I’m seeing a LOT of commentary saying “there’s nothing the US can do other than wait for vaccine roll-out.”

I profoundly disagree. We can’t accept 300,000 new infections & 4,000 deaths daily as a “new normal.” We need to drive down transmission. There are 5 things we CAN do!

First, we need to get serious about high filtration masks for all.

Y’all saw Mitt Romney on Wednesday, right? He had a tightly fitting N95 mask under his cloth mask. That’s what every single Americam should have.

Let’s invoke the Defense Production Act & GET IT DONE 2/

Why are ANY workplaces & schools still unsafe? It’s 1 YEAR since the first case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in the US & these settings are still unsafe! We now know they need ventilation, air filtration, universal masking, physical spacing, & reduced density. WE CAN DO IT! 3/

Third, and related to the above, no essential worker in the country should be risking their life. None. They should ALL have the highest quality PPE. It’s a moral disgrace that so many essential workers were put in harm’s way & so many died a preventable death. 4/

Fourth, I wish Biden had not taken a national “circuit breaker” off the table. England & Scotland have instituted one—these will need high, tight adherence to drive down transmission. At the very least, we need circuit breakers at the state level in high transmission states 5/

What this means, of course, is there has to be serious, generous financial support to anyone out of work or unable to work from home (eg bar/restaurant workers, who would be the hardest hit by a circuit breaker). 6/

Finally, America gave up on test/trace/isolate/support (TTIS). That’s a mistake IMHO. We need to test & isolate cases, trace & quarantine the exposed, & provide serious financial support to those isolating or quarantining.

Let’s not be “numb” to 300,000 new infections/day. END