'm Michael, a thirty something dude from Australia. Interested in books (literary/fantasy/sci-fi/history/philosophy/etc) and other places cool words are written. Always keen to learn new things.
Afflicted with long covid, and following the science.
ATAGI, in all their Cost-Benefit Analysis wisdom, doesn't recommend Aussie kids get these vaccines.
"COVID Vaccines Slashed Kids’ ER Visits by 76%, Study Finds"
Effectiveness of COVID Vaccines in Children (compared with unvaccinated children):
🔹76% reduction in ER or urgent care visits (ages 9 months–4 years)
🔹56% reduction in ER or Urgent care visits (ages 5–17 years)
Source: archive.md/roPXg
Effectiveness of COVID Vaccines in Children (compared with unvaccinated children):
🔹76% reduction in ER or urgent care visits (ages 9 months–4 years)
🔹56% reduction in ER or Urgent care visits (ages 5–17 years)
Source: archive.md/roPXg
December 12, 2025 at 2:39 AM
ATAGI, in all their Cost-Benefit Analysis wisdom, doesn't recommend Aussie kids get these vaccines.
An administration full of Andrew Tate supporters. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...
How a Manosphere Star Accused of Rape and Trafficking Was Freed
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 4:03 AM
An administration full of Andrew Tate supporters. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...
Pfizer's new LP.8.1 adapted Covid vaccination has been registered with the TGA and should be available this month. Good timing for those Xmas gatherings. newshub.medianet.com.au/2025/12/pfiz...
Pfizer and BioNTech’s LP.8.1-adapted COVID-19 vaccine now registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods – News Hub
newshub.medianet.com.au
December 11, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Pfizer's new LP.8.1 adapted Covid vaccination has been registered with the TGA and should be available this month. Good timing for those Xmas gatherings. newshub.medianet.com.au/2025/12/pfiz...
America is such a rogue state. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
US seizes oil tanker off coast of Venezuela, Trump says
US President Donald Trump says the tanker is "the largest one ever seized".
www.abc.net.au
December 10, 2025 at 11:41 PM
America is such a rogue state. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
Korean study finds how COVID-19 affects memory, suggests a possible treatment.
Korean researchers found the COVID S1 spike protein disrupts nerve cells, harming memory and causing anxiety in mice. Metformin restored nerve function and reduced toxic proteins, suggesting a possible treatment.
Korean researchers found the COVID S1 spike protein disrupts nerve cells, harming memory and causing anxiety in mice. Metformin restored nerve function and reduced toxic proteins, suggesting a possible treatment.
December 10, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Korean study finds how COVID-19 affects memory, suggests a possible treatment.
Korean researchers found the COVID S1 spike protein disrupts nerve cells, harming memory and causing anxiety in mice. Metformin restored nerve function and reduced toxic proteins, suggesting a possible treatment.
Korean researchers found the COVID S1 spike protein disrupts nerve cells, harming memory and causing anxiety in mice. Metformin restored nerve function and reduced toxic proteins, suggesting a possible treatment.
The blanket ban on under 16s using social media in Australia is nanny state nonsense that will hurt queer and disabled kids, especially those in remote areas. No government can roll back the clock to the days of boomer nostalgia.
December 10, 2025 at 5:15 AM
The blanket ban on under 16s using social media in Australia is nanny state nonsense that will hurt queer and disabled kids, especially those in remote areas. No government can roll back the clock to the days of boomer nostalgia.
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
"AI is the asbestos in the walls of our technological society, stuffed there with wild abandon by a finance sector and tech monopolists run amok. We will be excavating it for a generation or more."
This piece on AI by Cory Doctorow is spectactular.
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
This piece on AI by Cory Doctorow is spectactular.
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
December 9, 2025 at 2:58 PM
"AI is the asbestos in the walls of our technological society, stuffed there with wild abandon by a finance sector and tech monopolists run amok. We will be excavating it for a generation or more."
This piece on AI by Cory Doctorow is spectactular.
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
This piece on AI by Cory Doctorow is spectactular.
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
Pertussis (whooping cough) cases grew a lot after Covid restrictions were eased. Better vaccines would be great, but I can't help but connect this to the immune system suppression that Covid appears to induce. www.cidrap.umn.edu/pertussis/gl...
