Blake Murdoch
@blakemurdoch.bsky.social
1.2K followers 95 following 170 posts
JD, MBA. Canadian health policy academic, bioethicist and science communicator.
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3. They definitely don't want to mask because they want to have brunch, etc and deep down, they care about their convenience more than the lives of other people. They want to engage with the plethora of late stage capitalist pleasure distractions

See also similar behaviour regarding climate change.
Yep. For clarity, here's why 'leftists' make unfounded antimasking claims:

1. They feel icky when forced to confront how their actions don't reflect their stated moral code.

2. Admitting they aren't an expert about COVID, eugenics etc. opens up the possibility of being convinced they should mask.
progressive pundits do more damage spewing COVID disinfo than they know when they feel obliged to comment on it as experts, and have clearly made no effort to familiarize themselves with the facts—but somehow feel as confident breezily vibing on it as they do on topics actually in their wheelhouse
Heads up, this guy has done the risk assessment and he’s positive that kids can be serially reinfected with COVID forever with no serious consequences!

To suggest otherwise is fear, just ignore that JAMA Pediatrics has declared long COVID more common than asthma in kids 5 years into its existence.
(and i think it is a demand that stems from fear more than a rational assessment of the threat environment)
(and i think it is a demand that stems from fear more than a rational assessment of the threat environment)
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
“According to the masses: It is not reasonable to place any expectations on the broad back of the majority of society, but it *is* … to pile everything the majority won’t do on the thin slice of disabled people who are carrying their own weight and attempting to carry everyone else’s as they drown.”
People continue to call COVID advocates’ pleas for masking “unreasonable”.

Yet people who’ve already been disabled by COVID have no choice but to live with the “unreasonable” burdens of constant COVID safety.

My latest:
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Beyond all reason
Long COVID patients are constantly harangued about our requests for COVID safety. Yet what we're asking for is far less than what we're called on to do to survive.
substack.com
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
Excellent piece.

Every time this discourse rolls around they treat those of us that mask like we’re hypochondriacs.

No we’re the ghosts of infections past.

We plead with you so that you can avoid our fate. In return you mock us.

#MECFS #LongCovid
Screenshot from Beyond All Reason by Julia Doubleday reads: But Long COVID can happen to anyone. We keep saying it. Nobody listens. For convenience I continue to separate "those with Long COVID" who must avoid another infection from those
without- who can afford some mystery number of infections. But it's possible your next infection may disable you too. It is for yourself, as much as for others, that COVID is worth avoiding. The
"unreasonable" of wearing a mask indoors does not compare to the "unreasonable" of Long
COVID plus the "unreasonable" of scrambling to avoid another infection while the still-well-enough people sniff that doing anything to mitigate the virus is simply asking too much of them.
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
progressives will wax poetic about the importance of being strong allies and advocates for the marginalized—until it comes to putting their money where their mouth (and nose) is, because masking interferes with their weekly brunch plans
People continue to call COVID advocates’ pleas for masking “unreasonable”.

Yet people who’ve already been disabled by COVID have no choice but to live with the “unreasonable” burdens of constant COVID safety.

My latest:
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Beyond all reason
Long COVID patients are constantly harangued about our requests for COVID safety. Yet what we're asking for is far less than what we're called on to do to survive.
substack.com
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
even the smartest folks whose takes i otherwise appreciate, who otherwise want to resist fascism themselves & encourage others to, find wearing a mask in, at least, public indoor spaces—to prevent the harms of this administration from impacting others—to be a bridge too far; it’s shameful, frankly.
yeah, i think a commitment to public health obligates you to get vaccinated and, when you are sick, do what you can to avoid spreading that to other people. the demand that one mask at all times in public spaces is, i think, unreasonable.
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
You can declare yourself against “universal public masking”, but that means I can declare you a dick.

Long COVID absolutely wrecked my shit because people just couldn’t see themselves considering the health of others. Knowing you’re comfortable with that tells me everything I need to know.
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
Dear liberals,

If you identify as a leftist who believes in intersectional justice & fighting fascism, please wear a mask in public. It’s one small act of solidarity with the millions living with long Covid - and a reminder that caring for others includes protecting their health
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
People continue to call COVID advocates’ pleas for masking “unreasonable”.

Yet people who’ve already been disabled by COVID have no choice but to live with the “unreasonable” burdens of constant COVID safety.

My latest:
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Beyond all reason
Long COVID patients are constantly harangued about our requests for COVID safety. Yet what we're asking for is far less than what we're called on to do to survive.
substack.com
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
I teach all of my classes in an N95 because my gift from having COVID (pre-vaccine) is an autoimmune disease that destroys my kidney function. COVID gave me kidney failure, which will require a kidney transplant. What's the #1 cause of death (aside from CKD) in patients waiting for dialysis? COVID.
(and i think it is a demand that stems from fear more than a rational assessment of the threat environment)
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
There are thousands of studies showing the long term health risks to people posed by COVID-19.

