The majority wants a mask mandate on transportation

A majority of people in the U.S. favored requiring people on planes, trains and buses to wear masks, according to a new poll that was conducted in all 50 states right before a federal judge struck down the mask mandate on planes and public transit.https://t.co/1Bb1exVIgA
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 20, 2022

Oh hey, an actual poll:

"56% of Americans favor requiring people on planes, trains and public transportation to wear masks, compared with 24% opposed and 20% who say they’re neither in favor nor opposed." https://t.co/WjQueG0oxR
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) April 20, 2022

This is interesting, but in the United States the only poll that counts is a poll of Federalist Society members. https://t.co/sPqxIVQ4hJ
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) April 20, 2022

He’s right – the Trump cult doesn’t care about what most people think

Lots of these issue polls that purport to show continued support for various NPIs. So show me one (1) politician who has harmed his political position by lifting them. Issue polls are super unreliable, acquiescence bias all the way down. https://t.co/SuJQOLmN4e
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) April 20, 2022

Wastewater surveilance for covid

Wastewater surveillance versus detected/reported cases

Ignoring cases is a foolish strategy pic.twitter.com/2RL8rCCFi6
— Abraar Karan (@AbraarKaran) April 15, 2022

fascinating read from @bylenasun & @dtkeating: if you're infected with covid–even w/o symptoms–the virus comes out in yr poop. Scientists analyzing wastewater can see virus levels rise or fall several days days before you test+… https://t.co/pUxgXmhL2I
— Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) April 14, 2022

Want a more complete picture of COVID Wastewater Data?

I pulled all the data from biobot and the CDC and combined it into one map. pic.twitter.com/3drfDkCMyl
— PSimpson (@patricklsimpson) April 18, 2022

Our lab is still monitoring the SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, and we have observed an increasing trend in the past three weeks. We tried our best to help and protect our community. #Reno #wastewater #wbe #environmentalsurveillance #UNR @R2D2Niloo @RosaMaria_Saa pic.twitter.com/sSIhGQr99L
— Lin Li 👩🏻‍🔬👩🏻‍🏫 (@lin2013_enve) April 29, 2022

Wastewater monitoring took off during the COVID-19 pandemic – and here's how it could help head off future outbreaks https://t.co/mOvPOMOYLC
— The Conversation U.S. (@ConversationUS) May 6, 2022

Great Twitter thread on people who lost loved ones to COVID-19

🚨I wrote about the millions of people who lost loved ones to COVID, what they've gone through, and the many factors that have intensified and prolonged their grief.

This piece is my attempt to honor those we lost, and the many more who love them. 1/ https://t.co/ClunSvf4C6
— Ed Yong (@edyong209) April 13, 2022

Tweets on improving ventilation to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Some health experts are discounting the importance of #covid19 cases & the costs of having unmitigated spread.

I spoke to @TheMadBrand @kcrw @npr about why that’s short-sighted.https://t.co/7Lxm6pEaS1
— Abraar Karan (@AbraarKaran) April 13, 2022

As the pandemic enters a new phase, the Biden administration has begun stressing the importance of mitigating the risk of indoor aerosol transmission with two pages of recommendations on ventilation, air filtration and air disinfection from the EPA. https://t.co/FXgRn2AGLa
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) March 30, 2022

Changing the air in a room multiple times an hour – using a window fan, higher quality MERV filters in HVAC systems, a portable HEPA filter machine, and even just opening a window – can reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Tune in now to learn more: https://t.co/kzoGqV79DZ pic.twitter.com/KduO8FGGH0
— White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (@WHOSTP) March 29, 2022

More on COVID variant BA2

It seems unwise to drop all of the mask mandates when this infectious variant has arrived in the US. I know everyone is tired of the pandemic but I’m still wearing masks.

