Carl T. Bergstrom
#BlackLivesMatter Prof. Biol. . Info flow in bio, society, & science. I love crows and ravens. he/him Book *Calling Bullshit* Aug 4th:
Thought Leader
#51 Infectious Disease
Last synced from Twitter 2m ago
COVID-19 screening strategies that permit the safe re-opening of college campuses
medRxiv 15h 7 tweets
Importance: The COVID-19 pandemic poses an existential threat to many US residential colleges: either they open their doors to students in September or they risk serious financial consequences. Objective: To define SARS-CoV-2 screening performance...
Scientists in China reused identical scientific images in more than 120 medical research papers, which ended up in international journals, report says
Business Insider 34h 2 tweets
The papers appear to feature the same pictures as others, raising doubts about the checks on scientific research, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Carl T. Bergstrom Without knowing how many papers from the US and EU did the same, this smacks of sensationalism. Also notice that 113 of the 121 appeared in a single journal. 27h
Redirecting
Linkinghub.elsevier.com 32h 1 tweets
Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Spain (ENE-COVID): a nationwide, population-based seroepidemiological study
The Lancet 46h 33 tweets
The majority of the Spanish population is seronegative to SARS-CoV-2 infection, even in hotspot areas. Most PCR-confirmed cases have detectable antibodies, but a substantial proportion of people with symptoms compatible with COVID-19 did not have a...
Carl T. Bergstrom The study is now out in the Lancet. Highlights: 1) As noted above, 5% seropositive and far from herd immunity even in hotspots 2) Roughly 1/3 of infections were asymptomatic. 28h
The Fullest Look Yet at the Racial Inequity of Coronavirus
Nytimes.com 3d 85 tweets
New federal data provides the most comprehensive view to date of how Black and Latino people have been likelier than their white peers to contract the virus and die from it.
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Carl T. Bergstrom The had to file a FOIA suit to get information from the about health disparities around Covid. Even then CDC provided only partial records. What they found was disturbing if sadly unsurprising. 31h
Bloomberg - Are you a robot?
Bloomberg.com 34h 1 tweets
Carl T. Bergstrom From , a story about workplace testing and concerns about cost. Pooled testing could potential reduce these costs by an order of magnitude—if given FDA approach and if the results could be delivered quickly. 34h
SEVP modifies temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students taking online courses during fall 2020 semester
Ice.gov 38h 62 tweets
Due to COVID-19, SEVP instituted a temporary exemption regarding online courses for the spring and summer semesters. This policy permitted nonimmigrant students to take more online courses than
What Coronavirus Researchers Can Learn From Economists
Nytimes.com 8d 19 tweets
Randomized controlled trials remain the gold standard, but natural experiments can help doctors who need answers now.
As Boise hands out face masks for Mayor McLean's health order, protesters say it encroaches on their freedom
ktvb.com 3d 2 tweets
Boise city employees handed out over 6,000 free masks to about 900 families. Meanwhile, Health Freedom Idaho protested the city-wide mask mandate.
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Carl T. Bergstrom The city of Boise, Idaho handed out thousands of free masks in the fight against COVID. So protestors burned them. 3d
The Pandemic’s Big Mystery: How Deadly Is the Coronavirus?
Web.archive.org 3d 2 tweets
Even with more than 500,000 dead worldwide, scientists are struggling to learn how often the virus kills. Here’s why.
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Carl T. Bergstrom NB: the has quietly removed the paragraph that I flagged about the CDC from the story. You can see the original here. 3d
Carl T. Bergstrom A question for reporters/editors: is it common practice to cut a paragraph from a story without any mention of the change, as the New York Times did here? Left: this afternoon () Right: now () 3d
239 Experts With 1 Big Claim: The Coronavirus Is Airborne
Nytimes.com 3d 47 tweets
The W.H.O. has resisted mounting evidence that viral particles floating indoors are infectious, some scientists say. The agency maintains the research is still inconclusive.
