Another in probably a short and nearly finished series of posts wherein I tried to keep up with the flood of COVID info I was encountering on Twitter. I simply don’t have the time to keep up with what’s now a flood of info, given that our great leaders have apparently thrown up their hands and are just letting it run. Which is the worst choice. But it’s what we have to work with.

Previous posts:

• October 7, 2022
• May 5, 2022

My priority here is to try to present “reliable” research and links. Mostly from peer reviewing journals, but also from non anti-vax, anti-mask scientific and medical experts on Twitter.

My quals: Medically and biochemically literate through parents (father: biochemistry/physical chemistry professor, deceased; mother: retired intermediate care nurse; self: former Ph.D. track research chemist grad student – did not finish the Ph.D. – but trained enough to read scientific journals and medical literature – though my knowledge is not comprehensive. Also data analyst/scientist and statistician, with extensive training on designing research and experimentation to try to reduce/eliminate different forms of bias.)

Okay, so the goal I had on saving tweets was primarily to capture long COVID information, including studies about post-covid inflammation and other systemic and specific responses, and also to capture information on new mediation techniques and new protocols. There won’t be a lot of foundational stuff here, and I will usually elide or at least make critical comments about studies I find that have, in my opinion, troublesome statistical analyses and findings.

But what I am NOT is any kind of healthcare professional, so this bibliography is provided only for your reference. Welcome to it, but do not construe any of it as advice, especially of the medical sort. If you want advice from me, hire me so my liability insurance can help us both out in case something goes wrong with said advice.

Most of these links came from tweets I collected between Oct 7, 2022 and now. There may be some redundancy in study links if tweet threads overlapped on references and replies with older studies, data, and links.

To be honest, I think we’re at a point where the risk from established media outlets, politicians, and wealthy capitalists is greater than the threat posed by whacko conspiracies. It’s certainly a balance point and a cusp, but I strongly recommend gaining your own literacy, reading literature, and getting a good sense of the situation yourself. DON’T let others do your reading an interpretation for you. Take no one’s word.

Also note: I am actively excluding advice Tweets/articles from the US CDC given the vacuum in leadership and their (what I see as) failure in Public Health policy and messaging. You can go to their site or US Media for that crap.