Sometime over the next few weeks BA.2 will begin to surge in the US and we’ll have to reinstate mask mandates. It will be very hard to do and we will wonder why it was so urgent to drop mask mandates.
— Jonathan Reiner (@JReinerMD) March 16, 2022

According to @Walgreens testing data, BA.2 is now the dominant sub-variant in the United States at 51.1% of new cases.https://t.co/UwVQV5rgtE

CC @EricTopol @RickABright @svscarpino @jessicamalaty @cha_myoung @AbraarKaran @meganranney @PPI_Insights @ASlavitt @bhrenton @EpiEllie pic.twitter.com/2a9ucgW3LU
— John Brownstein (@johnbrownstein) March 22, 2022

COVID Update: I’ve talked to 4 experts this weekend about what a BA.2 wave of Omicron in the US might look like.

BA2, a more transmissible virus, is sweeping Europe & Asia but the impact here could be strikingly different. 1/
— Andy Slavitt 💙💛 (@ASlavitt) March 20, 2022

Researchers are keeping an eye on a highly transmissible subvariant of Omicron known as BA.2. Here’s what we know so far about it. https://t.co/K1cW1IBUFj
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 19, 2022

⚠️BA2 & 1-year hospitalization RECORD HIGH in Age 85&up—I don’t know how many dismissive TV pundits need to hear this—but #BA2 is mostly definitely causing a huge hospitalization ⬆️ spike in England🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. Worse—📌BA2 🏥 rate in 65+ now just exceeded old Omicron!

HT @Antonio_Caramia pic.twitter.com/ZzLPqIsywc
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 18, 2022

Hello 🇺🇸
You just got over a wave of the most transmissible #SARSCoV2 variant the world has seen, with the highest level of hospitalizations in the pandemic.
Now you are facing a variant w/ 30% more transmissibility, w/o mitigation measures, low vaxx coverage, and gutting funding pic.twitter.com/6zRjH9h02U
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) March 17, 2022

Is there another COVID wave coming? Tweets on BA2 and current stats in other countries

If it becomes advisable to reimpose COVID restrictions in the US, I think there will massive public resistance. It will be hard to get people to mask up again once the requirements have been listed. Read the tweets and articles on what’s happening elsewhere – the same things could happen here. Remember that Omicron became common elsewhere before it spread across the US. BA2 could be next.

Me, I’m still wearing a mask when I go out and avoid crowds. No movies or concerts for me yet.

COVID update: Based on European case increases, the US could see a new rise in COVID cases over the Spring.

The wave is likely to look different in several ways. 1/
— Andy Slavitt 💙💛 (@ASlavitt) March 14, 2022

Researchers are keeping an eye on a highly transmissible subvariant of Omicron known as BA.2. Here’s what we know so far about it. https://t.co/p8glgY6RM5
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 12, 2022

NEW—South Korea 🇰🇷 reports surging ⬆️ #BA2 subvariant now 31% of all cases as of last week. SK now has surpassed Hong Kong’s incidence peak, with hospitalizations & deaths also rising. 45% of all imported cases are #BA2 as well. 🇰🇷 is in trouble soon too. https://t.co/jkHV0gWxEe pic.twitter.com/7EtVGNb1ZU
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 14, 2022

10) ⚠️ Shenzhen health official Lin Hancheng warns Sunday that this #BA2 strain is "highly contagious, spreads quickly and has a high degree of concealment", leading to widespread community transmission if control measures were not strengthened soon. 👀 https://t.co/cDURLwChSb pic.twitter.com/bHQ0ARGBbD
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 13, 2022

CASES SPIKING UP ⬆️52.9% in one week in England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿—Clear trend now there is new wave happening, despite 98% with antibodies. Hospitalizations also across 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. #BA2 subvariant >50% too.

