#vaccines deployment

[worldmalariaday]

Major step in malaria prevention as three West African countries roll out vaccine.

In a significant step forward for malaria prevention in Africa, three countries—Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone—today launched a large-scale rollout of the life-saving malaria vaccine targeting millions of children across the three West African nations. The vaccine rollout, announced on World Malaria Day, seeks to further scale up vaccine deployment in the African region.

Today’s launch brings to eight the number of countries on the continent to offer the malaria vaccine as part of the childhood immunization programmes, extending access to more comprehensive malaria prevention. Several of the more than 30 countries in the African region that have expressed interest in the vaccine are scheduled to roll it out in the next year through support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as efforts continue to widen its deployment in the region in coordination with other prevention measures such as long-lasting insecticidal nets and seasonal malaria chemoprevention. 

Benin, which received 215 900 doses, has added the malaria vaccine to its Expanded Programme on Immunization. The malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from around 5 months of age.

“The introduction of the malaria vaccine in the Expanded Programme on Immunization for our children is a major step forward in the fight against this scourge. I would like to reassure that the malaria vaccines are safe and effective and contribute to the protection of our children against this serious and fatal diseases,” said Prof Benjamin Hounkpatin, Minister of Health of Benin.

In Liberia, the vaccine was launched in the southern Rivercess County and will be rolled out afterwards in five other counties which have high malaria burden. At least 45 000 children are expected to benefit from the 112 000 doses of the available vaccine. 

"For far too long, malaria has stolen the laughter and dreams of our children. But today, with this vaccine and the unwavering commitment of our communities, healthcare workers and our partners, including GAVI, UNICEF and WHO, we break the chain. We have a powerful tool that will protect them from this devastating illness and related deaths, ensuring their right to health and a brighter future. Let's end malaria in Liberia and pave the way for a healthier, more just society," said Dr Louise Kpoto, Liberia’s Minister of Health.  

Two safe and effective vaccines — RTS,S and R21 — recommended by World Health Organization (WHO), are a breakthrough for child health and malaria control. A pilot malaria vaccine programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi reached over 2 million children from 2019 to 2023, showing a significant reduction in malaria illness and a 13% drop in overall child mortality and substantial reductions in hospitalizations. 

In Sierra Leone, the first doses were administered to children at a health centre in Western Area Rural where the authorities kicked off the rollout of 550 000 vaccine doses. The vaccine will then be delivered in health facilities nationwide. 

“With the new, safe and efficacious malaria vaccine, we now have an additional tool to fight this disease. In combination with insecticide-treated nets, effective diagnosis and treatment, and indoor spraying, no child should die from malaria infection,” said Dr Austin Demby, Minister of Health of Sierra Leone.

Malaria remains a huge health challenge in the African region, which is home to 11 countries that carry approximately 70% of the global burden of malaria. The region accounted for 94% of global malaria cases and 95% of all malaria deaths in 2022, according to the World Malaria Report 2023.

“The African region is advancing in the rollout of the malaria vaccine – a game-changer in our fight against this deadly disease,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Working with our member states and partners, we’re supporting the ongoing efforts to save the lives of young children and lower the malaria burden in the region.” 

Aurelia Nguyen, Chief Programme Officer at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, noted: “Today we celebrate more children gaining access to a new lifesaving tool to fight one of Africa’s deadliest diseases. This introduction of malaria vaccines into routine programmes in Benin, Liberia, and Sierra Leone alongside other proven interventions will help save lives and offer relief to families, communities and hard-pressed health systems.”

Progress against malaria has stalled in these high-burden African countries since 2017 due to factors including climate change, humanitarian crises, low access to and insufficient quality of health services, gender-related barriers, biological threats such as insecticide and drug resistance and global economic crises. Fragile health systems and critical gaps in data and surveillance have compounded the challenge. 

To put malaria progress back on track, WHO recommends robust commitment to malaria responses at all levels, particularly in high-burden countries; greater domestic and international funding; science and data-driven malaria responses; urgent action on the health impacts of climate change; harnessing research and innovation; as well as strong partnerships for coordinated responses. WHO is also calling attention to addressing delays in malaria programme implementation. 

[chrissterry]

Less than one in five care staff vaccinated against flu or boosted against Covid, figures reveal - Community Care

I would encourage everyone to have both the COVID- 19 and Flu vaccinations to enable them to have the full possible protection possible and in doing so protect others, but I can see the reasons of some not to. This is especially so in Social Care for if they do get a reaction from the vaccinations the loss of earnings they would suffer will be extremely dire to them, especially as their pay rate…

[theonehotnews]

Why Vietnam cannot announce end of Covid yet

[bejeweledblondie]

König Headcannons

A/N: just like Ghost’s headcannon’s I’m taking inspiration from my experiences living on a military base

Warnings: NSFW

König x F! Reader

• König initially first met you while you were volunteering with the United Nations & Doctors Without Borders

• you were administering vaccines to children in the Middle East, & providing medical services to the underprivileged communities

• he was awe of your empathy & kindness towards these children, you treated them like they were your own & took your job super seriously

• KorTac was providing security for the community from potential terrorist attacks, as taking any western countries citizen for ransom seemed enticing

• After a surprise attack on the camp that was set up, he immediately brought you to safety & held you as you sobbed into chest out of fear for your life & all those innocent civilians that caught in the gunfire

• “shhh, schatz it’ll be okay” he whispered to you

• he finally asked you out after months of waiting for the right time

• you were giving him his flu shot when he asked you out

• your first date was in his off post apartment, he had cooked you homemade Austrian food

• his cooking is divine, he always chef’s it up in the kitchen

• you guys moved in only a few months into dating (which seems early but in the military world you’re slacking)

• he proposed with his Oma’s ring

• he also asked your parents over FaceTime for your hand in marriage, they were reluctant but he was very persuasive

• you’d probably wind up working at the hospital on post, & the soldiers that come in 100% know you’ll take care of them

• during Christmas leave both of your families meet in Vienna for Christmas time, I mean cmon Vienna is gorgeous at Christmas

• you two announce your pregnancy at Christmas dinner

• his Oma jumped up & ran over to hug you

• this man’s genes are freakin strong

• you definitely get pregnant with twins

• König is deployed when you find out & you tell him over FaceTime

• he cried pure tears of joy & his whole team celebrated

• due to the fact he’s like a giant he produces large babies

• you’d have to get a c-section for the birth because of it, & König makes it in the last second.

