Congratulations on your subscription milestone! I and others seek expert advice rather than poorly supported opinions. You are my breakfast companion and I appreciate your company and your knowledge. Public Health impacts are totally undermine these days and your platform is reliable. You and your staff do an excellent job.
Congratulations on the YLE milestone! So well earned!! This post was, as always, tremendously timely, useful, and clear. Also, I’m glad you included the America Dissected episode in which you appear. For those of us who are not regular podcasters, it would be great if you could do this, or provide a link, each time you are on this podcast.
The debris and combustion compounds from the massive fires will persist in the environment for a long time, would definitely keep windows shut and use air purifiers and masks during windy days for a while in Southern California. So many tragic stories alongside the ecological collapse.
With respect, a couple of comments regarding wildfires, which in the Los Angeles current condition, includes combustion contaminants from all sorts of "non-forest" materials, as you mentioned:
The particulate-filtering (important concept) facepieces you mention (N95, P100), are just that--they filter out suspended particles in breathed air. N95 (not resistant to oil) and P100 (resistant to oil) remove 95% and 99.97%, respectively, of those particles of a size diameter greater than 0.3 micrometers. Neither are considered effective for air that contains VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and other types of gaseous contaminants. (Caveat: VOCs and acid gases that have adsorbed onto, or absorbed into, particles could be effectively captured by the facepiece material, but I do not know if this has even been researched.) Users are misled if they think that a N95 or P100 filtering facepiece provides 100% protection. (Hence, your comment "... P100 if you’re clearing burn sites or fighting fires, as these catch even the smallest particles" is misleading; reportedly just woodland fire smoke particles (fine particles, PM-2.5) alone are believed to be in the 2.5 to sub-2.5 micrometer range.) Proper fit is important, for materials that can remain airborne follow the path of least resistance; examples are improper size/fit, improper donning/wearing, failure to obtain sufficient face-to-facepiece seal (main culprit--facial hair).
Finally, with all that being said ,just about anything used to filter the air is better than nothing, as long as it is understood that there are limitations to all choices available, and some choices may have fatal outcomes (e.g. high levels of carbon monoxide). If all you have is a wet bandana--use it.
Regarding MT on the ILI map. I was an epi there when we finally connected syndromic data to the system which improved reporting (but we never did hit anything beyond yellow on the map). I agree that it’s largely due to the rural nature of the state and the severe weather, which also contributes to the lack of seeking healthcare unless it’s emergency room serious.
Congrats on 300K YLE subscribers! Happy to be one of them. Thank you for having started this, and for keeping at it-- the numbers speak for themselves as to how much we need what you bring. My only quibble on this post is that I think you've got the "waking up" metaphor backwards-- you're the one trying to help the rest of us wake up! Please don't "get back in line"!
Awesome YLE, well deserved and I am most grateful for your knowledge and sharing. Your newsletter helps me navigate my way (as I am immunocompromised). Thank You!
With the new autocracy coming in on January 20th, we should all hope that Substackers who tell the truth, such as Katelyn, are. yes, permitted to continue.
Stick to health, which you are great at, but stay out of climate. At least you got the magnitudes of cold vs heat deaths correct. Cold is far more dangerous, but climate crazies are always trying to prove the opposite. Severity of weather events is NOT increasing. Many forecasts, no data. By far the most destructed storms, tropical cyclones (hurricanes in our hemisphere) show no increase. Checkout the Colorado State University data on tropical cyclones. I’ve been working on climate for nearly 50 years. It’s incredibly complex, but mostly boring . Slow rises in temp and precipitation don’t grab headlines. ). 0.0i5 degrees C. increase per year is so tiny its tough to measure. Forest fires are growing, but that’s 90% forest management, not climate. Malibu and Pacific Palisades have burned every 5-10 years for centuries. Huge fires occurred there in the 1920’s, 1930’s, and 1940’s, but no one lived there. Ditto floods. Asheville NC had a huge hurricane driven flood in 1916, killing 80 people. Asheville’s 2024 flood was almost identical, just more structures to damage and fewer casualties.
