Carolyn Barber, MD
@cbarbermd
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Medical & science writer. Contributor @Fortune @TIME @SciAm . 25-yr Emergency Medicine physician. Book: Runaway Medicine. Pls send tips!
San Diego, CA
Joined March 2015
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Last Seen Profiles
Pinned Tweet
Strokes, heart attacks, sudden death: Does America understand the long-term risks of catching COVID?
Thank you
@zalaly
@yunlong_cao
@EricTopol
@DrEricDing
@MeetJess
@dianaberrent
for your work!
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“There’s probably more transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the last 30 days than there had been in any 30-day period in the entire pandemic,”said Dr Osterholm of Ctr ID Research & Policy.
Map of community transmission below speaks for itself. Where’s
@CDCgov
?
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The new booster may not be for you...
Is this for real?
@DrPaulOffit
, who serves on the FDA's expert panel, said to
@NPR
here that, "The general public should not expect to need to receive the latest COVID booster." He explained that it is intended only for those who are age
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Long Covid…
“It can take people who are entirely functional, athletic, healthy, & make it difficult for them to get out of bed or difficult to walk just a block. We are long on mechanisms & short on treatment. That's the summary of everything”-
@EricTopol
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@CalltoActivism
Nearly 1 in 4 Americans have medical debt & plenty of hospitals sue patients who don’t pay. No one should be put in these impossible financial circumstances bc they seek care. Simply put, our healthcare system is broken—we overspend, WAY overcharge and underdeliver. Based on my
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💥BREAKING💥
LEAKED CDC INFO:
#Tamiflu
showed a 16-FOLD REDUCTION in its ability to inhibit H5N1 virus collected from a TX dairy worker (vs seasonal flu.)
“We can’t rest comfortably that what we have stockpiled will be sufficient…” —
@RickABright
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@MeetJess
@FortuneMagazine
Good news, Jess. The article has gone viral and both Google & Apple News have picked it up, so the info. is being shared, widely.👍
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Kaiser researchers examined records of 6.2 million pts—found NO serious health effects linked to the 2 mRNA COVID vaccines.
Myocarditis risk 12-39 yos: 6.3 cases/million doses; hospitalized median 1d.
@aboutKP
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Covid is in the air! How much?
A new study reports that
#COVID19
pts exhaled up to 1000 copies of virus/min until day 8 of sxs, when levels plummeted.
⭐️Mild/mod symptomatic pts exhaled large amounts of virus, though severely symptomatic cases generally exhaled ⬆️⬆️ levels
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Since this is getting some attn, I'm tagging my latest piece on long Covid with
@zalaly
. We desperately need treatments for those suffering from LC.
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New cancer diagnoses exceed 2 million/yr for 1st time. Many poss reasons for this. I spoke with mult experts👇incldg
@VirusesImmunity
about whether
#SARSCoV2
can lead to cancer…
“We don’t have great evidence, but this virus has surprised us over & over.”
In a "bleak milestone," new
#cancer
diagnoses exceed 2 million/year for the 1st time in U.S. history, per
@AmericanCancer
.
Models don't account for Covid, but "existing cancer disparities will likely be further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic."
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@EM_RESUS
Inferolateral MI, RV infarct with reciprocal changes. Ck Rt sided leads (v4 STE). Look for JVD, rt CHF signs, clear lungs, LE edema, etc. Say a prayer🙏 and wish it had been gastritis.:)
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Thank you
@zalaly
for all of your great work. Dr. Aly’s remarks to
@BurnetInstitute
:
“We looked at the heart, lungs, kidneys— we saw increased risk of diabetes, mental health disorders, & blood clotting problems. We saw increased risk for nearly every organ system.
Long Covid
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@MeetJess
@FortuneMagazine
I have and linked about 5 of your sudden death threads in the piece. Also tweeted out a thank you to you for your hard work this AM. Trying to help spread good info.👍 Cheers!
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Why isn’t anyone talking about this? Covaxin submitted an EUA to FDA 11/21 for its vaccine for KIDS 2 YEARS AND UP w/ no myocarditis.
AND it could be a great booster generating broad immunity against whole virus versus just spike.
@EricTopol
@PeterHotez
@DrLeanaWen
@ASlavitt
This report clarifies that Covaxin EUA submitted to FDA and would give us vaccine option down to age of two years old
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Covid virus found all over the body.
