For the avoidance of doubt:
SARS-CoV2 transmission is mainly aerosol, some droplet - proportion varies with activity. Hence, indoors = super-spreader events, outdoors = dissipates quickly.
Well ventilated/filtered indoor spaces or outdoors, keep distance to avoid droplets, reduce
time spent in proximity to others, wear well-fitted filter masks (FFP2/3) if distancing is problematic, for long durations, and/or if prevalence is high.
Poorly ventilated/filtered indoors - masks as above are ESSENTIAL. Limit time, distance if possible to avoid direct exposure.
Now apply some logic...
Face shields do next to nothing, unless you're expecting a sneeze in the face, and even then will only prevent "direct inoculation"...
Similarly, whoever has spent the last 2.5 years making pretend force fields and castles out of Perspex with handy holes in them to pass things through, again, nice idea but primarily will prevent you experiencing direct exposure...does NOTHING to stop aerosols!
It pains me that I need to say this, but in a poorly ventilated space for any significant time (depending on the size of the room), "social", or indeed antisocial distancing will do NOTHING without a proper mask!
OK, so droplets CAN cause fomites, but sanitising our hands only prevents a minor route of SARS-CoV2 transmission.
However, much more effective for e.g. RSV, Influenza etc...but not Norovirus, soap and water required!!!
Please remember that your mask must actually be on your face, covering BOTH your nose and mouth, with a good fit and seal. FFP2/N95 or FFP3/N99 recommended. They are not chin, elbow, or neck warmers. They should be clean, dry and undamaged. This will protect you AND others.
Finally, none of these things are magic bullets. They will each partly reduce risk and work together. NPIs are variant agnostic - the virus spreads the same regardless. However, they should be used to SUPPORT vaccines. Get boosted, protect your kids. Stay safe. #VaccinesPlus
Oh, perhaps consider these ideas in places where, say, clinically vulnerable, unwell, very young, or elderly people might spend a lot of time...for example, SMEGGING HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS AND CARE HOMES!!! Or, ideally everywhere...winter is not going to be fun at all... #COVIDpledge
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Right, absolutely brilliant that awareness raised for all of these viruses. But... 1. This idea of immunity debt is, if anything, a population level issue. Kids aren't going to individually get more severe flu than if they'd caught it 2 years ago. But,
it does mean there are more getting it for the first time, hence we'll see more severe infections in hospital 😢. Bit like Omicron! 2. Doesn't the fact we're seeing a resurgence in these viruses point to how effective NPIs are at protecting kids? This doesn't mean restrictions,
it means making schools safer places to be. If there was one lesson I'd hoped we'd learn from a PANDEMIC, it's that we CAN and SHOULD do more. 3. I'm delighted to see the advice on isolation, damned right. Why though, is the advice for SARS2 completely tepid by comparison, and
...continuing on, it's important to acknowledge that parents and kids might be anxious about the vaccines, especially given the groundswell of "respectable" and well informed individuals, campaign groups, newspapers and mickey mouse patriotic news channels that actually just
endlessly spout anti-vax 🦬💩 under the guise of safeguarding kids from these evil vaccines...
Yes, like any medicine, vaccines can have adverse effects and reactions that are rarely severe...I believe there has in fact been a single death in the under 19 group in the UK linked
to vaccines...this is not something you be ignored or minimised. BUT, ironically, those seeking to undermine vaccines do so by almost a reversal of the population level risk I referred to earlier...but, the issue is that they add unsubstantiated fuel to the fire when doing so. A
OK, so it seems that the case for vaccinating u5s is due be reviewed shortly...many are of the view that only "vulnerable" need this...
At the same time, the offer to vaccinate 5-11s is now gone for kids turning 5 since September, so they face a 7 year wait whilst being exposed
constantly to infection...
Again, "the vulnerable" are still covered, but is this enough? Are we right to say kids don't need protection?
You can probably guess my view on this...let me explain...
The UK has been behind the curve in rolling vaccines out to children, constantly. This isn't mainly due to safety/efficacy concerns as the MHRA turned decisions round in a fair time, no...it's down to the body that decides how they're used, JCVI.
It's now difficult to advocate
Nevertheless, H1N1 swine flu and its offspring now comprises a large swathe of seasonal flu A, alongside H3N2, so who won that race?
The flip side of swine flu are the outbreaks of viruses that are highly lethal on a one-to-one basis, but lack the
high transmissibility between humans seen for better adapted pathogens. Ebola, H5/7/9 avian influenza, henipah etc can and do cause horrendous outbreaks, as in Uganda at present (Sudan strain, not good). But, whilst loco-regional pressures were dreadful, these didn't turn into
pandemics...yet. SARS1 almost made it, MERS-CoV rattles its sabre from time to time, but thankfully we haven't seen widespread transmission of a high consequence infectious disease on a global scale for many years...until 2019!
So, we're back to SARS2 being just a cold. What of
So, Friday, I spoke briefly about why colds are colds, and why SARS2 clearly isn't.
So, just to expand, and try to stave off some of the 💩 I've been hearing featuring big words like endemic, acronyms like IFR, and even the names of other Coronaviruses🤪!
All v impressive and lots of graphs involved. But the maths of this needn't be overly complicated to understand why we simply cannot continue to pretend that a pandemic is not happening all around us and it can't simply be solved by ignoring it.
Similarly, we mustn't ignore other viruses that continue to cause problems, some of whom are due to make one hell of a splash when they return this autumn and winter.
Lastly, those everyday "colds", or childhood diseases that some folks maintain we should all be dipping kids into
I have been saddened, angered and bewildered by criticism of my amazing colleagues at @IndependentSage of late. It strikes me that certain quarters have painted their own pictures, labelled recent outputs as problematic, whilst ignoring any of the actual substance.
As a fairly
new member, these are my own views and understanding of this group I am now privileged to belong too. I don't speak for others, but I'd like to debunk some myths and lazy accusations, if I may... 1. First and foremost, indie SAGE was, and is NOT set up in opposition to SAGE. It
was established because at the start of the pandemic there was a lack of clarity around SAGE membership, but, more significantly, around access to sessions for certain Govt advisors...which, as I understand it, isn't meant to happen.
Indeed, SAGE and indie SAGE agree on most