Siobhán Donohue

Mum, wife, runner, doctor, musician, writer of songs & stories. Repealed the 8th. Working on inner peace. My own musings. She/Her [email protected]

[Siobhán Donohue @SiobhanDonohue]

It’s time to be proactive about ventilation & clean air in schools. We have the tools to reduce the levels of transmission of airborne illness. This would reduce the burden of winter viral illnesses on our healthcare system. A win win @SimonHarrisTD @CleanAirIE

[Vicki O'Mahony -Vaccine👍COVAX👍CTAP👍TRIPSwaiver @VickiMahony]

🇮🇪 What % of Ireland's schools are in areas that exceed @WHO air quality limits @NormaFoleyTD1 ?

It's 95% in the UK.

Can parents rely on the air quality in Ireland's schools..

so children don't come home sick -

again?

Link :
https://t.co/ZwX5C1c1mi

[Siobhán Donohue @SiobhanDonohue]

Excellent thread posing an excellent question.

[Julia Marie @julia_doubleday]

Why is your solution reactive, having to develop monoclonals and vaccines for every virus that could ever potentially exist, instead of proactive, implementing clean air standards that halt airborne spread and normalizing masking, which you yourself refuse to do

[Siobhán Donohue @SiobhanDonohue]

“And the truth still matters, even when it’s inconvenient.” I know we all wish it wasn’t so but here’s a reality check and some inconvenient truth 👇🏻

[Dr. Sean Mullen @drseanmullen]

Advocacy isn’t posting. It’s doing.

I’ve stayed quiet at times because I hate the spotlight. I don’t want to be here. I want to play tennis with my daughter. I want to take the mask off, take my wife on a date, and not think about any of this.

But I can’t unsee what I’ve seen. And I can’t unhear what I’ve heard.

I’ve spent over 1,000 hours listening to people with Long Covid. Every story. Every symptom. Every dismissal. Every collapse.

Everything.

And once you understand how this actually works, how it dismantles human functioning, and how individuals have dismantled awareness of this disease and its prevention, you don’t get to walk away.

Let’s get something straight about advocacy.

Advocacy is not clout chasing. It’s not selling protocols. It’s not cosplaying as a clinician. It’s not gatekeeping illness categories. It’s not belittling patients. It’s not blocking people who ask hard questions. And it’s definitely not showing up for a day or a month of awareness and disappearing the rest of the year.

Advocacy is doing.

What have I actually done?

I’ve written to professional organizations across behavioral medicine, cognitive science, and education pushing for masking, remote accommodations, and evidence-based guidance. I’ve drafted letters supporting disability claims grounded in scientific evidence. I’ve advocated for children and families facing harassment for masking.

I’ve spoken at school board meetings. I’ve created templates for families navigating unsafe environments. I’ve directly contacted educators, administrators, policymakers.

I built an Illinois Air Quality Dashboard linking indoor air quality, absenteeism, and public health risk. I’ve developed tools for people trying to stay safe in an environment that has abandoned prevention.

I submitted a PCORI grant to center patient voices in research design and to build infrastructure for trials. 50+ hours of work. No guarantee of funding. Still did it.

I don’t have Long Covid.

This work pulled me away from my primary research area. It complicates my career. It costs time, energy, and honestly, peace.

I haven’t earned a cent from Long Covid.

I’ve been asked to join podcasts. I declined. I’ve been asked to write for organizations. I declined. I’ve been asked to lead grant efforts for trials. I declined.

If I don’t clearly see how people with Long Covid benefit, I don’t invest my time. If I detect conflict of interest, I decline.

But I have stayed here because I know how to evaluate evidence. I know how to build systems. And I’ve listened long enough to know who is being failed.

There are people out there who are ignored, misdiagnosed, talked down to, sold false hope, or told this is all in their head.

That part, I won’t tolerate.

What’s broken right now?

We have grifters selling snake oil. Researchers collapsing distinct conditions into convenient narratives. Professionals minimizing or dismissing patients.

I’ve stepped back from certain spaces because many of them are no longer centered on patients.

At the same time, prevention has been erased. The disease itself is being erased. Both ends of an aerosol-transmitted disease. Same result.

And during moments where there should be unity, there’s fragmentation, ego, and noise.

The reality?

Entire countries are redefining conditions in ways that blur critical distinctions. People without medical training positioning themselves as authorities. Patients being told not to protect themselves.

And here in Illinois, we’re fighting just to get basic clean air education and AQ monitors into schools. A bill that might not even survive.

I’m not here to build a following. I’m not here to sell you something. I have donated to individuals and even helped raise over $1k for a charity (although, I'm not entirely sure to what extent that really helps families with LC).

I’m here because prevention matters. And patients deserve better. And the truth still matters, even when it’s inconvenient.

I’m continuing this work through infrastructure, tools, advocacy, and direct support. And I’ll be putting more of my own money into it.

