To those who feel I shouldn't be tweeting about anything except COVID-19 - I'm a person with opinions and this is my private account, and I will use it to express my opinions on whatever I feel like. If you don't like it, feel free to unfollow. You don't get to tone police me.
Also want to point out that women experts get this a lot because people think of us as someone who's doing a job for them by putting out public information. This isn't my job- I tweet about COVID-19 because I feel like. And when I feel like, I will tweet about other things.
Also if you are describing my follower base as 'agitated' in your subtweet, which I sincerely hope you're not, that's pretty offensive to them- suggest you apologise, or clarify who you're referring to @mroliverbarnes
And some of us aren't 'lurching to another crisis for RTs'. We're doing it because we give a f*ck, so that's fairly insulting too.
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Russia interfered in our democracy- we did nothing
Russia poisoned people on UK soil- we did nothing
We signed a treaty with Ukraine saying that we'd protect them if they gave up their nuclear weapons - they gave them up in good faith
Russia just invaded Ukraine- we do nothing
And Ukraine is just the start, not the end. If he's allowed to attack Ukraine with impunity, others will follow.
To the trolls- no I'm not suggesting we go to nuclear war with Russia! But there's so much more that can be done with coordinated sanctions, against Russia and Russian oligarchs - so much more than empty rhetoric which is all we have now.
PM just asked about disproportionate impacts on poorer people who may not be able to pay £60-120 for a test, and then lose pay by self-isolating without enough financial support. PM just says that we are 'underestimating the willingness of people to do the right thing' Shameful
How out of touch does one have to be suggest that this is about willingness, when for so many people it'll be about ability. How many people can afford to shell out so much money for a test & lose pay when isolating? Especially with such poor government support.
People on low incomes are already at greatest risk from COVID-19- death rates have consistently been 2-3x higher in the most deprived. How are the poorest supposed to protect themselves & their families when you make it even harder?
About 'restrictions' - the idea of taking measures that infringe slightly on our freedoms to protect everyone's health isn't novel:
e.g. not smoking in public spaces, not using mobile phones on planes, or at gas stations, HSE & environmental standards for work places. 🧵
Framing of simple measures like wearing masks in indoor spaces to protect ourselves & others as 'restrictive' rather than protective is problematic. The idea that isolation of a person infected with a highly contagious virus that could be fatal/disabling as 'unnecessary'
We're being gaslit by government in the name of 'freedoms'. These aren't freedoms - these are removal of essential protections that benefit all of us. No one is completely protected from this virus, and vulnerable, elderly people, & frontline workers even less so.
Because it's extremely misleading, and incorrect, if you've actually read the report. The attack rate modelled is one that we actually achieved in just 3 wks during the omicron wave. Rapid waning of natural immunity in children also not considered. Plus prevention of long COVID.
The last JCVI model was also heavily flawed, and very likely underestimated impacts from vaccination. It's worth reading these models for yourself and comparing them to the actual reality of infection in children that's been unfolding around us.
Also, they don't address long COVID at all, despite this being one of the more common detrimental outcomes in children, with protections afforded by vaccination. But, sure, who cares about facts?
This is tragic. Acute COVID-19 ultimately followed 2 wks later by low O2 saturations on minimal exercise, but completely missed and turned back from A&E *despite this* only to confirm a pulmonary embolism 5 days later - a condition that needs admission and urgent life-saving care
Patients who turn up with breathlessness, dropping saturations and tachycardia (fast heart rate) post-COVID-19 need to be taken seriously, and evaluated urgently rather than being sent home without assessment. Delays like this are unacceptable & can have serious consequences.
I think part of this is no doubt because the NHS is so strained, and important things are missed. The solutions are complex, but we do need to discuss this. This could be any one of us needing urgent care in a massively stressed system.
I've just been reviewing the DfE 'study' that was widely reported in the media as showing 'no evidence masks work in schools'. I honestly can't believe this was even written up into a formal report given the *huge* limitations.🧵
The study compared mask wearing in schools that responded to a question reporting mask use *either in communal areas or classrooms* for just *2 wks* or more- and assessed the impact on absenteeism just 3 wks later!!
Let me unpick this- we don't even know if the schools in the treatment group had kids *wearing masks in classrooms*. Given this was Oct '21 it's very likely that a substantial proportion if not the majority just had masks in communal areas (corridors)!