For the record: I’m nervous about such big rallies during pandemic. DC area and Maryland/Virginia have not well contained the epidemic yet. Definitely wear masks, but they are not fool proof. But I’ve incredibly torn. BLM is an important movement to support ✊🏼. Please stay safe.
2) Some people may dislike me for speaking about my concern, but I’ve always spoken truth against all odds, against the group-think of academia at times, and against the stay-silent attitudes of others. But as epidemiologists, we need to speak the reality and not sugar coat it.
3) in Jan, when I shouted about the pandemic potential of COVID, I was shouted down by many. There was huge painful pressure on my family to endure, but it was the right thing to do. What is popular is not always right. What is right is not always popular. nymag.com/intelligencer/…
4) now, Black Lives Matter is incredibly important social justice movement that I’ve supported for a long time. I’ve fought for health justice and equality for many years myself. And I’ve been a big supporter of @Kaepernick7 for years. Black voices definitely need to be heard...
5) ...and we absolutely need police reform and criminal justice reform. I’ve personally both witnessed and experienced the indignity of racism in my life as well. And that’s why I’ve focused my career on health justice. And racial inequality is a US epidemic that needs to end...
6) However, we are not in normal times. We are in the middle of the worst pandemic in over 100 years. And this epidemic has kept me up at nights until 5am or later for weeks (earlier late night 🧵 below). The US is not contained, we are at high plateau...
7) if anything, not only is US at a high plateau, but in the last few days, cases have once again begun again increasing (7 day average cases, not just one day fluke). So if anything, we could be headed for trouble again if it continues. 
8) Again, this worrying trend is real, and increasing much faster in the South and West such as Arizona and Texas which each recorded over 1000 new cases daily recently. nytimes.com/2020/06/05/wor…
9) As public health scientists, we would lose the moral high ground of science if we conveniently dismiss dangers of these high human density & high vocal shouting in these rallies, all while previously telling people you can’t see your family on their death beds or funerals...
10) Science is all about being objective right? And the objective facts are there are still risks - albeit lower given outdoors (never group protest indoors!!!). But risks still exists + lots of shouting + lots of people not wearing masks + lots of civilian-&-police “collisions”.
11) Now to my BLM brothers and sisters— I deeply feel your pain and I’m 110% in solidarity with you in your fight against racism and for police reform. We will still fight - the work continues, cause endures, hope still lives, and the dream shall never die. But we cannot trade...
12) ...trade one epidemic for another pandemic. The fight is definitely worth it; and we will fight another day. But if we were to continue with high density rallies, we might lose the moral high ground upon which our fight for George Floyd rests if we exacerbate the pandemic...
13) And if the pandemic returns — and I am 99% certain there will be a resurgence, we will have won a Pyrrhic Victory (in which someone won a bloody battle against Rome, but suffered so much casualty that he ultimately lost the war). en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_v…
14) So to fellow BLM allies, please, from one social justice ✊🏼 advocate to another, consider the steep price for our protests during this critical unstable time w/ a high COVID case plateau that we are in. Let’s continue to fight, but fight another day when COVID is contained.