An NIAID autopsy study of mostly older, unvax'd ppl who died from COVID revealed SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in 79 of 85 body locations (including the brain, heart, ovary, testes.) Virus persisted up to 230 days after symptom onset in 1 case. 1/
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Pls try to avoid Covid during the holidays. In this massive study(> 450K ppl), people who were reinfected with COVID had a more than 2x ⬆️risk of death and 3x⬆️ risk of hosp vs those infected just once. Also they were 3x more likely to develop lung prob, 3x ⬆️heart issues, etc…
⚠️AVOID INFECTION—Risk of death, hospitalization from
#COVID19
jumps significantly with reinfection compared with 1 or no infection. Problem goes beyond vaccinated or unvaccinated. ➡️Each infection you accumulate more risk.🧵
(See Purple>>Orange>>Green).
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This⬇️
Mindboggling that
@michaelmina_lab
has to write this article for the 10th time in 20 mos.
Testing= knowledge=control…control over outbreaks, in-person learning, safe gatherings, our lives… Come on
@WHCOVIDResponse
@JoeBiden
@CDCDirector
, pls make this happen, ASAP.
The US needs an Operation Warpspeed for Rapid Tests!
Not just for COVID19 but for our future selves!
It’s not if, but WHEN the next pandemic hits, we shouldn’t spend years fumbling around.
Get accessible rapid tests to ppl in weeks!
From Sept ‘21
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@michaelmina_lab
Did I just hear press Secretary Jen Psaki correctly in her press briefing say that all Americans will get free at home COVID tests?! Think it’s finally happening. THANK YOU,
@michaelmina_lab
for your relentless persistence re this essential public health tool. 👏
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@EM_RESUS
Absolutely, love having help. For some reason, it always seems to happen on the long flights, esp when you’re WAY out over the water. We’ve hung IVs from the luggage compartment and had priority landing at LAX- no easy feat. A good team, in or out of the ER, is always key. BTW
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This! Great article
@michaelmina_lab
We need cheap, $1 rapid tests as a public health screening tool for all Americans ASAP, to rapidly contain our pandemic🙏.
@EricTopol
@DrTomFrieden
@JoeBiden
@KamalaHarris
@celinegounder
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@kprather88
Agree, this definitely needs more attention. Tried to raise some awareness here, but
@CDCgov
can you pls investigate the rash of sudden deaths that we are all seeing & correlate with causation?
@MeetJess
has done a fantastic job listing these on her acct.
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@EM_RESUS
Badness. Rt pneumothorax, pneumopericardium, penumomediastinum, subcutaneous emphysema. Don’t see rib fxs, poss due to mech ventilation?
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Such a waste of a tremendous opportunity. The NIH received $1.15 billion from Congress in 2020 to help patients, but most of this funding has been spent, already. Only 15% of the funding went towards clinical trials.
"Scientists and patient advocates agree that the current slate
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@EricTopol
Thanks, Eric. Just wrote about these new variants and the consequences of these repeated surges
@FortuneMagazine
…
“Strokes, heart attacks 💔, sudden death. Does America understand the long-term risks of catching Covid?”
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Riddle: What takes ~40 minutes to build, drastically improves air quality in a school, dorm or office helps mitigate against COVID-19 infection & won’t break the bank?!
@CorsIAQ
@JimRosenthal4
@ShivenTaneja
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“We estimated that there were approximately 10 million people in the first year of the pandemic in the U.S. who are in this predicament: who got Covid, got long Covid, but tested negative for Covid,” said Igor Koralnik, who led the study
#COVID
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NEW: We may have forgotten about a COVID infection from 3 yrs ago, but SARS-CoV-2 hasn't forgotten about us. Health issues can arise 3 YEARS LATER, according to a new study by
@zalaly
&
@EricTopol
et al.
More
@FortuneMagazine
👇
1/2
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“We're not stopping it(H5N1 virus),” says
@RickABright
. “We're not doing anything to keep the infected milk on the dairy farms. We're not testing cows before they’re put back onto the milking line or sent to slaughter… We're just sort of letting it go & spreading it in a very
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@Raminho
@Palestine_UN
“One night I think we saw seven dead children under the age of five in the course of like four or five hours.”
Absolutely Horrific.’ What American Volunteer Doctors Saw in Gaza
#Gaza
#Palestine
#IsraelHamasWar
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Common cancer screens (mammography, colonoscopy, PSA testing, etc.) don't save lives by extending lifetimes, per a meta-analysis of over 2M ppl.
That's pretty shocking when you think about it.