• he still had his hood on & was in his tactical gear scaring the entire nursing staff

• imagine their surprise when he just asks where his wife is

• you have a girl & a boy

• they’d definitely be named after his grandparents

• he sings lullaby’s in Austrian to them to introduce them to his home country’s culture

• he hates leaving for deployments now that they’re born & he definitely became more ruthless on the battlefield due to it

• he 100% would bring the babies to work whenever it was a mandatory fun day or a super relaxed day at work

• these hardened military men would be all over your babies & arguing as to who gets to hold them next

• they’re very well protected & König made sure of that

• he’s a family man at heart & he will do anything to protect them

✨NSFW ✨

• you weren’t very experienced when you met König & when you first saw his cock you were in absolute disbelief a man could be that hung

• you let your intrusive thoughts win & asked if he’d fit inside of you

•it took a lot of foreplay for him to fully fit snug in you

• he definitely would say the most absolutely filthy things in Austrian to you even if you understood them or not

• massive size & breeding kink

• he just loves how small your hands are compared to his cock you need both of them to jerk him off

• when he found out you were pregnant he was elated that his efforts worked out

• loved to see your body change & baby bump grow

• also loved how horny you were as a pregnancy symptom ( it killed him that you’d have to deal with that alone while he was deployed)

• like most military men he too has a collection of your nudes & plenty of videos of him fucking you

• he loves your hips & how wide they are to him it digs deep into the primal instinct of carrying his babies

• König is just as stealthy in bed as he is in on the battlefield

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil is fighting dengue with bacteria-infected mosquitos

Mass deployment of infected mosquitoes in some regions can curb dengue even amidst a national surge

As dengue cases continue to rise in Brazil, the country is facing a massive public health crisis. The viral disease, spread by mosquitoes, has sickened more than a million Brazilians in 2024 alone, overwhelming hospitals.

The dengue crisis is the result of the collision of two key factors. This year has brought an abundance of wet, warm weather, boosting populations of Aedes aegypti, the mosquitoes that spread dengue. It also happens to be a year when all four types of dengue virus are circulating. Few people have built up immunity against them all.   

Brazil is busy fighting back. One of the country’s anti-dengue strategies aims to hamper the mosquitoes’ ability to spread disease by infecting the insects with a common bacteria—Wolbachia. The bacteria seems to boost the mosquitoes’ immune response, making it more difficult for dengue and other viruses to grow inside the insects. It also directly competes with viruses for crucial molecules they need to replicate.

The World Mosquito Program breeds mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia in insectaries and releases them into communities. There they breed with wild mosquitoes. Wild females that mate with Wolbachia-infected males produce eggs that don’t hatch. Wolbachia-infected females produce offspring that are also infected. Over time, the bacteria spread throughout the population. Last year I visited the program’s largest insectary—a building in Medellín, Colombia, buzzing with thousands of mosquitoes in netted enclosures— with a group of journalists. “We're essentially vaccinating mosquitoes against giving humans disease,” said Bryan Callahan, who was director of public affairs at the time.

Continue reading.

[searsage]

SBZ -an/Robin Petshop! AU Concept

Robin is a petshop employee for a non profit petshop that houses many exotic unpopular breeds/ rehabilitate many 4546B fauna.

Problem is that no one wants the small, harmless non cool pets, the hoverfish with it's broken waterbladder, crash fish that can't explode, cuddlefish with seperation anxiety.

Nope these guys just sit around ignored. But that's okay, because they all have a safe place there.

until someone starts buying these little guys up in mass.

After finding out the species and history of the buyer.

Robin one of the employees, is one ninty-nine percent certain the alien buying their babies is using them for scientific experimentation!

And hates that no one believes her!

Thus she makes a point to attempt to thwart all of the precusors future purchases, all the while attempting to make the petshop the least appealing option to the frequently visiting alien.

This goes on with little wins and losses and eventually reaches a head when the architect unknowingly purchases

Pally her blind pet Trivalve after the poor creature made its way into one of the tanks! Robin takes this fight into her own hands.

Meanwhile Al-an a precursor once in charge of monitoring a planet's purification process, such responsibility was his alone but due to an "accident" with the vaccine deployment the architect accidentally killed off the planet's weaker fauna populations.

Big no no on his part but that's ok because he has a fool proof plan.

It's not like his superiors know what species will be missing just that…alot of them suddenly died.

But not if he fills in those gaps before they catch wind of the imbalance..

And what better place to obtain these replacements then a small stuggling petshop that won't question his intentions for said purchases.

Only issue is the VERY mean and oddly amusing employee, who he's certain attempted to thrawrt his plans on multiple occasions.

And may or may not have stowayed on his ship to his empty planet for some obscene reason.

This would be a comedy, as the cast are utter idiots and Al-an is that person who buys invasive animals from the petshop and ruins the ecosystem by releasing them into the local lake.

And Robin is 100% on 'the i should be fired long ago but the management likes me bitch, and their just as mean' list and VERY nasty about her pets, the type who will silently judge you as you pick the kitten over the adult blind cat.

Endless misunderstandings, accidental kidnapping and a ship load of fauna as pets, romance and fluff and sass. Ryley is there but only to hold the hoverfish in his hand as the zelda theme plays.

[thetruearchmagos]

The Aircraft Carriers Of The UC Civil Defence Service

Hey folks! Felt bad about not releasing any Worldbuilding content recently, wanted to do something nice to get me back into the rhythm of things. Enjoy!

