Yaneer Bar-Yam Profile picture
Dec 13, 2020 20 tweets 5 min read Read on X
I have been working on pandemic outbreaks for 15 years.

There is a misunderstanding of the difference between the response in much of the West, versus successful countries (including New Zealand and Australia).

Summarizing:

1.Reactive versus proactive and goal oriented.

1/-
2.Mitigation (slowing transmission) versus elimination (stopping transmission)

3.Gradually responding to increasing levels of infection by imposing greater restrictions which enables the infection rate to grow (red zone strategy), …

2/
versus starting with high restrictions to arrest transmission and relaxing restrictions only when the number of new cases is so low that contact tracing or localized short term action can stop community transmission (green zone strategy, including localized "fire fighting").

3/
4.Trying to keep economic activity and travel as open as possible but perpetuating the economic harm and imposing yoyo restrictions, versus making an initial sacrifice of economic activity and travel in order to benefit from the rapid restoration of normal economic activity.

4/
5.Focusing attention on few individuals resistant to social action because of shortsightedness or selfishness, versus recognizing the vast majority do the right thing if given clear guidance and support, which is what matters for success, as elimination is a robust strategy.

5/
6.Incorrectly thinking that this is a steady state situation where balance between counter forces must be maintained versus a dynamic situation in which rapid action can shift conditions from a bad losing regime to a good winning one.

6/
7.Naive economic thinking of a tradeoff between economics and fighting the virus, versus realizing a short time economic hit will enable opening normally and restoring the economy (as recognized by McKinsey, BCG, IMF and other correct economic analyses).

7/
8.We have to “live with the virus" versus we can eliminate the virus and return to normal social and economic conditions.

8/
9.Waiting for high-tech vaccination to be a cure all, versus using right-tech classic pandemic isolation/quarantine of individuals and communities to completely stop transmission.

9/
10.Considering the virus as primarily a medical problem of treating individuals and individual responsibility for prevention of their own infection, versus...

10/
defeating the virus as a collective effort based in community action, galvanized by leaders providing clear information, a public health system engaging in community-based prevention of transmission, and the treatment of patients is, by design, as limited as possible.

11/
Unsuccessful versus Successful COVID Strategies

12/
png attached
link to pdf
endcoronavirus.org/papers/covid-s… Image
More on the economics of #ZeroCovid: It is by far the best strategy for both health and economics

• • •

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

Keep Current with Yaneer Bar-Yam

Yaneer Bar-Yam 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 @yaneerbaryam

Oct 1
Effective Oct 1, 2024-March 31, 2025, NJ Hackensack Meridian Health is requiring all patients, visitors and staff wear masks during patient encounters at all of its patient care facilities (e.g. hospitals, physician offices, rehabilitation facilities, etc)
hackensackmeridianhealth.org/en/patients-an…
Healthcare System in NJ  Where is Hackensack Meridian Health requiring masking? Effective October 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025, Hackensack Meridian Health is requiring all patients, visitors and staff wear masks during patient encounters at all of its patient care facilities (e.g. hospitals, physician offices, rehabilitation facilities, etc.). Why is Hackensack Meridian Health requiring masking during patient encounters? To protect the well-being of our patients, team members, and visitors, especially during times of increased acute respiratory infections, this simple measure helps prevent the ...
About Hackensack Meridian Health

"...a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.
2/ Image
"The network has 18 hospitals and more than 500 patient care locations, which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation,
3/
Read 4 tweets
Sep 24
What if schools could prevent sick days, teacher shortages and lost IQ points? A new COVID safety course lights the way

1/
via @ABCaustraliaabc.net.au/news/2024-09-2…
"As a parent, I want my son to be safe at school, so that was a key part of my motivation to do this," says Mr Kinner, the Brisbane creator of COVID Safety for Schools, a free online course that aims to correct misinformation and teach school staff and parents how to reduce ..
2/
"..the risk of the virus spreading. "But also, having spoken to lots of other parents and teachers, it's clear that most schools are lacking an understanding of some of the absolute basics of COVID. And in the fifth year of the pandemic, I find that very troubling."

3/
Read 6 tweets
Sep 12
Mask bans are dumb, dangerous | Editorial

"What if a troublemaker simply decides to disguise his face with large sunglasses and a hat, instead? Are we going to criminalize sunglasses and hats, too?
1/
nj.com/opinion/2024/0…
"Even with an exception for people who wear masks for medical reasons, it’s a threat to personal freedoms, because it leaves it up to the cops to decide whether someone has a legitimate medical reason for wearing a mask at a public gathering.
2/
"... in its current iteration, this bill would do little to deter actual criminals, while only further stigmatizing mask wearing for vulnerable people.

"Ask anyone still masking because of a weakened immune system, or to protect a loved one, ...
3/
Read 6 tweets
Sep 4
As COVID Surges, the High Price of Viral Denial @TheTyee
"Although the media routinely dismisses all COVID infections as an inconsequential nuisance, that’s not what the science says.
1/
thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/…
"An important new Nature study, for example, has now proven that the spike protein of the virus can bind with a blood protein, fibrin, setting off a chain of blood clots resulting in chronic inflammation and brain damage.

2/
"Repeated studies show in the bluntest terms that the initial acute infection is only the tip of the iceberg. Even a mild bout of COVID can leave a legacy of blood clots, heart failure, diabetes, decreased brain function long COVID and immune damage.
3/
Read 8 tweets
Aug 23
Town urges curfew over mosquito-spread disease that kills up to 50% of people

Eastern Equine Encephalitis is very rare in the US, but when it strikes, it's bad.

1/

arstechnica.com/science/2024/0…
"A small town in Massachusetts is urging residents to stay indoors in the evenings after the spread of a dangerous mosquito-spread virus reached "critical risk level" The virus causes Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), which kills between 30 and 50 % of people who are stricken 2/
"Around half who survive are left permanently disabled, and some die within a few years due to complications. There is no treatment for EEE. So far, one person in the town—an elderly resident of Oxford—has already become seriously ill with neuroinvasive EEE.
3/
Read 12 tweets
Aug 19
No Amount of Hand-Washing Can Make COVID-19 a Seasonal Virus

"The selection of words modulates the message...terms such as “seasonal”, “like a cold”, and “like the flu” can be selected by writers to...lull the reader into a false sense of security...

1/

whn.global/scientific/no-…Image
"COVID-19 is not primarily a respiratory infection. This virus can cause a systemic disease with far-reaching effects on the body, particularly blood vessels. Once SARS-CoV-2 enters the body, the virus can affect the ...blood vessels, causing inflammation and damage.
2/
"This is where the challenge lies in understanding the risk that this virus poses to our health. The virus enters primarily via the respiratory tract, but then goes on to infect your organs across your body via your blood vessels.
3/
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

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

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

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(