@leigheldridge
Chronically-ill podcaster and fibre craft enthusiast. Co-creator of @dungeonpunks.bsky.social. Masks are community care. She/Her | ♿️ ME/CFS, POTS Profile pic by @filcieplak.bsky.social https://linktr.ee/leigheldridge
Six years ago WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Despite tens of millions of deaths, the world has not sufficiently addressed the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, and we are more vulnerable to future pandemics due to anti-science officials leading government agencies around the world.
Text says "Have you heard of Immune Amnesia?If you haven’t (and even if you have), we’ll tell you about it.” In the corner is an image of a man scratching his head.
Important to understand first: When your body is exposed to certain germs that can cause diseases, your immune system builds a “memory” of them, so if you’re exposed to these germs again, your immune system recognizes them and knows how to fight them off. Your immune system also builds this memory when you get vaccinated, so you don’t have to get sick in order to protect yourself from future infections. Graphics show a shield with arms holding a sword and fighting off germs. Another graphic shows a vaccine vial
text says "Important to understand first: Immune amnesia means something has caused your body to lose, or “forget,” its memory of germs you’ve been exposed to before, meaning you’re more likely to get sick and to experience severe illness if you’re exposed to it again. Measles can cause your immune system to forget up to 73% of its memory. In other words, after having measles, you will be immune to measles, but may be at increased risk of other serious illnesses. Did you know? Measles is not the only virus that can harm your immune system. COVID-19 has also been found to cause long-term harm to your body’s ability to fight off illnesses, making you more likely to get sick and experience severe illness.” Graphics show a stick figure shivering with fear because the shield in front of him is broken, and now germs are reaching him. Two pie charts: one says “100% memory before” and the other shows “73% memory lost after"
Unfortunately, there’s no way to predict whose immune system will be most harmed by being sick. It can happen to anyone! The best way to avoid immune amnesia is to get vaccinated & take other steps to avoid getting sick So please remember, it is not a good idea to expose yourself to these viruses on purpose in order to build immunity! That is what vaccines are for. Getting sick makes you much more likely to hurt your immune system! Graphics of a vaccine, a mask, and an air purifier and open window symbolizing clean air
Did you know? Certain illnesses, like measles & COVID-19, can harm your immune system & make you more vulnerable to sickness later. Protect your immune system by getting vaccinated & avoiding getting sick! Learn more about measles & immune amnesia: www.healthychildren.org/English/tips...
This is such a critical point, and it’s something I’ve tried to highlight in my reporting.
The right-wing groups and operatives who politicized COVID have also been pushing anti-trans shit. Moms for Liberty is a classic example.
It’s helped create new GOP voters/activists.
She’s still going with “wash hands, cover sneezes 😇” after 6+ years to read, learn, strategize a campaign about predominantly airborne transmission, air ventilation, filtration + respirators? Right before spring break when people travel. All she does is give cover to systemic public health breakdown
“The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the older adult population in long-term care facilities, especially in Canada, where death rates during the first wave were among the highest in the world.” Zhang XS, Charland K,Quach C, Nguyen QD, Zinszer K. Institutional,therapeutic, and individual factors associated with30-day mortality after COVID-19 diagnosis inCanadian long-term care facilities.J Am GeriatrSoc. 2022; 70(11):3210‐3220.
Protect yourself, protect others. Three illustrations: a rapid test, an N 95 mask, and clean air. website: p o p n s . org
Canada, in particular, has done a terrible job protecting those in long-term care. Everyone deserves a safe place to live, regardless of age, ability, and gender.
Long-term care residents are disproportionately women. Covid is a women's issue.
“Outbreaks in long-term care homes in many parts of the country have contributed to high rates of illness in women.” Robson, J., Tedds, L., et al. Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women in Canada. Royal Society of Canada, 2022.
Most long-term care residents are women, and Covid outbreaks in long-term care homes are still happening because of a lack of infection control.
#InternationalWomensDay
#CovidIsAWomensIssue
"As of March 3, scientists have tallied 26 living chicks." ❤️
Showing the sitting mayor of Canada’s third largest city a printout of an offensive AI slop image to confirm whether that’s the image he saw that led him to accuse a councillor of a crime, is possibly the weirdest thing I’ve ever done at work. And I once wrote about a merkin art exhibit.
Gaza Soup Kitchen is a grassroots effort started by two brothers who wanted to feed their neighbors. It has grown from feeding 150 families/day to over 70,000 people/day.
Feed Gaza this Ramadan
Infographic titled “Measles vaccine recommendations for non-pregnant adults aged 19 years and older by birth year — United States.” It shows a flowchart divided into two columns: adults born before 1957 (left) and adults born in 1957 or later (right). Left column (born before 1957): If not healthcare personnel, no MMR doses are needed. If healthcare personnel, check for documentation of 2 doses of live measles-containing vaccine (such as MMR), laboratory evidence of immunity, or laboratory confirmation of disease. If documented, no doses are needed. If not documented or vaccination history is unknown, consider 2 MMR doses at least 28 days apart; during outbreaks, give 2 doses 28 days apart. Right column (born in 1957 or later): First, determine if the person is healthcare personnel, an international traveler, a post-secondary student, a close contact of immunocompromised people, or a person with HIV without severe immunosuppression. If yes, check for documentation of 2 doses or evidence of immunity/disease. If documented, no doses are needed. If not documented or history unknown, give 2 MMR doses at least 28 days apart (or give a second dose if only 1 prior dose). If no to those risk groups, check for documentation of at least 1 dose or evidence of immunity/disease. If documented, no doses are needed. If not, give 1 dose of MMR vaccine.
