Share this page!

Dr. Saskia Popescu Profile picture
Twitter logo
31 Jan, 4 tweets, 1 min read
Sharing some insight as some one who’s been doing contact tracing for 10+ years: it’s about empathy and privacy. It’s also about having a general exposure definition to help gauge potential exposure. Is this perfect? Nope. No one has ever said contact tracing is perfect. (1/3)
It *is* an important public health tool. Sure, it would be great to have a super complex algorithm to help narrow if an exposure occurred, but that’s just not feasible (from both the PH standpoint AND that of the person being interviewed). Trust me, this isn’t an easy task. (2/3)
So while I get it’s easy to argue the 15 min/6ft rule (and trust me, we’re all for revisions), we need a place to start. It’s also pretty easy to judge it when you’re not actually doing it. Shout out to the teams of CTers - it’s hard work and we depend it. (3/3)
Oh! Forgot that some states vary - NM is 3min/6ft, NY is 10 min/6ft. So, it’s interesting to see if/how that variation impacts things

• • •

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

Keep Current with Dr. Saskia Popescu

Dr. Saskia Popescu 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 @SaskiaPopescu

Dr. Saskia Popescu Profile picture
23 Jan
During a convo yesterday I realized that we really haven’t invested much communication or awareness into what recovery means for others. There's still fear/stigma about being around some one after their iso period is done. This is a complicated topic, but one we should focus on🧵
For example, CDC does not recommend using testing to end isolation. Moreover, during the 90 days after infection, PCR testing is not recommended as a + indicates viral RNA shedding since we know reinfection during that time is exceedingly rare. cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…
Meaning, that during this 90 days, a + PCR in an asymptomatic individual could be startling at first, but really signifies persistent viral shedding, so that’s why re-testing isn’t encouraged. This is also why quarantine isn’t necessary during the 90 days if asymptomatic
Read 5 tweets
Dr. Saskia Popescu Profile picture
18 Jan
It’s fascinating to me to see people pull up tweets from Feb 2020 as a means to try and discredit people working in pandemic response. Our guidance evolves with the data and science, which is at a rapid pace during a pandemic of a novel disease. (1/3)
This is a tough part of our job, but one that means we’re improving continuously. PubHealth & healthcare response means leaning into these evolutions. Many of us speak to media/on social media in additional to our day jobs & it’s about using the best info we have at the time(2/3)
What I do find disparaging is when folks do this for nefarious goals..and ironic when it’s involving people who have self-identified as not engaging in anything related to ID/epi/pandemic response until spring 2020. We’re all tired, let’s try to be kind & respectful. (3/3)
Read 4 tweets
Dr. Saskia Popescu Profile picture
10 Jan
For everyone dumping on vaccine rollout- yes there have been a lot of issues & bottlenecking, but please know that a population-wide vaccine distribution is *tough*. Especially as hospitals and health dpts are doing the heavily lifting while under the weight of this surge.
We absolutely need to improve it and this has been another item in a long list of things the US has struggled with during COVID-19, but please note just how challenging and fractured a population-scale effort is.
Really, what this emphasizes is the need to provide more sustainable resources for these efforts (ahem, and public health in general). In short - critique and analyze the failures, but also acknowledge the Herculean effort this work requires.
Read 4 tweets
Dr. Saskia Popescu Profile picture
29 Dec 20
Breathtakingly honest and spot-on, @edyong209 brings 2020 full circle with this recap of our pandemic year and what 2021 might hold.
“People have been doing this for almost a year without backup.” Each COVID-19 peak has sapped more energy & morale, & afterward, fatigued HCWs have had to deal with a backlog of postponed surgeries, as well as new pts who have been sitting on their medical problems..”
Dr. @drjessigold -“In a crisis, you can say, ‘It makes sense that I’m anxious, sad, and not sleeping.’ But there’ll be a surge of problems once people finally get a chance to breathe and realize what the toll has been.”
Read 4 tweets
Dr. Saskia Popescu Profile picture
21 Sep 20
In terms of aerosols, droplet, & “airborne”- the best approach to communication I’ve found is that this requires enhanced respiratory protection in a healthcare setting. It’s not entirely airborne and it’s not entirely droplet, but rather something in the middle. (1/n)
We know this means different things for AGMP. For the public, I think it’s a good lesson in that the “6 ft” rule isn’t a hard rule in that there’s no magic force-field that prevents the virus from going further. Infection prevention involves multiple things simultaneously (2/n).
That Swiss cheese approach comes to mind - ventilation won’t do it all. Just like masks or distancing alone won’t. When we describe transmission it’s important to discuss these principles. Scicomm is critical & I’m hoping the CDC is working to explain these pieces better (3/n)/
Read 5 tweets
Dr. Saskia Popescu Profile picture
16 Aug 20
It's increasingly worrisome that we're not talking about healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in COVID-19 patients. Across the country we are seeing spikes and several studies have shown elevated risk for HAIs, especially bloodstream infections. 1/
COVID-19 patients, especially those in ICUs, are more likely to have invasive medical devices (urinary catheters, ventilators, central lines, etc.) - these are wonderful medical tools but also increase the risk for infection. 2/
These pts are medically complex, fragile, & we are still learning about how to improve their quality of care. For example -placing them in the prone position makes line care in pts with vascular issues that much more challenging, especially w/respiratory secretions. 3/
Read 5 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 @SaskiaPopescu has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @SaskiaPopescu!

Read all threads by @SaskiaPopescu