In early & late COVID the viral load is LOW
Thus less infectious
Poor pick up by RTK-Ag ie less sensitive but of little consequence since non-infectious
At high viral loads and very infectious including asymptomatic & pre-symptomatic cases at CT<25 RTK-Ag detection is >95%
Thus surveillance tool of choice
Foremost proponent of rapid testing @michaelmina_lab explains it in these 2 threads. Enjoy threadreaderapp.com/thread/1330756…
Testing to diagnose a patient with #COVID19 is different from testing a person to accurately identify people who are most at risk of transmitting SARS-CoV-2.
Such individuals tend to have higher viral loads which makes the virus easier to detect. science.sciencemag.org/content/371/65…
Testing to diagnose a patient with #COVID19 is different from testing to accurately identify people who are most at risk of transmitting SARS-CoV-2
Such individuals tend to have higher viral loads which makes the virus easier to detect (with RTK-Ag) science.sciencemag.org/content/371/65…
Tests for public health screening must b rapid, decentralized and scalable for frequent screening of large no of asymptomatic individuals.
RTK-Ag fit these needs & could be scaled to millions of daily tests
They are simple, cheap, done at Point Of Care & Turn Around Time <1 hr
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Present COVID predicament wud have been averted if KKM had heeded SOP:
1 Quarantined Sabah returnees who r Super-Spreader(SS) persons
2 Re-tested returnees from Sabah PRN- SS event
3 Dealt appropriately with prison & detention centre clusters- SS event bernama.com/en/general/new…
OK! Its now water under the bridge.
BUT, their obsession with MCO will inflict collateral damage to poverty/mental health/malnutrition/domestic violence/education/kill livelihoods/explode unemployed numbers, bankrupt SMEs and run down this nation’s economy thevibes.com/articles/opini…
We will b in a perpetual cycle of MCO because KKM is stuck with an archaic pandemic playbook.
Since Oct 2020 they ignored the advice of public health experts from academia, military & those outside KKM to re-strategize their pandemic management. codeblue.galencentre.org/2020/10/12/mak…
While government and ministries are overwhelmed, these doctors and many more are the living examples of the song originally recorded by English singer Billy Ocean in 1985 "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" m.malaysiakini.com/news/557881
The 10-point framework of action is based on good science, sound economics and common sense
It isn’t rocket science!
It is doable & will lift us out of the pandemic
Pray that the government embraces this 10-point plan and kick start with the formation of the COVID-19 Task Force.
Check List of Dos & Don’ts for #SelfIsolation for Interim Action
1 If U have a positive test result but don’t have symptoms, stay at home & #SelfIsolate as soon as U rec the results.
2 Yr household needs to isolate too.
3 Pusat Kesihatan Daerah will contact U in due course-1
3. U can leave yr home only in certain circumstances. 4. But do NOT go to work/school/public spaces. 5. Do NOT use public transport or taxis. 6. If U need to leave your home, U MUST observe strict wearing of masks & physical distancing and return immediately afterwards-2
7. In Sgor @stfc_selangor informs yr test results via @Selangkah_cvd19 within 24 hours of testing. So U do NOT need to leave yr home to get your test results.
8. Stay as far away from other members of your household as possible, especially if they are high risk groups-3
Like most of you, I have been following the COVID-19 pandemic at close range. I honestly hope it has been a journey based on good science and loads of cool, calming thoughts, common sense and compassion (1)
In the wake of the approval of the 2 vaccines for use in several countries, allow me to share some of my early thoughts namely with respect to its utilization in our nation (2)
Transparency and accountability of the COVID-19 vaccine choices and advance payments is of pivotal urgency and importance (3)
The halal polemics has begun … yet again!
Race and religious bigots will spin to trigger tension
Important to stick to the back of basics of Shari’ah (Islamic jurisprudence) & Research ethics
The relationship between Shari’ah and Fiqh is represented by a tree and its parts.
The roots rep the Shari’ah & its primary sources of legislation-Qur’an &Traditions of the Prophet (Sunnah)
The trunk and branches rep the tools & methodologies (Usul al- Fiqh/foundations of Fiqh & Maqasid/Objectives) used by scholars to derive the fruits (fatwas/rulings)
For e.g. The primary sources constitute the raw ingredients of a medicine
The methodology & tools are how pharmacists process the raw ingredients into a medicine
The resulting medicine is dispensed by doctors.
The politics aside, there is some truth in KuLi statement that the Pfizer mRNA vaccine “bukan benar-benar menghalang penularannya”
The primary objective of the Pfizer study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy against COVID-19 in healthy persons. pfe-pfizercom-d8-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/2020-09/C45910…
1/10
It was not designed to study the transmissibility of the virus post-vaccination.
Allow me to share an analogy related to the issue
Previously our pilgrims were mandated to take the Meningococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (MPV) prior to their Hajj @drzul_albakri@imamalaysia 2/10
The MPV protected the pilgrim from Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD) but they are still able to transmit the disease to others around them since the MPV did not clear the bacteria from their upper airways @drzul_albakri@imamalaysia@FIMAweb 3/10