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  I asked the historian about the election numbers and he told me that it really was a historic wave. And I asked the epidemiologist about the infection numbers and she told me that we are in Covid’s 13th wave.

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  An open note to the stranger who said “don’t you know we’re laughing at you?”: Yes, I do know that, but frankly I am far more concerned that you also seem to be coughing at everyone.

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  Despite the fact that Pennsylvania has reported four deaths from measles, the CDC has decided to only include one in its tally, which is further proof that those in power have learned that it is difficult to end an outbreak, but is is quite easy to change what counts.

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  Researchers are warning over 450,000 excess deaths may occur across the globe due to the extreme heat caused by this year’s “super-El Niño,’ but if this ongoing pandemic has taught me anything it’s that most people are very good at ignoring the world’s excess deaths.

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  When you hear people say (and you will) that this administration is catastrophically mismanaging the measles outbreak, calmly but firmly remind them that this is not the first dangerously contagious outbreak that this administration has catastrophically mismanaged.

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  An open note to the stranger who noted that it’s kind of weird that I care so much about measles in Pennsylvania and about Ebola in Congo when I am not in either place: I am very sorry to hear that you seem to believe that it’s kind of weird to care about other people.

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  Upon seeing the headline: “Cyclosporiasis outbreak exposes a weakened US public health system,” the question to ask is not: “how could this have happened?” no, the question to ask is: “who made it so this happened?”

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  A recent study of 154 singers found that Covid had a lasting impact on their vocal health, with 53% reporting persistent vocal changes, and though it may be that singers are more likely to notice such changes that doesn’t mean this has only happened to them.

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  I confess there are moments when I begin to forget how many of my supposed friends would let me fall by the wayside, would let you fall by the wayside, but such forgetful moments never last long, for those supposed friends are only too eager to remind me.

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  After I told them that it seems I have gotten whatever “bug” they had my partner apologized and then asked if there was anything they could do to help, and though I wanted to say you could wear a mask when you’re at work, instead I just said: please put the kettle on.

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  Listen: it is true (obviously, it is true) that not every “bug,” that not every sore throat, that not every fever, is a case of Covid, and while that is true (obviously, that is true) unless you test you can’t really know for sure.

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  A new systemic review has found “Lingering respiratory virus symptoms aren’t limited to COVID,” with the further details that lung problems are common after flu, and heart symptoms are common after RSV, but fortunately a good mask will help protect against all three.

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  I asked the programmer if AI might kill off humanity and she said: don’t worry climate change will kill us first. So I asked the climatologist if we’ll pass the 1.5° threshold and he said: don’t worry AI will kill us first. So I asked the historian and she just said: worry.

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  Online, I keep seeing people arguing about the importance of being healthy. Offline, I keep hearing people talking about how (somehow) they are sick again.

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  A new meta-analysis (of 22 studies) has found that “Toilet flushing can propel aerosols into bathroom air at adult breathing height,” which is yet another reason to put the lid down, and which is yet another reason to keep wearing a mask.

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  Two recent polls “show that American adults are losing confidence in the federal government in matters of healthcare, and trust in public health figures,” but before you wonder why, first ask yourself if you are still wondering when the lettuce will be safe to eat again.

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  I confess, it used to be when I would hear it said that this is the best time to be alive I would feel skeptical, but these days when I hear it said that this is the best time to be alive I feel like they’re saying that the future will be even worse than this.

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  My friend showed me a clip from a game show and when the crew was seen all in masks, she said: “Oh, I guess this is from back during Covid,” and before I could stop myself I replied: “you had Covid last month,” though I didn’t add that it had been her fifth infection.

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  US health officials have declared that the record-setting cyclospora outbreak is finally over, and while you still need to worry about the other foodborne outbreaks, and the Covid surge, and the climate, and and and and at least now you can safely eat lettuce again.

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  According to the headline “You’re Not Hallucinating: The Amount of Recalled Food Is Skyrocketing,” but, for what it’s worth, if you are hallucinating there is a chance that it was something you ate. * The 339th week of plague poems… https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2026/09/11/plague-poems-the-three-hundred-and-thirty-ninth-week/

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  Upon noticing that they had restocked
the shelves with test kits 
I jokingly told the pharmacy technician 
that they should have put them 
with the back to school supplies, 
to which she replied that she had suggested that 
but the store manager 
had told her no.

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  My friend, who is optimistic, 
told me 
that the future
is going to be okay. 
My friend, who is pessimistic, 
told me
that the future 
is not going to be okay. My friend, who is a historian,
told me 
that the future 
is not yet written.

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  As I waited in line 
to pick up a prescription 
I noticed the pharmacist 
(and all of the technicians) 
were wearing masks, 
and I thought to myself: 
oh, that’s a good sign; and after a moment passed 
I thought to myself: 
oh, that’s probably a bad sign.

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  It is being reported that the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to announce the US will no longer limit climate pollution from power plants, and while I suppose this means that Agency is protecting something whatever it is certainly isn’t the environment.

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  As the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo continues the number of cases has passed 7,200, and the number of deaths is nearly 3,500, and the amount of attention most of the world is devoting to this outbreak remains almost zero.

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  It’s only a matter of time before you start hearing people claim that the woman from Pennsylvania who died from measles must have had pre-existing underlying conditions, so please remember: that having a human body is itself a pre-existing underlying condition.

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  When you hear it said how the UN has conceded that the world has lost its chance to keep warming below 1.5° Celsius, it is important to understand that this isn’t the end of the world, no, but is is confirmation that the world as we knew it has already ended.

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  Has the Earth “lost its chance to prevent some of the worst impacts of global warming”? No, the Earth has not “lost its chance to prevent some of the worst impacts of global warming.” For the Earth did not do this, people and companies did this, and they have names.

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  Due to the wildfires currently burning in the Pacific Northwest it is being projected that smoke will once again blanket many regions, which is a reminder yet another important reminder that as long as you’re breathing there’s still time for you to start masking again.

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  By now you have probably seen the clip of the appointed official stating that constitutional rights are more important than public health, but by now you probably also know that this administration does not care about protecting either of those things.