Tagging @lividdreamz @athenswrites @theprissythumbelina @thatndginger @the-stray-storyteller @hessdalen-globe @caxycreations @writeblrsupport

The Warp's Rescuers

For as long as the great Warp between the 12 Worlds has been plied - and that is a longer time than modern history knows - those who have sailed its depthless and endless expenses have faced death, destruction, and simple and utter disappearence as a simple risk of the mariners trade. Even the safety of the Contours is not a complete one, and it can never truly be known just how many ships have gone down with their crews in the ages past.

In the modern day, though, the business of inter-World communication and movement is a much safer one for all involved. Developments in the ships and crews themselves have certainly helped, but the creation of a truly - for the most part - international and wide reaching institution of at-sea search and rescue has saved the lives of thousands of mariners at sea. The United Commonwealth, acting primarily though its Navy and Civil Defence Service, has committed itself to this transnational endeavour with all its usual vigour, and in all its might and wealth hs provided for one capability no other state could dream of; the Rescue Carroer.

What Do You Do With A Fleet Of Spare Ships

The first trans-Warp 'Rescue Carriers' were a relatively recent development, borne out of the helpful confluenbce of two seperate events. Going into the 140s A.S., the Navy had found itself with the unprecedented luxury of having more carrier hulls than it either wanted or needed. Caught in the middle of a mass rearmament initiative on a scale not seen since the Chainbreaker War, and which would similarly find its conclusion in the 1st Great War, the Service had been inclined to retire in large numbers its previous class of 'Fleet' carrier, the Union's, in order to make room on the yards, docks, and crew and squadron rosters for the newer Valorous-class to take over. Many of the newer Union's would remain in naval service as true carriers or converted for work as amphibious vessels, but a sizeable portion of the fleet was "too old to service aircraft that weren't obsolete, too new to scrap without pissing off Parliament, too useful to consider selling to our allies, and present in too large numbers to convert". That would have left the Directorate of the Navy with quite the challenge, if an alternative and interested buyer had not made itself known.

UC-CDS Goes Inter-Global

As part of a more general bonanza towards the expansion of UC foreign policy and influence abroad, a number of schemes had been trickling in that saw the domestically minded Civil Defence Service see its purview expand well beyond Commonwealth soil. The Police Service had been in the business of overseas deployments for a century by then - and in existence for about that much longer than the CDS - but it would pose a massive challenge to the already behemoth institution to grow its reach so far. At home, CDS covered everything from the ambulance service to firefighting, and had indeed already provided assistance in a limited capacity to disaster relief operations beyond Commonwealth border. This new initiative, however, would see a far greater expansion of the CDS's resources and mandate than that, from providing full scale vaccination, medical, and firefighting services to foreign nations which lacked those services, to participating in the training of foreign recruits on UC-pattern exported equipment for their own use. It was quite a tall order, but bar one it would have been manageable.

Treaties

That 'one' was Article XXI of the Conference on Maritime Conduct. A triumph of UC statecraft, among a bevy of other treaties, Article XXI forced an absolute commitment by all signatory states to do all in their power to save a stricken vessel and its crew of any nationality or background in time of need. To meet this commitment, the rest of the government decided to dump the job onto the backs of the CDS, which had a long-running obligation to do the same for vessels nearer to UC waters as a coast guard. This would be different, however, as the treaty and the UC's chosen interpretation of its requirements meant that the CDS would need to provide coverage as much as possible to the waters of foreign states where it had never before operated as well as almost the entirety of the open oceans, and most daunting of all, the the vast and unknowable expanses of the Warp, so large that only the UC Navy itself could come close to being able to claim the ability to project assets and activity across it.

Clearly, CDS would need their help.

Old Ships Learn new Tricks

At sea SAR operations were an intensive, expensive process, and to cover the vast stretches of both the oceans pf the 12 Worlds and the surface of the Warp it was believed that only aircraft would suffice. Able to patrol vast stretches of open waves from high up and move quickly to respond to ships in need, CDS had already retained a sizeable ground-based aviation fleet larger than some state's air forces before its new mission had been shoved onto its lap. While a slight expansion of that terrestrial force could suffice to aid in near-shore overseas missions to provide maritime SAR, in the open ocean and the Warp sea based aviation would be required. Aeroships flying off the decks of CDS cutters were useful, but mostly lacked the range, endurance, or speed needed, though their ability to stay stationary while airborne at low altitudes meant they could be useful. For the issue of long-range patrolling, however, they would have to approach the masters of finding small things in a big sea with aircraft.

Smelling a potential publicity bonanza for the Service, in addition to all the actual strategic benefits behind a partnership when it came to the foreign policy of the UC, the Directorate of the Navy and Directorate-Generale of Defence quickly agreed to the proposal put forwards by the CDS. Two middle-aged Unions were first selected, the former UCS Dynamic and Dauntless who'd already had a fair decade under each of their belts. These would serve as initial training and experimentation ships, meant to allow the CDS to get some experience in the field of non-combat related carrier operations. A suite of demilitarised, and quite obsolete, aircraft was also provided to see which of them would make good patrol birds or which might fill some other useful role, such as aerial tankers or controllers. These initial tests would conclude in 145 A.S., and quite satisfactorily for all involved. It was eventually decided that a total of twenty Unions would be provided, with modification costs to be shouldered by a special Parliamentary allowance, with the ships themselves to be based in adapted civilian ports and serviced in civilian yards to take pressure off the needs of the Fleet. The first ship of this new breed, UCS Umbrage, would conclude these works in early 147, and the last, UCS Marvel, at the turn of the decade.

