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A Lone Mask

@CdrHBiscuitIII

4,584
Followers
4,297
Following
870
Media
123,246
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PhD in superbugs, now with an MD. Preparing to migrate to Mastodon social when this place inevitably goes to hell. Earner of blocks for inconvenient truths.

Joined September 2010
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Pinned Tweet
@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
4 years
I know many followers are banging their heads wondering why the response to this pandemic has been characterised by slow and inadequate measures. As a former conservative I’d like to use this thread to shed some light on the political philosophies informing responses.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 months
WFH increased productivity, reduced carbon emissions from commuting, and if you were in an industry where in person was a necessity, less traffic meant a better commute. It was a policy that achieved many wins: work-life-balance, climate, pandemic. It ended because perverse 1/2
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
We suppressed infectious diseases to levels never before seen in human history. As a result, we enjoyed some of the most comfortable years and longest lifespans our species has seen. It let us build systems that almost stamped out scarcity. And what did we and our leaders do?
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Pissed it all away because we didn't want to do the hard yards and suffer temporary inconvenience. With no collective memory of what the bad old days were like, we brought them back. Now we struggle with sickness, labour and medication shortages among others. Take a bow leaders!
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Our policy makers hope we spend more cash before COVID claims many of us. This isn't "living with COVID", it's "exit through the gift shop"
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 months
incentives (be they pension funds on boards putting asset value above duty to company, or governments like @ChrisMinnsMP bowing to donor and lobby pressures). Travel will further suck money out of discretionary spend. Flogging dead horses, stop CPR, the CBD is dead.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
How long until the collctive penny drops that we sacrificed our health future for a past that isn't coming back? May policy makers be held to account in future.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
If you are one of many Australians in self-imposed lockdown, thank you. You've shown leadership sorely lacking in our political class. Even if you did this out of fear, you stopped others becoming infected. Our politicians are still letting COVID in, stay vigilant and stay safe.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 months
If you value your brain, if you rely on it for intellectual work, if it's your money maker, don't get COVID. Many papers including UK biobank study show it induces damage similar to traumatic brain injury, early dementia. Join me in protecting our brains, wear an N95 or better.
@SteveTheBookGuy
Steve the Book Guy
3 months
So, "Mensa" folks are supposed to be super intelligent and stuff. This is from the Mensa Reddit sub, they notice they are not as sharp as they used to be. Wild shit man, I'm telling you, do WHATEVER you have to do to protect your squish. :)
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
Starting to think @GladysB mixed up some policy briefs. It's live with koalas, eliminate COVID.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Right now feels like it'd be nice if we could self-assort into communities with similar values on COVID. This living with it is rather garbage.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
So the national plan is to have COVID (which can cause fatigue and brain fog) positive drivers out on the road at a time when hospitals are full. This sounds like the actions of a sane leadership.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
Media: people who think this could happen are alarmists and need to be quiet Also media: who could have seen it coming?
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 month
Have personally been thanked many times by patients for wearing my respirator. Followed up with "why don't other doctors wear those?"
@Steffycat07
Doxie Mom
1 month
🇦🇺 "The survey-based study included 2,867 participants and revealed that almost three-quarters of participants (74%) believed current mitigation measures were too lenient and expressed a desire to return to public mask mandates." 1/2
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
11 months
Repirators are like seatbelts. Some get the risk and and put them on, others learn when they go through the windshield. Our policy seems to be informed by the latter group...
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
COVID has so thoroughly disrupted life in Australia, that even Twitter is no longer being restocked with Tweets about "Living with COVID" by the prominent advocates for it.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
I refuse to comply with any directive to unmask
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
"Normal" is dead, it's not coming back. A lot of people will end up the same way if we want to play this game of make believe.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 months
How many years of people catching everything does it take to kill the immunity debt BS?
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
And now Australia embarks on learning to live with empty supermarket shelves and no surgery thanks to the ideological folly of the Prime Minister and the Premiers. What a talented political class this nation has!
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
7 months
@1goodtern Find using my Crohns is acceptable. No flares simce masking. Complete remission
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Cigarette companies tried to create doubt around links to lung cancer Oil companies manufactured doubt around links to climate change Bridging lies, creating a "lack of clear evidence" to act narrative. Try to extract more value from assets with limited shelf-lives. COVID...
