Washington State - did you know we are one of just two states who have not announced an end date for our indoor mask mandate? Here’s a current snapshot as of today 2/11/22.
NM - “through March 4th”, however other reports use the wording “through at least March 4th”. There is a chance that NM will extend the mandate again. lcsun-news.com/story/news/loc…
A phrase born of the tale of Cortés in the year 1519. It’s a story of determination, bravery, and a little bit of mutiny.
And one that I’d like to reflect on at a time when we need to drastically reshape our covid policies.
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First, a little history.
In the year 1519, Cortés set anchor at the coast of Mexico, eager to explore. But plans abruptly changed as he was ordered to turn his ships around.
Defiant, he scuttled his ships to leave his anxious crew with no other option but to follow inland.
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There was no *actual* burning involved, just destruction. And to be clear, I’m not suggesting anyone go out and burn or destroy ANYTHING. No. It’s a metaphor. Text as imagery, and so forth.
So…how can we apply this metaphor to our shifting landscape of covid policy?
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WA state is weighing whether to include covid vaccine as a requirement for school entry. As part of this process, a BOH Technical Advisory Group has been tasked with evaluating this vaccine against 9 criteria. Here I’ve highlighted each criteria, along with key observations. 🧵
CRITERIA 1: ACIP Recommendation
ACIP has recommended vaccinating school-aged children. However, it should be emphasized that during this discussion with ACIP the FDA specifically warned AGAINST MANDATING this vaccine in 5-11 year olds.
Question is how well the “vaccine prevents individuals from contracting the disease”. With undeniable spread of Omicron among fully vax/boosted, it’s fair to demand more compelling evidence that vax in school kids significantly prevents spread.
The landscape of covid transmission has drastically changed since King County began vaccine verification. I’ve highlighted specific elements of our public health order that are outdated, inaccurate, no longer relevant, or ineffective. 🧵1/10
King County’s vax verification program aims to “prevent the spread” of covid. Implementation began in Oct. at a rate of 125 cases/7 days/100k. Omicron peaked in mid Jan. as cases reached nearly 2000/7 days/100k. It’s abundantly clear that vax does not prevent transmission.🧵2/10
The Delta variant is no longer dominant and has been replaced by Omicron, which is known to be much milder overall, and far less likely to lead to hospitalizations or death. 🧵3/10