• Long COVID
  • Symptoms and specific cohorts
    • Tweet: “This is what #LongCovid looks like if you do the right tests (instead of guessing):
      A normal patient will have about 5% reduction in cerebral blood flow when tilted from supine to upright. Now read the green numbers in these LC pts: 😥
      https://mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/10/2058” by @RenzPolster. Posted October 19, 2022. Link.
    • Tweet: “COVID and strokes. By now, evidence is quite clear that SARS-COV-2 can attack all organs of your body, including your brain. This is a reminder that everyone should be doing everything to protect themselves from infection/reinfection Here’s a quick” by @MeetJess, Published October 16, 2022. Link.
      This person doesn’t have the same standards of publication that I do, but still useful overview, esp chronology.
    • Nature Communications: “Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 with clinical condition definitions and comparison in a matched cohort”, published October 12, 2022. Link.
    • Tweet: “Is #LongCovid a “real thing,” #MedTwitter? I’ll let you decide.Here’s my own case: I’m a cardiologist(40s) with no prior medical Hx & have run tons of marathons & several 1/2 Ironman Tris.In March ’20, I fell ill and became quickly hypoxic and confused. It was COVID-19. 1/” by @calirunnerdoc. Posted October 12, 2022. Link.
    • Tweet: “Massive new UK NHS study shows huge increases in blood clots that cause heart attacks, strokes, and other severe clotting events after Covid lasting up to at least 49 weeks…” by @EnemyInAState. Posted October 10, 2022. Link.
      Nicely big n.
    • Tweet: “Glad to share this Perspective written with
      @VirusesImmunity
      , where we review what is understood about how COVID can affect the brain, discuss the possible neurobiological underpinnings & propose the main mechanisms that may contribute to COVID brain fog” by @michelle_monje. Posted October 8, 2022. Link.
    • Neuron: “The neurobiology of long COVID”, published October 6, 2022. Link.
    • Journal of Applied Physiology: “Altered lung physiology in two cohorts post COVID-19 infection as assessed using computed cardiopulmonography”, published September 29, 2022. Link.
      n is a bit small but…
    • Nature Medicine: “Long-term neurologic outcomes of COVID-19”, published September 22, 2022. Link.
      Big n.
    • Nature Medicine: “Long COVID after breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection”, published May 25, 2022. Link.
      Pretty big n.
    • Nature Medicine: “Long-term cardiovascular outcomes of COVID-19”, published February 7, 2022. Link.
      Big n.
    • International Journal of Strokes?: “Stroke in COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis”, published February 2020. Link.
  • Anecdotal/Personal
    • Tweet: “Friend’s husband just dropped dead from a sudden heart attack. No health issues at all. Now she gets to raise a kid by herself. That’s how the unpandemic is going.” by @JessicaLexicus. Posted October 25, 2022. Link.
    • Tweet: “Boss has covid for the third time this year. We had already noticed some increasingly erratic behavior and now apparently this round is causing hallucinations?Probably nothing” by @AshesAutumns. Posted October 20, 2022. Link.
    • Tweet: “This is not fatigue.
      I was an athlete. I’ve done a whole basketball practice with a fever. I’ve had morning classes and workouts while sleepless for 24+hrs. Nothing comes close to this. This feels like being allergic to exertion while having a brain Injury.
      #LongCovid”, by @IppokratisAnge1. Posted October 18, 2022. Link.
    • Tweet: “Hmm, doc just said she suspects my latest weird/terrible infection may have been Covid despite 3 neg PCRs. She said she’s been having patients test neg on PCR but have sky high antibodies after Covid-like illness. If this is a trend w/ the latest variants, that’s… not great?” by @emilyesfraser. Posted October 18, 2022. Link.
      tbh, I keep hearing about this too – that people seem to be getting PCR negative results even though they seem to be dealing with COVID or COVID-like infections. Also see replies for more anecdotal reports.
    • Tweet: “Just found out my ex-husband died suddenly – heart attack or stroke. He was a huge outdoorsman (mtn climber, backcountry skier, backbacker,etc..) had a bad, though not hospitalized, case of covid in the last year.” by @RoseRedLoon1. Posted October 17, 2022. Link.
  • Critiques of Doctor/Healthcare Workers’ changing opinions
    • Tweet: “Some radiologists have posted that because they’re no longer seeing a high volume of COVID pneumonia on chest X-rays, COVID is no longer very harmful. This conclusion is incorrect. Here are some examples of how COVID continues to cause hospitalizations despite a normal X-ray” by @BrooksFallis. Posted October 8, 2022. Link.
  • Pediatric
    • Journal of Clinical Investigation: “Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children is driven by zonulin-dependent loss of gut mucosal barrier”, published July 15, 2022. Link.
• US PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY
  • Tweet: “Say what you want about China’s zero COVID approach, but we can say this about the West (especially the US and UK):* We chose mass death and disability
    * Our approach is not sustainable, with healthcare systems crushed
    * We are economically dependent on China not letting it rip” by @TRyanGregory. Posted October 22, 2022. Link.
  • Tweet: “The EPA wants advice on designing buildings to mitigate the transmission of COVID. Here you go.https://federalregister.gov/documents/2022/10/05/2022-21590/request-for-information-better-indoor-air-quality-management-to-help-reduce-covid-19-and-other” by @joeyfox85. Posted October 19, 2022. Link.
  • Tweet: “PSA… if you get COVID PLEASE, PLEASE make sure you get a PCR test so it’s in your medical records. If you don’t have it you may not be covered for long COVID or qualify for long COVID clinics or treatment trials. You don’t want a health issue come up caused by it& not be covered” by @keira_wikberg. Posted October 13, 2022. Link. As poster says, “*unless you want to buy life insurance in the future” A long and contentious discussion ensues.
  • Tweet: “Looks like you can’t get the Novavax booster if you have had mRNA boosters. What was the logic/data here?” by @getupgetfree. Posted October 19, 2022. Link.
• COVID
  • General Information
    • Tweet: “The soup thickens.Image by
      @dfocosi” by @TRyanGregory. Posted October 19, 2022. Link.
      Post is mainly a graphic depicting all the COVID-19 variants in the world.
    • Tweet: “The mechanism of SARS2? Endothelial damage. In plain English? Covid-19 fucks up the lining of your blood vessels. All 60,000 miles of it. Blood vessels lack nerves. You feel OK as it eats your arteries. Doesn’t mean it’s “mild.” It means the endothelium isn’t innervated.” by @AlisaaldesRod1. Posted October 18, 2022. Link.
    • Tweet: “Mild.” by @TRyanGregory. Posted October 18, 2022. Link.
      The tweet is a bit newsy, but is about how “mild” cases are overwhelming hospitals in various countries.
    • Tweet: “This is the first study of SARS-2 reinfection.The risk of at least one sequela at 180 days increased from 135% after one infection, to 211% after two, to 300% after three.SARS-2 hits you harder each time.

