FOCUS ON AIRBORNE, *not* surfaces. Scientists increasingly say that there is little to no evidence that contaminated surfaces can spread the virus. Health officials are being urged to focus instead on improving ventilation and filtration of indoor air. nytimes.com/2020/11/18/wor…
2) “A lot of time, energy and money is being wasted on surface disinfection and, more importantly, diverting attention and resources away from preventing airborne transmission”
3) “People are removing masks for lunch or when they get back to their cubicle because they assume their cubicle is their private space... But remember: The air you’re breathing in is basically communal.”
6) How is aerosol different from large droplets? Aerosol stays in the air. Typical air exchange every 20 min to 4 hrs, depending on ventilation. #COVID19
7) Mask and airborne compilation science summary video
8) VENTILATION is key. Both ventilation and masks needed to reduce risk indoors. But most buildings not ventilated well enough.
9) Key is ventilation. Japan assumed it was airborne from the very beginning. Hence their mask culture and focus on air flow. Here is how to best ventilate with just doors and windows. #COVID19
10) again, who do we have to thank for alerting Fauci on airborne? Kim Prather. Without her, we might not even have airborne guidance yet.
📍Reinfection worry re-emerging—another documented reinfection case - this time of a 21 year old women in South Korea. There are now officially 26 confirmed reinfections and 1 death, and 572 suspected reinfections of #COVID19. Infection is rare but not blue moon rate it seems.
3) notably, it was two different virus strains. “The spike protein D614G substitution that defines the clade “G” emerged in reinfection, while mutations that characterize the clade “V” (ie, nsp6 L37F and ORF3a G251V) were present at initial infection.” academic.oup.com/cid/advance-ar…
BREAKING—FDA has granted emergency use authorization for @Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody cocktail REGEN-COV2 (Casirivimab and imdevimab), the same drug given to Trump when he was infected with #COVID19. Only for mild/moderate cases—not hospitalized. 🧵 fda.gov/news-events/pr…
2) There are a lot of rules and FDA stipulations for REGEN-COV2 cocktail use though— cannot be used if patient on oxygen (Trump was) or hospitalized. Children must be 12 or old and weigh 40 kg or more.
3) And it’s only for those mild/moderate with “high risk of progressing to severe #COVID19”—and thus need to be defined carefully what constitutes high risk of progressing:
📍NEW—Texas Army National Guard has just arrived in El Paso—they have been assigned the grim work of dealing with the overflow of deceased bodies now piled up in 10 refrigerated mobile morgues. It is hard work—previously county jail inmates. #COVID19
⚠️Crap crap—El Paso morgue crisis escalated fast. First it was jail inmates moving deceased bodies for $2/hour, then $27/hour job posting, and now Texas National Guard summoned up to help at El Paso’s overflowing morgue.
3) All the while, TX Senator Ted Cruz called Senator Brown a "complete ass" for asking a maskless Dan Sullivan (R) to wear his mask in the Senate. Since then, 87-year-old Chuck Grassley (R) & Rick Scott (R) have both tested positive for #COVID19 & El Paso having morgue crisis.
📍DEVASTATING ANIMATION—Containment measures 🆚 #COVID19 case surges and hospitalizations 🏥 by state.
Hospitals are now almost full nationwide and ICU beds will soon run out. Please don’t do anything to risk spreading the virus over the holidays. Please stay safe everyone. 🙏