"I’ve been working on climate for nearly 50 years." In what capacity, for whom, and with what credentials? You haven't provided a single citation for your claims, of course, so making vague claims about expertise you almost certainly do not possess would be par for the course.
It is absurd to claim that climate change has no impact on public health in any case.
WOW! What a milestone. Congratulations. Just fyi re: LA and AQI. The majority of the air quality "monitors" in the L.A. area are actually sensors that only measure PM2.5.
I’m wondering the same thing about Oklahoma being yellow while the states around it are dark. Is this because of under-reporting by Oklahoma? Can you help us understand which states do and do not fully report and why? Without that understanding, how useful is the chart overall? 🤔
Thank you for your coverage of these issues. I would be very interested in learning from you the incidence of cases of myocarditis and pericarditis that is warned about, particularly from the Novavax covid vax 24-25. I am trying to figure out what to do with the vax this year, having survived horrific shingles from a bivalent mRNA and then months of severe pain from the RSV vax to the point that I couldn’t turn my head. I am between the rock and the hard place. Thank you.
Please forgive my curiosity... Did you perhaps have chickenpox years ago? Shingles can suddenly occur at any point afterwards. Correlation ("I got vaccinated, then I got shingles") does not necessarily prove causation.
I’m aware. However, It is a correlation in the literature. Altho it too, months to clear and endangered my eye, it was relatively nothing compared to the RSV vax, which reacted about 5 days after the vax. And was considerably more serious.
On the alcohol topic: is it possible that most of the risk from alcohol could be isolated to a "cohort" of people? People with liver issues? People with very low tolerance (e.g. those who flush or get blasted after just one drink)? If someone has no preconditions, what is the risk?
Congrats on reaching 300k readers. But the epidemic line is missing from the chart. When did readership cross the epidemic threshold?
Hahaha okay this made me laugh
Congratulations on your subscription milestone! I and others seek expert advice rather than poorly supported opinions. You are my breakfast companion and I appreciate your company and your knowledge. Public Health impacts are totally undermine these days and your platform is reliable. You and your staff do an excellent job.
Congratulations on the YLE milestone! So well earned!! This post was, as always, tremendously timely, useful, and clear. Also, I’m glad you included the America Dissected episode in which you appear. For those of us who are not regular podcasters, it would be great if you could do this, or provide a link, each time you are on this podcast.
Congrats!! Cheers to the next 300k 🥂
Yes, that’s real champagne.
The debris and combustion compounds from the massive fires will persist in the environment for a long time, would definitely keep windows shut and use air purifiers and masks during windy days for a while in Southern California. So many tragic stories alongside the ecological collapse.
With respect, a couple of comments regarding wildfires, which in the Los Angeles current condition, includes combustion contaminants from all sorts of "non-forest" materials, as you mentioned:
The particulate-filtering (important concept) facepieces you mention (N95, P100), are just that--they filter out suspended particles in breathed air. N95 (not resistant to oil) and P100 (resistant to oil) remove 95% and 99.97%, respectively, of those particles of a size diameter greater than 0.3 micrometers. Neither are considered effective for air that contains VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and other types of gaseous contaminants. (Caveat: VOCs and acid gases that have adsorbed onto, or absorbed into, particles could be effectively captured by the facepiece material, but I do not know if this has even been researched.) Users are misled if they think that a N95 or P100 filtering facepiece provides 100% protection. (Hence, your comment "... P100 if you’re clearing burn sites or fighting fires, as these catch even the smallest particles" is misleading; reportedly just woodland fire smoke particles (fine particles, PM-2.5) alone are believed to be in the 2.5 to sub-2.5 micrometer range.) Proper fit is important, for materials that can remain airborne follow the path of least resistance; examples are improper size/fit, improper donning/wearing, failure to obtain sufficient face-to-facepiece seal (main culprit--facial hair).
Finally, with all that being said ,just about anything used to filter the air is better than nothing, as long as it is understood that there are limitations to all choices available, and some choices may have fatal outcomes (e.g. high levels of carbon monoxide). If all you have is a wet bandana--use it.
