I can’t believe it’s come to this: The head of the president’s #COVID19 task force, @Mike_Pence, has an outbreak in his inner circle. As an emergency physician, I can tell you this: The Vice President is putting many lives at risk & must quarantine right away. Here’s why: (1/8)
As doctors we routinely tell our patients and their family members that if they are a close contact of an individual who tests + for #COVID19, they must quarantine for 14 days. We’ve learned that members of @vp Pence’s staff have tested +, yet he’s on the campaign trail. (2/8)
.@CDCgov guidelines are clear, and Pence is in direct violation. He’s not endangering himself, but is endangering anyone with whom he comes into contact. He rarely wears a mask in public, and he could become a vector and #superspreader of @SARSCov2 without showing symptoms. (3/8)
Remember when @realDonaldTrump was sick with #COVID19? @Mike_Pence maintained his public schedule because we were told that he did not have “close contact” with Trump in the days preceding his positive test. Now they admit he was in close contact with his infected staff. (4/8)
We’re told that “per CDC guidelines” as an “essential worker,” @VP does not need to maintain quarantine. But in today’s world, key functions of the Vice Presidency can be safely performed while taking precautions. And the VP’s political rallies are anything but essential. (5/8)
It’s bad enough that during a massive nationwide increase in #COVID19 cases, Pence and Trump are traipsing about the country hosting #superspreader events with thousands packed together without masks. It appears that Pence now wants to be an actual *human* SuperSpreader. (6/8)
While 1000 Americans a day are dying from #COVID19, and hospitals across rural America are bursting at the seams, Trump & Pence are pouring fuel on the raging flames of the #pandemic, and continuing the dissemination of disinformation refuting science. (7/8)
They mock mask wearing, flout restrictions on large gatherings, and attack doctors doing our best to clean up after the mess they’ve created.
And now with Pence defying the CDC & continuing his #COVID tour, he’s creating even more of a mess that we’ll have to clean up. (/END.)
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As a doctor who cares for #COVID19 patients the idea #HerdImmunity through infection is alarming. It's been rejected by the head of the NIH as "fringe," but is being embraced by the White House and @realDonaldTrump. Just what is herd immunity? 1/XX nytimes.com/live/2020/10/1…
Herd Immunity is an epidemiological phenomenon achieved when enough of a healthy population is immune through vaccination so that an infectious organism can no longer spread in a population. 2/XX
So what is enough of a population? For COVID19 most experts think around 70% of the population would need to be immune to achieve herd immunity. The range may be 40% to 90%, but it is likely somewhere in between. Currently 10-20% of the US has likely been infected. 3/XX
As a doctor, it's beyond bizarre to see a potential #SCOTUS justice say she'll make decisions about healthcare (eg, denying it to millions) based on #Originalism-what she thinks people in the 1700s would have intended. How different was medicine back then? Read on... (1/11)
In the 18th century, barber-surgeons were still doing blood letting, a common (deadly) practice that gave rise to the barber pole with red & white stripes representing bandages & blood. It'd be 11 yrs before surgeons would separate from barbers & perform medical procedures (2/11)
The 1st vaccine wasn't developed until 1799 (smallpox). Does Judge Barrett support #Medicaid covering the routine immunization of kids against deadly diseases? Would she oppose @realDonaldTrump providing a coronavirus vaccine to us, even tho the founders would be confused? (3/11)
As an ER doc who admitted many new #COVID19 patients on my shift yesterday, the idea that @realdonaldtrump left the hospital early is disturbing & alarming. He's not only putting himself in serious harm, he could kill many others. Here's how: (1/5)
The president wants his fans to think the virus is no big deal. Well, 1 out of 10 COVID patients in his age range die of it. If people his age listen to him & don't take it seriously, that's a huge number who will get the virus. And a huge chunk of them will die of it. (2/5)
Keep in mind, the president's case was severe enough that he was treated with some very serious therapies. His oxygen levels sank to alarming levels. His fever shot up. There's a chance he's setting his own recovery back. At minimum, he's modeling very dangerous behavior. (3/5)
I know we're all now immune to reports of the White House mishandling Americans' health - but this story👇 about them meddling with @CDCgov to alter their weekly reports is an OUTRAGE & will make the job of doctors like me much harder. Here's why... (1/12) washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Everyday in my practice as an emergency physician I rely upon updated studies of various tests & therapies, so that I can best serve my patients. It's called evidence-based medicine & it means relying on rigorous data. Stated simply, patients depend upon it to stay alive. (2/12)
A political aide reportedly applied pressure to tamper with something called the MMWR (Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report), a digest in epidemiology. This journal has been a critical piece of communication about emerging & established diseases in the U.S. for 90 yrs. (3/12)
As a doctor, I fear this isn't getting enough attention: New presidential advisor Scott Atlas backs a very dangerous plan to have us all get #COVID19 so we achieve "herd immunity."👇 This could *kill* hundreds of thousands of Americans. Here's how: (1/11)
First off, who is this Scott Atlas that now advises the president on #COVID19, instead of people like Dr. Fauci? He's a right-wing think tank guy who hasn't treated patients in years. Or as doctor @kenjeong artifully puts it: (2/11)
Now to Atlas's dangerous idea for #COVID19: "Herd immunity" occurs when enough people have immunity to a disease so the infectious agent can't find a new host & it eventually dies out. A minimum of 43% (some say 70%) of Americans would need to be infected to achieve this. (3/11)
As a doctor, I yearn for us to have effective therapies for #COVID19. However, @realdonaldtrump's rushed "Emergency Use Authorization" for convalescent plasma (an unproven treatment) may actually *harm* our ability to fight the virus. That's right - harm it. Here's why: (1/12)
When someone recovers from #COVID19, their blood will have antibodies that may help others currently infected. By transferring these antibodies via plasma, immunity could (in theory) be passed to the patient to speed recovery & save lives. But we must *study* this theory. (2/12)
Before the president's "Emergency Use Authorization," patients could get this plasma in studies & through an FDA program that made the treatment available to patients if a study was not available. Over 70,000 patients received it & data was collected from each of them. (3/12)