Thread by @ushamcfarling

I want to thank @edyong209 for the great shout out this morning. I have been trying to focus on marginalized communities hit hard by the pandemic and to look for stories others aren't writing. Here's a 🧵about some of this work. statnews.com/2020/11/17/how… via @statnews

I'd pretty much left journalism in 2019 due to having another job, the sudden death of my father, and a crippling house fire. I had a lot to deal with. But as the pandemic grew worse it was clear science writers were desperately needed. I was thrilled to return to @statnews.

One of my first stories was seeing what was happening on the ground in CA. Community clinic docs were among the first to see what we'd all soon learn: that minorities were being hardest hit. @MKushel @NormaJTorres and Louise McCarthy @CCala saw it coming. statnews.com/2020/04/15/fea…

When health care workers were dying, I saw so many Filipino names among the dead and wanted to find out why. The pain and anguish of these FilAms who worked ICU shifts with little or no PPE, and their pride for the care they provided, still makes me cry. statnews.com/2020/04/28/cor…

For something completely different, I looked at how the porn industry might provide a model for how workplaces could use testing to safely reopen with the help of @lancehartfetish @mikestabile @itsLotusLain @ashishkjha and @DrRobertCGallo

statnews.com/2020/05/08/por…

Not to be petty (OK, to be a little petty) if you read this story also in the NYT with ALL OF THE SAME SOURCES, they ran their story a month after mine (and didn't even credit @statnews at first) 😠😠 But I've moved on! nytimes.com/2020/06/18/wel…

I did a deep dive into this impressive @UCSF testing blitz, one of the first with reliable numbers. Amazing community partnership led by @JonJacobo and Susana Rojas to encourage testing and support those who were ill, w/ insight from @KBibbinsDomingo

statnews.com/2020/05/28/sob…

Throughout the pandemic, @UCSF has been showing the world how to get things done. (Contrast this testing program with other misleading studies--I'm looking at you @Stanford.) Also, I could not have made it this far into the pandemic without the tweet threads from @Bob_Wachter

I also looked at the difficult choices Black men must make when trying to follow health guidelines like masking. @RepKamBuckner, attorney + State Rep., was told by police he looked suspicious while shopping. He was buying flowers to plant in his yard. statnews.com/2020/06/03/whi…

I also wrote about how those with #sicklecell are trying to manage pain and racism, avoid ERs and stay alive. The isolation, worry, and fear of early death the pandemic brought us all is just normal life for those with sickle cell. statnews.com/2020/09/17/sic…

I've been honored to write about these communities and sadly, feel like I've just scratched the surface in terms of the pain and loss felt by so many. I hope I will soon be able to write about how some of these communities, and all of us, are recovering. Please stay safe.