If you want to understand how far-reaching the corporate rot in media is, read this gutting piece about the fall of Oregon Public Broadcasting. (And follow @ryanjhaas.bsky.social and @leahsottile.bsky.social’s new publication @thewesternedge.bsky.social which will be amazing bc they’re amazing)

Multiple friends have caught COVID recently, including some of my more cautious pals. There are a lot of winter germs in crowded places right now, fam. Personally, I never feel that shopping or riding transit unmasked is worth potentially getting sick. You can always renew this practice.

Local Oregon vaccine advocates have said that antivaxxers currently have submitted more testimony than pro-vaccination folks. If you really want a West Coast Health Alliance, get on it and submit your testimony ASAP.

Oregonians: Do you like vaccines? Were you frustrated by this fall’s Covid vaccine rollout? Have you heard of SB 1598? Oregon Families for Vaccines is looking for folks to submit written testimony in support of SB 1598 (details in link). Testimony must be submitted by THIS WEDNESDAY.

Is there an online meeting space for high-risk IC folks who are Still Coviding? They aren’t ready, but my partner says one thing they will miss about their best friend passing is being able to speak frankly, joke and commiserate with another chronically ill, high-risk person that gets it.

Looking forward to Nacho Sunday. It has been an especially hard week in a long line of tough ones. Gonna eat all the melted cheese and jalapeñoes in the house as a form of self care.

I’m not arguing with no account defending AI. My grandmother lives in an area being environmentally compromised currently by an ai data center. I remember the color of the lake before they built it and the sludge I see in it when I go to see her. Shut the fuck up about “the benefits of AI” forever.

Your health has no value so you getting sick repeatedly is fine. But these athletes? Rich people? They're protected. Their kids have upgraded filtration and ventilation in their schools. Their private chefs are masking (I have seen this in YT shorts). If you won't protect your health who will?

Brother if reading the Epstein files and seeing the world’s richest white men OPENLY PLAN how to kill off the poor and non-white of the world doesn’t convince you to: - get vaccinated - wear a mask - take care of your fellow man and neighbor - look out for children You’re lost.

Our friend passed away last night, after being hospitalized for the last month with complications from a virus she picked up at a medical appointment. May she rest in peace.

DHS said that the woman CBP shot in the chest in Portland was “involved” in a gang shooting. Her ~involvement~ was that suspected gang members sexually assaulted and robbed her.

People all over Portland, Oregon were impacted by the chemical warfare deployed by the feds tonight. Here’s a thread of some Portlanders experiences who weren’t even at the protest:

4 federal agents pull over an elderly US citizen for the suspected crime of being brown, break her car window, throw her to the ground, then drive off after they find her US Passport in her purse. The Salem Police, when called, say there’s nothing they can do. www.salemreporter.com/2026/01/31/u...

A little girl in Portland, OR after being tear gassed by ICE. what the actual fuck.

My situation: I was working at St Louis Children's Hospital. I know I'd the MMR during a small outbreak about 15 years before (middle school). They tested my titers -- 0. Got the MMR, and subsequent titers also came back zilch. Went through this three times. Please get vaccinated to keep me safe.

Today I saw ICE gas little white kids in the streets of Portland with chemical weapons. Imagine what they're doing to brown and black kids in the detention camps

Lots of news in my latest next generation Covid vax update: - Self-amplifying mRNA vax Kostaive approved in the UK - New trial for mucosal vax starting in Finland - Results from AstraZeneca phase 1 trial for mRNA vax ... absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/01/31/a... 1/2 #Vaccines #Covid #Covid19

I'm chatting with a former coworker who just told me that he, and his mom and sister, all legal US citizens, moved TO MEXICO a couple of months ago, because that felt safer for them then living in Hillsboro, Oregon. One of the smartest, coolest young men I've ever known. I hate this world.

"Headlines call it a 'crackdown' on immigration and a 'clash' between the government and 'protesters,' when in reality it’s murderous occupying forces being confronted by people who just want to live free of their violence."

Our friend who was hospitalized is not responding to treatment. Drs are talking about putting her on a ventilator. All because she went (masked) to the optometrist & caught a virus. There are a lot of bad things right now. But one thing you can do for yourself and your community is wear a mask.

I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.

My original post with full alt text including name of the business is here: bsky.app/profile/pent...

Human beings are so much more than 'careers,'man. This is amazing. 😭😭

Wednesday, 1/7, OHA reported 4 new COVID deaths in Oregon; the total is now 10,940. Hospitalizations as of 1/3/26 are at 0.5 per 100,000, compared to a national average of 1.2. No wastewater update.

