News and Notes
In the News! Outdoor Lunch Petition Launched
Indoor dining during the pandemic is widely recognized as a high risk activity. The CDC, Dr. Fauci, epidemiologists, experts and the Arlington School Health Advisory Board all recommend that schools hold meals outdoors. Yet, APS has only "encouraged," but not required, outdoor dining in its schools, leaving this critical safety measure to the...
Research Round-up: New Studies on Kids, COVID, Higher Risks for In-Person School Households, and How to Reduce Risks
Recent studies have a deluge of new information about kids, COVID, and schools. Here we go on a quick round-up of some major research: .... CDC MMWR featured study: Actual number of kids infected with COVID-19 is much higher and simply under-reported. (Our note: Seems like that whole "kids don't get COVID" thing is so 2020.) Reviewed serologic...
Smart Restart on NBC National News!
We're partnering with teachers and scientists, like Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding and the Covid Action Group, to push for more federal dollars to help schools quickly implement the short-term projects recommended in the new CDC guidance on ventilation and filtration. And we were featured on national news this week, as more of our youngest students returned...
Recent Tweets and Facebook Posts
How many portable air cleaners do you need to achieve 6 or 12 air changes per hour (ACH), no other ventilation?
1) room V = LxWxH [cubic feet]
2) desired clean air delivery rate (CADR) = V * target ACH / 60 [cubic feet per minute, cfm]
3) # = desired CADR / CADR per ...device https://t.co/mINDM7VfWH
@l_krishnan @AbraarKaran @kprather88 @CorsIAQ @linseymarr Good q. 3 steps. Step 1: room vol. = length. x width x height (cf). Step 2: CADR needed (cfm) = vol. x ACH needed / 60. Step 3: # of purifiers = (CADR needed) / (CADR per purifier). CA-DPH says min. 6 ACH, ideally 12 ACH. Is that what you're asking about? https://twitter.com/sri_srikrishna/status/1527133235930484736
We need more of these types of cost-benefit analyses to look at impact of improved ventilation and filtration. In restaurant scenario base case, adding portable air cleaners to achieve equivalent of 12 ACH averted 54 infections & produced cost savings of $150,000/year. https://t.co/AOarSg5hc9
“The cost-effectiveness of standalone #HEPA filtration units for the prevention of airborne #SARS_COV_2 transmission” https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12962-022-00356-1.pdf
It's time to buy hand sanitizer!
Just Kidding.
Monkeypox is airborne, like COVID-19.
Keep a mask handy if this gets real + make sure you have air filters providing about 6 ACH of clean air in shared spaces. Or install upper room germicidal UV.
(We're doing ...neither rn in APS.) https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1527633907889364994
"Results showed that to keep the risk of the infection propagating low the best strategy without universal masking was the operation of in-room GUV or a large industrial-sized PAC; whereas with masking all strategies were acceptable." https://t.co/1F4hmEffYC
Our new paper investigates using modeling tools different mitigation strategies for a large office building. Should you increase your ventilation rate to 100%OA? or use germicidal UV? Next paper will look at strategies for schools, retail and hotels. https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1f69G1HudN80pk#.YocyKYKMqgk.twitter
What's happening with #COVID19, happened with cholera in the 19th century, TB in the 20th, AIDS in the 20th and 21st. #virchow #infectionsandinequalities
Pro tip: scheduling for 5-11 yo boosters is now live at CVS https://t.co/zvRgGSD4UQ
Key data from ACIP today: 3rd dose increases neutralization Ab titer vs Omicron by >20-fold compared w 2 doses in 5-11 yo.
Seems the closest I can come to protecting my 3 yo for now will be boosting my 6 yo. 🤬
Thanks for live-tweeting, @matthewherper 🙏 https://twitter.com/matthewherper/status/1527349503258349582
As usual, good data reported by @JasonSalemi; The spread of the latest #COVID19 variant has been allowed to go totally unchecked.
Now hospitalizations rising — 14% over past week's data in VA.
How many people get longer term consequences from all this new illness & ...reinfection?
1. Based on this week's @CDCgov transmission levels, it's not getting better.
Last week - 72% of people lived in high transmission areas, 89% in substantial or high.
Now, those numbers are 86% and 94%, respectively.
A quick 🧵
#COVIDisAirborne The 15-min contact tracing time is not based on any science. The NFL found person-to-person transmission for much shorter time periods. Spending time in a shared space with one or more infectious sources - regardless of time or distance - is the risk factor.
Arlington has resumed participation in the federally funded wastewater monitoring program that public health experts are trying to create. Thank you to those in local gov. who support public health, and progressive, science-driven solutions.
https://biobot.io/data/#county-51013
Keep in mind that the case counts reported here are **confirmed** cases. CDC serology-based estimates for Virginia indicated there were at least 2.3x as many cases during Omicron as reported (December-January), and data suggests a worse undercount happening now as well.
#Arlington #COVID19 #Cases
How much of your school got sick, in SY 21-22, in the 3 COVID surges that hit @APSVirginia?
Arlington went from a best place in VA to one of worst, with the schools with the most cases in North Arlington, where anecdotally, more students unmasked.
The latest, even more transmissible Omicron variant, BA.2.12.1, has exploded across Massachusetts in recent weeks and begun to overtake its predecessor variant in other regions as well.
Here’s what you need to know about the new variant. 🧵https://t.co/XcRVNTKzwx
#Arlington #COVID19 #Cases
How much of your school got sick, in SY 21-22, in the 3 COVID surges that hit @APSVirginia?
Arlington went from a best place in VA to one of worst, with the schools with the most cases in North Arlington, where anecdotally, more students unmasked.
CDC advisory group recommends COVID vaccine boosters for children ages 5-11: http://ow.ly/Q3Qx50JcCjf
1 in every 331 Americans have died of COVID-19.
That's over 1 million people. How were COVID-19 deaths different by state, age, and race? Explore the data. https://t.co/m1DKZVFNbH
Got a dozen free, USA-made N95 masks at the CVS on Langston Blvd yesterday — easy, just ask.
Wearing a high filtration mask (preferably N95 from USA or KF94 from South Korea) significantly reduces the odds of contracting COVID, per the CDC. (Many KN95s are fakes. Buyer beware.)
New normal: Expect COVID-19 to continue to mutate to reinfect you.
The substantial immune escape of BA.2.12.1 & BA.4/BA.5, which helps to explain the current US surge despite vaccination + extensive prior BA.1 infections https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.16.22275151v1
suggests "the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has continued to evolve w/ increasing neutralization escape"
