Dr Paul Mackey

@auscandoc.bsky.social

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Rural FP anesthetist formerly of Fort St John, BC, Canada. Trained in Aus and UK. Now doing rural locums in Canada.

Blessed to live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc people.

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Dr Paul Mackey

Things are pretty fucked up and the future is uncertain — probably the worst in my lifetime (perhaps excepting 1969 before I can remember). When it’s like that, I like to think about my grandparents and what they faced and got through with the Great Depression and WWII. /1

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Dr Paul Mackey

If history has taught us anything, it is to endlessly repeat it.

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Dr Paul Mackey

For those unfamiliar with the “Children’s Health Defense,” it is one of RFK Jr’s anti-vaccine propaganda vehicles, and it does tremendous damage to public health.

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Dr Paul Mackey

53% of children followed from birth through age 15 experienced some form of (mostly temporary) housing insecurity. All children who experienced any level of - even temporary - housing insecurity had worse physical & mental health outcomes, with more housing instability correlating to worse health.

One of the things that sucks about actually being able to “do your own research” is how I’m constantly being shown the ways that my patients, people I care about, or in this case all American children, are suffering horribly from easily preventable problems that I am still unable to solve in any way

When little kids don’t have stable housing, it can affect their health laterwww.npr.org Researchers following a group of American children for decades found that even short periods of housing instability increased the chances of poor mental and physical health years later.

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Dr Paul Mackey

I may now be obsessed with the fact that freshwater crabs 🦀 (Potamon fluviatile) proliferated in late Roman sewers & now archaeologists & conservationists are fighting to save these little guys as an indigenous species, who live in places like Trajan’s Forum. www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/riv...

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Dr Paul Mackey

Heartening news but extremely important to note, before getting too excited, this has only been tested in mice with a mouse-specific virus so we need to hold our horses, even though if this is proven effective in humans with human viruses that will be fucking awesome.

"Scientists at UC Riverside have demonstrated a new, RNA-based vaccine strategy that is effective against any strain of a virus and can be used safely even by babies or the immunocompromised."

Vaccine breakthrough means no more chasing strainswww.universityofcalifornia.edu Scientists at UC Riverside have devised a vaccine that targets a part of the viral genome that is common to all strains of a given virus.

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Dr Paul Mackey

Australians are so good at naming things. look at this guy. what would you name it? we named it Stripey. That's its species name.

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Dr Paul Mackey

Get vaccinated when the COVID booster comes out this fall. www.usnews.com/news/health-...

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Dr Paul Mackey

on this day in 1905, Archibald "Moonlight" Graham played in his only major league baseball game for the New York Giants. He eventually quit professional baseball and became a doctor in Chisholm MN.

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Dr Paul Mackey

Since Texas’ ban on abortion went into effect, infant deaths in the state increased by nearly 13%. www.statnews.com/2024/06/24/t...

Infant deaths increased after Texas banned abortion in early pregnancywww.statnews.com Since Texas’ ban on abortion went into effect, infant deaths in the state increased by nearly 13%, according to a new analysis published on Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.

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Dr Paul Mackey

John Moore, virologist/immunologist from Cornell Weill Med in NYC and I take the NYTimes to task for two opinion pieces on #COVID earlier this month. Both pieces are examples of "science opinion", where non-experts weigh in on topics beyond their ken. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

“The New York Times” Is Failing Its Readers Badly on Covidwww.thenation.com A pair of shoddy opinion pieces proves that the paper is letting its audience down and undermining the fight to improve our knowledge of the virus.

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Dr Paul Mackey

This is a fatnastic overview by @erictopol.bsky.social of where we are with long term impact of covid infection open.substack.com/pub/erictopo...

Long Covid at 3 Yearsopen.substack.com Two new reports at longer follow-up and other related key insights on Long Covid

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Dr Paul Mackey

I urge you to read Dr. Fauci's transcribed interview where he goes into more detail about the threats to him and his family, including how the extreme rhetoric from politicians and other academics fuel this. This needs much more focus. Below, page one more clearly displayed. The rest follows 👇.

To the question of "is this what we have become", I *strongly* encourage you to watch this clip from CNN of Dr. Fauci talking about the threats to him and his family. Pay close attention to the guy on his right. Yes, this is what we have become. www.cnn.com/2024/06/03/p...

Takeaways from Fauci’s testimony at contentious House hearing on Covid-19 pandemic | CNN Politicswww.cnn.com Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified on Monday at a House subcommittee hearing about the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic ...

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Dr Paul Mackey

Son, someday all this- *motions to the cruel indifference of the universe* will be yours

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Dr Paul Mackey

British Medical Journal reports there has been a large post-covid global surge in common communicable diseases including influenza, measles, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. Medsky

Analysis reveals global post-covid surge in infectious diseaseswww.bmj.com A large post-covid global surge in common communicable diseases including influenza, measles, tuberculosis, and whooping cough has been identified in a new analysis of data from 60 organisations and p...

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Dr Paul Mackey

Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood, will only have ~206. As cartilage is replaced during growth and development, bones begin to fuse at cartilaginous caps, reducing by a third the number of distinct bones. Conclusion: Baby skeletons should get a 1d8 bonus to hp.

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Dr Paul Mackey

I think it's totally insane that more people don't know about PrEP. The fact that we have a prophylactic medication to prevent HIV is one of the greatest medical achievements of my lifetime. It's hard to explain just how hopeless the fight against AIDS felt in the 80s and 90s.

