It's #airborne! '#SARSCoV2 is largely transmitted in airborne fashion via #aerosols, which people exhale, and which can remain in the air for long periods of time if a room is not well-ventilated.'

Has the UK government ensured that our schools are ready?
news.mit.edu/2021/study-pro…
'Open windows and a good heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system are starting points for keeping classrooms safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.'

'But they are not the last word, according to a new study from researchers at MIT.' @MIT
'Study, @MIT, shows how specific classroom configurations may affect air quality and necessitate additional measures, beyond HVAC use or open windows, to reduce the spread of aerosols, those tiny, potentially Covid-carrying particles that can stay suspended in the air for hours.'
'Patterns of SARS-CoV-2 aerosol spread in typical classrooms...' sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
'Current industry guidelines to control the spread of aerosols such as #SARSCoV2 have adopted a six-foot (~1.8 m) spacing between individuals indoors, recent evidence suggests that longer range spread is also responsible for infections in public spaces.'

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Conclusions:

'#COVID-19 is an #aerosolized #virus. With such small particle sizes, the established six-foot (~1.8 m) spacing guidelines and heightened air change rates are an incomplete picture.'

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
'More work is necessary to determine the impact of increased #ventilation on air flow patterns, the threshold for infection by #aerosols, and to enhance the removal of aerosols through the design of the airflow within an occupied space.'

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
#Covid19 science. In the UK there's been, for some reason, a failure to recognise the importance of fluid dynamics, airflow rates, the level of aerosol produced by infected individuals, alongside a consideration of basic 'surface science'.

Misjudgement.

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

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More from @JoePajak

18 Aug
Moderna COVID-19 #vaccine approved by #MHRA in 12-17 year olds [17 Aug 2021]. UK regulator confirms 'the vaccine is safe and effective in this age group'.

So why now delay💉? Experience in the #USA, as children return to schools, emphasises the risks of not vaccinating children.
Dr June Raine, #MHRA Chief Executive said:

'I am pleased to confirm that that the COVID-19 #vaccine made by #Moderna has now been authorised in 12-17 year olds. The vaccine is safe and effective in this age group.'

OK, so let's get a move on...

gov.uk/government/new…
Dr June Raine, #MHRA Chief Executive said:

'We have in place a comprehensive safety surveillance strategy for monitoring the safety of all UK-approved #COVID-19 #vaccines and this surveillance will include the 12- to 17-year age group.'

Good, so...?

gov.uk/government/new…
Read 4 tweets
14 Aug
UK note!

#COVSIM project @NCState models how #DeltaVariant might spread through a school, and how different mitigation strategies could slow it down. covsim.hosted-wordpress.oit.ncsu.edu/school-level-m…

Slides & headlines...

'Masks and testing, when used in combination, can prevent 80% of new infections.' Image
#COVSIM project @NCState model headlines

What Does This Mean?

Presumably the UK government is aware of such research and has a view about how best to prepare young people, their schools, and their families for the new academic year.

Without #masks?
Without 12-15 #vaccinations? Image
#COVSIM project @NCState model headlines

What Does This Mean?

Presumably the UK government is aware of such research and has a view about how best to prepare young people, their schools, and their families for the new academic year.

Risks to parents & grandparents?
#LongCovid? Image
Read 6 tweets
4 Aug
So, a 2005 blueprint to fight an #airborne #virus arriving in Britain was lost, filed away in Whitehall, and apparently never used.

Now uncovered, its recommendations included limiting travel and stopping ‘super-spreader’ events - lessons not learned.

independent.co.uk/news/health/co…
The @Independent reports that, 'One senior medical adviser who served in Downing Street throughout the last decade said they were “totally surprised” to learn of the blueprint, despite having worked in emergency health planning and pandemic preparedness'.

independent.co.uk/news/health/co…
The @Independent reports that 'the 2005 plan put together by the #DoH, warns of spread via “finer aerosols of infectious respiratory secretions, which stay in the air longer than droplets”, meaning it can be passed from one person to another through the nose, mouth or even eyes.'
Read 18 tweets
3 Aug
Time must come when the UK government will succumb to increasing evidence that children aged 12 and above should be #vaccinated  to protect them against the risk of being infected with the #SARSCoV2 virus [subject to context]. It must also do more to deliver global #VaccineEquity
Time has come for 16 and 17 year olds to be #vaccinated, to protect them against #Covid19 in the UK, but why such a delay, and why no plan for 12 to 15 year olds? Is it down to the science, or is it simply a financial decision?

thetimes.co.uk/article/covid-…
Genuine 'concerns over how many children could get infected & the number who could end up poorly, either in the short term, or with #LongCovid, suffering symptoms from post-viral fatigue & headaches to seizures, or skin lesions.'

No more delays, act now!

manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-m…
Read 4 tweets
2 Aug
With #DeltaVariant spreading rapidly among young people, and some evidence that it causes more severe disease, there is a growing argument for #vaccinating children, and at the same time wealthy nations ensuring they deliver #VaccineEquity for ALL nations.
irishtimes.com/opinion/editor…
Little doubt that relaxing control measures while the majority of the global population remains #unvaccinated risks the evolution of more transmissible, more virulent #variants. Variants that may be more dangerous for children & certain vulnerable groups.
medicalnewstoday.com/articles/are-w…
The researchers warn that,

'Even in countries where #vaccination has reduced the numbers of hospitalizations and deaths, high case numbers and large numbers of unvaccinated individuals provide a mixing vessel in which new #variants can emerge.'

medicalnewstoday.com/articles/are-w…
Read 12 tweets
27 May
Fact: 447,300 air passenger arrivals to UK in Apr 2021 (Advanced Passenger Information data).

4 times higher than total number of air arrivals for Apr 2020, following start of first UK lockdown, when there were 112,300 arrivals.

Question: Why?

Detail ⬇️
gov.uk/government/sta…
'The numbers in every month since April 2020 remain substantially lower than levels seen prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK, averaging 89% lower over the 12 months following the onset of the pandemic.'

But like for like, comparing pandemic 2020 travel with now in 2021?
Fig.1 shows there were fewer than 200,000 air arrivals per month between Apr & Jun 2020, following the start of the first UK lockdown. Then a slight increase in the summer months of 2020, reaching a summer high of 3.1 million arrivals in Aug 2020, 74% lower than for Aug. 2019.
Read 6 tweets

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