A bit on this study and why it's important to actually read studies and not just read Guardian articles about said studies.

It seems pretty clear cut and concerning doesn't it? Study says, lockdowns prematurely aged adolescent's brains, girls more than boys.

It certainly is concerning.

I'm the kind of person who reads studies. But most don't. So, let me tell you what I found...

The datasets they had were scans from 2018, 2021 and 2022. So a dataset before the pandemic started and two from during the pandemic but a significant amount of time after lockdowns happened.

This text is included in the dicussion section - 'we do not know whether contraction of the COVID-19 virus itself may have contributed to these findings, though in the community from which our study sample was derived, COVID-19 prevalence was widespread, and we have found no reports of a sex disparity in contraction of the virus.'

This text too - 'nor did we collect data on families’ job security, financial insecurity, and/or food insecurity, which might also be associated with structural brain changes. Data on exercise, sleep, or diet, which have been reported to have been greatly affected by the pandemic lockdowns, would also be valuable'

The study drew a correlation between lockdowns and premature brain aging in adolescents. Essentially (and yes, I am simplifying but not to the point of misrepresenting the study) the correlation is that we see a difference in the brain scans of adolescents from before and after the pandemic (lockdowns being a part of that). And that in female brains 'all of these regions are involved in many cognitive functions, one commonality is that they have all been linked to social cognition'.

The study didn't focus on defining the cause of these changes, as you can see above, data on things that definitely cause accelerated/premature brain aging was not included/collected.

So, IMO, all this study can really claim is that between the years of 2019 and 2022 something caused accelerated brain aging in adolescents, more so in females.

But from reading the Guardian article you would think they have 100% proven their claims.

Correlation should not be posed as causation.

theguardian.com/science/articl… And here is the study...

pnas.org/doi/full/10.10…

Thread 🧵

Looks like we're in another Covid wave, which means the 'flu' you have is statistically likely to be Covid.

Covid is studied to have many negative outcomes including Long Covid, heart attacks, strokes, autoimmune diseases, diabetes and death. But even the flu can be life altering for others. It was the flu that gave me an autoimmune disease.

If you are ill, stay at home, and if you can't, wear a mask. It's a really easy way to offer some protection to others, and we should all be striving to do that.

🧵It blows my mind that some people who advocate for how well masks work also shame people for attending busy public events even if they are wearing a mask. That's literally what masks are for I wear masks indoors in public spaces, but I often don't wear them outdoors in quiet public spaces. I am also happy to attend busy public spaces if I am wearing a respirator...because masks work you guys.

🧵I think that blaming the Tories for the state of the NHS is understandable, but that singular viewpoint keeps us from taking action. We think a different or better gov will fix things.

More people are sick than ever. Yes that's multifactorial, but Covid is a huge part of it Ever increasing sickness within a population is unsustainable no matter how much the rich are taxed, how much of that tax is directed towards healthcare, how good gov policy is or how efficient NHS management is.

🧵Why do I wear a mask?

There are many people in the world who would die/become seriously ill if they got Covid. I care about their life, but also their quality of life. I'm modelling the behaviour I would like to see from everyone.

https://twitter.com/ZubyMusic/status/1759982579573293214

My daughter has Long Covid.

I have several risk factors for Long Covid.

Many people I know personally are ill post Covid (LC, diabetes, autoimmune diseases etc). This has seriously affected their health/life.

🧵I keep thinking about all the professionals that are paid to provide services. From surgeons to teachers to tradesmen to pilots to chefs to nurses to drivers. How repeated Covid infections impacts the quality of their work in many ways. 1/ The fact that there is not more pressure to avoid anything that will significantly impact one's ability to provide a paid service is sort of mindblowing to me.

One small example is our roofer who has been 1/3 of his way through the job for months due to repeated sickness.

🧵 A lot of people think still taking robust covid precautions 5 years in seems extreme and speaks to some sort of fear/anxiety/mental illness.

Yet, here we are heading into another winter of overwhelmed hospitals and drug shortages and 2 million cases of Covid a day (in US). Definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results

🧵

In my life I'm tired of being forced to centre a reality that isn't based on fact. I'm angry too.

Most of you are living a carefully constructed fantasy that allows you to shirk the collective responsibility that holds a fair and civilised society together. Sadly, I could apply this to nearly any important subject, but in this case I am talking about Covid 19.

How can you be so comfortable with being so poorly informed? How can you be so comfortable spreading a virus that kills and permanently alters health and lives?

THREAD

I've made many bad decisions in my life, & now I care a lot about making good decisions. Bias is something that affects our decision making & it's good to be aware of areas/thinking/experiences that influence us. To believe you aren't affected by biases is a bad start Generally, if I experience a strong emotion (good or bad) I take a step back from the situation mentally. Strong feelings are hugely influencial and not always steering you towards the right decision. Why am I feeling this way? What is the big picture for me?