General Question

Caravanfan's avatar

Now that USAID is shuttered and they had an $85 million project funded by private money to end TB in the Philippines, what other preventable infectious diseases are you looking forward to contracting?

Asked by Caravanfan (14078points) 1 week ago

Made even better, of course, if RFK Jr is confirmed!

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

66 Answers

gorillapaws's avatar

I’m looking forward to the next global pandemic and there’s going to be millions of fucking idiots who refuse to wear masks or follow basic advice from the Epidemiology community because their redneck uncle told them it’s all fake news and just take a sip of bleach and they’ll be ok.

ragingloli's avatar

@Caravanfan
Would you like some Bird Flu?
I can already see it: Trump signs an EO banning the culling of infected chicken, and allowing the sale of contaminated poultry and eggs.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

Well one good thing we wont have to worry about climate change, with these idiots we all will be dead of something far more horrific, but don’t worry as the body count keep increasing The Don Father and his boot lickers will be screaming HOAX.

Caravanfan's avatar

@ragingloli I saw an article today that said, “Bird flu may now be airborne”. And I kind of giggled. Get it? Birds? They fly?

smudges's avatar

<——<picturing Caravanfan giggling>

chyna's avatar

I’m hoping for another case of mumps. The rat time I had them my jowls were so adorable. <eyeroll>

janbb's avatar

@chyna “the rat time”??

chyna's avatar

Oops, I meant last time.

Dutchess_III's avatar

I don’t think you can get mumps more than once….?

JLeslie's avatar

End TB in the Philippines? That’s interesting. I wasn’t aware of that. We don’t really attempt that in the US. We don’t vaccinate for it. I personally know plenty of people who are positive in the US but not active. Of course the US does take measure to isolate people with active infection.

@Dutchess_III Mumps is usually only once unless your immunity has waned, which is possible, but not probable.

Herd immunity helps keep mumps at bay in the US so there can be outbreaks, and there still are outbreaks.

My biggest fear every year is Norovirus. They are working on a vaccine for it. Wouldn’t that be great!

Caravanfan's avatar

@JLeslie Don’t worry, the adjudicated rapist’s pick for HHS secretary will outlaw it so I hope you enjoy your toilet.

Kardamom's avatar

No one wants foot in mouth disease. I hear it turns your face orange.

JLeslie's avatar

@Caravanfan Too bad they don’t make a treatment for it, but I guess most people wouldn’t get treatment in time to do much of anything since typically the worst is done in 24 hours. Unless the med could be used prophylactly? I slightly obsess about Norovirus February and March (‘tis the season now in FL). Vaccines might be bigger business than meds.

I think Measles will become more of a problem; it’s so contagious. Don’t forget Rubella, and think about this: we might start to see babies being born with more birth defects in 15–20 years if Rubella ramps up long term and abortion is hard to come by.

I actually don’t think RFK will be limiting the MMR or promoting skipping it in childhood. I think the current Religious Right anti-vax movement has a life of its own without him anyway. Their biggest obsession used to be the HPV vaccine, but covid helped give the movement legs for many other vaccines and they made partners with the natural health people.

seawulf575's avatar

Yes, because USAID funding ECO Alliance to make Covid-19 was so good for world health. Imagine all the diseases we might miss out on if USAID can’t fund their development?

Forever_Free's avatar

@seawulf575 zero factual basis to your statement. Thanks for spreading disinformation AGAIN as if it were fact.

jca2's avatar

I just googled USAid. I am not sure what the cash transfer of 770 million to Jordan is about:

Which countries does it support?

USAID had projects in around 130 countries in 2023, the most recent year for which full data was available, according to CRS.

The top three recipients of aid are Ukraine, Ethiopia and Jordan respectively.

The scale of USAID’s funding for Ukraine is significant, with the war-torn European country receiving more than $16 billion in macroeconomic support, according to US government data.

In 2023, 70 of the 77 countries the World Bank determined to be low- and lower-middle income countries received USAID assistance, the CRS report noted.

Other top recipients of aid include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Syria.

What does USAID fund?

Close to $17 billion in USAID funding in 2023 went to addressing “governance” issues, the CRS said, noting that most of that was destined for Ukraine.

