Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #COVIDVariant

Most recents (24)

Lots of chatter in my feed & my DMs this AM about Paxlovid & “rebound.” Let’s be mindful of the diff ways this term is getting used & interpreted, #MedTwitter. Some are referring to return of symptoms after feeling better, others to triggering more severe symptoms… /1
Others are using “rebound” to mean going from rapid test neg (not contagious) back to positive (contagious) again; still others are using it to mean increased short-term risk of new infection w/ same #Covidvariant. People are suggesting alt dosing, duration. Stop, stop, stop. /2
Learn from #pandemic yr 1&2. This conversation has gotten way ahead of the data. We risk inadvertent #publichealth harm from the mis/dis-info machinery if we speak/act imprecisely here, esp without data. Next tweet has an article w/ a good summary of what we do & don’t know. /3
Read 4 tweets
Well, it was fun while it lasted. And remember that official case counts are just the tip of the iceberg. Most people are being diagnosed via rapid testing at home & never appear in these totals at all. If you aren’t #Boosted, now’s the time. #MaskUp #COVID19
Let me add that my major reason for concern at this point is less about deaths in the short-term. Though we continue to lose a couple thousand Americans per wk to #COVID19, & it wasn’t mild for any of them, deaths are much lower than they’ve been in a long time. /2
I’m worried about the people we are now seeing with persistent cognitive impairment (like early dementia kind of symptoms), given that we now know #COVID19 can shrink the brain even in otherwise “mild” cases. forbes.com/sites/williamh…
Read 9 tweets
🧵 I’m not sure what I’m about to say has been made clear to ppl w/o a science or #MedTwitter background. It may be a genuine source of confusion (ie good faith questions), so here goes. Many are saying “If #Omicron makes a given person less sick (which appears to be true)…” /1
“Shouldn’t we just go ahead & get it over with? You know, masks off & almost everyone gets infected & then we’ll be done with it?” I get why someone might think or ask that. It makes sense. But it’s not the right thing to do, & here’s why. /2
There are the things you have prob heard before: even a tiny % of infected ppl dying is a lot of dead if most of the 🇺🇸 (or the 🌍 ) gets #Omicron. And there are overwhelmed hospitals, which cause deaths for other reasons. But this 🧵 isn’t about any of that. /3
Read 23 tweets
From direct comms to #Maryland physicians:

🆘 State just set record for new daily cases
🆘 Hospitalizations ⬆️ >180% in month since #Omicron identified by WHO as a #covidvariant of concern
🆘 8.8% of unvaccinated #Maryland adults account for >75% of #COVID19 hospitalizations
2/4 Quit scrolling & listen to me. This is a big f-ing deal. If you are indoors in public without a high-quality mask, #Omicron will find you. If you are not #vaccinated, you are at high-risk to land in an overcrowded, understaffed hospital. Most Americans have no experience…
3/4 With what it means to be in a hospital where conditions are frankly unsafe, which is where we now are. I have worked in countries where there aren’t enough hospital beds & pts are on floors, where 1 dr is overseeing care of WAY too many patients. I have been that dr.
Read 5 tweets
Well, I got 2 messages before 9am from friends telling me they have #COVID19 in their households. And in the 12 mins since, I’ve just heard about 4 more. So Merry Exponential Growth #Omicron #Christmas. 🌲 😫

A quick 🧵 on what to do if that’s you since I’m typing it anyway.
1/ The first thing to say is that if someone has #COVID19 symptoms (#Omicron most common: nasal congestion/runny nose, scratchy sore throat, fever, & aches), you have to assume they have it. You may not have a test (urgent cares are still open & do) or they may still be neg.
2/ You, as the person exposed to the one with symptoms, have to assume that you both do & don’t have #Omicron too. Wait, what? 🤔

