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Dr. Lucky Tran Profile picture
Dr. Lucky Tran
@luckytran
📢 Public Health, Climate Justice, and Science Communication 🎓 Columbia, Cornell, Cambridge, Adelaide Tweets my own
Ross Grayson, MPH, CIH Profile picture Diana Roby Profile picture Perpetual Mind Profile picture Aviva Gabriel Profile picture Movement As Muse (curated by SusanDavisCushing) Profile picture 12 subscribed
Jul 13 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
UPDATE: Here's the language of the proposed mask ban bill in Nassau County, NY. It's bad!

While health is mentioned, the ban would apply to public places and some private properties, and gives police power to ask anyone to remove their mask.
A LOCAL LAW TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF A MASK OR FACIAL COVERING FOR THE PURPOSES OF CONCEALING AN INDIVIDUAL'S IDENTITY IN A PUBLIC PLACE BE IT ENACTED by the County Legislature of the County of Nassau, as follows: §1. Short Title. This law shall be known as the " Miscellaneous Laws of Nassau County as Title 91. " and shall appear in the §2. Legislative Intent. This Legislature finds that masks and facial coverings that are not worn for legitimate health and safety concerns or for religious or celebratory purposes are often used as a predicate to harassing, menacing or criminal be...
years of age shall, while wearing any mask or facial covering whereby the face or voice is disguised with the intent to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter, or appear upon or within any sidewalk, walkway, alley, street, road, highway or other public right-of-way or public property or private property without the consent of the owner or tenant. This law shall not apply to facial coverings worn to protect the health or safety of the wearer, for religious or cultural purposes, or for the peaceful celebration of a holiday or similar religious or cultural event for which masks or facial co... The Nassau County mask ban bill (with some exceptions) prohibits a mask wearer to "enter, or appear upon or within any sidewalk, walkway, alley, street, road, highway or other public right-of-way or public property or private property without the consent of the owner or tenant." No person or persons over 16 years of age shall, while wearing any mask or facial covering whereby the face or voice is disguised with the intent to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter, or appear upon or within any sidewalk, walkway, alley, street, road, highway or other public right-of-way or public property or private property without the consent of the owner or tenant. This law shall not apply to facial coverings worn to protect the health or safety of the wearer, for religious or cultural purposes, or for the peaceful celebration of a holiday or similar religious or cultural event...
Jul 10 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Violet Affleck: "To confront the Long COVID crisis I demand mask availability, air filtration and far-UVC light in government facilities, including jails and detention centers and mask mandates in county medical facilities. We must expand availability of tests and treatment.

And most importantly, the county must oppose mask bans for any reason. They do not keep us safer. They make them vulnerable members of our community less safe and make everyone less able to participate in Los Angeles together. Thank you." 🔥🔥🔥 Here's the full transcript of Violet Affleck's public comment objecting to the mask ban in Los Angeles. Hi, Violet Affleck, Los Angeles resident, first time voter. I'm 18. I contracted a post-viral condition in 2019. I'm okay now, but I saw first-hand that medicine does not always have answers to the consequences of even minor viruses. The Covid 19 pandemic has thrown into sharp relief. 1 in 10 infections leads to Long Covid, which is a devastating neurological cardiovascular illness that can take away people's ability to work, move, see and even think stands to exacerbate our homelessness crisis, as well as the suffering of many people in our city. It hits communities of color, disabled peo...
Jul 9 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
In an interview with @ChrisCuomo former White House COVID Response Coordinator Ashish Jha says that it's a fringe position to still be masking indoors.

This is misinformation and an example of prioritizing personal centrist politics above public health.

It is completely inappropriate for the Dean of a public health school to call an effective public health tool "fringe", especially in the midst of a COVID wave where public health departments are trying to encourage people to take precautions.
Jul 6 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Here’s a video I’ve been meaning to put together explaining how to use CO2 monitors to gauge COVID risk.

If you’d like to own this great public health tool, Aranet have kindly offered to collaborate on a GIVEAWAY!

