Well, it was fun while it lasted. And remember that official case counts are just the tip of the iceberg. Most people are being diagnosed via rapid testing at home & never appear in these totals at all. If you aren’t #Boosted, now’s the time. #MaskUp #COVID19
Let me add that my major reason for concern at this point is less about deaths in the short-term. Though we continue to lose a couple thousand Americans per wk to #COVID19, & it wasn’t mild for any of them, deaths are much lower than they’ve been in a long time. /2
I’m worried about the people we are now seeing with persistent cognitive impairment (like early dementia kind of symptoms), given that we now know #COVID19 can shrink the brain even in otherwise “mild” cases. forbes.com/sites/williamh…
I’m worried about the increased risk of heart disease—which was already our #1 cause of death in the US—after even an otherwise “mild” case of #COVID19. nature.com/articles/d4158… /4
I’m worried about the increased risk of #diabetes after #COVID19, even in people with no prior history of it & an otherwise mild case of #coronavirus. Diabetes is a top cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, & need for amputations. nature.com/articles/d4158… /5
I’m worried about what we don’t know about other late risks. For example, after decades of trying to understand what causes multiple sclerosis, scientists just found that most cases are caused by the Epstein Barr virus (EBV), which you know as “mono.” nytimes.com/2022/02/23/mag… /6
And finally I’m worried about the many—best guess 10-30%—of people who have persistent fatigue, etc lasting for months or yrs even after otherwise “mild” #COVID19. We *think* being #vaccinated ⬇️ risk, but still know little re how to treat #LongCovid. /7 ama-assn.org/delivering-car…
Can you still die acutely after getting #COVID19? Yes. The risk is ⬇️ if #vaccinated & #boosted, but we’ve lost ~200K in 🇺🇸 since #Omicron became the main #COVIDvariant & continue to outpace peer nations in deaths, in part due to fewer #boosted. /8 nytimes.com/interactive/20…
So that’s why I’m worried. And I’m an oncologist, so it’s my literal job to think about & do all I can to protect people who are #immunocompromised & thus at much higher risk of death. If I seem more cautious than others (or you), that’s part of why. #GetVaxxed & 🙏😷 /End

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More from @tmprowell

Apr 21
I am a dr who has dedicated her career to people w/ #cancer.
I am the grateful daughter of a #lymphoma survivor.
I have #asthma.
Why wouldn't I #wearamask if it might prevent an illness, death, or #longcovid disability?
If you find masks uncomfortable, I can suggest some to try.
(And then I'm going to talk to you for the ENTIRE flight & all the way down the terminal to baggage claim & ground transportation about masks, so be ready if you're in the seat next to me & do this. Might be better just to #WearAMask.😂)

#MedTwitter #TrueStory
And then when I change your mind, you'll be in an airplane thumbs-up selfie with me wearing your favorite of the several brands of spare N95 masks I have in my backpack.
Read 5 tweets
Apr 19
.@Delta @united @americanair @southwest, can y'all break it down for us why seatbelts, why bags "fully under seat," why seat backs & tray tables "full upright & locked position for landing"? We can't choose to risk ourselves & others at risk on the plane...or something? #maskup🤷‍♀️
You know, it's a hassle to have to contort myself to get my bag out from under the seat when we arrive. And I often have to make slides on my flights. I like to use every minute to work on them from boarding to exiting. Also it's a lot easier to do that with the tray table down.
It's almost as if you expect passengers to sacrifice their own needs & comfort a little for the safety of themselves & those around them. That's wild. I thought we had quit that.
Read 4 tweets
Apr 19
The more I think about airlines abruptly allowing mask removal w/o warning—mid-flight for many—the angrier I get. People who are #immunocompromised had no choice not to travel or to upgrade their protection at that point. Some will go on to die. As an oncologist, I am enraged.
If you haven’t had #cancer or been a caregiver to someone with it, you don’t know how much people endure. I’m a breast oncologist. Our patients have breasts amputated, lose their fertility, go bald, risk nerve damage, infection, & more from chemo, because they want to live.
The fact that the airlines made a corporate decision to drop masks w/o warning—any airline could’ve chosen to give crew/passengers hrs or days of notice—disgusts me. For an industry that prides itself on safety, this is a fail.

@Delta @united @SouthwestAir @AmericanAir @JetBlue
Read 10 tweets
Mar 4
Trying hard to stay in my lane on #UkraineUnderAttack. I’m a physician, not a foreign policy expert. But per AP, Russian attacks have just caused a fire at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, & elev radiation levels are being detected in the region. That is a big deal.
Tweet 2/3:

Sharing CDC fact sheet again on acute radiation emergencies for #MedTwitter in the region. Really hope we do not need it. Please retweet/translate. #UkraineUnderAttack #Ukraine #Belarus #Poland #Slovakia

cdc.gov/nceh/radiation…
Tweet 3/3: Here’s an article on the attack. Ukrainian firefighters attempting to extinguish the blaze at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are reportedly being shot at by Russian troops & cannot safely get through.

apnews.com/article/russia…
Read 4 tweets
Mar 1
🧵As a scientist & physician, when our #pandemic predictions are off, I think it's important to circle back & analyze why. In late Dec 2021, I tweeted a🧵predicting widespread disruption of everything from health care & pharmacies to grocery stores & schools in Jan/Feb '22. 1/x
The reason for my prediction was the pattern of a huge spike in #COVID19 cases the prior winter (driven in part by holiday travel) & the fact that #omicron was considerably more contagious than prior #COVIDvariants & more able to evade immunity from vaccines or prior infxn. 2/x
The pace in growth of cases in Dec '21 in countries w/ early #Omicron outbreaks was stunning. The graphs were vertical. In the US, we appeared on target to have >500K cases/d in the US. We had no idea yet how long the surge would last. 3/x
Read 18 tweets
Jan 28
🧵 I’m not sure what I’m about to say has been made clear to ppl w/o a science or #MedTwitter background. It may be a genuine source of confusion (ie good faith questions), so here goes. Many are saying “If #Omicron makes a given person less sick (which appears to be true)…” /1
“Shouldn’t we just go ahead & get it over with? You know, masks off & almost everyone gets infected & then we’ll be done with it?” I get why someone might think or ask that. It makes sense. But it’s not the right thing to do, & here’s why. /2
There are the things you have prob heard before: even a tiny % of infected ppl dying is a lot of dead if most of the 🇺🇸 (or the 🌍 ) gets #Omicron. And there are overwhelmed hospitals, which cause deaths for other reasons. But this 🧵 isn’t about any of that. /3
Read 23 tweets

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