"Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic -- Things I've Learned (So Far) - 2024 Edition"
It's for my students but great for anyone who wants to better understand the state of the pandemic in the U.S. in Jan 2024.
40 mins total across 7 chapters:
Ch 1 - Intro on the Winter 2023-24 Surge and a bit on my background
Ch 2 - The public health significance of COVID-19 at present, especially focused on Long COVID
Ch 3 - SARS-CoV-2 is Airborne, and we need multi-layered mitigation
Ch 4 - Quarantine, testing, and isolation overview
Ch 5 - Masking tips
Ch 6 - Air cleaning fundamentals
Ch 7 - Vulnerability and inclusivity
VIDEO THREAD 🧵 - Clip 2 of 7
Chapter 2: COVID is NOT “A Cold or the Flu”
#LongCOVID #LongCovidKids
"Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic -- Things I've Learned (So Far) - 2024 Edition"
I have no financial Conflicts of Interest (COIs) for any of the products or industries mentioned in passing. I intentionally do not receive ad revenue on these videos, as that could create the appearance of a potential bias.
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🔸CDC SARS-CoV-2 wastewater levels "Very High," and up from last week
🔸1 in 21 estimated actively infectious
🔸>250,000 estimated new daily infections statewide
Four figures...
1/4🧵
CDC wastewater data in California show COVlD cases increasing from the already "Very High" levels last week.
2/4🧵
With an estimated 1 in 21 (or 4.8%) of California residents actively infectious of COVlD, risk increases dramatically in larger and more frequent social gatherings.
Interact with 25 people of average risk of being positive, and that's a >70% chance of exposure.
3/4🧵
Let's say you're a dairy farmer. You have 100 cows. Each year, about 5 cows die, and another 5 cows are born. Then, along comes a virus. Let's call it "cowvid"...
1/
Let's say "cowvid" wipes out about half the cows over the course of a couple years. Now, you're down to 50 cows....
2/
The local mayor declares "cowvid" to be over. This surprises you as a farmer because 5 of your cows keep dying annually. 5 of 50 instead of 5 out of 100. Seems like more, but you're not a city slicker...
3/
The 11th wave is still rising.
🔥23 states/territories High/Very High
🔥Very High: Alabama, DC, Guam, Hawai'i, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Utah
🔥1 in 56 estimated actively infectious
🔥876,000 new daily infections
PMC Dashboard Update (U.S.) 🧵2 of 8
Note that the CDC has modified 📉 how transmission levels correspond to the categorical bins.
Take California. We estimate 1 in 30 actively infectious statewide. This would have previously been "Very High," now just "High."
#NewNormal
PMC Dashboard Update (U.S.) 🧵3 of 8
Here are the prevalence estimates for the first half of states/territories.
Notice how high the levels are in some of the "Moderate" states.
Second, a lot of people can sustain a strong denial of reality about the ongoing pandemic during lulls. They suppress the existence of COVlD waves and excess deaths, disability, and retirements.
During waves, those defenses burst. Loss of control = anger...
Third, a lot of people (many reading this) understand COVlD correctly & experience righteous indignation during COVlD waves. We quite reasonably do not like all of the unjust and gratuitous suffering.
I find it helpful to channel that intensity into helping other people....