1/@MEPublicHealth has identified #Maine's first case of #monkeypox in a York County male.

Maine CDC has been preparing for monkeypox for several weeks, given the international outbreak. So what is monkeypox? How does it spread? Who is a risk? What can we do to prevent it?
2/Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus.

The #monkeypox virus is part of the same family of viruses that causes smallpox, though the diseases are different. The symptoms are milder, and monkeypox is rarely fatal.
cdc.gov/poxvirus/monke…
3/Monkeypox often causes a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body. Individuals also report symptoms like fever, fatigue, and muscle aches.
4/The rash goes through different stages before healing completely. The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks. And symptoms usually appear one to two weeks after infection.
5/Monkeypox spreads in different ways. Most commonly from person-to-person through direct contact with the rash, scabs, or body fluids. Even though it is not considered a sexually transmitted infection, monkeypox can spread during intimate physical contact between people.
6/Right now, monkeypox is spreading among men who have sex with men.

As with any infectious disease, prevention is key. Avoid close, skin- to- skin contact with people who have a rash that looks like monkeypox. And have a conversation about monkeypox with new partners.
7/What should I do if I have symptoms? See a healthcare provider if you notice a new or unexplained rash or other monkeypox symptoms.

Avoid close contact (including intimate physical contact) with others until a healthcare provider examines you.
8/Maine has received a monkeypox vaccine called Jynneos from the federal government, with enough to vaccinate 311 people. Maine CDC is making the vaccine available to close contacts of cases as well as those at risk of transmitting monkeypox or becoming severely ill.
9/Across the country right now, demand for the vaccine is greater than the available supply. The next batch of vaccine is not expected to be available to states until roughly mid-August.
10/What does all this mean for you? If you are a MSM, know that monkeypox is circulating. It is preventable, though.
Forgot to add to tweet #10: According to the U.S. @CDCgov, the risk of monkeypox to the general population is low at this time.

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More from @nirav_mainecdc

Jul 6
1/The logical implications of common arguments against #COVID19 #vaccines are worth considering. I focus on some of them here.
2/Argument #1: The approval process is corrupt!

What part of the process, specifically, is corrupt and how is that different from the pathway that other COVID therapeutics followed? For example, was the process that authorized monoclonal antibodies like bebtelovimab corrupt?
3/What about the process oral medicines like Paxlovid followed? What that corrupt, too? Remdesivir?

Would you be willing to take those other products if you got a serious case of #COVID? If so, why not vaccines?

What was uniquely corrupt about the vaccine pathway?
Read 19 tweets
Jun 19
1/In recent days, the @US_FDA has authorized and the @CDCgov (via @CDCDirector) has recommended the @pfizer and @moderna_tx #COVID19 vaccines for
children 6m+.

Though the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines are quite impressive, I've seen a more fundamental question.
2/That is, "Why should I vaccinate my child against #COVID at all? After all, it isn't that severe in kids, and my kid already had it. Is #COVID19 in children really a big deal?"

I'd like to make the public health case for pediatric #COVID19 vaccines with @CDCgov data.
3/Let's start with the baseline number of cases among children. Many children have been affected by COVID throughout the pandemic.

All of these slides are from a recent @CDCgov #ACIP meeting and are publicly available here cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/…
Read 17 tweets
May 13
1/Here's where we stand with #COVID19 in #Maine right now.

There are 223 people hospitalized w/COVID, 35 of whom are in the ICU and 2 on a ventilator.

Two weeks ago, there were 143 hospitalized. One thing different now as compared to prior surges is the severity level.
2/In prior waves, the number of patients in the ICU and on ventilators grew in tandem with overall numbers. But here, we have not seen the same parallel growth in the most severely ill patients.

Two weeks ago, there were 34 patients in the ICU and 5 on ventilators.
3/So our growth in hospitalizations has come from non-ICU/non-ventilated patients. They are still ill--make no mistake--since they are hospitalized.

Generally, the composition of those who are hospitalized now are older vaccinated individuals and younger, unvaccinated ones.
Read 6 tweets
Apr 5
1/There are some signs that the the levels of #COVID19 in #Maine may be starting to increase.

First, the most recent set of wastewater surveillance results showed uniform increases in viral levels across the state. This is different from the episodic spikes we've seen before.
2/The latest wastewater reports are here:

maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/inf…

and here:

covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tra…
3/Second, hospitalizations have increased. As of this morning, there are 104 people in the hospital in #Maine w/#COVID19. Of them, 30 are in the ICU and 4 are on a ventilator.

These are nowhere near the levels that we saw in mid-Jan '22. But they are a recent increase.
Read 8 tweets
Mar 30
1/The @US_FDA and @CDCgov yesterday authorized 2nd #COVID19 #booster shots for certain individuals.

Here's a summary of who is eligible and what it all means.
2/A second booster of either the @pfizer or @moderna_tx vaccine is available for individuals 50 years and older at least 4 months after their first booster. content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USFDA…
3/Also, a second booster of the @pfizer vaccine may be given to those 12 and older who are immunocompromised at least 4 months after the first booster. content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USFDA…
Read 10 tweets
Mar 4
1/I’ve recently discussed the importance of having a plan to obtain #COVID19 therapeutics in case you contract COVID.

I’d like to expand on what these therapeutics are and what a plan of that sort looks like.
2/Getting #COVID19 used to mean isolation and perhaps hospitalization.

Today in #Maine, we have several treatment options available.

The key to successful treatment is *early testing* so you can receive *early treatment.*
3/In recent months, @US_FDA has authorized several medications for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID19.

The treatments vary—some are pills, some are infused.

And they vary by effectiveness, with some reducing #COVID19 hospitalization by >90%.
Read 18 tweets

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