Hey there
#COVIDisNotOver
friends. My wife
@mchristinebd
and I put our heads together and made a flier about basic COVID-19 precautions - particularly for small events/gatherings. All the icons and entire flier are CC0/public domain/free to use: 🧵1/2
This is one of the more mainstream and troubling articles I've read on COVID possibly triggering cancer. "“I’ve been in practice 23 years and have never seen anything like this,” Patel, CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates, later recalled."
If you’re feeling weird and alone this holiday season, know that my wife and I are masking outside and maintaining distance for all holiday gatherings. No indoor gatherings unless 2 week quarantine + 3 tests and no symptoms whatsoever.
When people without known vulnerabilities to COVID never mask, they force those who DO have known vulnerabilities to mask alone -- further compounding their vulnerabilities because it forces them to publicly REVEAL their vulnerability. Please help normalize masking.
Just minding my own business in Squirrel Hill, walking from the bank to the board game store in my P100 elastomeric mask (as seen in my profile pic), and some dude walking by points at me and says I need to go to Western Psych. The psychiatric hospital.🧵
If you read one article on COVID and long COVID this month - consider this one: . It is detailed, nuanced, and deeply informative about the devastating risks of long COVID and those attempting to reduce the pervasive harm. Really, a brilliant piece:
Ceiling fan🌸OBLITERATED CLOSE-CONTACT 🧑🤝🧑 RISK:
In eLetter in Science, we suggested CEILING FANS might cut short-range risk (w/ ventilation for long-range).
Singapore lab found just that (2023): mannequin underneath fan 5 ft from cough 🌬️ inhaled ~ 95% FEWER particles.
(1/6)
Here is the back page of the document. Click-able links in the PDF file at . If you feel that there are better links or references I could add, DM me to share them! Hopefully this document helps us all advocate for common-sense COVID-19 precautions. 🧵2/2
Further up the street I saw a literal dumpster fire next to FedEx. Oddly enough I wasn't worried about the smoke from the fire because I was wearing a high-quality mask. Infer what you will from all of that.🧵
@CDCgov
There's lots more you can do in addition to getting vaccinated. Mask, ventilate, filter, go outside/hybrid, test, and monitor. Those are just the basics. Please communicate more and better. I shouldn't have had to create this. You should have. Flier at .
Got an appointment with a new dentist I had vetted for separate patient rooms, HEPA filters, and N95 mask-wearing by the dentist. He just needed to check whether ONE of his four hygienists would be willing to wear an N95. Just heard back: NOPE. Go elsewhere.
#CovidIsnotOver
I hate turning down work opportunities because there are no plans for comprehensive mask-wearing, ventilation, filtration, and CO2 monitoring at an indoor event.
#CovidIsNotOver
I didn't respond to him and kept walking, but I was unsettled and a disappointed. I didn't realize my mask pissed people off so much that they would think I needed psychiatric help, but there it was, yelled at me from a total stranger. 🧵
Anybody else notice the mention of COVID and frequent encounters with erectile dysfunction in men <35yo? In Slate??
"One weird, and relatively new, factor that could potentially be at play is an apparent link between COVID-19 and erectile dysfunction."
@1goodtern
I never understood how people who spent a lifetime fine-tuning their physical performance would be willing to risk a COVID infection -- particularly during one of the peak athletic moments of their lives. This was so easy to predict, and also not, apparently. Bizarro.
*Many* friends and family not using these measures have had to cancel their own holiday plans because of covid concerns or because somebody actually got covid. Precautions = predictability.
@antiviral_mktng
The movement of maskers, if it is to grow, will only grow by adding a lot of people who don't mask very much now. I try to reflect on that as I consider my public and private responses to various precaution protocols, new infections, etc.
@chantz_y
Indeed. Though strangely (and sadly it too so long?) a good day for having new mainstream resources asserting damning information about COVID for all the world to read—and hopefully change its collective mind.
@ashishkjha
@EricTopol
People say their symptoms are getting better all the time, even if they aren't really. Symptoms can improve in the morning and then get bad at night, or vice versa. Symptom improvement seems to be a very poor metric to use when deciding when to return to work.
Shout out to everybody who is wearing a mask when in crowded indoor/outdoor spaces. Not only are you protecting you and me, but you're signaling to me that you want spaces to feel safe for me and those I love. I appreciate that. 😷
#longcovid
#CovidIsntOver
I think it would help the community if folks could post additional references and articles connecting COVID and cancer here (or make your own thread and share it here). Some of you already started to do this. Thank you. And if anybody has a large COVID+cancer refence, pls share.
What are all the excuses/reasons people have given you for not masking in crowded places? I'm working on a list.
#COVIDexcuses
#CovidIsNotOver
Here are some I've heard:
I want to add a shout out to
@Clean_Air_Club_
for paving the way with free air filter loaning services! Now we have that amazing option in Pittsburgh with
@CleanAirTools
. Good ideas spreading all over the world.
