We should be on BBC Breakfast this AM, too, BBC Radio Scotland at lunch time, South Today and South East Today, Inside Health on Radio 4 on Tuesday, and Newsnight on Friday. 2/8
These ads highlight the plight of the forgotten 500k immunocompromised individuals in the UK who are denied Evusheld by UK government policy. The advertising was designed pro bono by The&Partnership with media secured by mSix&Partners. They have been SO generous. 3/8
The #Forgotten500k campaign is set to run and run. We hope this is a show of power to the government, demonstrating that we will not go away! (Even if the government does 😬.) 4/8
We have a podcast from Andy Coulson’s “Crisis What Crisis?” series, a silent vigil in Parliament Square, a digital ad van circling Westminster, a Tortoise Media “Think In” event and the delivery of a letter personally by the group and charities to Number 10 Downing Street. 5/8
The goal of the campaign is to get the government to change its course on Evusheld. We have written to the Secretary of State for Health, @theresecoffey, the Health Minister, @RobertJenrick, and the Chancellor @jeremy_hunt. #Forgotten500k 6/8
The campaign has its own Facebook page to tell people new to the issue about Evusheld and it will be updated with new stories and adverts. Please do LIKE the page to help its organic growth: facebook.com/forgotten500k 7/8
Finally, the campaign site! None of this would be possible w/out the support from our charities & the pro bono media specialists.
In this case, they are claiming that there is uncertainty about the efficacy against Omicron due to lab-based testing showing reduced neutralisation. They want a trial with placebo.
Yet Al-Obaidi et al. from the University of Arizona say different 2/15
"While a recent in-vitro study showed reduced antibody neutralization of [Evusheld] against Omicron variants, this did not have a significant clinical outcome in our study or similar studies during the Omicron period" 3/15
Even if you are not someone who would benefit from Evusheld, the government's decision-making process here should alarm you. From what the DHSC has published, just 4 people, with little expertise in the area, have blocked the treatment of 500k people. A brief thread 🧵 1/8
The DHSC "report" is here. The first thing to say is that this is pretty weak. It's just a summary of the papers and says "the quality of the data is insufficient". This is so flimsy that we can barely challenge it. 2/8 gov.uk/government/pub…
In this report, we're told that the appraisal was made by "senior members of RAPID C-19". Four people are listed: James Palmer, Helen Knight, Daniel McAuley, and Krishna Prasad. Only 2 of these are doctors: James Palmer and Krishna Prasad. 3/8
A note on how messed up the world situation is. Visiting Russia in 2002 was a hugely stimulating experience for me. A student, at the time, of Russian history, I was mesmerised. Two years later I'd fall in love with a graduate in Russian linguistics who'd teach me "я тебя люблю".
But it didn't feel safe, even then. We were not well regarded as Western tourists. The entire space felt so alien that I never got to grips with it. But I also had assumed the Cold War was past, gone, passed. I don't think I dreamed that 20 years later we'd be back here.
Shocking, distressing, and just what we need after two years of global pandemic. WW3 on our doorsteps again and untold suffering in Ukraine. There's little point me publicly ranting - my words mean little here - but it's all so deeply wrong.
Two years ago, today, the UK confirmed its first Covid death. On the advice of immunology, I cancelled all events and we started shielding. Since then we've met only people who have isolated. It has not been a brilliant two years.
There's now some hope on the horizon. Vaccines were good. I have mounted some response after 4 doses. My immunoglobulins will soon have some antibodies. The new antivirals are excellent.
But we're not there yet and the government is removing all that make it possible for me to take calculated risks. Winding down the testing programme. Removing mask mandates, even in hospitals! No self isolation requirements. Just as things look up, they kick us back down.
The government seems to have just posted its strategy for how it will reshape the Higher Education sector as universities go bankrupt under COVID-19 gov.uk/government/pub…
Para 5: HE is a market with student choice being important, apparently, but the government wants to direct institutions to deliver "strong graduate employment outcomes in areas of economic and societal importance, such as STEM, nursing and teaching."
as though universities can deliver job opportunities, rather than this being totally dependent on the economy -- which has been wrecked by COVID-19.
The thing about F1000 and its platforms for funders was that they were supposed to be the price-pressure threat against big commercial players. I.e. "we'll setup our own competitors if you won't do OA reasonably". Now those infrastructures are owned by a big commercial player.
Nice way to monetize the threat against your own business model.
Now T&F can: 1.) not comply with Plan S demands for its journals; while 2.) profiting from the alternative infrastructures that funders might want to establish.