In addition to the ships themselves, entire new wings of the Civil Defence Academy would be created for the purposes of training the new skills these operations called for, and the Navy itself would have to impart skills and doctrines created over generations and adapted to the CDS's needs to the organisation on a wide scale. From the deadly dance of open-ocean underway refueling to the near-mystical intricacies of Warp navigation, it is a testament to their cooperation and professionalism of both organisations that in the first three years of CDS carrier operations, only fifteen major accidents occured a backdrop of near continuous and frenetic activity, none of them fatal for CDS personnel or those they were rescuing.

Good Service

The fruits of this investment, as great as it was, would quickly make themselves known. Four ships operating on the Warp's 'Layer 5' in 148 A.S., the industry preferred and officially mandated Layer for merchant commerce, would conduct an average of sixteen major missions every month each. Ranging from collisions to the wrath of an errent Warp Storm, such incidents in the past had proven easily fatal, but thanks to the timely arrival of rescue professionals guided by the flying eyes of the CDS's new carrier pilots these sailors more often than not made it out alive. Over a hundred sailors would be rescued directly by aircraft and aeroships flying from the three carriers' decks by years end, and the over two thousand saved across the Warp by the CDS and third-party ships providing assistance owed much of their survival to the crucial air provided by CDS patrol aircraft even if the carriers were not directly taking part.

Diplomatically, the knowledge that thousands of families across the 12 Worlds owed their loved-ones lives to the efforts of the United Commonwealth was quite the boon, and more broadly symbolised the UC's commitment to 'good-faith acting on the international stage' in a manner no other polity could match. The public credibility of the UC more broadly in the period was mostly on the uptick across the decade, with the exception of a few crises, and such visible policies as this were key in maintaining that credibility on the world stage.

In conclusion, it was with good reason that Foreign Commissioner Konrad Krantz, the United Commonwealth's senior diplomat across almost forty years, the architect of almost the entirety of the UC's modern insitution of statecraft, and the victor of three Great Wars, would refer to this particular piece of almost spontaneous policy as "one of the best things the Commonwealth had ever done for itself, and the rest of the 12 Worlds too I'd imagine."

[maffickingcowplants]

TOP SECRET

RESPONDING AGENT: APEX

TO: AGENT SILHOUETTE

RESPONSE TO REPORT NUMBER: SV-011

Your report, SV-011, has been reviewed with keen interest and appreciation for the significant strides made in combating the extraterrestrial flora threat in StrangerVille. The development and successful deployment of the vaccine, spearheaded by Agent Catalyst, marks a pivotal victory in our ongoing efforts to safeguard national security and public well-being.

The decision to disclose the existence of Acumen Consulting's headquarters and a summary of our agency's mission to Sergeant Alijah Crain, Corporal Jess Sigworth, and Rebekah MacDonald, while unconventional, appears to have been judiciously made under the circumstances. Your confidence in their commitment to discretion is noted and shared.

However, it is imperative to underscore the paramount importance of operational security and personal safety. The unique nature of this threat and the unprecedented measures undertaken to counter it have undoubtedly placed you in situations of considerable risk. While the exigencies of our mission often demand such risks, it is crucial to approach each phase of this operation with an unwavering commitment to caution and strategic foresight.

As you prepare for the impending confrontation with the Mother Plant, I urge you to prioritize your safety and the safety of your team above all. Our efforts, no matter how noble or necessary, cannot afford the cost of irreplaceable lives. Exercise meticulous planning, ensure all contingencies are accounted for, and do not hesitate to withdraw should the risk escalate beyond manageable parameters.

Your courage and dedication to the mission are commendable, but they must not lead to unnecessary peril. Remember, the strength of our agency lies not only in our operational capabilities but in the collective well-being and resilience of our agents.

Regarding your suggestion about Sergeant Alijah Crain, Corporal Jess Sigworth, and Rebekah MacDonald, I concur with your assessment. Their firsthand experience with the phenomena, combined with their demonstrated commitment to resolving the crisis, makes them valuable potential assets to our organization. I recommend initiating a discreet evaluation process to assess their suitability for acquisition into the agency. Their insights and skills could prove invaluable in our ongoing and future operations.

I wish you and your team the best of luck in the coming confrontation. May your efforts bring about the swift and safe neutralization of the threat, safeguarding StrangerVille and its inhabitants from further harm.

In Darkness, We Prevail.

END OF RESPONSE

Posts about Bella: « PREVIOUS / BEGINNING / NEXT »

Posts about Operation Mother's Influence: « PREVIOUS / BEGINNING / NEXT »

[master-john-uk]

This article is not easy reading... but the headline sums it up. (And this is a good thing.)

Bovine Tuberculosis can literally kill a farm. If TB was detected in one of our Ladies, it is likely that all 368 of our dairy herd would have to be executed... I mean, put to sleep!

Badgers have been blamed for spreading Bovine TB. To combat this, in 2013 an experimental badger culling scheme was introduced into to the UK, which has since been expanded. This has proved to be both expensive, and often inefficient in achieving it's aim.

Vaccines are the right way forward, but a lot more research needs to be done before a high level protection can be achieved.

On a lighter note... When I visited the Home Office just over a week ago, there was a small group of protestors calling for an end to badger culling, and more investment in vaccination projects.

They had placed a number of small "cuddly toy" badgers in the road. I could not resist the temptation to walk over and pick one of these badgers up. After dusting the toy off I asked if I could take it home as... "My new calves need something to play football with!"

[all-eyes-lead-to-the-truth]

All Eyes Lead to the Truth | Teliko (4x03)

He was a puzzle solver. He had been ever since he was a child. That’s how he spent his days– eyes glued to a microscope or a computer screen, finding patterns, making connections. At home he watched Wheel of Fortune, figuring out the words before the contestants had even had a chance to buy a vowel. It was what he was good at, piecing together the details and clues to answer life’s questions.  

At the FBI, Sean mostly studied blood samples, prints from work boots left at crime scenes, and broken tech that may be significant to an investigation, but sometimes… sometimes he got to do something really fun. Agent Mulder—and Agent Scully— never failed to add excitement to his days. 

