All you need to know about COVID19
FACTS NOT FEAR

Covid 19 is a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. SARS-CoV-2 is one of 7 coronaviruses known to man. 1/n

The pandemic is real. Excess deaths were observed in many countries. Not all countries were affected in the same way due to pre-existing immunity, the health status of the population and demographics (the proportion of elderly in the population) 2/n
https://t.co/65elPq3gp5
COVID 19 presents a high risk for the very few and negligible risk for the many.

The infection fatality rate in different age groups:
<19 y, IFR= 0.003%
20-49 y: IFR= 0.02%
50-69 y: 0.5%
>70y, IFR= 5.4%
3/n

https://t.co/r4Dj1YzgWs
Not everybody is susceptible to the virus. If reinfected, pre-existing immunity from related viruses gives protection from developing the disease or from developing serious symptoms.
4/n
“The evidence that a subset of people has a cross-reactive T cell repertoire through exposure to related coronaviruses is strong.“
5/n
https://t.co/wQzeAWkKg5
COVID 19 is less serious than the flu for kids and more serious than the flu for the elderly with comorbidities.
“our data indicate that children are at far greater risk of critical illness from influenza than from COVID-19” 6/n https://t.co/pHnVUzFBLR
During the incubation period for SARS-CoV-2, individuals are pre-symptomatic. They may transmit the virus. When it occurs, it is likely to lead to a milder presentation of the disease due to the low viral load. 7/n
The infectivity of cases lasts 8 days from the onset of symptoms. After that people are no longer infectious. 8/n https://t.co/ExM1lEQPCw
Asymptomatic are not the main drivers of disease. Assuming that the test is a true (+), they might be infected but they present no symptoms most likely due to built up immunity from prior viruses. Secondary transmission is minimal with a low viral load.9/n
https://t.co/0pkCNBhLaX
“In all the history of respiratory-born viruses of any type, asymptomatic transmission has never been the driver of outbreaks. The driver of outbreaks is always a symptomatic person.”- Fauci 10/n
COVID 19, like many other viral infections, may rarely be followed by long-term effects, however, for the vast majority of patients, COVID 19 is a mild self-limiting illness with no long-term sequelae. See sequelae of influenza here👇 11/n
https://t.co/xoE7xcFlpM
Long-lasting immunity to SARS-CoV-2 exists. Following infection with SARS-Cov-2 people are protected. If exposed again to the virus, they will not get seriously sick. No need to be concerned about reinfection. Relax! 12/n https://t.co/pGYFo1fU1t
Viral mutations are common to all viruses. Viruses tend to become less virulent and more transmissible over time until herd immunity is reached after which the virus is less transmissible as it becomes an endemic virus. 13/n https://t.co/WsfQjQyla0
Once we stop locking down and messing up nature, COVID 19 will settle into an endemic state where it becomes part of a cocktail of respiratory viruses that live with us. We must learn to live with it. Our species has done this before. We can do it once again. 14/n
Closing down schools harms children educational progress, psychosocial wellbeing and development. 15/n https://t.co/nwGwodCmW4
Children get mostly an asymptomatic or mild presentation. Transmission from children to adults is negligible and not a main driver of disease. 16/n
https://t.co/SJA7Y8ELRL
Opening schools does not lead to an increase in the transmission rate in the community 17/n https://t.co/AyivANLf2m
Teachers don’t have a higher prevalence of infection compared to other professions. 18/n https://t.co/y5JPN1Nysw
“If the COVID-19 hazard sets the new standard for health safety, the country will need to close its schools each year from November until April to guard against influenza.” Scott Atlas 19/n
https://t.co/iVcWnhnjSO
PCR test can not diagnose infectiousness. It can detect chunks of the virus but does not tell if the virus can replicate. Diagnosing a person with COVID 19 based on a (+) test without clinical symptoms is not in line with pre-covid medical practice. 20/n
https://t.co/xxQfQWbrNc
The science behind social distancing rules (the 2 m rule) is absent.
For high-risk individuals:
Avoid closed places and crowded indoor spaces.
Go to the beach, the park or to open markets.
Get some Vit D. 21/n
Masks are ‘safety blankets’.
There is no scientific evidence to support their use in the community.

