Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH @ashishkjha Twitter profile

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Today, the 5 most vaccinated states (14M people) had 580 people in hospital, 12 deaths In the 5 least vaccinated states (16M people)? 6,600 hospitalized, 104 deaths Per capita , least vaccinated states have 10X hospitalizations and 7X deaths So yeah, vaccines are working

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

India is in the throes of a horrendous COVID surge Horrendous They are struggling to get more people vaccinated We are sitting on 35-40 million doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine Americans will never use Can we please give or lend them to India? Like may be now? It'll help. A lot

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

The world has administered 6 billion doses of COVID vaccines to 3.4 Billion people For people waiting for more data before getting the shot The data is in We've vaccinated nearly half of all humanity The vaccines are safe

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

There is a viral disease Where most infections are mild, asymptomatic With a very low fatality rate And large age gradient: kids are even lower risk than adults And less than 1% of kids have any serious complications at all Yup Polio And we vaccinate against it

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

The primary purpose of vaccines is to prevent serious illness and death To that end, vaccines are working remarkably well

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

When folks think about highly vaccinated places in America They think Vermont or CT or MA Those places are good But not the most vaccinated place in America So who's #1 ? Puerto Rico! But PR has gotten way too little attention Its worth reflecting on how they did it Thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Heard of SARS-CoV2 variant from Japan? No? How about one from South Korea? No? Surely variants from New Zealand & Vietnam? Of course not Because these places haven't given rise to scary variants But what places have.....has big implications for ending the pandemic Thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

Today, I'm thankful for the South African scientists Who are working on the Nu variant with great expertise, speed, and transparency Their openness makes the world safer Thank you 🇿🇦

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

So a lot of chatter happening on the slow vaccine roll out Personally, I'm incredibly frustrated. Did we not know that vaccines were coming? Is vaccine administration a surprise? Several complex issues so lets break things down a bit Warning, this is a bit of a rant Thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

That's also how many Americans we have lost in the last few days -- in no short part because of the misinformation and bad policies you championed.

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Its time for vaccine mandate for air travel Lack of one is becoming an issue So here's my story from last night that confirmed why we need it Basically, we can't expect mitigation measures to be enforced well enough to prevent transmission on airplanes forever Short thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

For those of you keeping score at home 26 million Americans are known to have had COVID 420K of them died from COVID 29 million Americans have gotten COVID vaccines 0 have died from COVID vaccines When it comes to generating immunity vaccine > infection Easier, way way safer

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

4 years

I often tweet about states struggling so now, a wonderful success story: New York Doing 67,000 tests a day Finding 670 cases a day 1% test positivity This is South Korea level. And its awesome Transmission levels so low NY can, with proper precautions, open schools safely

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Saturday evening thought You know the two awesome vaccines that will tame the pandemic? Pfizer's vaccine developed by two Turkish immigrants Moderna's vaccine developed by a black woman virologist ( @KizzyPhD ) @NIH Another reason for diversity in STEM It makes science better

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

4 years

I don't know. I migrated from India -- a "third-world" nation and didn't speak a word of English when I left I feel like I've assimilated pretty well Can't help but feel like @LaurenWitzkeDE may not fully understand what makes America great

Lauren Witzke

@LaurenWitzkeDE

4 years

Most third-world migrants can not assimilate into civil societies. Prove me wrong.

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Confused about the news on vaccines and delta? Here's what we know Vaccines prevent 75-85% of symptomatic infections Vaccines prevent 90-98% of hospitalizations, deaths Vaccines reduce transmission. By a lot. Don't know precisely how much -- but a lot Can't ask for much more

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Today was a very, very odd day I testified before @senatehomeland They held a hearing on hydroxychloroquine. Yup, HCQ In the middle of the worst surge of pandemic HCQ It was clear how our information architecture shapes questions of science and medicine of COVID A thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

India reports another 400,000+ cases, 4000+ death day A sustained level of horribleness And its not correct True number surely closer to 25,000 deaths, 2-5 million infections today Lots of ways to estimate but here's a simple one Look at the crematoriums Thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

