Thread by @tmprowell

I know personally 3 people receiving monoclonal antibodies this evening. All have had 3 doses of #COVID19 #vaccine or prior infection + 2 doses of vaccine. All are careful. They all have risk factors, but all are pretty symptomatic. Jan is gonna be…rough. #MaskUp. #Omicron

Tweet 2: A lot of people seem to be panicking based on this anecdote. Panic is NOT productive. Instead you need to calmly plan & act to reduce your risk. These are some effective things you can do right now:
👉Upgrade your masks. No more cloth alone. Best is N95/KN95/KF94...

Tweet 3: As an alternative to N95/KN95/KF94, if you can't tolerate those or don't have them, I rec a surgical mask (ASTM level 3, 3-ply is great) w/ cloth mask over it. Read this: scientificamerican.com/article/why-we…. The non-profit @projectn95 has vetted, affordable PPE including masks.

Tweet 4: Improve the quality of the indoor air you breathe. The cheapest way to do this (heating cost notwithstanding) is to open windows periodically & run fans to bring in fresh air. If you can access the HVAC, buy a MERV13 filter & run the fan on high.

Tweet 5: A simple device you can rig up yourself (or "MacGyver" yourself...shout out to #GenX) is called a Corsi-Rosenthal box. If you can wrap a Xmas gift, you can make this inexpensively in 45 mins: , & they are very effective: cbsn.ws/3sjpflQ.

Tweet 6: If you are #vaccinated & #boosted, awesome. Your job is to call up 1 hesitant person in your life & tell them you don't want to lose them. Help them #getvaccinated & #getboosted too.

If you aren't, hop to it. Go to vaccines.gov to find an appt or vax site.

Tweet 7: The vaccines do not protect as well versus #Omicron, at least in terms of getting infected, as they have vs #DeltaVariant & other #CovidVariants, but most pts in hospital/ICUs are unvaccinated. All data we have suggest they provide a lot of protection vs severe illness.

Tweet 8: If you are age 12 & up, & #immunocompromised due to #cancer, etc, talk to your dr about getting an authorized injection given every 6 mos that reduces risk of #COVID19: fda.gov/news-events/pr…. (You should still #GetVaccinated & #GetBoosted.) #Omicron

Tweet 9: If you test pos for #coronavirus, call your dr or this # to ask about monoclonal antibodies to⬇️ risk of hospitalization/severe illness. They are in short supply right now, so may be prioritized for #immunocompromised, #cancer, #pregnancy. combatcovid.hhs.gov/possible-treat…

Tweet 10: We were all very tired of the #COVID19, even before #Omicron. God knows #MedTwitter & #NurseTwitter are tired. Be kind to yourself & others. Extend grace & the benefit of the doubt. A #pandemic is a test of humanity. They go on & on until we all work together.

Tweet 11: But hold onto #hope. We are surrounded by people who jump in the water to save drowning strangers, donate money they don't have to GoFundMe's to help strangers whose homes have burned, & more. Don't see any hope? Here's one example: hcwvshunger.org. Create some.

Tweet 12: We'll get through this. We've gotten through hard things before. There are a lot of us, you know. As of this minute, 7,914,355,268 of us. That's a lot of brilliant, hardworking, kind, hopeful people. We all just have to row in the same direction. Let's roll. #Omicron

By the way, if your kids are in schools without a #MaskMandate, contact your superintendents or school board members & demand one. Without it, your schools WILL close. I'll bet cash on that. Make Corsi-Rosenthal boxes as a school science project for your room, #teachertwitter.