      https://erictopol.substack.com/p/a-reinfection-red-flag” by @PeterJBeaver. Posted October 16, 2022. Link.
      About: Nature Portfolio: “Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 Reinfection”, published June 17, 2022. Link. WARNING: PREPRINT – Not reviewed, Version 1. Commentary Tweet Link (Dr. Deepti Gurdasani/@dgurdasani1).

  • In new types of patients
    • Tweet: “#COVID19 is affecting fresh newborns. Delivered a healthy 3 kg full term baby uneventfully. Short labor, no PROM, no distress, clear liquor. Baby had persistent grunting. Shifted to nicu. Xray reveals totally white lungs bilaterally. Echo normal…” by @imacuriosguy. Posted September 28, 2022. Link.
• DATA
  • Canadian COVID Data spreadsheets and tables. Link.
    Seems very good. Unsure of data scope, but seems regularly updated.
  • Nature Human Behavior: “Life expectancy changes since COVID-19”, published October 17, 2022. Link.
• PREVENTION TECH
  • Masks
    • Tweet: “N95 and KN95 masks were found to be 48% more effective than surgical or cloth masks, according to a CDC study. Wearing an N95 or KN95 mask reduces the odds of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 by 83%.” by @spindezine. Posted October 21, 2022. Link.
    • Tweet: “The CAN99 from
      @vitacoreinc
      just got NIOSH approved as a N95! It’s a bit smaller than the 3M Aura series, so fits better on smaller faces. Sam from
      @OpenAeros
      says “the fabric straps are nice, nose wire fits well and feels more breathable” Picture for size comparison.” by @masknerd. Posted October 18, 2022. Link.
  • Far UVC
    Note: We don’t have good data on Far UVC’s effectiveness. Data and simulations suggest that it may be better for long range sterilization – that short range it can’t work fast enough to sterilize exhaled breath, especially directly in your face. But it still seems hopeful.
    • WATCH THIS SPACE: I personally saw a twitter advertisement for a product but it seems to be claiming more effectiveness than currently thought possible for the tech/build it is. See response from Naomi Wu and go upthread for the product advertised:
      • Tweet: “Yeah but pretty complex for aerosols and such, but even the claimed power output is way off. Premature claims will get debunked and end up poisoning the well for applications where the technology can actually work.” by @RealSexyCyborg. Posted October 25, 2022. Link.
•  RELATED
  • Filtering Air/PM2.5/related
    • Tweet: “Why you should run a CR box in your house COVID aside, doctors should be promoting things that improve health. Allow me to fill you in on PM2.5. Also known as fine particulate matter, it is a major health hazard.” by @joeyfox85. Posted October 13, 2022. Link.
• CONSPIRACY MATERIAL
  • Host manipulation
    • Elsevier Public Health Collection: “Hypothesized behavioral host manipulation by SARS-CoV2/COVID-19 infection”, published April 22, 2020. Link.
  • Anecdotal Patterns
    • Tweet: “I am grading a stack of papers and I am freaking out. So far 1/3 of the papers that I’ve graded have *nothing* to do with the topic. What is going on?! It is the same dept. assignment we have been using for years, same curriculum, same lessons, etc. Is this the covid gap?” by @Literature_Lady. Posted October 18, 2022. Link.
      Cannot be measured. Alternate hypothesis: Confirmation bias?

Featured photo by cottonbro.