Harvard epidemiologist Dr. Julia Marcus has a must-read piece over in The Atlantic that’s being called “one of the most important articles this year” as it lays out the case for health officials to stop lecturing people to stay home and instead give them advice on how to be safe with their families over the holidays:
One of the most important articles this year.
We can’t just keep waiting for vaccines for another 6 months. We can’t just say lockdown as the solution. We must give ppl the tools they need to be safe. Yet we choose to withhold them.
@JuliaLMarcus https://t.co/6TfNGYxuLi
— Michael Mina (@michaelmina_lab) December 10, 2020
And if you don’t have time to read the whole thing, Dr. Marcus broke it down in this must-read thread:
I wrote about our collective underestimation of people's drive to see loved ones, the limits of lecturing, and how all I want for Christmas is a new public health strategy. https://t.co/XgHi7EjY3C
— Julia Marcus, PhD, MPH (@JuliaLMarcus) December 9, 2020
Her argument is based on the reality that people NEED to see their families and it’s going to happen:
People are lonely, scared, exhausted, grieving. Our leaders have abandoned us, so of course we're turning on each other. But shaming doesn't deter risky behavior—it just perpetuates stigma, which is counterproductive to containing the pandemic. https://t.co/XgHi7EjY3C
— Julia Marcus, PhD, MPH (@JuliaLMarcus) December 9, 2020
People do see the hypocrisy of it all:
Officials have blamed this surge on private social gatherings (even as they have their own!). Yes, they're risky. But here's the message: indoor dining is safe, but you're selfish and reckless if you have a holiday gathering that doesn't generate revenue. https://t.co/XgHi7EjY3C pic.twitter.com/hYXVZXK4mp
— Julia Marcus, PhD, MPH (@JuliaLMarcus) December 9, 2020
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As for all the scolds out there, she wants them to redirect their anger at “authorities who have the power to protect those most at risk and are catastrophically failing to do so”:
All those images of crowded airports—they're a gut punch. But here's where that moral outrage would be more productively directed: toward authorities who have the power to protect those most at risk and are catastrophically failing to do so. https://t.co/XgHi7EjY3C
— Julia Marcus, PhD, MPH (@JuliaLMarcus) December 9, 2020
She says “‘just say no’ has *never* been a viable public health strategy”:
Officials need to be clear about the very high risks of travel and gathering this winter, but some will do it anyway. Instead of being scolded, they need practical advice on reducing risk. "Just say no" has *never* been a viable public health strategy. https://t.co/XgHi7EjY3C
— Julia Marcus, PhD, MPH (@JuliaLMarcus) December 9, 2020
And she suggests communities should actually create outdoor space for people to gather:
Instead of closing outdoor venues and banning all outdoor gatherings, which have been deemed inessential pleasures in a pandemic, communities should do the opposite: create spaces to gather with heat lamps, fire pits, wood. Canada’s doing it; so can we. https://t.co/XgHi7EjY3C
— Julia Marcus, PhD, MPH (@JuliaLMarcus) December 9, 2020
Good advice:
It feels like only personal responsibility can save us now. But viruses are not moral agents and infection is not a personal failure. This winter, remember everyone is frayed, muster compassion whenever you can, and do your best to keep each other safe. https://t.co/XgHi7EjY3C
— Julia Marcus, PhD, MPH (@JuliaLMarcus) December 9, 2020
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