Share this page!

Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
Twitter logo
30 Oct, 12 tweets, 7 min read
It’s 5 and like most Fridays I’m waiting for @WHO presser to start. That’s not a criticism, these are some of the busiest people on the planet these days. But to turn the wait into something productive, I’ve decided, I’ll try to answer some questions myself.
@WHO So feel free to ask questions with hashtag #waitingforWHO. And if I don’t get any questions (preferably on #covid19, journalism or the color blue), I’ll just answer my own questions. 🤷‍♂️
@WHO Really good question. I think the obvious one is leaders willing to act on evidence and then communicate clearly and consistently. Since our only weapon for now is changing our behaviour, that is a huge part of tackling this pandemic.

@WHO Wow, that’s a lot of questions in a really short time. WHO presser starting now, but will answer some more of these questions afterwards.
@WHO That is an underrated question! But since you asked I’ll let you in on a secret:
@WHO How do I keep my spirits up in these long, dark pandemic days, with Berlin grey and rainy and on the verge of the next shutdown? I watch this video of the #JerusalemaDanceChallenge every free minute I have. The music is beautiful, the joy is infectious
@WHO I also uglydance through the apartment in a vague approximation of what #fenomenosdosemba do in the video. By the end of the lockdown I should have the dance down. By the end of the year hopefully while balancing (and eating) my lunch as well.
@WHO This is one I am wondering about myself. My pessimistic side thinks that the pandemic doesn't fundamentally alter the calculation for news outlets regarding science journalism vs. say sports or politics. My inner optimist thinks people may get hooked.
@WHO It is clear to me that we need not necessarily more science journalism but more journalism that tries to explain the complexity of the world we live in maybe with focus on solutions. But let’s be honest: First order of the day is trying to get back to a shared reality.
@WHO That is a really great question, or rather a great idea! I have not seen a catchy slogan for that and I think it would be really good to have one. So if anyone has seen one or has a suggestion, do post as a reply!
@WHO My first suggestion would be:
FREE
Feel (this is a difficult time, it’s okay to feel anxious)
Reach Out (it’s easy to sink into isolation, use the phone, zoom etc to keep in touch with friends & loved ones)
Exercise
Empower (help those around you get through this, it feels good)
@WHO I have a lot of things still to do tonight so have to leave it at this, but I promise to look at the other questions, at the very latest, when I’m back #waitingforWHO.

• • •

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

Keep Current with Kai Kupferschmidt

Kai Kupferschmidt 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 @kakape

Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
30 Oct
“What’s clear is that this is not just a virus that kills people. To a significant number of people, this virus poses a range of serious long-term effects”, says @drtedros at @WHO presser on #covid19. "While people do recover, it can be slow, sometimes weeks or months…"
@DrTedros @WHO Exact numbers of #COVID19 long-haulers are not clear yet, says @drtedros. “WHO will continue to do more research to establish best standards of care to accelerate recovery and prevent such complications."
@DrTedros @WHO “For months, I went through cyclical bouts of dreadful fatigue, sweats, headaches, unable to move, mood swings, and that went on for months. And then I had another three months, completely exhausted”, says @PaulGarnerWoof, himself an infectious disease epidemiologist @LSTMnews.
Read 19 tweets
Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
12 Oct
"Around the world, we’re now seeing an increase in the number of reported cases of #COVID19, especially in Europe and the Americas”, says @drtedros at @WHO presser. "Each of the last four days has been the highest number of cases reported so far."
@DrTedros @WHO "There has been some discussion recently about the concept of reaching so called herd immunity”, says @drtedros and gives the reasons why that is a bad idea:
1. immunity unclear
2. vast majority of people still susceptible
3. long term health impacts still unclear
@DrTedros @WHO “Allowing a dangerous virus that we don't fully understand to run free is simply unethical”, says @drtedros. "It's not an option."
Read 15 tweets
Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
4 Oct
So Trump is now also receiving dexamethasone. @WHO guidelines very clear that it is to be used only “in patients with severe and critical #COVID19”. Guidelines incl. “conditional recommendation not to use corticosteroid therapy in patients with non-severe #COVID19”.
Idea is not to reduce the immune system’s ability to fight the virus. But in later stages of severe disease, it’s the immune system itself that is creating most of the damage so sensible to dampen it down. Wondering if idea is that infused antibodies change that equation?
Any thoughts? @BhadeliaMD @MartinLandray
Read 8 tweets
Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
2 Oct
"We mourn the loss of so many”, says @DrTedros at #covid19 @WHO presser. "The world is still grappling with the #COVID19 pandemic. Every week we’re adding approximately two million cases."
@DrTedros @WHO "It's never too late to turn the tide”, says @drtedros.
"In Europe, countries have done it. In Asia, countries have done it. In the Pacific, countries have done it. In the Middle East, countries have done it. In Africa, many countries have done it. In the Americas..."
@DrTedros @WHO "This is a critical moment in the #COVID19 outbreak response”, says @drtedros.
"We urge every single leader to strengthen their response, put targeted measures in place that we know can suppress the spread, ensure that health systems and workers are protected, and saves lives."
Read 9 tweets
Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
29 Sep
One million people dead from #covid19.
Imagine losing a mother, a father, a sister, a brother. Multiply that loss, that pain by a thousand then multiply that again by a thousand. That’s what we are looking at.
What a sad day.
And as I have written before we are on track for 1,500,000 deaths by the end of the year.
Last week more than 2 million cases and more than 36,000 deaths were reported to @WHO, similar to the week before. #covid19 is continuing to cause disease and death at a staggering rate. Image
@WHO "The Eastern Mediterranean Region showed the greatest increase (9%) in cases in the past week, while the European Region reported a substantial rise in deaths, with a 9% increase compared to the previous week.” Image
Read 4 tweets
Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
28 Sep
“Last week we reached an important milestone in which, @WHO issued the first Emergency Use Listing for a quality antigen based rapid diagnostic test, and we expect other rapid tests to follow. ”, says @DrTedros at #covid19 presser.
@WHO @DrTedros Good news: 120 million of these tests will be made available to low- and middle-income countries, to "enable the expansion of testing, particularly in hard to reach areas that do not have lab facilities or enough trained health workers to carry out PCR tests”, says @DrTedros.
@WHO @DrTedros These tests are cheaper ("priced at a maximum of 5 US dollars per unit”) and faster (15-30 minutes) than PCR, says @DrTedros. "The quicker #COVID19 can be diagnosed, the quicker action can be taken to treat and isolate those with a virus and trace their contacts."
Read 10 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 @kakape