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Prof. Devi Sridhar Profile picture
@devisridhar
Jun 4, 2020 • 3 tweets • 1 min read • Read on X
Although I knew how the documentary would end, still a painful watch for UK response in Feb-March. Felt like country was sleep-walking into disaster while public being falsely reassured that ‘doing the right things at the right time’.
“Failure of imagination”- leaders failed to grasp the gravity of the situation & the necessary response.
“Cognitive bias” also clear in SAGE minutes - scientists using the 2011 Pandemic Flu Plan to guide response instead of treating #SARS_CoV2 like a completely novel pathogen with many unknowns including immunity, multi-system impact & clinical profile.

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More from @devisridhar

Prof. Devi Sridhar Profile picture
Mar 23, 2023
My latest column theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
Was the response by government proportionate? In these debates, there’s a clear survival bias. Those who can ask these questions survived. Those who died don’t have a chance to weigh in on whether government intervention was sufficient, or whether their deaths were preventable.
A large part of the problem in Britain’s response was that we wanted it all. We wanted to maintain our pre-Covid-19 life, and, until hospitals were at the brink of collapse, didn’t want to discuss trade-offs.
Read 9 tweets
Prof. Devi Sridhar Profile picture
Mar 3, 2023
The Telegraph coverage misses the basic fact every country faced with COVID: a wave of cases meant a wave of hospitalisations then a wave of deaths. Emergency lockdowns happened when health services were breaking. Bc of too many cases (1/4) ->
If health services break then excess mortality jumps from all causes: heart attacks to wheezing children. The scientific challenge of COVID was reducing the link between cases to hospitalisation to deaths. Vaccines & antivirals did this which is why govts could open up (2/4) ->
But until these, testing/masks was best way to buy time in 2020 & avoid healthcare collapse & then lockdown. *Keeping cases low* was how to avoid lockdown. Not letting it rip. Debating ‘it’s not so bad’/constant u turns is why UK had high death toll & long lockdown (3/4) ->
Read 4 tweets
Prof. Devi Sridhar Profile picture
Mar 1, 2023
Reflection: There was a huge divide btwn what experts/advisors said & what UK govt often did. Experts/science advisors looked at latest data & presented advice. Ministers looked at publicity angle & some looked at how to make money for friends through PPE/testing contracts.
Mass Testing was the best early path to avoid lockdown & suppress COVID- but this message got lost in a binary ‘shutdown or nothing’. This wasn’t what most scientists were saying in 2020. Lockdown was a late & chaotic emergency button from lack of prep. mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/p…
Testing meant identifying just those infectious instead of isolating everyone (a precise public health response to limit spread). This was to buy time for a vaccine or scientific solution- delaying infections meant increasing survival rate. 1 April 2020: theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
Read 4 tweets
Prof. Devi Sridhar Profile picture
Feb 8, 2023
In the coming months you’re likely to hear about H5N1 bird flu more & more. The signals from various countries are concerning.

Get your info from trusted sources-
Alongside data-driven analysis & facts, there will also be a rise in misinformation & false news.
H5N1 avian flu is a serious disease &: the WHO estimated the fatality rate around 60%. If it does manage to spread human-to-human (instead of just bird to human), it has high pandemic potential. This is why surveillance & preparation have increased in many regions of the world.
The main protection for humans would be a vaccine- unlike COVID was in 2020, H5N1 isn't a new disease so there's been time to develop a vaccine and they're now being tested by several teams of researchers in various countries.
Read 6 tweets
Prof. Devi Sridhar Profile picture
Feb 6, 2023
If you want to get more fit or be more active -> you don’t have to run a marathon or go from 0 to super-athlete. It can be as simple as a daily walk which becomes a part-jog (or jig…) or a 30 min cycle at the gym or - doing a YouTube HIIT. Something is better than nothing.
My approach to fitness has evolved to be about functionality -> how can I keep my mind & body in a state that lets me do all the things that I both need to do and want to do. Harder with ageing & a heavy workload. But weight-lifting, getting heart rate up & being consistent help.
I was recently asked to do another magazine photoshoot (on mental & physical health) & a thought popped up ‘You need to lose weight’- I guess bc of what we often see in magazines/movies. Extremely thin women. I’m glad I’ve learned enough through my career & PT studies…
Read 4 tweets
Prof. Devi Sridhar Profile picture
Jan 26, 2023
Does COVID-19 still constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)? As the WHO Expert Committee debates this, if they follow the strict definition of a PHEIC, I don't think it does. The definition focuses on 3 aspects -> (1/n)
1. Sudden or unusual or unexpected event
2. Potential for international spread
3. International coordination/response necessary. Clearly COVID-19 met all of this 3 years back when declared a PHEIC. But now... (2/n)
COVID's already taken a huge toll in disability, deaths & economic pain, it's spread everywhere, & attempts have been made for a joint global response. PHEIC is an alarm bell to put world in highest state of emergency response. In 2020, COVID-19 became #1 priority for govts (3/n)
Read 5 tweets

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