TO ENTER
FOLLOW @luckytran @aranet_home
COMMENT + tag a friend Aranet giveaway closes 2 weeks from today & one winner will be chosen from the comments section. The giveaway is open to anyone around the world. Winner will receive one Aranet4 HOME indoor air quality monitor. Winner will be randomly selected & contacted by me via DM. Good luck!
Jun 25 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
We need to talk about this more! The "health exception" in the mask ban bill by NY Democrats is only valid during a public health emergency.

But COVID is not over, and there are many other health threats. NY Democrats don't think people have the right to protect their health. The end of the public health emergency was not the end of COVID or the pandemic. And there are many other airborne viruses and health threats such as pollution and wildfire smoke where masks are needed regardless of emergency status. Banning masks outside the PHE is anti-science.
Jun 18 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
THIS:

"In the short term, living in a state of peak denial helps us cope. In the long run, it will be our undoing." But what happens when overlooking and tolerating greater levels of harm becomes a shared cultural habit? Like the proverbial frog in boiling water, we acclimate to ignoring more and caring less at our own peril. In the short term, living in a state of peak denial helps us cope. In the long run, it will be our undoing. Because the danger here is desensitization: that we meet this unprecedented litany of “wicked problems,” from climate change to the rise of fascism, with passive acceptance rather than urgent collective action. "A common strategy to neutralize a social problem is to make knowing about it hard...

If the COVID situation is tracked and the public warned, things don’t feel normal. But if we don’t monitor or mention it, then things can feel “back to normal”—fine, even." COVID is a good case study for illustrating the “Collective Denial Playbook” that underpins our new normal reality. A common strategy to neutralize a social problem is to make knowing about it hard, often by restricting efforts to look into it, like scaling back COVID tracking. In April the CDC ended the requirement that hospitals report COVID admissions and occupancy data, removing one of the last tools we could use to monitor what’s happening. “We now enter the blackout phase of epidemiology” wrote science journalist Laurie Garrett on X, adding: “There will be patients, but their numbers ...
Jun 13 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Summary of today's @GovKathyHochul press conference where she talked about NY mask ban:

- Initial focus is subway and those commiting crimes
- Acknowledges need for health, religious, festival exemptions
- Acknowledges surgical and N95 masks are different than ski masks There was a question about masking at protests, and while @GovKathyHochul said protesting is not a crime, it's unclear if ban would include protests that do not have a permit.
Jun 13 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
From @GovKathyHochul's press conference today:

"On a subway, people should not be able to hide behind a mask to commit crimes. I spoken to Mayor Adams, who's been outspoken on this issue with the MTA, with local law enforcement, and beginning conversations with the legislature." "There's legitimate reasons why people wear face coverings. Covid or the flu, religious reasons, delivery drivers protecting themselves from the elements and festivities. I assure everyone we understand how complex this issue is." @GovKathyHochul
Jun 13 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
UPDATE: NY Governor Kathy Hochul said on CNN last night that she is considering a ban on masks.

@GovKathyHochul this is absolutely shameful! New York has suffered so much from COVID, and COVID is not over. We should be normalize and depoliticizing masks, not banning them. Governor Hochul: There was a ban on masks before the pandemic that you couldn't have face coverings that didn't serve a purpose. For example, a surgical mask for someone who is elderly or ill — the pandemic removed that from our State Law. It was repealed at the time, but I absolutely will go back and take a look at this and see whether it can be restored because it is frightening to people. You're sitting on a subway train and someone puts on a mask like this and comes in — you don't know if they're going to be committing a crime, they're going to have a gun, or whether they're just going ... Pre-pandemic laws banning masks from group events were always harmful. We should have learned from the pandemic that we need to do more to normalize public health tools like masks. After seeing so much death and harm that is continuing, it makes no sense to roll back mask laws.
Jun 11 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
North Carolina's anti-mask bill just passed the House. It will now go to the Governor.

This is a horrible bill that narrows the health exemption for wearing a mask, and makes it easier for cops and anti-maskers to harass people into taking off their mask.
newsobserver.com/news/politics-… Important: If you are in North Carolina, please keep wearing your mask!

The bill has not been signed into law yet. And while the language makes it easier for cops to abuse it, the bill does keep the right to mask to stop the spread of contagious disease.
Jun 6 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Update on the North Carolina anti-mask bill: The compromise bill contains problematic language, saying you can wear a mask to "prevent the spread of contagious disease."