I’m building something called LANTERN. More on that soon.

If you call yourself an advocate, ask yourself this:

What have you actually done to make someone safer, heard, or better supported?

Not talked about. Not posted about.

Done.

This space doesn’t need more voices. It needs more people willing to do the work.

[truthshamesthe6 @truthshamesthe6]

So in the last week:
- UKHSA halts publishing disease outbreak data
- Efforts to play down respiratory spread of MenB in the media & rando social media accounts
- Government health agencies scrub 'aerosol' from meningitis pages
- The WHO now delete 'airborne' nature of MenB

😬

[Siobhán Donohue @SiobhanDonohue]

Interesting isn’t it?

[tern @1goodtern]

Enormously massively huge studies have shown that each wave of Covid infections causes damage to people's immune systems. The science is incontrovertible.

And yet you will not find a single media article about the current meningitis outbreak that mentions that.

[charlos @loscharlos]

6 years ago today I went on my last run (pic left) — today I’m 36 and I’ve spent my entire 30’s with #LongCovid struggling to walk up and down the block, or work more than 1-2 hours a day.

Heres 4 things I never thought I’d lose at this age:

[Siobhán Donohue @SiobhanDonohue]

Yet another great article from Tess Finch Lees. Lots of people recognising that respirator masks make a difference. Why don’t we use them in healthcare settings where healthcare providers are under huge pressure because of airborne illness??

[Conor Browne @brownecfm]

1. Outstanding article from Tess Finch Lees:

'Meanwhile, when asked why she’s masking during chemo, Meg now says, “I’m training for the Olympics” '.

Please click on the paywalled link first, archived link in next tweet. Also consider sharing.

https://t.co/P7FlPcWhaw

[Siobhán Donohue @SiobhanDonohue]

This is how to “live with covid”- being aware of the risks & using a no. of different measures to manage that risk. I think some businesses are doing some of these things but quietly without spelling it out for customers. I feel people would like to know if you manage covid risk

[Pete 😷 #COVIDisAirborne @PeteUK7]

I run a small business.

We're a Covid conscious company.
We:
🏠 Minimise working together (allow WFH)
🔲 Monitor CO2
🌪️ Have air filtration on timers
😷 Provide 3M Aura masks
🧪 Have LFTs (& will buy them)
💷 Provide paid sick leave for isolation/illness

It's not hard.

1/🧵

[Siobhán Donohue @SiobhanDonohue]

Absurd, insane and incredibly shortsighted are some of the thoughts I have about the situation on a regular basis.

[Conor Browne @brownecfm]

1. Sometimes, the absurdity of the situation we're all in just hits me. Going forward, ongoing and continuous transmission of SARS-CoV-2 will lead to an ever-increasing percentage of the global population developing chronic illnesses due to sequelae of infection.

[Siobhán Donohue @SiobhanDonohue]

This oh this. I think this every time they wheel someone out talking about airborne viral illness and then tell is the best way to prevent spread is to wash ur hands….🙄🫠😷

[LesenUndTeilen©  🌍 🇪🇺 @Leseerlaubnis]

@TheVertlartnic "Tell me, what good is it, washing your hands, if the virus is in the air?"

[Siobhán Donohue @SiobhanDonohue]

It’s time to acknowledge that flu and other viruses spread through the air and particularly in poorly ventilated indoor spaces https://t.co/NKcPSAaADh?

[Clinically Vulnerable Families 💙💜💗 @cv_cev]

🥳 This is a HUGE win for CVF!

- Safe access to public buildings is a right!

As a consequence of our advocacy, national voting guidance has been updated to:
✅ Improve ventilation
✅ Add air filters
✅ “See a mask, wear a mask”

* VERY IMPORTANT THREAD *
PLEASE SHARE!
1/

[Siobhán Donohue @SiobhanDonohue]

Masking works. It physically can’t not work if you wear a well fitted respirator consistently. Tell the others

[David It Up! @Dave_it_up]

Six Years and Six Winters Without Getting Sick

I haven’t been sick since 2018.

No flu. No colds. No COVID. Nothing.

Same for my wife. Same for my son. Six winters. Six holiday seasons. While people around us got hammered by one infection after another, we stayed healthy.

There’s no fucking secret.

We wore masks, everywhere.

Not those useless blue surgical masks that leave gaps the size of freight trains around your cheeks. Not the limp cloth things that might as well be made of tissue paper. Real respirators. N95s and KN95s that actually seal to your face and filter the goddamn air you breathe.

Here’s what they don’t tell most: There’s a significant difference between a mask and a respirator. A surgical mask is just fancy fabric that catches, well, spit. An N95 has an electrostatic charge that grabs particles and holds them. Think about rubbing a balloon on your head and watching your hair stick to it. That’s the science working to keep viruses out of your lungs when you breath, instead of letting them waltz right in.

