Thread by @lzj961

@RobbieForChange lamented in a public lecture yesterday that US public health policy is constrained by what Americans are willing to do...
🤔 I would argue the chief constraint is @CDC inappropriately messaging safety with a pretty pastel map while we are in a surge 🧵

A recent poll showed that 74% of Americans would #MaskUp if we were in a surge.

ipsos.com/en-us/news-pol…

But @CDCgov hasn't declared a #Surge.

Instead of holding a press conference and sending alerts on social media about the impending threat of COVID in coming weeks, they "forecast" thousands of deaths.

COVID deaths are not rain. They are preventable.

cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

We can prevent #COVID19 deaths coming in 4-6 weeks by wearing and distributing high quality N95/KF94/KN95 #Masks, avoiding large gatherings, increasing access to testing and treatment

You can find high quality masks at projectn95.org

High quality evidence supports mask mandates to keep kids safe in school. In Arkansas during August–October 2021, districts with universal mask requirements had a 23% lower incidence of COVID-19 among staff students.
cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/7…

Black (71%) and LatinX (59%) folks are even more likely to support wearing masks on public transport than white people (52%).
pbs.org/newshour/healt…

This doesn't sound like the problem is what the "American people" are willing to do...

As @CDCgov fails to set a high scientific and ethical standard for the rest of the nation, they shift the decision-making burden to under resourced local health departments, which are ill-equipped to deal with harassment and threats of workplace violence …cations-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/doi/full/10.21…

Pundits who pushed "the pandemic is over" message should be unsurprised that their effective lobbying has dampened the appetite for Congressional COVID spending. This is a real problem for everyone, as we anticipate a fall surge cnbc.com/2022/05/09/us-…

From the beginning of the pandemic CDC has oversold the promise of vaccines. A closer look at CDC data showed that 4 in 10 COVID deaths in Jan and Feb 2022 were among the vaccinated. healthsystemtracker.org/brief/covid19-…

To protect against #Omicron and subvariants, a booster is essential, but fewer than 30% of Americans have the necessary 3 doses.
...because Americans don't WANT to get boosted, or because the CDC and media effectively messaging that the pandemic is over? khn.org/news/article/o…

At best, vaccines may only decrease the risk of Long COVID by half. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

But @CDCgov, @CDCDirector and @ashishkjha don't talk about the risk of #LongCovid, which can affect as many as 43% of people infected with #COVID19
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

So before questioning what actions Americans are willing to take to protect each other, it may be worth considering whether you are clearly communicating the risks of #COVID19 and the life-saving benefits of public health protections. @AshishKJha46 @CDCDirector @RobbieForChange

And as you wonder why Americans are undervaccinated and underboosted, consider why you haven't partnered with more trusted community organizations to improve vaccine access, like this effort in MA which brought vaccine rates over the state average bostonglobe.com/2021/10/23/met… (fin)