Thread by @danielgoyal

With so much happening just now, I thought I would try to provide a weekly update of Covid stuff you might find relevant.

#TheWeekInCovid

[Inspired by @RussInCheshire & his #TheWeekInTory]

First, Policy Changes:
Where to start? It has been a colossal week for policy changes. The race to declare Covid 'over' has kept the spin-masters busy!

Denmark was first.
The confidence of their assertion Covid was no longer a significant threat met the harsh reality this wk.

2/ Not to be outdone, the UK Gov, while saying Covid is the cause of the UK's healthcare crisis (not ten years of trying to privatise the NHS) and having double the healthcare burden of Covid than when 'Plan B' was implemented, declared it is time to end isolation for +ve cases.

This comes days after the Royal College of Emergency Medicine pushes the panic button: “The extent of harm coming to patients is alarming and distressing”, as it is revealed 100,000 patients have waited more than 12 hours in A&E (ED) in six months.

PM: 'Bring a Book" is catchy!

The UK Gov's solution to this crisis is to:
a) Cut NHS staff wages.
b) Suggest we discharge people who don't need to be in hospital (we should have thought of that sooner!)
c) SEND work to 'independent providers'
d) Cut all Covid funding to the NHS.
theguardian.com/world/2022/feb…

There was though a caveat issued by Johnson in what was one of the most scripted press conferences to date, that we should still isolate (voluntarily) if you have Covid. But then announced there was no more testing, to see if you have Covid!

A useful report from Norway identified the commonest symptoms of Omicron:
❗️Sore throat
❗️Sneezing
❗️Cough
❗️Aches and pains
❗️Fatigue
❗️Dizziness/feeling feint
So any given Monday then!
And don't fancy being first through the door with cold-symptoms, no Covid test, and at work!

3/ Iceland Ministers seemed to have drank the same magic Cool Aid as Johnson & Co,…announcing the end of all protective measures because “we need to get as many people as infected as possible”. Yes, they are going to protect people from infection by getting them infected!

4/ The US continues to be the embarrassment of the Western world, as loonies keep gaining traction with conspiracy theories and tank vaccine uptake numbers, leaving the US spinning from yet another surge in admissions and deaths. Our sympathies are with our American colleagues!

5/ On to saner national policies....
New Zealand moved to a suppression strategy. They now face Omicron with a highly vaccinated population, multiple treatment options, better economy, highest employment in ten yrs and 2/3rds less lockdown days than the UK. Oh and 56 deaths total

6/ Meanwhile, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc.. continue to live with Covid, with much less death and without protests from folk who think wearing a mask and staying at home while carrying a serious transmissible infection is too much of a challenge to liberty.

Science.
Much better news here.
As many politicians fail to rise to the challenge of Covid, the world's scientists (most of them) have continued to understand it and give us tools to defeat it.

Big news is PAXLOVID. This anti-viral tablet is for early treatment of Covid. Evidence suggests it reduces hospitalisation or death by ~80%. It joins x, y, and z (odd named drugs) as tools to reduce the risk by intervening early.
They are currently in use for CEV in some places.

In vaccine news, neither have there been any zombies appearing nor has there been a surge in side effects, as predicted by the armchair FB scientists. In fact, new evidence simply shows the massive benefits of being triple vaxed.

UK Gove set to give 4th vaccine shot to over 75s and CEVs by Spring.

An intersting vaccine related news story is posited by @EricTopol in The Guardian...
good evidence suggesting infection on its own provides short-lived immunity, but followed by a single vaccine around 6 months confers v good immunity for >1 yr.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

As for variants,
another version of Omicron, BA.2, seems to be gaining a foot hold. More transmissible (unbelievably), but so far no sign more severe or immune escaping.

https://twitter.com/Cleavon_MD/status/1496924046860374016?s=20&t=XnoD-JdY8pVQBwgRmYSHbg

Long Covid,
Consensus that it is very real and it really matters!
Vaccines confer protection against Long Covid.
Also real hope that we are close to understanding it and finding treatments.

https://twitter.com/Daltmann10/status/1496827914331074562?s=20&t=XnoD-JdY8pVQBwgRmYSHbg

The Bottom Line:
Good news if you live in a country with vaccines and access to treatment [and you don't listen to morons], the chance of adverse event from Omicron (even for CEV and elderly) is vastly reduced than last year.

Bad news if you live in a country without vaccines or treatments and/or with politicians who fail to appreciate: of the 130m cases reported since Jan (one third of ALL Covid cases, in the last two months!) a new VOC will emerge and failure to prepare now will be unforgivable.

So that’s it for this week…Science is kicking Covid’s ass while at the same time Covid is making an ass out of many world leaders.

Who will you trust?
I suggest the guys who aren’t afraid of the truth…

https://twitter.com/chrischirp/status/1491891791490125825?s=20&t=XnoD-JdY8pVQBwgRmYSHbg

https://twitter.com/JeremyFarrar/status/1497511577003700229?s=20&t=XnoD-JdY8pVQBwgRmYSHbg

Lastly, if you can, spare some change:

https://twitter.com/BritishRedCross/status/1496905347264651267?s=20&t=XnoD-JdY8pVQBwgRmYSHbg