10-Mar—371,662
09-Mar—346k
08-Mar—323k
07-Mar—300k
…
04-Mar—256k
03-Mar—243,057

HT @JoePajak pic.twitter.com/P5ipbuf7Uz
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 10, 2022

More tweets on long COVID

Great summary of core #LongCovid findings which “collectively suggest that the persistence of #viral components may result in chronically elevated IFNs and cytokines. Moreover, certain autoAbs may provide permissive conditions for such viral persistence.” https://t.co/Os7SfVF9pb pic.twitter.com/KtR0CBxoBI
— Amy Proal, PhD (@microbeminded2) March 11, 2022

Long covid is most likely an under-appreciated risk. As time goes on and we learn more, who will be accountable for saying “drop all restrictions” before we knew enough? Our politicians? Our CDC Director? Us? https://t.co/KWunKAheiZ
— Abraar Karan (@AbraarKaran) March 12, 2022

For @richmondpulse, I covered the California senate hearing on #LongCOVID. Two things are very clear: 1) People with long COVID need more support, and 2) the only way to stop long COVID is to stop the spread of COVID-19. Ty @daniparenteau for edits. https://t.co/D7JUkTifdn
— Julia Métraux (@metraux_julia) March 11, 2022

Long COVID: Nerve damage may arise from immune system dysfunction https://t.co/Jt8CDDgJaD
— CovidSolidarity (@CovidSolidarit1) March 12, 2022

This is how systemic & medical racism shows up, it’s evident in health disparities left in the wake. #BlackAmericans based on employment & community factors were at increased risk of infection, hospitalization, & death BUT were NOT prioritized for vaccines.https://t.co/9Nq4jtqQkG
— Ebony Jade Hilton, MD (@EbonyJHilton_MD) March 29, 2022

Marjorie Taylor Greene is lucky to have her job

I can’t imagine that any other place would have put up with her continued disobedience.

She’s lucky to keep her job. I think most employers would have fired her by now for disobeying policies so often.
— Harris Levy (@HarrisL585) March 10, 2022

Tweets on long Covid

1/ Unmasked exposures & Long Covid 🧵

There is potentially a relationship between inoculum dose (amount of virus you are exposed to when you get infected) & development of #LongCovid

Having higher early viral load may increase risk of Long Covidhttps://t.co/zDqAbkNF6B pic.twitter.com/Ux2I7KP79t
— Abraar Karan (@AbraarKaran) February 20, 2022

If you’re talking about COVID and not including conversations about Long COVID, you are ignoring a HUGE part of the conversation about COVID. I am out on DISABILITY right now. You’re talking about cases & mortality. There are even some people who survived this that wish they died
— Dr. Raven the Science Maven is healing ❤️‍🩹 (@ravenscimaven) February 20, 2022

I have been experiencing exhaustion and brain fog since I got Covid in January 2021.

Trying to figure out what was happening inspired me to write this piece, which visualizes the physical evidence for long Covid.https://t.co/KAwalKyXmS
— Josh Keller (@joshkellerjosh) February 19, 2022

Why is there so much complacency about #LongCovid?https://t.co/GziHCWlsZE @nature by @lfspinney pic.twitter.com/9SdDBkxoBk
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) February 16, 2022

"Normally, a patient should be able to extract 75% of the oxygen from their blood, but the #LongCovid patients are able to extract only 50%" – Dr. Joseph @Yale https://t.co/NO7CZR5cwG
— charlos (@loscharlos) February 18, 2022

🧵I wrote about #longCOVID and chronic illness for @sciam's pandemic anniversary package: "It is time for medical researchers to investigate these long-contested illnesses with the full force of science’s power…" https://t.co/hreAG7PfNA
— Meghan O'Rourke (@meghanor) February 17, 2022

just a glimpse into how my life has changed since getting covid: the chair I now use to shower. lifting my arms above my shoulders while standing is so strenuous I nearly pass out which is dangerous since I live alone. this at least makes it so I can get thru a shower pic.twitter.com/DyB0TP8XVe
— Gene Park Souls 2: Scholar of the 1st Sin (@GenePark) February 18, 2022

There's a company, CytoDyn, that is conducting a clinical trial for long-haulers. Check it out. The drug is leronlimab.
NY Times’ Mara Gay recounts her long-term Covid-19 symptoms https://t.co/2bO0sL7drc via @msnbc
— ombowstring (@ombowstring) January 2, 2021