Global whooping cough resurgence after COVID lull may point to need for better vaccines
www.cidrap.umn.edu
December 9, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Pertussis (whooping cough) cases grew a lot after Covid restrictions were eased. Better vaccines would be great, but I can't help but connect this to the immune system suppression that Covid appears to induce. www.cidrap.umn.edu/pertussis/gl...
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
Nature: 'Long-COVID research just got a big funding boost: will it find new treatments?'
'The German government has committed half a billion euros for research on long COVID and other post-infection syndromes.'
By Michael Marshall
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
'The German government has committed half a billion euros for research on long COVID and other post-infection syndromes.'
By Michael Marshall
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Long-COVID research just got a big funding boost: will it find new treatments?
The German government has committed half a billion euros for research on long COVID and other post-infection syndromes.
www.nature.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Nature: 'Long-COVID research just got a big funding boost: will it find new treatments?'
'The German government has committed half a billion euros for research on long COVID and other post-infection syndromes.'
By Michael Marshall
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
'The German government has committed half a billion euros for research on long COVID and other post-infection syndromes.'
By Michael Marshall
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Infinite Jest has much more tennis than I was expecting. The writing's great, but every time we're in the locker room with the prodigies bro-philosophising about how tennis is life, I sigh and wish we could get back to the wheelchair assassins or the addicts.
December 9, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Infinite Jest has much more tennis than I was expecting. The writing's great, but every time we're in the locker room with the prodigies bro-philosophising about how tennis is life, I sigh and wish we could get back to the wheelchair assassins or the addicts.
I think I may be actually recovering (👉 🪵). Resting heart rate's steadily dropped 9 points since September, HRV is hitting levels I haven't seen since I got LC, walked 5000 steps on Saturday without ill effects (except needing a nap, and that's pretty normal for me with any exertion).
December 8, 2025 at 1:59 AM
I think I may be actually recovering (👉 🪵). Resting heart rate's steadily dropped 9 points since September, HRV is hitting levels I haven't seen since I got LC, walked 5000 steps on Saturday without ill effects (except needing a nap, and that's pretty normal for me with any exertion).
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
So, to all the "RFK's got some good ideas" folks (Rachael Bedard, Leana Wen) and Jay Bhattacharya is "an excellent choice for NIH" (Steven Macedo, Frances Lee) and Vinay Prasad "will bring a breath of fresh air to FDA" (Adam Cifu, John Mandrola) groupies--you own this now too.
I think the *speed* at which RFK Jr and his Great Barrington Declaration/anti-vaxx/Brownstone wrecking crew have been dismantling the US public health system has been really astonishing
Well, Senators Bill Cassidy and Thom Tillis, you wanted RFK Jr. to “go wild” at HHS.
Congratulations. You’ve achieved your goal. He is well on his way to completely destroying the US vaccine program.
Congratulations. You’ve achieved your goal. He is well on his way to completely destroying the US vaccine program.
December 7, 2025 at 11:15 AM
So, to all the "RFK's got some good ideas" folks (Rachael Bedard, Leana Wen) and Jay Bhattacharya is "an excellent choice for NIH" (Steven Macedo, Frances Lee) and Vinay Prasad "will bring a breath of fresh air to FDA" (Adam Cifu, John Mandrola) groupies--you own this now too.
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
Stanford researchers found no clear signs of autoimmunity, EBV reactivation, or microclots in 152 Long COVID patients
They saw lasting immune activation in monocytes, neutrophils, and T/NK cells, even though Paxlovid caused only short-term immune shifts
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
They saw lasting immune activation in monocytes, neutrophils, and T/NK cells, even though Paxlovid caused only short-term immune shifts
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Systems Immunology of Long Covid: Insights from the STOP-PASC Clinical Trial
Background Post Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), also referred to as Long COVID, is an infection-associated chronic syndrome with heterogenous symptom profiles that occurs in a subset of people foll...
www.medrxiv.org
December 7, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Stanford researchers found no clear signs of autoimmunity, EBV reactivation, or microclots in 152 Long COVID patients
They saw lasting immune activation in monocytes, neutrophils, and T/NK cells, even though Paxlovid caused only short-term immune shifts
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
They saw lasting immune activation in monocytes, neutrophils, and T/NK cells, even though Paxlovid caused only short-term immune shifts
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
New study: “Even 20 months post-infection, CD8+ T cells remained 9.9% below baseline... Immune recovery varied by age and sex, with older adults and males showing prolonged lymphopenia... Our findings redefine SARS-CoV-2 infection as a condition of long-lasting immune compromise.” #COVID
“SARS-CoV-2 causes lasting immune dysregulation for over 20 months.”
