Thread by @StefSimanowitz

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries says the is of your child dying in a road traffic accident “is probably higher than their risk from #COVID”.

Especially if Dominic Cummings is behind the wheel!
#schoolsreopening #Corona #COVID19 #BackToSchool

It’s extraordinary that the same govt scientists who got it wrong on lockdown, testing, screening etc are still in charge

12/3 - Contact tracing halted
26/3 - Harries says community testing is “not an appropriate mechanism”
5/5 - Harries changes her story

In answer to @Jeremy_Hunt, Jennie Harries told the @DHSCgovuk Select Committee that the govt had abandoned test, track & trace strategy due to lack of capacity NOT because it was “an inappropriate mechanism”

But the govt had claimed otherwise for 6 weeks!

On 6 May, @Keir_Starmer asked the PM if he could explain why the UK had been lied to about the real reason for abandoning contact tracing on 12 March.

He couldn’t!

@BorisJohnson’s answer to this simple question show a deeply disturbing lack of knowledge

When Whitty announced the decision to “pivot” away from community testing on 12 March, experts made it clear that this was the 100% wrong thing to do.

But theses voices were largely ignored.

Only a handful of journalists (like @piersmorgan) spoke out.

On 11 March, in a carefully choreographed interview with @BorisJohnson, Harries said public outdoor events are safe & that “we don’t want to disrupt people lives”.

That week, @LFC played Real Madrid & 250,000 people went to the Cheltenham Festival.
#COVID

Going against the scientific consensus, the UK took a different path.

@BorisJohnson: “What [the scientists] are telling me is, slightly counter-intuitively, things like closing schools & stopping big gatherings don’t work as well perhaps as people think.”

On 14 April, Jenny Harries described UK approach to the #Coronavirus pandemic as “an international exemplar” of preparedness.

The UK was WOEFULLY underprepared despite the warnings from intn’l scientists, intelligence reports & our own #ExerciseCygnus.

On 14 May, Jenny Harries was asked why the govt had stopped sharing intn’l #COVID19 death statistic tables.

Was it because the UK had the worst death rate in the entire world?

“I'm absolutely delighted to discuss death statistics comparisons.” #COVID_19

So an appeal to journalists:

Next time Jenny Harries & govt ministers draw comparisons btw the danger of kids going to school & traffic accidents, please point out 👆& refer to👇(our safe #school guide - developed with experts & based on recent research. undercovid.org/articles/safe-…

Notice Jenny Harries' v careful wording.

"Children very rarely get severe disease...When children do get infection it is usually very mild & sometimes asymptomatic. And so the overall risk to the child themselves is very very small."

The key words: "asymptomatic" & "themselves"

Everything that Jenny Harries says is true.

But she fails to answer the question: "Is is currently safe to open schools."

Instead she answers the question "Are our children at risk of dying from #COVID19?"

Acknowledgment asymptomatic infection, shows she's aware of the danger.

This sleight of hand & spin by govt & their scientists is happening every day!

Why didn’t the journalist say: “But I’m not talking about the threat to the child. Science shows asymptomatic children have the SAME viral load as adults severe #COVID cases.”? jpeds.com/article/S0022-…

The govt must be asked how they are "following the science" when the science clearly shows: “The viral loads of these hospitalized patients are significantly lower than a ‘healthy child’ who is walking around with a high #COVID19 viral load.” @LaelYonker news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/…

One of the most moving things I've witnessed over lockdown has been the way in which children have been so strict with social distancing rules.

For a child to think they might be responsible for the death of a parent or grandparent is a burden too huge for their young shoulders.

With Parliament on recess, SAGE sidelined in favour of the secretive #JointBiosecurityCentre & journalists given very little opportunity to ask the vital questions, there is zero transparency or accountability

It's something to add to the growing list for the 2022 Public Inquiry

For info see:
@UnderCovid Safe School Guide (including a sample letter)
undercovid.org/articles/safe-…

@ContainmentNow Infopack …eaubolster.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Infopack-schoo…

CDC advice
cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

WHO advice
who.int/docs/default-s…
-for-covid-19-prevention-and-control-in-schools-march-2020.pdf

Dr Harries puts me in remind of my favourite two lines from Nineteen Eighty-Four

"One had the impression that there was dust in the creases of her face." Page 24

"In the better light of the living-room he noticed that there actually WAS dust in the creases of her face." Page 28

CORRECTION:

The Under Covid twitter account is @Under_Covid

The unbroken link for the @WHO March 2020 "Key Messages & Actions for #COVID19 Prevention & Control in Schools" is here - #BackToSchool2020 #schoolsreopening #coronavirus #COVID #COVID_19 who.int/docs/default-s…