Share this page!

Abraar Karan Profile picture
Twitter logo
14 Oct, 4 tweets, 2 min read
1/ Interesting piece by @alexismadrigal and @yayitsrob on the current debate re rapid antigen testing for #covid19 epidemic control. As w/ anything, need to ask what the alternative is-- which largely is people not getting tested at all.

theatlantic.com/health/archive…
2/ They cite one critic who believes the answer is not to increase the supply of tests but to decrease the demand for those tests by improving other prevention measures, such as masking etc

Personally, I think it takes both of those things. Rapid testing is not simple...
3/ To actually implement. The more asymptomatic screening you do, the more false positives you will get (poor positive predictive value when population prevalence is low), & you need a confirmatory follow-up for those, or else risk the system collapsing.
4/ But, I think that rapid testing still can be operationalized especially for certain types of situations.

Unfortunately, as with Remdesivir, the Abbott rapid antigen tests were sort of just dumped on states w/o any actual plan for their distribution/use.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Abraar Karan

Abraar Karan Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @AbraarKaran

Abraar Karan Profile picture
14 Oct
#TheGreatBarringtonDeclaration calls for allowing #covid19 to spread openly while “protecting” the elderly/vulnerable.

While I actually believe the authors mean well, there are multiple reasons why I believe this is a seriously problematic proposition.

THREAD:
2/
-With asymptomatic & presymptomatic spread, the virus will inevitably find its way beyond the first layer of “healthy” people, esp in crowded households & intergenerational households— & especially in our most vulnerable communities who are more likely to run this risk.
3/
-Allowing millions of cases to spread unabashedly will absolutely mean at least several thousands of cases requiring hospitalizations. And those of us who are still working on the frontlines will be the ones — once again— fighting to care for patients w/o adequate supplies.
Read 8 tweets
Abraar Karan Profile picture
14 Oct
"One of American culture’s most cherished traditions is for a mix of young & old people from different households to sit close together & share food in a poorly ventilated space without masks on for an extended period of time. It’s called Thanksgiving."

theatlantic.com/family/archive…
2/ I agree w/ the concern in this piece. The holiday season is approaching. We have all had an exhausting year.

The inclination will be for folks to want to travel & spend time with loved ones in close settings indoors.

But the virus doesn't care about how we feel.
3/ We need to maintain precautions through the rest of this year.

W/ a number of vaccines in phase 3, we could be heading into a new chapter of the epidemic soon.

But until then, we have to double down on what we know works- avoiding close indoor contact is essential.
Read 4 tweets
Abraar Karan Profile picture
14 Oct
1/ This was an excellent piece on the use of genomic sequencing to better understand #covid19 spread. One of the biggest challenges is understanding how and why spread is happening.

washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/…

cc @chriscmooney @brady_dennis @sarahkaplan48 @Harry_Stevens
2/ @RanuDhillon and I wrote about this in @washingtonpost earlier this year-- genomic sequencing could provide a lot of this information. This helps to understand if x infected y, or if x and y both were infected separately. washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/0…
3/ This has big implications.

For instance, if we found that cases in schools were largely happening from adults to children in the home, but not from children to other children in schools, it may change our calculus on school reopening.
Read 4 tweets
Abraar Karan Profile picture
10 Oct
1/ This is one of the best pieces you will read to put Trump's #covid19 infection into context.

As a physician, so much of what @edyong209 writes here resonates deeply, particularly that the language we use to describe disease is very problematic.

theatlantic.com/health/archive…
2/ "This connection between physicality and righteousness created, as its dark corollary, a link between disability and moral failing."

This is one of my favorite quotes from the piece; and it gets right at the heart of a false dichotomy that frames illness as weakness.
3/
I could go on and on-- I won't.

Read the piece.

And get your subscription to @TheAtlantic -- just $25 for the entire year for students and academics/educators.

Really strong work @edyong209
Read 5 tweets
Abraar Karan Profile picture
7 Oct
Just read Dr. Foege's full letter to @cdcdir Redfield; this will go down as a pivotal moment in the field of public health.

Read it.

@washingtonpost has the full transcript here:

context-cdn.washingtonpost.com/notes/prod/def…
2/ "I don't for one-minute relish your position but FDA or NIH cannot make a statement that changes the course of this epidemic. You and CDC could."
3/ "You don't want to be seen, in the future, as forsaking your role as servant to the public in order to become a servant to a corrupt president."
Read 8 tweets
Abraar Karan Profile picture
5 Oct
1/ Throwback to 2 key articles that @RanuDhillon @sri_srikrishna and I wrote in @HarvardBiz, the one below in May & a subsequent follow up in June.

Both were premised on needing better masks bc we had enough evidence to suggest aerosols played *a role*

hbr.org/2020/05/a-plan…
2/ While this is important in many ways, high filtrate masks are *most critical* for frontline workers who are regularly confronted with conditions in which aerosol spread can happen more easily.

hbr.org/2020/06/we-nee…
3/ You know-- the frontline workers who literally kept this economy and this country afloat on their backs while those who were more privileged could safely "stay home".

These are some of our society's most vulnerable people; and they deserve to be *protected*
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get email notifications when new thread is out from this Author!

Check out other threads from this Author!

Read all threads by @AbraarKaran