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
"Living with COVID" is a three word slogan, not a plan. Examples of success, soon turn out to be anything but.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
@DrMLivingston Been so downplayed. In my ED, and when I was on gen med, AF, sepsis, cardiac (POTS etc), neuro issues, same story, "I had COVID a few weeks ago...", "never felt the same after my first infection"
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Next up on Cochrane Reviews, do submarine doors really work? We compiled studies comparing the use of screen doors to airtight doors used for 3 hours and then openned whilst underwater. Results were inconclusive! #ControversyGeneratesClicks
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
@nicolethewestie @me_allyann Because the cafes wanted to have no restrictions because it "hurt their bottom lines". Yeah, pretty much. They reaped what they sowed, I'll not buy from them, not removong mask when out
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
@drajm @DrTammraWarby Since COVID came to town I've stopped anything non-essential. Risk of a chronic condition isn't worth a meal out, or a new trinket. Drop the mask mandate and I have even less desire to go to the CBD. All those strategists wanting to let this rip for business got it wrong again.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
Very sadly all too true
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
Notion of herd immunity via infection has set back public health; fuelled a lot of anti-vax sentiment, to the point of mainstreaming it. Further, characterising the vulnerable as somehow expendable is playing into far-right narratives. This isn't going to end well
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
So govt is now acknowledging severity of longCOVID, but safety measures, mitigations, education and prevention strategies in place, nil! Remember how that went with asbestos? Liability and litigation brings change #MakeThemLiableAgain
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Society has become less accessible to so many, because politicians like @AlboMP decided it was easier to pretend it was over. We have the tools: HEPAs, masks, work from home... but he doesn't like any of that. 16000 Aussies have paid for these decisions dearly. #VigilAgainstCOVID
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
11 months
Must be nice to have the confidence of an expert who's been publicly wrong at every stage of this pandemic
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
So many respiratory infections presenting but not wanting to test for COVID. The numbers are meaningless
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
8 months
Good old fashioned cover up. Don't test it, don't isolate, double down on failed policies, don't measure it on census, and now from Queensland don't even mention it. Head in the sand approach to long-COVID isn't going to fix it
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
@ketaminh Many of us cautioned... why we have the precautionary principle. Because waiting for the data that only comes in after screwing up at the population level, is a really dumb idea
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
11 months
What's the difference between a Virgin Australia flight and COVID? I can guarantee COVID will still be airborne this Christmas.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Remember when @AlboMP took away leave because we need essential workers to keep the place running? Now that he's isolating, what does that say about the role of the PM?
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
6 months
From the people who brought you "Eat Out to Help Out", comes the sequel "Work to Get Well"
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
8 months
School closures were justified, schools have and still represent the most common household index case. The old joke on the wards was "how do yoy know who has COVID? They've got kids". Revisionist history, whilst we let a BSL 3 virus spread
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
You spend decades in opposition. You promise change. You get in, play it safe, small-target, poll focussed, play to your donors... more of the same. Don't rock the boat. You blow all your good will in under a term. They wanted visionary leadership, we got more dregs. @AlboMP
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
Hearing from many friends acorss industries, lots out sick, productivity slumping, corners being cut to deliver botch jobs on schedule. All falling apart. But hey, back to the office to keep the real-estate ponzy-scheme afloat!
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
6 months
Most of the COVID infections in my peer group came from kids in school or daycare, some infections leading to long-COVID. I don't blame kids, I blame pollies and their advisors who turned our children into vectors for political expediency. Health and quality of life backsliding
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
5 months
Another year of NOVID, another filter change
Tweet media one
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
Compare: The tools we wanted: vaccines, N95s, ventilaton, antivirals The tools we got:
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
So the advice is ride the wave by pretending there is no wave... not, you know, using N95s and other tools that kept us safe as part of a new normal adaptation... okay...
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
COVID running rampant anywhere in Australia is a threat to the rest of the nation. Gladys is endangering all of us with her approach. Other states went hard and fast to avoid this eventuality. Premiers should be up in arms! There must be consequences for going rogue.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
Those who wanted let it rip because it was "just a cold" are now complaining that they keep getting colds. You got what you wanted guys! And seeing adults with ground-glass pneumonias and viral encephalitis from RSV. Aligns with the immunosuppressive effects of COVID hypothesis
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
It feels like COVID is being given more protections than people
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
4 years
We cannot afford our pandemic response to be led by beliefs or ideological leaning. We need effective action based on real-world evidence and data. We can ill-afford casuistic zealots derailing responses to protect their worldview ahead of human life.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Let's just split society according to COVID attitudes and be done with it. Sick of living with societal denial
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
So the Penny has started to drop for @Mark_Butler_MP that our COVID policy settings aren't generating the "expected" results this wave. Wait until he realises @AlboMP 's lack of leadership has also baked in poor chronic health outcomes at a population level! #Resign
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
The virus advocates are trying to undermine those like @billbowtell who are taking a stand against unnecessary and preventable deaths. Let's make #BillBowtellIsRight trend.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Gotta love how urgency of normal group wear P2s, work from home (Hennegan and Bennet), breathe HEPA filtered air (Davos); send their kids to schools with good filtration, or require COVID tests before you meet them @POTUS . Almost like they don't believe what they say publicly.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
I mean, what the hell is with Labor @AlboMP ? You spend close to a decade in the electoral wilderness, get swept in to power with a majority by people hoping for change, and the most ambitious policies you can summon are me-too LNP-lite: Phase 3 tax cuts, pestillence and fossils?
