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Tom Inglesby, MD
@T_Inglesby
Dir @JHSPH_CHS. Formerly @WhiteHouse COVID Response Team. Epidemics, pub health, biosecurity, preparedness. bit.ly/3EBEhY0. Views expressed are my own.
Baltimore, MD
Joined April 2014
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  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Mar 23, 2020
    In last 24 hrs there've been prominent US voices calling for a stop to social distancing, citing rationale that they're worse than impact of COVID itself. It’s worth looking very closely at that claim, where we are in US COVID epidemic and what happens if we stop. 1/x
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Mar 23, 2020
    Replying to @T_Inglesby
    Anyone advising the end of social distancing now, needs to fully understand what the country will look like if we do that. COVID would spread widely, rapidly, terribly, could kill potentially millions in the yr ahead with huge social and economic impact across the country. 15/x
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Mar 23, 2020
    Replying to @T_Inglesby
    COVID has been spreading w/ exponential growth in US for some time, and we're just beginning to get an understanding of how extensively. There are nearly 40,000 cases recognized in the US as of today, w/ ~100 deaths today. A few weeks ago, we had recognized 70 cases total. 2/x
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Mar 23, 2020
    Replying to @T_Inglesby
    How do we gain time to let hosps get more supplies & prepare for high number of pts? How do we lower the speed of spread of COVID in US? How do we lower odds that ICUs will run out of vents, hospitals run out of space? The answer for now is large scale social distancing.7/x
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Mar 23, 2020
    Replying to @T_Inglesby
    Some hospitals have said publicly that within a week they will not have ventilators to treat everyone with COVID anymore. 3/x
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Mar 23, 2020
    Replying to @T_Inglesby
    These big social distancing measures take time to work. The impact of big interventions in Wuhan China took about 3 wks to start to reverse things. And then everyday after the situation got better. In the US, we're about 7 to 10 days into this, depending on the state.10/x
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Jul 11, 2020
    Vietnam, country of 95M that has border w/ China, has 0 COVID deaths, avg of <10 cases/day. How? stay at home orders at start, extensive testing+contact tracing, clear communication, strict mask use. Has allowed them to reopen. Great report by @Ep1Chrissy outbreakobservatory.org/outbreakthursd…
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Mar 23, 2020
    Replying to @T_Inglesby
    To drop all these measures now would be to accept that COVID pts will get sick in extraordinary numbers all over the country, far beyond what the US health care system could bear. 11/x
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Mar 24, 2020
    Replying to @T_Inglesby
    We also need to put every conceivable econ program in place to help those being hurt by these social distancing measures. And move ahead rapidly to get our country far better prepared to cope w COVID before people recommend we abandon our efforts to slow this virus. 24/x
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Mar 23, 2020
    Replying to @T_Inglesby
    In Asia, we've seen these interventions work to lower pace of the epidemic, lower numbers of critically ill, lower the number of people who get COVID. In Asia where big social distancing measures have been in place for two months, they have had very strong impact. 8/x
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Jul 10, 2020
    No he really doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He bases his views on COVID on science. As new science emerges, he may change his views, as he should. Undercutting one of the top federal scientists on COVID is a sad road to a worsening COVID crisis.
    Trump says Fauci 'made a lot of mistakes'
    From nbcnews.com
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Mar 23, 2020
    Replying to @T_Inglesby
    In Asia they've slowed the disease by slowing social interaction. Left to its own, this disease spreads from 1 person to about 2.5 people, and then they do the same, and so on. For this disease to stop, we need to make it so that the avg person spreads it to <1 other person. 9/x
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Mar 23, 2020
    Replying to @T_Inglesby
    We don’t have capacity to diagnose many of the COVID cases that are not sick enough to be in the hospital, so those numbers aren’t counted in our national totals. 5/x
  • user avatar
    Tom Inglesby, MD
    @T_Inglesby
    Mar 23, 2020
    Replying to @T_Inglesby
    There continue to be big diagnostic limitations. Shortages in reagents, swabs. Don’t have rapid diagnostics in many hospitals yet, so it can be days before doctors and nurses can find out if a pt in front of them has COVID. 4/x