The Pandemic’s Big Mystery: How Deadly Is the Coronavirus?
Nytimes.com 4d 14 tweets
Even with more than 500,000 dead worldwide, scientists are struggling to learn how often the virus kills. Here’s why.
Carl T. Bergstrom . Please correct the story by Donald G. McNeil Jr., which incorrectly states that CDC's estimated infection fatality rate is 0.4. This is a case fatality rate, as stated clearly on the CDC website linked in the story. 3d
Carl T. Bergstrom A question for reporters/editors: is it common practice to cut a paragraph from a story without any mention of the change, as the New York Times did here? Left: this afternoon () Right: now () 3d
Carl T. Bergstrom Note also that the article quoted above is incorrect. This is CDC's *case fatality rate*, not infection fatality rate. CDC's own table is shown below. As such, this makes their estimate even more of a low outlier. 3d
117 Fraternity Residents at the University of Washington Reportedly Test Positive for COVID-19
Time 4d 1 tweets
The school said it confirmed 93 cases connected to the outbreak so far, and is working to verify self-reported cases
Carl T. Bergstrom Details: I hope that is considering the issue as well. 4d
Drew University
Drew University - Drew University 5d 1 tweets
Carl T. Bergstrom Well, that didn't take long. is already leaning on CDC's new guidelines to justify their decision to have no asymptomatic testing. 5d
105 University of Washington students in frat houses test positive for coronavirus
Cbsnews.com 5d 16 tweets
Experts say the outbreak is a troubling sign of what may be in store if colleges reopen in the fall.
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Carl T. Bergstrom Meanwhile here in Seattle... 5d
Tracking changes in SARS-CoV-2 Spike: evidence that D614G increases infectivity of the COVID-19 virus
Cell 6d 19 tweets
A SARS-CoV-2 variant carrying the Spike protein amino acid change D614G has become the most prevalent form in the global pandemic. Dynamic tracking of variant frequencies revealed a recurrent pattern of G614 increase at multiple geographic levels:...
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Carl T. Bergstrom I tend to be pretty bearish on adaptive evolutionary changes relative to demographic chance, but the evidence continues to accumulate around a transmission advantage for the D614G mutation in SARS-CoV-2. 5d
UNC Not Requiring COVID-19 Testing Upon Students' Return, Citing 'False Sense of Security' - Chapelboro.com
WCHL & Chapelboro - Chapelboro.com 5d 1 tweets
An update from university leadership on Thursday laid out testing protocols for the UNC campus community, but said testing will not be required in August.
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Carl T. Bergstrom 2. For example, the University of North Carolina does not plan to engage in entry testing, because, they claim, doing so might generate a false sense of security. (h/t for this and the next two tweets. Source: ) 5d
“Covid Parties” Are Not a Thing
Wired 5d 17 tweets
No, Alabama frat boys aren’t doing snot shots and betting on who can get sick first. Why does the media keep suggesting otherwise?
Carl T. Bergstrom . called it. Another unfounded moral panic by gullible members of the media. 5d
Sweden: Coronavirus Pandemic
Our World in Data - Our World in Data 40d 4 tweets
Sweden: What has been the impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)?
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Carl T. Bergstrom Blessedly, it looks like Levitt was right about this. Thank goodness. Despite a continued rise in daily cases through the present, daily deaths in Sweden have been declining since that thread in early May. 6d
The Frightening Global Rise of Agnotology - The Big Picture
The Big Picture 6d 1 tweets
Culturally Constructed Ignorance Wins the Day Exaggeration is one thing. Living in an alternate universe is another. Bloomberg, June 27, 2016.       I spend much of my time shrugging off breathless news events. Ebola (now Zika), employment reports,...
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Carl T. Bergstrom I can't venture to guess the motives of the CDC here. Maybe it's mere incompetence rather than the ongoing slow-walk of testing. Hanlon's razor strains. But this sure looks like the agnotology playbook: manufacturing enough doubt to justify inaction: 6d