Consultant Cardiologist, Dr Rae Duncan (@Sunny_Rae1), was interviewed today on BBC’s Sunday Show.

In this thread 🧵, I’ve pulled out some of the key highlights.

Kudos to Martin Geissler (@mmgeissler) who had clearly done his homework in advance & asked excellent questions.

1/
Dr Rae Duncan kicks off by explaining that Covid is not ‘just a cold’.

She explains that, if we think of Covid simply in terms of the acute stage of infection, we are only looking at the tip of the iceberg…

…but the bulk of the iceberg lies beneath the surface.

2/
Martin: “In Canada, they’re finding if you’ve had 3 or more Covid infections, you’ve got a 38% chance of getting Long Covid. Can that be right?”

Dr Rae Duncan explains how many studies show that, the more times you get infected, the higher your risk of developing Long Covid.

3/
Martin: “Can you just as easily get organ damage, brain issues, heart issues from Long Covid if you’re young & healthy?”

Dr Rae Duncan explains how EVERYONE is at risk. Many of her Long Covid patients were previously young, fit & healthy; some were even amateur athletes.

4/
Dr Rae Duncan explains how this Winter has been devastating for some of her patients as so many have been reinfected with Covid…

…and all the hard work put in to try to get them better, to get them back to work or back to school, has all been completely undone again.

5/
Martin: “Are we taking this seriously enough as a country?”

Dr Rae Duncan explains how our government need to start listening to the WHO advice.

If we don’t get a handle on the high Covid transmission rates, hundreds of millions are going to require longer term care.

6/
Dr Rae Duncan explains how studies have repeatedly shown that cleaning the air (by improving ventilation & air filtration) can significantly reduce Covid outbreaks in schools & improve school attendance rates…

…and it protects against other airborne pathogens too.

7/
Martin: “Are we too laissez-faire about Covid at the moment?”

Dr Rae Duncan explains how she’s very concerned about the longer term implications of Long Covid.

Economic modelling already shows that Long Covid might be costing the UK economy billions of pounds EVERY YEAR.

8/
Dr Rae Duncan wraps up by explaining that we have to learn to live with Covid SAFELY…

…and that should start with basic measures like clean air in schools & hospitals.

Finally, Martin gives a poignant anecdote about one of his camera crew who is suffering from Long Covid.

9/
A massive thank you to Dr Rae Duncan (@Sunny_Rae1), Martin Geissler (@mmgeissler) and @BBCScotland for this brilliant interview, raising awareness about the devastating impact of Long Covid.

You can watch the full show at the link below:

🔗

/ENDbbc.co.uk/programmes/m00…
UPDATE: As requested, here’s a YouTube link to the full interview, kindly posted by @ABrokenBattery.

BBC Scotland Sunday Show (4 Jan 2024)
Martin Geissler (@mmgeissler) interviews Consultant Cardiologist Dr Rae Duncan (@Sunny_Rae1) about Long Covid.

🔗
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More from @_CatintheHat

Dec 17
“When it comes to flu, the focus is often on droplet transmission, but there’s also evidence of aerosol transmission. That means that ventilation & air filtration are HUGELY important.

“Are the Govt looking to improve that to help deal with all the respiratory infections?”

/1
It’s absolutely brilliant to hear Baroness Bennett raising this crucial question in the House of Lords this week.

Thank you, @natalieben 🙏🏻

You can read a transcript of the full question and response received below ⬇️



/2 hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2025-12-…Image
Given the shocking state of ventilation in UK hospitals ⬇️…

3/
Read 4 tweets
Dec 11
This feels like an important breakthrough moment…

On the BBC News this evening, Medical Editor @BBCFergusWalsh clearly stated:

“As for facemasks, simple surgical masks are *not* good at stopping viruses. You really need a properly fitted tight respirator mask for that”…

/1
…which begs the question, why does the NHS infection control guidance STILL only recommend surgical masks for treating patients with airborne viruses like flu & Covid… and not proper FFP3 masks?

Even Baroness Hallett was rather perplexed by this during the Covid Inquiry.

/2
The IPC experts (Dr Warne & Dr Shin) who provided independent specialist advice to the Covid Inquiry both stated that IPC guidelines should be updated to recommend routine use of FFP3 masks when caring for patients with ANY respiratory virus.

So why has this not been done?

/3
Read 7 tweets
Dec 10
CEO, NHS Providers, @danielelkeles:

“It’s a v nasty variant of flu that we have this year.”

“We need to get back into the habit that, if you’re coughing & sneezing […] then you must wear a mask when you’re in public spaces.”

I’m so pleased to hear Daniel promoting masks BUT…
…I have 3 questions for @danielelkeles:

1️⃣ He only mentions that people who are sick “must wear a mask in public spaces”…

…but why did he not also suggest that people who are *not* sick should wear a mask to prevent themselves getting sick in the first place?!

Like this ⬇️ Image
2️⃣ Why didn’t @danielelkeles mention FFP masks?

Surgical masks DON’T protect against airborne transmission of flu.

“Live viruses could be detected in the air behind ALL surgical masks tested. By contrast, properly fitted respirators could provide at least a 100-fold reduction.” Image
Read 5 tweets
Dec 8
UK ‘SUPERFLU’ OUTBREAK

Schools in England & Wales have been forced to close amid escalating flu outbreaks with hundreds of pupils off sick at a time.

Simon Kidwell, headteacher of Hartford Manor Primary told BBC Breakfast: “The winter bugs spread really easily in schools”…

/1
Headteacher Simon Kidwell is not wrong.

Children are crammed into poorly ventilated classrooms, shoulder-to-shoulder with up to 29 other kids, for around 6 hours a day, 5 days a week.

It’s the perfect environment for airborne diseases to spread…

/2 Image
We had a big wave of Covid in Sept/Oct, followed in very quick succession by the current wave of flu and RSV.

It’s been one perpetual cycle of illness hammering schools.

I often hear people say: “oh, but it’s always been like this”.

But it *hasn’t* always been like this.

/3 Image
Read 18 tweets
Dec 4
NHS England: “It will not be possible to halt the spread of a new pandemic virus, and it would be a waste of public health resources and capacity to attempt to do so.”

This has got to be one of the most 🤯 things I’ve ever seen written down in an official document. Image
And this is an important point from @mdc_martinus ⬇️

The NHS constitution states that they’re meant to PREVENT health problems…

…so how can their pandemic response strategy say it’d be a WASTE of public health resources to attempt to halt the spread of a new pandemic virus?!
@mdc_martinus Here is the full letter from CATA (an alliance of medical organisations, royal colleges & trade unions) raising the alarm about the NHS pandemic response strategy to the Chair of the Covid Inquiry.

For more details, please read the excellent thread from @cv_cev linked below ⬇️ Image
Read 5 tweets
Nov 22
Two countries.

Two charts.

A very similar (and concerning) trend.

…………..

Can you think of anything that happened in 2020 which is still affecting huge swathes of people on an ongoing basis and which may help explain this worrying trend?

/1 Image
If you haven’t figured it out yet, here’s a little clue… 🔎

/2 Image
Still not worked it out?

Here’s another clue from Jim Reed, the BBC’s health reporter… 

/3
Read 10 tweets

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