This sounds like you can wear a mask if you already have COVID, but not to prevent yourself from getting it.
"§ 14-12.11. Exemptions from provisions of Article. Any person wearing a medical or surgical grade mask for the purpose of ensuring the physical health or safety of the wearer or others.preventing the spread of contagious disease. This is bad. The updated North Carolina anti-mask bill also says that anyone wearing a mask must “remove the mask upon request by a law enforcement officer or temporarily remove the mask upon request by the owner or occupant of public or private property.” Notwithstanding subdivision (a)(6) of this section, a person wearing a mask in accordance with subdivision (a)(6) of this section shall (i) remove the mask upon request by a law enforcement officer or (ii) temporarily remove the mask upon request by the owner or occupant of public or private property where the wearer is present to allow for identification of the wearer.
May 22 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
A new gold standard review of 100 studies finds:

- masks are effective in reducing transmission of respiratory diseases

- N95 respirators are significantly more effective than medical or cloth masks

- mask mandates are effective in reducing community transmission Clinical Microbiology Reviews: Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a state of the science review The new review showing the effectiveness of masks addresses the flawed Cochrane study, which was deliberately misinterpreted by anti-maskers & some media to spread misinformation around masks.

This new review will serve as a gold standard reference to debunk mask misinformation. The need for a new review on masks was highlighted by a widely publicized polarization in scientific opinion. The masks section of a 2023 Cochrane review of non-pharmaceutical interventions (9) was—controversially—limited to randomized controlled trials (RCTs). It was interpreted by the press and by some but not all of its own authors to mean that “masks don’t work” and “mask mandates did nothing” (10). Cochrane’s editor-in-chief felt the need to state publicly that in Cochrane’s view, the review’s findings did not support such a conclusion (11). Some scholars were quick to question the rev...
May 18 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
News: Biobot is sunsetting its COVID-19 wastewater public data visualization platform.

While Biobot will continue to publish their contextualized weekly respiratory risk reports, this represents another decrease in data transparency, and a step in the wrong direction.
The Future of Biobot’s Public Data: With the abundance of publicly available wastewater data and our shift to contextualized respiratory risk reports, we are sunsetting our public data visualization platform (www.biobot.io/data). This evolution represents Biobot’s commitment to maximizing the value of wastewater data. We believe that by adding context and expert analysis, we can empower individuals, communities, and public health officials to take proactive steps towards a healthier future. I fear that the reason for removing publicly accessible data visualization is due to pressure from the government and CDC, who have made it clear in past statements that they do not like non-government scientists interpreting wastewater data.
May 10 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
This North Carolina bill is ridiculous. It justifies punishing protestors for blocking emergency vehicles, yet bans wearing masks for health reasons. This bill is dangerously anti-public health and restricts people's ability to protest and exercise their First Amendment rights. HOUSE BILL 237: Unmasking Mobs and Criminals. OVERVIEW: The Proposed Committee Substitute (PCS) for House Bill 237 would do the following: • Repeal the health and safety exemption from certain laws prohibiting the wearing of masks in public. • Enhance the criminal punishment if the defendant wears a mask to conceal the defendant's identity during the commission of another crime. • Prevent the executive branch or local governments from distinguishing between religious institutions and other entities during an emergency. • Impose criminal and civil liability on individuals who obstruct emerg... Senator Buck Newton, who presented North Carolina's anti-mask bill that also penalizes protestors blocking traffic, says people "do not have the right to risk people’s health and safety." Shameless hypocrisy. Removing the right to wear a mask increases health risks for everyone. Newton said that lawmakers want to preserve the First Amendment rights of people to demonstrate, but added that protesters need to do so in an orderly way, and that it’s unacceptable for people to block ambulances, fire trucks, or other emergency vehicles. “The folks that want to express their frustration about a particular issue, certainly have the right to do that,” Newton said. “They do not have the right to risk people’s health and safety.”
May 7 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
We don’t talk about it enough but it’s a huge failure that there isn’t more urgency to develop better COVID vaccines.

