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Menaka Pai, MSc MD FRCPC

Follow @MPaiMD

22 Aug, 10 tweets, 3 min read

https://twitter.com/VDOOZER/status/1429505548873986048?s=20

Going to take a Twitter break for the next 6 weeks, to conserve energy for myself and the people I love! Most of my life happens OFF SoMe, and that’s where I’d like to focus my attention right now. Here’s some parting thoughts: 🧵

https://twitter.com/VDOOZER/status/1429505548873986048?s=20

1. Please mask up and get your vaccine. We are in wave 4. After a week on call, I don’t even need modeling to tell you - the unvaccinated are getting sick, intubated, dying. COVID is unrelenting and cruel.

2. Show gratitude. I am grateful for my little family, the privilege of my job, and friends near & far who check in on me, make me laugh, inspire me to work hard, remind me to rest, send me spa recs & coffee invites & funny texts & so. many. silly. tiktoks. My cup is full.

3. Stay humble and curious. Know that there’s much you don’t know - and you REALLY don’t know what worry other people are carrying. The benefit of the doubt is a gift we can all give, especially when the world is quite frightening.

4. But don’t give your time, energy, or concern too freely. Nobody has an absolute right to any of that. Save your light for the ones who love you best.

https://twitter.com/annieandrewsmd/status/1429512239762092040?s=21

5. Especially if you’re a parent. This is a scary time, and don't be gaslit into feeling guilty for being worried about your kids' health. And please, be gentle on yourself. You (we) are doing your (our) best.

https://twitter.com/annieandrewsmd/status/1429512239762092040?s=21

6. Take care of each other. Keep elders, children, marginalized people, unhoused people, and people caught in strife in your hearts. Listen. Learn. Amplify. Help materially if you can. Expand your heart. keepingsix.org

@DrKateJMiller

7. Take care of yourself. I am so good at giving this advice. I am so bad at taking it. @DrKateJMiller is lobbying hard for me to take a holiday. I'm not familiar with the concept, but I'll consider it, because she's pretty smart.

8. Vote. Stretch. Be kind. Eat your vegetables. Read a novel. Get into good trouble all day every day. High five a hematologist. See you soon.

9. And please, one more time, as many times as it takes: get vaccinated.

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Menaka Pai, MSc MD FRCPC

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21 Aug

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The modelling group has added many new indicators and graphs, and all are pointing towards a difficult fall. After 5 straight days on call in hospital (2 more to go!), I can confirm: we are seeing these worrisome changes on the frontlines…

I am not part of the modelling group, I am not an epidemiologist, I am not an ID physician. But the data is crystal clear that ON is moving in the same disturbing direction that provinces like BC and AB are…

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Menaka Pai, MSc MD FRCPC

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14 Jul

@realJ_Mitchell

I’ve been following the conversation around #OntEd’s destreamed math curriculum. Today I read this thoughtful thread from @realJ_Mitchell. Please take a look, then come on back for my take as a mom, an Ontario voter, and a university educator.

https://twitter.com/realJ_Mitchell/status/1415285871415373831?s=20

My students are well past school-age, but my kids aren’t. And my work exposes me to the direct impacts of structural racism, sexism, and colonialism on adults. Here’s what I’ve learned in my career, and how I think it intersects with the issue Jamie discusses:

The point of education - especially elementary and secondary - is to prepare kids for the world they’re entering. To teach them how to think critically, how to reckon with our collective past and repeat the good parts while honestly addressing and working to repair the horrors…

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Menaka Pai, MSc MD FRCPC

@MPaiMD

12 Jul

@doctorsoumya

This headline is misleading. @doctorsoumya from @WHO warned against individuals "vaccine shopping" outside of public health regulations (and in some cases, getting 3rd 4th doses on their own). She did NOT say that individual countries' vaccine policies were "dangerous." 1/3

https://twitter.com/CP24/status/1414625050876170243

By cutting and pasting quotes & providing zero background, these click-bait headlines cause tremendous harm. There's a huge amount of solid vaccine science & global experience that support mixing vaccines. Please don't give in to the click bait. Get fully vaccinated. 2/3

And please read the responses to the original tweet. Lots of understandably concerned people (thanks, misleading headline 😭), and also good information from experts in ID and vaccine science who are trying to clear things up. 3/3

Read 4 tweets

Menaka Pai, MSc MD FRCPC

@MPaiMD

17 Jun

#NACI (Canada's advisory board of vaccine scientists) has summarized the latest science: they recommend mRNA over AstraZeneca as the 2nd dose of #COVID19 vaccine. Here's why... 1/n canada.ca/en/public-heal…

1) It seems to be more EFFECTIVE. AZ-mRNA and mRNA-mRNA appear to give a more effective immune response against variants of concern (and the delta variant is spreading in Canada), based on small studies + big real world experience. 2/n

2) It appears to be SAFE. We mix and match a lot of vaccines, safely, and the aforementioned studies + experience show the safety of AZ-mRNA too. 3/n

Read 7 tweets

Menaka Pai, MSc MD FRCPC

@MPaiMD

14 Jun

The vaccine rollout is spreading - and so is the delta variant. Lots of folks are concerned about the risk of myocarditis in young people who receive mRNA. My advice: make sure your sources include true experts - in this case, doctors who look after heart disease in kids. 1/n

My experience with #VITT left me shaken, as misinformation about blood #clots was amplified (often by other MDs). Science & medicine are a big tent. BUT within those tents are people with specialized training and experience - and their words should carry weight! 2/n

Definitely look at studies, watch the CDC's ACIP live streams, consider the words of doctors, nurses, PH, epidemiologists, scientists of all stripes. But pay close attention to the words of FPs, pediatricians & pediatric cardiologists. I'm happy to speak *around* this issue. 3/n

Read 7 tweets

Menaka Pai, MSc MD FRCPC

@MPaiMD

11 Jun

A word on #AstraZeneca (making the decision about your 2nd shot, and when the 🤬 you can get your 2nd shot)... 1/x

The frustration of Ontarians who got AZ for dose #1, and now feel hung out to dry since their 2nd dose hasn't been accelerated, is palpable. Think the insistence on a 12 week gap isn't science based? You're right. It sucks, and it's scary (esp if you're in a hotspot!) 2/x

I have yet to meet a scientist or health care professional who thinks that a 12 week gap between AZ and mRNA is carved in stone. And NACI - the TRUE vaccine experts - have already said 4-12 weeks is fine. Their recommendations should hold a lot of weight. 3/x