Thread by @BillHanage

This is a disgraceful and evidence-free position taken by the NFL. It is nevertheless an opportunity to explain a few things about omicron and what we are learning about it 1/n
espn.com/nfl/story/_/id…

First the very serious point that the transmission properties of omicron mean that existing quarantine/isolation rules need to be reassessed to prevent extreme disruption. But we don’t have the evidence base for those changes that we would like, and we won't for a while 2/n

Quotes from the piece "I think all of our concern about [asymptomatic spread] has been going down based on what we've been seeing throughout the past several months," Newsflash, there’s a new player on the scene and what was true for delta is not necessarily so for omicron 3/n

Also they say “transmission… is not being driven by people who have no idea that they are infected and they are infecting scores of others.” This is unambiguously false. I know personally of many occasions at which this has happened in recent weeks as omicron has surged 4/n

It's not just private data, it's in a LOT of news reports that have been building up. This was from the start of the month khn.org/morning-breako… 5/n

If vaccinated people assume they cannot be infectious, more people will be infected - including some at greater risk. That's why this isn't just stupid post hoc justification of something they are doing because they want to do it, it's dangerous. Others will follow their lead 6/n

The demand for evidence of asymptomatic transmission is a common trope among bad-faith commentators. They delay action by demanding a standard of proof not possible under the circumstances, and then wash their hands of the inevitable consequences. (See also climate change) 7/n

Finally the @NFL has been collecting samples for a long time. Like the @NBA it has provided a remarkable and valuable resource for the study of the virus - we could use those samples to answer the question of whether asymptomatic transmission is happening 8/n

If they are so sure that asymptomatic transmission does not occur sequence those samples and make the data available to an independent expert like me who can tell them if there’s evidence for asymptomatic transmission. If they don’t you can draw your own conclusions 9/end