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Dr. Alex Huffman (he/him) Profile picture
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30 Nov, 19 tweets, 13 min read
"Nearly 40% of COVID cases related to outbreaks in Colorado are at schools"; By @EricaBreunlin @fishnette

This is equally unsurprising & disappointing. I'm torn by thoughts that districts often:
* are overwhelmed
* largely ignore airborne prevention
🧵⤵️
coloradosun.com/2021/11/29/col…
2/ There have been *countless* sources for good, data-backed science on how to radically slow COVID spread in schools. Pick from any number of excellent Colorado experts or widen the net to advocates & experts all over the country and world.
The solutions are ready to be applied.
3/ This was a @ColoradoSun OpEd I wrote earlier this year with one of many impassioned pleas:
4/ @CPRBrundin did a great job of putting together a list of priorities to keep schools healthy this Fall:
5/ One often overlooked area is the risk that accumulates when masks come off and students cram together in school cafeterias to eat.


6/ Nearly everyone points to the same general plan. Layer preventions, focusing on vaccines & cleaning the air:
* Masks
* Ventilation, filtration
* Be outside when possible
Excellent @TheLancet report led by @j_g_allen & others:
*
* static1.squarespace.com/static/5ef3652…
7/ And see recommendations by the @JohnsHopkinsSPH team, incl. @polsiewski. Same story: focus on ventilation and HEPA filtration indoors to clean the air & reduce airborne infection risk (from COVID, flu, and more).
8/ @RealOzSAGE has done a nice job of putting together helpful resource documents, both for schools and other businesses & gatherings.
Schools report: ozsage.org/wp-content/upl…
9/ And if reducing infectious disease risk isn't enough, there are long-term health benefits to cleaning the air.

* See article by @ctrlzee w/ overview of work by @cedenolaurent, @j_g_allen et al.: fastcompany.com/90675562/your-…
* Or see table in Lancet report:
10/ The thing is, the pathway to making schools COVID-safer is not at all new. Shouldn't even need to be a conversation at this point.
@j_g_allen has been a great resource for the country as he has pushed messages of school safety.

11/ @ShellyMBoulder has done a tremendous job and was especially formative in laying a path for others to follow last year:
drive.google.com/file/d/1tne-Zg…
12/ @CorsIAQ has tremendous experience and has constantly shared wisdom & data on how to improve schools & health of kids wrt airborne concerns.

13/ And there have been a number of really great workshops & webinars on how to make schools safe in the context of Delta. This excellent #DeltaSchoolsAirborne event was organized by @kprather88, @joaquinlife, others.
14/ Yet so often leaders have looked the other way from actionable, even cost-effective strategies to reduce COVID risks that kids will face.
15/ Maybe this is partly because school district leaders have been sold the lie that kids can't get COVID. Unfortunately, that's just not true.
@DrEricDing has frequently drawn important attention to the risks of COVID at schools.
16/ Children may not die at the same rates as other age brackets, but #LongCOVID is still a tremendous & possibly life-long burden to bear.
17/ All of this is hard. It's hard to sacrifice budget priorities; to work together when we're stressed; to believe this pandemic is still going.

But @EpiEllie is right ⬇️. We've simply got to do hard things.
Make COVID prevention in schools a priority.
18/ One way to overcome some of those hurdles is to offer to volunteer or donate when you have the means. Show up at your school board mtg; write letters & organize parents; offer to buy a HEPA filter or two. Do what you can to help shoulder the burden.
19/ Making schools safer is obv important to me. I have three kids <12 yrs in public schools. The time is past to lackadaisically wander toward airborne safety. Holiday travel will likely bump COVID cases, #Omicron promises to rise. The time to act is now.

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More from @HuffmanLabDU

Dr. Alex Huffman (he/him) Profile picture
1 Dec
Led by @RommieAmaro, "a team of 50 scientists has for the first time created an atomic simulation of the coronavirus nestled in a tiny airborne drop of water."

“People have literally never seen what this looks like.”
Article by @carlzimmer @13pt: nytimes.com/interactive/20…
(1/x)
2/ The @nytimes article by @carlzimmer @13pt is a fantastic overview of the complexity of viruses hitching a ride in aerosols. Little drops full of virus, proteins, mucins, surfactants, lung fluid, water.

