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Abraar Karan Profile picture
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29 Dec, 4 tweets, 1 min read
1/ People are rightfully concerned that cases who are out of isolation too early can still transmit (they can)

And CDC guidelines hinge on people wearing masks for the 5 days after (they should)

But they should be wearing a high filtration mask.

Better source control.
2/ Part of our push for HiFi masks was not only to protect the wearer, but also to protect those around the wearer esp because people transmit before they show any symptoms at all
3/ From NIOSH scientists on source control provided by cloth masks versus respirators here

Respirators are much better. Fit is of course still very important as well.

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
4/ I can also say this...with more people theoretically leaving isolation earlier than previously, and with no way to really guarantee that they wear any mask at all, I would (for now at least while we are surging) be even more inclined to upgrade the mask that you are wearing.

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More from @AbraarKaran

Abraar Karan Profile picture
30 Dec
So there was a respirator FOR THE PUBLIC for emergencies such as a PANDEMIC by 3M from 2008

How in the hell did CDC recommend cloth masks for this long instead of pushing the federal government to scale up production for every single American immediately 2 years ago????? Image
Link here — note the date: 2008

multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/5079…

h/t @AeonCoin
And this looks *a lot* like the 3M 1870– the respirator that is so comfortable I did an entire workout in the gym with absolutely no issues at all if we are going to bring this back to N95 being ‘uncomfortable’

I just don’t get why

Cc @CDCDirector @WhiteHouse @Surgeon_General
Read 9 tweets
Abraar Karan Profile picture
29 Dec
In a viral surge, time is everything, esp with exponential spread. It means you cannot reasonably vaccinate your way out. You cannot depend on test results that take days to come back. You cannot hedge on quarantining or isolating. You cannot wait to start using better masks.
2/ You essentially need a way to stun transmission. Many have called for circuit breaker events in which any social interaction that could introduce transmission stops altogether outside of households (a “lockdown”)

However, I don’t think this is necessary to achieve this.
3/ This was part of our proposal in May 2020 in this piece. With enough people wearing the right respiratory protection— that is, masks with excellent filtration AND source control— you could achieve close to the same thing without shutting down.

hbr.org/amp/2020/05/a-…
Read 4 tweets
Abraar Karan Profile picture
29 Dec
One of the problems w/ CDC isolation guidelines is it hinges on many assumptions, some which may be clarified with more data tomorrow, and others which cannot be clarified or even really monitored/guaranteed by any means

1/
First assumption is that most people are barely transmitting after day 5. This might be true- but I haven't seen that data the way it was shown for transmission early on which helped to create the 10 day protocol

Esp need that data for people w/ Omicron specifically

2/
Second assumption is that people who are done isolating and feel better will actually wear a mask at all

Third assumption is that cloth masks or whatever people are using that are not high filtration actually have good source control (no good data saying this is true)

3/
Read 10 tweets
Abraar Karan Profile picture
29 Dec
My interview with @NYMag on why cloth masks don’t cut it — this is the time, esp during a surge like this, to wear the best respiratory protection that you can.

The science is clear: virus is airborne; high filtration masks work, regardless of variants.

nymag.com/intelligencer/…
2/ Here are two high filtration masks that I have worn that I find are comfortable, breathable, & have NIOSH certification (see next tweet for the other)

3/ I worked out in the gym with this— this was more comfortable than many cloth masks.

And I did so knowing that I could trust in the protection afforded by my mask.
Read 6 tweets
Abraar Karan Profile picture
26 Dec
I do not know *anyone* who actually wants lockdowns. Literally no one wants that

What is crazy to me is that if Americans had the right masks from day 1– we would never have had to shut down

Instead- we had “don’t mask” then cloth mask/ bandannas; & even now, not much better
2/ To me, this is not about Delta or Omicron or whatever comes next.

It is about being *prepared* so we aren’t left scrambling again

So we aren’t talking about lockdowns or what to do with schools or businesses or hospital beds

So we all have access to excellent protection
3/ Even after the #Omicron wave passes, having a robust supply of high filtration masks for the public — for if/when we may need it— must be a priority for the @JoeBiden administration.

This is not mask forever. This is not mandates.

This is about being prepared.
Read 4 tweets
Abraar Karan Profile picture
25 Dec
1/ Controlling the epidemic such that we don’t have surges & keep infection levels low doesn’t hinge on any one solution but the combination of many, done right

We have pushed for #BetterMasks with the expectation that only some people will wear them. But that this still matters
2/ No intervention will have 100% uptake

And every intervention has benefits and costs to the individual (diff for everyone)

Rapid tests, HiFi masks, vaccinations, air filtering products, avoiding social gatherings etc etc

Goal is to avoid surges, not elimination of virus
3/ When we have infection surges, the benefits of each intervention grow even more, relative to their costs

The combination of these tools applied at the right time by enough people can stun epidemic growth

But they require coordinated leadership & public buy in
Read 4 tweets

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