Stephen Griffin Profile picture
Nov 2, 2022 9 tweets 4 min read Read on X
For the avoidance of doubt:
SARS-CoV2 transmission is mainly aerosol, some droplet - proportion varies with activity. Hence, indoors = super-spreader events, outdoors = dissipates quickly.
Well ventilated/filtered indoor spaces or outdoors, keep distance to avoid droplets, reduce
time spent in proximity to others, wear well-fitted filter masks (FFP2/3) if distancing is problematic, for long durations, and/or if prevalence is high.
Poorly ventilated/filtered indoors - masks as above are ESSENTIAL. Limit time, distance if possible to avoid direct exposure.
Now apply some logic...
Face shields do next to nothing, unless you're expecting a sneeze in the face, and even then will only prevent "direct inoculation"...
Similarly, whoever has spent the last 2.5 years making pretend force fields and castles out of Perspex with handy holes in them to pass things through, again, nice idea but primarily will prevent you experiencing direct exposure...does NOTHING to stop aerosols!
It pains me that I need to say this, but in a poorly ventilated space for any significant time (depending on the size of the room), "social", or indeed antisocial distancing will do NOTHING without a proper mask!
OK, so droplets CAN cause fomites, but sanitising our hands only prevents a minor route of SARS-CoV2 transmission.
However, much more effective for e.g. RSV, Influenza etc...but not Norovirus, soap and water required!!!
Please remember that your mask must actually be on your face, covering BOTH your nose and mouth, with a good fit and seal. FFP2/N95 or FFP3/N99 recommended. They are not chin, elbow, or neck warmers. They should be clean, dry and undamaged. This will protect you AND others.
Finally, none of these things are magic bullets. They will each partly reduce risk and work together. NPIs are variant agnostic - the virus spreads the same regardless. However, they should be used to SUPPORT vaccines. Get boosted, protect your kids. Stay safe.
#VaccinesPlus
Oh, perhaps consider these ideas in places where, say, clinically vulnerable, unwell, very young, or elderly people might spend a lot of time...for example, SMEGGING HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS AND CARE HOMES!!! Or, ideally everywhere...winter is not going to be fun at all...
#COVIDpledge

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More from @SGriffin_Lab

Aug 21
Sorry, looooong thread, but hopefully done soon!
Where was I?
So, let's say the small elite team of virus particles has survived the journey and landed where they want to be...
First, they will encounter innate barriers, eg mucus, which they must cross to physically reach a cell.
There will also be complement, mucosal antibodies (if host is immune), and these can both inactivate and clump viruses together such that phagocytic cells literally eat them up!
So, many of the hurdles from the way out also hit on the way in, and this time, numbers are limiting.
So, viruses need to infect their target cell as quickly as possible before they succumb to defenses.
This mainly depends on the affinity of the viral attachment protein for the cellular receptor used to gain entry. But you have to both unlock the door AND walk through it...
Read 18 tweets
Aug 21
Lots of good debate about virus transmission, yet it's dwarfed by mis/disinformation and lack of nuance, allowing eejits to dismiss the precautionary principle, or, worse, re-run 1980s bigotted attitudes🤬
Viruses don't fit easily into boxes. So, nuances of transmission, a 🧵
I will focus on the example of airborne transmission, but the underlying principles apply to all modes of infection.

Caveat: I research the start/end of the transmission process, but the middle bit is not my forte, so forgive omissions/errors!🙏
See @ukhadds for added nuance!
Right, so I would define transmission as the transfer of sufficient infectious virus from a site of infection or environmental source to an individual, followed by the successful establishment of a productive infection (ie the completion of the life cycle) within the new host.
Read 26 tweets
Aug 11
🚨Anti-vaxxers are twisting a study into mRNA armageddon.

TLDR, all this study says is IF certain groups experienced an adverse event COINCIDENT with vax, then it was more likely to be myocarditis than if taking a different drug🤦‍♂️

We already know this🙄

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39103148/
It's behind a pay wall, so will keep brief to save anyone having to read it to stave off the various nutters quoting bizarrely inflated risks of death etc...#LiedSuddenly

Expect it may feature in certain press and on a "patriotic" news channel before long 😉
So, in brief:

1. This is data from JADER, the Japanese equivalent of VAERS, yellow card etc.
Reports of adverse events COINCIDENT with a medicine are made by healthcare workers, pharma, public etc.
Main point, it's a sentinel system used to spot patterns, cases need verifying.
Read 17 tweets
Aug 2
Some issues here...putting it mildly.
1. These are NOT the only high-risk groups. @CDCgov recommend >50s and children as a minimum.
2. This is an influenza strategy, we are NOT in the same place with SARS2 by a country mile.
3. Vax status by age is worrying, 1/3 u40s no vax 😬
4. % of kids u12 vaxd was only ~10% in 22/23 b4 offer was stopped...
5. We age, folks die, and are born. The % population covered by the emergency programme is therefore dwindling across all ages.
6. Yes, our protection vs severe COVID lasts way longer than vs infection, but...
7. Recent study in @JAMA_current shows more recent, better matched vax is better at keeping folks out of hospital.
8. Vax 4 just vulnerable helps en masse, sure, but many r unlikely to make a good response.
9. Poor responders amidst high prevalence will erode protection quickly.
Read 13 tweets
May 13
So, the bugs that put me in hospital recently were multi-resistant E. coli. No oral antibiotics would work, so I was on IV for 8 days; 2nd line was looking challenging had the infection not responded.

#AMR isn't a new problem, but the can is continuously kicked down the road...
It's not the same as a pandemic, so I'm not sure about that comparison.
BUT folks need to be reminded that, pre-penicillin and other abx, any wound or infection could be life threatening.
#AMR is via part over-use, part misuse, part inadequate investment into R&D.
In the main, anti-infectives aren't generally looked upon as a good way for pharma to recoup their investment, particularly as new antibiotics tend to be held in reserve nowadays because of the dangers #AMR brings...
This isn't companies being "evil", there's no conspiracy...
Read 17 tweets
May 8
Elsewhere in the multiverse there's a reality where the next pandemic threat is under control.
Here, governments recognised that it was their moral duty to ensure that the suffering and pain of those affected, both directly and indirectly, mattered more than the prior status quo.
They rectified #NHS disinvestment and "built back better" to ensure healthcare remained free at the point of care.

They genuinely addressed socio-economic inequality & inequity, channelling sufficient investment to actually "level up" deprived areas, independent of train tracks.
Yes, this involved a tax policy that meant wealthy people paid more, poorer people paid less, and Non-doms paid their dues or were banned.
The poverty gap began to shrink, and the proceeds from taxes weren't wasted on the sorts of companies that populated the VIP list...
Read 14 tweets

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