Interested in diverse range of subjects including advocating for better public transport services and infrastructure. Views are my own.
Australia
Joined March 2009
- Tweets22.7K
- Following829
- Followers728
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Ralphy Town retweeted
"What in god's name is happening right now? ... he's a 34 count convicted felon and adjudicated rapist ... he brags about sexual assault. He mocks the disabled " - @BradleyWhitford in Madison warms up for Walz and Obama by making the case against Trump - & he DOES NOT mince words
Ralphy Town retweeted
It is a cruel irony that on the day the @AlboMP government announces a $15.8b surplus, the deeply flawed COVID-19 Vaccine Claims Scheme is wound up, having approved only a tiny fraction of the claims made by injured people. @Mark_Butler_MP @CoVerseAU
Ralphy Town retweeted
COVID conditions are changing. Which means now is the time to be extra careful.
If you’re with someone who’s elderly, disabled or has an underlying medical condition here's some tips: go.vic.gov.au/3FHKvXG
🧵 1/2
ALT 1/4 A series of 4 illustrated tiles describing ways to protect against COVID. Text reads: COVID conditions are changing.
ALT 2/4 Text reads: Wear a mask. Illustration of a close up face wearing a protective mask.
ALT 3/4 Text reads: Test before visiting. Illustration of a rapid antigen test showing a negative result.
ALT 4/4 Text reads: Stay home if you have symptoms. Illustration of a house.
Ralphy Town retweeted
"COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in 2022, accounting for more than one in 20 deaths...the first time an infectious disease has appeared in the top five leading causes since 1970, when influenza and pneumonia was ranked 5th." #CovidIsNotOver abs.gov.au/media-centre/medi…
Ralphy Town retweeted
As things stand, we're not concerned enough, nor desperate enough, nor in some areas smart enough (eg, droplet dogma remains a big problem), to adopt these measures in a concerted way, thereby effectively guaranteeing an ongoing pandemic. It's become a pandemic of choice. 9/end
Ralphy Town retweeted
The straightforward solutions have been there for years – vacc for everyone (incl kids), clean air, N95 equivalents in high-risk settings, strong testing protocols, and strong communication from the top down. 7/
Ralphy Town retweeted
Most countries are running at 5-10% excess deaths (excess deaths are normally negative, the reason why life expectancy normally increases), with substantial hospitalisations, milder acute illness causing disruption, large and growing chronic disease burden, ... 4/
Ralphy Town retweeted
Omicron lineages have been big killers (eg, in Australia, a country of 26m people, we are closing in on 30,000 excess deaths mostly from the 18 months of omicron), and hybrid-immunity is not working anywhere near well enough. 3/
Ralphy Town retweeted
As we watch all watch highly divergent BA.2.86 closely (will it take off and be a new variant of concern, the first since omicron? It is looking quite possible) there’s a regular line being used with all new lineages about ‘no evidence of increased virulence’, 1/
Ralphy Town retweeted
Vale Barry Humphries …I’ve known you since 1956 and we did lots of things together- including three significant films - parting company because of politics differences . But I still regard you as the cleverest person I’ve ever known
Ralphy Town retweeted
Here is the breakdown by age/gender.
There are excess deaths in all age groups and this excess is significant for most age groups, even after removing COVID-19 deaths.
The % excess is higher for younger females compared with younger males.
Ralphy Town retweeted
Excess mortality for the full year 2022 is 12% i.e. 20,200 more deaths than expected had the pandemic not happened.
- 10,300 were deaths from COVID-19
- 2,900 were COVID-19 related deaths
- 7,000 had no mention of COVID-19 on the death certificate.
Ralphy Town retweeted
Covid is the third leading cause of death in Australia in 2022, second only to ischaemic heart disease and dementia.
Covid was in 34th position in 2021.
Ralphy Town retweeted
difference as SARS is much more likely to be the underlying cause). However, risks need to be scaled by prevalence to calculate the clinical burden of disease, and the area under the curves for COVID still dwarfs that of SEASONAL influenza and other viruses for this very reason,
Ralphy Town retweeted
The major health outcome of the pandemic other than COVID itself is a substantial increase in mental ill health (~25%) just as we predicted and deeply felt across the community. Major blind spot for Govt and this mainstream medical perspective. A serious response will produce ROI
Ralphy Town retweeted
Explained further by @EricTopol here (huge thanks Eric). Thankfully, vaccination looks like it helps reduce chances of post-COVID cardiovascular disease, but risk remains, for this & other reasons we must reduce transmission.
erictopol.substack.com/p/hea…