I mean: assume you could infect others now & take care to avoid exposing them, BUT don’t assume it’s too late for you to avoid getting it.
Read 24 tweets
🧵 Your risk of dying if you get #Omicron in the next few wks as opposed to a few months from now will be dramatically different. We are facing huge surges in Jan that will make it hard to get seen in an ER in a timely fashion & even harder to get admitted to a hospital.
2/ Should you be fortunate enough to find a bed, you will have drs & nurses overwhelmed with patient volume, who will have very limited time to spend w/ you. Dr to patient (& nurse to patient) ratios will be unsafe, like unthinkable in pre-#pandemic times. #Omicron #MedTwitter
3/ This alone will dramatically increase your odds of death. That’s been seen in the prior surges. With #Omicron, the # falling ill at once is 🚀 off the charts. I’m seeing attack rates of 75-100% even in fully #vaccinated (& some #boosted) gatherings & households. #MedTwitter
Read 13 tweets
📣#Preprint #COVID19 #ConvalescentPlasma
📌RCT (N=1.2K)
📌Outpatients age 18+
📌High-titer CCP (>1:320) vs placebo plasma w/in 9d of symptoms
📌Primary endpt: Hosp/death by d28
📌CCP 🏆: 54% ⬇️, driven by non-ICU hospitalizations (NNT=29); HR 0.46, p<.01
medrxiv.org/content/10.110…
2/ A few important points about this #COVID19 #convalescentplasma trial
📌High-titer CCP was much higher than that used in some other studies (median titer of >1:14,580 & 95% had >1:4820)
📌Median days to plasma: 6d
📌53 of 54 hospitalizations were in unvaxxed (#GetVaccinated!)
3/ 📌 Only 3 deaths in post-hosp period, all in controls
📌 Few #COVID19nCancer or #immunocompromised
📌 Study used #convalescent plasma mostly from Apr-Dec 2020 (ie pre-#vaccine availability)
📌Would *predict* CCP from #vaccinated to perform well vs #Omicron & #covidvariants
Read 9 tweets
🧵I have to say it: Christmas break is going to be bad. I'm watching confirmed #COVID19 cases⬆️ exponentially at our highly-#vaccinated school w/ a #MaskMandate & HEPA filters in every class. Make a plan now for how you'll handle Xmas & #quarantine when someone gets #Omicron.
2/ Think about how you can create a separate space for the person(s) infected. Remember #OmicronIsAirborne. Pick a rm w/ windows to open & its own door if your home allows. Today put a fan there that can be used to improve air exchange. Put a 🌡️, an O2 sat monitor, good masks.
3/ Go get a MERV13 filter for your HVAC at Home Depot or Lowe's or online. While here, get the stuff to build a simple, inexpensive, highly-effective Corsi-Rosenthal box. You can see what this is here. Build it now so it's ready.
Read 15 tweets
If you're confused about why #omicron is suddenly a crisis, it's exponential growth. Even if fewer people get seriously ill w/ this #covidvariant than priors (not clear, but hopeful data from #SouthAfrica), so many people abruptly ill with anything can grind the world to a halt.
With so many sick at once, you may lack school bus drivers, teachers, truck drivers to move supplies, grocery store shelf stockers, doctors & nurses, & so on. The world isn't set up for everyone to be sick simultaneously w/ #omicron. There's not enough redundancy in the system.
So even if NO ONE got seriously ill, but a large # of ppl were sick enough to be unable to work for a few days, it would be tough. Now add in that some % will get hospitalized, or die, of #Omicron. Even a small % of a very large # of cases is a big #. That's why we are worried.
Read 6 tweets
On Zoos/animal parks and the origin of Omicron.

According to @K_G_Andersen 1 of the 2 most likely hypotheses on the origin of Omicron is "reverse zoonosis, followed by a new zoonosis (human>animal>human)"

1/13 🧵

Where to look then for a place of origin?

It seems that wildlife in general don't get infected easily. When Danish mink farms experienced large outbreaks of covid
- “wildlife sampled in the vicinity of the infected farms did not test positive"
2/13

curis.ku.dk/portal/files/2…
So mink and other fur farms would be an obvious place to look. But, apparently there are so few in South Africa that WHO - who made a repport on the issue - found it "very unlikely" due to the rarity of fur farms both in SA and Africa in general.

3/13
who.int/publications-d…
Read 14 tweets
The #NuVariant FACTS:

🟢South Africa health chiefs say it is causing “mild illness”.
🔴UK health chiefs say they don’t know how dangerous it is
🟢South African health chiefs are relaxed about vaccine escape
🔴UK health chiefs say we don’t know if it gets around vaccine

Thread
🟢South Africa health chiefs say shutting borders is pointless
🔴UK health chiefs shut borders
🟢South Africa health chiefs say world reaction is “over the top”
🔴UK health chiefs say it’s a precaution