Hey Siri, on average, how many COVID infections does a person have yearly? Do the math.
(Just kidding, Siri doesn’t like answering questions about COVID)
Hey Siri, on average, how many COVID infections does a person have yearly? Do the math.
(Just kidding, Siri doesn’t like answering questions about COVID)
December 5, 2025 at 9:41 PM
New study: “Even 20 months post-infection, CD8+ T cells remained 9.9% below baseline... Immune recovery varied by age and sex, with older adults and males showing prolonged lymphopenia... Our findings redefine SARS-CoV-2 infection as a condition of long-lasting immune compromise.” #COVID
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
Having to identify oneself as disabled to access accommodations is, on its own, a huge barrier to getting many disabled people the accommodations they need.
December 4, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Having to identify oneself as disabled to access accommodations is, on its own, a huge barrier to getting many disabled people the accommodations they need.
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
Another enormous loss occurred in the #LongCOVID community last month.
Rest in peace Leslie Lee III 🕊️
thesicktimes.org/2025/12/04/l...
Rest in peace Leslie Lee III 🕊️
thesicktimes.org/2025/12/04/l...
Leslie Lee III, culture critic and Long COVID advocate, dies at 43 - The Sick Times
Leslie Lee III, an educator, critic, and Long COVID advocate, died on November 10. He was 43.
thesicktimes.org
December 4, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Another enormous loss occurred in the #LongCOVID community last month.
Rest in peace Leslie Lee III 🕊️
thesicktimes.org/2025/12/04/l...
Rest in peace Leslie Lee III 🕊️
thesicktimes.org/2025/12/04/l...
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
More Health Workers Came in to Work With COVID as the Pandemic Wore On.
Presenteeism (working while sick) increased among healthcare workers with COVID. 7.9% worked while sick from Dec 2020–Apr 2024.
• 2020: 1.4%
• 2021: 6.2%
• 2022: 7.2%
• 2023: 10.5%
• 2024: 15.2%
Source: archive.md/UETph
Presenteeism (working while sick) increased among healthcare workers with COVID. 7.9% worked while sick from Dec 2020–Apr 2024.
• 2020: 1.4%
• 2021: 6.2%
• 2022: 7.2%
• 2023: 10.5%
• 2024: 15.2%
Source: archive.md/UETph
December 4, 2025 at 1:40 AM
More Health Workers Came in to Work With COVID as the Pandemic Wore On.
Presenteeism (working while sick) increased among healthcare workers with COVID. 7.9% worked while sick from Dec 2020–Apr 2024.
• 2020: 1.4%
• 2021: 6.2%
• 2022: 7.2%
• 2023: 10.5%
• 2024: 15.2%
Source: archive.md/UETph
Presenteeism (working while sick) increased among healthcare workers with COVID. 7.9% worked while sick from Dec 2020–Apr 2024.
• 2020: 1.4%
• 2021: 6.2%
• 2022: 7.2%
• 2023: 10.5%
• 2024: 15.2%
Source: archive.md/UETph
This is a neat paper. Results are mostly what you'd expect intuitively, but it's cool seeing it proven that close proximity, poor ventilation (air quality), and shared space drive respiratory virus transmission.
Holy smokes! You want to make society a whole lots healthier, clean the freaking air & wear N95 masks. Look at the wide range of viruses!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
December 4, 2025 at 1:50 AM
This is a neat paper. Results are mostly what you'd expect intuitively, but it's cool seeing it proven that close proximity, poor ventilation (air quality), and shared space drive respiratory virus transmission.
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
One thing I always want to ask these masculinity entrepreneurs is why men can’t look to women as role models, and can’t see in women models of human virtue and thriving that are worth emulating. After all, women look to men for these all the time.
