Katherina Thomas

Writer | Narrative practitioner in infectious diseases #Ebola
Former writer-in-res @MIT/Harvard | Founding editor @EbolaDeeply
Medical anthropology/humanities

[Ministry of Health- Uganda @MinofHealthUG]

Congratulations to team #Uganda. The country is officially declared #Ebola free.

[Elias Rodriques @rodriquese]

I wrote about Celes Tisdale's writing workshop at Attica after the uprising, the poetry it produced, and more in a review of Tisdale's new book for @DissentMag https://t.co/zlj89kOkop

[Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @HelenBranswell]

1. Good thread on the #Ebola situation in Uganda, seemingly from a press conference given by the health minister. She confirms Uganda has agreed to test 3 Ebola Sudan vaccines and says the trial could begin within 2 weeks.

[Mrigank Shail, MD @mrigankshail]

"We haven't actually created communication platforms. We haven't created engagement platforms. We've created lots of shouting platforms...We've ended up in a world of soundbites, not a conversation, not a dialog." @WHO's @DrMikeRyan shares why social media feels unsafe. #WHS2022

[Katherina Thomas @klgthomas]

Unfortunate that, despite newer WHO guidelines on not naming diseases or pathogens after places, old names from pre-2015 remain. Hearing from S Sudan (where there are 5 suspected cases) that public trust is being affected by the name of the Sudan virus disease outbreak in Uganda

[Katherina Thomas @klgthomas]

Thanks so much to @GriefDialogues for having me (and my father's words) on the podcast. It was such a balm to talk about grief, art, our forthcoming book, and the love that runs through it.

[Katherina Thomas @klgthomas]

@ricci_sh @oren_sa @makinibrice @liloomis This thread just made my day!

[Abraar Karan @AbraarKaran]

We are dealing with wave after wave w/ few improvements if any to our mitigation/ prevention measures

We have many Americans who are elderly, multiple co-morbidities

Re-infections still disrupting our workforce incl hospital staffing

[Abraar Karan @AbraarKaran]

1/ It’s a strange feeling reflecting on the current covid19 situation. Truly feels like public officials have given up on mitigation completely. A few individuals & community organizations are trying to fight back because it need not end like this. There is more that can be done.

[Katherina Thomas @klgthomas]

Exciting new classes from my friends @rosieskelton and @Nomi_Stone integrating poetry, creative prose & nature writing for academics and other thinkers! If you're looking for inspiration in your writing outside of academia, sign up - they will both be amazing to work with.

[Katherina Thomas @klgthomas]

@ksgoldenone @DrTomFrieden Which airline was this? :)

[Michael Mina @michaelmina_lab]

Remember this:

“If There’s enough Virus to Detect
There’s enough virus to infect”

Brilliant!

(Note: This message ONLY pertains to rapid ANTIGEN (paper strip) tests!

PCR and PCR-like molecular tests can stay positive long after people are infectious)

[Katherina Thomas @klgthomas]

Ok so a burning immunology SARS CoV-2 question: for people with recent vaccine or hybrid immunity (antibodies present in the bloodstream) how much virus would you need to encounter to experience innate immune system symptoms ie inflammation?

[Katherina Thomas @klgthomas]

@DataDrivenMD How much viral load would a vaccinated, boosted person have to be exposed to, do you think, to experience immune system symptoms like congestion? What about someone who has hybrid immunity? Would congestion kick in at every exposure or only at a certain viral load?

[Katherina Thomas @klgthomas]

@AlanJCard @Bob_Wachter @nytimes @DLeonhardt This is just an anecdotal study of 1, but I am quite sure I got Covid on a train that didn't have a mask mandate. I was wearing a hi-fi mask. The person sneezing opposite me was not. So many anecdotes like this. Masking, even when imperfectly done, helps, of course.

[Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @HelenBranswell]

#Monkeypox gave us fair warning. But we didn’t do enough to figure out why it was infecting people so much more frequently from 2017 onward, and what to do to stop it, experts say. https://t.co/g7rzr63dtl

[Peter Drobac @PeterDrobac]

Mourning an incalculable loss. 💔

Paul loved Nina Simone.

“I wish I could be like a bird in the sky,
How sweet it would be if I found I could fly,
I'd soar to the sun & look down at the sea,
And then I'd sing 'cause I'd know, How it feels to be free, Lord!”

[Katherina Thomas @klgthomas]

Besides his momentous work for the world, Paul was kind and supportive to so many of us, inc me, during Ebola in Liberia.

He was skilled at channeling his time and embodied and taught compassion and equity long before they were trending. We were very lucky to have him here.

[The New Times (Rwanda) @NewTimesRwanda]

#BREAKING: Dr Paul Farmer, a renowned American physician and co-founder of Partners in Health @PIH, has died aged 62.

Farmer was a receipt of the National Order of Outstanding Friendship (Igihango), which he was conferred upon by President #Kagame in August 2019.

[Katherina Thomas @klgthomas]

Powerful, gorgeous work by @ricci_sh documenting the forgotten stories of the amazing women who fought for independence from
Portugal in Guinea-Bissau.

“After a war is won, history builds monuments to men, vaulting the contribution of the male soldier onto a pedestal.”

[Ricci Shryock @ricci_sh]

Read some of those womens' stories here, in a recent piece by me for @africasacountry https://t.co/I9UoNCT4c1