Feel free to wear them if they make you feel safe. 22/n
https://t.co/WOodjPCt4L
“At present, there is no direct evidence (from studies on COVID19 and in healthy people in the community) on the effectiveness of universal masking of healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including COVID-19.” 23/n
https://t.co/zdAsllF1vv
Enforcing masks on children hampers their social development and reading social cues and non-verbal facial expression. It stunts oral expression. It creates a subservient generation who follows stupid rules that adults cannot justify logically. 24/n
https://t.co/CEnEJBTzF6
Transmission from contact with surfaces is not a big deal. Hypersanitization is not necessary and even counterproductive.
Washing hands is a good hygiene practice. Excessive use of sanitizing gels leads to skin irritations. 25/n
Lockdowns haven’t been shown to improve the final outcome of an epidemic. “we do not find significant benefits on case growth of more restrictive NPIs. Similar reductions in case growth may be achievable with less restrictive interventions.” 26/n
https://t.co/BkJsy2jdl1
Lockdowns harm. Economic destruction leads to more deaths. 27/n
https://t.co/L0L1T7UNw9
Health is not about the absence of disease or infirmity. Health consists of physical, mental and social well-being.
Health is about the subjective quality of life and not just the prolongation of life.
Life is about living and not just existing.
It's time to chose life.
28/28

More from Abir Ballan 😊

The corrupt Lebanese government put the country in lockdown to flatten the “revolution”. As a result of the worsening economic situation, many healthcare workers were laid off and now the Lebanese people are paying for it by being denied access to care. 1/n


Here’s what would reduce mortality in #Lebanon:
1) protecting the vulnerable
2) increasing healthcare capacity
3) supporting healthcare workers

All impossible to do in a country that is gasping for dear life. 2/n

And yet the #Lebanese people are being blamed for not following guidelines and not following the rules.
The Lebanese people are not to blame. Wearing masks, social distancing, lockdowns and stupid curfews don’t do anything. 3/n

It is those politicians who transferred their money to Swiss accounts, while #Lebanese citizens can no longer transfer university fees for their children studying abroad, who are to blame.
Stop shifting the blame to the people. 4/n

Public health practitioners like @firassabiad and @petra who have bought blindly into the narrative are reinforcing this displaced scapegoating.
Please be aware of the harm of supporting the government’s narrative. 5/n
I disagree with you, Alastair. I believe @PanData19 is filling in the gaps that governments have failed to fill. I encourage you to have an open mind and listen intently to what we have to say. 1/n


Here’s how @PanData19 is approaching this crisis differently from governments:
We believe that "health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."- @WHO 2/n

To tackle the problem holistically, we have formed a multidisciplinary team made up of immunologist, microbiologist, geneticists, data scientists, physicians, economist, psychologists, educators, public health professionals and business owners. 3/n

We have also backed ourselves with a scientific advisory board made up of prominent experts in their fields.
@MartinKulldorff
@SunetraGupta
@MLevitt_NP2013
@MichaelYeadon3
#JayBhattacharya
#SucharitBhakdi
They are supporting us every step of the way. 4/n

We believe that "the right to health is one of a set of internationally agreed human rights standards, and is inseparable or ‘indivisible’ from these other rights.” @WHO 5/n
Humans inherently like the act of solidarity. We are social beings. We like to huddle up and be together.
They used this against us.
They convinced us that it was an act of solidarity to flatten the curve, to wear a mask for others, to take the vaccines for others,


and to reach #covidzero for others. They convinced us that this was for the greater good of society.
In reality, this couldn't be further away from the truth. They have divided us and broken the core structure of our society. They have dehumanized us with their masks.

They set us against each other into clans on opposite sides of a spectrum. They have turned us into aggressive beings fighting for our survival. Some of us fear harm from the virus, others fear harm from the vaccine, and yet others fear harm from the attack on our civilization.

We are all on a flight or fight mode. We are all operating under the influence of fear. We must collect ourselves and reflect on what has happened over the last year.
How is this for the greater good of society?

They used a tactical warfare strategy against us.
'Divide and conquer'.
We fell for it.
Now we must become aware of it and fight back.
We must reunite. We must find true solidarity to save our world. To free ourselves. To regain our autonomy.

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1/“What would need to be true for you to….X”

Why is this the most powerful question you can ask when attempting to reach an agreement with another human being or organization?

A thread, co-written by @deanmbrody:


2/ First, “X” could be lots of things. Examples: What would need to be true for you to

- “Feel it's in our best interest for me to be CMO"
- “Feel that we’re in a good place as a company”
- “Feel that we’re on the same page”
- “Feel that we both got what we wanted from this deal

3/ Normally, we aren’t that direct. Example from startup/VC land:

Founders leave VC meetings thinking that every VC will invest, but they rarely do.

Worse over, the founders don’t know what they need to do in order to be fundable.

4/ So why should you ask the magic Q?

To get clarity.

You want to know where you stand, and what it takes to get what you want in a way that also gets them what they want.

It also holds them (mentally) accountable once the thing they need becomes true.

5/ Staying in the context of soliciting investors, the question is “what would need to be true for you to want to invest (or partner with us on this journey, etc)?”

Multiple responses to this question are likely to deliver a positive result.