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Feb 7 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Thoughts about the strange forms of #SARSCoV2 found in NYC wastewater. Last week NY researchers published discovery of novel mutant forms of the #COVID19 virus that were resistant to existing antibody treatments & seemed to have come from animals.
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nature.com/articles/s4146…
2/ As far as I know, nothing of this kind has been discovered in wastewater surveillance elsewhere -- just NYC, a very densely populated metropolis of nearly 9 million humans, >575,000 pet cats + 100s of strays, nearly 350K dogs & loads of rats & mice. The genetics...
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3/...argue against rodent sources. Is there active zoonosis going on in NYC betwn people & pets? Could it lead to emergence of a viable, antibody-resistant form of #SARSCoV2 ? Researchers: "these cryptic lineages could be relevant to public health & necessitate further study."
Similarly strange #SARSCoV2 genetic discoveries have been made in Berkeley, CA and Missouri.
Sources and significance remain mysterious.

mercurynews.com/2022/02/07/poo…

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More from @Laurie_Garrett

Laurie Garrett Profile picture
Jan 19
"A @Quinnipiac poll found a majority of Americans – by a 58 to 37 margin – believe 'the nation’s #Democracy is in danger of collapse.' Some of that is right-wingers who think the 2020 election was stolen, but it’s 56 to 37% among #Democrats, too."
presswatchers.org/2022/01/where-…
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2/
 Critic @froomkin noted >1/2 of, "Americans consider it very likely (19%) or somewhat likely (34%) that there will be another attack like the 1 at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021."
Then he asked, "Where are the interviews w/regular Americans terrified for our democracy?"
AND Image
3/
 Twitterrati amazed @froomkin:
"I was struck by how many people responded by telling me that not only are they terrified, but that everybody they know is terrified, too."
I also hear this from most of my natl security cohorts, wondering why U.S. citizens aren't panicking.

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Read 5 tweets
Laurie Garrett Profile picture
Jan 13
Reaction to #SCOTUS decision from @POTUS #JoeBiden
"As a result of the Court’s decision, it is now up to States & individual employers to determine whether to make their workplaces as safe as possible for employees, & whether their businesses will be safe for consumers..."
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2/
 "...during this #pandemic by requiring employees to take the simple & effective step of getting #vaccinated . The Court has ruled that my administration cannot use the authority granted to it by Congress to require this measure, but that does not stop me from..."
MORE
3/
 "...using my voice as President to advocate for employers to do the right thing to protect Americans’ health & economy. I call on business leaders to immediately join those who have already stepped up – including 1/3 of Fortune 100 companies – & institute #vaccination .."
MORE
Read 5 tweets
Laurie Garrett Profile picture
Jan 13
FLASH
#SCOTUS hands down its ruling on #Biden admin #COVID19 safety mandates, and it's classic anti-Federalist "law" that could open the floodgates on all public health efforts. The majority of Justices ruled that Biden can mandate #vaccination and/or masking in...
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2/ healthcare facilities that receive fedl $ (#Medicare & #Medicaid), BUT can NOT issue mandates in the private sector. Specifically, #SCOTUS blocked #Biden reg that employers w/100+ workers require either 💉 or 😷 of all staff.
Majority opinion:
“Although #Congress ..."
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3/
 "...has indisputably given #OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly. Requiring the #vaccination of 84M Americans, selected simply because they work for employers with more..."
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Read 6 tweets
Laurie Garrett Profile picture
Jan 13
Mundane life in NYC as #Omicron rages:
- subways are shutting down all over the place because too many @MTA workers are home sick
- a snow "bomb cyclone" is forecast for Sunday & nobody's sure there will be enough snow plow operators to clear streets
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nytimes.com/2021/12/29/nyr…
2/
 - so many @FDNY and EMT personnel are out sick that response teams are down 30% & 911 operators say please don't call unless it really, really is an ER
- wind chill on Saturday will be 13 F -- cancel that safe outdoor dinner date
MORE
nytimes.com/2022/01/06/nyr…
3/
 - you bought tickets to concerts, plays months ago: now check daily to see which are cancelled, or resched
- friends ask if it makes sense to book a wedding/bar mitzvah/graduation party in May, or June, even July
- temp falls below 30 & you find K95 masks keep the face warm
Read 5 tweets
Laurie Garrett Profile picture
Jan 10
Let's compare NYC & Hong Kong #COVID19 experiences.

NYC population = 8.4 million; HK = 7.5M.
NYC is averaging >40K cases/day, totaling nearly 2M since Jan2020, with 35,883 deaths.
HK has had zero-to-7 daily COVID cases over last 8 mos, 12K since Jan2020 w/200 deaths.
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2/ What's the difference?

HK has strict border controls, testing, tracing and mandatory quarantines in hotels & detention centers, under observation, with jail for violators.
NYC, like rest of USA, has near-nil track/trace/test/quarantine in use. NY "control" - persuasion.
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3/ Of course, China shut the border with HK, sealing the City off from Mainland. And over last 2 yrs PRC has imposed a police state on HK. People have no choice but to obey mask, vaccine, quarantine laws.
But, most vaccination is with lousy Sinopharm & Sinovac which offer...
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Read 5 tweets
Laurie Garrett Profile picture
Jan 5
I strongly disagree. From a public health point-of-sale view the primary purpose of a #vaccine is to prevent infection and transmission. Clinically, it may be great to block disease, too. Goes to famed Salk vs Sabin debate on polio vaccines.
There are longstanding debates about use of the Salk (IPV) vs Sabin (oral) polio vaccine, for reasons explained well here by @profvrr :
virology.ws/2015/09/10/why…
But back in the 1960s Salk & Sabin debated which of their vaccines better blocked fecal transmission.
MORE
With improved sanitation & clean drinking water polio spread is greatly reduced. But could both viruses cut not just disease in individuals, but also environmental contamination via feces? pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6262150/
MORE
Read 8 tweets

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