Posts from Those Nerdy Girls

A: Open up those windows, mask up, and keep the duration short. Physicists from UMass Amherst recently used simulations of airflow patterns within car interiors to study the best way to minimize transmission risk during ride-share style car rides. The car geometry was based on a Toyota Prius traveling 50 mph. Key results: ➡️ Opening Read more…

A: Yes and no. Unfortunately, we still don’t know enough about how many people might fall into this group and the best ways to help them. However, these challenging long-term cases of COVID-19 are getting more national attention, with renewed focus on helping these patients! You might have heard of this term, “long-hauler,” or perhaps Read more…

A: Science is a method, not a fixed set of findings. Beware the scientist who does NOT change her mind. As cheekily characterized by the Wall Street Journal, science is merely a fancy way to “guess-and-test.” So why is it such a powerful force in the world? Our brains are biologically wired to seek patterns; Read more…

A: Recovering from Covid-19 provides some immunity, but the strength and length of time you keep that immunity are not consistent from person to person. Think of your Covid-19 immunity as an unlabeled bottle of sunscreen. The level of protection provided is hard to predict. Sunscreen is designed to reduce the amount of UVA and Read more…

R. Los efectos secundarios más comunes de las vacunas Moderna y Pfizer incluyen dolor de brazo, dolores musculares, fatiga, dolor de cabeza y fiebre. Esto no significa que se haya infectado con COVID o que haya un problema con la vacuna. Estos efectos secundarios son señales de que su sistema inmunológico está funcionando. Enfocamos en Read more…

A: It’s possible. #MaskUptoGetItUp TL;DR: Due to its impact on inflammation and the vascular system, it is biologically plausible that COVID-19 contributes to erectile dysfunction. But as with much COVID-19 research more, ahem, hard data is needed. This eyebrow raising headline made the rounds recently based on comments during a television interview by Dr. Dena Read more…

Today we’re launching a new series: a chance to meet Those Nerdy Girls! We’ll be introducing you to one of our contributors each week so you can get to know us & our backgrounds better. 🤗 First up, we’d like to introduce you to our co-founder, Dr. Alison Buttenheim. Dr. Buttenheim is an Associate Professor Read more…

A: Lead with love, then with facts. Share your enthusiasm and commitment. Make it easy and fun. Acknowledge past hurts. We already know that hesitancy about the Covid-19 vaccine is running high. Recent survey data (linked below) show that anywhere from 20-40% of US residents report being “unlikely” or “very unlikely” to get the vaccine. Read more…

On this week’s Live COVID Q&A, we’ll be taking all the questions about vaccines!! We have four nerdy girls today: Drs. Kinder, Coles, Leininger and Jones will be tackling a few of your MANY vaccine questions! If you have a question, please put it in our question box at www.dearpandemic.org! ➡️ Intros (0:00 – 2:15) Read more…

A: Unfortunately, yes. While we appreciate the importance of exercise for our physical and mental health, there HAVE been documented instances of COVID-19 spread in gyms and fitness studios, and they are home to one of the conditions that makes transmission easier: a lot of shared indoor air. In the infographic below from Fraser Health Read more…

R: Enfóquese en lo que puede controlar y continúe desde allí. Tiene razón de sentirse ansioso en este momento. Una encuesta reciente de la Asociación Americana de Psiquiatría (American Psychiatric Association, APA) sugiere que casi 2 de cada 3 participantes reportaron más ansiedad este año que en la misma época del año pasado. Los expertos Read more…

A: Use the 3D’s to slay disinformation: Detect; document; and debunk. “Sandwich” the myth between buns of truth. “Everywhere you see the spread of germs for the last few thousand years, you see right behind it the spread of lies.” Oh boy how these wise words from medical sociologist Dr. Nicholas Christakis resonate. We Nerdy Read more…

A: The most common side effects of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines–the two closest to FDA approval–include sore arm, muscle aches, fatigue, and headache. These side effects are signs that your immune system is working. This post will focus on the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines because they are the furthest along in development, have safety Read more…

A: This is hard. We celebrate life and grieve loss with our Dear Pandemic community. Traditional grieving practices such as funerals require additional considerations during the present pandemic to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 while also supporting normal grief following a death. The combination of tragic circumstances, social isolation, and in some cases multiple losses Read more…

A: The CDC defines a “household” as one or more individuals living together in a single dwelling unit and sharing common living areas, and cross-lists this definition with their definition for “family.” But for all those divorced, separated and blended families sharing custody of children, we know it isn’t that simple. Fewer than half of Read more…

R: Aunque estamos viendo un aumento de casos nuevos en muchas partes de los Estados Unidos y Europa, todavía hay acciones que podemos tomar para reducir el riesgo de contraer COVID-19. 1: Evite pequeñas reuniones sociales con gente fuera de su hogar. 2: Póngase en cuarentena por 2 semanas si ha sido expuesto al virus. Read more…

A: Sadly, it is clear that we are NOT over-counting COVID deaths. It’s true that some people who died of COVID-19 over the past 9 months would have died anyway, but we can account for this by counting OVERALL deaths compared to the same period in previous years. Among the COVID-19 myths that just won’t Read more…

A: Yes. If you traveled and/or spent time in close contact with others outside your household over the holiday weekend, it is safest to assume you were exposed and minimize contact with others for at least the next 7 days with a negative test and ideally for 2 weeks. While no specific guidelines for what Read more…

A: We know that many parents are struggling for balance: working, virtual school, housework, and now also the holidays! To keep stress from putting a damper on the holidays, use proven strategies to take a pause. As parents, we experience all of the emotions for ourselves and for our kids. Compound that with the stress Read more…

A: Currently, the evidence is not yet clear, and we need lots more data. The FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for bamlanivimab use in non-hospitalized patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 on November 9th. Bamlanivimab is a neutralizing monoclonal antibody that targets the spike protein on the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The goal of neutralizing Read more…