10 years ago, gay Americans could not get married and have it count in all 50 states 20 years ago, you could be made uninsurable because you got sick once 30 years ago, HIV was a death sentence 40 years ago, acid rain was still a problem Dedicated public servants keep pushing good things forward

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Dr Paul Mackey

Since it appears that Senators across the isle care little about the scientific method, a good reminder about the rich body of (scientific) evidence as it pertains to "The Emergence and Evolution of SARS-CoV-2". Expertly summarized by @eddieholmes.bsky.social: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

The Emergence and Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 | Annual Reviewswww.annualreviews.org The origin of SARS-CoV-2 has evoked heated debate and strong accusations, yet seemingly little resolution. I review the scientific evidence on the origin of SARS-CoV-2 and its subsequent spread throug...

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Dr Paul Mackey

Lawn Tractor Safety Tips: DON'T: Drive tractor next to a crawling baby. DO: Place children indoors with a woman when using tractor. Be sure to wave!

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Dr Paul Mackey

Typically name-calling erodes the credibility of your message, but starts with “d” and ends with “ick.”

New Audio: Alito Bashes ProPublica for Reporting on Supreme Court Ethicswww.rollingstone.com Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in a new recording suggests partisan funding is to blame for coverage of justices’ undisclosed luxury gifts.

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Dr Paul Mackey

The healthcare workforce shortage isn’t coming, it’s already here. There aren't enough healthcare workers in many sectors & regions, and too many of the ones who are left are sick of bad work conditions. And the consequences? As of today, 83 million Americans don't even have access to primary care.

The health care workforce crisis is already herewww.axios.com Burned-out health care providers are headed for the exits — or fighting back.

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Dr Paul Mackey

When dealing with pseudoscience, the devil is in the detail - in this case, narrowing down a specific "Lab Leak" hypothesis. In Dr. Chan's @nytimes.com OpEd there is, however, a very specific hypothesis for COVID-19 origin. It's a prime example of conspiracism vs empiricism, so let's dive in. 🧵

On the day of Dr. Fauci's testimony, @nytimes.com decides to run a deeply unethical OpEd with snazzy graphics and snappy headlines about the Lab Leak. The article itself contains multiple falsehoods and deep mischaracterizations. Let's take every point in turn 👇🧵 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Opinion | Why the Pandemic Probably Started in a Lab, in 5 Key Pointswww.nytimes.com The world must not continue to bear the intolerable risks of research with the potential to cause pandemics.

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Dr Paul Mackey

Reply to

Michael Bazaco

I can’t handle another respiratory pandemic man. I’ll have to figure out something else to do because it’ll be the death of my medical career

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Dr Paul Mackey

Vaccine conspiracies #Medsky

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Dr Paul Mackey

Great to see @eddieholmes.bsky.social deliver the Croonian prize lecture last night. The recording is highly recommended to catch up with - I promise you'll learn plenty of new things - plus some cute bat videos www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5VD...

A Journey Through the Virosphere | The Royal Societywww.youtube.com The Croonian lecture 2024 is given by professor Edward C. Holmes Viruses are everywhere, yet we know remarkably little about them. In this lecture Professor Holmes will show how recent technological developments in ‘metagenomics’ have enabled scientists to glimpse the total universe of viruses - the virosphere - for the first time. This new research shows that viruses are far older, more diverse and more complex than we previously realised, and that their reputation for always causing disease is perhaps misplaced. Professor Holmes will discuss the major drivers of virus evolution, the role played by viruses within global ecosystems and how major events in animal evolution, such as the origin of the vertebrates, have shaped the diversity and evolution of the viruses they carry. He will show how advances in artificial intelligence are enabling scientists to describe the outer edges of the virosphere. Finally, Professor Holmes will discuss how new genomic technologies provide a powerful way to rapidly reveal the animal origins of infectious disease epidemics and track their spread through our species, including COVID-19. The Royal Society is a Fellowship of many of the world's most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. ▶https://royalsociety.org/ 🔔Subscribe to our channel for exciting science videos and live events, many hosted by Brian Cox, our Professor for Public Engagement: https://bit.ly/3fQIFXB We’re also on Twitter ▶ https://twitter.com/royalsociety Facebook ▶ https://www.facebook.com/theroyalsociety/ Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/theroyalsociety/ And LinkedIn ▶ https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-royal-society

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Dr Paul Mackey

Alberta Wheat and barley farmers weigh in on drought forecast concerns #foodsecurityalert Tara Sawyer, a farmer with Alberta Grains, joins Global News Calgary to discuss drought concerns in the province and what farmers are doing to prepare.

Wheat and barley farmers weigh in on drought forecast concerns | Watch News Videos Onlineglobalnews.ca Watch Wheat and barley farmers weigh in on drought forecast concerns Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

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Dr Paul Mackey

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Dr Paul Mackey

It’s been a privilege watching these frescoes of scenes from Trojan mythology emerge from the pumice in Region 9, Pompeii. What an unforgettable experience it’s been working with the BBC to bring these discoveries to the public gaze. Huge gratitude to the archaeologists and conservators of Region 9🏺

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Dr Paul Mackey

Nearly every climate denial argument I’ve ever heard falls into one of these five categories. 1 - it’s not real 2 - it’s not us 3 - it’s not bad 4 - it’s too hard/costly to fix 5 - it’s too late And you know which is growing the fastest these days? The last one 😳

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Dr Paul Mackey

This is the story about our efforts to uphold ethical standards in medicine at a time when, despite ongoing challenges, some licensed physicians continue to spread disinformation. No paywall.

Good Luck Fighting Disinformationwww.theatlantic.com A group that formed during the pandemic to counter medical lies found that every lever it pulled on failed to produce the results it was hoping for.