Booster eligibility can still be confusing So here's my guide to help you decide whether you should get a booster 6 months after your 2nd shot: Are you an adult? If yes, get a booster

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

My vaccinated parents got to see our kids this afternoon for the first time in 14 months. Lots of hugs. Lots of joy. Vaccines help us get our lives back

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

Is it possible #OmicronVariant sets us back to square one? No We have lots of tests that'll detect Omicron We have therapies that'll work Our vaccines MAY take a hit but will still provide some (may be a lot) protection We are in a MUCH better place This isn't March 2020

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

if you are vaccinated and boosted Why should you care what others do? Because we all need a functioning healthcare system For the kid's appendicitis Or friend's car accident Or family member's cancer surgery Vaccines keep hospitals from becoming dysfunctional during a surge

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

Recently saw patient for COVID round 2 Had COVID last spring with long hospital stay Now admitted with reinfection. Unvaccinated He couldn't believe he had COVID again Had been told he had life-long immunity The misinformation on infection-induced immunity is costing lives

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

So, as they say… Some news For all the progress we’ve made in this pandemic (and there is a lot) We still have important work to do to protect Americans’ lives and well being So when @POTUS asked me to serve, I was honored to have the opportunity

Jeff Zients to Leave as Biden’s Covid Czar and Be Replaced by Ashish Jha (Published 2022)

The choice of Dr. Jha, an outspoken public health expert, is a sign that the White House believes the country is entering a new phase of the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Vaccinated people are far far far less likely to spread the virus than unvaccinated people Like way less likely A lot less Pretty clear from the data we have so far That's my Friday thought

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

4 years

Was at dinner (outside) with kids last pm Youngest says "You're so boring on TV. You say same things over and over again" Then mockingly Wear a mask Keep distance Avoid indoor dining and bars Testing testing testing "Why do they even ask you to come back? So boring" Fair

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

For those who don't want more good COVID news, please skip rest of this tweet Still here? OK Sometime in past 24 hours, we surpassed 50% of humanity with at least 1 shot of a COVID vaccine There are now more humans who've gotten a vaccine than humans who have not Progress!

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

I'm left pondering a quote from @barackobama An idea any American, liberal or conservative, would understand "If we do not have the capacity to distinguish what’s true from what’s false... the marketplace of ideas doesn’t work. And by definition our democracy doesn’t work" Fin

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Am often asked about different vaccines and their efficacy Each trials tracks, reports efficacy differently Currently, we have preliminary results for Novavax and J&J But what numbers matter? What should you look for? Here's one set of data to track. In a simple table

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Want to end the pandemic? Lets marshal global manufacturing effort to make lots of vaccine quickly And vaccinate everyone Because large outbreaks anywhere can give rise to variants that can escape vaccines everywhere At the end of the day, we really are in this together Fin

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

But vaccine mandates for air travel are Canada has done it We should too. Mandate vaccine or negative test for air travel I understand the person next to me had the freedom not to be vaccinated The old man next to her has the right to fly without getting infected End

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

I know I sound like a broken record But here's the thing The vaccines are largely working as expected We had an outbreak in P-town with lots of vaccinated folks infected No one died. Very few got sick And things have returned to normal This is how vaccines work folks

Alex Morse

@AlexBMorse

3 years

The vaccines are working. Of the 900 cases related to the Provincetown cluster, there have been no deaths, 7 hospitalizations, and the symptoms are largely mild. Our positivity peaked at 15% on 7/15 and was only 4.8% yesterday. The outbreak is contained and Provincetown is safe.

