Really interesting @MattHancock interview on #r4today, lots covered a few reflections I think worth making.
On the headline of £500m for mass testing - this is potentially really important for helping us get back to normal, but two points really need emphasising:
1 - false positive rates crucial to understand when testing large populations with low prevalence and no symptoms- has real issues for how people might react to +ve results. @mgtmccartney@carlheneghan@deb_cohen all explored this
2 - testing negative will only tell you that you aren't shedding the virus at that moment in time. It doesn't mean you won't be infectious the next morning so if you've been in contact with a case, you will still likely need to isolate.
And on testing roll out - a lot of 'operational challenges' described. This shouldn't be surprising, it's really hard - a new national programme. Therefore, suggest the repeated 'game changing' language of DHSC press-releases could be toned down to something more realistic.
On Test & Trace - it's apparently one of the best on the planet. I'm sure many other countries would contest this, but we just need to look at our own data to see how we can improve.
And finally, on the app - quite remarkable suggestion that one of the companies involved (apple? google?) blocked the app's initial roll out. Does anyone know more about this?
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Gov data shows how price promos are more likely to be applied to unhealthy junk food rather than healthier foods.
And rather than saving people ££, they can lead to around 22% *more* purchases than would otherwise happen, with *more* money spent and *more* consumption.
That's why companies use these promotions.
That's also why the policy was in the obesity strategy in the first place. The irony being that it is more likely to help than hinder the impact of the cost of living crisis on individuals and families.
In today's @Telegraph, Sally O'Brien & I discuss @HealthFdn / @IpsosUK polling results on public attitudes to gov policy on alcohol, tobacco, & unhealthy food (no £-wall🔓)
🧵Tl,dr: While gov has a preference for individual responsibility, the public still think gov should act.
Gains in healthy life-expectancy have stalled, childhood obesity continues to rise, alcohol-related hospital admissions are up, and tobacco still causes over 500,000 admissions a year.
And there are huge inequalities with more deprived areas disproportionately impacted.
Yet the recent trend of unwinding public health policy continues.
The tobacco control plan is unpublished, junk food ad bans have been delayed, plans for a national approach to health inequalities have gone & there's been nothing on alcohol since 2012.
First the good news. COVID cases in hospital clearly falling, in all ages, regions (except perhaps still plateauing in Yorkshire and Humber).
There's still a lag on cases in intensive care and on deaths, but they'll drop soon as well.
Flu, however, seems to be on the rise.
Overall case & admission rates are relatively low, but trending up.
And with a higher % of lab respiratory samples (sent in by dr from people with chest symptoms) testing for flu than at the same time in the past 5 yrs. i.e., it's early
This is a really helpful and timely piece of work by @davidfinchthf.
Along with last week's @TheIFS report on how government ££ are spent, it's clear that we need to do more to align public health funding with local needs. 🧵
Over the last decade, gains in life expectancy in England have stalled.
And it will be no surprise that the impact has not been felt evenly by everyone.
While life expectancy continues to increase for people living in the least deprived parts of the country, people from the most deprived communities are dying earlier.
This type of shortsighted policy review has reared its head again.
Health is an *asset* & the types of obesity policies being looked at here are exactly the ones that are both most effective AND most likely to narrow inequalities. 🧵