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Conor Browne Profile picture
@brownecfm
Nov 2 • 9 tweets • 2 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
1. This is the paper that's making the headlines today. I've read it in full, and its findings are, in my opinion, robust, and, frankly, align with common sense. The problem is not the paper, but its misinterpretation by the media.

thelancet.com/journals/lanhl…
2. This problem is compounded by individuals commenting on the press release, rather than the paper itself, a common problem on this platform.

To be clear: this paper is emphatically not discounting the deleterious effects on cognition that often occur as a result of Covid.
3. As an example, a direct quote from the paper:

"The worsening of cognition in people with a history of COVID-19 aligns with literature reports of the cognitive effects of the disease, in which up to 78% of people report cognitive impairment".
4. So, it is important to understand that the authors of this paper are *not* saying - as both the media and individuals on this platform are declaring - that 'cognitive decline is caused by the lockdowns not Covid'.
5. The authors explicitly acknowledge - see quote above - that SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause cognitive decline. What they also acknowledge is that some patterns of behaviour (increased alcohol use, reduced exercise, reduced social contact), along with increases...
6. ... in loneliness and depression in some people during the periods of lockdown in the first year of the pandemic may *also* have caused some increase in cognitive decline.

This should not be a contentious finding. These are known risk factors for cognitive problems.
7. In short, this paper presents a nuanced finding that acknowledges *both* the negative cognitive effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection *and* the negative cognitive effects that some people may have experienced during the lockdown periods.
8. Remember: in the UK, lockdowns (especially the first one) were *absolutely essential* to prevent the uncontrolled spread of SARS-CoV-2, but it is important not to pretend that they didn't harm some people.
9. As such, lockdowns should be avoided unless absolutely necessary, which is why managing this pandemic and any future ones should concentrate on solutions - such as clean indoor air, real-time detection, and accurate rapid testing - that obviate the need for lockdowns /end

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More from @brownecfm

Conor Browne Profile picture
Oct 31
1. This is an excellent article. Trust is key to pandemic response. Trust between countries, trust in government, trust in public health, and trust between individuals. In an interview I gave in 2020, I made the point that the pandemic could not have arrived at a worse time.
2. With many countries - including, but not limited to - the US and the UK, already in the grips of significant political polarisation, it was obvious to me that pandemic response would become very politicised, very quickly. And, of course, it did.
3. And this intense politicisation - primed by a complete (and often justified) mistrust of the government before the pandemic began - set the scene for individuals (again, justifiably) not trusting the government's pandemic response.
Read 9 tweets
Conor Browne Profile picture
Oct 31
1. A fantastic Halloween article from @BulletinAtomic , well worth a read. One line stands out:
2. 'In his novel, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks says “Most people don’t believe something can happen until it already has. That’s not stupidity or weakness, that’s human nature" '.
3. I would only add that, in the case of the Covid-19 pandemic, this effect is even worse, because most people now believe it's over, rather than understanding that it's still happening. To continue the analogy in the article:
Read 4 tweets
Conor Browne Profile picture
Oct 26
1. This is a very important point in a superb thread from Dr. Duncan. In my own experience, most members of the general public have an understanding of Covid-19 as follows: 'if I get Covid, I'll be sick for a few days. I might get Long Covid, but that's very rare'.
2. What I always explain is that this popular conception of Covid-19 is flawed in two crucial ways. First, that Long Covid is nowhere near as rare as most people think.
3. Second, that even if someone recovers fully from acute Covid-19 illness, as most people do, their risk of developing other health issues - cardiovascular, autoimmune etc - is significantly elevated by SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Read 4 tweets
Conor Browne Profile picture
Oct 23
1. Remember: when Covid community transmission is high, hospitals will always have an increase in patients admitted with Covid. This then leads to increased levels of nosocomial infections, which leads to increased morbidity and mortality for patients not admitted for Covid.
2. In short, hospitals are placed under intense, and cascading strain - the latter because healthcare settings are *always* hotbeds of infections during disease outbreaks, which means not only do patients enter the hospital with Covid, but visitors may well leave with it.
3. These infected visitors (and staff) then seed further clusters of infection in the community, and the cycle continues. Since no non-pharmaceutical interventions are in place in the community, and since this will keep happening until we have better vaccines, the solution is:
Read 4 tweets
Conor Browne Profile picture
Oct 17
1. So this is worth unpacking. For context, Professor Peterson is replying to a query asking her what someone should do to avoid Covid (you can obviously click back and see the original post).

I've never had Covid. I'm very sure of that.
2. I'm sure because, up until the recent death of my mother - who as many of you know, lived in a nursing home from 2019 - I tested every single day (because I obviously didn't want to bring the virus into a building with 40 CEV residents).
3. In addition, I have had no symptoms in that time period - basically, I haven't been sick since mid-2019. Now, have I been 'hiding under a rock'? Absolutely not. I meet friends regularly, I go to the cinema, I continue to engage in my hobbies - specifically photography.
Read 6 tweets
Conor Browne Profile picture
Oct 13
1. So this is a very good question from Antonio, which I will attempt to answer as fully as possible in this thread.

First, a major caveat: I'm assuming that 'how [my] life was in 2019' means 'resuming the activities that I don't do now due to Covid that I did then'.
2. I add this very important caveat, because I have changed some elements of my life for the better since 2019. Even if SARS-CoV-2 magically disappeared forever tomorrow, there are significant elements of my life now, not present in 2019, that I wouldn't alter. These include:
3. A much more profound appreciation of nature, a fierce joy in walking almost everywhere, a significantly increased understanding of the great gift of friends with shared values, and a desire to continue advocating on behalf of the disabled community.
Read 10 tweets

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