Dr Ellie Murray: We need to do now what we should have done last Spring: shut it all down, provide funds to support people & businesses thru closure and—here’s the key—USE THE TIME TO IMPLEMENT GOOD RESPONSE. That means: better testing & vaccine logistics, ventilation in schools & workplaces...

We need to do now what we should have done last Spring: shut it all down, provide funds to support people & businesses thru closure and—here’s the key—USE THE TIME TO IMPLEMENT GOOD RESPONSE. That means: better testing & vaccine logistics, ventilation in schools & workplaces...

...improved production & distribution of N95 masks for everyone, improve internet access to allow wfh & school from home for those who *can* continue with that, safe opening plans for every type of workplace, universal paid quarantine & sick leave, open up parks & beaches... 

...public health educational campaigns that teach everyone the basics of how viruses work (and while we’re at it, lets add some bacterial info to combat overuse of antibiotics), extended eviction moratoriums, actual oversight & accountability for workplace safety... 

...basic income + increased minimum wage, authorization for expanded roles for nurse practitioners, expanded authorization for vaccination delivery by dentists, authorize telemedicine across state borders so students & others can continue to access care while not on campus... 

...national COVID information hotline to help combat misinformation, permanently expanded public health workforce at federal & state & local levels, a coordinated set of COVID research priorities to answer important unknowns and a rolling rapid COVID funding application system... 

...a COVID cohort study that helps us understand and identify and treat Long COVID, widespread access to rapid at home COVID tests, scaled up genomic tracking to identify current & future COVID variants in circulation... 

...hazard pay and PPE and vaccine priority for all essential workers, funding & support to ensure long term care workers don’t need to take 2nd jobs, decarceration with housing & monetary support to decrease crowding & COVID in jails & prisons & other detention sites... 

....limits on non-essential travel including interstate & international travel, mask mandates combined with easy access to cheap and effective masks, federal guidelines on how local transmission levels should drive opening & closing plans and a single clear set of opening levels. 

Okay, there’s probably more, and a lot of these things are outlined in the Biden administration’s new COVID plan, so I hope they are actually gonna happen and sooner rather than lager. 

But that clip of Biden saying there’s nothing we can do to change the trajectory over the next couple months worries me because we do not have to wait & we do not have to accept this level of death & illness. We can shut down. And we can do all of this ☝🏼 

One more addition to the list, thanks to Dr @JuliaRaifman: we need to identify & support children who lost a parent or guardian to the pandemic—the government should be responsible for making sure they get the financial, emotional, & medical help they need. 

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1353063720339992579.html