"fine aerosols constituted 85% of the viral load detected in our study." "Exposure to fine aerosols should be mitigated, especially in indoor environments."
Still in peer review, but preliminary results confirm what many of us have said for 15 mos. 1/
Reduction of inhalation dose of aerosol particles is critical to win this deadly war, particularly amongst the unvaccinated. Mitigate by wearing masks, increasing ventilation (including more activities outdoors), improved central filtration, portable HEPA filtration. 2/
Remember that only about 13% of the world's population is fully vaccinated, the Delta variant is a beast, and 3/
there may very well be worse variants coming if vaccinations do not increase in a hurry & there is not a major simultaneous push to reduce inhalation dose of aerosol particles, particularly in those who are not, or who are partially, vaccinated. 4/4
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In academia we talk a lot about, and celebrate, the successes of students and faculty, and we should. IMO we do not talk enough about or celebrate the tremendous contributions of staff, the gears that keep the academic machine running hour to hour. 1/
They advise prospective students, help guide & encourage current students, support advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion, help faculty and students with a wide range of teaching and research activities, maintain and upgrade IT, clean and ... 2/
fix infrastructure, balance books, clean and fix infrastructure, and so much more. 3/
1/ Recently met a couple who are not vaccinated and who do not mask. It was outdoors, yet I wore a mask and distanced. When I tried to present a series of facts about the importance of vaccinations their response was consistently "our friends tell us differently."
2/ These are not folks who fit the stereotypical anti-vaxxers as seen on social media or television. Their beliefs come from friends who attend their church. They were polite and from our conversation I found out also highly educated.
3/ I failed at convincing them that they should become vaccinated. I am not a social scientist or, perhaps most importantly, one of their friends at church. This exercise reinforced my belief that academics on social media will have little impact on increasing vaccination rates.
1/ Been reading the fascinating Dr. Fauci emails released by @washingtonpost. I am so disappointed that Americans are running to their ideological corners on these. No, he did NOT "lie about everything." No, he did not get everything right.
2/ What jumps out to me is the tragedy that experts across disciplines were not pulled together early. Dr. Fauci is a bright & qualified scientist in his lane of expertise, but emails show he did not understand aerosol science or transport of viruses in aerosol particles.
3/ This is particularly true when discussing the value of masks. Imagine had he teamed with one or more exceptional aerosol scientists, and particularly @linseymarr who is a foremost expert on transport of viruses in aerosol particles. Messaging might have been different.
Portland State University will be open this fall, but with a significant layered risk reduction protocol on campus. 1/
Required vaccinations (w/ some exceptions), required masks inside buildings, increased % outdoor air in supply air, MERV-13 filtration, & an army of very good & appropriately-sized portable HEPA filtration systems in classrooms. 2/
We will have in-person courses and some of these will be taught w/ simultaneous live streaming for those who are unable to come to campus. We will also have on-line course offerings. 3/
1/ A little over 6 mos ago - my webinar on how to reduce risk of COVID-19 infection in schools. Reduced inhalation dose: masks, ventilation, room HEPA filtration, improved central filtration, classroom air cleansing periods, cool down after recess, etc.
2/ Many of us were discussing what needed to be done as far back as March/April 2020, used social media, did media interviews, webinars, op-eds, websites, and more. NOTHING that we described was anything close to rocket science. We stuck to proven technologies & approaches.
3/ Every school in the US ought to be substantially safer and healthier beyond the pandemic by now. But leaders failed & some w/ financial interests confused matters. Despite real advances in some districts others continue to struggle and many are making really bad decisions.