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.

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How can I help my 8th grader manage anxiety about the upcoming school year?

Families/Kids Mental Health

A: Many young people are struggling with anxiety and stress about the upcoming uncertainties surrounding the school year. We can help them by focusing on the basics of mental wellness and creating an environment that is supportive. We can also create a strong framework for young people, a “scaffold,” to offer tools to find solutions for Read more…

Will my kids get any protection if they wear a mask, but most other kids are not wearing one?

Families/Kids Masks

A: Yes. A well-fitted mask can provide good protection for the wearer (though two-sided masking remains most effective). We know that plans to drop mask mandates in many schools have many parents of unvaccinated children on edge, especially with the rise of the more transmissible Delta variant. While we encourage parents to communicate concerns they Read more…

Will the COVID-19 vaccines encourage the emergence of new variants or immune evasion?

Biology/Immunity COVID Variants Vaccines

A: No. Vaccines REDUCE opportunities for viral replication needed for variants to emerge. ➡️ TL;DR: The virus has more opportunity to replicate in unvaccinated populations, creating a FAR bigger risk for the development of SARS-CoV-2 mutations. Even so, the good news is that the emergence of variants that fully evade vaccine induced immunity is considered Read more…

What to do if you are exposed to someone with symptoms of or confirmed COVID-19

Testing and Contact Tracing

A: Our colleagues @IMPACT4HC provide great guidance in this infographic. Key takeaways: *Get tested for COVID-19 if you have been exposed.* Vaccinated, unvaccinated, symptomatic, asymptomatic – everyone should follow up with a test to prevent the spread of infection to others. *If you have an exposure, go for the PCR test.* PCR tests do a Read more…

Are vaccinated people infected with Delta *really* as contagious as the unvaccinated?

COVID Variants Infection and Spread

A: Probably not. And when you count the reduction in getting infected in the first place, vaccinated people are much less likely to transmit the virus. 💥 TL;DR: Vaccinated people likely *can* transmit the virus, but this risk is NOT the same as the unvaccinated. Among growing concerns about Delta, recent news that vaccinated people Read more…

How does a pandemic end?

Uncategorized

A: I’ll borrow a phrase from T.S. Eliot. This is how a pandemic ends. Not with a bang but a whimper. There is no single indicator that a pandemic is over. In our modern times, we wait for a statement from the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare when a pandemic begins and when it Read more…

How does natural immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection differ from immunity generated by COVID-19 vaccines?

Biology/Immunity Vaccines

A. COVID-19 vaccines induce higher levels and a broader range of neutralizing antibodies to the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein than does natural infection. Vaccine-induced antibodies are less likely to be affected by changes in the RBD seen in the current SARS-CoV-2 variants, and are therefore more likely to be more effective Read more…