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Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧

@_CatintheHat

Oct 22, 2024 • 8 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X

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⚠️NEW UKHSA DASHBOARD⚠️

Its prime purpose appears to be to minimise the impact of Covid.

Why else would this ⬇️ be your landing page?
▪️Positivity rate for flu & RSV
▪️Cases for Covid

Come on @UKHSA, this isn’t clever or funny.

Why not show comparable metrics?

🧵

…because when you *do* show comparable metrics, it’s not nearly such a rosy story in terms of the current Covid situation, is it?

Can someone please remind me what the point of a ‘Health Security Agency’ is?

Isn’t it to keep the public informed about potential health risks?

Why on earth are UKHSA trying to hide the truth?

Covid cases data is absolutely meaningless.

The LFT test reporting portal was closed back in February this year so the *only* cases which can even be reported now are PCR tests in hospital (plus a few research studies).

https://twitter.com/_catinthehat/status/1848767365980324265

Anyone paying attention knows all too well that Covid is absolutely rife right now.

It’s tearing through schools, hospitals & workplaces.

Covid hospitalisations are almost as high now as they were at the very peak of last Winter.

Here’s my take on the current situation 🧵⬇️

https://twitter.com/_catinthehat/status/1848767365980324265

I guess I should also post a link to this new UKHSA dashboard.

Here it is:

Viewer caution advised! ⚠️ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk

Two more points to add…

The ‘Outbreaks’ section of the new dashboard provides the reassuring news that Measles cases are now declining…

…but also does a truly outstanding job of hiding the fact that we’ve just come through the biggest Measles outbreak in well over a decade.

And, as for Pertussis (also known as whooping cough)… well… I guess they decided it was best not to mention that one at all!

https://twitter.com/_catinthehat/status/1844779651962478744

And let’s not forget, this new dashboard comes hot on the heels of the debacle a few weeks ago where @UKHSA admitted to publishing charts for Covid, flu & RSV which were not actually based on any real data at all - despite the fact the charts were labelled ‘Data from 2023-24’.

https://twitter.com/_catinthehat/status/1844779651962478744

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More from @_CatintheHat

Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧

@_CatintheHat

Feb 22

FROM THE OLYMPICS TO NASA, WEARING MASKS IS BACK - EXCEPT IN HEALTHCARE

Brilliant article on how masking is increasingly popular with Olympic athletes, actors & astronauts wanting to avoid illness…

…but sadly, in hospitals, masking is rare & those who do are often gaslit.

🧵

Here’s a link to the online version of this article by the brilliant Tess Finch Lees:
independent.ie/opinion/commen…

The link above is paywalled so here’s an archived link where you can read it for free:

(Please do also click the first link as well though to increase traffic & help persuade editors to publish more Covid stories like this).archive.ph/sfP52

Read 18 tweets

Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧

@_CatintheHat

Feb 20

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Something unusual & concerning in Scotland’s Covid data in the last few weeks.

There’s been a sharp rise in the proportion of hospitalised Covid cases which are children.

Currently over half of all Covid hospitalisations in Scotland are kids aged 0-14 years.

(h/t @gwladwr)

The data also shows that, since January, Covid incidence rates for these younger age groups have been going into the ‘high’ (dark blue) and ‘very high’ (purple) classifications, particularly the 1-4 years age group.

I’ve also taken a look at the England data and Covid positivity rates have been rising sharply in recent weeks in the 0-14 age groups.

Definitely one to watch in the coming weeks…

Read 4 tweets

Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧

@_CatintheHat

Jan 30

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿PUPIL ABSENCE - AUTUMN 2025

The DfE have now published pupil absence data for the Autumn term:

🔎 Pupil illness absence across the autumn term averaged out at 3.44% (compared to pre-pandemic average of 2.5%).

🔎 By the end of Nov, illness absence had soared to 4.7%.

🧵

DfE commentary:

“The increases seen in the latter weeks of term were mainly driven by illness-related absence”

“This increase in absence is equivalent to approximately 500,000 less days in school compared to the previous autumn term.”

…e-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistic…

https://twitter.com/ukhsa/status/1996605594925433004

To anyone paying attention, these illness absence figures should not come as a surprise.

By early December, UKHSA was warning about how flu was spreading like wildfire through classrooms, leading to very high infection rates in school-age children (pink & green lines on chart).

https://twitter.com/ukhsa/status/1996605594925433004

Read 10 tweets

Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧

@_CatintheHat

Jan 4

x.com/harryspoelstra…

COVID & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

New US study showing impact on child brain development when their mothers are infected with COVID during pregnancy.

Results show:
🔎 Structural differences in regions of the brain
🔎Lower cognition & social-emotional scores

sciencedirect.com/science/articl… x.com/harryspoelstra…

And here’s another study, this time from Brazil (published Jun 2025), which also shows the impact of maternal COVID infection on child development.

At 24 months:
🔎 36% of infants exhibited cognitive delays
🔎 64% communication delays
🔎 57% motor delays

nature.com/articles/s4139…

x.com/jama_current/s…

And another study, just published this week (Jan 2026) in ‘Obstetrics & Gynecology’, came to similar conclusions…

“Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy was associated with increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental diagnoses by age 3 years”.

journals.lww.com/greenjournal/f… x.com/jama_current/s…

Read 4 tweets

Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧

@_CatintheHat

Dec 17, 2025

https://twitter.com/natalieben/status/2001231003075924344

“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

https://twitter.com/natalieben/status/2001231003075924344

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-…

https://twitter.com/_catinthehat/status/1891879263122420124

Given the shocking state of ventilation in UK hospitals ⬇️…

3/

https://twitter.com/_catinthehat/status/1891879263122420124

Read 4 tweets

Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧

@_CatintheHat

Dec 11, 2025

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