2/1/25: U.S. COVID data amid federal health comunications pause; Affordable Care Act at risk

Access to COVID-19 data during the federal health communications pause. And a breakdown about why the Affordable Care Act might be at risk, from a freelancer with Long COVID. In this episode of Still Here: Co-host Betsy Ladyzhets speaks with co-host Miles Griffis and producer James Salanga about her reporting on the U.S. COVID-19 data landscape. And freelancer Bobbi Dempsey shares why the ACA is so important, along with how to prepare for its potential targeting under the Trump administration.Also in this episode: another RECOVER survey with over 12,000 participants, a promising peptide development, and the latest COVID-19 trends. (Of note: Since the episode’s recording, the Household Pulse Survey — a key source of vital Long COVID data — was taken down following a Trump order on Jan. 31 about removing any references to “gender ideology” on the CDC website. You can read Betsy's reporting on The Sick Times' site.)The transcript for this episode ⁠⁠is available on The Sick Times' website⁠⁠. You can jump to specific sections of the episode and transcript below: Mentioned in this episode (in order of appearance): The Sick Times: National COVID-19 trends, January 28 CDC wastewater dashboard Biobot wastewater risk reports WastewaterSCAN dashboard The Sick Times: Wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 keeps evolving. Here's what you need to know. The Sick Times: Some U.S. COVID-19 data are down amid “pause” to federal health communications The Sick Times: RECOVER hasn’t been impacted by Trump freezes so far, sources say. But the program’s future is still uncertain.  The Sick Times: As someone with Long COVID, I’m terrified of what could happen to the Affordable Care Act USA.gov: Find your elected officials Healthcare.gov Healthcare.gov: Find local help The Sick Times: Research updates, January 28 Additional audio in this episode:  Rude Mechanical Orchestra: ⁠Which Side Are You On?⁠ (orig. Florence Reece)  Pixabay: ⁠Thunder and the beginning of rainfall⁠