"The dire shortage of pediatric hospital beds plaguing the nation this fall is a byproduct of financial decisions made by hospitals over the past decade, as they shuttered children’s wards, which often operate in the red..."

khn.org/news/article/h… "A major factor in the bed shortage is a years-long trend among hospitals of eliminating pediatric units, which tend to be less profitable than adult units, said Mark Wietecha, CEO of the Children’s Hospital Association."

khn.org/news/article/h…

We should really require "experts" with anxiety to disclose it on their most anxious tweets.

@EpiEllie didn't, so I'll share some evidence in a short thread.

Let's all take a moment to express our disdain for the people who, for the second straight school year, predicted mass death for kids who went to school normally.

They were, once again, very very wrong, but I will refrain from describing just how I feel about it. here's mike. mike was wrong.

https://twitter.com/Mikeggibbs/status/1403397604797526016?s=20

Once I'm comfortable with the level of control we have over the virus thanks to people doing exactly what I think should happen all the time, everyone is fine to do the things that matter most to me in the precisely way I myself would do them. Until then I'm grateful for my N95 which I can wear in public because it shows that I have a monopoly on courtesy, even if what someone really needs is true human connection which I refuse to provide.

I will treat it like a nightlight keeping away the boogie man as I sleep.

Want to see what it looks like for goal posts to move in real time?

Here are two interviews with the same person, Dr. Mary Jo Trepka, an ID epidemiologist and professor at FIU.

The first is from August 2. The second from August 5.

What changed in that three day period? August 2:

miami.cbslocal.com/2021/08/02/par…

If you're in public health and have an anxiety disorder, you should be required to disclose such on your Twitter profile if you're active here.

It would be a helpful lens through which we can interpret your recommendations, which have outsized impact in our current environment. I don't mean to sound harsh. I've got friends with anxiety disorders and know it is extremely difficult.

But, airline pilots have to undergo psychological screenings before they get their commercial license. They're responsible for hundreds of lives each flight.

To better understand why school's are closed, read @jasonzweigwsj's book Your Money and Your Brain.

Our brains aren't great at understanding relative risk, and when the media convinces everyone that they're going to die, we're willing to do dumb stuff to prevent it. As @ZacBissonnette has pointed out, people way, way overestimate their risk if death due to COVID.

That doesn't mean it isn't a deadly or dangerous disease. It is! But most of us will probably die from heart failure or cancer. 🤷‍♂️

https://twitter.com/ZacBissonnette/status/1362521328146915329?s=19

So @anniema15 interviewed @JenniferforCMS and @Sawyer4Schools who are advocating for @CMSSupt to push @CMSboard and @CharMeckSchools away from "hybrid learning" for elementary to full-remote for all.

It's really important that you read this.

charlotteobserver.com/news/local/edu… I have a few highlights, and a few thoughts.

First, it's clear that we all agree that utilizing arbitrary community metrics is unnecessary, as @Sawyer4Schools herself alludes to here.

Staying home saves lives and everyone should just stay home.

Except for the DoorDash lady who delivers my dinner that was cooked by people who work at the restaurant.

And the grocery delivery driver who brings me the groceries that were stocked by the grocery worker. And the Amazon worker who packed the stuff I bought. And the UPS driver who delivered it.

And the brewer who made the beer I'm drinking. And the trucker who brought the beer to the store.

And the football players who are playing in the game I'm watching.

So (as usual) today's @CltLedger is brilliant, offering an exposition as to what's going on with @CharMeckSchools and @CMSSupt's inability to open middle schools due to what (they claim) is a lack of available bus drivers.

Let's discuss, shall we? (1/12) There are only two explanations for why the country's 15th largest district, in a city of 1.1 million people, doesn't have enough bus drivers available: Incompetence, or something more sinister. (2/12)