🚨New study doesn't actually show that lockdowns had any effect on brain-development, and was never designed to test that theory. Authors and other scientists promoting study make specious claims anyway.

Let's dig in. 🧵1/
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

https://twitter.com/vipintukur/status/1833222332032159833

Study authors in Washington collected MRIs of a modest group of kids (n=160) in 2018. They built a model of brain development using those data, which they believe would predict 'normal' brain changes over time.

They got 130 of the kids back for another MRI in late 2021-2022. 2/

🧵What is really happening now with Bird Flu and why does it matter?

As H5N1 becomes more prominent, it might be a good time to consider how such threats are classified.

Below is the WHO's pandemic phases model for influenza. (From pg 28 of document) /1

iris.who.int/bitstream/hand…

https://twitter.com/MeetJess/status/1812807639849455694

This model is not a strict timeline, bc some novel pathogens do not progress to next stage, and they can even regress. It also assumes pandemic influenza eventually becomes seasonal - historically it has, w/ low transmissibility when not closed up indoors. OTOH COVID hasn't. /2

Revised - 🧵What everyone should know about Measles (but many don't):

1) Measles is very nasty.

Worst in ppl <5 or >20, immunocompromised, pregnant

Severe in 10% cases➡️blindness/deafness/brain dmg, pneumonia, SSPE

PLUS Immune Amnesia

Kills 1-3/1000, over 200K ppl in 2019. 2) Measles is very bad, but largely vaccine preventable.

MMR(V) vaccine 95-97%** effective w/ 2 doses, normally given ~ age 12 mo & 18 mo - 4 yrs. Catch up if you missed it. Babies 6 mo. can get bonus dose for safety.

See MORE ON VACCINATION later in thread.

🧵What everyone should know about Measles (but many don't):

1) Measles is very nasty. Usually worst in kids <5, adults >20, immunocompromised.

Can cause blindness, hearing loss, brain damage, pneumonia.

Kills 1-3 per 1000 cases. It killed over 200,000 people in 2019 alone. 2) Measles is very bad, but vaccine preventable.

MMR(V) vaccine 95-97% effective w/ 2 doses, normally given ~ age 1 & age 4. Catch up if you missed it. Babies 6 mo. can get bonus dose for safety.

** Allowing exponential growth of disease is like jumping off a roof instead of taking the stairs. **

The danger seems to "sneak up" on ppl, but it shouldn't. This is just how exponents work. They are much MORE POWERFUL than linear patterns.
🧵1/ Speed is distance over time. It has a *linear* relationship to distance.

Gravity measures acceleration, the *increase* of speed. It has an *exponential* relationship to distance.
2/

Best news I've had all day.

It's official. Medical Officers of Health have a duty of care as Doctors, and can't hide behind the role as "public officials". They MUST follow the science, not the politicians.

And politicians have to use proper regulations, not just make decrees.

https://twitter.com/CBCMeg/status/1585685854861000704

If you or your kids/family got sick from airborne communicable diseases since Feb that could reasonably be attributed to increased infectivity from schools w/o adequate airborne protections...

Now you can do something about it. UCP & School boards are liable. Make them fix it.

🧵 Great exchange w/ @Halmsy on better messaging wrt masks.

Advocating (correctly) for "masks", what we mean is:

"Masks" = Well-fitted, functional N95+ respirators or equivalent, with no gaps & w/o taking breaks indoors in public*.

https://twitter.com/Halmsy/status/1585413615531986946?s=20&t=2G8UluFq51Ybv-J_fcTCFA

Surgical masks can approach the efficacy of formal respirators if used w/ a good "mask brace". Filter material of medical grade surgical masks is adequate, but the design leaves gaps around the edges. Brace prevents leaking through gaps around sides.

popularmechanics.com/science/health…

Is your cough and sore throat the flu, RSV or COVID?

Wastewater analysis in EDMONTON
COVID = 190
Influenza A = 0.1 (was 0 before last week) B = 0
RSV = 0 (recent peaks ~0.6)

COVID = 1900X flu or RSV

It's probably COVID, even w/ neg. RAT
covid-tracker.chi-csm.ca

#BringBackMasks More on wastewater analysis and Calgary example

https://twitter.com/SafetyinNumbrz/status/1580711158822371328?s=20&t=MIRM9ndOqWT2E6cOuNDZWg

If you put on your own mask when you see a masked person enter the room:

1) Thank you for trying to be supportive. Truly. It's nice to be cared for & not harassed.

and

2) Let's talk about how airborne transmission works... (I PROMISE this isn't a "mask always" tweet) 🧵1/16 There's a lot of misinformation and confusion about COVID transmission, and that isn't your fault. It's a complicated history, but here's the upshot:

Some viruses are in big droplets & fall quickly to the ground removing them from the air. Plus, your mask can catch some.
2/16

I'd be very glad if we stopped using the word "hysterical", especially to describe "excessive negative emotion".

It's mysogynist, ableist and usually intellectually dishonest.

🧵 1/9 Hysteria means "wandering uterus". It was a diagnosis for women deemed "neurotic" in antiquity-1900s. Incl. misdiagnosed physical illness, claiming they're imagined/faked/mental.

It ONLY applied to women

bc women were less rationale, controlled, intelligent & mature. (/s)
2/9

New meta-analysis shows vaccination (mostly mRNA vaccines) moderately reduced Long-COVID risk.