Do you need a measles (MMR) vaccine? Check this CDC info-graphic👇
www.cdc.gov/measles/down...
More info here: www.cdc.gov/measles/vacc...
On the left is the ICE concentration camp near El Paso. On the right is an industrial chicken farm in Maryland. Do you know what happens when bird flu breaks out in the latter complex? Warehousing human beings these conditions will accelerate to the spread of diseases in any population.
If you need a reason to do whatever you can to avoid COVID, here’s about a half million of them…take your pick.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/cor...
A single candle burns in the forefront and a multitude of blurred lights are in the background. Text: Disability Day of Mourning March 1st.
CN: violence
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Today is the Disability Day of Mourning. The disability community will gather to remember disabled victims of filicide – disabled people murdered by their family members or caregivers. https://ow.ly/Y9oG50Yn6ar
#DDofM2026 Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)
Fellow #Canadians, please send the PM a letter to express how you feel about him endorsing a reckless, unnecessary war on your behalf. Takes 10 seconds of your time.
actionnetwork.org/letters/cond...
#Iran #Cdnpoli #canadasky
The Quiet Art of Extending a Life Notes on Assistive Tools, Capacity, and the Dignity of Support Abby Dec 08, 2025 I’ve been thinking about how we talk about tools. Not the glamorous ones. Not the sleek productivity gadgets or the little conveniences that show up in TikTok hauls with crisp lighting and a soft keyboard soundtrack. I mean the other things. The everyday objects that help a person move, bathe, reach, carry, listen, exist. The devices people hide in closets or delay buying or apologize for needing. And how strange is it that something as simple as a piece of aluminum with wheels can hold so much cultural weight? It’s almost comical, except it isn’t funny at all. Maybe it’s the therapist in me, or maybe it’s just being around enough real bodies in real worlds, but I’ve come to believe we misunderstand these objects completely. We’ve wrapped them in the wrong story. And the story matters, because stories become the container we place our lives inside. The story we’ve inherited, often without noticing, is about “pushing through” and “making do.” It’s a story that whispers (sometimes shouts) that the harder route is the morally superior one. I don’t buy it. Because here’s the thing: assistive devices, adaptive equipment, whatever term you prefer, they’re not evidence of decline. They’re evidence of a body trying, and of a person choosing to keep living on their own terms.
🧵
"The Quiet Art of Extending a Life: Notes on Assistive Tools, Capacity, and the Dignity of Support"
onelifelivedwell.substack.com/p/the-quiet-...
Another thoughtful post from this OT who specialises in ME/CFS & long Covid
She calls such devices "capacity extenders"
#chronicillness #Spoonie
1/
Oh, to be a goofy noodle dog and live in simple, precedented times.
#CyranoDeBorzoiac
The Manosphere is dying and the latest Scream movie is a wreck. If only there was a game combining the vibes of slasher films and the catharsis of seeing Jake Paul get knocked out...
DEAD-PILLED is that game. A short form slasher #TTRPG Carved from Brindlewood
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
i.e. it’s very expensive to fuck this up. On top of the human toll.
As most of the COVID -safe/-aware community can tell you, try wearing a mask everywhere & declining indoor eating invitations and then see how many friends you have left.
As a Long COVID sufferer who has already had a COVID induced heart attack, pretty much everything she is saying is accurate.
Everyone needs to protect themselves from airborne pathogen spread, and governments (as well as big business) are NOT providing us with clean indoor air to reduce spread.
If you have the means, please donate to the Trans Continental Pipeline right now. They are a Colorado based org that helps trans people relocate and they are overwhelmed with requests. Colorado borders Kansas, and TCP has the infrastructure to help get people out.
tcpipeline.org
TB is airborne. Respirator masks are a great way to help you prevent contracting and/or spreading airborne diseases.
Rainier Beach High School confirms active tuberculosis case, 130 people possibly exposed
Explicitly capitalist media is telling you that getting/continuing to get COVID is really bad for you and is, mortifyingly, still doing more to warn you than most public health leaders are.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
🎁 Link below
“It’s a drain on society at every single level,”
—Avindra Nath, clinical director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, one of the National Institutes of Health, on LongCovid
but sure, it's the people imploring others to prevent these issues who are the problem
A young king vulture standing on a white table, his head cocked upside down, looking at the viewer.
Are vultures cute?
Yes, and yes. Yes they are.
Yolo is showing off his newly colored beak, shifting towards orange. His full transition to bright king vulture adult colors will take about five years! 🪶
I know it can be hard to think of chains of consequences and abstracts, but keeping community spread low helps keep Covid out of prisons and concentration camps. You can have an effect on the health of incarcerated and detained people by being proactive about airborne illnesses.
A reminder that Covid is a part of the weaponry the right is using toward immigrants, and continuing to ignore it helps them.
Good and useful tech doesn't have to force itself onto you. Good and useful tech doesn't have to beg to be used.
