Hopeful Updates Continue

A free public service for a better community

Sep 12, 2023

Happy Tuesday Advocates

I would like to encourage comments and suggestions from you if you have time. If there is a special topic you’d like to see please let me know. Please use the comment button below.

Cancer Updates

Here’s another encouraging update, shared by my friend, Gary (Thank you). mRNA vaccine technology is being explored to create immune responses against cancer, including pancreatic cancer. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/mrna-vaccine-treat-pancreatic-cancer

Moderna said on Monday it has struck a deal with German drug developer Immatics for developing cancer vaccines and therapies, and would pay $120 million in cash and additional milestone payments. Moderna said the companies would use Immatics' drug discovery platform to develop mRNA-based cancer vaccines, and also study its own cancer vaccine for use in combination with Immatics' cancer therapy. (link)

New Lung Cancer Treatment Coming

Daiichi will file for FDA approval for a new lung cancer treatment found to be effective in 30% of participants in mid level trials, reported Bloomberg News. Patritumab deruxtecan was given to non-small cell lung cancer patients who had seen their cancer progress despite extensive previous treatment efforts.

COVID Vaccine News

The FDA has approved the latest vaccine (good) that matches against the current variations. The CDC is determining who should be first in line for these protections. We should know more late this week or early next week. I already asked my pharmacist if I could get COVID, RSV and Flu vaccines at once. She said it was safe to do. Stay tuned.

COVID DISINFORMATION

The New York Times: As Covid-19 Cases Tick Higher, Conspiracy Theorists Stoke New Fears

As Covid-19 cases have climbed as part of a late-summer uptick, right-wing influencers and conspiracy theorists have responded by stoking fears about mass lockdowns and spreading unsubstantiated new ideas about Covid-19’s links to world events. “Do they want Covid measures back to put us on war footing in preparation for the war with Russia?” Jack Posobiec, a right-wing personality, said to more than 150,000 followers on his Telegram channel. ... The use of “plandemic” and “scamdemic” — two terms describing Covid-19 as a ruse — rose sharply in August on right-wing websites, according to data from Pyrra, a company that monitors threats and misinformation on alternative social networks.

According to the National Library of Medicine during the first 15 months of the pandemic in the US 232,000 people who chose to avoid the vaccine died who did not have to die.

I’m at a loss. At the very least get a vaccine if you are able. Your health and the health of those around you matters. That’s why we write this daily report.

Who Needs Insurance? - I Feel Fine

Most of us have Congressional Representatives who have not signed on as co-sponsors to HR 3421, Representative Jayapal’s, much improved Medicare for All Act. Here is a link to the text. It is long but well laid out and covers a wide range of important topics. I’ve read it and I recommend that if you have time you do too. It would be good if those in Congress could read it.

The bill includes global budgets for hospitals and health networks to make sure they have their infrastructure funded (including staff) to treat people in their locale. Budgets for the maintenance and development of facilities to bolster healthcare in rural areas and medical deserts. There are education budgets to help make sure enough medical staff come on line and some funds could even be applied to bolster the government’s current program of cancelling medical tuition debt for practicing in most needed areas.

My congressional district (CD3 - WA) has over 60,000 uninsured persons. That’s no Medicaid, No Medicare, No NOTHING. Around the country, there are over 27 million without insurance and the number is growing daily as Medicaid patients are removed from the rolls because the pandemic is over. There are 10s of millions with high deductible crisis policies that they won’t use because it is too expensive unless it is an emergency (deductibles of more than $10K).

Given all of this, we are again in a position where we will struggle to save lives against the next public health emergency.

You know the answer, it is universal healthcare and it is time those we elected sit down and start talking about it as if the lives of their constituents mattered. P.S. the Congressional Budget Office (non partisan) said Universal Health care is way less expensive that what we shell out now (2020.

ACTION

It is time for our representatives to start talking about Universal Healthcare. Call or email them - here is their contact info. Sample ext below.

Here is a Resistbot email you can send by texting SIGN PHLLQW to 50409 from your cell phone.

“ I am your constituent and I have learned that 27.2 million of us have no health insurance at all. No Medicare, No Medicaid, No Nothing. 10s of millions more have high deductible policies they only use for a crisis and so their health is also at risk (no prevention measures). We are setting ourselves up for another disaster when the next pandemic hits. Universal healthcare solves the problem, as in ALL 35 of our peer industrialized nations. I want you to begin discussing how to implement HR 3421, improved Medicare for All for ALL of US. Even the Congressional Budget Office said it will save us all a fortune and protect all of us cradle to grave. What are you waiting for??”

RESOURCES

Healthcare Advocacy (Us)

Website

Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare

Healthcare Advocacy Reading List

Find My Elected Officials

Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Contact State and Federal Representatives

https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/addr/

Important Healthcare Resources

League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit

Organizations to Contact

National Nurses United Medicare4All

Physicians for a National Health Plan

Reproductive Health

NARAL - Pro Choice America

Planned Parenthood

Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.

United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.

Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.