I propose those same data also show:

**No, mRNA vaccines do NOT increase risks for symptoms like those of Long-COVID overall. Actual COVID does that.** 🧵1/

mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/1… Do not reply unless you're ready to treat these data in rigorous, scientific, dispassionate ways. It won't make you or your msg look good, it will just drive traffic to my argument.

But if you *do* have legit, scientifically-rigorous rebuttals or questions, pls give feedback.

Holy-moly Trolling tonight!

Scientist provides data that COVID is dangerous. (Ex. it causes blood clots and strokes. ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CI…)

Other scientists suggest basic safety precautions. (#BringBackMasks)

Immediately trolls blame the vax & use slurs & ableist language.🧵 It's shocking to me how vitriolic, irrational, ignorant & frankly crap-tastic these people's behavior is.

Most folx here are in societies where even basic precautions have been abandoned. Yet trolls come hunting to vilify & belittle those providing real medical science. Why?

I had a discussion in another thread that gave me pause. I am sharing it as a good reminder to science-types that we, as mere humans, see the world through our own experience.

So we must periodically take a moment to examine our own biases. /1 A Thread🧵 The "coping mechanism" and religion parts discomfited & reminded me of similar arguments from opposite perspective (denial as coping mechanism). It seemed kindly meant. Science requires we actively challenge our own hypotheses.

So I did. /2

Want better COVID data throughout Canada, even where govts restrict PCR testing or reporting?

Report your RAT tests & get quality Canada province/country data at covid19tracker.ca/rapid.html

RT & Spread the word. They need more (anonymous) reports from ppl like you.

@covid_canada This independent volunteer group also aggregates officially-reported data for each province and from PHAC to make it easier for everyone to get up-to-date data and compare it around the country.

covid19tracker.ca/index.html

THREAD🧵/1
We are being manipulated in AB.

It seems to be working.

Working to bolster policy-makers & lobby groups, I mean.

They want us to think COVID is over, or at least not that bad. It's a deceitful narrative that is killing us, b/c so many believe them.

#CovidIsNotOver /2 Gov of AB wants us to believe COVID cases are not so high comparatively, and anyway it's "just" Omicron, the 'mild' one, right? Seems safe enough, esp for those who vaxxed and/or were recently infected (the combination being over 80% of all Albertans) alberta.ca/stats/covid-19…

AB has abandoned almost all COVID protections already, and decided to go even further and reduce reporting and transparency, with updates only 1/wk. The justification?

It's time. Our two years is up. We're basically safe enough now. @CMOH_Alberta Mar 8

"We need to be able to hold two realities at the same time – one is that COVID is still a threat to take seriously and the other is that the COVID population risk has been reduced and we can move to seeing COVID as one risk among many."alberta.ca/release.cfm?xI…

AB's Wave 6 is still Omicron & you can still get it. 🧵

Wave 5 was Omicron BA.1/1.1. This is BA.2
Not the same.

It's nearly most transmissible diseases ever w/ R0 ~ 12! (Measles is ~14.)

There are documented proven reinfections w/ BA.2 after BA.1.
afr.com/policy/health-… #COVIDisAirborne this level of transmissibility will rip through communities and increase to very, very high prevalence. Without major changes in policy/behavior, it could eclipse Wave 5 peak.

Previous infection w/ BA.1 may provide some measure of protection, but not reliably.

AB's 6th wave officially begins!! Curiously, AB Health has not updated their transmission calculations to reflect that on time (3/15).

Luckily, we can estimate it ourselves to prove that, YES, AB begins yet another preventable wave of illness & death. 🧵

alberta.ca/covid-19-alber… Cases counted "active" for 14 days if not hospitalized, or 10 days after discharge/follow-up. Excepting long hospitalizations > 4 days (a small % of all cases), new cases (in past 7 days) can be viewed as a percentage of active cases. When new cases are ~50% active cases, Rt=1.

CORRECTED: COVID is NOT MILD for KIDS. Early in the pandemic, kids seemed safer. Not now. Kid COVID Death Rate > Diabetes, 🫁Flu,🔥Fire, Falls,🏊‍♂️Drowning,☠️Poison,🫀Heart Disease &😰CANCER. It rivals🚗Car &🔫Gun Deaths! You'd use lifevests & kidproof locks, so wear a😷respirator. Yesterday, I released an incorrect version. I apologize and retract it. Pls replace it w/ this new version. I accidentally included age 18-19 non-COVID deaths before. Now, it is only kids under 18. I'm truly sorry, and hope you will still accept the corrected version. 🙏

Albertans, did you know that your risk of catching COVID in the *next month* is likely higher than it was for the entire Delta wave? New cases are projected to infect over 3/4 of a million more people by late Feb! Don't lower your shields yet. #ShieldsUp To be clear, this is not a projection of confirmed cases, faced restricted testing. Some of these cases may be asymptomatic & may not be aware of their condition. Some may end up with Long-COVID after asymptomatic infection. Chart is to end of Jan, 3 mill, in a pop of 4.4 mill.

When do we get "back to normal" like before?

Never.

Life won't be the same again.

People felt scared. People were permanently harmed. We lost jobs & friends & our sense of invulnerability. People died.

It's a hard truth to grieve & accept, but denial won't erase the scars. We have only 2 options: more waves, loss, disability & death

OR reduce risk w/ TTI, clean air, vax, meds & small behavior changes.

Needing more changes may feel unfair.

Maybe you deserve your old life back without compromising any more. That's normal. We're all so OVER COVID