I’m baffled by the amount of airplane risk freak out I’m seeing about this single study, which you will see below, is far far from conclusive plus has an unmasked, actively coughing person as suspect. Always read the full paper and the appendix, and think about the denominator.https://twitter.com/j_g_allen/status/1307283792776826881 …
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The paper rests on shaky assumptions and it's pushing the envelope to claim potential transmission on a flight. Okay. Let's suspend disbelief say it happened. Many millions fly every *week*. One pre-masking March incident? Reassuring in context. Headline: wow, surprisingly safe.
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Obviously, there is no place that's absolutely, completely safe from COVID if there are people around, but in reality, the lack of outbreaks in airplanes is quite striking, and quite likely linked to the fact that they aggressively and rapidly filter the air with HEPA filters.
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zeynep tufekci Retweeted Joseph Allen
Also, this is a pity. If we had genomic sequencing, we'd have a clear-cut answer. Given the importance of these questions, there really needs to be more resources for such case studies.https://twitter.com/j_g_allen/status/1307283825043660800 …
zeynep tufekci added,
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Everyone should—obviously—consider their own personal risk factors and if they should travel as risk is never zero. Taking a cab to the airport is always risky! However instead of alarm based on single studies, we need careful consideration of nine months of data & observations.
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Media continues to fail COVID reporting hard. *Of course* it can spread anywhere. The most important question is the *denominator*, protections and relative risk. Two incidents from March with unmasked, coughing passengers. If that were all, that would be immensely reassuring.pic.twitter.com/QiKVtZcMo2
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For flying, the real questions: Why are there almost zero outbreaks, so strikingly low that the cab ride to the airport is many times more dangerous *if* the number is true. Is it because we're not tracing enough? Is it because of masks plus aggressive air filtering on planes?
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Come on. It's September. Reporting like that—single studies without any critical examination of the studies themselves, considerations of context, preponderance of evidence and an attempt at systematic assessment of relative risk—should just be automatically rejected by editors.
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To get our lives back, we need trustworthy, cumulative data to be reviewed by trustworthy, independent authorities. We need media that informs us rather than this kind of sensationalist stupidity. This is all so ridiculous and tragic at the same time, given the stakes.

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Replying to @zeynep
@DrEricDing jumped at sharing this with his usual emoji filled hysteria. This has been the pattern. So called “experts” who don’t know what they’re talking about coupled with media determined to find the worse angle. The question is, why?1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
I don't know why he does this, but this pattern really is not good for the public.
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Replying to @zeynep
not sure how it will change when our source for information about the world (news-infotainment/social media) is from for profit companies. Their goal and responsibility is the bottom line, not what is / is not good for the public.
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