There were so many computer programs and devices in the lab that went unused. Day in and day out, the team ran DNA samples, looked at strands of hair or pieces of fiber. But with his favorite agents, Sean got to play. 

There was that one time he was able to reconstruct facial structures from an airbag deployment. He’d heard of things like that in peer-reviewed studies, but he never dreamed that he would get to it himself. 

And the research! With them, it was never something simple. It was a computer chip so fragile he could barely study it. It was a complex string of numbers and letters tracking a smallpox vaccination program for reasons he couldn’t even begin to fathom. 

This was what he went to school for. 

Of course there were other perks to working on X-File cases. There were the perks of a petite stature, heels on the tile, and amazing red hair. A strong voice and a kind nature. Bright blue eyes and the hint of vanilla that filled the air when she visited the lab. 

Sean doubted Agent Scully saw him as anything more than the scientist who ran the tests she requested, but she made him feel seen. With her, he wasn’t an oddball kid who memorized the periodic table during his summer break. When she came to see him, he felt like he’d found a peer, an ally in the field that he loved. 

Today, it had been Agent Mulder who’d brought samples to the lab, but Sean knew, often to his chagrin, that he and Agent Scully were never far apart. And she was usually the one who came to pick up the reports. 

As he worked, Sean imagined himself asking Agent Scully to dinner. It would be casual, something that came up organically as they discussed his findings. It didn’t need to be fancy, maybe just the bar down the street, but she would agree with a smile. 

His heart raced, imagining the way he would ask her, how his voice would be confident and she would look relieved that he finally asked. He was so wrapped up in his own mind that he almost missed the small seed in the sample he’d been given. He’d logged asbestos, pollen, soil, and other unremarkable substances, but this one jumped out at him. 

His heart began to race for an entirely different reason. The thrill of the chase. 

“What are you?” he mumbled under his breath as he placed the pointed seed on a slide. One look and he knew he’d found it. What it was, he wasn’t sure, but he knew it was what his favorite agents were looking for. 

***

Two hours of evaluations, tests, computer searches, and finally a phone call to a botanist at UVN, and he was ready to give his findings to Agent Scully. He’d called their office when he’d completed his research, as was his typical course of action, and then he waited. He tried to focus on the bullet fragments lodged in tree bark that had been brought in earlier in the day, but he was only going through the motions. 

12-gauge shotgun. Buck shot. Quercus velutina, common in forests across Virginia. No sign of blood. Probably a hunter. 

He waited, looking to the hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of her hair. He was grateful that everyone else in the lab was buried in their work so they wouldn’t notice. 

Just when he thought maybe he wouldn’t hear from them until the next day, Agent Mulder called to say he was on his way. Sean jumped from his chair, moving to the door so he would have a clear view down the hall to the elevators. If anyone asked, he would just tell them he needed to stretch his back out after being hunched over for too long. 

As it turned out, no one asked, not even Agent Mulder, who walked towards him not five minutes later. 

“Agent Pendrell,” he said. “Thanks for turning this materials analysis around on such short notice.”

Agent Mulder patted his shoulder as he walked through the door into the lab. He was alone, no partner in sight. 

“Shouldn’t we wait for Agent Scully?” Sean asked, hoping he sounded cool and nonchalant. “Just so I won’t have to repeat myself.”

“She’s not coming.”

Sean froze in his spot. “Why not?”

“She had a date.” 

Deflated. He was absolutely deflated and he didn’t care if Agent Mulder knew it. He lumbered forward into the room, the weight of the blow pushing him down. 

“Breathe, Agent Pendrell. It’s with a dead man,” the other agent said, his hand finding Sean’s shoulders in comfort. “She’s doing an autopsy.”

Sean huffed a laugh, momentarily embarrassed until Agent Mulder got them back on track. “You said you found something?”

He had found something, and even though it wasn’t Agent Scully who’d come to get his findings, he was proud of his work. 

And who knew. Maybe next time, it would be Agent Scully who came to the lab. And maybe next time would be the time he asked her out on that date. 

Read the rest of All Eyes Lead to the Truth on Archive of Our Own!

@fridaysat9

[venomous-ragno]

hello yes bless you, bless your blog, and please don't mind me skittering into my KSK-based fic and making necessary changes after reading your incredible posts. (and obvs feel free to ignore this last bit, but just for my own curiosity! i have an OC who holds the rank of Stabsarzt, and while my german's pretty decent?? i think i still might be missing the full scope of their responsibilities. do you have any information on that? :D)

Hiya and thank you, I love hearing that!!

A/N: Hijacking my own post to add that, should you need help in terms of translations or w medical vocab in German, feel free to reach out :)

First of all: Be aware that the rank of a Stabsarzt means that your character has successfully completed their academic studies, but nothing more. They have worked less than two years as a physician within the military, and they are not in the special forces. It's your choice, but if you wanna have a character with actual worthwhile experience, I'd at least make them an Oberstabsarzt. That's the rank all doctors with a minimum of two years of working experience have.

Second of all: Successfully completing the academic studies does not automatically come with a doctorate. Your character will be a physician, but not a doctor. I do hope that you've done your research and what a medical career in Germany looks like, how many years of studying and further education your character has to go through to end up being allowed to work as a physician.

Third of all, and I cannot emphasize this enough: There are no physicians in the KSK. Anyone who wants to have a medical career within the Bundeswehr will be in the sanitation branch. To become a medic in the KSK you have to apply as a commando officer, which will come with an extensive military focused eduaction. After successfully completing the multiple year long training period, it is possible to be trained to become a medic. Becoming a member of the KSK is hard enough, and being a physician or even doctor in a special forces unit? That's two very hefty goals and honestly pretty unrealistic.

What does a military doc do?