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

I am not aware of any fully vaccinated person asymptomatically infecting another person I'm not saying it never happens or will never happen It might. But it has to be stunningly rare And that is part of the reason why CDC changed its guidance today

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Over past week, number of infections in U.S. has stopped declining At about 50K infections every day About where we were at height of summer surge Why the stall? Suspect B.1.1.7 is now starting to really have an effect And states are opening up This is a problem Thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

In Israel, we're seeing an outbreak driven primarily by the unvaccinated And spilling over into some vaccinated folks -- because no vaccine is 100% These breakthrough infections are causing mild disease What's happening in Israel is vaccines working exactly as we all expected

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

A lot of talk today about whether the 159 million fully vaccinated folks need a third shot You know what would really help? Ensuring the 25M who have 1 shot get their 2nd And Ensuring the 100M eligible who have zero shots get their first That would help keep everyone safe

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

CDC's vaccine expert advisory committee voted 14 to 0 in favor of vaccinating all kids ages 5 to 11 These are our nation's leading physicians and scientists Most are also parents The vote was unanimous because the evidence is so clear Kids 5 to 11 are better off vaccinated

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

What would ideal COVID Isolation guidance be? Once rapid antigen tests are cheap & ubiquitous 1. Isolate for first 5 days 2. Then test daily 3. Negative X 2 days? End isolation. Good to go 4. Positive? Remain in isolation until 2 negs or 10 days I think its that simple

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

Every few months, we hear about anew variant Most turn out to not be much Well, unfortunately, there's a new variant B.1.1.529 that is concerning What do we know so far? A few things but not a lot Reminder: when it comes to variants, we focus on three things Short thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

It is absolutely possible to safely have in-person schools But you can't just wing it You need to 1. Vaccinate adults 2. Ventilate classrooms 3. Test folks weekly 4. Wear masks indoors If adults acted responsibly Kids could be safe in classrooms Lets not fail our kids again

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Worried about the Mu variant? May be Lambda? How about C.1.2? That sounds scary Don't While we are still learning, doubt they'll displace Delta And our vaccines should hold up fine I don't lose sleep over new variants I worry about people's fatigue with the current one

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

So for the first time since December 2019, I'm taking a week off of everything. Disconnecting. Thank you for getting vaccinated And thus doing your part to bring this pandemic to an end. And please stay safe.

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

First day on the new job. It's rainy and foggy and I'm excited to get started. Lots to do and I'm humbled by this opportunity to serve the American people. More (including a new official handle) coming soon

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

At this moment, I want to reflect on the name Kamala Kamala was the name of my beloved aunt, my mom's sister Kamala is the name of one of my favorite Indian musicians Kamala is the name of my next Vice President For this kid from Bihar, a reminder of why I love America

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

We were stuck at 70K cases/day for a long time In mid-April, cases started falling It took 10 days to go from 70K to 60K 8 days later, we were at 50K/day Its been 6 days and about to dip below 40K Soon, we'll get to 30K This is exponential decay And its a good thing

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

This is what makes herd immunity advocates (remember Great Barrington Declaration?) so naive They literally advocated for virus to have more chances to mutate And what makes U.S. isolationist policies so naive Because we live on one planet And variants travel 8/9

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Just stunning results Pfizer's new oral therapy reduced hospitalizations by 90% 7 deaths in placebo group, 0 deaths in therapy group Implications of effective therapeutics for ending the pandemic are very, very large Happy Friday

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

For nearly 2 weeks, we've been stuck at 50K new cases daily in that time, we've vaccinated an additional 20M Americans So why flat? Its a race between vaccinations and variants And we're running even Opening up too fast helps the variants I want vaccinations to win

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

As of yesterday There are more Americans who've gotten a vaccine shot than Americans who have not 50.1% of the entire population (including kids) 62% of adults 86% of seniors And 7-day moving average for number of daily infections is about to drop below 20K Progress

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

>1M people vaccinated Less than have had 10 allergic reactions So, <1 in 100K Remember about 1 in 2,000 courses of penicillin leads to allergic reaction 1 in 200 folks have had anaphylaxis to meds at some point Yes lets sort out cause of vaccine rxns But perspective helpful

James Hamblin

@jameshamblin

3 years

This is part of a dangerous trend in reporting each allergic reaction as news. A million people have been vaccinated. A few had allergic reactions. All turned out fine. More will occasionally happen. They don’t all need headlines. It inaccurately skews perception of risk.