The simulations are mind-blowingly cool.
nytimes.com/interactive/20…
3/ And crazy complicated: "the researchers needed one of the world’s biggest supercomputers to assemble 1.3 billion atoms & track all their movements down to less than a millionth of a second."

“While molecular modeling is not a new thing, the scale of this is next-level” Image
Read 7 tweets
Dr. Alex Huffman (he/him) Profile picture
29 Nov
Never been a better time to help improve indoor air quality:
* Schools may see COVID increases from holiday travel
* Omicron variant threatening
* Black Fri & Cyber Mon deals at play

If you have any $ margin, consider buying a HEPA filter or two for your local school.
(Short 🧵)
2/ Many commercial HEPA air cleaners you can choose from. Choose:
✅ Enough CADR for room (~2/3 of room area)
✅ HEPA (& ignore ionization/plasma)
✅ Look for lower cost & sound

See excellent thread by @marwa_zaatari w/ helpful tips & data below:
3/ Practical notes on HEPA product specifications:
* CADR (clean air delivery rate) is essentially air flow through the filter X particle removal efficiency
* You want enough CADR to meet room needs
* Can add units to add CADR
* CADR/noise usually listed only for highest speed
Read 16 tweets
Dr. Alex Huffman (he/him) Profile picture
24 Nov
Several counties in Colorado put a #MaskMandate order into effect starting today: cpr.org/2021/11/23/den…
It's a great time to remind people that masks aren't all the same. Any mask is more effective than no mask, but better fit & filtration quality upgrades protection.
Short 🧵
2/ There are so many great articles & resources on choosing a good mask, I picked just a few examples.
This article by @yeahyeahyasmin in @TheAtlantic is a great discussion of the need to wear #BetterMasks:
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
3/ This article by @tanyalewis314 is another good example that goes through reasons for #BetterMasks.
scientificamerican.com/article/why-we…
Read 14 tweets
Dr. Alex Huffman (he/him) Profile picture
15 Nov
Discussions today about our Thanksgiving got me thinking about what guidance has been put out lately. Thoughts & links in a 🧵. (1/x)

Gathering for the holiday brings risk, but some efforts can make it somewhat safer. A range of thoughts by PH experts:
statnews.com/2021/11/10/cov…
2/ @mimbsy talked with @KatherineJWu on her ideas about how to be safest for Thanksgiving.
theatlantic.com/newsletters/ar…
3/ And @cdcaron put some thought into how to deal with the topic of vaccination at Thanksgiving.
nytimes.com/2021/11/02/wel…
Read 14 tweets
Dr. Alex Huffman (he/him) Profile picture
12 Nov
I can't believe Colorado is actually having mtgs to draft possible care rationing plans before seriously working towards preventing people from being infected in the first place.

How is this the 21st century? We effing know how to slow it down, people. 1/
denver.cbslocal.com/2021/11/11/cov…
2/ “I would hate to see… sending someone home who’s homeless”. Um, ya. I think that would pretty well violate medical oaths!

Draft plans being discussed in preparation for the possibility of hospital beds & staff being overwhelmed in Colorado.
denverpost.com/2021/11/11/col… Image
3/ But in addition to the obvious number of infections, hospitalizations, deaths, the horror of long-COVID, etc. -- there are plenty of other, less obvious problems already being caused by hospitals & staff being overwhelmed in the state. For example:
Read 4 tweets
Dr. Alex Huffman (he/him) Profile picture
9 Nov
"On Friday night, Colorado’s COVID-19 modeling team released a new report warning that if nothing changed, 1,393 people could be hospitalized with the virus by late Nov.
It took less than three days to exceed that projection."

Article: @MegWingerter (1/x)
denverpost.com/2021/11/09/col…
2/ Data on vaxxed (breakthrough) vs unvaxxed cases & hospitalizations in Colorado always comes up as an important question. ⬇️

So get yourself & family vaxxed. But if even so, still important to be careful right now. #MaskUpColorado

Data: covid19.colorado.gov/vaccine-breakt…
3/ Unfortunately, it's not just one area of Colorado seeing spikes. This is somewhat anecdotal, but here are cases in one suburban Denver school district. Currently on a streak of six consecutive school days of new highs.

(dips each week on weekends when less testing)
Read 8 tweets

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