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keep it real, Bonnie
Our local B.C. hero, Bonnie Henry, even has a “Good Times Guide.” Part of the “public health PR clinic” that she’s put on: a graphics team to bring us the trendy Bonnie. If us damn kids won’t listen to the buttoned-up Bonnie behind the podium, maybe we’ll listen to this chic version.
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Natural antibodies?
Emily Chung, Christine Birak, Marcy Cuttler, cbc.ca:
A closer look at people who tested positive for COVID-19 but never developed symptoms has found that such asymptomatic carriers have few to no detectable antibodies just weeks after infection, suggesting they may not develop lasting immunity.
There’s growing evidence that a significant proportion of people who test positive for COVID-19 never show symptoms, although it’s not clear what percentage of people that is and what role they play in spreading the disease.
I don’t recall precisely, but it seems to me that the conversation was not as much “well, herd immunity is a bad idea because we might not get immunity” but more so “herd immunity is assumed to work (we’ll get to immunity), but that will sacrifice too many lives.” But this report makes me think that the former question would have been the right one. Natural immunity may not even be on the table.
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Bonnie H isn't fussing
Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s much-loved leader on COVID, on the letter from 230 scientists to the WHO:
‘I actually think it’s a little bit of a tempest in a teapot in that we all agree on the extremes and we’re fussing a little bit about how much we need to focus on the bits in the middle,’ Henry said during Monday’s COVID-19 briefing.
Scientific acumen with even a dose of wisdom. A rare bird. Willing to see the forest and not the tress in this recent conversation (though I have no opinion on who is right here).
The contrast between the rhetoric of Henry versus that of (federal) U.S. leaders is striking. I saw that she’s recently been highlighted in the New York Times for her role in B.C.’s response to COVID. I wonder whether any U.S. regional health leaders have the respect that Henry does here. The few friends I talk to seem to indicate not.
(As a U.S. expat, I continue to pray for the U.S. and implore myself to maintain a sense of compassion for the difficult situation many of y’all find yourselves in—as we sit relatively comfortably here in Canada. Hang in there, friends!)
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