Any rational person would look at this data and pause for thought.

I think we aren’t doing that because we aren’t very rational at the moment.
(and i think it is a demand that stems from fear more than a rational assessment of the threat environment)
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
“Our primary message is that reinfections still matter, and you should do what you can to avoid reinfection..” — Yong Chen, University of Pennsylvania
OCT 1, 2025 10:06 AM PT
Repeat COVID-19 Infections Could Double Your Risk of Long COVID
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
These kinds of studies & articles are endlessly frustrating. If there was a study that showed that if you gave someone 1/10 of a dose of a vaccine it was not tied to protection, would you conclude that vaccines don't work? No? Then why do it with other things?
HEPA purifiers not tied to less #viral exposure in elementary classrooms, analysis finds

#HEPA purifiers were associated with a 33% decrease in viral diversity, but the reduction wasn't linked to fewer school absences.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/i...
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
Liberals clutching their pearls on this site when told that not masking to protect others in essential public spaces is ableist. Instead of getting angry, they should reflect on how they can do better
Nice eugenics BBC
1. Before 2020, I never, ever remember getting sick being portrayed as a good thing.

"Most people will get one or two respiratory infections every year. In some ways, it's a *good thing* when you are a child or healthy adult".

*my emphasis.

www.bbc.com/news/article...
Common cold, flu, Covid: Why is Britain so sick right now?
Why coughs and colds seem to be taking hold currently - and what you can do to protect yourself.
www.bbc.com
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
The mass firings at the CDC tonight drive home the fact that no one is coming to save us

But we can save each other

Wear a mask. Ideally a respirator like an N95

Even if you’re vaccinated. Even if you’re “not worried”

It protects you but it also protects everyone else

Bonus? Less colds & flus!
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
Five and half years since we’ve known covid is transmitted by aerosols and a provicial health authority has released an AI chat bot that disseminates droplet disinformation.
Asking NS’s official health AI about airborne transmission, aerosols, etc #NSPoli
Screenshot of asking NS health AI if Covid is airborne. Is Covid airborne?
Wednesday, 10:02 a.m.
0 COPY
• Nova
Wednesday, 10:02 a.m.
The primary method of COVID-19 transmission is through droplets, which quickly settle on surfaces within two meters. However, airborne precautions are used during aerosol-generating medical procedures (AGMPs) to minimize the risk of transmission. More information on AGMPs can be found here. Screenshot of asking NS health AI about aerosol transmission. Tell me about aerosol transmission
Nova
Wednesday, 10:02 a.m.
Airborne transmission occurs when airborne particles remain suspended in the air, travel on air currents, and are inhaled by others nearby or some distance away from the source. Control of airborne transmission requires control of airflow through special ventilation systems and the use of respiratory protection.
An aerosol-generating medical procedure (AGMP)
is any procedy
production of
+ Go to bottom
aerosols of va
roplet nuclei.
Examples of AGMPs include bronchoscopy Screenshot of asking NS health AI if breathing generates aerosols You
Wednesday, 10:03 a.m.
Does breathing generate aerosols?
•Nova
Wednesday, 10:03 a.m.
While normal breathing does produce some droplets, activities like talking, screaming, coughing, or sneezing produce larger droplets.
Labour and delivery are also not considered aerosolized events. Aerosol Generating Medical Procedures (AGMPs) are specific medical procedures that generate aerosols. The AI claimed that breathing generates fewer aerosols than AGMPs so I tried asking for more info. How many aerosols are generated by breathing compared to an AGMP?
0 coPY
Nova
Wednesday, 10:04 a.m.
To best answer your question, could you clarify what context you're interested in? For example, are you concerned about a specific medical setting or a particular activity? #NSPoli
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
i miss the time when most liberals could identify the policies suggested in the great barrington declaration as evil, eugenic, and unsupported by science!
The Great Barrington Dec. aka the “let covid rip” policy, legitimated the death of over a million Americans, is disabling of tens of millions more, & failed to achieve its own instrumental goal, ending the pandemic. It did succeed hwvr in gutting public health & eroding public trust in science
Five years ago today, we authored the Great Barrington Declaration, arguing for focused protection instead of lockdowns. A wholehearted thank you to the almost one million co-signers. We were proven right.
Reposted by Blake Murdoch
One thing I've learned from the Internet is that a lie needs 0% proof to be believed, but the truth requires thousands of pages of proof and still won't be believed.