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
What's the unspoken plan? To keep infecting the public in the hope that it reduces disease severity. What are the long-term outcomes? We're only starting to learn about them, and they don't look good. Perpetual pestilence, a new chance at long-COVID, and you call it feedom...
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Waiting for the evidence sounds reasonable. But it's the tactic of doubt merchants, like with climate change. Mechanistically, we know this will work. Waiting for the evidence sounds reasonable, until it dawns on you, we're filling graveyards with the evidence
Tweet media one
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
9 months
If this is immunity debt, why is it getting worse with more infections? Immunity debt is a myth
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
4 years
Justifying this worldview is the mythos that a strong economy has created all the things we enjoy, including health care. Whilst no one disputes the benefits of a strong economy, this belies the point that public health is also a fundamental economic input.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
4 years
Our strong economies owe a lot to public health campaigns particularly in the early 20th century which reduced economic losses to infectious diseases (which continue to bleed developing economies).
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
All the CHOs speaking out, all the new fossil projects being launched, despite what he said at the election, looks like @AlboMP isn't following the science. Just another politician. Never backing Labor again
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
8 months
Brought to you by a commercial real estste portfolio
@newscomauHQ
news.com.au
8 months
The health benefits of WFH may have been “oversold” and too much time away from the office “is likely to be bad for your health”, a leading doctor says.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
11 months
@DrMLivingston We unlearned a lot. We were hypothesising just how many chronic diseases were triggered by infectious diseases. Perfect case in point came along, erased all those notions so we could push "immunity debt" instead. Nothing good comes from this.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
8 months
There are placebos more effective than @Mark_Butler_MP
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
COVID doesn't succeed becuase it's smarter than us, but because as a species we're stupid enough to kick some spectacular own goals.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
We went from close to no illness to perpetual illness and wanting to keep our kids sick for convenience... what a bright future...
@sunriseon7
Sunrise
1 year
There are calls for a change to sick policies at childcare centres, with frustrated parents being forced to take time off work, to pick their children up when they're sleepy, sniffly or simply have a hot head on a hot day.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
A PM pretending to follow the science whilst ignoring the bulk of evidence to contrary. Claims he fixed a major problem, that still rages on. How are you different from the last lot @AlboMP ? Oh, wait, they just blatantly stated they didn't care even if it were real. My bad.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
@themathendo @abcnews And shrinks brains, reduces O2 use in muscle... list of issues is massive. Letting this run in populations is nuts, the legacy of these failed policies will be ongoing suffering
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
Virus that did the thing before, does the thing again. Select experts informing government policy baffled. But don't worry, they don't expect it to do this again, so there's no further need to measure it!
@YouAreLobbyLud
Dr David Berger, aBsuRdiSTe cROnickLeR
1 year
'The summertime surge in COVID infections runs counter to expectations.' NO. NO, IT DOESN'T. There was NEVER any reason to think this was or would become a seasonal virus. (NB 'Wishful thinking' is not a reason.) And this fact has been long signalled.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
4 years
Recent studies and projections based on elimination vs suppression jurisdictions continue to highlight the economic gains elimination delivers. Hence a learn to live with is approach isn’t about lives vs livelihoods
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
We're preparing for a more morbid population Oh, you mean increasing health spend and social supports? Oh god no! We're premptively cutting Medicare, and we'll starve the sick back into the workforce! And these are the "progressive" parties! #CovidIsNotOver
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
@DFisman @rupasubramanya An economist discussing biology and physics gets it wrong? I think economists shoukd stick to being wrong in their own lane.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Man, rusted ons are gullible marks. @AlboMP 's an eco warrior, because he held a koala whilst drilling for oil. He cares, whilst he refuses to raise the rate, or increase Medicare, or tackle a pandemic. Crying because he read out "no one left behind" at a conference, whilst 1/2
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
•Ventilate •Vaccinate •Test, track, isolate Congratulations @RealOzSAGE for influencing policies to improve ventilation in schools. Let's do what it takes to push the R0 down with smarter and less disruptive measures to give us the best path out of the pandemic.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
4 months
A highly transmissible virus that is highly mutable will produce a ton of mutants if left to spread. Add immune evasion to the mix, and change outpacing vaccine devekopment and rollout... it will never be seasonal
Tweet media one
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
Wonder when our defence policy will be "live with an occupying force"?
