Excellent explainer of how to prevent airborne spread of viruses such as Covid and measles with masks, air purifiers and ventilation

An airborne virus is a virus that can infect other people through unseen particles in the air, sometimes for hours after the sick person has left the area! Masks and clean, ventilated air can reduce the risk of getting sick from airborne viruses or infecting others.

Yet more evidence that mandated clean air in schools is needed to combat predictable, recurring waves of within-school illness spread. In New Zealand, individual school BoTs are not equipped or prepared to take this necessary step. It must be mandated and funded by govt. #nzpol @greens.org.nz

Our results indicate that extended periods spent in poorly ventilated classrooms may be a stronger driver of within-school transmission than individual contact rates.

LP.8.1 vaccine availability From 2 March 2026, the COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 12+ will be updated from JN.1 to Comirnaty LP.8.1. The vaccine for children has already moved to LP.8.1 and the vaccine for infants will change during February. www.pharmac.govt.nz/medicine-fun...

This first probable case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a dairy cow in Europe raises two points. First, it suggests that virus incursion is possible in the Dutch housing system, which differs from that in the southern U.S., where cows were first infectted. www.science.org/content/arti...

Preprint: Long COVID, POTS, and LC-POTS are biochemically distinct diseases. Their differences are encoded in post-translational modifications inside fibrinaloid microclot complexes; not in protein abundance. 🧵 by @resiapretorius.bsky.social threadreaderapp.com/thread/20063...

BA.3.2 now 13.0% in NZ wastewater "Cicada" is making itself known in New Zealand with a big jump in the last fortnight. BA.3.2 was below 1% in the fortnight to 30 November, increased to 11.7% week of 7 Dec and is now at 13.0% Also present: 28% MC.10.2.1 24% PE.1.4 19% NB.1.8.1 16% XFG

Clean air for kids & staff in schools & daycares shouldn’t be controversial No IAQ policy at any level of govt ensuring indoor air is clean & safe to breathe atm Petition to Toronto Board of Health to direct TO Public Health to adopt Health🇨🇦's new IAQ Guidance: bsky.app/profile/mama...

Long Covid’s long reach: Long Covid & ME/CFS are post-infectious chronic conditions that can change people’s lives and sense of identity. "For parents and caregivers, it’s scary seeing a child with such a debilitating condition and with no clear treatment or pathway to recovery." #LongCovidKids 1/

At present, there is no evidence of an increased hospitalization rate associated with BA.3.2 cases in Germany. influenza.rki.de/Wochenberichte…

Today’s WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition update is already out of date. The TAG-CO-VAC recommends a monovalent LP.8.1 vaccine stating available data indicate BA.3.2 does not currently exhibit a clear fitness advantage over JN.1-derived variants 1/

🚨🧵by Zdenek Vrozina: "COVID-19 is often described as an inflammatory disease. But new research shows SARS-CoV-2 goes deeper. It alters regulatory layers inside cells at the RNA level, weakening antiviral defense from within..." Full 23-tweet 🧵 threadreaderapp.com/thread/20013...

'John Muir, co-founder of the Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation, a UK charity campaigning for the improvement of clean indoor air, said any investment in the devices was well worth the money'. There's a poll in this article - please vote. www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/educati...

Immunity theft: COVID infection may leave people more susceptible to other infections

AFD Blog `The Lancet: The Threat of Another #Coronavirus Pandemic' afludiary.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...

Current H5N1 avian influenza viruses replicate better in human respiratory tissues than a historic one, warranting "the urgency to prevent cross-species transmission to humans by controlling spillover events to mammals and limiting viral spread in farmed mammals." www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Fresh air is not a lifestyle preference or a comfort feature. It is one of the most effective public-health interventions we have. A century ago, this was already understood. Today, we continue to ignore it, even as COVID and Long COVID persist. Read the full article: whn.global/fresh-air-sa...

First there was reduced wastewater surveillance for Covid and now the crowdsourced FluTracking survey is being discontinued

Nat Rev Neurol: The global threat of vaccine-preventable neurological diseases / Felicia C Chow et al go.nature.com/44uCylI

New Zealand BA.3.2 “Cicada” wastewater update Detected each week to date in November, but fell below 1% threshold in week to 23 Nov. Detected in a few sampling sites. Not yet widespread. NB.1.8.1 NImbus: 40.7% PE.1.4: 18.0% XFG Stratus: 16.0% 45% of population covered by ww testing.

2025 Australia & New Zealand flu seasons prolonged due to influenza A(H3N2) subclade K (formerly J.2.4.1) Australia had record numbers of laboratory-confirmed flu cases and an unusually long season stretching from May to November NZ had a more moderate season but with a longer than usual tail

BA.3.2 overview

Huge reduction in ED and urgent care visits for children who received a 2024–2025 COVID vaccine. If only Pharmac would get up to date with the science and offer vaccines and boosters for all age groups.

🚨 Scientists detected a recombinant monkeypox virus combining Clade Ib & Clade IIb in a traveler from Asia to the UK. The virus continues to surprise us — this is what happens when transmission continues unchecked. Surveillance + data sharing matter more than ever. virological.org/t/inter-clad...

