Thread by @math_rachel

Focusing on vaccines ALONE:
- Does not work (many countries tried & failed)
- Hospitals can still collapse
- Sig # of vaxxed get LongCOVID
- Rooted in neoliberalism: individual responsibility as soln to collective problems
We need: vaccines + N95s + ventilation + air filters 1/

Vaccines alone are not enough. We saw this with Delta in UK, Israel, Denmark, & others that reopened w/out masks. Denmark had >90% vax rate for over 12s and here’s what happened with Delta. (for vax: 2x against delta may be like 3x against omicron) 2/

https://twitter.com/YouAreLobbyLud/status/1466314655605747714?s=20

If you are 3x vaxxed, you should still care:
- Breakthroughs not rare
- Significant # of breakthroughs get LongCovid
- You may need functioning hospital system
- Many are ineligible for vax (kids) or can’t mount antibody response (eg cancer patients) 3/

https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1463738371465908233?s=20

“But people are fatigued and won’t tolerate any more restrictions.” Good news, here are a bunch of things governments could do that aren’t individual restrictions 4/

https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1472025151726243840?s=20

People are not going to experience well-ventilated buildings, with clearly posted CO2 monitors, as a “restriction”. Many politicians are giving themselves excellent ventilation, while kids in their constituency go to poorly-ventilated unsafe schools 5/

https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1464827214298443780?s=20

Covid & current indoor air is similar to cholera & sewage in our water (before we implemented modern sewage systems). Follow @jljcolorado @kprather88 for more on importance of cleaning up our air #COVIDisAirborne 6/
theatlantic.com/health/archive…

Leaders set people up for anger & disappointment when they overpromise vaccines 7/

https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1462585820171227136?s=20

Please note, in many countries (including England), a majority want mask mandates, and the GOVERNMENT is the key obstacle to reducing spread of covid, not the people 8/

In the West, our covid response has been hobbled by neoliberal/libertarian ideas of individual responsibility, which are insufficient for collective problems (such as pandemics or climate change) 9/

https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1439410926982107138?s=20

Also, we are facing a coordinated campaign to downplay the risks of covid, using strategies straight out of the climate denial playbook & often bankrolled by the same billionaires: funding contrarian scientists, misleading petitions, social media bots 10/

https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1453146707445751809?s=20

A lot of public health messaging has been patronizing, infantilizing, & paternalistic. Good thread on this from @LongDesertTrain 11/

https://twitter.com/LongDesertTrain/status/1471814260154159112?s=20

This announcement from the prime minister of Japan in March 2020 is more truthful & more respectful of his audience than almost all the comms I hear from leaders in the West 12/

https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1461239967456194561?s=20

Many leaders assume they must prevent people from “panicking”. But it is a myth that people panic in disasters. In fact the opposite: research shows many behave altruistically when facing disasters & threats. 13/

sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/…

Many leaders treat masks as punishment. There is no evidence that a “reward” of no masks is effective at motivating vaccination. For most of us, the reward for getting vaxxed is reducing risk to ourselves, our loved ones, & our community 14/

https://twitter.com/sarcandes/status/1471095040428724224?s=20

We need to protect our health system. Large num of health care workers are quitting b/c of abuse, burn out, & trauma, or becoming disabled with LongCOVID

Patients are dying from treatable issues due to maxed out ICUs, and having to delay cancer treatments & needed surgeries 15/

To be clear, vaccines are incredibly helpful (just not sufficient on their own) and we should continue to address misunderstandings & remove barriers to vaccine access. I am happy to have 3 doses. 16/

https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1471339971596324871?s=20

Please read my thread arguing for why it’s important to vax kids ASAP. I can’t wait to vax my 6 year old once Australia rolls out vaccination to 5-11 y.o. kids in Jan 17/

https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1454242957259800578?s=20

As @jeremyphoward wrote, we shouldn’t confuse all vaccine hesitancy with extreme anti-vaxxers. We should continue to reach out to the hesitant and to those facing logistical barriers 18/

usatoday.com/story/opinion/…

Vaccination is important, but insufficient. We must improve ventilation and wear high-quality, well-fitting masks indoors in public places. Policy makers need to take into account the whole picture 19/

https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1461111575457058817?s=20

My mistake in tweet #2. Meant to QT this chart about Denmark:

https://twitter.com/YouAreLobbyLud/status/1466314661561700352?s=20

The focus on vaccines alone is convenient for helping governments shift blame away from their own policy failures & inaction 21/

https://twitter.com/oni_blackstock/status/1472261185521299459?t=ZF_6mCx3BDi2WjB1O20CAg&s=19