Prescribe medication, therapeutic treatments and smaller exams (such as bloodwork)

Writing prescriptions, attestations and transferals to other physicians

Documenting reports and therapies

Medical assessments from a militaristic point of view, aka evaluating the physical capabilities of soldiers

Diagnosing illnesses and explain possible treament methods

Training medical personnel

Vaccinating soldiers

Leading a small team of medical experts and specialists

Being responsible for medical assistance on deployments

[steampunkforever]

World War Z was one of those films I never expected to be as good as it was. A solid Zombie film when it really didn’t need to be. I respect that. The books it was based off of (Zombie survival handbook and the titular World War Z) were hard to faithfully adapt, as the survival handbook was just that and did most of its worldbuilding through footnotes and brief digressions in the text, while World War Z was an anthology set up as an oral history with no real through line to connect the different perspectives of the apocalypse. For this reason I forgive the liberties the film takes to tell the story.

As a movie that came out in 2013 (great year for A-10 Thunderbolts in film), its an interesting prediction of how we’d handle a pandemic. Among a few things it got right were the Israeli and North Korean responses to a global pandemic, as well as the quick spread and general meltdown of North America as the government overstepped its legal bounds to try and stop the spread.

Another thing the movie got right was the fact that vaccine technology and scientific capability would find a cure to the disease basically within a year of it becoming a major threat. Obviously it’s a film about zombies and not a respiratory ailment but the fact is that once you understand the weakness of the disease, human technology has reached the point where mitigation is rapidly deployable.

The film itself was pretty decent. It fell into the post-Taken/Bourne trap of shaky action cams and bleak realistic lightning, but held enough interesting visuals that I wasn’t overall bored by the cinematography. The score was overall unremarkable, save for some Muse tracks (including a Muse Dubstep end credits song?) and the performances were solid but nobody stuck out other than Brad Pitt’s beard (one of his better looks in my opinion).

I predict that in the wave of Zombie films that preceded the dead-eyed wave of superhero movies that currently dominate theaters and streaming platforms, World War Z will end up sticking out as one of the classics. For a minute there apocalypse movies were everywhere but in terms of quality this one stuck out (alongside Mad Max and the Book of Eli, though definitely not as ambitious) as one of the better ones, with enough ambition to provide engaging set pieces and a handful of Muse songs to set it apart.

Speaking of ambitious moves, I couldn’t believe this until I saw it: promptly after discovering the cure to Zombies, Brad Pitt stops on his way to deliver it and cracks open a cold, refreshing Pepsi. Unmatched tonal shift. I suggest you watch the movie just for this sequence.

[thepedanticbohemian]

What weird or unexplainable thing has happened in your real life that inspired your writing?

When I did my internship as a death investigator, I had a case of a young man, in the CJ class behind mine, who died in his sleep. He was buried with no known case of death.

When I read a new toxicology report, he had to be exhumed. I was fresh out of an advanced microbiology class. When I saw a bacterium named Clostridium perfringens in a new test of his cardiac blood, I knew this unfortunate and promising young man died of acute bacterial endocarditis. The body was exhumed and an autopsy was done. The pathologist confirmed my finding.

This kid's heart valves were eaten away by the toxic bacterium. It came from tainted vaccines prior to his deployment to Iraq in Gulf War One. He was twenty-three.

It inspired one of my manuscripts, BY HIGHER AUTHORITY; a military thriller about a Navy pathologist who sees the connections between multiple sudden-death cases of active-duty personnel.

[purgetrooperfox]

stylus-pushing and other workplace hazards

five times Nocte took care of the Corries, and one time did the same for him

rating: M

pairings: N/A

characters: Sergeant Hound, Clone Medic Nocte, Clone Veterinarian Bo, background clone characters

chapter tags & warnings: 5+1 things, chapter 1 of 6, whump, animal attack, dog bite, blood and injury, somewhat graphic depiction of injury, unbeta'd

1: Hound | 2: Thire ->

In a stroke of cosmic irony, Hound is abysmal at training and wrangling massiffs.

There’s some fundamental disconnect between him and Grizzer that can only stem from some dysfunctional relationship in a past life. To make it worse, he’s one of very few troopers who got a shot at a career they actually care about. He’s always wanted to work with animals, ever since their days as cadets on Kamino. Only someone thoroughly committed would stick with a voluntary program that included training and riding feral aiwhas - which, notably, live primarily underwater - in the neverending storms beyond Tipoca’s walls. Every cadet in the animal handling unit wound up in medical for pneumonia or parasites or near-drowning on multiple occasions.

That’s how Nocte first met Hound, back when they went by 1222 and 3903. Nocte was on the medical track and Hound was blue in the face because his aiwha decided to go for a dive with him on its back. A dozen more similar instances went down before mutual exasperation morphed into begrudging companionship into tight friendship.

Nocte can’t claim to understand what drew Hound to his specialization, but he respects it.

Well. He does understand it, in a roundabout way. It was similar for him before deployment. There was never any question in his mind - he was going to be a medic. Label it a calling or programming, maybe they're the same thing in the end, but he always knew.

There’s something remarkable about watching Hound bang his head against the wall day-in and day-out in pursuit of his dream. He won’t accept reassignment, no matter how many times Fox offers, or Grizzer scratches him hard enough that he needs stitches, or a Senator accuses him of lacking control over his beasts. The line that Nocte draws and Hound completely ignores is at the point of extreme physical injury from said beasts.

It’s not as frequent an occurrence anymore but back in the early days, Nocte swore he got called down to Animal Handling every other day. Hound’s fingers have to be more scar tissue than anything else by now. Truly, it’s a wonder he hasn’t lost any of them to snapping jaws.

Slumped over his desk with his head in his hands, staring down at a datapad detailing the new shinies’ medical history, Nocte realizes that he’s probably jinxed both Hound and himself by daring to consider that possibility. Their luck is poor enough without tempting fate.

He’s all but forgotten that particular train of thought when one of Hound’s troopers crashes into the medbay and nearly trips over a desk in their haste, visibly shaken.

“What happened?”