Additionally, around $10.5 billion went to addressing humanitarian issues, while $7 billion was set aside for health, and around $1.3 billion went to agriculture.

USAID also provided direct budgetary support to several countries around the world, including a cash transfer of more than $770 million to the government of Jordan, a key US ally in the Middle East, according to US government data.

Other major programs funded or managed by USAID in 2023 include $811 million for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and more than $330 million in emergency food and nutrition assistance for Afghanistan.

The White House published a statement on Monday highlighting the “waste and abuse” it said existed at USAID, including $1.5 million to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/explained-what-does-usaid-do-and-fund-7630457

Irukandji's avatar

Bird flu, obviously. But this whole thing reminds me of what my (conservative Republican) political science professor used to say: “If Russia or China could shut down any US agency, it wouldn’t be the CIA or NSA or anything like that. It would be USAID.” His argument was that the soft power it provides is one of the biggest tools for keeping those countries in check.

Take from that what you will.

Tropical_Willie's avatar

Go follow Trump’s advice and alternate drinking bleach and aquarium cleaner, that will fix COVID-19

Your jumping to confusion (not conclusion) that WHO and USAID grew COVID-19 is stupid !

Forever_Free's avatar

@seawulf575 Far from arrogant. Asking for your references to try to understand your side is open and honest ways that people discuss things. Sorry you don’t feel that is good for a conversation.

seawulf575's avatar

@Forever_Free And now you are trying to make shit up again to cover your own ass.

” zero factual basis to your statement. Thanks for spreading disinformation AGAIN as if it were fact.”

Those were your words. Where in there did you ask for references? Where did you put forth anything that might even be construed as looking for open and honest communication? You put forth arrogance and now you are backing it up with lies. Typical.

JLeslie's avatar

Why Jordan? For the Palestinians?

janbb's avatar

It’s silly to try to micromanage an agency as Jellies. We don’t have the facts. No doubt there are cost issues that could be raised if that were an honest effort. But what is going on by Musk is dismantling entire Federal agencies. And Congress has the power of the purse, not Musk.

JLeslie's avatar

@janbb I don’t think it is silly to want to know why we are paying three quarters of a billion dollars to a country. It might be money I agree with if I knew more about it, but it is a shockingly high number for Jordan in my opinion. I never would have guessed Jordan would be number three.

We have a HUGE deficit, and it is helping the Republicans win elections, even though they significantly helped create the debt and historically don’t fix it. It makes the US look unstable every time we have congress threaten and vote to increase the debt ceiling, and it literally indebts us to other countries including China.

janbb's avatar

@JLeslie If we cut our foreign aid completely which is what Musk and Trump are doing: 1) It is creating a humanitarian crisis around the world and 2) China will fill in the gaps and we will lose any standing we have left in the world.

As I said, I don’t think any of us here have the knowledge to cherry pick what an agency is doing.

There is a coup going on.

flutherother's avatar

Thanks to the success of vaccination, smallpox was eradicated, and no cases of naturally occurring smallpox have happened since 1977. The World Health Assembly declared smallpox eradicated in 1980.

Smallpox was a terrible disfiguring disease and I don’t know how you put a price on that.

jca2's avatar

I don’t equate wanting to know what an agency is spending billions on with micromanaging that agency. There’s nothing wrong with being curious about where our tax dollars are going.

Caravanfan's avatar

@flutherother I think the world is okay in regards to smallpox. They stopped vaccination on that decades ago after it was eradicated.

flutherother's avatar

@Caravanfan That was my point. Smallpox is gone. Whatever it took in resources to eliminate it was well worth it.

LifeQuestioner's avatar

@JLeslie and others… I haven’t read all the comments yet, but I heard this morning that TB cases are now in four states.

seawulf575's avatar

@LifeQuestioner That was one of the warnings those of us on the right raised about the unfettered illegal immigration. Diseases that were gone from this country for many years, have existed in other countries. The immigrants are bringing some of these with them.

seawulf575's avatar

OMG! Looking at USAID means that Politico won’t be getting their $8.2M! Oh NO!!!! The government funding the media of one side of the political spectrum?!? That’s some Fascist shit. The government shouldn’t be funding ANY news outlets. No wonder all the lefties are freaking out!

chyna's avatar

^Can you give support to your claim that the immigrants are bringing in diseases? I feel that is on par with “the immigrants in Ohio are eating the dog and cats!”