Is everyone seeing what is happening here? UK is not following science.
The vaccinated are already getting #COVID19 - so the #covidvariant isn’t any different in that scenario. And #PCR tests will increase cost of family foreign trips by hundreds of pounds. #Boris must reverse this travel nonsense now…
Read 3 tweets
@narendramodi 18.11.21 [Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s).1240/21] Hon'ble SC dismissed writ petition filed by students seeking urgent directions to conduct Class X & XII #CBSE & #ICSE Term I exams in hybrid manner. #Omicron arrived post 18.11.21. Therefore, exams should be online.
#Children should not be made to suffer because of #Omicron. Centre and States must cancel all #offline #exams forthwith. As a nation, we cannot take such a massive risk & play with the lives of our children. Online prelims are done, marks should be part of board marksheet.
Children belong to households that have either lost family members due to #Covid19 or members who suffer from #comorbidities & cannot be vaccinated. #Omicron shouldn't be taken lightly. Save our children. Protect our children. Cancel all #offline #exams immediately.
Read 52 tweets
Lots of people who don’t remotely mind terrified, freezing refugees drowning in the Channel will shortly appear here, incandescent with rage that they may be required to wear a piece of fabric over their nose & mouth for 15 mins when they’re in a shop.
#BrexitBritain #Omnicron
Someone just told me that their ancestors fought for their right not to comply with mask mandates, and now I want the earth to swallow me. 🤦🏻‍♂️ #covidiots #covidvariant #COVID19
If anyone has lost their crystal meth lab I know who stole it. #covidiots #covidvariant #Omnicron #idiocracy
Read 8 tweets
Textual en una TV de #Argentina. Dice dice el presentador: si el Ministerio de #Sanidad dice que no tiene aislado el #Sarcov2, contra qué están inoculando? 😂 #Plandemia #España #Covid #COVID19 #coronavirus
Un médico en #España dice claramente y textualmente que NO llevaría a sus hijos a vacunarse. #Plandemia #VacunateContraLaCovid #COVID19 #coronavirus #España
DEP este guerrero español , despierto y amante de la libertad que contribuyó en la causa contra la farsa de la #plandemia. #España #covid
Read 100 tweets
The #NuVariant was foreseen and preventable. Following the most far-sighted scientists, the WSWS warned that a more dangerous #covidvariant would evolve unless the virus is eliminated globally. We united many of these scientists on October 24. 1/
wsws.org/en/special/pag…
These warnings were ignored by governments and the corporate media, who have continuously lied to the public and downplayed the dangers. Their lies and cover-up will be exposed by the Global Workers’ Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic #CovidInquest 2/ wsws.org/en/articles/20…
The “new pandemic” (HT @yaneerbaryam) must be stopped now! As the 3rd year of the #Covid_19 pandemic approaches, the working class and scientists must draw the lessons of the past two years. All policies must be guided by science and the prioritization of lives over profits! 3/
Read 5 tweets
1/ THREAD - Countries with annual ivermectin treatment showing extremely low cases & deaths despite having very low vaccination rates.

IVM has been used to treat River Blindness via the African Program for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) & includes 19 countries in Africa...
2/ The APOC program started in 1995 and people were given 1 (most countries) or 2 doses of Ivermectin per year. The APOC program closed at the end of 2015 and transitioned to the Community Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI) program. In 2017 more than 145M ppl were treated.
3/ I have compared 3 sets of countries. APOC countries, the rest of Africa and the most vaccinated countries + USA, UK and Canada.

@KimIversenShow
@RWMaloneMD
@jimmy_dore
@joerogan

This first set of charts shows Cumulative Cases / Million.
Read 9 tweets
South African Health Minister Joseph Phaahla reacts to new #COVID19 travel bans: “The reaction of countries to impose travel bans are completely against the norms and standards as guided by the World Health Organisation." #B11529
Preliminary studies do suggest the #B11529 variant may be more transmissible, says South African Health Minister Joseph Phaahla. He emphasises that what scientists know about the #COVID19 variant is in its infancy. There is no evidence to suggest the variant makes you sicker.
South African Health Minister Joseph Phaahla: "All that we, did together with our scientists who made this discovery of the #B11529 variant, was to be in line with the norms and standards of the international community.”
Read 22 tweets
1/6 The figures are indeed devastating Mr Hunt & #ventilation in healthcare settings MUST be improved.

BUT you fail to comment on the INADEQUATE LEVEL of #PPE STILL worn by so many HCWs which undoubtedly resulted in many patients becoming infected as well as HCW illness & death.
2/HCWs are justified in being angry & patients have a right to be angry too.
The failings of UK Gvmt & @PHE_uk on #PPE are significant.

#OperationCygnus results ignored.

Downgrading #COVID19 from the list of HCIDs.

