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Kashif Pirzada, MD Profile picture
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17 Nov, 8 tweets, 4 min read
Covid is an airborne virus. What does that mean and how can you protect yourself from it? I go over some practical steps you can take to keep yourself safe this winter with @gilldeacon on @CBCHereandNow:
cbc.ca/listen/live-ra…
Step 1: Whenever you go in an indoor space, make sure you have the right protection. A well fitting N95 or similar mask is your superpower. It frees you from worrying if others are wearing their masks properly, and if they are vaccinated. I don't go indoors anywhere without one.
This is a guide to wear you can buy an N95 equivalent mask, typically $1 or so at major stores, and you can re-use them several times.
Step 2: How well ventilated is your office, school or shop? A CO2 meter can tell you how fresh the air is. Support businesses that are taking steps to protect you. @LadyScorcher saw that @agotoronto had great numbers, I bought an annual pass the next day
Business should follow this example of a movie theatre in Japan. Low CO2 numbers near the atmospheric level of 412 parts per million (ppm) show you how fresh the air is inside.
Step 3: If ventilation is not that great, do the next best thing and filter the air. HEPA filters can screen out viral particles. Every room in clinics where I work have them, adding an extra layer of protection in addition to the masks we already wear.
Some advice for planning your holiday dinner this year. Rapid tests can be found for $7-10 each, and are a great way to protect elderly waiting for boosters, or kids who still aren't eligible yet for shots.
I look forward to speaking at a future Inquiry on why it took so long for us to move on these precautions. It exposes some serious flaws in the way we process and implement critical research, especially since we already we went through this with SARS1. Until then, stay safe!

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More from @KashPrime

Kashif Pirzada, MD Profile picture
19 Nov
Tomorrow vaccine approval is expected in Canada for kids 5-11. I believe so strongly in their benefits that I enrolled my own sons in a trial of @moderna_tx's vaccine for kids 6m to 5y. They have a 1/4 chance of getting a placebo, but🤞they have some chance at safety now. 🧵=> Image
The evidence thus far is that it is safe and effective for children. It reduces the risk of infection, and though death is rare, it still happens in 1/10k cases. Long Covid can happen in >1/50 cases. @EricTopol lays it out plainly here:
In this detailed thread @ENirenberg goes over data presented at recent FDA and CDC meetings. Myocarditis is thought to affect males pubertal age and above, and resolves quickly. The CDC advisory committee voted unanimously to recommend the vaccine:
Read 10 tweets
Kashif Pirzada, MD Profile picture
16 Nov
I'm going to be speaking on @CBCHereandNow today at 5:50pm (ET) about how you can protect yourself from airborne spread of Covid-19. Airborne virus particles can linger in the air for hours, and infect you if you don't have a good mask or if the space is not well ventilated.
Main points are here, and with links to tips on buying a mask and installing a hepa filter:
With all of us spending more time indoors, the quality of ventilation is all important. Make sure your workplace, school or shop are paying attention to this. Go into poorly ventilated spaces only with a good quality N95 mask or similar:
Read 5 tweets
Kashif Pirzada, MD Profile picture
4 Nov
We can't just 'live with' Covid - the virus is far too dangerous to allow it to spread uncontrolled even with vaccines.
My presentation to @PopAlberta today:
With the amazing @GosiaGasperoPhD @DFisman @Lorian_H and @LukaszukAB
#ableg #popAB #COVID19AB
We can't live with Covid any more than we can live with measles, polio, smallpox, malaria, chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. These are all things that have been controlled with sustained effort over multiple generations. Image
This is an important paper by @dgurdasani1 @adamhamdy and @fitterhappierAJ and Dr. Marc Desforges which outlines many of the ongoing concerns regarding SARS-CoV2:
mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/1…
Read 16 tweets
Kashif Pirzada, MD Profile picture
25 Oct
Today many hospitals in the Toronto area will start to offer the Regeneron Monoclonal cocktail for the treatment of Covid-19. This is a ‘passive vaccination’ - providing artificial antibodies that otherwise develop naturally in vaccinated people.
I went over in some detail how these treatments are created last year. They are produced in a process that shares many steps with production of mRNA vaccines. One of them, @AbCelleraBio's Bamlanivimab, is designed in Canada and marketed by Eli Lilly.
They also represent a crucial part of an ‘immune system for society’ where we can handle new threats and variants that evade our vaccines. These are local companies that are going to help us fight these threats: @IncResilience @AbCelleraBio @PrecisionNano @Novavax @medicagoinc
Read 8 tweets
Kashif Pirzada, MD Profile picture
20 Sep
It's not well known outside of medical circles, but there's been a long-running fight between cautious physicians and a libertarian group who have been advocating allowing the virus to run rampant to produce natural immunity in the population - no matter the cost in lives.
They signed a document called the 'Great Barrington Declaration' (GBD) - much criticized for its 'let nature run its course' or 'let the weak die off' take on pandemic management. @tylercowen writes a strong critique here:
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
A few things that astonish me about the GBD:
- It's from Oct/2020 - little was known about long-covid and new strains. How could they be so certain this was the best way forward without data to back it up?
- It's backers constantly declare the pandemic over, and are always wrong.
Read 7 tweets
Kashif Pirzada, MD Profile picture
14 Sep
Really strong case for 3rd doses, especially for those over age 60:
This should be the biggest priority for decision makers in the coming weeks.
I'll go over why in this thread ->
Waning immunity is being observed in multiple studies, in elderly populations, and needs to be addressed. It's too bad our federal authorities are paralyzed by the election, a decision needs to be made soon.
Vaccine equity is an issue, but:
- the world is swiftly catching up
- Median age in Africa is 19.7 years, its 45+ in most Western countries, and death/ICU risk increases exponentially with age
Read 8 tweets

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