Eric TopolJan 8, 2023
What the XBB.1.5 variant is telling us.
And what we can do about it.
My oped in today's Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/08/xbb-covid-variant-immune-evasive-pandemic/
The coronavirus is speaking. It’s saying it’s not done with us.

The newest dominant strain of covid shows that it's a mistake to let down our guard.

The Washington Post
Show threadskua

@erictopol
Public health communications about COVID19 are complex:
The best advice that can be given to a group of 280 million people with the aim of producing the best outcome for the whole group can be very different to what the best advice would be for a sub-group or for an individual.

eg. The early "General public don't need to mask" message had the effect of keeping masks more available for medical workers, which in turn would allow hospitals to keep functioning if things went very bad.

Jan 9, 2023 at 5:10amMastodon for Android
Show threadLZVolkJan 9, 2023
@skua @erictopol True. Have heard that rebuttal still as an excuse ( ‘justification’ is invalid) not to wear mask. Regardless, “best” advice can also have agency depending on messenger(s), eg intention not in interests of public health, but instead, political support or status of same messenger’s affiliate group.
Messages without full context are often as useless as no message.
Show threadskuaJan 10, 2023
@lzvolk @erictopol
Yes.
And I don't have access to the data and advice that the COVID czar does, and the transcript of his week before Christmas interview indicates to me that he was wrestling to deliberately present a positive upbeat message.
I still have some (low) confidence that the (personally worrying) positive message was tailored to be the "best general advice to produce the best outcome for a group of 280 million people" on the basis of the best available science.
Easily be wrong.