Thread by @GYamey

In addition to the privilege of coauthoring many COVID-19 policy papers with the fantastic @DukeCPIGH team, in 2020 I was lucky to have the opportunity to write 12 columns for @TIME & to co-author several @bmj_latest editorials. Here's my end of 2020 look back. THREAD! 1/n

In March, I was worried that access barriers would prevent many Americans from getting COVID-19 testing and care. I also feared that the lack of mandatory sick pay would lead infected people to turn up to work. 2/n

time.com/5797295/corona…

On March 17, I wrote:

"The US has a narrow window of opportunity to determine the fate of its coronavirus crisis. Will we end up looking like Italy or South Korea?"

It's a moral disgrace that Trump rejected proven science based approaches.

time.com/5804899/u-s-co…

One of the topics I wrote most about & worked the most on (with the wonderful @Justice_Collab & @ACLU) was COVID-19 in prisons, jails & detention centers

The US did too little, too late to avert mass death events in these settings

My March 30 column 4/n

time.com/5812616/protec…

In April, I was having sleepless nights about the risk that rich nations would hoard COVID-19 vaccines once these were developed.

The level of hoarding has turned out to be much worse than my wildest nightmares. 5/n

time.com/5820963/end-pa…

In a June print issue of @TIME, I wrote:

"At long last, we have made a truly game-changing scientific breakthrough in preventing the spread of COVID-19. The impact of this breakthrough seems almost too good to be true."

It was about masks. I got death threats for this piece 6/n

Here's my piece on masks. Wow did it upset some people. Apparently, pointing out the science on masks meant I wanted to take the freedoms of Americans away. Some Trump supporters wanted me dead, others said they would report me to the FBI. Fun times! 7/n

time.com/5861295/masks-…

In July, I teamed up with the brilliant @clarewenham to write about the remarkable parallels between the inept, catastrophic responses of the US and UK governments to COVID-19. Trump & Johnson have performed equally abysmally; both rejected science. 8/n

time.com/5861697/us-uk-…

On July 16, I teamed up with another brilliant researcher @AstroKatie to express our deep concerns that bringing university students back to campus in the midst of a pandemic would fuel massive transmission. I wish we'd been wrong. Horrific outcomes 9/n

time.com/5867395/will-u…

In August, I teamed up with a wonderful UK colleague @_2000shazzam to write a piece on long-COVID. We argued that patients needed 3 Rs: recognition, rehabilitation, & research. Special thx to @trishgreenhalgh & @Dr2NisreenAlwan for pioneering work.

10/n

time.com/5878448/longte…

In Sept, I was so lucky to team up with @BhadeliaMD, infectious disease expert, to examine what universities would need to do to be able to reopen safely in Spring 2021. Right now levels of community transmission seem way too high for safe reopening! 11/n

time.com/5894204/univer…

The person I asked to co-author an editorial with me for @bmj_latest on how UK universities could avoid making the same mistakes as US universities was @RWalensky (our new CDC director!). I hope she'll still return my calls now that she's so famous 🙃12/n

bmj.com/content/370/bm…

In October, I wrote about those awful Great Barrington folks and their immoral, inhumane, anti-scientific "let the virus rip" strategy. More death threats (these one were really graphic!). 13/n

time.com/5900024/covid-…

What should the Biden team be doing during the lame duck period on COVID-19? Here's a piece that @BhadeliaMD and I recently wrote. 14/ n

time.com/5917054/biden-…

For ages, @gregggonsalves had been a hero of mine (an inspiring example of an engaged, activist academic). This year I got the chance to write 2 editorials for @bmj_latest with him, in which we discussed Trump as a political determinant of COVID-19. 15/n

bmj.com/content/369/bm…

And I teamed up with Dean Jamison @IGHSatUCSF, one of the world's most influential health economists, to compare the failed US response to COVID-19 with China's response 16/n

time.com/5850680/u-s-re…

A HUGE thanks to @lucas_wittmann, my totally incredible editor @TIME, & to @KamranAbbasi & Alison Tonks & @DrBirte & all the extraordinary copy and technical editors @bmj_latest. Editors are the hidden heroes. They take in our dirty washing & turn it into clothing of beauty END/