Posts from Those Nerdy Girls

All the posts from our Those Nerdy Girls Facebook page dating back to May 1st, 2020, are currently archived here and can be searched for by category, key words, etc. Be sure to check back often as additional posts are being added each day.

Browse by Category

I need to make an essential trip on public transportation. How do I stay safe?

Staying Safe Travel

A: Cover your face; use a disposable tissue to touch shared surfaces; immediately sanitize/wash hands after riding. Business Insider provides more helpful, evidence-based transit (public and otherwise) tips in this article. It ranks transportation from “most” to “least” risky (the former: cruise ships; the latter: traveling alone by car), and provides guidance on how to Read more…

Can’t I please just visit just one friend?

Socializing

Great explainer and data visualization from some top notch social network scientists: “Humans are social animals, and reducing connectivity in social networks is hard. Every additional connection that we can postpone until COVID-19 is under control has the potential to save one or more lives. Yes, every one. You may never know whether it made Read more…

Home haircut help, please!!!

Staying Safe

A: Pro tips: (1) Start small; (2) Avoid horizontal lines; (3) NO NEW BANGS! (for heaven’s sake!) More helpful guidance from hair stylists in this Wired article. Great tips for all types of hair: long, short, curly, textured, kid-specific issues, etc. Link to original FB post

Is the antiviral drug remdesivir the new “miracle solution” to COVID-19?

Treatments

A: Promising preliminary results from an uncontrolled study, but more evidence needed. News broke late this week about results from a study at the University of Chicago of 125 COVID-19 patients, 113 of whom were severe cases. The patients in the trial were given a daily intravenous infusion of remdesivir, an antiviral medication produced by Read more…

Is my online shopping for non-essential items supporting the economy or putting people at risk?

Reopening Staying Safe

A: Probably a bit of both. Online shopping for non-essential items may help maintain employment for some while blunting the financial losses many companies are facing. At the same time, unsafe practices and reliance on mail delivery place many workers at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Here are some tips, and a great article by Read more…

What does contact tracing look like now, what could it look like in the future and do I need to be worried about privacy?

Testing and Contact Tracing

A: Health departments are notified when an individual tests positive for COVID-19. Contact tracing staff reach out to new cases by phone to determine who (i.e., friends, family, co-workers) they may have had close contact with (within 6 ft) beginning with the days leading up to the onset of their symptoms, as well as what Read more…

How do we best protect front-line physicians when society reopens?

Reopening Testing and Contact Tracing

A: A relentless focus on the three “Ts” — TEST, TRACE, and TREAT. (And, for all that is good and holy, more PPE). The Nerdy Girls are proud supporters of the amazing physician leaders at Impact, authors of this U.S. News and World Report article. cc: Vinny Arora Eve Bloomgarden Pfanzelter Laura Zimmermann Shikha Jain Kumar Amisha Wallia Link Read more…

When will we go back to normal?

Reopening

A: “There is no going back (to normal). The only way out is through.” This Atlantic article summarizes key steps as the United States enters the next phases of this pandemic. 1) Reopening – We are currently in lockdown (in most places) which was the last line of defense in slowing the spread of the Read more…

What is an “infectious dose?” What is the “viral load”? Does high viral load increase ability to pass the virus to others?

Biology/Immunity Infection and Spread

A: Full explainer in the link below from two microbiology Profs. “In general, the more virus you have in your airways, the more you will release when you exhale or cough, although there is a lot of person-to-person variation. Multiple studies have reported that patients have the highest viral load of the coronavirus at the Read more…

DATA NERD ALERT

Data and Metrics Data Literacy

StatNews has produced a cool new data dashboard with county-level COVID preparedness scores. The tool synthesizes a variety of county-level factors (e.g. access to care, % population at risk for severe infections, and socioeconomic vulnerability) and incorporates epidemiological estimates from a leading modeling group (IHME at the University of Washington). EDITED UPDATE: The dashboard is Read more…

I have been hearing about CT scans as possibly being better at testing for COVID-19 than the current swab test. Is this true?

Clinical Symptoms Testing and Contact Tracing

A: It’s a little more complicated. Experts believe that the false negative rate (people who have a negative test result but are actually positive) can be around 30% with the swab test, generally due to improper sample collection. CT scans check for lung appearance, specifically ”ground glass” opacities, which are common to several diseases (pneumonia, Read more…

COVID-19 Multilingual Resources

Staying Safe

Q: I know where to find information on COVID-19. But how can I share this information with clients/patients/friends/people in my family who do not speak English as a primary language? A: While we have a long way to go in making information equally accessible to all populations, there are some excellent resources out there. Here Read more…

What is proning?

Treatments

A: Proning refers to putting patients on their stomachs rather than their backs. It helps with getting oxygen to the patients’ lungs. Link to CNN Article on Proning Link to original FB post

What do individuals who are infected with coronavirus and are asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic or mildly symptomatic have in common?

Infection and Spread

A: All three types of infected individuals may be able to transmit coronavirus to others without realizing they themselves have been infected. ASYMPTOMATIC individuals are those that carry the active virus in their body but never develop any symptoms. PRE-SYMPTOMATIC individuals are those that have been infected with the virus but haven’t started to show Read more…

What is the correct way to wear a cloth mask?

Masks

A: CDC recommends your cloth mask: -fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face -be secured with ties or ear loops -include multiple layers of fabric -allow for breathing without restriction -be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape Most importantly, cloth masks are to be worn Read more…