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Another reminder of why reopening school buildings amid uncontrolled spread is not the smartest idea: Because even with testing, it is fraught with issues. @KenyaBradshaw @DataDrivenMD @MaggieEThornton @mcmageejr @selmekki @karinchenoweth @ConorPWilliams https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1360878855922348033
Peter Diamandis and his crew conducted more than 452 PCR tests over four days. Diamandis himself had several negative test result.
Thing is, negative tests can often just tell you that you haven't reached infectious levels. @DanWeisbergTNTP @jacobwaters https://www.diamandis.com/blog/false-sense-security
Thing is, negative tests can often just tell you that you haven't reached infectious levels. @DanWeisbergTNTP @jacobwaters https://www.diamandis.com/blog/false-sense-security
Another factor: Folks didn't consistently wear masks. Ventilation wasn't improved so that folks didn't get infected. And rapid testing is still unreliable.
By the way: As Diamandis notes, blood type affects test results.
Thirty-seven percent of all people are Type-O.
Thirty-seven percent of all people are Type-O.
Basically, if you are Type-O, you could be symptomatic and infectious with COVID and your test may not pull a positive result. Which means that just relying on testing and viral surveillance alone isn't enough.
By the way: Here's the source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7354354/
The final result: Of 49 folks participating in Diamandis' bubble, 21 of them - including Diamandis himself - were infected with COVID.
The only folks who weren't infected were multimedia staff - who likely wore masks at all times and were isolated in a separate room.
The only folks who weren't infected were multimedia staff - who likely wore masks at all times and were isolated in a separate room.
Diamandis raises this important question in regards to reopening school buildings. Especially in light of a recent CDC survey of middle school students note that only three-quarters saw peers wear masks on campus consistently (and even fewer see peers wear masks during sports).
What Diamandis leaves out is ventilation, a point Dr. Feigl-Ding points out in his thread. Ventilation is also an issue CDC ignores in its school building reopening guidance. https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1360896826052931591
Even worse, CDC guidance allows indoor school sports with just six feet distancing and no masking - despite its previous study of the Polk County schools wrestling super-spreader. [ https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7004e4.htm]
https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1360956646659411970
![Even worse, CDC guidance allows indoor school sports with just six feet distancing and no masking - despite its previous study of the Polk County schools wrestling super-spreader. [ https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7004e4.htm] https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1360956646659411970](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EuMo4EvXUAUF4Zh.png "Even worse, CDC guidance allows indoor school sports with just six feet distancing and no masking - despite its previous study of the Polk County schools wrestling super-spreader. [ https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7004e4.htm] https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1360956646659411970")
![Even worse, CDC guidance allows indoor school sports with just six feet distancing and no masking - despite its previous study of the Polk County schools wrestling super-spreader. [ https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7004e4.htm] https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1360956646659411970](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EuMo4FhXYAIeAC-.png "Even worse, CDC guidance allows indoor school sports with just six feet distancing and no masking - despite its previous study of the Polk County schools wrestling super-spreader. [ https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7004e4.htm] https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1360956646659411970")
https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1360956646659411970
CDC's lack of focus on ventilation verges on malpractice. Even with masking, testing and vaccinations, fresh air and circulation are critical to stemming spread in schools. Because COVID is an airborne disease - and kids aren't always going to wear masks consistently.
Dr. Alwan is focusing primarily on the UK's school building reopening efforts. But this also applies to the United States. Even when you suppress spread in the community, you must keep spread suppressed in the school buildings - even with vaccinations. https://twitter.com/Dr2NisreenAlwan/status/1355943258216673286
You can't ask youth, families and teachers to risk their lives by going into school buildings without stemming and suppressing spread as well as improving ventilation, and viral surveillance.
You especially can't ask Black, Latino and Indigenous families who have suffered the most from COVID infection, death and debilitation to do so without improving ventilation in their school buildings, especially in light of how they have been shortchanged so often before COVID.
Especially when the federal government has decided to not take over vaccine distribution and address vaccine inequity, leading to Black and Brown people as well as teachers and other school workers not getting inoculated. https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1360955469792215043
CDC and the Biden Administration don't want to prioritize vaccination for school workers and marginalized communities. Well, that's not going to work.
Most Black and Brown folks, and in fact, most folks, won't send their kids back until at least that part.
Most Black and Brown folks, and in fact, most folks, won't send their kids back until at least that part.