And for too many Americans, the downstream effects of mass screening (biopsies,
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@tmprowell
@Hexagon1594
Low sperm counts, low testosterone levels, erectile dysfunction…
“Male fertility is definitely being affected,” says
@raevti
@ClevelandClinic
. “We just don’t know how severely and for how long.”
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@amyfaithho
Terrible. Nearly 1 in 4 Americans have medical debt & plenty of hospitals sue patients who don’t pay. No one should be put in these impossible financial circumstances bc they seek care. Our hcare system is broken—we overcharge & underdeliver. My book👇($4)
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-A 7 yo died of a heart attack
-Last mo. a 12yo collapsed
-In Jul, an 11yoM & 19yoF suffered ht attacks & others.
-In Jun, an 18yo & 24yo collapsed
"It is shocking how many children suffered ht attacks in 2022"
How is Covid NOT listed as a risk factor?
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@yaneerbaryam
Thank you! Reviewed this recently with several experts..impotence, ⬇️sperm counts, low T & erectile dysfunction.
The bottom line: Don’t try to outguess this virus, not with your sexual health, among other things, potentially on the line
@FortuneMagazine
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@jeffgilchrist
Just wrote about strokes, heart attacks 💔, sudden death & other long Covid sequelae
@FortuneMagazine
…
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"Cao’s lab posted results for lack of neutralizing Abs to BQ.1.1 & XBB (& BA.2.75.2) after 3 shots (Coronavac) 7 months after a BA.1 infection. If anything should be considered as a red flag about immune evasion, this would be it.”-
@EricTopol
@SubstackInc
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In a Swedish study of over 1M ppl who had COVID, researchers found that the risk of developing heart arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, PSVT and even slower rhythms(bradycardias) post Covid were higher vs folks w/o illness. Unvax’d at > risk than vax’d.
#covid
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Rapid home testing for COVID may be coming sooner than you think! Thank you
@michaelmina_lab
@NIH
@CDCgov
@AbbottNews
@QuidelDX
@CiesekSandra
@NIBIBgov
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@zalaly
@CatchTheBaby
“People are developing new-onset disease as the result of an infection that they had 3 yrs ago,” says
@zalaly
“It challenges the notion that these viruses are sort of self-contained or that after the acute 1st phase, they become inconsequential.”
More👇
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@CDCgov
@CDCDirector
Respectfully, we have more “common sense” strategies than hand washing & it would be helpful if
@CDCDirector
would mention these. Didn’t it take until May of 2021 before
@CDCgov
recognized that SARS-CoV-2 was an airborne virus? Masking & proper ventilation/filtration help stave
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And herein lies the dirty little secret… We all know that the
#COVID19
#vaccines
aren’t intended to protect vs infection. The rub: last year’s
#bivalent
vax provided addt’l protection vs hosp/critical illness for only ~2 mos, before effectiveness waned. Frustrating, to say the
1/ Should I get a COVID-19 booster?
Scientists continue to debate the pluses and minuses of extra doses of vaccine
by
@ScienceMagazine
's
@sciencecohen
I very much agree with
@DrPaulOffit
,
@JenniferNuzzo
& John Moore's take:
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@GavinNewsom
Good call on the masks. Everyone would have dropped masking, placing the unvaccinated at risk. Many more will be vaccinated by 6/15 and case numbers will have dropped, significantly. 👍
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@1goodtern
Wrote about some of this back in 2021. “We had a dysfunctional health care system in the U.S. well before the pandemic, but with COVID the dike has broken wide open. The problems have been laid bare: inadequate staffing, inefficiencies, rising expenditures and the corporatization
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@farid__jalali
FYI: In a recent study, researchers found evidence of SARS-CoV-2 liver tropism, “including viral RNA detection in 69% of autopsy liver specimens, & isolation of infectious SARS-CoV-2 from liver tissue postmortem.”
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@RickABright
@alexandertyler
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. We need more testing, more sequencing, more transparency & better containment efforts.
“We’re not stopping it,” says
@RickABright
👇
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“Federal data published by the CDC on Wed found that 15% of adults who previously had a COVID-19 infection are currently experiencing symptoms of long COVID.”
~15 million having difficulties performing daily activities
-Highest rate of activity limitations? In 18-29 age group!
