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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Should I be worried about potential long-term side effects of COVID-19 vaccines?

Vaccines

A: Realistically, no. Biologically, the chances of long-term effects are vanishingly small. TL;DR: Serious vaccine side effects are exceedingly rare and occur hours or days after vaccination, not months or years. The risk of infection and long-term health effects of COVID-19 infection are high and very real. We *really* feel the sentiment behind this common Read more…

Meet Those Nerdy Girls – Dr. Lauren Hale

Uncategorized

This week we are featuring Dr. Lauren Hale, one of the Nerdy Girls who has been helping Dear Pandemic serve up practical (and often entertaining) COVID info since March 13th. Dr. Hale mostly studies the social patterning of 💤 sleep 💤, with particular attention to how social and contextual factors influence sleep and health disparities. Read more…

With all this holiday travel, why don’t airports have COVID-sniffing dogs?

Data and Metrics Testing and Contact Tracing

A: As noted in prior posts, highly trained dogs have the incredible capacity to successfully detect the odor of people with COVID-19 by sniffing human sweat. Pilot programs using COVID-sniffing dogs to detect infection among potential passengers have already launched in airports in Finland, the United Arab Emirates, and most recently Chile. These pilot projects Read more…

Why do we need two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine? Can we use one dose and vaccinate more people?

Vaccines

A: A two dose schedule was proven to work and authorized for both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. One dose provides sub-optimal immunity and has not been studied in clinical trials designed to test their efficacy. Giving one dose of these vaccines to the most vulnerable populations would leave them without full immune protection. Read more…

Help Us Battle Misinformation

Uncategorized

Nerdy followers, 2020 has been A YEAR. We’ve laughed, we’ve ugly cried, and we’ve grieved – together. We’ve written over 700 posts informing and empowering individuals to safely navigate pandemic life. Despite being a volunteer operation, Dear Pandemic has not previously asked for donations, because we know the extra financial burdens you face, and we’ve Read more…

Who will get the COVID vaccines next?

Vaccines

A: The next group to be vaccinated, with the catchy title “Phase 1b”, will include people who are 75 years and older, plus frontline essential workers. That includes 👩‍🏫teachers, educational support staff & daycare workers; 👩‍🚒 firefighters & police; 👩‍🌾 food & agriculture workers; ⚖️ jail and prison staff; 📮 postal workers; 🚍 public transit Read more…

How can I help encourage my colleagues in healthcare settings to get the Covid-19 vaccination?

Uncertainty and Misinformation Vaccines

A: Personal beliefs and experiences inform varying levels of acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccine now becoming available to essential workers in healthcare settings. Listen to the reasons for concern, respond with compassion and facts, and make it easy to take actionable steps forward. REALLY LISTEN. Not all vaccine hesitancy stems from the same concerns. Creating Read more…

Does someone who has been vaccinated still need to wear a mask and take other precautions?

Infection and Spread Vaccines

A: Yes. We don’t yet know whether the vaccines prevent someone from being infectious. The existing COVID-19 vaccine trials focused on a specific endpoint – symptomatic COVID-19 disease. We know that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were close to 95% efficacious in preventing disease (YAY!!). But wouldn’t we expect the vaccine to also stop Read more…

Meet Those Nerdy Girls – Dr. Lindsey Leininger

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In this week’s edition of our “Meet those nerdy girls” series, we’re introducing Dr. Lindsey Leininger, who is a Clinical Professor of Business Administration at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, and the “Nerd-in-Chief” at Dear Pandemic. In the Before Times, Dr. Leininger described herself as a health policy researcher. Now, she identifies as an Read more…