Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA Profile picture
Sep 26, 2022 11 tweets 12 min read Read on X
Empowered communities want free #N95 masks!

Our new pre-print shows that people are excited to use N95s during COVID surges when given them for free w/helpful information on their evidence & how to use them.
1/
psyarxiv.com/f76vw Study abstract: People want...Project banner: Free N95 Qu...Aegle N95, given away in th...
You might remember when we posted about the study back in December!

I hope you find the results useful. We tried to make the figures relatable, even if you're not reading science articles every day. Please let me know if you have questions!
2/

We gave out 2,500 #N95 masks in 5 packs to our racially & socioeconomically diverse community. Many used N95s for the 1st time. People treated us like we were giving them kidneys. So grateful!

97% used at least 1 N95 & 40% used all 5 within 1-mo!

3/
We called our #N95 giveaway study "Project #Bandura," named for the famous #psychologist who studied social learning.

Well -- people learned, socially! >80% of participants told others about N95s. Several enthusiasts shared w/dozens of ppl!
4/
Cost was the biggest barrier to sustained #N95 use!

Still, ppl planned to buy an average of >10 more N95s in the near future (2x what we gave them).

More interesting, if FREE, 88% would use N95s again. Once you pop, you can't stop!
5/
We only gave away 2,500 N95s. It was labor intensive b/c we included educational materials, had a follow-up survey, went through IRB, etc.

However, it validates @amandalhu's 17,000 mask giveaway, those of cities and fed govt's.

Free N95 & #BetterMasks are hugely popular!
6/
As a #psychologist, there is 1 big truth I believe w/my heart. If you talk to most ppl in a way that's reasonable, about 97% will feel empowered to take actions to improve their lives & communities.

As true for COVID as anything else. We just need more courageous leadership.
7/
With N95s extremely popular during #COVID surges, what's the national strategy?

The U.S. had a stockpile and started giving them out for free (after my psychology research team 🤣). There are no known plans to buy and distribute more.

8/11
Domestic manufacturers are selling off #N95 inventory & equipment after boom-and-bust cycles. Many are closing their doors.

It's a low-cost filter. For your face. That keeps you from getting sick & becoming disabled or dying.

What are we doing???
9/11
Thanks if you posted about #CovidisAirborne. The study is dedicated to you.

You converted me from cloth masks to N95s.

Shouldn't we have federal #policy priorities to make high-quality masks available to everyone during surges?

10/11

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More from @michael_hoerger

May 20
PMC COVlD Report, May 19, 2025 (U.S.)

In this national "lull" in transmission, we are seeing...
🔥A quarter-million daily infections
🔥90-360k Long COVlD cases from the week's infections
🔥600-1,100 deaths from the week's infections
🔥LA, SD, NE, & GU in high transmission10 waves of C19
Heat map, summarized in post
Current Levels for May 19, 2025	 % of the Population Infectious	 0.5% (1 in 185)	 New Daily Infections	 259000	 New Weekly Infections	 1813000	 Resulting Weekly Long COVID Cases	 91,000 to 363,000	 Resulting Weekly Excess Deaths	 600 to 1,100	 	 Monthly Forecast	 Average % of the Population Infectious	 0.8% (1 in 129)	 Average New Daily Infections	 371566.6667	 New Infections During the Next Month	 11147000	 Resulting Monthly Long COVID Cases	 557,000 to 2,229,000	 Resulting Monthly Excess Deaths	 4,000 to 6,600	 	 Running Totals	 Infections Nationwide in 2025	 66986000	 Average Number of I...
Year-over-year graph, currently closely tracking the median, Y4, and Y5
Full report: pmc19.com/data
PMC COVlD updates are also posted periodically on Plip Plop:

tiktok.com/@michael_hoerg…
Read 6 tweets
May 15
1) Good luck getting any new federal research to support #LongCOVID until "covid" is dropped from the dirty words that get grant applications triaged to the trash bin.

You know which senator to call.

I just did, and got a staffer instead of voicemail.Lengthy list of words that get federal grants triaged to the trash bin, unfunded after favorable review, or defunded if already in progress.   Includes "Covid-19," and no, it's not a matter of simply restating as "SARS2" or "The Rona." It might make it one step further in the review process, but this gets checked closed, and it will get canned. Hundreds of hours of work, flushed down the toilet.   And that's the point.
2) I told the staffer that #LongCOVID is affecting millions and that no research will be funded to address this while "covid" remains on the banned word list.

I asked if they wanted to hear more. He did...

Here's the word list, btw
pen.org/banned-words-l…
3) I told them about my family member who was a strong Special Forces veteran, got covid once, & according to their neurologist, it triggered #LongCOVID in the form of Dementia w/Lewy Bodies.

