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Lucy McBride, MD Profile picture
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Feb 17 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
My tripled vax'd, COVID-recovered, PCR-tested, masked son in college w/ a 99% vax rate got to see the inside of the University's dining hall for 1st time in *2 yrs* last week.

Today? It closed again. Student dining is back to *outside* only - or alone. Socializing limited ...🧵
My son has been loathe to speak out, worried abt being shamed for not caring abt other ppl (this kid has a ❤️ of gold - a lover not a fighter) or being labeled anti- x, y, z. But watching his friends suffer from anxiety, depression, substance use issues, he spoke out tonight...2x
My son is an old soul. Wise, empathetic, kind. (Not that I'm biased.) He's had struggles. He has made lemonade out of lemons. He has tolerated the loss of normalcy w grace & maturity. Not a complainer. But enough is enough. How safe is safe? When have I done enough, mom?....3x
Here is the email from the college. They admit no one is that sick, the campus is fully vax'd/boosted, yet tonight they needed to add restrictions because of...safety.

My heart aches. Not just for him but for all of the college kids who don't have a mom to talk to. 4x
...and who don't have the resources or support to ask for help. He is resilient. Most kids are. But not indefinitely.

Someone, please, make this make sense. The kids are not alright. The risk of hospitalization from COVID in a teen is one in 1 MILLION. 5x
Health is about more than the absence of COVID-19.

Getting back to normal won't be a quick fix for two years of life interrupted for young ppl, but it's a start. And that's when the *real* work begins.

/end

time.com/6148706/colleg…
(👆meant to say: the risk of hospitalization in a *vax'd* teen is approx. one in 1 million)

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More from @drlucymcbride

Lucy McBride, MD Profile picture
Feb 15
Just bc #mentalhealth is harder to quantify doesn't mean it's any less important to our physical health ... or to policy-making.

After talking teens & parents for the past 2 yrs, it's never been more clear to me (& my #primarycare colleagues) that #mentalhealth is health. 1x
Not every child, teen, or parent is suffering from mental health issues. Our lived experiences during COVID have been varied & diverse. Indeed, some kids are pandemic-proof. Some of my teen patients have actually thrived during COVID... but 2x
I think it's fair to say that the absence of normalcy has been hard for many kids, adolescents, & parents - & the disruptions to school life have disproportionately affected the same populations who have tragically been disproportionately devastated by COVID-19. 3x
Read 8 tweets
Lucy McBride, MD Profile picture
Feb 4
THIS WHOLE OP-ED is 🏅

“There is not a single right answer for how to proceed. Within the set of legitimate strategies, the choice of strategy is often less important than whether or not people follow and support it.” 🧵

nytimes.com/2022/02/04/opi…
“Within the set of legitimate strategies, the choice of strategy is often less important than whether or not people follow and support it.” — @M_B_Petersen 2/n
“According to our data, the Omicron wave has also chipped away at the trust of those who have been supportive of their govt’s approach up until now. Lifting restrictions while cases are soaring can seem like betrayal after 2 years of seeking to ‘flatten the curve.’” @M_B_Petersen
Read 6 tweets
Lucy McBride, MD Profile picture
Feb 3
"It is time to recognize the myriad threats to children’s safety – beyond that of a single virus – and to appropriately balance these risks."

Proud to co-author this piece w/ virologist @DrScottBalsitis, peds psych MD @carol_psych & peds MD K Walsh 👇👇

usatoday.com/story/opinion/…
..As scientists & MDs, we are concerned that COVID mitigation measures for children are doing more harm than good. Too many policymakers have viewed health as the mere absence of COVID-19, putting children into a loop of mitigation measures that are uncoupled from actual risk. 🧵
...After two years of living with one disruption after another, the evidence is clear: The pandemic & the loss of normalcy are taking a tremendous toll on students, with the data on mental health being particularly alarming...
Read 14 tweets
Lucy McBride, MD Profile picture
Feb 1
"Another approach, which I am beginning to favor, is to state that every person age 5+ can be vaxd & high-quality masks can protect individuals well. Therefore, masks can be optional, not required, even at high rates of community transm'n"

@DrLeanaWen 👏

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/…
Thank you, @DrLeanaWen, for messaging the importance of *balancing* risk & reducing *total* harm.
Ppl differ in their recommended threshold for lifting mask mandates etc

That's ok. A robust debate is healthy.

But talking abt trade-offs right now is critical when suffering is social, emotional, occupational, economic & physical.

It's time to more broadly define heath
Read 4 tweets
Lucy McBride, MD Profile picture
Jan 22
I’m on call this weekend for my group medical practice. Lots of vax’d patients w COVID—cough, sore throat, headache, body aches, fatigue. Mild to severe.

Other top symptoms?

Guilt
Shame
Fear

“I did everything right.” “I feel like a failure.” “Doctor, I’m terrified.” 1/x
Even if ppl know intellectually that their risk for severe illness is greatly reduced after vax, fear is natural & real. It’s *normal* to get scared when a rapid home test turns positive or when we’re notified abt a positive PCR test 2/x
So when I’m talking to a newly-diagnosed COVID patient, we go thru their symptoms, decide +/- ER care, discuss various treatment options from Ibuprofen to monoclonal Abs & oral antiviral meds (latter for high-risk patients), & how to monitor themselves at home. 3/x
Read 17 tweets
Lucy McBride, MD Profile picture
Oct 10, 2021
We’re starting to reach the acceptance phase of the pandemic: a time when we must recalibrate our individual risk gauges, which have been completely thrown out of whack

My latest for @TheAtlantic 👇

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
The two things that patients want—reassurance that they won’t get COVID-19 and permission to engage in life—I cannot deliver, and I never will be able to. SARS-CoV-2 is here to stay. /2
The virus will be woven into our everyday existence much like RSV, influenza, and other common coronaviruses are. The question isn’t *whether* we’ll be exposed to the novel coronavirus; it’s *when.* /3
Read 12 tweets

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