Thread by @ShikhaJainMD

I haven’t been posting much original content lately bc, tbh, I’ve been a bit burned out. And school is about to start. But I’ve been seeing some wacky posts and theories lately, some from “respected” HCW who, I personally feel, have become more contrarian for personal gain.

1. Regarding whether masks work…I can’t believe we are still having this discussion. Surgeons have used masks for years for infection control. And re:#COVID19 the data is there. For those calling for placebo controlled trials, those would be unethical.

science.sciencemag.org/content/372/65…

2. About kids and masks. Ppl r worried kids development will be stunted. I argue not being able to attend in person school when #covid19 spreads bc kids aren’t masking is a bigger developmental issue. We know #masksWork to keep kids in school.

washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08…

3. Re: masks being dangerous for kids. There is NO evidence of this. And personally my 3 kids (aged 7,3,3) have worn masks for the last 1.5 yrs with no issues. Masks are safe and effective for kids over 2 to wear all day in school!

4. People using the my body my choice argument. Similar to cigarettes, if you decide to go to a COVID patient and ask them to breathe on you, that’s your choice. But you breathing your second hand smoke or your COVID19 droplets on someone else goes beyond your body.

5. We would never ask political leaders their treatment plans for our patients. Why are they making medical decisions that are killing hundreds of thousands of people. Why would you punish people (eg Florida) when ppl are following medical advice and wearing masks.

6. Vaccine passports. Folks, kids who go to school in this country have to show that they are vaccinated against all sorts of things. How is this different?

7. People are worried about long term effects of the vaccine. Vaccine side effects typically show up quickly as opposed to months to years later. However getting the VIRUS can result in long term medical problems.

uab.edu/news/health/it…

8. For those who say even if kids get #covid19 it’s not so bad most don’t get very sick I would say, we don’t know long term impact if kids get it, and there are kids on ventilators and dying and nearly 94000 kids got #covid19 in one week.

nature.com/articles/s4159…

Here’s the article on recent numbers in kids

npr.org/sections/coron…

9. We prioritized bars, restaurants, businesses and now our kids are suffering as we struggle to figure out how to safely open schools. Many ppl are still working from home. Yet Our kids will be going to school including those under 12 who are not vaccinated.

Why on earth would we remove protections for our children when they go to school. Everyone should be wearing masks in schools. Full stop.

10. Re: the argument I don’t want to get vaccinated bc even ppl who are vaccinated can get #COVID19 I say this, yes you can still get it but the change of you getting very sick is very very low. AND if you wear a mask in public the chance of you getting it is even lower.

Vaccinated or not, if you have kids or not, live in an area with high transmission or not, everyone will be impacted by this #DeltaVariant. Hospitals are out of beds for people with heart attacks, cancer diagnoses, traumas. You may not have a bed if you get in a car accident.

And no state is an island. People travel freely across state lines. People from areas with low vaccinated areas travel to areas with higher vaccine uptake. You can’t look at someone and tell if they have been vaccinated or if they have #covid19.

All the people who are out there begging you to get vaccinated and #WearAMask have families too. We all want to get back to normal. We know how to do that. If everyone just wore their masks consistently and #GotTheShot we could get numbers under control and live our lives.

We don’t have ulterior motives. We don’t get paid to ask you to #WearAMask. We became medical professionals to take care of others, to help others, to heal others. Why in the midst of a pandemic would we all of a sudden change our values and mission to help as many ppl as we can.

So this is my Sunday message. If someone is telling you wearing a mask is bad, they are feeding you false information. If someone tells you the vaccine is “experimental” they don’t have all the information. Don’t believe the misinformation. #ThisIsOurShot @IMPACT4HC

And appropriately this shirt came in the mail today. Another reminder. #GetYourShot #GetVaccinated #WearAMask

Link to the shirt! @redmolotov

Every Disaster Movie Starts With Someone Ignoring A Scientist T-Shirt redmolotov.com/every-disaster…