“It’s Hound,” they pant, doubled over with their hands on their knees. “Grizzer got him - bit him - and it’s bad. We had to pry his mouth open to get him off his leg– I don’t think Hound can walk.”

Nocte shuts his eyes for a beat then blows out a breath and stands. “I’ll need Grizzer’s vaccination record,” he says as he throws an assortment of hypos into a bag. It’s best to cover all the bases, just in case. “If he’s not up to date on his shots, I need to know by the time we get down there.” Disinfectant, bacta, stitches, gauze, painkiller, antibiotic… He glances up at the trooper still staring at him blankly. “Let’s go, vod, are you coming?”

“Do I have to?” their voice wobbles.

Nocte stamps down the urge to fist his hands in his own hair and yank. This kid is clearly affected by what they saw and he’s better than losing his temper when there’s work to be done. It’s not their fault this happened, or that it got to them like this.

“Hey, you can stay here, okay?” he says, getting a small, jerky nod. “I’ll comm the vet. It's Bo, right? You just try to relax. Take a cot and someone will come sit with you. Is that alright?”

“Yeah,” their voice doesn’t break, but it’s a close thing. Scanning their face quickly, Nocte realizes that this is one of the new shinies. They seem to get younger with every batch.

“It’ll be okay, alright? Hound’s made of tough, stubborn stuff. I’d bet anything that he’ll have Grizzer wrapped around his finger before the year’s out.” Still staring into middle distance, they just nod again.

Kriff it all. Nocte wraps a shock blanket around them and puts a comm through to his next ranked officer. “Buzz, I need you in medbay three until I get back from A.H.. I’ve got a shiny in shock, they saw Hound take a nasty bite.”

“There in five,” Buzz says, straight to the point, and cuts the call.

“Someone’s coming, kid. I have to go check on Hound, understand?”

“Yeah,” they rasp with a shudder that makes Nocte feel inordinately guilty. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

The hell they are. Unfortunately, there’s no real time to argue.

He comms the vet while he jogs through the halls and nearly physically runs into Buzz, which at least means that shiny won’t be alone for long. Bo's a surly sort, but he's good at what he does and his records are almost meticulous enough to counterbalance Hound’s.

"CT-4080," comes across the line as soon as it connects.

"Bo, it's Nocte. I need Grizzer’s vax history."

"Shit," Bo says. Nocte's inclined to agree. "He should be up to date, but I'll double check."

The change in temperature as he shuffles down the stairs is tangible. Animal Handling is a level below the rest of the Guard headquarters and there's so little cross-traffic between floors that it almost qualifies as a separate facility. They deliberately keep it cold, something about massiffs' body temperature regulation.

"You still there?" Bo asks after a short pause.

"Yeah."

"Grizzer's got all of his shots. Who'd he bite?"

He scoffs quietly. "Who do you think?"

"Well, it was probably inevitable. Anything I can do?"

"I've got it," Nocte assures him, "thanks though."

"Sure. Good luck."

The call drops just before Nocte punches in the override code to access the tightly locked massiff training room. With Grizzer fully vaxxed and significant disease transmission off the table, infection should be the greatest risk. He mentally runs back through the supplies in his bag, trying to predict what he’ll be able to do before hauling Hound upstairs for a full evaluation, while the door slides open with a loud protest.

His assessment is proven wrong when he finally lays eyes on the scene.

Hound is laid out on his back, grey in the face, jaw clenched, eyes screwed shut. His left leg has been stripped of armor from his hip down, exposing the tattered remnants of his undersuit. One of his troops is knelt between his legs with his ankle propped on his shoulder, doing his best to elevate the injury. There’s a makeshift tourniquet cinched around his thigh, just above his knee to slow flow of blood from his calf.

Only when Nocte gets closer and drops down at Hound’s side can he make out more of the damage through the mess of bodily fluids and remnants of fabric. A small pool of blood is slowly growing under his hips. Grizzer must have gotten him from behind, but his skin is torn nearly to the ridge of his shin.

“Hey, Sarge,” he murmurs to Hound, trying not to startle him. Once he gets a forced nod, he turns to the other ashen-faced trooper. “How’re we doing? How long has he been bleeding?”

“Ten minutes, maybe a little longer.”

“And you had to force Grizzer off him?”

“We thought he was going to– we didn’t know what to do, Grizzer wouldn’t let go of him.”

There’s not much else they realistically could’ve done. Grizz is a uniquely difficult combination of ornery and strong. He can’t see yet, but there’s probably torn muscle.

“Switch places with me,” he says and shifts to take Hound’s ankle. “Hold his hand, talk to him, distract him if you can. I’m going to try to get a look at the bite and it’s not going to feel good.”

The trooper nods sharply and hands off the job of elevating Hound’s leg, then takes his hand in both of his own.

Once Nocte can see the actual wound, it’s immediately clear that surgery will be necessary. Hound’s entire calf is already discolored with dark purple bruising. Grizzer managed to rip away from the initial bite, leaving deep, jagged-edged tears. He can’t see bone, but gently prodding around the site shifts the skin enough that muscle and fat are visible.

Sometimes forewarning only makes things worse, so Nocte silently apologizes and tilts Hound’s leg until it’s perpendicular with the floor and upends disinfectant over the bite.

And Hound chokes on his breath. His entire body jerks, trying to get away from the fire burning away dirt and cloth and bacteria. Then he screams - hoarse and agonized and trapped behind his teeth.

It’s all Nocte can do to swallow a swell of empathetic guilt. He stabs an antibiotic hypo into Hound’s thigh, then a painkiller, then carefully lowers his leg. Hound tries and fails to strangle a sob as fresh tears mingle with the sheen of sweat on his face, twisted with redoubled pain. His breath comes in short, sharp gasps.

He’ll probably pass out before long.

“We have to operate,” Nocte tells the trooper kneeling beside Hound’s shoulder, who looks up at him with wide eyes. Somewhat incredulous, he has to wonder how there are so many goddamn shinies hiding out in Animal Handling. “Can you carry him?”