Regarding MT on the ILI map. I was an epi there when we finally connected syndromic data to the system which improved reporting (but we never did hit anything beyond yellow on the map). I agree that it’s largely due to the rural nature of the state and the severe weather, which also contributes to the lack of seeking healthcare unless it’s emergency room serious.
Congrats on the milestone! I really appreciate your clear and timely writing. So valuable! Happy Friday.
Congrats on 300K YLE subscribers! Happy to be one of them. Thank you for having started this, and for keeping at it-- the numbers speak for themselves as to how much we need what you bring. My only quibble on this post is that I think you've got the "waking up" metaphor backwards-- you're the one trying to help the rest of us wake up! Please don't "get back in line"!
Awesome YLE, well deserved and I am most grateful for your knowledge and sharing. Your newsletter helps me navigate my way (as I am immunocompromised). Thank You!
Congratulations! Hoping that you and many other excellent Substackers are permitted to continue writing - and sharing!!
Permitted?
With the new autocracy coming in on January 20th, we should all hope that Substackers who tell the truth, such as Katelyn, are. yes, permitted to continue.
Agree with all the comments
Nicely done, did and do.............
congratulations, I am pleased to be one of these 300,000
Stick to health, which you are great at, but stay out of climate. At least you got the magnitudes of cold vs heat deaths correct. Cold is far more dangerous, but climate crazies are always trying to prove the opposite. Severity of weather events is NOT increasing. Many forecasts, no data. By far the most destructed storms, tropical cyclones (hurricanes in our hemisphere) show no increase. Checkout the Colorado State University data on tropical cyclones. I’ve been working on climate for nearly 50 years. It’s incredibly complex, but mostly boring . Slow rises in temp and precipitation don’t grab headlines. ). 0.0i5 degrees C. increase per year is so tiny its tough to measure. Forest fires are growing, but that’s 90% forest management, not climate. Malibu and Pacific Palisades have burned every 5-10 years for centuries. Huge fires occurred there in the 1920’s, 1930’s, and 1940’s, but no one lived there. Ditto floods. Asheville NC had a huge hurricane driven flood in 1916, killing 80 people. Asheville’s 2024 flood was almost identical, just more structures to damage and fewer casualties.
"I’ve been working on climate for nearly 50 years." In what capacity, for whom, and with what credentials? You haven't provided a single citation for your claims, of course, so making vague claims about expertise you almost certainly do not possess would be par for the course.
It is absurd to claim that climate change has no impact on public health in any case.
Quote: "Severity of weather events is NOT increasing."
Bullshit.
I had the same reaction to the gratuitous comment about “global warming”. It’s inappropriate and detracts from otherwise good medical advice.
WOW! What a milestone. Congratulations. Just fyi re: LA and AQI. The majority of the air quality "monitors" in the L.A. area are actually sensors that only measure PM2.5.
I’m wondering the same thing about Oklahoma being yellow while the states around it are dark. Is this because of under-reporting by Oklahoma? Can you help us understand which states do and do not fully report and why? Without that understanding, how useful is the chart overall? 🤔
Thank you for your coverage of these issues. I would be very interested in learning from you the incidence of cases of myocarditis and pericarditis that is warned about, particularly from the Novavax covid vax 24-25. I am trying to figure out what to do with the vax this year, having survived horrific shingles from a bivalent mRNA and then months of severe pain from the RSV vax to the point that I couldn’t turn my head. I am between the rock and the hard place. Thank you.
Please forgive my curiosity... Did you perhaps have chickenpox years ago? Shingles can suddenly occur at any point afterwards. Correlation ("I got vaccinated, then I got shingles") does not necessarily prove causation.
I’m aware. However, It is a correlation in the literature. Altho it too, months to clear and endangered my eye, it was relatively nothing compared to the RSV vax, which reacted about 5 days after the vax. And was considerably more serious.
On the alcohol topic: is it possible that most of the risk from alcohol could be isolated to a "cohort" of people? People with liver issues? People with very low tolerance (e.g. those who flush or get blasted after just one drink)? If someone has no preconditions, what is the risk?