#VIP lane for contracts but known #PPE suppliers ignored.
3/Would you feel SAFE caring for patients w/ known or suspected #COVID19 in a FRSM😷& plastic apron?

We know that those working in A+E, acute medical units & primary care are particularly vulnerable, seeing patients when they are likely to be highly infectious.
Read 6 tweets
1/5 Dear @susannareid100 & @adilray & @gmb, millions of school children, families & teachers across the country urgently need your help.
Masks are no longer required leaving pupils & 1000s of unvaccinated/partially vaccinated adults <40 vulnerable to #COVID19 & #LongCovid.
2/ W/ case numbers of the #IndianVariant ⬆️ sharply in many parts of the UK, I’m utterly mystified that we’re allowing so many young ppl & children to be exposed to #coronavirus every day they’re in school.

We don’t know enough about this #COVIDVariant yet to be so reckless.
3/ Just like the failure to put #India on the #RedList soon enough, the decision to remove the 😷mandate from schools will certainly result in more #COVID & #LongCovid cases.
It is too early to know whether hospitalisations & deaths will rise too.
We can but hope they don’t.
Read 7 tweets
数々の海外メディアがコロナ禍でのオリンピックの危険性を指摘してきましたが、このブルームバーグの記事は海外の専門家の意見を集約した素晴らしい記事です。

「オリンピックは世界的なスーパースプレッドイベントの引き金になると専門家は懸念」

#Superspreader

bloombergquint.com/coronavirus-ou…
オリンピックが開催される7月23日には、まだ新型コロナは「世界の現実」として存在する。海外からの観戦者を排除しても、6万人以上の選手および関係者が200以上の国から東京に集結する。それぞれの国で感染率、ワクチン接種、変異株の状況も異なる。
#COVID19
#SARSCoV2
#Covidvariant
テキサス大学オースティン校の感染症研究員のSpencer Fox さんは、「オリンピックは絶対に、かなりの数の感染を引き起こす超拡散イベントになる可能性があり、人々が帰国すると国際的に広がる」と述べている。

We will take your advice seriously
Mr.Spencer Fox @FoxandtheFlu
Read 11 tweets
Mr Tice, are you aware that #COVIDisAirborne ?

Have you heard about the #B117 #covidvariant which is much more transmissible & a bit more “lethal”.

Do you realise, & accept, what will happen when classes are packed full of children again in a couple of weeks? 1/7
No children & very few staff or parents of school age children will be vaccinated by 8th March.

Do you understand what that means? Because your repeated rantings about masks are very ignorant & dangerous.

Is that your intention? 2/
Do you feel comfortable knowing that trying to stop children wearing masks at school will directly lead to more #COVID19 in pupils, teachers, parents & family members, ESPECIALLY if they are clinically vulnerable or extremely vulnerable?

Are you ok with that? 3/
Read 7 tweets
One of the most bizarre & troubling bits of the #ReopeningSchools saga is that @educationgovuk & @BorisJohnson have ignored every single plea from teachers, early years staff, pupils & their families to #MakeSchoolsSafe & wasted all the months they have had to do so. 1/14 🧵
2)They’ve turned their backs on plentiful advice from #SAGE, @IndependentSage & @NEU.
Even @CMO_England has made his reservations as clear as he can from a rather difficult position.
But they’ve put their collective fingers in their ears & metaphorically said “La La La La”!
3) @GavinWilliamson & @halfon4harlowMP CLAIM the motivation for a speedy full opening of all school & early years facilities is the WELFARE OF CHILDREN!
They repeatedly cite educational, emotional, social & psychological needs.
Read 14 tweets
And pressure for the NEXT BIG MISTAKE is building already.
MPs who fought tooth & nail to resist #lockdown /restrictions before #Christmas2020 are now actively working w/ a pressure group wanting FULL REOPENING of PRIMARY SCHOOLS WITHOUT MITIGATION for an #airborne virus. 1/5
#UsForThem have influenced Gvmt policy already, w/ dangerous consequences.
They are about to do it again, w/ the FULL BACKING of 12 MPs, some high profile ⬇️. Based on a study that was completed before the #covidvariant took hold, and in a different season no less! 2/
If #earlyyears settings remain open & primary schools fully open w/ such high disease prevalence (& more), & NO attention to #VENTILATION, class sizes, mask use.....there will be 1000s more predictable, avoidable & totally unnecessary deaths in the next few months. 3/
Read 5 tweets

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