“I don’t think so,” he squeaks, “not on my own.”

For the second time, Nocte narrowly manages not to grimace.

“Okay, go up to the medbay and tell someone that I need an operating room prepped. Now."

At least the kid’s quick to scramble to his feet and take off at a near-sprint.

Nocte blows out a breath. Hound did end up passed out, which is a small mercy, because this would be horribly unpleasant for him otherwise. Careful as he can be not to jostle his bad leg, Nocte hauls him up over his shoulder, wobbles slightly, and makes for the medbay.

In the end, there’s really only so much that can be done for animal bites. Nocte could cut away blood-soaked fabric and dead skin, disinfect what he can, stab him with more antibiotics, check for fractures, and stitch some of the more severe punctures. Beyond that, they would just have to monitor for signs of infection. They only had enough bacta for one infusion, which isn’t ideal, but is what it is.

Hours later, a rattling crash snaps Nocte awake with a jolt. He cracks his eyes open and squints at the screen of his computer for a long moment, contemplating how exactly he got to this point, asleep at his desk instead of in his bunk for the third time this week. For all that he gets on the commanders’ asses about the importance of proper rest if they want to be functional, he has to admit to himself that he’s no better.

There’s always some reason or another to shelf personal health for the sake of the job. Sometimes, it’s an influx of injured brothers after the war makes its way all the way to the Core, or after a team gets sent on an off-world assignment, or when local gang activity spikes. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a virus tearing through the Guard. Tonight, it’s a veritable mountain of documentation that’s due by the end of the week.

When he drags himself out of his office, Hound is sitting bolt upright in bed and trying to rip the saline drip out of his arm. It’s fortunate that there aren’t many other patients in this bay, or they would all be up and probably doing the same as Hound.

“Watch it,” Nocte says and pushes him back down onto his pillows. “How are you feeling? That was a nasty bite.”

Hound grimaces, but he doesn’t try to sit back up. “It was Grizzer, the big bastard. He just doesn’t know his own strength.”

It’s clearly more than that, but this isn’t the time or place to argue about it. “How’s your pain?”

“Painful.”

Nocte contemplates walking away. “Cute. I think we got a bacta treatment done early enough to prevent any nerve damage, but you’ll have some scarring. Your next few shifts are covered so no need to worry about that. Now, one to ten, how’s your pain? Do you need a painkiller?”

Under the blanket, Hound flexes his calf like an utter fool and flinches like he’s surprised that it hurts. “Eight when I move it, four otherwise. I don’t need any more drugs.”

For all that he’s stubborn and exhausting, Hound isn’t one to over- or under-exaggerate; he’s honest almost to a fault about nearly everything, including his health. It's a refreshing contrast to their less transparent siblings.

Nocte heaves a sigh and folds into the seat at his bedside. “Something’s gotta give with these mutts, vod.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll figure something out. Grizzer’s stubborn, he just needs a different approach than the others.” There’s pained resignation etched into his face.

“Sounds like someone else I know,” Nocte says, just to provoke a reaction.

“Ass.” He groans dramatically. “The crew will tear me a new one for this.”

Nocte shrugs. That’s probably true.

“Ass,” Hound reiterates, then narrows his eyes in an alarming imitation of Fox’s You’re-On-Thin-Ice expression. “How long have you been here? Shouldn’t there have been a shift change?”

Hells.

“Err.”

That’s the wrong answer. Hound groans just this side of too loudly. “Come on, I’ll get brownie points if I make you sleep. Come on.” He shuffles until there’s about half the space required to fit another grown man on his cot.

“I have datawork to finish,” Nocte whines. He doesn’t mean to whine, but he is tired and it’s a tempting offer, but he shouldn’t.

“Nocte. For me.”

“I can’t.”

He can’t.

“Please?”

The Guard should figure out a way to weaponize Hound’s blasted tooka eyes. Not even Dooku would be able to resist.

Nocte groans dramatically and goes about stacking his armor on the floor beside the cot, ignoring Hound’s victorious smirk. It’s a tight fit for the two of them, but they get situated with Nocte wrapped around Hound’s back and their legs tangled together, which is almost certainly what the bastard wanted all along. The position draws memories of Kamino back to his mind – long nights spent cramped into too-small bunks to weather violent storms. It seems fitting.

[didanawisgi]

mRNA Vaccines: Why Is the Biology of Retroposition Ignored?

Abstract

The major advantage of mRNA vaccines over more conventional approaches is their potential for rapid development and large-scale deployment in pandemic situations. In the current COVID-19 crisis, two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have been conditionally approved and broadly applied, while others are still in clinical trials. However, there is no previous experience with the use of mRNA vaccines on a large scale in the general population. This warrants a careful evaluation of mRNA vaccine safety properties by considering all available knowledge about mRNA molecular biology and evolution. Here, I discuss the pervasive claim that mRNA-based vaccines cannot alter genomes. Surprisingly, this notion is widely stated in the mRNA vaccine literature but never supported by referencing any primary scientific papers that would specifically address this question. This discrepancy becomes even more puzzling if one considers previous work on the molecular and evolutionary aspects of retroposition in murine and human populations that clearly documents the frequent integration of mRNA molecules into genomes, including clinical contexts. By performing basic comparisons, I show that the sequence features of mRNA vaccines meet all known requirements for retroposition using L1 elements—the most abundant autonomously active retrotransposons in the human genome. In fact, many factors associated with mRNA vaccines increase the possibility of their L1-mediated retroposition. I conclude that is unfounded to a priori assume that mRNA-based therapeutics do not impact genomes and that the route to genome integration of vaccine mRNAs via endogenous L1 retroelements is easily conceivable. This implies that we urgently need experimental studies that would rigorously test for the potential retroposition of vaccine mRNAs. At present, the insertional mutagenesis safety of mRNA-based vaccines should be considered unresolved.