Since COVID started I rarely film indoor events, but yesterday I brought a pile of air filters to make a venue safer, allowing me to film. Huge thanks to the new Pittsburgh-based
@CleanAirTools
for lending 4
@NukitToBeSure
Tempest air cleaners (so quiet!) to me. Details follow.🧵
Since COVID started I rarely film indoor events, but yesterday I brought a pile of air filters to make a venue safer, allowing me to film. Huge thanks to the new Pittsburgh-based
@CleanAirTools
for lending 4
@NukitToBeSure
Tempest air cleaners (so quiet!) to me. Details follow.🧵
Can we not just roll over and let a fresh surge of
#measles
rampage across the globe WITH COVID-19? Cleaning our air like we clean our drinking water will help with both. Masking helps with both. (Not to mention many other airborne diseases.) LET'S GO!
@robynasaldino
They were SUPER helpful at the board game store: . I asked them for help finding games that I could play with friends over Zoom, and I was presented with some great ideas. They didn't mind my mask at all, as far as I could tell.
On this Disability Day of Mourning, I’m mourning all of the disabled lives that have been continuously impacted and hurt by the decisions the CDC has been making about COVID. I’m mourning the people who will become disabled due to this virus when this doesn’t have to happen.
Ok, I'm looking for recommendations for COVID-safer dentists in Pittsburgh. Ones with separate rooms for each patient, and HEPA filters in place in each room. And N95 respirators used by those who work on you. We'd consider house-calling dentists, too! Ideas? Tips? References?
Thank you,
@NewsHour
, for highlighting the struggles of those who are still working hard to actively avoid COVID while the world does “you do you” public health. (BYW you do you public health is not public health at all.)
Also, we are all vulnerable to COVID to some degree. So your sense of invulnerability might be short-lived. How would you want to be treated if you suddenly became vulnerable? Would you want to declare it to the world with every outing?
@MarvinCori
Yes. I have had three people quietly approach me this week for information on how they can improve their masking and/or air filtration approaches.
@zalaly
@SenSanders
@BillCassidy
I'm thrilled to hear it! If you can wear an N95 (or better) mask, eye protection, and bring a CO2 monitor, it would be a great opportunity to demonstrate those useful behaviors. Please also let the public know if the US Senate asks you to NOT wear a mask.
@CDCDirector
Why aren't you mentioning high quality N95 respirators and indoor air ventilation and filtration in your short list of things you can do??
I worry not only for my and my wife's health at any dentist office, but also for all the other patients in those spaces, and for the staff working there. Many of them claim that they are adhering to the CDC requirements, or some other similar language.
@mo_overton
Air that doesn't stink. Seriously. There have been over 70,000 smell complaints submitted to the SmellPGH app since 2016. The local steel mills need to dramatically cut it out with the foul pollution. Here's a word cloud of some of the more popular symptom words reported:
@CovidintheChart
I don't have a child but have a suggestion: perhaps the child can carry and share readings from a CO2 monitor (i.e. Aranet4) with classmates. Then be sure to accompany that CO2 monitor with the sticker showing "rebreathed air %":
I brought 9 total air filters to the event. Four
@NukitToBeSure
Tempests, one AirFanta Pro3 by
@Engineer_Wong
, and four Levoits of different sizes. We also opened windows and doors, and CO2 (Aranet4) stayed below 700 even with the crowd settled in (maybe 70 people in total?).
SVG and transparent PNG versions of three types of graphic: lines only, white mask, and shaded shapes. Anybody can take these drawings and modify them to release new versions with text, colors, memes, adjustments, you name it. They are free for all to use. Links to follow...
@CDCDirector
What could possibly have reduced the circulation of the virus? Maybe clear and consistent public health messaging around masking, ventilation, filtration, vaccination, and testing? All season long? You just mentioned vaccination and testing. What about the others?
#MaskUp
I'm a filmmaker and photographer who is also trying to do my best to remain COVID free. On this particular outing I opted for my trusty P100 mask to protect myself from both the pollution (see plume behind me) and from COVID in crowds. Goggles are bifocal to help my aging eyes.
@CDCDirector
Your new guidance undermines the reputation of the CDC and your own career. You set the standard. Every time I called a dentist looking for COVID safety they repeatedly hid behind the assertion that “we’re following CDC guidelines.” Not safety, not common sense, just CDC.
#fail
@brownecfm
I definitely want
@Apple
Watch to get into this game. Then anonymize the data and create a COVID transmission console and warning system for close encounters in real time while you are in rooms with others who might be positive. Game changer for COVID cautious communities.
@BaneOfCovid
I've wondered about that. I particularly wonder how long it takes (not necessarily related to COVID) after the initial appearance of lewy bodies for noticeable dementia to set in. And if dementia always sets in after the appearance of these bodies.
@drsajumathew
I believe the endgame for COVID *might* emerge if we solve our contaminated air problem like we solved our contaminated water problem 100+ years ago with sewage systems. We need air filtration and ventilation and possibly far-UVC and other interventions to keep the air clean.
