NOTE: Do NOT use rapid tests in the cold. If using rapid tests this holiday season and asking ppl to test before a gathering… or any time… Suggest they be done before leaving the house, or in the car, etc. Someplace >55 F

Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. I need to be very clear: vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis. It’s not vaccines instead of masks, distancing, ventilation or hand hygiene. Do it all. Do it consistently. Do it well.

Thanks Craig Spencer MD MPH for this sobering 🧵 all too true

4/ If you need a PCR test, urgent care centers may not be the best place: nytimes.com/2021/12/22/nyr… Find a local COVID testing site here: hhs.gov/coronavirus/co… & in NYC here: nychealthandhospitals.org/covid-19-testi… You'll likely get much faster, better service! with CBS Mornings' Gayle King

via @NYTOpinion with the deluge of queries I’ve gotten in past week on rapid #COVID tests, I’d love to put this thoughtful piece ⁦@alanmcn1⁩ on auto reply ⁦Carlos del Rio⁩ ⁦@DMAronoff⁩ ⁦Helen Boucher⁩ ⁦@dan_diekema⁩ nytimes.com/2021/12/23/opi…

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott says the city will open a new COVID testing site starting tomorrow at the former police academy on Northern Parkway.

The following new or expanded state COVID test sites open today. Testing is free. No app’ts req’d. Visit covidTEST.maryland.gov to see a full list of sites, incl. Annapolis and State Ctr. UPDATE: The Hopkins Bayview site is closed today due to dangerous weather in the area.

Eric Feigl-Ding The tests generally don’t fail if frozen but can lose a bit of sensitivity if multiple freeze thaws. I’m much more concerned about heat. If shipped in hot temperatures >85F the reagents can start to degrade

People often ask if it's OK to get #COVID19 for #naturalimmunity as an #infectiousdisease physician who's developed uber respect for viruses & unanticipated effects, I worry. Even Mild COVID-19 May Change the Brain ja.ma/3uQdN1Y via JAMA part of JAMA Network

COVID Update: COVID may not be remembered primarily for the full hospitals, unpredictable variants, mask & vaccine controversies, or even the massive loss of life. It may be thought of primarily as chronic disease affecting 10s of millions. 1/

I know there are many who are concerned about mask mandates being dropped on crowded public transit— it’s a bad public health move but it’s here for now Two N95 models that are comfortable & can/should be used (+ can be reused) for these situations include the 3M Aura & Vflex

Today's asymptomatic test pos. rate UCSF Health: 2%. So 1/50 people w/ no symptoms of Covid is +. At 2%, on flight of 150 people there's 95% chance that at least one passenger has Covid. SF has a relatively low Covid rate, so odds on a US flight today are likely worse. #MaskUp

Terrific review of evidence re: Covid transmission on planes by Katelyn Jetelina. Points: 1) Much safer than a comparable closed space due to great ventilation/filters; 2) Transmission can happen, usually from folks nearby; 3) Good masks make flying safer. yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/sars-cov-2-t…

I’m so glad they were finally able to meet you in person, Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD!!

I wore this exact outfit this week. Sarah Brown Fasciani, you?

Our University of Maryland School of Medicine Institute for Genome Science's PhD student Sarah Brown Sarah Brown Fasciani from Rebecca Brotman is first author on the study. Read the original here: bit.ly/bvFlora #microbiome #chlamydia #BV