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

There is only one solution to put this nightmare pandemic behind us Get outbreaks under control everywhere How? Put in place virus control policies, get people to wear high quality masks, have more testing AND Vaccinate the world Now As quickly as possible 7/9

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

Hearing few school districts contemplating going virtual in January Please don't We can keep kids & teachers safe in schools And if leaders close schools but leave bars open? Means they care neither about kids nor COVID Schools should be the last to close, first to open

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

There's an old saying in global health You can ignore, fail to test for, or undercount whatever disease you want But you can't ignore the dead In India, the dead are telling us the disease is much worse than the official statistics And we have to listen Fin

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

4 years

This is the best thing I've seen in a while. @KamalaHarris 's Indian uncle. He is the most Indian uncle of all Indian uncles.

KRUPALI

@krupali

4 years

I present to you @KamalaHarris ’ uncle.

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Congress finally passed $ for vax distribution States now building infrastructure. Should have been built by Feds months ago After a slow ramp up, it'll get better We're learning again we can't fight pandemic with every state on its own An effective federal govt helps Fin

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Close family member just called to say he tested positive for COVID He's 21, healthy, college senior, vaxxed Feels OK. Sore throat, cough, can't smell Called for advice He'll be fine Its his inept university and others like this one that worry me Thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

3 key points for folks recently vaccinated with J&J 1. your risk of getting hit by lightning this year > your risk of developing blood clot from vaccine 2. Don't ignore a new severe headache, abd pain, or shortness of breath 3. Enjoy being vaccinated against a deadly disease

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

I'm pretty thrilled with @potus announcement today COVID is killing 1500 Americans. Every. Day. We have the tools to defeat COVID 1. Driving vaccinations This is not about mandates This is about creating safe work, hospitals, schools, houses of worship Thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

Lot of folks outraged about vaccine mandates I understand. No one likes mandates I wish people felt the same outrage over 1,000 Americans dying every day from COVID Most of whom are unvaccinated If you are tired of this pandemic as I am Please focus on ending it

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

CDC should have included a negative antigen tests to end isolation They didn't Now some are justifying that decision by throwing antigen tests under the bus Please don't do that The long term cost of that messaging will be immense Antigen tests are great when used properly

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

In the 5 states with highest vaccination rates Compared with 2 weeks ago Infections down 40% Test positivity 1.2% In 5 states with lowest vaccination rates Infections up 3.9% Test positivity 8.4% Vaccinations will increasingly become key to infection levels in a community

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Before this upcoming week is finished, Half of all American adults will have gotten a vaccine shot And I'm here for it

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Letting virus run wild, like US, Brazil did, endangers everyone Imagine this Some nations are largely vaccinated But outbreaks are surging elsewhere What might happen? We might see rise of variants that eventually escape the vaccines And make everyone vulnerable again 5/7

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

As Omicron cases explode We need a strategy for isolating folks who test positive We need to think about the purpose of isolation clearly Because if we don't get it right, It'll both be hugely disruptive and won't keep us safe So let's discuss what we need to do Thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

So next time someone tells you Oh, only "wealthy" New England states can achieve high vaccination rates Remind them that the super star in America is not VT or CT or MA or RI Its Puerto Rico Doing a fabulous job vaccinating its people to keep everyone safe End

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

So bottom line? Yeah, delta variant is bad. Like really bad Our vaccines are good. Like really good Breakthrough infections happen Sometimes they may spread to others But if enough people get the shot The pandemic does come to an end Fin

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Israel had zero (really. Zero) deaths from COVID yesterday. For the first time in a year. Pandemics end when people get vaccinated. Israel is Exhibit A

Ran Balicer

@RanBalicer

3 years

Israel - updated status: 💉 (graph) 🤧 * ZERO! (0) Covid deaths yesterday First such day in >1yr! * ~10 infections /M/d (100-fold drop) * Hospital Covid wards closing 😷 Masks off in open areas Schools fully open Green passes (in high-risk indoor setting) Vaccines work! 1/2