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
The stages of living with COVID: Controlling the virus Capitulating to the virus Capitulating to reality and locking down again
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Our economy was better than others when we controlled COVID. Health vs economy is a furphy. We need better than what the major parties have to offer
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
And the profound direct effects on children from infection... A lot of backflipping happening all of a sudden
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
On every major issue, our governments are failing us. Antimicrobial resistamce, climate change, COVID. Pretending our accumulating problems away isn't a strategy
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Endemic SARS is not a win
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Cases going up, more staff off sick, ward outbreaks on a virus health in Vic found have a 10% mortality rate in hospitals. More staff with long-COVID like issues after recent infections. Political interference in public health has come back to bite. Some ministers need to resign
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
@DrMLivingston Several have said "I think it's COVID-related, am I crazy?", or they know but don't wear a mask because they feel the need to fit in. Removing mandates removed social permission because "authorities wouldn't let us do it if it were that bad..."
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
What are you doing @Twitter ? @TheArtlantic was parody at its finest. Reinstate this account!
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
3 years
@noplaceforsheep @GladysB This is why I don't like setups that hold public health to the whims of political masters. Health advice becomes captive to political agenda, and we're all the worse off for it. Public health's hand needs to be free to act to prevent this scenario.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
9 months
Sounds like next pandemic they won't keep kids safe by closing schools. Maybe they'll add mourning recess?
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
4 years
It doesn’t matter what your political stripe is, we can’t stop this pandemic with only half a policy toolbox. As ever the political discourse devolves into what’s a better tool, a hammer or a screwdriver. Non-partisan minds will see it depends on the task in hand.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
9 months
What the majority do is a rather poor correlate with reality. Took decades to acknowledge handwashing, polio, HIV, H pylori etc. As the old addage goes, medicine advances one funeral at a time.
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
4 years
What it does boil down to is how people view the legitimacy of regulation. If strong regulatory measures and restrictions deliver us from COVID, will a push for regulatory solutions to global problems end there?
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
@MFWitches 50% of ambulances in Perth couldn't be staffed last night... it's not going well
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
Don't get sick tonight Perth. Lots of hospitals choked up, and half of ambulance crews out of action
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
1 year
Keep going CommBank staff!
@7NewsMelbourne
7NEWS Melbourne
1 year
Staff at the @CommBank have threatened to quit their jobs following a company-wide mandate for workers to return to the office. From mid-July, 49,000 employees will be required to attend work in-person at least 50 per cent of the time. #7NEWS
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
The pandemic is over our pollies say, whilst they brag of HEPAs in their electoral offices with. Parliament fitted out with safe air whilst our kids learn in an infectious soup. Photo ops to make us believe they think all is well. Protections for me but not for thee!
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
11 months
@7NewsSydney It hasn't ended... with us perpetually now. How is anyone surprised we ended up needing measures?
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Well @AlboMP , rest of the world is cottoning on. @MarkMcGowanMP @DanielAndrewsMP @AnnastaciaMP didn't listen to advice when we had COVID controlled, squandered our had won gains
@yaneerbaryam
Yaneer Bar-Yam
2 years
South Korea: Government funds mandatory air purifiers at schools "The South Korean government on Tuesday passed a revised school health act to improve quality of air and safety at preschools and primary and secondary schools. Great! 1/ 1/
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
6 months
I told you so. The battle was about neoliberalism vs legitimate state function. Goal of hormalising COVID was to kill public health. Welcome to the begining of dystopia. Until FAFO brings us full circle
@julia_doubleday
Julia Marie
6 months
Every single person who decided to buy into “yeah ppl die of COVID but that’s life” and “ppl can mask if THEY want to” and “public health is a personal choice, not my problem” is responsible for where we are now
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@CdrHBiscuitIII
A Lone Mask
2 years
Antimicrobial resistance, climate change, COVID. Three existential challenges, and three major misses (complete policy failures) from our systems. Are they even fit for purpose anymore? Are our hollow-men political leaders even capable of prioritising the survival of our
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