https://skepchick.org/2025/05/republicans-want-you-to-die/
@rebeccawatson unfortunately the FDA are right about the UK's Covid booster policy, it's now only free on the NHS every half year for over 75's + the immunocompromised and care home residents.
And if you are rich or concerned enough you can buy one, but it costs £75-£99.
Of course our 'experts', the JVCI, are also equally wrong-headed. They are using a limited form of cost-benefit analysis to decide who gets the booster but they ignore the economic costs of people getting ill, but not badly enough to be hospitalised, and of course the economic costs of long COVID.
@denisbloodnok @rebeccawatson unfortunately immunosuppression doesn't include asthma, diabetes or a host of physical weakening conditions that in earlier rounds were acceptable reasons for younger people to get the booster.
Also they have raised the age threshold, last year it was only 75 for the spring booster: I got the last autumn booster but will miss out this autumn and have to wait until April 2026 when I turn 75.
This is the list of eligible immunosuppressive conditions:
"Immunosuppression due to disease or treatment, including patients
undergoing chemotherapy leading to immunosuppression, patients
undergoing radical radiotherapy, solid organ transplant recipients, bone
marrow or stem cell transplant recipients, HIV infection at all stages, multiple myeloma or genetic disorders affecting the immune system (e.g. IRAK-4, NEMO, complement disorder, SCID).
Individuals who are receiving immunosuppressive or immunomodulating biological therapy including, but not limited to, anti-TNF, alemtuzumab, ofatumumab, rituximab, patients receiving protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors, and individuals treated with steroid sparing agents such as cyclophosphamide and mycophenolate mofetil.
Individuals treated with or likely to be treated with systemic steroids for
more than a month at a dose equivalent to prednisolone at 20mg or more
per day for adults.
Anyone with a history of haematological malignancy, including leukaemia,
lymphoma, and myeloma.
Those who require long term immunosuppressive treatment for conditions including, but not limited to, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, scleroderma and psoriasis."
@marjolica @rebeccawatson It sounds wrong and evil, but at least doing a cost-benefit analysis shows that a non-zero amount of thought went into making this decision.
The decisions by the US government now are driving by Facebook memes around vaccine safety. The fact that many of them were once taken down for spreading misinformation has only boosted their validity in the eyes of those in charge.
yet the MAGA cult is willing to die for their leader. Oblige them.
During Dotard Trump first term I would not make such a statement, but after ten years of Trumpism, it is obvious they want to give their life for him.
amazing article! It did dawn on me that if someone smoked even a single cigarette, it wouldn't be a lie to say they were a former smoker.