The best way to avoid long covid or the big ⬆️ risk of heart attacks or strokes after COVID is to avoid COVID infection.

Look at this graph: it’s after only 1 year of wide exposure of COVID in the Australian community from early 2021. Imagine year on year!

Thanks @aishamae 1/5 This article showing the excess deaths should worry us all.

Then add in the risk of long covid to this after each COVID infection.

It’s tricky because many people are toodling along as if COVID won’t or can’t impact them.

This impacts everyone. 2/5

theage.com.au/national/fatal…

Prioritising kids during COVID
Let’s do the work
Let's do it together
Two years into this pandemic I want us to put children’s needs right at the top when we think of who needs what.
Two years in a child’s life…that is a lot.
1/16 This corona-palava has no end date: it could and will likely go on.
We must plan for that.
Especially when we view it in light of a child’s life
As parents, as doctors, as policy makers, as community members.
We need to prioritise children's needs
And advocate. Advocate.
2/16

At this start of 2022, COVID is everywhere.
There are a range of things you can do to reduce the impact on yourself & your family:
1. Preventing COVID infection
2. A Home COVID Preparation Checklist
3. What to do if you & your household get COVID
4. Recovering from COVID 1/25 Preventing COVID infection
We will have a huge pressure on healthcare due to hospitalisations (not necessarily ICU) & other essential services in coming weeks.
We can all help out. It's that "flattening the curve" thing we can all help with for the community & those at risk 2/25

It’s good covid is generally mild in kids. I agree with this.
Only about 1% need admission. Agree.
But I have an evolving and serious concern about covid in kids.
A thread
It is mainly just down to maths.
And going back to the precautionary principle
1/11
theage.com.au/politics/victo… The studies on long covid are pretty rubbish and there was a review published yesterday by Prof Curtis from RCH - but even if its as low as 1% (may be higher) we have no idea of the long term effects.
We have no idea.
That deeply disturbs me.
We need to be careful here.
2/11

As we reach this part of the pandemic in Australia, over 6 months, in I think we should expect that everyone in any position responsible for the safety of healthcare workers (yes that means lots of us) should:
- have read the Canadian SARS Commission final report
1/8 Thread As we reach this part of the pandemic in Australia, over 6 months, in I think we should expect that everyone in any position responsible for the safety of healthcare workers (yes that means lots of us) should:
- understand what the precautionary principle is
2/8

Don’t forget to reach out for help, to talk, to share the burden. After I posted on Twitter about Pandemic Kindness last night I had a couple of docs reach out to me. People are tired and doing it tough. There’s a lot of anxiety with this increase in cases and the lockdown again - let’s be kind and be there for each other and please remember there’s a heap of supports and people ready to help you if you need it or for your team.

Here is something I posted for my friends and family. There are no right answers but it’s how I’m approaching this along with my husband who is also a doctor for our family in coming months.

Pandemic Kindness Australia 2020

So while we are all looking at various aspects of our public health,community & personal response I'd like to prepare & curate some resources to support the healthcare teams over the coming months -there's already some great things out there 1/10 We are thinking of setting up a Pandemic Kindness network across the hospitals & healthcare system proactively in the brief calm before the storm.... 2/10

@KarenGaunson @drsarahsutton @meganchapman @VRaycar @salhogg @KarenJBateson @grahammusic1 @DrCChamberlain @Jane_Fisher1 @DrHowardLiu @dranniehickox @sharon_goldfeld @AFNCCF @DrJonGoldin @jenkpg But this is the best one I’ve seen 12 pages / screenshots @KarenGaunson @drsarahsutton @meganchapman @VRaycar @salhogg @KarenJBateson @grahammusic1 @DrCChamberlain @Jane_Fisher1 @DrHowardLiu @dranniehickox @sharon_goldfeld @AFNCCF @DrJonGoldin @jenkpg

It’s pretty simple:

Autoimmune diseases are increasing.

Other specialities are rightly asking us to look after these kids for specialised care or share care.

The population is growing.

=it’s not rocket surgery. I had Juvenile Arthritis as a child.
It’s a huge journey to have come this way & trained as a paediatric rheumatologist - lots of psychology there- but I am deadset committed to:
-hunting for a cure &
-improving clinical services & the journey for young people and their families

So let’s talk Juvenile Arthritis & services available to kids in Australia...

There’s 21 paediatric rheumatologists in Oz. Most, if not all, are dead keen to do more public work.

The lack of funding is a huge issue esp in NSW as this article outlines.

dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/news-… There is only one current core training site for paediatric rheumatology trainee doctors in Australia (@RCHMelbourne) at the team I am Head of & that is generously funded through philanthropy of the @RCH_Foundation Foundation.

One cold night in winter of 2003 I was Chief Resident @RCHMelbourne & I was asked to give a talk to potential paed residents...there were also some of that year's residents & Director of Physician Training @margot_nash pushed them: "surely there's some bad things about paeds?" One particularly great resident - who had gone on to amazing things and just completed his PhD- talked about how much he loved the job but he said:
"I do drive to work each day and know I hurt children"

That changed the course of my career.

Well...this is exciting...let's rumble and hear from some impressive physicians and trainees.
#womeninmedicine #heforshe⁠ ⁠
@TheRACP @drjackiesmall @drjilltomlinson @NeelaJan @inquisitiveGyn @Connankf

It's been a while now we've been thinking about how & what we might do to improve the health & wellbeing of our doctors (& others) across a whole hospital.
So many people across @RCHMelbourne, Australia & internationally have had input.
@DrEricLevi @catherinecrock
1/20 We're in the final stages of scoping things and planning. We're still pondering & keen on input....

The Twitter community has been amazing.
Thank you!

⭐️Thriving, not just surviving or taking a dive is what we've aiming for.⭐️
2/20

Last night after watching a group of my medical peers behaving really badly toward each other in a meeting, I did something different. I didn't really know many of them. They we're mostly much older and male. I stood up & called it out. That was actually pretty hard to do even for confident, bolshe me. It's stops here, I said. Behave better. It's 2019 & we can interact respectfully. You know what? They did! And the worst behaved each came up after and apologised at the end of the meeting. Change can happen.