The elephant in the room throughout Cummings' testimony is precisely how Whitty, Vallance & others were advising the PM last March. On 12 Mar they abandoned test & trace *and* said shielding was not yet necessary.

We need urgently to hear from them now.
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
On self-isolation of elderly and infirm, Whitty stated on camera on 12 Mar: "While we will need to move to that stage, we do not think this is the right moment along the pandemic to do so. But that point will come."
Incredibly, on 12 Mar the *only* advice aimed specifically at protecting those over 70 & with pre-existing health conditions was not to go on cruises.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-518578…
And Whitty added this by way of explanation for not recommending the vulnerable start shielding on 12 Mar:

"It [shielding] has big practical implications and may lead to loneliness and other issues which are clearly very undesirable for them."
Now I am no government apologist - far from it - & @BorisJohnson's divergence from his scientific advisers from Sept onwards (delaying lockdowns) was grotesque.

*But* in Mar 2020, were the govt and those advising it not aligned?

And should we not, therefore, hear from them now?

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More from @doctor_oxford

25 May
It's now perfectly clear that @BorisJohnson is bringing back local lockdowns. Only this time by stealth. Without even *talking* to local community & public health leaders first.

Oh - & by making the guidance advisory only - paving the way for future 'blame residents' spin (1/3)
Every behaviour scientist & public health expert will tell you the only way out of a pandemic is *together* - with public support of & buy in to the necessary restrictions (lockdowns, travel bans etc).

Mixed messaging is disastrous - it erodes trust & public confidence. (2/3)
Yet here we are, 16 months down the line, with a govt *still* spinning, *still* obfuscating, *still* putting its popularity above people's lives.

That isn't merely weak.

It's criminal.

It will *inevitably* lead to more avoidable deaths from Covid.

And it sickens me 😔 (3/3)
Read 4 tweets
8 Apr
Here is how you imagine the 150k lives lost to Covid.

It’s just taken me 10 mins to walk the half kilometre length of the national @CovidMemorialUK wall, directly opposite parliament.

Each heart represents one of those 150k lost, those families changed forever.

Please share 💔
Here is St Thomas’s Hospital, directly behind the memorial wall. Tommy’s staff have been out painting hearts, honouring patients and their own colleagues who caught and died from Covid at work.
I wanted to honoury four brave colleagues from @OUHospitals - two porters, one nurse & one administrator - all of whom died from Covid last year. Thank you Philomina, Oscar, Elbert and Peter for your immense courage and selflessness.
Read 4 tweets
17 Feb
Just how is it that the @TheDA_UK has logged hundreds of reports from doctors describing being threatened, bullied or warned for speaking up over PPE failures - yet mysteriously @NHSEngland, @DHSCgovuk & hospital trusts all seem to deny any problems? (1/4)
bmj.com/content/372/bm…
This important piece of journalism from @mancunianmedic gets to the heart of it. Over 1500 reports from doctors of trusts failing to provide them with proper PPE. Nearly 900 deaths of health & care staff. And yet - absolute stony silence from those at the top of the NHS. (2/4)
Time & again the government & our NHS employers have singularly failed to be honest about PPE shortages - not to mention the excess risk to self of being a frontline member of staff.

It's totally wrong. It's treating staff as expendable. It's the opposite of NHS candour. (3/4)
Read 4 tweets
23 Jan
The WHO recommends a maximum gap between Pfizer doses of 3-6 weeks, ie 42 days max.

So why is the government going it alone with an off-label, evidence free, 12+ week gap?

*Today* is 42 days since the first Pfizer doses.

This is wrong, @BorisJohnson.
bbc.com/news/uk-557770…
Here are the WHO’s recommendations - a dosing gap of up to 42 days only in exceptional circumstances.

Yet hospital trusts are sending their staff emails (which I have been shown) telling them the WHO backs the govt’s 12 week gap.

This is simply untrue.
Is English exceptionalism (again) really prudent in an age of vaccine hesitancy?

The WHO guidance (contradicting govt policy) is freely available online:
Read 4 tweets
16 Jan
Remember when the govt counted 2 gloves in a pair as “two” separate items of PPE?

Well, to be vaccinated against Covid, you need a course of 2 vaccines.

Yet the govt’s official vaccination figs count a single dose as “vaccinated”.

Any chance the press could clarify urgently?
Interestingly, the data for second dosing can be found here. To date 400k people in UK have received both doses of their vaccine, ie “been vaccinated”. But this is not the headline figure, nor the one used by govt ministers. And it should be. Facts matter. coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/health…
You cannot - cannot - spin yourself out of a pandemic. All that happens is the erosion of public trust. When will the govt stop trying to seduce us with big numbers and start presenting the data accurately & honestly? The respect they’d earn for doing this...
Read 5 tweets
2 Jan
Tim, this simply isn’t true. The latest @ONS data (link below) show secondary school age children have the highest % testing positive for Covid.

Your app is a symptom checker. It does not measure cases. It is likely to under-represent children.

Please do not distort the facts.
The @ONS data can be found here. Highest % of positives in secondary age children, followed by young adults and primary age children.

So *not* closing schools, with the NHS as overwhelmed as it is, is sheer folly. School will only drive up transmission.

ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulati…
Screenshot from the @ONS report here:
Read 6 tweets

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