I know a nurse. Seventy-three years old. She worked in a busy family practice through the worst of the pandemic. Small exam rooms. Sick patients all day long. She wore an N95 every single shift until she retired last year.

Guess what? She never caught COVID.

People want this to be complicated. They want it to be about genetics or expensive supplements or some elaborate wellness routine they can sell you. Most of the time, it’s not complicated at all. If a virus spreads through the air, the air you breathe is where the battle happens. A properly fitted respirator changes everything. Can’t take vaccines? Mask up. Immune system issues, well now you have an option, for many viruses.

Once I found masks that actually fit my face (Dräger X-plore 1950 for me
), the discomfort I’d imagined just wasn’t there. I can talk, walk, shop, and travel without constantly fiddling with straps. Half the time I forget I’m wearing one until I catch my reflection somewhere.

But here’s the real reason I keep doing it.

Millions of people are living with Long COVID right now. They’re carrying damage to their hearts, blood vessels, brains, and immune systems. For them, another infection isn’t just a shitty week in bed. It’s another step toward disability. More pain. Another organ system pushed past its breaking point.

They can’t afford to get hit again.

When I put on a mask, I’m not just protecting my family. I’m breaking transmission chains that could lead straight to someone whose body is already hanging by a thread. The cashier at the grocery store. My neighbor. The person standing behind me in line whose immune system can’t take another round.

We’ve normalized getting sick. People shrug and say everyone’s down with something this month. Everyone caught the latest bug going around. That’s one way to live, I guess.

Another way is to admit we have tools that work. Simple tools. Effective tools. Tools that can cut your risk of infection dramatically.

My family chose the second way.

It’s not heroic. It’s not perfect. It’s just looking at what repeated infections do to people and deciding that wearing a piece of filtered material over my face in crowded spaces is worth it.

You want to know how we’ve gone six winters without getting sick?

That’s the answer. We wore real masks for ourselves and for all the people who can’t survive another hit.

The science works. The question is whether you’re going to use it.

[tern @1goodtern]

My boss stepped down for health reasons, the appointment of their successor was delayed for health reasons, their deputy stepped down for health reasons and their deputy's successor pulled out of taking the role for health reasons.

We're in a wave of healthreasonitis.

[Dr. Mairéad De Búrca PhD @DrMaireadDB]

@CarrollJennifer @roinnslainte please pass this on to Dr Abigail Collins.
Sick children should NOT go to school.

[Pete 😷 #COVIDisAirborne @PeteUK7]

I do think that training in air quality, respirators and airborne disease transmission should be mandatory for anyone working in a hospital.
Knowledge is always the first step and there's no excuse for not providing accurate, truthful and helpful info to staff @wesstreeting
4/

[PJ Morrison @wastelessme]

Had a call this am re Novovax vaccine - there will be one available - they are assessing how many will avail of it “not sure if it’s the most recent” if you want to get in the list you need to contact hselive and request it 🙏 #nonmrna

[Long Covid Advocacy Ireland @LCAIreland]

Excellent article in @farmersjournal on
the real life impact of #LongCovid.
Many ppl may think they know what LC is..they don't!
A woman in her early 20s left bedbound shares her story.
Our very own Pamela of LCAI was also interviewed for this piece..

https://t.co/j0GupyNEX3

[michael ryan @michaelryan756]

📣 Ireland: If You Want Novavax, You Have to Do This One Thing

A lot of people in Ireland have been asking where to get Novavax (Nuvaxovid) — the non-mRNA COVID vaccine.

Here’s the part most people don’t know:

👉 Novavax is authorised in Ireland
❌ But the HSE isn’t offering it right now because they don’t have supply
🔄 They’re deciding whether to order more based on demand

So if you want Novavax — for yourself, your kids, or because you can’t take mRNA — you need to register your interest directly with the HSE.

📞 HSE COVID Vaccine Hotline: [phone]
Tell them: “I’m registering my interest in Novavax (Nuvaxovid).”

This isn’t an appointment — it’s how the HSE decides whether to bring it in.

The more people who call, the faster they move.

If you know someone in Ireland waiting for Novavax, share this so they don’t miss out.

[Dr Richard Hirschson @richardhirschs1]

⚠️Japan influenza update:

Reported cases for last week have more than doubled to 132,146, admissions have tripled to 682 cases, 11 deaths (18 total for the season).

Antigenic drift H3N2 is spiking massively in Japan.
This is a prelude to the northern hemisphere flu season, which will be the worst in decades.
We now have H5N1, H7N9, H5N5, H5N2 circulating in birds and mammals.

https://t.co/srMaFSw0KL

[LET'S AIR @nousaerons]

We are looking for teachers willing to test Jasper, a CO2 monitor in their classrooms. Jasper is a prototype and we would like to receive user feedback as soon as possible from several countries. If you are interested, please fill out the form: https://t.co/gbmHmg4W4n