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Craig Spencer MD MPH Profile picture
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15 Mar, 4 tweets, 1 min read
In the last year I’ve done hundreds of TV interviews and lectures.

But yesterday a friend asked me to join her family’s Zoom call to answer questions and concerns about COVID-19 vaccines. It felt like the most important and impactful hour I’ve spent to date...
There were people from all over the country on the call. And they had such insightful and nuanced questions about the vaccines, but we’re struggling to separate the science from the misinformation on social media.

I completely understand why so many are still so uncertain...
But I could tell everyone felt much more reassured after our talk, especially when I shared how effective the vaccines were against getting severely ill, being hospitalized or dying from Covid. And also how excited I was to get my family vaccinated as well.
I don’t know how many minds I changed, if any. But at least I know they’ll make that decision with the right information.

We’re now getting close to 3 million people vaccinated a day, which is absolutely amazing. I hope I was able to add three more.

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More from @Craig_A_Spencer

Craig Spencer MD MPH Profile picture
13 Mar
A great step but we need to do more.

The US has ordered 2x the amount needed to vaccinate every American.

It’s like we prepared a huge feast. And we’re holding another feast in the fridge in case we’re still hungry after.

While everyone else starves.
nyti.ms/30E9YNf
What does ‘doing more’ look like?

We need more clarity on what we’ll do with our huge surplus, and when. Sure, keep some for boosters, variants etc.

But we’re holding onto tens of millions of doses that we haven’t even authorized for use - and may never.
reuters.com/article/us-hea…
What would I like to see?

Right now we’re sending out ~16 million doses weekly. That number will grow when more J&J is added at the end of the month and as capacity for the others picks up.
Read 8 tweets
Craig Spencer MD MPH Profile picture
6 Mar
Here’s a roundup of the weekly #COVID19 pieces I’ve written as a @Medium contributor.

My first piece in early February set my intentions for this project:

“My goal is to explore the stories and issues that are critically important, but under-reported”.

link.medium.com/rnNMsJdCpeb
This ⤵️ examined the inequities of the global #COVID19 vaccine rollout. Wealthy nations need to help the rest of the world get vaccinated - not just for moral and humanitarian reasons, but also to tamp down variants and soften the global economic impact.

link.medium.com/XkTnoweCpeb
This ⤵️ outlined the precarious place we’re at in the pandemic. The next phase will depend on vaccines, variants, and how well we adhere to public health measures.

The recent lifting of restrictions & mask mandates may unnecessarily prolong the pandemic.
link.medium.com/wCfDk8eCpeb
Read 4 tweets
Craig Spencer MD MPH Profile picture
6 Mar
Learning the lessons from disease outbreaks is critical to improving response.

In our commentary for @TheLancet, @syramadad and I reflect on the lessons the U.S. learned responding to Ebola and how they could’ve better informed our #COVID19 response. 🧵

thelancet.com/journals/lance…
The key takeaways:

1. Outbreaks always expose the shortcomings in health-care systems.

2. Protecting the health-care workforce should always be a top priority.
3. Having a coherent national plan and collaborating with national and international partners are all vital to combating a pandemic.

4. Health experts must be placed at the forefront to educate the public.

5. Training and hands-on, real-life experience are critical.
Read 4 tweets
Craig Spencer MD MPH Profile picture
26 Feb
“The next phase of the pandemic hinges on vaccines, variants, and doubling down on protective measures.”

Read my latest for @Medium and @elemental.

Here’s a short teaser 🧵:

link.medium.com/qwp4uFe6aeb
In the last month, Covid cases in the US have dropped precipitously. Not long ago we saw > 300k cases a day. Now it’s closer to ~70k.

Hospitalizations have plunged as well. 🎉🎉🎉
And after a slow start, vaccination has picked up significantly.

We now administer 1.5 million doses per day, vaccinating more Americans in 8 hours than will be diagnosed with Covid in a week.

Most importantly, targeting vulnerable populations early on is already saving lives👇
Read 16 tweets
Craig Spencer MD MPH Profile picture
18 Feb
The ability to get a #COVID19 vaccine largely depends on whether you live in a wealthy country.

I wrote about why we must urgently address inequities in the vaccine rollout worldwide 👇

Here’s a 🧵 on how imbalanced vaccine access is and why it matters:

link.medium.com/3fA81Lo4Ydb
This graphic from @TheEconomist shows a breakdown of doses ordered per adult worldwide, revealing a massive imbalance. Many countries have ordered way more vaccine than people eligible to receive it.

“Half of the world’s supply has been reserved for just 15% of its population”
And this @nytimes graphic tracking vaccination rates by continent shows how inequitable the rollout has been so far.

In North America, ~10 doses have been administered for every 100 people.

That’s almost 5x the rate of South America and 50x that of Africa.
Read 9 tweets
Craig Spencer MD MPH Profile picture
21 Jan
The White House released the ‘National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness”.

It opens with “America deserves a response to the COVID-19 pandemic that is driven by science, data, and public health—not politics.”

The strategy is organized around 7 goals:
1. Restore trust with the American people.

2. Mount a safe, effective, and comprehensive vaccination campaign.

3.Mitigate spread through expanding masking, testing, data, treatments, health care workforce, and clear public health standards.
4. Immediately expand emergency relief and exercise the Defense Production Act.

5. Safely reopen schools, businesses, and travel while protecting workers.

6. Protect those most at risk and advance equity, including across racial, ethnic and rural/urban lines.
Read 6 tweets

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