Share this page!

Erin Banco Profile picture
Twitter logo
17 Dec, 7 tweets, 3 min read
NEW: I've spent the past few days in hospitals in Providence to report on the dire COVID situation. The recent surge hasn’t just overwhelmed RI, it’s completely overrun it.

The vaccine arrived this week and docs didn't have time to celebrate

Dispatch: thedailybeast.com/rhode-island-i…
Special thanks to all the healthcare workers who spent time with me. S/o to @meganranney and the home healthcare nurses who don't have enough PPE to take care of patients when they return back to their families

thedailybeast.com/rhode-island-i…
The situation in Providence is overwhelming. The day the vaccine arrived, RI reported 46 new deaths and 3,253 new cases, meaning that one out of every 325 people reported being infected.

thedailybeast.com/rhode-island-i…
A large portion of the population in the state resides in large, multigenerational homes. Here, transmission is happening within households (60-95 percent). And people are not wearing masks in the home

thedailybeast.com/rhode-island-i…
Hospitals here don't always test patients before they discharge, which means people are heading back to their 7 member family units still +. That's exacerbated the transmission rate.

RI is also a state of forward-facing essential workers (dining, etc)

thedailybeast.com/rhode-island-i…
RI is currently in a “pause" but indoor dining is still at 33 percent. Gov. Raimondo, after pleading with residents to stay home, went to an event last Friday night in which she was pictured sitting nearby others without a mask, sipping red wine.

thedailybeast.com/rhode-island-i…
A vaccine is supposed to start the healing process. But here in Rhode Island, the wails of the ambulances and the bodies being rolled onto trays in the morgue muffle any lasting excitement a vaccine could offer.

thedailybeast.com/rhode-island-i…

• • •

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

Keep Current with Erin Banco

Erin Banco 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 @ErinBanco

Erin Banco Profile picture
18 Dec
There have been concerns for weeks about the lack of clear comms between states and the admin about vaccine distribution. State officials feared there would be shortages and that they wouldn’t get what they were promised in terms of doses.
We’ve been speaking to officials across the country who as of Monday still had no idea when they were getting their shipments
Some states were so concerned about this happening that they spelled it out in black and white in the vaccine distribution plans they submitted to the CDC.
Read 5 tweets
Erin Banco Profile picture
25 Nov
I spent a lot of time speaking with nurses and docs about what a spike in new cases would mean for their hospitals. The anxiety is especially high in Wisconsin. One nurse I spoke to said her hospital is at capacity and that she's seen an influx of pediatric cases in recent weeks:
This one nurse said she's treated more than a dozen babies under 60 days as well as a slew of children with diabetes, including one 13 year old who remains intubated.
This nurse said one of the biggest issues she has to deal with is families coming into the ER convinced that COVID-19 is not real or that it doesn't impact children.
Read 8 tweets
Erin Banco Profile picture
19 Nov
The CDC is recommending people do not travel for Thanksgiving this year.
Guidelines will be published later today
The CDC describes these guidelines as "strong recommendations" but not mandates. Points to increasing hospitalizations and cases as reason for caution.
Read 6 tweets
Erin Banco Profile picture
9 Nov
Spoke to Dr. Fauci for a while tonight. Here's a rundown of where we're at with the vaccine:

1. "This is a new platform and there was always skepticism about using a new platform. Now we know it was successful"

Fauci said MODERNA vaccine is also likely going to be successful
2. Fauci said that the Pfizer vaccine targeted the "spike protein" and so the fact that Pfizer vaccine is successful bodes well for other companies.

"It's predictive of being even more good news with the other vaccines."
3. "Thus far — from what I hear the supply chain process is in place," Fauci said.

He said the CDC, in consultation with an advisory committee, "is the one that decides the priority of the distribution and it is all being worked out now"

Logistics is General Perna's purview
Read 6 tweets
Erin Banco Profile picture
5 Oct
This outbreak is a reflection of how the WH has handled the national response to this virus. They have continued to ignore the advice and guidance from health officials and scientists. And they’ve endangered the livelihood of those around them as a result.
What’s more is that there’s an expectation on their part that everyone else has to play by the rules. And the WH is quick to point the finger at state leaders for not doing enough to stop community spread.
You’d think by now that there’d have been some public reckoning on the WH’s part that more than 200,000 have died from this virus. But the message has been ‘its bad but it could be worse and we’re opening back up’.
Read 4 tweets
Erin Banco Profile picture
3 Oct
Docs I've spoken with tonight say getting someone in a hospital to run tests before symptoms get really bad (not saying this will happen but ie: needing a ventilator) is quite normal/preventative. Not sure this is the case. But lots of other patients took this course of action
Also I know this wasn't an option for so many! It was nearly impossible for people in hot spot cities to get bed space/ get treated in some instances.
But speaking from a clinical standpoint, getting people checked out before symptoms get bad makes sense, according to these docs
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

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 emails when @ErinBanco has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @ErinBanco!

Read all threads by @ErinBanco