Another thing you should know about the Twin Cities, if you're not here, is that while the mayor and governor tell us to stay calm on TV, our council members and other local electeds are on the street patrolling and protecting neighbors, doing mutual aid, and otherwise serving the community.

The lady in this photo is autistic and ICE agents dragged her out of her car as she tried to go to the doctor.

howling at the fact that someone just took photos of this man's phone from behind him. he was talking shit with his phone font set to large and screen at max brightness

Everyone I know who has had the flu has been knocked out for several days. Wear a KN95, N95, or KF95 mask, not just a blue one or fabric one. I've also seen colds floating around and been drinking ginger tea to deal with sniffles.

It’s Wastewater Wednesday! How are COVID levels? We’re using two sources to help us keep track of the country and our state of Oregon. Thank you to @michael-hoerger.bsky.social for the map and graph, and OHA for continuing to track data coming from our wastewater treatment centers!

There are some seriously bad viruses in the air right now. We have 2 friends who have been sick since before Xmas. One, with underlying health conditions & masks, was admitted to hospital yesterday. The other, who doesn’t, went to urgent care on day 11 and already cancelled all work next week.

On 12/31/25, OHA announced 6 new COVID deaths in Oregon; the total is now 10,936. Hospitalizations are at 0.4 per 100,000 as of 12/31 compared to a national average of 0.8. OHA has not updated wastewater data since 12/4.

Not just the rich and that's also something to sit with.

Pretty sure masks saved more of America than Pod ever did

I have worn a mask in public for over 5 years. My husband has had profound, life-changing long Covid for over 4 years, and now our kid does as well. I can’t imagine I will stop masking unless their circumstances change. And for what it’s worth I haven’t had even a cold for the last four+ years.

I'm sharing this because sharing an NYT story about this outweighs my dislike of the publication. We have known for months because of data outside of Japan that this year's flu season was going to be bad but we have an HHS secretary that hates vaccination and so voila.

There are spaces open in the Monday and Thursday co-resting groups for the winter season that starts in January. Please join us if you need and want remote-access resting community time. www.co-resting.org #ME/CFS #LongCovid #Rest #Pacing #CommunityCare

Spoke to my dad, with whom I have a standing Sunday phone date, & told him I found this yesterday. He doesn’t use computers & was genuinely bowled over by the idea that he’s on the internet. He remembered that my mom is shown in the audience. He’s planning to watch at my sister’s on Christmas.

Found the “Match Game” ep that my dad appeared on in 1977. After winning $10K matching Richard Dawson on the puzzle “___ ivy”, Dad waved to the audience. Cut to my mom, who died this year, out of her seat, excitedly waving back. Mom was 36. I was 4 months old.

Most people have memory-holed 2020-2022, but we experienced generational trauma on a global scale and at some point that kind of thing bubbles up to the collective consciousness. Then and only then will we realize the extent to which grief and loss looms over every decision we have made ever since

Thankful that today is the last day of 2025 that requires me to wake with an alarm. Looking forward to waking up after sunrise until the new year.

“We’re still in an ongoing pandemic, and the medically high risk community is highly affected by this….By putting it in the past, it almost minimizes the reality for a huge community in the United Stated and abroad.”

New: My essay on living in the beautiful but sure-to-burn Berkeley Hills and how denial in the face of certain catastrophe remains deeply embedded in the California psyche. But the LA fires are forcing a reckoning over how we pursue the California Dream. Free link. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Download for your personal library.

Thinking how many people underreacted to Prasad working in the administration because they assumed a UCSF professor must be good enough, but his intentions about the Covid vax have been clear.

This is a reminder that the PAXCESS program through Pfizer for free Paxlovid for those uninsured or underinsured is ending this December 31, 2025. If you happen to catch Covid prior to the end of December, please utilize the program before it is gone! www.paxlovid.com/paxcess?cmp=...

Getting vaccinated is the real punk rock. Getting vaccinated is the real counter cultural move.

I’ve been saying this for years: Traditions are made up. As a grown-up you can make your own. Things are hard. There is no need to make your life more difficult by continuing traditions that don’t genuinely feel good, whether that be what you eat, what you do or who you spend time with.

Partner stopped at the grocery store around opening. It was not busy, but most folks they saw masked. Got to the dr office for bloodwork. They were the only person masked. Glad to see others mask in public, but continually maddening that masking in healthcare settings isn’t a thing in 2025.

JFC