Nate
@natedub.bsky.social
1.1K followers 940 following 730 posts
he/him - reading (SFF, philosophy) | gaming (video, tabletop) | listening (metal, podcasts from the left) - Covid is not a cold, masking shows solidarity, let's take care of each other 😷
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natedub.bsky.social
Re: N95s and “perfect fits” not being scalable - I have worn a KN95 mask in public spaces since my family caught Covid for the first time in 2023, and have not had so much as a cold since.

Stop making excuses for why you don’t mask, and start preventing the year-round spread of a vascular disease.
natedub.bsky.social
I’ll keep getting vaccinated and masking in the meantime, obviously to protect myself and my partner, and hopefully to prevent others from having to deal with potential long term disability as well - that basically sums up my position these days
natedub.bsky.social
The entire population is the test subject at this point, so I think those are going to be operative for quite some time sadly
natedub.bsky.social
This was based on a paper published via JAMA Pediatrics estimating prevalence, a source which I wouldn’t normally accuse of pushing narratives as much as mainstream journalism might

But not trying to go back and forth here, it seems you’ve kept track of all this already, so I’m not being helpful
Characterizing Long COVID Symptoms During Early Childhood
This cohort study evaluates which prolonged symptoms in early childhood are associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
jamanetwork.com
natedub.bsky.social
Many of these may be small sample sizes, but when I see Long Covid is more common in kids than asthma at this point, I think a bit more heed needs to be paid to long term ramifications of continual reinfections of a vascular disease, and can definitely speak from personal experience too of course
natedub.bsky.social
Me and my partner have to keep up with this due to her having to deal with Long Covid ever since our first and only infection in 2023, despite multiple vaccinations. Trying to help others not have to learn about this stuff the hard way down the line, but hard to have nuanced convos on Bluesky.
natedub.bsky.social
Hey, appreciated seeing your kind interaction with Chris here, so wanted to share some solid evidence re: risk, as these studies keep piling up and it seems most are not aware of them - for example, here’s a recent roundup of them
What COVID-19 Does to the Body (9th Edition, September 2025)
Your Regular COVID-19 Research Update (80+ Studies)
www.panaccindex.info
natedub.bsky.social
Pandemic Accountability Index is on the 9th edition of these study summaries now.

If it's one Great Barrington Declaration supporter's opinion vs thousands of studies (and more added every day), I think I know which information to trust regarding my health and the health of those around me.
What COVID-19 Does to the Body (9th Edition, September 2025)
Your Regular COVID-19 Research Update (80+ Studies)
www.panaccindex.info
Reposted by Nate
melissagiragrant.com
All I can add to the “we reject universal masking” discourse is that it’s not about masks. You aren’t rejecting universal masking, which never happened; you’re rejecting having to think about wearing a mask, and maybe feeling badly about thinking about masks. Can’t help you there.
Reposted by Nate
dialacina.com
This is why you need to not just mask, but mask consistently in public.
Highlights
•	
HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 are preventable infectious diseases with chronic systemic impacts including immune system dysfunction.
•	
Chronic inflammation, immune exhaustion, and accelerated biological aging are shared hallmarks of HIVI/AIDS and Long COVID/PASC.
•	
Tissue reservoir persistence drives long-term damage in both HIV and SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 mirrors HIV-1 in its ability to evade immune defenses and cause chronic infection.
•	
SARS-CoV-2 -associated neurological disorders (SAND) parallel HIV-associated neurological disorders (HAND).
•	
Both pandemics exhibit failures in global solidarity and reveal inequities in healthcare access.
natedub.bsky.social
We certainly paid the price for our lack of knowledge and misplaced trust.

And we sure learned a whole lot about Covid and Long Covid after it became clear my partner was not getting better weeks after the acute infection. We do our best to make sure no one else has to learn that way.
natedub.bsky.social
We had no idea about asymptomatic transmission back then, and no one looked sick or was coughing or anything, and we had trusted our neighbors to still be masking when grocery shopping/running errands/etc

We still almost masked up to go inside their house, but gave into pressure and decided not to.
natedub.bsky.social
NYT Opinion columnists and manufacturing consent for neverending Covid infections, name a more iconic duo.

Neighbors taking this stance gave me and my (3x vaccinated) family Covid for the first time in 2023 and gave my partner Long Covid - sure would have been “rational” to mask around them, huh?
jamellebouie.net
(and i think it is a demand that stems from fear more than a rational assessment of the threat environment)
natedub.bsky.social
Not specifically related to this particular shitty aspect of AI, but wanted to put this book on your radar because it’s one of the most accessible (and philosophical!) approaches to AI criticism that I have come across - resonated a lot with me and I think it would with you as well
The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking
How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking
bookshop.org
natedub.bsky.social
Too true - would highly recommend this book for an accessible deep dive into the confluence of ideologies at play here, just borrowed it from the library and it’s one of the best things I’ve read this year
More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity
AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity
bookshop.org
natedub.bsky.social
I can’t decide between Joan Shelley and Bill Callahan, and we’ve even been blessed with a duet from them

joanshelley.bandcamp.com/track/amberl...
natedub.bsky.social
Fantastic - I just ordered a physical copy so I can more easily share with friends, appreciated the reminder and thanks for writing it!
natedub.bsky.social
How could I forget 😅 thanks Hagen
Reposted by Nate
brian-goldstone.bsky.social
An interviewer asked me about America's "cost of living crisis," and I was struck again by how casually we've let such profoundly nightmarish phrases slip into our everyday lexicon.
natedub.bsky.social
Counterpoint: “Exempt from international climate agreements and rarely scrutinized in mainstream reporting, the Pentagon is the world’s single largest institutional polluter—spewing carbon, contaminating water, and scarring landscapes across the globe.”

earthsgreatestenemy.com
cnn.com
CNN @cnn.com · 9d
The people who are most vulnerable to the hard-to-breathe air that comes with climate change may inadvertently be adding to the problem, new research finds. https://cnn.it/4pWQMoh
Reposted by Nate
Reposted by Nate
bookshop.org
Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?

Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