Five months post-covid, Nicole Murphy’s heart rate is still doing strange things https://t.co/9n86YdCfXN
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 21, 2022

via @NYTimes Having long Covid, Joel said, is like a bit like driving someone else's car, but with determination and help, he is making it around the course, every night. https://t.co/axxtY4D34h
— Sharon Otterman (@sharonNYT) February 24, 2022

Many COVID long-haulers are young people who were told they faced little serious risk from the virus if they didn’t have preexisting conditions. That wasn’t true, and LC is upending countless young people’s lives. Great post by @fortesalatifi https://t.co/tl92zY4ydK
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) March 2, 2022

Small study finds nerve damage in 60% of its cohort of #LongCovid patients – specifically small fiber neuropathy, which can be tested for in a nerve biopsy. https://t.co/rlHGLKBYw7
— Hannah Davis (@ahandvanish) March 2, 2022

“Men infected with the virus are three to six times as likely as others to develop erectile dysfunction, believed to be an indicator of so-called long Covid.”@NYTimes https://t.co/vMFDkAvx5o
— Abraar Karan (@AbraarKaran) March 2, 2022

During at least the first few months following a coronavirus infection, even mild cases are associated with subtle tissue damage and accelerated losses in brain regions tied to the sense of smell, a new study finds. https://t.co/BCjw3amMXP
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 7, 2022

🚨: If not for the war in Europe, the story below might’ve been one of world’s biggest today. The largest-ever study comparing those who got COVID-19 and recovered and those who never got infected reveals major lasting health problems for the former group. https://t.co/1ihdgyEpno
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 5, 2022

A new COVID-19 variant

This is potentially very disturbing. A large multi-site Japanese study comparing #Omicron (BA1) to its much-mutated descendant #BA2 finds the later is more transmissible & more pathogenic.
MORE https://t.co/s9gp49OsWN
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) February 17, 2022

“According to news reports, researchers in Israel have identified a handful of cases in which people who had recovered from BA.1 became infected with BA.2. Meanwhile, Danish researchers have begun a study to determine how freq such reinfections occur” https://t.co/e5eMXdvZpR
— Abraar Karan (@AbraarKaran) February 18, 2022

Bad news: "#Omicron #BA2 is not neutralized with detectable titer by any of the therapeutic monoclonal antibodies…The results demonstrate the difficulty of identifying broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against #SARSCoV2 " https://t.co/Vq6b6eXRLg
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) February 17, 2022

4) Also worrisome, the #BA2 subvariant is surging in Denmark — notably even a new sub-subvariant #BA2_H78Y subtype is growing incredibly fast.

(HT @DrWilliamKu using Danish data) pic.twitter.com/JIddag7YkQ
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) February 18, 2022

#America,
This is what happens when you lift #COVIDMandates at the time of ongoing #OmicronSurge, specifically #BA2. Denmark lifted theirs on February 1st. Largely states began lifting theirs this week. So this is your 2 weeks peek into the future.

It didn’t have to be this way. https://t.co/OTcPGaxMVb
— Ebony Jade Hilton, MD (@EbonyJHilton_MD) February 12, 2022

PSS, understand historically we’ve lagged ~2 weeks behind cases in Europe when new variants are found… so let me introduce to you #BA2… #StealthOmicron. Shouldn’t have to continue to emphasize to people that we have NEVER been ahead, but here we are.
https://t.co/3W0fbrXkSa
— Ebony Jade Hilton, MD (@EbonyJHilton_MD) February 16, 2022

A lot of folks are asking what BA.2 is, and this is a great overview. I’m not a COVID expert, just “following the science.” We know BA.2 is more infectious than the original Omicron (BA.1), but we don’t know a ton about severity. https://t.co/MNbKqwFoQY
— Hayley McMahon (@McMisoprostol) February 19, 2022