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Confused about boosters? Here's what CDC advisory committee should have done 3rd shot (6 months after 2nd) for following: 1. People >60 (that's the best data) 2. People 18-59 with chronic conditions 3. People with high exposure risk (HC workers, teachers, etc) That's the list

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Portugal now the global leader with 84% of population fully vaccinated Canada? 71% Cambodia 65% US is 40th globally at 55% Even Vermont, our most vaccinated state, would rank 15th in the world US is falling further and further behind We've got to get our act together folks

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

There appears to be no investment or plan in the last mile No effort from Feds to help states launch a real vaccination infrastructure Did the Feds not know vaccines were coming? Shouldn't planning around vaccination sites, etc not have happened in October or November? 10/11

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Today, we crossed 300 Million doses administered Of which nearly 290 Million doses are mRNA vaccines (Moderna, Pfizer) The safety profile of these vaccines is extraordinary I can't think of anything else we've given nearly 300M doses of -- with so few untoward effects

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

An unvaccinated teacher infected 12 students Who then infected 14 other kids, adults Think being unvaccinated is about personal freedom? Nonsense Kids, adults in schools also have rights Like not being unnecessarily infected We need #VaccineMandates

Outbreak Associated with SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta)...

COVID-19 outbreak associated with an unvaccinated infected teacher in an elementary school from May–June 2021 in Marin County, California.

www.cdc.gov

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

Infections are starting to rise Hospitalizations are inching up The holidays are approaching The data is becoming increasingly clear It is time for every adult 6 months out to get a booster

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

Given rapid Omicron spread Should we be calling for outdoor masking? No I've seen no evidence that Omicron spreads efficiently outdoors I'm wearing a high quality mask indoors in crowded public places But not when I'm outside Lets focus on where Omicron spreads Indoors

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

So when you hear we have a pandemic of the unvaccinated Yes that includes kids But largely only in unvaccinated communities Very few kids in highly vaccinated places are getting sick So if you want to protect unvaccinated kids Make sure everyone around them has the shot Fin

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

With infections down more than 90% since highs just 6 weeks ago It is tempting to decide the pandemic is over It is not During this upcoming lull of infections (and falling deaths), It's time to prepare for whatever is next So what to prepare for -- and how? Thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Concerned about the Delta variant? Want to know how to protect yourself? Here's my approach 1 Get yourself fully vaccinated 2 Hang out with other fully vaccinated people 3 For kids<12 who can't get the shot, make sure everyone around them vaccinated Vaccines > Delta variant

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

UK, South Africa, Brazil –and possibly US (LA variant still being sorted out) Each of these countries had large outbreaks even before their variants took off So what are implications if we ever want to end this pandemic? We have to bring pandemic under control everywhere 4/7

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

In a future where US is vaccinated but others are not We could see rise of variants that can infect, cause outbreaks here and other vaccinated places Requiring us to update our vaccines and vaccinate everyone again It’s the nightmare scenario of a never-ending pandemic 6/7

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Why talk Hydroxy when so many Americans are dying? Because it was meant to push a narrative That masks and distancing don’t matter If you get infected – no big deal – take some HCQ Its stunning

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

So let’s talk about where variants ARE coming from and under what circumstances Variants arise when infections run wild And selection pressures lead to dangerous mutations that can then thrive Remember, every infection creates opportunities for “errors” – or mutations 2/6

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

Pediatricians overwhelmingly recommend that kids get vaccinated against COVID Because the evidence is clear Kids are better off vaccinated That's why my three kids all got vaxxed Ignore the noise Listen to the doctors who care for children

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

I see Yankees "outbreak" as a success story Despite high vaccine efficacy, we will see breakthrough infections But only one person had symptoms. No one got sick This is what protection looks like among the vaccinated Occasional outbreaks. No severe illnesses. Life goes on

