Thread by @ChecchiaPaul

1/22 I think we need another reality check about the state of COVID. The reality is that we are still ok and there is good news to found; as long as we keep perspective.

2/22 Good news point #1: The vaccines continue to work and work well for their intended purpose; to keep us out of the hospital and alive!

3/22 In fact, as this report highlights, vaccines may actually be doing better on this front than we are giving them credit. (bloomberg.com/news/articles/…)

4/22 If even 28% of all admits are “with” rather than “for” COVID, the vaccine success rate starts to approach the previous 90% for hospitalizations and blows apart the myth of waning immunity and protection against severe infection.

5/22 Good news point #2: The scourge of MIS-C in children following COVID infection appears to disappearing with each new wave or variant. Ask any pediatric intensivist and they will agree with this recent published report in JAMA (jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…).

6/22 In fact, by the time we got to Omicron, there were no children requiring mechanical ventilation or ECMO, ICU admits were down by 60% as was length of hospitalization.

7/22 This is supported by data from South Africa as well (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35189083/) which found NO MIS-C admits during their Omicron wave. None.

8/22 This could be due to the variant itself, previous infection, vaccination, or the fact that we got better at recognizing those at risk, treatment, and support.

9/22 Good news point #3: Long covid is NOT completely unique. Let me explain why this is actually good news.

10/22 First and foremost, long COVID exists; but it’s not as prevalent as some media sites make you want to fear (i.e. it is not 100% certain that you will get long COVID after a positive rapid test!)

11/22 This is absolutely the best thing to read in order to maintain perspective on the subject. (nature.com/articles/s4159…) Be warned it’s a long read, but if you get through it you will see that post-infection syndromes have always been known to exist.

12/22 SARS does not hold the cards on this one. It is not necessarily “special and different”, it is just that no other infection has impacted the entire world at the same time.

13/22 This gives us the incredible opportunity to finally unlock the secrets behind these syndromes…and we will do just that. There are so many investigators looking at this, they will find the answer.

14/22 However, we must do something very important; find credible and firm criteria for the diagnosis. Nothing is gained from garbage studies employing only self-reported symptoms including everyone into the group.

15/22 We need to be certain who really has long COVID and who is suffering from significant mental health stressors.

16/22 Again, this syndrome does exist and it needs to studied, but I want to caution that anxiety over getting long COVID should not be counted as a diagnostic criteria for long COVID.

17/22 Good news point #3a: Vaccines seem to work against long COVID, even if you get the vaccine after you start having symptoms. (bmj.com/content/377/bm…) Vaccine as a therapy for long COVID? Maybe.

18/22 Good news point #4: Throughout the pandemic the media liked to point to the UK as a harbinger of the next impending “bad” wave. However, when they are the heralding signal pointing to the fact that the latest wave will be short lived and not as severe; we ignore them.

19/22 Well, the number of COVID patients in the hospital in the UK is now the lowest since last year. (standard.co.uk/news/uk/govern…) We will get through this latest wave.

20/22 Final good news point #5: The quiet work is being done now. By that I mean that the scientists, physicians, and investigators continue to work out of the spotlight. There are no viral posts, just real success.

21/22 There is quite literally a deluge of new therapeutic drugs about to be unleashed on this virus. (scientificamerican.com/article/a-delu…) And here is the real cool part: they will benefit so many other viruses and illness that are not even related to COVID.

22/22 Medicine, and therefore all of the world, WILL be better in the end. There is a silver lining to this hell. We will get through this; we actually already are.