We all have people in our circle or families who aren't taking this pandemic seriously or are susceptible to COVID19 trutherism. Before they dismiss this pandemic as a political weapon they need to understand severe cases of COVID19 are not being confused with other illnesses.(1)

Clinicians familiar with COVID19 have a strong sense someone has the syndrome even before the test results. This syndrome is not just severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (fluid leaking into airways due to abnormal permeability of lung capillaries) (2)

It’s also constellation of inflammatory, blood cell, and coagulation system abnormalities that combine features of Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis, and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation— any one of which is challenging enough; (3)

there’s also inflammation or destruction of the heart muscle, a.k.a., Myocardial Necrosis; and scar-like changes of the airways even as the infection is resolving, a.k.a., Pulmonary Fibrosis. We see diseases that mimic one or even two of these conditions, but rarely do we see (4)

anything that covers all the bases that SARS-CoV-2 infection can. Severe COVID19 is not an ambiguous diagnosis. No one is arbitrarily being assigned a COVID19 label when it is life-threatening. COVID19 is NOT an incidental finding to dying of other medical conditions. (5)

In short, COVID19 is not a political weapon. Please let the COVID19 truthers know: Our hospitals are not being overrun with an imaginary illness that has been created with an agenda. The makeshift morgues have not been created with agenda. (6)

Tell the COVID19 skeptics and truthers: There is no hidden agenda behind this syndrome, and no hidden agenda in mounting our most effective and vigorous social and medical social interventions for this pandemic. (7)

This thread is not for medtwitter obviously, but for lurkers who are toying with COVID19 trutherism, which bothers me so much not just because it undermines the solidarity needed to contain and respond, but it attacks a truth that is a matter of life and death. (8)