@Amal4Solutions
@WSJ
Here's a telling quote, though, "This is different from what most people think of as “long Covid,” the debilitating chronic condition that can include fatigue, brain fog and racing heartbeat. Instead, the latest study has found an increased risk of new health conditions—..."
@TRyanGregory
The society that responds best to the threat will thrive most. We know other new pandemics will impact our deeply connected and frequently traveling society. Time to treat our air like sewage and clean it up with improved ventilation, filtration, and high quality masking.
"ANTIVIRALS NOW" a new short film directed by
@JoshuaPribanic
on SARS2 viral persistence reveals the destabilizing truth about Long Covid. Scientists,
#pwLC
& activists illustrate how society is threatened by COVID persistence.
Take action 🧵
#LongCovidAwarenessDay
@kelly_peters
Any interest in building a variation on the theme by turning it into an air filter table with PC fans that separate and filter the air breathed out by both parties? I sketched this up. Been thinking about this for a few weeks now.
@NukitToBeSure
The dentist office noted in this thread suggested that our best option was to call the local dental school. I tried that, and quickly learned that they don't have separate rooms, don't have N95's, and don't have HEPA filters. Sigh.
@hutchleah
It is hard to be invited. It is hard to NOT be invited. As a result, I've begun to attempt to rebuild my community from the ground up with some new friends who are COVID-cautious.
This website is really amazing. It shows you how many air filters you need, what model of air filter, at what cost, running at what dB level, to clean the air for X number of people.
@CleanAirTools
@markdixontweets
@Engineer_Wong
Something like this already exists? rather than using co2 as a proxy, it accounts for amount of people + volume of air exhaled
Does anybody know the minimum requirements for dental offices? According to what medical group? And is there a difference between minimum, recommended, and optimal to protect health? I find that N95 masks fit better, feel better, and are more breathable than other options. Ugh!!
@LieslMcconchie
WAY TO GO! And that air filter wagon pic! Can you make that image available for public domain usage so we can turn it into a meme? Maybe take another one with filters stacked higher? I would LOVE to help make an air filter wagon pic go viral.
I would like to attend Allegheny County Health Department board meetings but I don't feel comfortable attending a meeting in which the people talking the most are not masked. Why is the board of HEALTH not masked in an indoor setting during a pandemic?
@HealthAllegheny
Anybody find a dentist within 120 miles of Pittsburgh that has office-wide HEPA filters and N95 masks required for ALL staff? All day? LOTS of people want to know.
@LauraMiers
Thank you for reporting on your lived experience, and so sorry that it is so awful. I'm rooting for you, and I try to relay the helpful info to my community but barely anybody seems to mask anymore. Mostly the attempts land flat and are discounted or ignored.
I keep hearing more and more stories like this, about bad symptoms, both via press and via trusted private contacts. Why is it that our government feels it is safe for residents to return home? Where is the precautionary principle when we need it most?
@JessicaLexicus
I think these are important baby steps. I fear we may need another 2-4 troublingly contagious holiday seasons before the Overton window moves enough that masking and filtration/ventilation become significantly more normative. Lots of people will continue to suffer and/or die.
@lisa_iannattone
What's the best source you've seen, possibly including yourself, for helpful analysis of that reinfection study? I'd love to read into the topic much more.
Will the Easter Bunny bring joy and great memories? Or will it bring those things *and* COVID? Don't be afraid to crack the windows to help with ventilation, test pre-gathering, use HEPA filters, and spend time outside. All these things can help reduce COVID transmission.
Did you know that Pittsburgh has an organization that loans out COVID-safer air cleaning tools for free? We DO! Woot! 🎉🙌🏻 It is called
@CleanAirTools
. More details at .
@RealGayArbys
Seeing how few people currently mask, and also considering the low chance that everybody will suddenly start masking 100% because I said so, I believe that the tide will turn slowly, with occasional maskers becoming more frequent maskers. So I try to be friendly to ‘em.
@Timodc
@mattplotner
Dude, just apologize and learn a thing or two from a community that cares deeply about the health of everybody around them - so much so that they're willing to suffer frequent public shaming for it. Maybe start here: .
Our little "Reducing COVID Transmission" flier has received a flurry of support from volunteer translators around the world (still looking for more!). The first translation we're sharing is French, thanks to
@shiny_eevee_1
! Please share widely with your French friends and family.
Voici la version française de l’infographie Comment réduire la COVID-19 de
@markdixontweets
et
@mchristinebd
. Un grand merci à eux pour la création de ce prospectus si bien fait et pour la possibilité de le traduire afin de partager l’info au plus grand nombre. Faites circuler!🌍
@1goodtern
We are safely sequestered with one other family. Feasting each day and celebrating our togetherness. We quarantined for 2 weeks and tested 3x (1x Lucira) prior to gathering.