Majority of Adults with Long COVID-19 Report Trouble Performing Daily Activities
More than 80% of adults with long COVID say their long-term symptoms have reduced their ability to carry out daily activities ⚠️
This is HUGE
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@CDCDirector
We actually know much more. Respectfully, I don’t really understand why
@CDCDirector
says that “we are more prepared than ever” to track variants (when the
#CDC
isn’t even tracking cases), why she doesn’t mention masking or ventilation strategies AT ALL, nor discuss the risks of
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⚠️Bird flu has flown the coop, spreading to cows, mice, cats & 3 Americans. With a 50% mortality rate, we need to corral this now.
“The risk of something going from 1-2 cases to becoming something of interntl concern is not insignificant.”- Shah
@cdcgov1
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@DrEricDing
Thx Eric! Discussed impotence, ⬇️ sperm counts, low T & erectile dysfunction with several experts, recently.
“The bottom line: Don’t try to outguess this virus, not with your sexual health, among other things, potentially on the line.”

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@POTUS
Thank you, Mr. President. Bleeding from a miscarriage or an abortion are indistinguishable in the ER. And uterine bleeding can be fast and furious. As ED docs, we must be able to act immediately to save womens’ lives, free from fear of retribution or prosecution. A good start…
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@calirunnerdoc
I’m really sorry to hear this Dr.Alice, and hope we can find better treatments ASAP. Wrote about this, today.
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@healingfromlc
Metformin—relative risk 40%⬇️ less. “At day 300, the cumulative incidence of long COVID was 6.3% among patients who received metformin vs 10.4% among those who received matched placebo ([HR].”
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@FitFounder
As a long-time ER doc, I would not recommend you randomly get any of these tests at age 35+. Pls see Dr Vinay Prasad’s thread, this article that discusses the harms of overscreening
& my book, Runaway Medicine (only $4!:).
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@EricTopol
Thx! Wrote about this, recently.
“Ramasamy found evidence of the virus remaining within the endothelial cells of penile tissue as much as 7 months after infection, which suggests that direct damage to cavernosal endothelium may affect erectile function.”
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Bird flu has flown the coop.
Here's a link without a paywall:)
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@mch_childrens
Very sorry to hear this, and thank you for this info. Betting some of those admissions are related to diabetes/DKA. Just wrote about this in
@sciam
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A team finding that microglia in the brain attack neurons post Covid infection, inciting inflammation.
“We believe this is one of the primary pathways of how
#COVID19
infection leads to brain damage.”
#LongCovid
I almost forgot today is
#MicroscopyMonday
, such a good start for this year !😁
The micrograph below shows microglia (🟠Iba1), the brain's primary immune cells, selectively attacking pyramidal neurons (🟣Neurofilament) of the olfactory cortex, 7 days after infection with
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@MarioNawfal
#Microplastics
have been found not only in testes, but in semen, breast milk, blood, lungs, the placenta, feces... Just reviewed the potential
#health
effects of this with experts here
@FortuneMagazine
👇
(If paywall: )
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With conferences having the potential to be massive superspreader events, suggested mitigation measures by
@EMSwami
@choo_ek
@JessicaSmithMD
include:
📌 attendees vax’d/boosted
📌 daily tests
📌 high quality mask use
📌 proper ventilation/use of outdoor spaces
📌 ⬇️ no. attendg
Opinion: If medical professionals don't gather safely at meetings and annual conferences, how can other professionals, not to mention the general public, be expected to do that?
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@VirusesImmunity
@ToshiAkima
@MiyuMoriyama
@carolilucas
@ValterVSM
@NathanGrubaugh
Congratulations Prof. Iwasaki & team--very helpful. Thank you for your work during the pandemic. I hope some of Next Gen's $5 billion might support your mucosal vax.
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@tmprowell
@Delta
@united
@AmericanAir
Yep, and it almost like you don’t care about protecting children, our more vulnerable and the millions who may acquire long COVID. Thought these were the friendly skies. Sharing my thoughts here….
@SouthwestAir
@AlaskaAir
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@danaparish
@CDCDirector
Just needed to “practice good hand hygiene” and wear a condom.😃
Oh, right, Covid is airborne…😷
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The
#CDC
put out a new video to update the public on
#COVID19
and “to keep you & your family protected.” ⬇️
My 2 cents after viewing it…
We actually know much more. Respectfully, I don’t really understand why
@CDCDirector
says that “we are more prepared than ever” to track
6
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@JSchuurMD
So sorry. Am an ER doc and just wrote about this re-traumatization for frontline providers. Thanks for your hard work, Jay.
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Pfizer is trialing a new oral drug to block SARS-CoV-2 replication which should work against CoV-2 spike variants. Early stages, but let’s hope!🙏
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@StevePhillipsMD
Really sorry to hear this. Wrote about some of the “mysterious” complications here...
