Thread by @amychomd

Just great.

I am certain that the jeering anti-everything COVID deniers will show up at the next school board meeting demanding that masking end "no later than February 15" with this toolkit in hand as evidence to support their demands.

This is so exhausting.
#NotNormal

https://twitter.com/drlucymcbride/status/1485810134689460229

I am certain there will be no nuanced discussion of the reality of outbreaks or healthcare capacity. Or of our ethical duties to those most vulnerable among us.

There will be no real world data on whether “focused protection” is feasible or effective.

https://twitter.com/amychomd/status/1486025438694629376?s=20

I am certain that the title of these doctors will be used to justify and normalize leaving our most vulnerable behind. Unnecessarily.

I want to get back to normal too. I agree it is urgent and I’m working hard to get us “there.” But we aren’t there yet. Things are #NotNormal

Normal is my kids school being able to say open. It’s #NotNormal for so many student, teachers and staff to be ill that the school has to close.

Normal is a healthcare system with capacity to provide lifesaving emergency care, cancer surgeries and preventative care.

It's #NotNormal to have patients who can't get surgery for a brain bleed because there is no bed. Or who board in the ED for days or wait 18 hours to be seen.

It's #NotNormal to have test results delayed so long that therapeutics can't be started in time to work.

Normal is taking precautions to minimize short-term and long-term risks to our children.

Normal is not accepting unnecessary deaths of anyone.

Normal should be caring about everyone, whether they have a "preexisting condition" or not.

https://twitter.com/amychomd/status/1313489190399684609?s=20

Ignoring reality - that a variant is surging at historic rates and overwhelming our healthcare system, schools & essential services - is #NotNormal.

Pretending like the pandemic will be over on an arbitrary date of our choosing is #NotReality and will lead to unnecessary death.

Deciding that we will leave behind our neighbors & vulnerable, because we got to the end of Spotify and we are “done” is #NotNormal. It is not leadership.

Arguing that COVID is just the flu* or masking doesn’t work is #NotCorrect.
*for unvaccinated

https://twitter.com/JHowardBrainMD/status/1486075249942839305?s=20

Arguing that healthy children are gravely harmed and cannot tolerate the harms of masks at school for the next few months but the solution is instead for vulnerable children to be singled out and wear an N95 respirator is #NotLogical and #Stigmatizing.

Justifying your theory of "focused protection" without demonstrating that it actually protects anyone and without putting in place the support systems to make it possible is #NotHelping to get back to normal. It's just justifying abandonment of our ethical duties to the minority.

I agree that we should maximize the ability of children to be in school.

I wrote about it in August of 2020.

“It is possible to make in-person school safe again, and we should neither deny the risks nor descend into nihilism.”
thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2020/09/1…

I agree that it's urgent to get back to normal. We should #DoTheWork to get "there."
1. Access to vaccines for all, including younger siblings.
2. Healthcare capacity to provide standard of care for COVID & non-COVID illness.
3. Access to therapeutics for the vulnerable.

The end is in sight but normal doesn't just happen "no later than Feb 15" all across the US. It happens when we #DoTheWork to make us all safe.

We are better than this. Let's not leave anyone behind. Let's keep at this a little longer to save lives.

https://twitter.com/amychomd/status/1313489217855672323?s=20