Only when you hear actual stories of the struggles people are going through does it make it clear how problematic it is when we blame those who got sick because of what externally seems like “irresponsible” behavior.
2/ Caregivers of disabled family members who did not have the luxury to stay home; those working in factories where outbreaks are prevalent; we are still seeing these cases and treating them. This isn’t about lockdowns or no lockdowns- this is about creating better public health.
3/ This is about creating systems that can protect us during crises.
The false choice of lockdowns v no lockdowns has been birthed from politics, not public health.
Why is the idea of an actual public health strategy not being brought up in these debates? #covid19
4/ #Bettermasks and smarter workplace protections for those not yet vaccinated; leaving outdoor spaces open for public use while reopening indoor crowded settings more slowly—> these are simple ideas that states don’t seem to be entertaining
5/ Prioritizing schools and children but at the same time working to reduce ongoing transmission in other settings that can remain closed w/ $$ protections for small businesses for a few more weeks while we vaccinate more people. #covid19
6/ We wrote about this almost one year ago when we were first reopening- no one *wants* society to remain closed; no one wants #covid19 resurgences either.
Assessed #covid19 test positivity rates after 90 days in patients who tested positive previously— much less likely to have a positive result compared to those who tested negative previously.
2/ “Protection offered by prior infection was calculated as one minus the ratio of infection rate for positive patients divided by the infection rate for negative patients.”
3/ “Protection offered from prior infection was 81.8% (95% CI 76.6 to 85.8), and against symptomatic infection was 84.5% (95% CI 77.9 to 89.1). This protection increased over time.” #covid19
2/ They did weekly asymptomatic PCR testing here for 5 weeks
Limitations
-Community viral transmission at that time was also not very high
-Many of the activities here were done outdoors, where we know transmission risk is much lower #covid19
3/ "We observed a correspondence b/w the prevalence of infection per district & the number of new index-cases found in the same district. This finding supports that summer-schools did not act as super spreading hotspots, but rather reflected the underlying community transmission"
1/ If you are one of the many healthcare workers who have reached out to me privately about how your hospital won’t let you use N95 masks except during “aerosol generating procedures”— read this, because it’s BS.
2/ “Yet in recent months, Klompas and researchers in Israel have documented cases where workers using surgical masks and face shields became sick with Covid after providing routine patient care.”
3/ “A new wave of research now shows that several of those procedures were not the most hazardous. Recent studies have determined that a basic cough produces about 20 times more particles than intubation.”
Important paper from @BrighamWomens Dr. Klompas et al in @IDSAInfo — transmission of SARSCoV2 despite medical masks & eye protection (this is from our hospital); whole genome sequencing confirmation thanks to @MassDPH@lmadoff #covid19
2/ “We describe 3 instances of SARS-CoV-2 transmission despite medical masks and eye protection, including transmission despite the source person being masked, transmission despite the exposed person being masked, and transmission despite both parties being masked.” #covid19
3/ Again— what does this imply for poorly ventilated, crowded community settings where vulnerable frontline non-medical workers have been getting infected, are wearing *poorly fitting cloth masks* and are NOT yet vaccinated?? #covid19
South Africa & India pushed the WTO to suspend IP rights on #covid19 vaccines.
"Dozens of low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) support the proposal. However, HICs including the UK, the USA, Canada, Norway, and the EU have rejected it outright"
2/ " saying that..."the IP system is required to incentivise new inventions of vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments, which might dry up in its absence. They dismiss the claim that IP is a barrier to access, and argue that equitable access can be achieved through..." #covid19
3/ "voluntary licensing, technology transfer arrangements, and the donor-funded COVAX Advance Market Commitment for vaccines."
The current patent system, while incentivizing innovation, doesn't incentivize equity for life-saving medicines/ vaccines. #covid19
1/ Some have asked why fully vaccinated can only visit with “a single household” of unvaccinated people who are low risk.
We still have high rates of circulating virus in community. Unvaccinated low risk people can still get sick/ pass on virus more than those who are vaccinated
2/ By having multiple unvaccinated households gathering w/ vaccinated person(s), you are then again creating a higher risk setup for disease transmission
3/ Also, vaccinated people can also still pass virus onwards, although less so than those who are unvaccinated.
This is why CDC is being very specific to say small gatherings with *low risk* unvaccinated has a cost/benefit in favor of social connection given low chance of harm