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

4 years

It feels to me like the federal government has thrown in the towel on this pandemic Don't even appear to be trying anymore They are doing little to protect nursing homes The testing czar is gone. No replacement We don't hear from the task force The pandemic isn't over people

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

This Thanksgiving I am grateful for Vaccines that make it safe for families to get together Healthcare workers still there 20 months into this brutal pandemic And to everyone doing their part to keep the world healthy and safe and moving forward #HappyThanksgiving

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

The CDC just designated Puerto Rico level 4 highest risk travel destination to avoid I am perplexed Infection rates in PR lower than 41 states Vaccinations in PR higher than 47 states If CDC recommends no travel to PR should it recommend no travel within the rest of the US?

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

India's health system is on the verge of collapse America can help. My piece in @washingtonpost on how the world’s oldest democracy (the U.S.) can help the world's largest democracy (India). It's time to act.

Opinion | India’s coronavirus surge could collapse its health system. The U.S. can help.

The world's oldest democracy must come to the aid of the world's largest democracy.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

I just accidently lied on national television and have some explainin to do at home Told @DavidMuir on @ABCWorldNews that I have a 12 year-old unvaccinated son that I'm expecting will be back in school. Uh. This will be a surprise to both my *9-year old* son and my wife

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Adjusted for population Florida had 12X as many kids infected as Massachusetts last week And Louisiana? About 10X So what's going on? None of these kids are vaccinated! So why are infection rates so much lower in MA? Right, because kids are protected by adults 4/5

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Why should we care if some people choose not to be vaccinated? Because for immunocompromised people among us Their vaccines alone aren't enough They rely on the rest of us My getting vaccinated doesn't just protect me It also protects the most vulnerable in my community

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

There's a group of pesky unvaccinated ruffians I want to discuss You know -- no lottery tickets will get them vaccinated They are recalcitrant I have one of them in my house Yes, the under 12 How best to protect them? Empirical data can show us the way Short thread

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Now, we'll miss 20M deadline but might be able to get to 20M by sometime in early January But this is really not the worst part The worst part is no real planning on what happens when vaccines arrive in states No plan, no money, just hope that states will figure this out 4/n

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

There are four tools to tame the pandemic 1. Vaccines 2. Rapid tests 3. Improving indoor air 4. Masks If we deploy first 3 aggressively and smartly We need only use 4th sparingly And safely do essentially everything we value We have all the tools we need to end this pandemic

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Frustrating story but what are the lessons? 1. Hospitals need to use their extra doses to vaccinate people in their communities 2. Policies that bar non-employee vaccinations are bad, should be repealed 3. We need to collect, report more data on how vaccinations are going Fin

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

4 years

Haven't voted yet? Wondering if it's safe to vote in person? Yes it is Want to maximize safety? Read sample ballot prior. Plan how you'll vote Wear mask Dress for outside weather Distance in line, inside Go in, fill out ballot, leave Can be safer than grocery store trip

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

For an immigrant kid from Bihar who grew up poor, America is a pretty special place While we must work harder to expand opportunities for more of us Its a good day to celebrate Happy Birthday America And happy 4th of July everyone

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

2 years

More data today confirms vaccines terrific at preventing severe illness Please get vaccinated & boosted Science continues to deliver more vaccines, therapies In 2022, let's ensure everyone in the world reaps its benefits Signing off Twitter for a few days Stay well stay safe

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

I have largely avoided using this platform to criticize individuals I've made one exception: Scott Atlas I know I've been harsh on him and here's why Scott Atlas, as a physician, took an oath to do no harm Thread (1 of 2)

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

The line when Mississippi health chief says its not state's job to ensure vaccines get into people's arms What? Whose job is it? Not the Feds. They just get vaccine to states Not the states. They just get vaccine to hospitals, clinics So its all on front line providers? 7/n

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Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Lots of states mandate nursing home workers be vaccinated against influenza But not against COVID With many workers unvaccinated and delta surging, this is a huge risk Why have we turned COVID vaccine mandates into a political issue when flu vax mandates were not? Its crazy

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