Thread by @SarahKarlin

screams into the abyss becuase people just don't get it!!!

.@NateSilver538 please please please please please call some people who understand the FDA and vaccine review.

https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1357493589031452679

@NateSilver538 1. the US needs to stop pretending that vaccines are our ONLY tool. There are many and we need to do a lot better job using the other ones while the vaccine deveolpment does its thing.

@NateSilver538 2. I don't think people appreciate how much data FDA is going to pour through and how understaffed and overworked they are.

again read @KatherineEban's piece which will break your heart about the toll this pandemic has taken on some of its reviewers.

@NateSilver538 @KatherineEban 3. This is an underfunded agency. We ask it to regular about 1/5 to 1/4 of the econonomy on a very tiny budget.

It has had staffing and retention issues for years because the gov't pays a tiny fraction of what people with the expertise needed can make elsewhere.

@NateSilver538 @KatherineEban 4. (probably more like 5 or 6). This is actually REALLY REALLY REALLY fast.

5 (or 6 or 7 or 8) - my job is usually to find all the things FDA could be doing better. Could we help them be better -- sure. But that requires things from Congress, broader society etc.

@NateSilver538 @KatherineEban Cut the average faceless nameless FDA drug reviewer some slack.

@NateSilver538 @KatherineEban please excuse all my typos. I still have a story to file tonight on FDA.

I am guilty of tweeting too fast myself. Twitter is an imperfect platform. But if you have 3 million followers you should probably be a little more cautious in your communications.