Sure, Galloway is better than Peterson
But he still believes the natural order of things requires men to be supreme. Men must protect, provide and procreate. It's dressed in progressive language, but it's fundamentally a patriarchal box to trap men in
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
But he still believes the natural order of things requires men to be supreme. Men must protect, provide and procreate. It's dressed in progressive language, but it's fundamentally a patriarchal box to trap men in
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Scott Galloway on the masculinity crisis: ‘I worry we are evolving a new breed of asexual, asocial males’
When his book Notes on Being a Man was released last month, it raced to the top of the bestseller lists. The US author, tech entrepreneur and podcaster explains his theories on dating, crying – and th...
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:28 PM
One thing I always want to ask these masculinity entrepreneurs is why men can’t look to women as role models, and can’t see in women models of human virtue and thriving that are worth emulating. After all, women look to men for these all the time.
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
With an average patient growth rate (2022-2025e) of 75% per year (10x in 4.1 years, 100x in 8.2 years, ...), POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) (G90) is among the diseases/conditions showing fastest growth in Finland. Public outpatient HC.
1/x
1/x
December 3, 2025 at 9:53 PM
With an average patient growth rate (2022-2025e) of 75% per year (10x in 4.1 years, 100x in 8.2 years, ...), POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) (G90) is among the diseases/conditions showing fastest growth in Finland. Public outpatient HC.
1/x
1/x
The desperation of the liberal media to find a way to ignore the pandemic played a big part in mainstreaming the crank antivaxxers who now lead the American health system. sciencebasedmedicine.org/if-the-atlan...
If The Atlantic Wishes to Honestly Understand the Origins of MAHA, They Need to Investigate The Atlantic.
The Atlantic has some of the best writers around. But they were also eager to launder right-wing talking points under the guise of a being liberal, reasonable, and moderate publication, able to see a
sciencebasedmedicine.org
December 3, 2025 at 10:58 AM
The desperation of the liberal media to find a way to ignore the pandemic played a big part in mainstreaming the crank antivaxxers who now lead the American health system. sciencebasedmedicine.org/if-the-atlan...
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
It's #GivingTuesday. At @thesicktimes.org, our end-of-year fundraiser has been lagging behind; we're hoping to raise $10k today to get back on track.
Here are a few recent stories that demonstrate our unique role serving the Long COVID community. the-sick-times.fundjournalism.org/donate/ (1/10)
Here are a few recent stories that demonstrate our unique role serving the Long COVID community. the-sick-times.fundjournalism.org/donate/ (1/10)
December 2, 2025 at 4:52 PM
It's #GivingTuesday. At @thesicktimes.org, our end-of-year fundraiser has been lagging behind; we're hoping to raise $10k today to get back on track.
Here are a few recent stories that demonstrate our unique role serving the Long COVID community. the-sick-times.fundjournalism.org/donate/ (1/10)
Here are a few recent stories that demonstrate our unique role serving the Long COVID community. the-sick-times.fundjournalism.org/donate/ (1/10)
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
no one else has been so consistently artful in describing the last decade of conservative politics than David Roth, and for this accursèd talent the least he deserves is a Pulitzer defector.com/the-conserva...
The Conservative Grievance Business Is Always Hiring | Defector
Given his age when he first came to the world’s attention and assuming continued good health in the intervening decade and change, Marine Todd would be in his late 30s today. That would be if he was a...
defector.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:48 PM
no one else has been so consistently artful in describing the last decade of conservative politics than David Roth, and for this accursèd talent the least he deserves is a Pulitzer defector.com/the-conserva...
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
We're thrilled to announce that thanks to two generous donors, the Silver Giving Foundation and Lunardelli-McRee family, all donations made to PLRC will be matched up to $100K through January 1 of next year!
Support our work: patientresearchcovid19.com/donate/
Support our work: patientresearchcovid19.com/donate/
December 2, 2025 at 8:56 PM
We're thrilled to announce that thanks to two generous donors, the Silver Giving Foundation and Lunardelli-McRee family, all donations made to PLRC will be matched up to $100K through January 1 of next year!
Support our work: patientresearchcovid19.com/donate/
Support our work: patientresearchcovid19.com/donate/
Reposted by Call me Ishmael
My brave and heroic daughter helped put together this open letter hoping to prevent others from suffering from Long Covid as she is, please sign
our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/a-...
our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/a-...
December 2, 2025 at 6:04 AM
My brave and heroic daughter helped put together this open letter hoping to prevent others from suffering from Long Covid as she is, please sign
our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/a-...
our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/a-...