u/RenRen9000

Not everyone in public health uses data on a daily basis, but the information from those data is used in public health to inform our work and how we do it. We know this was happening in the first administration, and "data hoarders" started saving the data again in the second administration. But I personally was not aware of the extent. This is madness!

>Over the past year and a half, at least 28 federal datasets have been deleted and another 338 data collections have been modified, according to an online tracker released last week from dataindex.us, a group of data policy experts, researchers and developers that formed last year to monitor changes to government data.

Full article here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/aug/18/trump-federal-data-deleted-altered

This is going to be interesting. Back at the beginning of the current administration, I had a lengthy conversation with many health officers on Signal. One thing we discussed at length was the authority of the local health officers to oversee the health and safety of any detainees at ICE facilities. As you can imagine, some of the health officers were weary of this. Others were more defiant.

Now, it looks like this is about to be tested in Colorado. I'll be curious to see how it plays out. Because if the court reaffirms the authority of the local health departments to police health in their jurisdictions, then things might change with regard to the epidemics at these "detention centers" (which is an interesting way to spell "concentration camps").

News link: https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/colorado-health-officials-order-aurora-ice-processing-center-to-hand-over-tuberculosis-records

Interesting article about a research study that looked at why pregnant women posted on Reddit asking questions about the Tdap vaccine. It turns out they were looking for reassurance that they were making the right decision in taking the vaccine.

>The most common theme among pregnant women who posted on Reddit was responses from family and friends, describing pushback from people over getting vaccinated before having contact with newborns. Women described disagreements with partners, parents, and in-laws and sought advice on how to deal with these conflicts and set boundaries with family and friends. 

For years, we have been recommending "cocooning" as a way to protect newborns from pertussis (whooping cough), and it seems like this whole anti-vaccine movement is making people push back on that advice. So mothers-to-be are looking for answers.

I know that we on Reddit are careful about personal health advice requests, but maybe we (here on r/publichealth and mods on r/vaccines) should be a little flexible? Whooping cough is resurging, and we need parents to know they're doing the right thing by requiring visitors to be vaccinated.

Article contains link to study: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-vaccines/when-pregnant-women-turn-reddit-about-tdap-vaccine-it-tends-be-clarity

It got here just today. This has got to be the longest I waited for something that didn’t end up being vaporware. But all the bad reviews have me wondering if I should just post it on EBay.

She had the clout and the money to raise them to national prominence, and now she (finally) disavows them. Thing is, she still could positively influence public health in the United States by confronting the lies and misinformation they spread. Why did it take her so long to say something?
Link: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/oprah-dr-phil-dr-oz-trump-maga_n_6a7df2c5e4b0c90844000a50

Apparently, Texas schools are requiring sports practices to be mindful of the heat. At the same time, local governments are not allowed to pass laws that mandate breaks and other heat protections for outdoor workers. It really is like its own country. (I lived in El Paso for most of my youth, and it seems more and more foreign to me each year I go back.)

On schools: https://www.ksat.com/weather/2026/08/06/texas-schools-are-required-to-follow-wet-bulb-globe-temperature-protocols-as-fall-sports-begin/

On outdoor workers: https://publichealthwatch.org/2025/11/25/texas-workers-keep-dying-in-the-heat/

Those of you in public health in Texas, how are you holding up? Anything those of us in the People's Republic of [Insert Liberal State Here] can do to help?

Here we go again. Under the guise of "Gold Standard Science" (more like gold leaf, am I right?), he's ordering HHS to work on some dumb vaccine policy.

>“For example, at one year, you should have five separate visits for vaccines rather than getting them all in the same day," President Trump said at the signing.

Yeah, because he's going to pay for all those doctor's visits?

>The president also said that the United States recommends more immunizations than peer nations. This is confusing at best. As Stat News explained earlier this year, many other wealthy countries, including the United Kingdom, Israel, and Australia, recommend kids receive more immunizations than the United States would if an HHS immunization recommendation in January were to go into effect. 

Because *clap* We *clap* Have *clap* a *clap* Different *clap* Epidemiology, *clap* Healthcare *clap* System, *clap* and *clap* Acceptance *clap* of *clap* Public *clap* Health *clap* That *clap* "Peer *clap* Nations" *clap* (Whatever That Is) Have *clap*.

This is going to end up getting kids killed.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/trump-signs-executive-order-break-measles-mumps-rubella-vaccine

Gee, I hope I can make it in 517 lives. (Why was it so easy to farm lives in this game? And coins!) I wish I would have played it when it first came out. By show of hands, was this game better on the 3DS?

Not gonna lie. I'm kicking myself that I didn't play this game when it first came out. It's a fun take on the classic. What should I play next?

Link: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/misc-emerging-topics/hantavirus-outbreak-linked-cruise-ship-grows-13-cases

All are primary cases from the ship. Still no secondary cases.

The median incubation period for hantavirus is 18 days, so we saw half of the cases in the first 18 days (or so). We'll see the other half in the next 18 days. Half of the secondary cases should be appearing now. With none, the chances of secondary cases outpacing the primary cases are very low. The R-naught and/or R-eff are probably both less than 1.

Can you believe I found this Rainbow Max with PvZ loaded, and with all the achievements unlocked? What are the odds? LOL.

Commutes are a thousand times better now.

Kiddo on Goat Simulator 3. Me on Red Dead Redemption via GameNative. Wife reading a book. Life is good, y’all.

Your move, Richard Branson.

EDIT: *A christening of sorts

The long nightmare of waiting for this thing has ended. It arrived yesterday, and some of you read about the negotiation with my wife to go to the houses and bring it in from the elements. Thank you all who kept me entertained while I nervously died of anxiety at someone walking up my driveway and swiping it.

I got home, opened it, and began a two hour journey into setting it up. It’s not for people who are not technically inclined, by the way. I had to change language from Chinese to English, change all sorts of settings, add media, add software, and add games.

This morning, it was eager to join me on the train into Philly, and I played SMB3 as I’ve done first with all my devices.

It runs the Ace Combat series on NetherSX2 emulator just fine. And the one switch game I managed to dump from my broken Switch (“Mario Kart Deluxe”) runs silky smooth with the right GPU drivers.

I followed a combination of Retro Gaming Corps and TechDweeb guides. By the time I went to sleep at 2 in the morning, needing to get up by five, I had the biggest grin on my face.

Tech toys that take me back to my childhood do that. Tech toys that I can share with my daughter as she plays Roblox and Stumble Guys on my Flip 2 while I play NES on the Thor are even better.

Thank you for attending my Ted Talk. And thank you for all the tips and tricks you all share on here. It’s a good community.

It’s right there, guys. Right outside my house. Delivered this morning as I was on the commuter train. Question is… Do I ask my wife to take her lunch break to go and get it inside? She doesn’t know I bought it.

In the meantime, the live stream of the front camera is on full time on another screen in my office.

Is there something in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders that matches how I’m behaving right now? LOL.

UPDATE: Wife went home and took it inside. It is now sitting in my home office, safe and sound. Little pillow under it, hot chocolate by its side.