An Operation Warp Speed for nasal vaccines and more variant proof vaccines would transform our ability to deal with COVID and help us mitigate future pandemics. The current COVID vaccines have reduced deaths but governments are in denial that there’s still a too many deaths, too many getting Long COVID, & too many locked out of society. Better COVID vaccines (with treatments & other public health layers) would make a huge difference!
Apr 7 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
UPDATE: COVID wastewater levels are low in most US states.

If you've been holding off on healthcare or other activities, now is one of the best times of the year to go.

Note that even in low periods you are still at risk of COVID exposure, so it makes sense to take precautions. Chart: COVID-19 Wastewater Levels by US State (April 2024) Please note that the above chart is with the proper color scheme for COVID wastewater levels (darker shade = higher levels). Apologies for the color error in the last export!
Apr 5 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
CDC's recommendations for the public re: bird flu outbreak in the US

1️⃣ Avoid being near sick or dead animals and contaminated surfaces
2️⃣ Wear respiratory or eye protection if you are near
3️⃣ Do not prepare or eat uncooked or undercooked food such as raw milk or raw cheeses Recommendations for the Public People should avoid being near sick or dead animals or surfaces contaminated with the animal’s feces, litter, raw milk, or other byproducts when not wearing respiratory or eye protection. Animals in which HPAI A(H5N1) virus infection has been identified include wild birds, poultry, other domesticated birds, and other wild or domesticated animals (including livestock such as cattle and goats). As always, people should not prepare or eat uncooked or undercooked food or related uncooked food products, such as unpasteurized (raw) milk or raw cheeses, from animals... CDC's recommendations for farmers re: bird flu outbreak in the US

1️⃣ Wear N95 respirators, eye protection, and gloves, and wash hands to reduce risk of infection when handling animals
2️⃣Train workers to use PPE correctly Recommendations for Farmers; Poultry, Backyard Bird Flock, and Livestock Owners; and Worker Protection To reduce the risk of HPAI A(H5N1) virus infection, poultry farmers and poultry workers, backyard bird flock owners, livestock farmers and workers, veterinarians and veterinary staff, and responders should wear recommended PPE (e.g., the same PPE is recommended for persons exposed to any confirmed or potentially infected animals as for exposed poultry workers; for specific recommendations see: PPE recommended for poultry workers). This includes wearing an N95™ filtering facepiece respirat...
Mar 27 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
“People who are still taking COVID precautions seriously have every right to be angry about being abandoned by public-health officials and experts. The very real pain that many people are experiencing has not been sufficiently acknowledged.” -me to @TIME

time.com/6960789/covid-… Thank you to @Jamie_Ducharme for covering and including the much needed perspectives of some of the people who continue to be most impacted by the pandemic in this piece.

Mar 27 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
White people in the West: "People are too tired to keep wearing masks."

Meanwhile, Thailand:

For those who haven't been following the data, surveys consistently show that white people are far less likely to wear masks than people of color.
Mar 18 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
There's a lot of misinformation and little data in this piece on COVID and schools.

The facts:
COVID spread in schools
Closing schools reduced COVID spread
High levels of sickness have forced school closures
Millions of kids have Long COVID
245K kids lost parents to COVID What the Data Says About Pandemic School Closures, Four Years Later The more time students spent in remote instruction, the further they fell behind. And, experts say, extended closures did little to stop the spread of Covid. Many reviews like this one from the Royal Society found that closing schools reduced COVID spread, and are most effective when there is community wide social distancing and layered measures. royalsociety.org/news-resources…
Mar 13 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
A new @pewresearch survey shows that people of color continue to be more concerned than white people about becoming sick from COVID-19, and spreading COVID-19 to other people. Pew research chart showing % of U.S. adults who say they are very/somewhat concerned that they: - Will get COVID-19 and require hospitalization - Might unknowingly spread COVID-19 to others The @pewresearch survey also shows that people with lower incomes are more concerned than people with higher incomes about becoming sick from COVID-19, and spreading COVID-19 to other people. Pew research chart showing % of U.S. adults who say they are very/somewhat concerned that they: - Will get COVID-19 and require hospitalization - Might unknowingly spread COVID-19 to others