JLeslie's avatar

@LifeQuestioner There are always TB cases happening in the US. That’s why I know so many people positive for TB. Our numbers are low compared to some other countries.

JLeslie's avatar

Immigrants do get tested when applying for citizenship, but I don’t know if they are tested when they come in initially under asylum claims.

Tourists don’t get evaluated for disease and millions of tourists come in every day.

I would agree TB testing and certain vaccines are a good idea for people coming in on work visas. Oh but, will people who are anti-vax even care about whether immigrants are vaccinated? That seems counter intuitive.

janbb's avatar

Clearly promoting an anti-Baxter for HHS does not shout that this administration gives a hoot about contagious diseases wherever they come from initially.

Tropical_Willie's avatar

Stock up on Aquarium Cleaner and Bleach ! ! ! ~~~~

More Pandemics coming for the government controlled by Trump and Co-President Musk ! ! !

Maybe only one million deaths in the USA this next time, caused by lack of action and false claims by a President who failed repeatedly in Biology and Science – - the Tangerine Turd

janbb's avatar

* Edit: “anit-vaxxer” of course. I don’t even know who Baxter is.

Tropical_Willie's avatar

I Baxter know but that is different story.

JLeslie's avatar

I actually believe RFK when he says he’s not an anti-vaxxer, and at the same time I do think he also is reluctant about vaccines, and has been caught up with the anti-vax movement with some things.

seawulf575's avatar

@janbb There is a new study that just got released:

https://publichealthpolicyjournal.com/vaccination-and-neurodevelopmental-disorders-a-study-of-nine-year-old-children-enrolled-in-medicaid/

It shows the likelihood of children getting autism to be far higher if the child is vaccinated than not. If that is to be believed (and it was peer reviewed), then maybe looking at what we put into vaccines, or even if vaccines are necessary, is prudent.

janbb's avatar

And I just found multiple studies saying there is no correlation. It was a theory that has been debunked. You pays your money and you takes your choice. But certainly there have been greater outbreaks of measles and other harmful diseases in populations that are forgoing vaccination.

seawulf575's avatar

The study I just cited came out last month and studied the results of over 47,000 9 year olds who were getting medicaid. That made the records easy to follow (were they vaccinated, weren’t they, which vaccines did they get, when did they get them, etc. And as I said it was supposedly peer reviewed which means totally independent people reviewed the data and the results and agreed with them. It is the gold standard style of study to be done.

janbb's avatar

^^ Since neither you nor I are experts I would prefer that a medical person such as @Caravanfan weigh in on the study you cited.

.But to add to the discussion, here’s studies cited by an Autism association:

https://www.autismspeaks.org/do-vaccines-cause-autism?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAtYy9BhBcEiwANWQQL8nytEbFt314WB84sVDipNG8wnJ07rPrqPifXKFE7dGgZc-7NDSlPhoCRFUQAvD_BwE

Tropical_Willie's avatar

Asshole make believe “experts” are not the people I follow.

Medical Experts I will follow not Aquarium Cleaner and Bleach from the Prince Darkness which does not make sense ! ! !

Caravanfan's avatar

@janbb Mawson is a notorious antivaxxer who will cherry pick data to get whatever result he wants. Science Based Medicine hasn’t had a chance to review this latest attempt but I’m sure they will. Here is an article where they talk about him.

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/study-laundering-ipak-antivax-scientists-and-the-return-of-living-dead-antivax-studies/

janbb's avatar

@Caravanfan Thanks for that input. It smelled from everything else I’ve read.

seawulf575's avatar

@Caravanfan What I posted was a peer reviewed study. It has already undergone scrutiny at least once. You “weighed in” not by reading the study yourself, but just saying you don’t like the author of the study. It was a 6 year study with a large population. But hey, you don’t like the author so that’s the end of it. You know more than the people that peer reviewed the study.

