It's day two of #SciWri20 and I'm fangirling a bit because look at this lineup for our first session #EmergingDisease:

@apoorva_nyc @edyong209 @mayadusenbery @davidtuller1 @julierehmeyer https://twitter.com/ScienceWriters/status/1318563897926877184

#SciWri20 I don't have a twitter handle for Julia Craven so if someone has it, please send it to me! You can follow along with my tweets if you'd like, or follow the hashtag #EmergingDisease

Thanks also to @pam3001 @r_prior for organizing this session. Here we go! #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

@edyong209 up first today. He's become the voice of the pandemic, and he's been focusing on the #LongCovid patients who have not fully recovered, even after only mild symptoms. Ed started hearing stories in May, including from is sister-in-law #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

One thing I tried to make clear to friends and family at the beginning of the pandemic that there's *a lot* of variation between hospitalized cases and "mild" cases where you're not. @edyong209 agrees. So how do we tell these stories? #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

@edyong209: A lot of these #LongCovid patients have been dismissed by doctors, have had very little recognition for what they're going through. A lot of the ppl Ed talked to were sick in March when testing was restrictive, so many weren't tested #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

@edyong209: a lot of #LongCovid patients have formed support groups to compare symptoms among those who have been tested and who haven't been tested/tested negative. People have experience with their own bodies. They are reporting similar patterns #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

@edyong209: the #LongCovid patients report extreme fatigue, which is a distinctive part of this condition. When we interview these folks, it's important to remember interviews are draining, especially when asked to justify their experiences. #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

@edyong209: #LongCovid patients report being interviewed by reporters searching for "symptom porn" rather than the *lived experience* and what they're going through. #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

@edyong209: COVID effects on the body is similar to other viral infections, even though it's a new virus. How do we learn from what we already know and apply it to COVID and #LongCovid patients? Also, show empathy—help people feel understood. #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

@apoorva_nyc up next! She says she asks: how does this compare to how other viruses behave? It's become increasingly clear that #LongCovid is something beyond what we've seen in the past. Part of the work is trying to hold ppl in power accountable #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

Looking at SARS and MERS helped when @apoorva_nyc reported on how kids are infected and the severity of their illness. It's important not to be swayed by every single publication that comes out. #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

Let's go into "Aerosols"— @apoorva_nyc says she saw some early info about the virus being "borne in the air" but not "airborne" that got the ball rolling for her. Aerosol experts were saying yes, it's airborne, but WHO/CDC experts were not listening. #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

@apoorva_nyc took it upon herself to talk to experts and ask questions, and look at why the WHO were not listening. Listen to debates, look at the *bulk* of the science, and consider the nuance of language among scientists themselves. #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

What do *we* as the public and as readers care about the nuance of this jargon—does the public care about the difference between airborne/aerosol, or is it mostly a debate among scientists and their specific fields? #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

@apoorva_nyc When there's something new like this virus, it takes a lot of conversation and a lot of listening and a lot of evaluation on who is saying what. Case in point: the inability to trust sources of information (i.e. the White House & CDC)
#EmergingDisease #SciWri20

@apoorva_nyc because of that lack of trust, the key is finding the *right* sources—infectious disease experts are focused on prevention. For example: for aerosols, talk to aerosol physicists. Listen! Be empathetic in your listening AND your writing. #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

Julia Craven up next, but I still don't have her twitter handle! Someone find it for me. #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

Julia: we need to have a functional understanding of racism in order to report on it. It's easy to fall into victim blaming and not realizing it. You can't discuss disproportionate infections without examining why the imbalance exists (systemic racism) #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

Julia: Incarceration has a history of having terrible conditions (RIKERS). Julia focused on talking to incarcerated people, and suddenly people at Rikers were calling her with their stories. Rikers would never verify these stories, so trust your gut. #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

When telling stories about racial disparities, for infectious disease or not, you can look at data that is already available. Look at the population/demographic counts—do COVID deaths match along population racial lines? Largely no. #EmergingDisease #SciWri20

Julia repeats: APPROACH PEOPLE WITH EMPATHY. Remember that people are human beings. Ask how people are feeling, see them as human. Humans are at the center of systematic inequalities, and the history of slavery plays a part in that for the US. #EmergingDisease #SciWri20