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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD Profile picture
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23 Dec, 5 tweets, 2 min read
Many thanks @RuhleOnMSNBC @SRuhle for hosting me as I explain why claims that omicron produces less severe illness than previous lineages may be premature. Beyond my interview below just now some additional things attached to this tweet
Briefly, if you look at the case vs time curves in UK and I believe similar in ZA, omicron dovetails on top of delta wave. It says to me that a lot of omicron infections were likely reinfections and that gave the illusion that omicron overall is not as serious, but…
…for the unvaccinated, omicron could still be just as dangerous. This is just a first impression. We’ll know better in the next couple of weeks. For instance in NY and elsewhere in northeast where they did not have much of a delta wave, I see hospitalizations increasing.
Bottom line: get vaccinated and get boosted
My other concern: we won’t have Paxlovid, Vir-GSK mab, or testing in abundance here in time for this omicron wave, and we’ll have lots of HCWs calling out sick from Covid Image

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More from @PeterHotez

Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD Profile picture
25 Dec
Back in Jan-Feb when I said mRNA vaccines were 3-dose vaccines and we’ll need boosters in 6-12 months, almost everyone pushed back, including many in the Fed Govt, FDA CDC advisory committees. I did think 3rd dose would last longer (“3 and done” I said) but the data are the data
And the data from UK and Israel showing virus neutralizing antibodies vs omicron not holding up after a booster. To be sure 3 doses still holding up well vs most serious infections but vs symptomatic illness not great, especially a couple of months after the booster.
Hence my recommendation for a second booster for HCWs. Not advocating yet for other populations although I see Israel 🇮🇱 Govt has extended to both HCWs and >60. Both US and Israel appear to support 2nd boosters for immunocompromised
Read 4 tweets
Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD Profile picture
24 Dec
Many thanks ⁦@Boris_Sanchez⁩ for hosting me today as I discuss the situation in NY NJ DC where hospitalizations are now going up and healthcare and other essential workers are experiencing breakthrough covid and therefore being knocked out of the workforce Image
My concern is that this could become a difficult situation since in 2020-21 we’ve seen how mortality rates go up when hospitals become overwhelmed. So my suggestions are as follows…
1. Take the rise in hospitalizations seriously, the US is different from UK in a number of ways and we shouldn’t just assume omicron won’t produce severe illness. We just had our first omicron death in Houston, for instance, someone with previous infection
Read 7 tweets
Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD Profile picture
24 Dec
Many thanks ⁦@KateBolduan⁩ for hosting me ⁦@OutFrontCNN⁩ with ⁦@JReinerMD⁩ I explained why the omicron variant poses a significant threat to the American people, due to the confluence of several unique factors…. Image
First the severity of the omicron wave in the UK or South Africa might have been lessened somewhat because it dovetailed on the heels of a delta wave so that there was a disproportionate number of reinfections
So the fact that hospitalizations are now going up in NY and DC could be a warning of things to come, but there’s more…
Read 8 tweets
Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD Profile picture
22 Dec
Many thanks ⁦@KatyTurNBC⁩ ⁦@KatyOnMSNBC⁩ for hosting me this afternoon, when asked if can ever bring the covid pandemic to a close, my ANS: whenever global leaders make a commitment to vaccine the world, especially the Southern Hemisphere. The reality… Image
The reality is that delta arose from an unvaccinated population in India, omicron an unvaccinated population in Southern Africa. What if the next variant is as transmissible as omicron but produces more severe illness?
We’re doing our part at @TexasChildrens to vaccinate the world’s LMICs. We now need the US Government and G7 leaders to match our commitment…as crazy as that sounds
Read 4 tweets
Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD Profile picture
22 Dec
Many thanks to ⁦@thelauracoates⁩ for hosting me ⁦@DonLemonTonight⁩ with ⁦@DrLeanaWen⁩ I offered my opinion that the attack on my friend colleague Dr Fauci is not unique to Jesse Watters, just as Laura Ingraham’s attacks on me are not specific to her, it’s worse
This is an overarching attempt by FoxNews and other conservative outlets to not only discredit science in America 🇺🇸 but also prominent US scientists. The conservative news outlets, far right members of US Congress, far right think tanks work to portray us as enemies of the state
It’s part of a larger far right attempt at authoritarian control, I’ve written about this in @PLOSBiology @PLOS journals.plos.org/plosbiology/ar…
Read 7 tweets
Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD Profile picture
21 Dec
Many thanks ⁦@AnaCabrera⁩ for having me back after ⁦@POTUS⁩ remarks allowing me to outline in graphic detail the public health damage from a antivaccine groups: now 200,000 unvaccinated Americans dead since June covid. They died because of defiance, victims of…
…victims of antivaccine antiscience aggression, now one of the leading killers of young and middle aged adults in America. And the reality is that the Biden Administration won’t confront this. Instead they focus on social media and FB seemingly tone deaf to those generating..
…generating the content and we know who they are:
1. Disinformation dozen identified by @CCDHate
2. State actors especially the Putin propaganda machine
3. But the largest is political extremism on the right…

thedailybeast.com/biden-battles-…
Read 5 tweets

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