JLeslie's avatar

A sample of kids on Medicaid is obviously a specific group of kids. They are poor and likely living in less than perfect situation in more ways than one.

A study across all income levels, races, and ethnicities would be better. I think a study delaying vaccination 6 months in part of the sample group would be better to compare later vaccination and onset of any “illnesses” to determine any correlation or more importantly causation. I don’t know if that sort of study was done.

Delaying 6 months for several thousand children isn’t going to drastically change herd immunity.

Forever_Free's avatar

I do not know how anyone in their right mind can be “anti-humanitarian”.

janbb's avatar

@Forever_Free The same people who are anti-women’s health in America.

Forever_Free's avatar

@janbb We have moved backwards 80 years.

Caravanfan's avatar

@seawulf575 Peer reviewed means absolutely nothing. Just because something is peer reviewed it does NOT mean it’s not bullshit. I know this for a fact because I used to be a peer reviewer.

And you’re right. I didn’t read the study—I don’t have the expertise to understand the statistical methodology. What I did say is that the author is an antivaxxer and floods the zone with antivax articles so he really is suspect. Him publishing antivax articles is like whack-a-mole. I await the analysis of those who are smarter than I.

seawulf575's avatar

@Caravanfan So you were a peer reviewer. Are you saying you peer reviewed stuff you knew was bullshit and you okayed it anyway? And if you are a peer reviewer, how does it happen that you don’t understand statistical methodology? Just about every study I’ve ever seen involves statistics.

Tropical_Willie's avatar

@seawulf575 you lost the argument but you just keep banging your head against the wall to prove your head hurts!

Quoting an anti-vaxxer to prove Vaccines are bad; is once again Circular logic.
“Circular reasoning (Latin: circulus in probando, “circle in proving”; also known as circular logic) is a logical fallacy in which the reasoner begins with what they are trying to end with.”

Caravanfan's avatar

@seawulf575 Yes, I was a peer reviewer. Most of the stuff I reviewed was bullshit and I told them so but I don’t make the decision to publish. The editor does. I just fill out my form and sent it in.

In answer to the second question, I used to be better at stats than I am now. But I was a reviewer 20 years ago and that’s a long time ago. I’ve forgotten all my Bayes.

I quit doing it because it’s a lot of work to properly review a paper and it’s unpaid volunteer work.

Forever_Free's avatar

@seawulf575 Peer reviews are mostly absolute bullshit or mediocre at best. It’s a buzz word and buzz process that tries to say you reviewed it. It is by no means a thorough review to challenge the very existence of it.
I have been involved in peer reviews of various things in my realm, either from others reviewing my things or me reviewing others. It is a lot of wasted air and time for minimum value. The juice is not worth the little squeeze there actually is.

RedDeerGuy1's avatar

Afluenza… sounds nice to catch.

Caravanfan's avatar

@Forever_Free That’s not entirely true. For a journal like New England Journal of Medicine or JAMA it is useful. For articles from throwaway bullshit journals they are useless.

Strauss's avatar

Welcome to Project 2025!

Forever_Free's avatar

@Caravanfan I think the medical community is an exception to this rule as they have formalized the process, the participants and utilized this for quite sometime. I stand corrected for this exception. Thank you for reminding me.

janbb's avatar

@Forever_Free Not necessarily true in the humanities either. My brothers are both scholars and there is some cogent peer reviewing in humanities journals.

JLeslie's avatar

JAMA isn’t completely objective. There has been criticism of competitors in a field being negative about someone else’s research. Also, criticism of editors overriding some reviews. There has also been accusations of gender bias and racism.

If I remember correctly gender bias did show up in female researchers being reviewed more by females, but I think in the end it resulted in no effect. The racism thing, there was something recent, a comment an editor made that doctors aren’t racist so how can there be racism in the healthcare system. I din’t know what happened, for all I know the editor was fired. I think the comment was tweeted or on a podcast, maybe another jelly knows.

My dad used to approve federal grants for studies at universities. He headed up a committee that reviewed the research design to try to ensure it was objective and valid. If a study is done with private funds it is more likely to have a bias or a result that the entity funding the money wants to see.

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