Good morning #Oakland! Today City Council votes on whether to extend masking in public facilities, including senior centers, libraries and city hall. Oakland community physicians and leaders sent this letter supporting the extension to preserve safe access and engagement for all.
The reso also makes K/N95s available to those who need them!
Thank you for your leadership and caution, esp for those most vulnerable, as we continue to navigate the pandemic.
This resolution is being discussed now, finally. Extension would be to July 1. Awesome public comment by the good people at @sdaction1!
Yayy! The resolution passed! 5 ayes and 1 (rather confusing) no. Masks will continue to be required in public areas, and filtration masks will continue to be provided for free! #Oakland continuing to lead the way!
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
I've been asked how I assess situations to guide my behavior re: covid. I like to keep things simple, and case rates are unreliable, so I stay away from fancy calculations about prevalence and just assume most anyone could be positive. 1/5🧵
Very low risk: currently this is outdoors only, air is moving, spacing is adequate. KN95 goes on if it gets crowded, I'm giving hugs, or need to go indoors to use the restroom, etc. If there's pre-event testing for all attendees, I might ditch the mask altogether. 2/5
Low risk: pre-event testing, indoor-outdoor setup, great indoor ventilation, low occupancy/excellent spacing. Outdoor dining also in this category if servers/passersby are unmasked. Depending on spacing, CO2 levels, crowding, likely to keep on KN95 except to eat, drink, etc. 3/5
I'm so tired of covid and wish it was over like we all do. But it isn't, and decisions being made now will worsen and prolong things. Dropping masks in healthcare will increase cases & poor outcomes. It will also increase excess deaths as vulnerable people avoid care/exposure. 1/
Commercializing the response will make access even worse, especially since it assumes doctors offices are testing, vaccinating, treating when too many aren't. Also because it's now up to insurance companies what to cover, and the uninsured will be out of pocket or out of luck. 2/
Simultaneously dumping people off Medicaid, reducing SNAP (food stamps) allotment, and ending eviction moratoria is a recipe for healthcare, food, and housing insecurity/homelessness. Can you say excess mortality? 3/
Norovirus continues to be on the rise with outbreaks across the country (wash your hands!). If you ❤️ raw oysters, ask where they're from before enjoying!
There are no mask mandates. There are no vaccine mandates. There are no indoor air quality requirements.
If you are anti-mitigation, congrats, you won!
So why are you still whining about mask mandates, vaccine mandates, and interventions to clean the air?
Let me clarify that individual school, business, etc. policies ≠ "mandates." And I stand corrected that masks *are* still required in healthcare facilities in California (and maybe other states) and in some public buildings, but sadly those are few/far between and vanishing.
Articles like this one, essentially blaming those who want to continue being cautious for somehow "prolonging" the pandemic. time.com/6251077/covid-…
The CDC briefly describes increases of Aspergilosis, mucormycosis, Candida Auris, invasive candidiasis, and other fungal infection associated with covid. We need more research to assess all the factors leading to this but it's not to be taken lightly
C Auris seems to be more of a confection or super infection as opposed to opportunistic. But I think we still have a lot to learn. I'm concerned about invasive Group A Strep in children without other underlying issues and other post-covid phenomena. Novel virus = still learning.
"I got covid and I did ok," the new reason I'm hearing for people dropping precautions. These same people seem genuinely surprised when they learn of the cumulative nature of the harms of reinfection. The public seems mostly in the dark when it comes to critical info like this.
Cumulative risks/burdens of repeat infection include death, hospitalization and many sequelae (pulmonary, cardiovascular, hematologic, diabetes, GI, kidney, mental health, musculoskeletal, neurological) compared to 1 infection, and increases according to the number of infections
This analysis included 443,588 people with a 1st infection, 37,997 people with 2 infxns, 2,572 with 3 infxns, 378 with 4+ infections and 5,334,729 noninfected controls. The risks were most pronounced acutely but persisted in the postacute phase at 6 mos.