1/ Welcome back to #UCSFMGR! We are so thrilled to have Drs. @PaulTurnerLab & @michaelmina_lab. 1st up, @PaulTurnerLab speculates, what factors make a virus more successful at infecting hosts? We learn lessons frm SARS, HIV & SIV, flu-can get more transmissible, evade immunity,..
2/ improve binding to cellular proteins or even infect diff cell types. SARS-CoV2 does some of these already...Good news? Perhaps it could evolve decreased virulence as shown in this paper in Science science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… Maybe more transmissible, but less virulent virus?
3/ Lots of interesting hypotheses as to why the virus is so virulent already, but lots more research to be done, & hard to predict how the virulence will evolve., no 🔮 Fascinating Q&A, lots to learn, but in the meantime, #GetVaccinatedNow to avoid those evolutionary pressures!
4/ Next, @michaelmina_lab notes yesterday WhiteHouse announcing $1b spending on more home testing. US is OUTLIER re: cost & access of tests ($24-$125), vs. UK (FREE boxes of asx rapid tests) & Germany (<$1/test). Can use testing for 'return to normalcy' nytimes.com/2021/10/01/opi…
5/ Tests can help answer the Q "Am I infectious now?" for schools, jobs, etc. W/ delta you can go from 0 viral load to superspreader levels v quickly- rapid tests can identify individuals w/in infectious window. Hard to compare rapid tests vs PCR re:'accuracy' vs transmissibility 
6/ We could nip an outbreak in the bud, don't need a 100% sensitive test right now for that. Great visual talking abt how rapid tests could do exactly this, as shown in this Science paper. Implications are huge for test-to-stay in schools, pretravel testing &reporting rapid tests
7/ What a fascinating hour w/ great Q&A by Dr @Bob_Wachter - check it out at medicine.ucsf.edu/covid-19_grand… & don't miss next wk's session for another thought-provoking COVID convo w/ Dr @ashishkjha!
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