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Portugal’s health care system was on the brink of collapse last Jan. Now, it has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.
-86% fully vax'd
-98% >12yo fully vax'd
“We don’t really have a culture of questioning authorities,” said Sanches
@nytimes
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@EnemyInAState
Thanks! And the virus has been found in the endothelial cells of penile tissue, up to 7 months post infection… Reviewed Covid’s potential impact on erectile dysfunction with experts, here… Yet another GREAT reason to avoid this virus!
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No way to describe besides six daggers in my back,” wrote
@MindOverColor
“I am a shell of my former self.”-
@fearnley_k
My new piece
@long_covid
@longcovidkids
@AshishKJha46
@survivor_corps
@dianaberrent
@zalaly
@CDCgov
@FortuneMagazine
@itsbodypolitic
5
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@CIDRAP
No one wants another pandemic--but bird flu has flown the coop. With a 50% mortality rate, we need to corral this bird now. More here 👇with
@CIDRAP
director
@mtosterholm
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@pedsmd2b
Dealing with structural problems--hosp. dysfunction, staffing shortages & failed leadership is critical.
Mayo study: the most effective strategies for alleviating burnout “will target organization-directed changes rather than the level of the individual.”
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@zalaly
@NatureMed
Agree! Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. We need more testing, more sequencing, more transparency & much better containment efforts.
“We’re not stopping it,” says
@RickABright

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“A gift to the world. Thank you rock stars
@PeterHotez
@mebottazzi
@TexasChildrens
@BCM_TropMed
for developing a vaccine with no patent/strings attached & sharing the technology so others can make life-saving shots. They have ~DOUBLED the US commitment to global vaccine equity.👏
Here’s our official announcement from
@TexasChildrens
@BCM_TropMed
on our partnership with
@biological_e
to vaccinate the world beginning with this EUA in India 🇮🇳
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When I felt the tickle in my throat, I initially hoped for the best. For MANY reasons, I wanted to avoid COVID.
⭐️ Every infection or reinftn adds risk,”-
@zalali
⭐️ Up to 1 in 5 can develop long COVID
⭐️ Viral persistence seen in organs 230d later
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Excellent research
@zalaly
& congrats! 👏
#Covid_19
#SARSCoV2
#influenza
#LongCovid
#vaccines
#NIH
#LongCovidGroups
@MeetJess
@dianaberrent
@EricTopol
@DrEricDing
@Nature
@FortuneMagazine
@VincentRK
@CDCDirector
@LauraMiers
@tmprowell
@michael_hoerger
@SolNataMD
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@michaelmina_lab
You’re right! We're not stopping it. “We're not doing anything to keep the infected milk on the farms or testing cows before they’re put back onto the milking line or sent to slaughter. We're just letting it go & spread in a very naive way.”—
@RickABright
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@DaniBeckman
I think you are right!
The CDC recently confirmed the lethality of the H5N1 virus isolated from a human infection in Texas, in ferrets that were experimentally infected with the same virus, as you likely know. All of those ferrets died, and the scientists “found evidence that the
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@joaquinlife
@POTUS
@AshishKJha46
@CDCDirector
@XavierBecerra
@DrCaliff_FDA
Trick question, right?!
Wonder if we should recommend indoor masking, push ventilation upgrades & fast track research into these nasal vaxs that ⬆️ immunity in mice.
“..would be effective vs a broad spectrum of coronaviruses with pandemic potential.”💪
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This is Long COVID. Great video with commentary from ICU guru
@WesElyMD
EVERYONE STOP AND WATCH—This is what it looks like to live with
#longCOVID
.
“Everything tastes like dog shit”
“I can’t swallow”
“My hair is falling out”
“My food tastes like it comes from a dumpster housing a dead raccoon🦝”
HT
@WesElyMD
&
@brutamerica
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@1goodtern
Hard to believe that staff isn’t masking on the oncology floors. People will die. So sorry.
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During a flu pandemic, would you want to take a 💊 medicine from 2010? I wouldn’t give it to my dog🐶
Our nat’l stockpile has plenty of OLD Tamiflu. While the drug has a shelf life of 10 yrs per the drug co, our FDA ⬆️’d it to 20 yrs. Your tax 💵 @ work.
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@jonlevyBU
@CorsIAQ
@JimRosenthal4
Ha, thanks for this & for your efforts.
It does work! Good commentary here from experts
@CorsIAQ
,
@JimRosenthal4
& others…
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