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Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
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28 Oct, 4 tweets, 2 min read
The other issue I wanted to bring up in this new article is a question that I find fascinating: How may being a social media celebrity influence researchers going forward?

science.org/content/articl…
As @M_B_Petersen told me there is clearly a risk of being influenced by your followers’ likes. “Scientists are humans as well and humans like to get positive feedback, they like to be celebrated”, he told me. “That’s just how social media works”
Petersen told me that he saw some signs of this already. “In the beginning, everyone was just trying to figure out what is going on,” he told me. “Now, scientists are more and more locked into a particular position.”
And here’s @M_B_Petersen himself:

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Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
28 Oct
Some scientists have become twitter celebrities in this pandemic - bringing power as well as hate.
I talked to @devisridhar - a constant presence in my twitter feed the last two years - about her experience

Story here,short thread to come:
science.org/content/articl…
First of all: This story is part of a @NewsfromScience series on the “new normal” and just a brief peek at some of the issues scientists are grappling with in this time of viral posts and a pandemic virus. It’s a huge topic and I want to hear more stories and see more research…
But briefly:
One of the most amazing things early on in this pandemic was watching science (and policy) debates play out in real-time online. Some researchers have helped hundreds of thousands of people make sense of what’s going on and make informed decisions. They saved lives.
Read 10 tweets
Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
27 Oct
Last week I sat down with @billgates to talk about global vaccine inequity, why COVAX has failed to curb it, his foundation more generally and Germany’s role in global health. Interview (€, in German) here and a few points in English to come:

zeit.de/gesundheit/202…
On Covax:
He told me one huge problem was the complete absence of US leadership on this.
Another one was basically bad luck: COVAX bet on vaccines that were cheaper and more easily distributed than the mRNA vaccines and many of these have hit snags
(It is worth remembering that the bulk of globally available doses so far have been of just four vaccines: Astra-Zeneca, Pfizer and Sinopharm and Sinovac. Of these, Covax only bet early on AZ. Others it was counting on like J&J or Novavax have hit snags along the way.)
Read 14 tweets
Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
13 Oct
So today, @WHO unveiled a new team of scientists from around the world that will guide the search for the origins of #covid19 but also work on future outbreaks and more generally on emerging pathogens.

Story here (and short thread to come):
science.org/content/articl…
@WHO Who are they?

"This is an incredibly impressive group of experts”, @alexandraphelan told me: 26 researchers from 26 countries.

And @angie_rasmussen told me: "I’m pleased to see a list with such strong representation of the global south”

List is here: who.int/news-room/arti…
@WHO @alexandraphelan @angie_rasmussen The list includes seven researchers that were involved in the first WHO origins mission.

That might be criticised by some, @angie_rasmussen told me. But: "I think it is important for continuity and to assert that the first mission wasn’t a total wash"
Read 15 tweets
Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
13 Oct
"The number of weekly reported deaths from #covid19 continues to decline and is now at the lowest level in almost a year”, says @DrTedros at @WHO presser.
"But it’s still an unacceptably high level: almost 50,000 deaths a week, and the real number is certainly higher."
@DrTedros @WHO "Deaths are declining in every region except Europe, where several countries are facing fresh waves of cases and deaths”, says @drtedros.
@DrTedros @WHO “Of course, deaths are highest in the countries and populations with the least access to #covid19 vaccines”, says @DrTedros.
"We ask once again for the countries and companies that control the global supply of #covid19 vaccines to prioritize supply to COVAX and to AVAT now"
Read 17 tweets
Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
11 Oct
WHO’s expert group on immunization (SAGE) met last week to review evidence and is now recommending an additional #covid19 vaccine dose for two groups of people:
1. Anyone who is moderately or severely immunocompromised no matter which vaccine they received
2. Anyone 60 or over who received two doses of the inactivated vaccines from Sinopharm or Sinovac. (The evidence this is based on comes mostly from Latin American countries, where these have been used widely)
In both cases @WHO considers the additional dose to be part of the primary immunization series, so separate from the discussion about booster shots to shore up waning immunity.
Read 6 tweets
Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
7 Oct
“The development and approval of vaccines in record time took us to the summit of scientific achievement”, says @DrTedros in #covid19 presser.
“Now, we stand on the precipice of failure. If we don't make the benefits of science available to all people in all countries right now."
@DrTedros “High and upper middle income countries have used 75% of all vaccines produced so far, low income countries have received less than half of 1% of the world's vaccines”, says @DrTedros calling it a “horrifying inequity".
“In Africa, less than 5% of people are fully vaccinated."
@DrTedros "Today, WHO is launching the strategy to achieve global #COVID19 vaccination by mid-2022”, says @drtedros. Goal is 40% coverage in all countries by the end of this year, 70% by middle of next year.
"This is not a supply problem. It is an allocation problem"
Read 14 tweets

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