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I’m a virologist, biotech investor (vaccines, drugs, & diagnostics). For ease, here are all my #COVID19 explainers in one place (why is SARS2 worse than SARS1? What are antibodies? Is vaccine possible?), full of analogies even kids will understand. Will help you know what’s true.
Coronaviruses cause the common cold but we don’t have vaccines for them, so why should you believe we’ll have one for SARS2? This was a thread but here’s easier to read versus. I would revise that I expect vaccine for masses in 1 year (not 18 months). https://www.city-journal.org/covid-19-our-attitude-toward-vaccines
Considering that flu mutates so much that flu vaccines sometimes don’t work well, when why do we think a vaccine we make today for SARS2 will still work in the future? Answer: SARS2 is like a cactus, flu is like a vine. https://www.city-journal.org/coronavirus-vaccine
Why has SARS2 started this COVID19 pandemic but SARS1 was contained? Because SARS2 is clever in a way SARS1 wasn’t. This is a simplified lesson in virology. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1246975275021348865?s=21
How do antibodies & antibody tests work, how can they cause false-positives and false-negatives, why might false-positives cause us to mistaken first infectious as reinfections and spread fear that people aren’t becoming immune? https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1249475238636765184?s=21
Since we’re hearing that there are so many asymptomatic people, could it be that this virus isn’t so dangerous? In this thread, I show how flaws in surveillance studies and tests can trick us into thinking a bullet to the head isn’t dangerous. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1251585935994740736?s=21
Worried about news of reinfections? We most likely aren’t seeing reinfections but rather testing errors. Here’s what I mean. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1244029896453754880?s=21
People kept asking about gargling, so my colleague helped research this (bottom line: water can’t hurt, definitely not proven to work, and there are some dangerous things not to use). https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1247638540734869504?s=21
How quickly can virus enter cells? https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1247712909213544449?s=21
Quick thoughts on stupidity of ever going back to shaking hands. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1248237976896880641?s=21
Anti-malarials (chloroquine and hydroxychloroqine) don’t work (or at least not well) and we should stop testing them at this point for reasons I explain. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1250198542720872450?s=21
How is everyone going to afford testing and treatments? Great question. They will, but we still need serious insurance reform. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1244976353595871232?s=21
And another thread that speaks to need for insurance reform. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1248664796305784832?s=21
And one more on insurance. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1246525901074022400?s=21
What can existing drugs do for us while we wait for new ones? While I don’t exactly answer that question (not enough known), bottom line, all the drugs we have ever invented are more valuable than we can appreciate, as we’re now discovering. https://www.city-journal.org/coronavirus-value-of-medical-innovation
Why young still need to social distance, if not for themselves then others. Keep hospitals free for the vulnerable. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1243716410842456065?s=21
Why shouldn’t we just expose people to low doses of the virus to develop natural immunity? (Bad idea!). https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1242548879788314624?s=21
Why masks matter. They keep down exposure dose (both what you generate for others and what you inhale from others), which may matter to severity of infection. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1239560638239838215?s=21
Might social distancing be causing more harm than good? Doesn’t have to. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1238577996501594114?s=21
Quick FAQ. Is SARS2 manmade? Almost certainly not- nature is constantly cooking up these beasts on her own. What about similarities in code to HIV? Just chance. Lots of books contain “and then she” w/o anyone plagiarizing. Can SARS2 lie dormant in me? No- not that kind of virus.
Will I be immune after I recover? I answer this in other threads, but worth reassuring here that almost certainly yes, for many months & likely over a year. We won’t know for a while how long our immune systems remember SARS2, & that won’t matter much once we have vaccine.
When will social distancing be over? When we have vaccine, ~2Q21. Testing & contact tracing can let people go to work & be w/ those they trust, but we’ll still avoid crowds, planes, trains, ships, subways, & maybe even ubers. Don’t do this w/strangers: https://vimeo.com/402577241
Stay tuned for more covid and science explainers. They will be in plain English and use colorful analogies.
In the meantime, consider reading my book, plainly explaining things you didn’t know were wrong w/ healthcare & how to fix them so no patients have to go w/o medicines they need & America continues to get good value for high prices it pays for new drugs. http://www.thegreatamericandrugdeal.com
And the beautiful glass virus you saw at the top of this thread is from a set made by British artist Luke Jerram. My firm has a collection on display. They are stunning up close, and sadly not so abstract anymore. See more here: https://www.lukejerram.com/glass/gallery
Here’s an easy-to-read testing explainer I published in @CityJournal (thank you Seth!). https://www.city-journal.org/understanding-covid-19-testing
Fun overview of cool things we’ve made viruses do for us. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1257067638183919616?s=21 https://twitter.com/PeterKolchinsky/status/1257067638183919616
Drawing attention to progress in the fight against a long neglected pandemic, Lyme Disease. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1256204826746204160?s=21 https://twitter.com/PeterKolchinsky/status/1256204826746204160
Deep thread on a great covid antibody test, importance of testing to healthcare in general, and horribleness of American insurance system for discouraging diagnostic innovation. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1257864443310080002?s=21 https://twitter.com/PeterKolchinsky/status/1257864443310080002
Comparison of what SARS2 and Ebola do in the body. Thank you @NPR for educational content. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1258002964385599488?s=21 https://twitter.com/PeterKolchinsky/status/1258002964385599488
This is both art and a battleplan. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1260313368851865602?s=21 https://twitter.com/PeterKolchinsky/status/1260313368851865602
Fun one about how viruses hack us. https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1264297311469010945?s=21 https://twitter.com/peterkolchinsky/status/1264297311469010945
