Thread by @SGriffin_Lab

Some long-standing critics of @IndependentSage appear to be conducting an interesting work of fiction casting us as either some useful stooges, unintentionally supporting government mind control strategies, or a dedicated psy-ops operation trying to create a world of restrictions

Well...

Whilst several amongst this number are indeed trying to sell books, watchful magazines...or rose-tinted retrospectoscopes 🤪

I'm sure it helps comfort some suffering with the increasingly common affliction pre-vax amnesia (PVA) that some sinister plot was in fact responsible for

disrupting daily life, overrunning a brittle, underfunded and now exhausted NHS, causing long-term morbidity or killing more than 200k in 3 years...💔😢

I mean, after all, we were repeatedly reassured that COVID would be done in months...or by Xmas 2020...or that this would be

the last wave because of herd immunity...or cross reactive T cells...or fictional endemicity/seasonality...or cos it's gone...we don't test, isolate or trace anymore, and isn't all the NHS disruption caused by strikes, anyway? 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

The notion that we as a group have a vested interest in what we've said is utterly baseless, as a matter of public record, unlike those funded by certain think tanks, whether directly or otherwise...

The notion that we're hapless perpetrators of government policy also seems to

hail from the same folks, generally, who previously accused us as having anti government motives and extreme "leftist" views...

The classic is the seemingly extreme view of zero COVID, which, again, seems to be misconstrued mainly by those with PVA and haunts them still as if it were 2020...2020, when over summer prevalence had fallen to near 10 per 100k, hence near to elimination (not actual zero 🤦‍♂️) and

folks were discussing when to send kids back to school as a priority...
The fact that EOTHO and other changes led to a resurgence and the eventual emergence of alpha...esp when SAGE warned against it (as we did), and yet the advice of others seemed preferable...
In fact, the

farce around delayed restrictions, tiers, November LD, the single day back to school in Jan 21, and the wave associated with it all, would seem, to a simpleton like me, to suggest that the government were NOT in fact, in favour of going back into restrictions?
My view is govt

actions have consistently been reactive, not proactive, and the notion that indie SAGE were in any way complicit in THAT is obviously nonsense.

You can't have it both ways, folks...

Put it this way, if you stand there telling someone their chip pan is dangerously overheating,

you are clearly going to support the idea of calling the fire brigade when it eventually explodes...the fact that bigger fires and high pressure hoses cause more damage than turning off the heat and covering the pan seems lost on some people...esp those with PVA!
To those who

remain sceptical of our motivations, or are undecided, I strongly suggest that you read the reports and papers on our site, rather than the convenient, context independent clips posted by PVA sufferers (not their fault, and there ARE good support groups available 😉).
Our stance

since the onset of vax programmes has been #vaccinesplus. Some abject morons said this is an anti-vax position, of all things! Only bc recognising that all medicines have limits and adverse fx, that vaccines rely on immunity, and that no single measure can deal with pandemics 🙄

This in mind, look back, we have always advocated acting early, being PROactive, and using environmental and personal mitigations in conjunction with PPE to minimise prevalence.
Quite why it's a bad thing to support clean air, infection resilient environments, long term plans

for sustainable vax programmes, supported isolation, free tests for those least well off, the continuation of surveillance to inform those at risk (expensive yes, but so are hospital beds and long COVID referrals), and appropriate factual messaging, I wish someone could say (no,

I don't mean please troll me or play pigeon chess).
This is what is meant by a new normal, the majority of which would happen in the background and improve other health issues as well as COVID. I disagree with treating it like seasonal flu, bc we don't deal with this properly

either! New normal isn't a dystopia, it's acknowledging that it's time to make a step change in public health for airborne illness, including infections and pollution, in the same way sanitation once did. Please see @CovidPledge folks, it makes SO much sense...presenteeism is

back en masse, especially in schools...along with Scarlet fever, but hey ho, that's "normal"...

Folks seem to think that going into lockdown was our fault...I mean, v flattering, but we don't have THAT sort of influence! What we do have tho, is the understanding, the means and

the tech available to make things better for all, building upon our vaccines. What we lack is political will, unlike some other countries.

Yes, we vehemently argue against mass infection, even now, because the future remains uncertain, plus the present shows us the harms and

hardship caused by this virus still. Even if acute admissions weren't sky high, the incidence of long COVID should be enough to act, especially #LongCovidKids

Sadly, some folks seem full of obsessive vitriol, and a need to blame someone for things not quite being 2019...🙄
So we

do not accept the ramblings of these people, we will continue to campaign in good faith, and we will continue to assist in scientific comms wherever possible. Weirdly, some of us, or our loved ones are vulnerable and/or have been affected by COVID, long or short. Those accusing

us of ego trips or status seeking may want to consider that.
The revisionism coming from these people is incredible, honestly...indie SAGE seems to be responsible for the pandemic exposing frailties in our national infrastructure, inequity, and now, astonishingly, the farcical

yo-yo-ing from restrictions into freedom, and back again, that has cost us dear since 2020...
Frankly, I hope these morons enjoy their echo chambers, and perhaps find a more accurate drum to beat, sub-tweet, or bleat in the future. Adios. Yes, I AM cross. 🤬🤬🤬