FYI for wellingtonians interested - I saw the optometrist yesterday and the one at Bailey Nelson on Wilson masked. I asked ahead of time during confirmation.

The following is good advice to give the public in a flu wave #UKHSA. Get fresh or filtered air in shared spaces. Wear a well-fitted mask or respirator that leaves no gaps. Stay at home orders only work if you pay people to do it.

Refresh Connections app for Covid Conscientious friendships, dating and to find community online Available on iOS and Android Please share to help people connect! www.refreshconnections.com

Hi everyone, Drs. Tara Moriarty and Stef Christensen will be holding a special Data Discussion session on Dec 9th to provide information on and answer questions about COVID-19 testing devices and methods in advance of the holiday season. #StillCoviding #COVID19 covid19resources.ca/discussions/

🎥✨ We’re thrilled to share the highlights reel from our Safer shared air: Making the invisible visible conference, held earlier this month. We're incredibly grateful to everyone who was able to join us either in person, or online, and helped make the event so successful. youtu.be/-tqfCBrmwe8

We're half a decade into studies finding that improving airflow in classrooms will reduce disease transmission enormously, and that bleaching surfaces etc. does very little. And yet nothing changes. Waves of flu and colds wash over schools, and the schools pretend it's an act of God.

H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus can remain infectious in refrigerated milk for over 5 months, according to Tokyo University research. The researchers hypothesized, "It's possible that fat, protein and other components in milk change during infection, potentially protecting the virus."

A real-world experiment in how schools spread viruses The main risk is not close contact, but prolonged exposure to contaminated air in enclosed spaces CO₂ >1000 ppm nearly doubles transmission ris It’s the air we share. We need ventilation and clean indoor air www.nature.com/articles/s41...

• Vaccinated people had lower risk of death from any cause. In short: mRNA vaccines weren’t just safe — they were protective across the board. 🔥📉 shorturl.at/GcZeK #EMSky

Otago University public health professor Nick Wilson said the proposed cuts were "deeply worrying" at a time when other countries were gearing up public health expertise in the face of rising threats from pandemics and climate change. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

The next decision-making meeting of the WHO TAG-CO-VAC to make recommendations on COVID-19 vaccine composition is scheduled for December 2025. The WHO specifically requested data on BA.3.2 antisera and vaccine efficacy. www.who.int/news/item/29...

My brave and heroic daughter helped put together this open letter hoping to prevent others from suffering from Long Covid as she is, please sign our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/a-...

More progress internationally on next generation Covid vaccines – with a setback in the US: - More good news on the vaccine for people with immunosuppression - Progress in intranasal vaccine trials in France & the US ....1/2 absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/11/30/m...

BA.3.2 detected again in New Zealand wastewater 💩 Week ended: 💠5 Oct 3.7% 💠2 Nov 1.4% 💠9 Nov 2.0% #BA32 🎃 Variants with a national percentage of less than 1% are not shown 1/

Key word: "regular" www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/clinica...

Thank you for highlighting this again, Natalie. We know multiple outbreaks of zoonotic viruses are in the pipeline. Most seem to be airborne for obvious reasons. A piecemeal approach isn't working. Proper public health measures do.

#PublicHealth measures like ventilation and air filtration are a matter of urgency "Chances that disease X will be an influenza virus are probably greater than for any other known pathogen group" time.com/7324877/flu-...

6/ The simulation showed that where the wind blew, the virus followed. In the first few weeks of the virus’ spread, I found that farms downwind were 20x as likely to see outbreaks.

People think clean air is politics. No—clean air is breathing.

More work linking irregular iris pigmentation in gannets to prior HPAI infections: likelihood of NP antibody increased with iris pigment irregularity. Moderate correlations for H5 antibodies. 👉 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Mass General Brigham: 'Trial evaluates a vitamin B3 derivative in people with long COVID' 'The clinical trial tested whether raising levels of NAD⁺—a molecule that helps cells produce energy—through nicotinamide riboside (NR), a form of vitamin B3..' medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11...

Repeated infections are causing long-term immune disruption — and the signs are already showing up across populations. We break down the evidence, the context, and the urgent need for prevention in our latest piece. Read the full article here: whn.global/scientific/t... #LongCOVID #COVID19 #COVID

Serological Evidence of HPAI (#H5N1) in Invasive Wild Pigs in Western Canada Legitimate concern that wild pigs could act as mixing vessels for bird + human flu strains ➡️ emergence of new more swine-adapted reassortants ➡️ swine strain could infect people and create a novel pandemic virus in humans

3/ When examining plasma from individuals who received the JN.1-adapted vaccine, we observe similar levels of antibody evasion for XFG and BA.3.2. This is consistent with earlier studies.

7/ In summary, BA.3.2 has firmly established itself and is unlikely to disappear soon. A JN.1-like trajectory is possible. However, no subvariant has yet emerged with mutations that provide a clear selective advantage.