@TRyanGregory Toxic hubristic aggressive persecution & denialism based on faulty dogma in ID world is a feature, not a bug. It’s been going on for centuries. The road is littered w examples
1800s
John Snow - water
Ignaz Semmelweis - hands
Lister & Pasteur - germs
@TRyanGregory In a keynote presentation at isrp2022.vfairs.com last week SARS1 outbreaks in Toronto were blamed squarely on droplet dogma & toxic relations between Toronto ID world & everyone else in sharp contrast to open-mindedness & collaborative relations between BC ID & others. 🤷♂️
I keep saying, "Someday I'll write a book" about the struggle to bring an engineering perspective to infection prevention & control in healthcare. For now I'll just write a thread.
Is there anything worse than knowing there are oceans full of icebergs ahead, how easy it is to engineer systems to detect & steer around them, but not being able to get the owners of the lines or anyone in command to listen as you blindly head straight for them?
I've been advocating for engineering & standards for air, water & surfaces in healthcare facilities to ⬇️disease transmission for over 30 years. The irony of being accused by out-of-touch ID/PH/IPAC/Epi of epistemic trespassing before & during the pandemic is gobsmacking.
I’m starting to think CoVID is the most transmissible pathogen in human history and the most threatening to the course of civilization.
Omicron is so fast we likely have to rethink how we define transmissibility. In a single generation O can compete with measles for R0 but it can also spawn four generations for each generation of measles, 3 days vs 12.
It’s stealthy, unlike measles, especially for vaxxed people. Asymptomatic spread is driving the pandemic. Vaccines can slow transmission but can’t stop it.
Ppl can get reinfected, 1, 2, 3 or 4 times a year. Each infection, even if mild can lead to a lifetime of chronic illness.
Friday of a long weekend @GovCanHealth@CPHO_Canada releases a devastating outlook for Canada’s DELTA Wave.
There’s no way to sugar coat this. It’s bad. Worse than you think. Made worse because it’s laced with hopium. And because of what they don’t show - cases past October.
DELTA wave started in July & will last thru April 2022.
DELTA wave is rising faster than any previous wave. Yes Virtually vertical. Just as school is starting.
DELTA wave will peak at Christmas.
On current trajectory, DELTA will overwhelm hospitals, possibly for months
Hopium:
Hospitalizations based on 12-39 yo 82.5% to 84.5% double vaxxed - currently only 66% 2 shots, 76% 1 shot
Last year I worked on a rapidly deployable CR type box fan air purifier design using standard mask filter materials wound around an engineered cardboard box w perforated cutouts for quick, easy deployment for safe in-class back to school.
In-class school was largely cancelled last year so there wasn’t a lot interest. Now, with governments everywhere still committed to September in-class school, even w unvaxxed kids in the presence of DELTA, parents are looking for CR box fan air purifiers.
This is what the filter material looks like after 9 months of running 24/7. Still effective but gross. And lower flow.
As a result of the moonshot of research during the CoVID crisis, there is a global paradigm shift underway wrt aerosol / airborne transmission.
Disruptive & painful for some (denial, anger, bargaining...), long overdue for others (acceptance), but in the end better for all.
The disruption includes our knowledge & understanding of the physics of disease transmission though air, our definitions of droplets & airborne, & airborne mitigation practices.
It’s all quite sudden to say the least, and it goes against almost everything we were ever taught.
I'll just highlight a few items & thoughts...
We all learned ”airborne” meant measles, TB, chicken pox and small pox. I’ve since learned that each of these diseases were once labeled contact / droplet diseases, for decades, until they weren’t.
One year ago today, my kids received CoVID care packages from Dad. N99 masks, contactless thermometers, nitrile gloves, ABHR, & $$$ for grocery stockup. They added this to the Air Disinfectors & Ultrasonic Humidifiers (w silver & UV water protection) they received at Christmas.
As an “armchair epi” who had lived thru SARS, it was easy to see this was SARS2, it was airborne, & it was coming soon to a place near you. Why couldn’t “real Epis” & PH & ID & IPC & WHO & western governments see this? Where is the Precautionary Principle?
Why are we not following the SARS Commission Report recommendations?
Why are we not following CSA National Standard for respirators? (Min N95s)