Tweet

🔬Samantha Yammine, PhD (aka Science Sam)

16 Apr, 13 tweets, 8 min read

I asked people on Instagram what may be making them or their loved ones feel unsure about booking an appointment for an #AstraZeneca vaccine.

🧵 Thread with my 15-second answers to the 9 most frequent questions they asked.

#VaccinesWork #Canada #Ontario

Q: How effective is [the AstraZeneca vaccine] compared to other vaccines?

A: When it comes to just one dose, which is all most people in Canada are gonna have for the next few months, the mRNA vaccines have similar effectiveness to the AstraZeneca.

NACI: canada.ca/en/public-heal…

Q: My mom is hesitant b/c she has seen the [AstraZeneca] efficacy is lower than Pfizer?

A: Study out of Scotland (bmj.com/content/372/bm…) looked at effectiveness of reducing hospitalizations 1 month after just 1 dose:

Pfizer: 85% ⬇️🏥
AstraZeneca: 94% ⬇️🏥

Both #VaccinesWork.

Let me elaborate on findings from this Scottish study:

If you were to get the AstraZeneca vaccine *tomorrow*, in a month you could expect up to a 94% reduced risk of hospitalization from COVID w/ just the 1 dose.

This is what else may happen in a month: cbc.ca/news/canada/to…

Q: Can you explain the risks for persons between ages 30-55 who choose to take this?

A: Based off a COVID incidence of ~60 per 100k, for all age groups, the AstraZeneca vax offers far more protection against ICU admission for COVID than risks from clots.

wintoncentre.maths.cam.ac.uk/news/communica…

Q: Everyone wants to know if getting [the AstraZeneca] vax means you can't get a more "effective" vaccine later?

A: All vaccines approved in Canada are = effective at preventing hospitalization & death. If that changes, we're testing mixing & matching + boosters.

Don't worry.

Q: Are there signs of developing a blood clot that we can look out for?

A: Symptoms of the very rare blood clots with low platelets that can happen after AstraZeneca vaccination typically start 4-20 days after the first dose.

Learn more: cbc.ca/news/health/ca…

Q: My mom is worried abt AZ because she has a family history of blood clots... Concerning or no?

A: Blood clots w/ low platelets are atypical, so having a fam history or underlying med condition, or being on certain meds may or not be relevant. I'm not sure, pls ask your doctor!

Q: Would taking ibuprofen daily after receiving AZ reduce risk of clots?

A: This has not been recommended by any officials, nor unofficially recommended by any experts I know. If you have a fever or pain you can take meds, but otherwise it hasn't been studied yet so not advised.

Q: Do you expect the age group to open up for AZ to under 55?

(This was VERY popular -- lots of young people are interested in AZ!)

A: Health Canada maintains authorization for those 18+ (canada.ca/en/health-cana…), we are still waiting for NACI's independent review & statement.

Q: I'm trying to get pregnant .... chance it affects my or my partner's fertility outcomes?

A: There is NO known or theoretical risk that ANY of the vaccines authorized for use in Canada will cause infertility.

NONE. It was a lie and a rumour. statnews.com/2021/03/25/inf…

Learn more about the risk/benefit analysis for the AstraZeneca vaccine here:

Spoiler: if you're 30+, regardless of COVID exposure risk, the benefits far outweigh the risks.

And if you're at high risk of COVID exposure the benefits are greater at any age

For those interested, some popular Qs I didn't get to:

- efficacy & effectiveness against variants of concern
- risks/benefits with underlying conditions
- contraindications if on certain meds
- ideal dosing schedule
- if AZ vax unclaimed, can people come early for dose 2

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More from @heysciencesam

🔬Samantha Yammine, PhD (aka Science Sam)

@heysciencesam

14 Apr

I'm reflecting a lot on Aristotle's 3 appeals for effective rhetoric.

In part b/c of the news about the very rare & atypical clots after AstraZeneca & now Janssen J&J vaccination... but also just with how we talk about the science of the pandemic in general.

#SciComm 🧵 | 1/13

I know many argue rhetoric - or persuasive communication - has no place in science, and I agree my goal is never to persuade but to inform.

But we always have to make our arguments "appealing", even those based on facts.

To catch attention, & make em relatable/memorable.

2/13

We can debate the role of rhetoric in science communication later, but for now, the three appeals are:

✨LOGOS - logic
✨PATHOS - emotion
✨ETHOS - character/credibility

3/13

Read 13 tweets

🔬Samantha Yammine, PhD (aka Science Sam)

@heysciencesam

12 Apr

A friendly reminder to always approach the topic of vaccinations with empathy. Hesitancy is complex & has many layers.

ie. this week, I've been receiving a lot of msgs from people scheduled for 1st or 2nd AstraZeneca vax. They want a vaccine but are SO anxious from the news 😔

Anxiety is also high in those who recently received their 1st dose & are now seeing headlines that have them on edge.

I am glad the potential rare side effect of clots has been so transparently shared by experts & media.

But all the more reason to be kind in our scicomm 💕

I've had anxiety forever (in the midst of finding a new therapist now!🎉), so I feel each one of these messages in my core.

This pandemic really sucks.

I hope through empathetic scicomm with culture + trauma-informed approaches to hesitancy we can end it sooner.

Read 4 tweets

🔬Samantha Yammine, PhD (aka Science Sam)

@heysciencesam

18 Dec 20

Read 12 tweets

🔬Samantha Yammine, PhD (aka Science Sam)

@heysciencesam

15 Sep 20

🧵

People in their 20s are now disproportionately represented in new COVID-19 cases in Ontario.

Instead of shaming & blaming, I asked them what challenges they’re currently facing with respect to the pandemic.

After 100s of replies, some key themes emerged. Here they are:

Many people in their 20s mentioned peer and social pressure, plus general difficulty navigating behaviours of those around them as a major challenge during the pandemic.

Difficulty seeing or isolating from family was cited as a key challenge folks in their 20s are facing.

This one is big given data from France suggesting cases in young people eventually spread to older folks in 3-5 weeks.

Read 13 tweets

🔬Samantha Yammine, PhD (aka Science Sam)

@heysciencesam

16 May 20

@mugecevik

A quick visual guide to risk assessment, based off some of the fantastic research summaries created by @mugecevik @firefoxx66 and @ErinBromage

1/13

Your exposure risk is some function of viral dose & time.

The tricky thing is we don’t know how many virus particles it takes to cause an infection, and this will likely vary from person to person.

The good news is we know some ways to reduce our relative risks

2/13

Time is perhaps an under-appreciated component of the risk equation.

Slow & steady can “win the race” to an infection too.

3/13

Read 14 tweets

🔬Samantha Yammine, PhD (aka Science Sam)

@heysciencesam

20 Mar 20

PSA TO MEDIA:

“AEROSOLS” is jargon - IT IS YOUR JOB TO CLEARLY STATE HOW THEY DIFFER FROM DROPLETS WHEN SHARING RESULTS FROM THE NEJM PAPER.

In a nutshell: COVID-19 patients likely cough/sneeze DROPLETS, which are larger than aerosols and all fall to the floor within 1-2m, give or take.

AEROSOLS are smaller so can last in air for longer, but are very likely only produced in hospitals after certain medical procedures

THE TAKEAWAY: this paper does NOT mean SARS-CoV2 is floating around in the air for 3 hrs - it does NOT seem to be airborne like that (the R value would be much higher if it were).

Healthcare workers DO have to deal with aerosols so save the masks for them.

Read 6 tweets

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