People felt scared. People were permanently harmed. We lost jobs & friends & our sense of invulnerability. People died.
It's a hard truth to grieve & accept, but denial won't erase the scars.
We have only 2 options: more waves, loss, disability & death
OR reduce risk w/ TTI, clean air, vax, meds & small behavior changes.
Needing more changes may feel unfair.
Maybe you deserve your old life back without compromising any more. That's normal. We're all so OVER COVID
But which of ur loved ones' long-term health would u trade? Who of ur friends won't get saved if they're in an accident? Or get cancer?
Pls don't deny the risk. Even if COVID wasn't so bad, our healthcare is crumbling. Having no beds, ambulances, or surgery WILL hurt ppl u love.
There is a solution; it's not endless lockdowns. It's HVAC + small things: wearing a mask when cases rise & reducing contacts -> zoom mtgs when you didn't want to get dressed up & drive downtown anyway, & staying home when sick.
It's cooperation where everyone saves each other.
Yes, it's still different than before, which means continued effort.
But different isn't always worse. It doesn't always mean being unhappy long-term, or being less happy than in the before-times.
Revised - 🧵What everyone should know about Measles (but many don't):
1) Measles is very nasty.
Worst in ppl <5 or >20, immunocompromised, pregnant
Severe in 10% cases➡️blindness/deafness/brain dmg, pneumonia, SSPE
PLUS Immune Amnesia
Kills 1-3/1000, over 200K ppl in 2019.
2) Measles is very bad, but largely vaccine preventable.
MMR(V) vaccine 95-97%** effective w/ 2 doses, normally given ~ age 12 mo & 18 mo - 4 yrs. Catch up if you missed it. Babies 6 mo. can get bonus dose for safety.
See MORE ON VACCINATION later in thread.
3a) Measles ALSO causes "IMMUNE AMNESIA"
(Discovered in 2012) Measles attacks immune memory cells you already have, so you lose immunity to *other* diseases. Like a new arrival w/ no maternal antibodies.
🧵What everyone should know about Measles (but many don't):
1) Measles is very nasty. Usually worst in kids <5, adults >20, immunocompromised.
Can cause blindness, hearing loss, brain damage, pneumonia.
Kills 1-3 per 1000 cases. It killed over 200,000 people in 2019 alone.
2) Measles is very bad, but vaccine preventable.
MMR(V) vaccine 95-97% effective w/ 2 doses, normally given ~ age 1 & age 4. Catch up if you missed it. Babies 6 mo. can get bonus dose for safety.
3) MMR vaccine does NOT cause autism or ADHD. Totally debunked, based on *fraudulent* (retracted) article by Wakefield. It wasn't even an accident, mistaken understanding by scientist. It was actually fraud.
** Allowing exponential growth of disease is like jumping off a roof instead of taking the stairs. **
The danger seems to "sneak up" on ppl, but it shouldn't. This is just how exponents work. They are much MORE POWERFUL than linear patterns.
🧵1/
Speed is distance over time. It has a *linear* relationship to distance.
Gravity measures acceleration, the *increase* of speed. It has an *exponential* relationship to distance.
2/
Every stair you take from the roof to the ground accepts a tiny bit of gravity's acceleration. But then it's controlled right away, before exponential growth lets your speed get too great to control.
When you reach the ground, you've traveled the same (vertical) distance...
3/
It's official. Medical Officers of Health have a duty of care as Doctors, and can't hide behind the role as "public officials". They MUST follow the science, not the politicians.
And politicians have to use proper regulations, not just make decrees.
If you or your kids/family got sick from airborne communicable diseases since Feb that could reasonably be attributed to increased infectivity from schools w/o adequate airborne protections...
Now you can do something about it. UCP & School boards are liable. Make them fix it.
Public Health is a collective responsibility.
Access to safe kid's education is a right. Safe workplaces are your right.
Advocate now, file complaints now, HRC filings now. They're uncomfortable losing their govt backing & may be amenable to improvement instead of liability.
Surgical masks can approach the efficacy of formal respirators if used w/ a good "mask brace". Filter material of medical grade surgical masks is adequate, but the design leaves gaps around the edges. Brace prevents leaking through gaps around sides.
To work adequately, they must:
* have medical-grade filter of efficiency similar to N95
* not permit air to slip around edges or bypass the filter (no gaps)
NOTE: most washable masks do not work as well as N95...
But what if you have a negative RAT or PCR test? Doesn't that mean it can't be COVID?
No, it doesn't mean that. Especially early after symptoms emerge, false negative RAT or PCR can be common. PCR had 80% sensitivity on the BEST DAY early in the pandemic, worse at other times.