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Maggie Astor

@maggieastor.bsky.social

33K followers 650 following 3.8K posts

Reporter at The New York Times writing about the intersection of health and politics, especially in marginalized communities. NYT Guild steward. No, not one of those Astors.

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · Aug 14

ICYMI: My dispatch from Phoenix about extreme heat's toll on unhoused people.

People are passing out from dehydration, getting third-degree burns from the sidewalk, being hospitalized for heat-related illness and more. One woman was in an accident and the ground burned her foot down to the bone.

Homeless and Burning in America’s Hottest City

www.nytimes.com

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 12h

The email is three paragraphs

An AI prompt offering to "summarize this email"

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Reposted by Maggie Astor

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 15h

President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have created new obstacles for many people seeking Covid vaccines. But it has been particularly difficult to secure shots for children, including infants and toddlers, who are at higher risk of severe illness from Covid even if they are healthy.

Parents Struggle to Find Covid Vaccines for Their Children Amid Regulatory Confusion

Children under 12 need different versions of Covid vaccines, but many pharmacies and pediatricians’ offices aren’t stocking them.

nyti.ms

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 17h

Yes, adult doses are for 12+. There *are* some states that restrict pharmacists' ability to vaccinate minors, so it's possible that's what you're running into, but also very possible you just got an individual pharmacist with bad info. As corporate policy, Walgreens is not limiting to 18+.

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 17h

There are a lot of reasons for this. Some predate Trump (e.g., demand for pediatric vaccines is low overall, so some providers don't see them as worth ordering, which hurts the parents and children who do want them). But others are directly connected to recent Trump administration actions.

Seeking Covid Shots for Their Children, Some Parents Hit a Wall

www.nytimes.com

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 17h

Covid vaccines *are* approved for ages 6 months and up. Moderna and Pfizer have made pediatric doses. These doses have shipped to providers who ordered them. Children have gotten them and insurance should cover them. They exist!

But finding a provider who has them in stock can be really difficult.

Seeking Covid Shots for Their Children, Some Parents Hit a Wall

www.nytimes.com

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 17h

This one's for all the parents who have told me they're going through hell trying to find Covid vaccines for their children: It's not just you! Gift link:

Seeking Covid Shots for Their Children, Some Parents Hit a Wall

www.nytimes.com

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 1d

There already are — they're FDA-approved, have been manufactured and shipped to providers, and many have gotten them. However, shots for <12 are harder to find than >12 because fewer providers (including both doctor's offices + pharmacies) have ordered them. I have an article about this coming soon.

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 1d

I've been making fiddly adjustments to the chair all day and every adjustment produces a fart-like sound and I want to die

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 1d

So sorry to hear that! If you're willing to share details about the runaround, you can reach me at [email protected].

Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 1d

HHS announced it today: www.hhs.gov/press-room/c...

CVS and Walgreens info is based on my reporting: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/w...

Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 1d

CVS and Walgreens told me that once the recs were officially approved, they wouldn't require people to be 65+ or have an underlying condition. I don't have confirmation from other pharmacies. Past experience suggests some individual pharmacists may try to require it, but corporate policy won't.

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 1d

It exists and is available in some places, but it's been very hard for people to find for a variety of reasons. I have an article coming out about that soon (hopefully tomorrow).

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 1d

To be clear, I would be EXTREMELY UNSURPRISED to see a delay in this information reaching individual pharmacists. It is incredibly possible — likely, really — that some people will go to their pharmacies in the coming days and be told they need a prescription by pharmacists with outdated info.

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 1d

CDC has finally adopted the recommendations its vaccine panel made Sept. 19. This should increase access to Covid vaccines somewhat — CVS and Walgreens had said once the recs were official, they'd offer the shots w/o Rx nationwide, and Vaccines for Children program also needed the official approval

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 1d

I have multiple degenerated disks in my lower back and a story to file, I don't have the time or spinal cushioning for this

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 1d

Only people with bad backs can understand the horror of arriving at your desk to find that, over the weekend, the company "helpfully" replaced the chair that you spent months painstakingly trial-and-error fiddling into the one, single, precise non-painful configuration with a New Fancier Chair

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 3d

As of last year, yes!

The 2024 Hater’s Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog | Defector

[walks out to greet you as you pull into my circular driveway] There you are! Oh my goodness, look at you! You look so festive! Why don’t you leave your bags in the breezeway for now and come on in? A...

defector.com

Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 3d

Not one running a mid-90s operating system

Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 3d

I need a computer running Windows 95 so I can ask @drewmagary.bsky.social to review this

A CD in a case, titled "Williams-Sonoma Guide to Good Cooking" for Windows 95/Power Macintosh

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 4d

(Deleted post about $1 coin because I'm not a lawyer and its a Friday night and I'm not professionally or mentally equipped to parse the difference in laws governing "currency" and "coins")

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 4d

Thank you!

Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 4d

Thanks so much for this! Would you be willing to email me at [email protected] to discuss?

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 4d

God forbid anybody see a woman's bare stomach and, uh [checks photo] no other part of her body uncovered

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 4d

Right, but the appeal system should have that sophistication and operate faster than nine days and counting.

Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 4d

This is the second time I'm aware of, in quick succession, that @moderation.bsky.app has flagged a photo of a pregnant woman as "adult content." I filed an appeal when it did it to my article nine days ago and haven't heard a word.

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 4d

When Trump started talking about acetaminophen use during pregnancy causing autism, I immediately thought of refrigerator mothers and Bruno Bettelheim. I am grateful @bcrodriguez.bsky.social and @slooterman.bsky.social wrote this for @19thnews.org
19thnews.org/2025/10/refr...

This isn't the first time moms have been blamed for their kids' autism

One of the earliest theories of autism is centered on “refrigerator mothers.” Echoes of it can be found in plans to Make America Healthy Again.

19thnews.org

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