Small Bites
Brief posts on items of interest.
Forced Exits
07.14.25
Each time a new article is posted to www.healthandcommunications.com , I send an email notice to ~ 13,000 people. Below is a small sample of the hundreds of automatic replies received after my last mailing.
“I am on administrative leave, pending a Reduction in Force (RIF). It has been a pleasure working with you all, and working at FDA has been the highlight of my professional career.”
“I am no longer with the CDC due to recent reduction in force. I appreciate the support and collaboration we shared during my time here.”
“I am currently on furlough due to the US Government's USAID Stop Work Order and will not be available to respond to messages.”
“I am currently on furlough from the IRC due to US foreign aid cuts until further notice.”
“Due to the on-going review of US foreign assistance programs, The DHS Program team [at ICF International] has had to temporarily stop work. I am unable to provide support or respond to inquiries at this time.”
“I’ve been placed on paid administrative leave [at the FDA] due to a recent Executive Order regarding DEl programs.”
“As of April 1, 2025, I am no longer with CDC due to the Reduction in Workforce. The Prevention Communication Branch, Division of HIV Prevention, has been affected by a Reduction In Force.”
“Thank you for your message. Due to the U.S. government-issued Stop Work Order, IREX is undergoing a transition, and the person you are trying to contact is no longer with the organization.”
“The Applied Sciences Branch [of the CDC] has been affected by the recent HHS Reduction in Force (RIF), effective immediately April 1, 2025.”
“I have been impacted by the RIF [at CDC] and may or may not respond. Best regards.
“I am currently on temporary furlough [at Social Impact] and will not have access to my email during this period.”
“As you may know, I am no longer with the CDC due to recent organizational changes. I appreciate the support and collaboration we shared during my time here.”
“As a result of the halt to US foreign assistance, and subsequent Stop Work Orders for US Government-funded projects, I am currently on leave from MSH and will not be checking email during this time.”
“I am currently on furlough from PATH, and this email is not being actively monitored at this time.”
“I am currently furloughed [at fhi360] and unavailable to respond to messages at this time.”
“My position [at Catholic Relief Services] is partially funded on USG programs impacted by stop work orders. I am therefore working reduced hours until further notice.”
“I am currently on furlough from Save the Children US.”
Sign of the Times
04.08.25
Sign (recreated here) seen at the Hands-Off (DC) rally.
An Idea for a COVID Mask-wearing Ad Campaign for Washington, DC
12.01.20
Teaming up with DC Comics, the city of Washington, DC could create a public service ad campaign to promote mask-wearing, playing off the double-meaning of “DC.” Here’s a rough comp of an idea:
Other lines:
In DC, Super Heroes Wear Masks. Do you?
Everyone in DC Wears a Mask. Now it’s Your Turn!
Why Handwashing Works: Soap Rips and Pulls
10.17.20
The reason handwashing with soap is so effective and so strongly urged in fighting the COVID-19 virus is because the soap essentially disassembles or pulls apart the virus and thereby makes it inoperative. COVID-19 is what’s called an envelope virus, meaning that it’s surrounded by a “bilayer lipid,” or more commonly, a double layer of fat. That fat envelope is weakly attached to the virus (—for those of you who remember your chemistry, think non-covalent bonds—) and what the soap does is to bind to and then pull the lipid molecules away from the virus, thereby destroying it. These detached lipid molecules are then harmlessly washed away. The other trick soap performs is detaching the virus from our skin. If we’ve come into physical contact with the virus it’s not just sitting quietly on our skin, it’s actually weakly bonded to it. Soap contains surfactants, molecules with one end that likes to bind to fat and one end that likes to bind to water. The surfactants then attach one end to the virus and one end to the water from the faucet, freeing the virus from our skin.
Which Can Would You Use?
09.25.20
Here are wipes stations at two grocery stores just outside of Washington, DC. Which would you prefer to use…and why?
The store on the left is clearly more interested in selling advertising (in this case for a local realtor) while the one on the right makes it clear that “Wipes (are) Available Here!” But what caught my eye was how you’re supposed to dispose of the wipes. On the right, the open-top trash can lets you simply drop in the used wipe. Using the can on the left, requires you to push and hold the flap in order to toss the wipe, creating an opportunity for infection.
What I didn’t notice in either store and only when I looked at the pictures later, is that each wipes stand actually has a drop-in disposal opening, neither well marked, nor for that matter, well designed.
Tracing Masks for Epi-Maps?
09.24.20
Dropped or discarded masks are everywhere these days, on roads, sidewalks, and trails. Could they actually be put to good use? In the same way that wastewater in municipal sanitary sewer systems is being collected and tested to detect the spread of Covid-19, could abandoned masks serve a similar purpose? Of course there’d be a lot of assumptions and caveats (e.g., masks dropped are in the same proportion to masks worn, mask wearers are Covid-positive at the same rate as the population generally, etc.), but still, they might contain some useful information, and at a minimum it’d be safer to have them off the street.
Can You Spot What’s Missing?
09.23.20
Take a close look and see if you can spot what’s missing from this National Park Service flyer.
There’s no mention of masks.
It’s possible this is an oversight, but I think, unfortunately, it’s more likely an intentional omission.