1/We are all tired of #COVID19. But the virus, sadly, is not done with us.
If you're looking to help your fellow Mainers through this difficult time, there's something you can do: volunteer with Maine Responds (maineresponds.org).
2/Maine Responds is our state's public health #volunteer network.
Hundreds of your neighbors are using their skills to help the entire state’s #publichealth system.
And it's an impressive, well-oiled machine. Some quick stats 👇🏾
3/Since March 2020, Maine Responds has built a #COVID19 response team of 519 activated #volunteers.
They've donated 38,917 hours during 6,474 shifts.
The #volunteers have carried out 34 distinct missions - both one-time as well as sustained, long-term efforts.
4/That's a gift worth over $1.1 million from Mainers, like you, who have stepped up to help their #Maine communities cope with this pandemic for nearly 2 years.
1/A recurring refrain I hear about #COVID19#vaccines is, "Why should I get the shot since I can still get COVID after?"
I want to discuss why that isn't exactly an accurate assessment why it doesn't accord with the way that most of us think about risk in our daily lives.
2/Let's start with the core notion: that you can still get #COVID19 after being fully #vaccinated.
That is true. But the statement lacks critical context. While you can still get COVID after getting a vaccine, you are MUCH less likely to do so.
The relative risk matters.
3/At baseline, the #COVID19 vaccines have an effectiveness of around 80-90%.
Vaccine effectiveness is a measure derived from clinical trials and calculates the relative risk of being affected in a vaccinated population vs. an unvaccinated one.
2/It can be hard to digest the data and make sense of the various studies. Thankfully, the @CDCgov is out with a new Science Brief that does just that.
I recommend this Brief for anyone looking for an overview of the current scientific evidence.
1/It's good being back on Twitter. Since being back, I've been thinking about how/why misinformation proliferates so widely on social media like Twitter.
To adapt an old canard, Twitter is a medium because it is neither rare nor well done.
2/These qualities are simultaneously features and bugs. Twitter is ubiquitous and open to everyone, which makes it ideal for disseminating information. But Twitter is also ubiquitous and open to everyone, which makes it ideal for spreading misinformation.
3/The misinformation that concerns me is that which is driven by what I will call "gadflies."
These are individuals who do a bit of "research" on YouTube, or perhaps even via a pre-print, and then find a quote that accords with their pre-conceived notion (confirmation bias).
1/It's time to take stock of where we are w/#COVID19 in Maine from an epidemiological perspective.
Let's start with the big picture. The PCR positivity rate is now 5.3%. One incubation period ago, it was at 4.5%.
2/A portion of that increase is attributable to less PCR testing.
Right now, the current daily PCR testing volume stands at 471/100K people. That's 13% lower than one incubation period ago, leading to a higher positivity rate.
3/Hospitalizations are thankfully lower, but still high. Right now, 166 people are in the hospital in #Maine w/#COVID19. 60 of them are in the ICU and 31 are on ventilators.
Two weeks ago, there were 211 people hospitalized, with 67 in the ICU, though 27 on a ventilator.
1/It's important to consider the full picture when interpreting data on things like the % of people fully vaccinated who are hospitalized with #COVID19, or the fact that 74% of the cases in the P-town outbreak were fully vaccinated.
2/I have seen folks express concern upon learning, for example, that 45% of people hospitalized w/COVID19 are vaccinated.
"But I thought the vaccine keeps you out of the hospital? Is this evidence that vaccines aren't working?" No, it is not.
I'll walk through why here.
3/First, some basic assumptions. There are two Worlds, each with 1M people. And we'll consider the same infectious disease affecting each World, with the parameters below.
There is also a vaccine, with the effectiveness parameters noted below. These could all be changed.