DLB is one of the worst conditions imaginable. After a 2yr battle, they died in 2024.
Read 5 tweets
May 3
30 million excess deaths attributable to COVID is a tremendous underestimate because most analyses insufficiently account for mortality displacement.

In the U.S., it's about 50% worse than people realize.
Mortality displacement or "harvesting" is the idea that so many people died of COVID in the early pandemic that we should actually expect to see *fewer* deaths today if COVID were "over."
In fact, we see similar or slightly higher mortality relative to pre-pandemic levels. Despite the millions of people that have died, the mortality faucet keeps running strong. It should have slowed.
Read 9 tweets
Apr 22
🧵1 of 8 | PMC Dashboard, April 21, 2025 (U.S.)

🌤️Only 1 in 5 days of the pandemic have seen transmission as low as today
🌤️1 in 196 actively infectious
⚡️BUT still 1.7 million weekly infections, resulting in >85,000 LC cases and up to 1,000 deaths

I'll walk you through it... Current Levels for Apr 21, 2025	 % of the Population Infectious	 0.5% (1 in 196)	 New Daily Infections	 244000	 New Weekly Infections	 1708000	 Resulting Weekly Long COVID Cases	 85,000 to 342,000	 Resulting Weekly Excess Deaths	 600 to 1,000	 	 Monthly Forecast	 Average % of the Population Infectious	 0.7% (1 in 147)	 Average New Daily Infections	 324800	 New Infections During the Next Month	 9744000	 Resulting Monthly Long COVID Cases	 487,000 to 1,949,000	 Resulting Monthly Excess Deaths	 3,500 to 5,800	 	 Running Totals	 Infections Nationwide in 2025	 62331000	 Average Number of Infecti...
🧵2 of 8 | PMC Dashboard, April 21, 2025 (U.S.)

We're in the 6th year. See the small red line, bottom left. Notice how closely it tracks the median (gray), year 4 (yellow), & year 5 (orange).

Acknowledging caveats, those are plausible gist-level scenarios for months ahead. year over year graph, summarized in post
🧵3 of 8 | PMC Dashboard, April 21, 2025 (U.S.)

Expect steady transmission bouncing up and down around the current national lull-level estimate the next several weeks. 200-350k daily infections nationally.

This is about as low as lulls bottom out anymore. Past 12 months and forecast, summarized in post
Read 8 tweets
Apr 14
🧵1/5 | PMC Dashboard, Apr1il 14, 2025 (U.S.)

🔹2.2 million weekly infections
🔹1 in 149 actively infectious
🔹>100,000 LC cases resulting from the week's infections
🔹>800 deaths resulting from the week's infections
🔹"Lull" transmission steady/slightly decliningCurrent Levels for Apr 14, 2025	 % of the Population Infectious	 0.7% (1 in 149)	 New Daily Infections	 320000	 New Weekly Infections	 2240000	 Resulting Weekly Long COVID Cases	 112,000 to 448,000	 Resulting Weekly Excess Deaths	 800 to 1,300	 	 Monthly Forecast	 Average % of the Population Infectious	 0.7% (1 in 138)	 Average New Daily Infections	 345366.6667	 New Infections During the Next Month	 10361000	 Resulting Monthly Long COVID Cases	 518,000 to 2,072,000	 Resulting Monthly Excess Deaths	 3,700 to 6,200	 	 Running Totals	 Infections Nationwide in 2025	 60891000	 Average Number of ...
🧵2/5 | PMC Dashboard, Apr1il 14, 2025 (U.S.)

Year-over-year transmission (red line, lower left) is tracking the median (grey), year 4 (yellow), and year 5 (orange) closely.

If that trend continues, expect steady yet bumpy transmission the next couple months, until June/July.line graphs, described in tweet
🧵3/5 | PMC Dashboard, Apr1il 14, 2025 (U.S.)

The heat map shows only 4 states in the CDC 'high' level and none in the 'very' high level.

Check local data. Those timing activities to lulls may see a clear opportunity.heat map, described in tweet
Read 6 tweets
Apr 9
The NIH Clinical Center drops universal masking after 5 months of protecting patients, family, & staff.

Wastewater-derived estimates indicate 2.79 million Americans are getting Covid per week AND top actuaries suggest an American dies of Covid every 3 minutes.

🧵1/5 Masks are optional beginning April 11. Staff will mask on request.
These are the current wastewater-derived estimates of transmission.

2.79 million Covid infections/week in the U.S. in the current high "lull."
🧵2/5
This thread with video explains in exquisite detail how every 3 minutes in 2025 an American dies of Covid.

🧵3/5
Read 5 tweets

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