Share this page!

Dr Zoë Hyde Profile picture
Twitter logo
Jan 25 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Western Australian schools will get CO2 monitors and a HEPA air cleaner in every classroom as part of a world-leading reopening plan.

High school students will need to wear masks, as will primary school students if cases rise. 😷
amp.abc.net.au/article/100779…
If a child tests positive, they and their family will need to isolate, as will all of their classmates.

This is a sensible policy that will prevent widespread transmission in the community and therefore help to keep schools open in the long-run.
@MarkMcGowanMP, @CHO_WAHealth, and @sueellery have delivered a good plan, but there’s still room for improvement.

Masks should be encouraged for primary school students, and the Government should consider supplying schools and parents with comfortable, high-quality KF94 masks.
Surgical & cloth masks don’t offer enough protection.

KF94 masks are much better, comfortable, and available in a range of sizes for children. Even without fit-testing, they’ll likely outperform a surgical mask as shown in this study of similar P2 masks.
pnas.org/content/118/49…
Clarification: The Western Australian government will supply 1,500 CO2 monitors & >12,000 HEPA air cleaners to its 900 schools. Some classrooms can be adequately ventilated with existing systems. HEPA units will be used where extra measures are necessary.
education.wa.edu.au/covid-19-safe-…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Dr Zoë Hyde

Dr Zoë Hyde Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @DrZoeHyde

Dr Zoë Hyde Profile picture
Jan 1
Concerning new UK data show protection against hospitalisation is greatly reduced for the omicron variant. About 6 months after 2 doses, effectiveness is reduced to 52%.

Note this is a combined analysis of all vaccines - some may be higher, some lower.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
The good news is that a third vaccine dose brings protection against hospitalisation up to 88% for the omicron variant.

Protection against hospitalisation caused by the delta variant remains at a very high level, for both two and three doses.
A study from South Africa recently estimated that two doses of the Pfizer-BNT vaccine offers 93% protection against hospitalisation caused by the delta variant, and 70% for the omicron variant.
nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…
Read 6 tweets
Dr Zoë Hyde Profile picture
Dec 30, 2021
The omicron variant is NOT mild.

Hospitalisations are 40-45% less likely than with the delta variant (imperial.ac.uk/mrc-global-inf…), but the delta variant is >2x more severe than the original strain (cmaj.ca/content/193/42…).

The omicron variant is AT LEAST as bad as the 2020 virus.
But the omicron variant is far more transmissible, and our vaccines don’t work as well against it.

This means that an omicron variant epidemic will infect far more people than a delta variant epidemic would.
In practical terms, this means the omicron variant is MORE dangerous than the delta variant.

I modelled what would happen if either of these variants were allowed to spread in Western Australia with only a *double-dose* vaccination level of 90% (i.e., hardly any third doses).
Read 6 tweets
Dr Zoë Hyde Profile picture
Dec 20, 2021
I recently went to two Christmas parties. Not a single person was wearing a mask.

And it was okay, because there’s no epidemic where I live. Western Australia has managed to sustain zero COVID for nearly 2 years.

Eliminating COVID-19 was always possible. The world chose not to.
This got people talking. Good. But the point isn’t Christmas parties or Western Australia. It’s that elimination is the only long-term strategy for ending the pandemic. I’m not someone who typically praises China, but the government there understood this.
bmj.com/content/375/bm…
But elimination doesn’t require draconian measures. There are many tools in the toolbox that we’re not yet using (or not using widely), such as ensuring everyone has a better mask. People need masks that can block aerosols. Better ventilation is also key.
masks4all.co/faqs-on-better…
Read 4 tweets
Dr Zoë Hyde Profile picture
Dec 8, 2021
I won’t sugar-coat things. This is a disaster.

People vaccinated with 2 doses of the Pfizer-BNT vaccine likely have no protection against infection with the omicron strain. Protection after 3 doses has likely taken a big hit as well.

What it means for severe disease is unclear.
There are similar data from South Africa.

Antibodies collected from people vaccinated with 2 doses of the Pfizer-BNT vaccine fare poorly against the omicron variant, although vaccinated people with a previous infection fared better.

But getting infected still isn’t a good idea! Image
The key question now, is what this means for protection against severe disease.

It’s unlikely to have been lost, but some reduction seems inevitable, particularly for those vaccinated with only 2 doses.
Read 10 tweets
Dr Zoë Hyde Profile picture
Nov 18, 2021
A study analysing the health records of people with COVID-19 has found that those who were taking SSRI antidepressants were less likely to die from the virus.

There was an 8% reduction for any SSRI, 28% for fluoxetine, & 26% for fluoxetine or fluvoxamine.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman… Image
The researchers tried to match people taking antidepressants with a group of control patients, based on age, sex, ethnicity, and medical history.

However, this wasn’t a randomised controlled trial, and it’s possible that other unmeasured factors affected the results.
That said, it’s plausible that SSRI antidepressants do reduce the risk of dying from COVID-19, because they have both anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…
Read 4 tweets
Dr Zoë Hyde Profile picture
Oct 24, 2021
The AY.33 sub-lineage of the delta variant might not be readily detectable with current PCR or rapid antigen tests. These can be updated, but in the interim, cases may go undetected.

This is one reason why Australia’s plan to end hotel or home quarantine is premature.
This isn’t the first time variants have caused testing issues. One of the reasons the alpha variant was noticed was because tests for the spike gene returned false negatives.

Fortunately, the tests also looked for other parts of the virus, which had not changed significantly.
A variant also emerged in France that was difficult to detect. Viral loads in the upper (but not lower) respiratory tract were often below the detectable limit in people infected with the B.1.616 variant.
medrxiv.org/content/10.110…
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @DrZoeHyde has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @DrZoeHyde!

Read all threads by @DrZoeHyde

:(