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

/2

PUPIL ATTENDANCE & ILLNESS

The government & media seem to believe that the significant rise in pupil absence compared to pre-pandemic is primarily driven by truancy.

They don’t seem to believe there is a GENUINE increase in illness.

So let’s take a closer look at the data… 🔎 This chart shows emergency admissions for children with lower respiratory tract infections, broken down by school-age year group.

I’ve compared the 5 years before the pandemic started (2014/15 - 2018/19) to 2023/24 (most recent data published).

Do you notice anything?

“We're not just running out of cubicles; we're running out of corridors.”

“It feels like [Winter] is going to be armageddon, to be honest. We’re already full.”

This entire article is frankly horrifying. And yet, nothing is being done to mitigate it.

independent.co.uk/news/health/nh… Analysis of NHS data by the RCEM, shows that from Jun-Sep 2025, over HALF A MILLION patients had an A&E stay of over 12 hours from their time of arrival in England.

This is MORE than the entire winter of 2021-22, during which the UK experienced one of the worst Covid waves.

COVID INQUIRY

Prof Whitty on VENTILATION in schools:

“It's an uncontroversial statement from an epidemiological point of view to say that improving ventilation in schools would be a good thing […] The advantages of ventilation are very substantial.”

So why aren’t we doing it? Data from the national schools air quality monitoring project (SAMHE) shows that ventilation rates in schools drop to just 3.8 litres per sec per person in colder weather.

This is far BELOW the minimum UK guidance of 5-8 litres per sec per person.

When will the govt fix this?

https://twitter.com/_catinthehat/status/1977760825021542566

LONDON MAYOR INVESTS £2.7M IN AIR QUALITY FILTERS FOR SCHOOLS

I’m SO excited about this! I hope there’s lots of press coverage about it over the coming weeks.

It’s not just an issue in London though.

ALL children have the right to breathe clean air.

london.gov.uk/mayor-invests-… x.com/_catinthehat/s… Here are some more details about the project:

▪️At least 200 schools across London will receive HEPA air filters

▪️Filters used for this initiative will be Blast & Blast Mini devices from @SmartairUk

▪️Participating schools will receive one filter per classroom where possible

https://twitter.com/smartairuk/status/1979127892534608206

Why do schools need to tackle poor VENTILATION in classrooms?

Because nationwide monitoring of UK classrooms shows that ventilation drops to appallingly low levels when outdoor temperatures drop & windows are closed.

Poor ventilation means airborne viruses spread like wildfire.

https://twitter.com/_catinthehat/status/1977701709540458515

And when those airborne viruses spread like wildfire, guess what happens to pupil & teacher absence rates?

Unsurprisingly, they sky rocket! 🚀

Here’s what happened to absence rates in the 2023/24 & 2024/25 autumn terms (vs the pre-pandemic average shown by the dotted line) ⬇️

The DfE have published guidance on reducing the spread of illness this Winter.

Much of it focusses on things like handwashing & catching sneezes which WON’T stop airborne illnesses spreading.

BUT I’m pleased to see a whole section on VENTILATION, CO2 MONITORING & AIR FILTERS. Link to this newly published guidance can be found here:

educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/reduci…

“LONG COVID IS FUELLING A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS IN CHILDREN”

🚨Nearly 40% of children with Long COVID reported anxiety or depression; half had no prior diagnosis.

🚨Mental health impact was comparable to that of serious chronic illnesses like cancer.

neurosciencenews.com/long-covid-chi… Meanwhile, more than 500 children a day in England are being referred to NHS mental health services for anxiety, more than DOUBLE the pre-pandemic rate…

…and yet, the impact of repeated COVID infections on children is never even considered as a contributing factor.

https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1828353338951262258

LONG COVID IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

🚨40% of the undergrad students reported brain fog due to COVID-19.

🚨37 % of the undergraduates exhibited impaired cognition up to 17 months post-infection.

🚨Brain fog appeared to affect the distinct prefrontal haemodynamic patterns. This study was conducted by scientists at the University of Otago (NZ) who were looking to investigate the cognitive effects of COVID infection in a population highly representative of young adults: undergraduate university students.

Link to full study:
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Today, in honour of #LongCovidAwarenessDay, I’m sharing a series of short videos from Dr Rae Duncan (@Sunny_Rae1) about the ongoing impact of Long Covid.

1. WHAT IS LONG COVID?

Long Covid is a multi-systemic inflammatory condition that can affect almost every organ of the body.

https://twitter.com/zalaly/status/1760741448025264428

2. WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPAL MECHANISMS & MANIFESTATIONS OF LONG COVID?

Dr Rae Duncan explains some of the key manifestations of Long Covid, including:

▪️immune-mediated issues

▪️abnormalities of the autonomic nervous system (the nerves which control things like our heart rate).

https://twitter.com/longcovidphysio/status/1676484366082490368

⚠️ IPC GUIDANCE

Newly-appointed Health Minister @AshleyDalton_MP has just responded to a question from MP @_Chris_Coghlan.

Chris asks when the NHS IPC manual will be updated to reflect the latest science on AIRBORNE transmission.

Let’s take a closer look at Ashley’s reply… The key bit is highlighted in yellow here:

“Should new evidence emerge that warrants updates, the guidance will be reviewed & revised accordingly by NHS England & UKHSA to ensure the highest standards of infection prevention & control are maintained across healthcare settings.”

I wonder why so many people who’ve had Covid might be suffering with ‘anxiety’ 🤔

Hmmmm, let me think…

Could it be because Covid infections cause brain inflammation which triggers a plethora of neurological symptoms, including depression, anxiety & cognitive dysfunction?

https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1890372542495375453

The symptom may be ‘anxiety’ but this can often be the first sign of underlying neurological damage caused by COVID infections.

Patients affected may also be struggling with cognitive dysfunction, memory problems, difficulty concentrating etc.

This video helps explain why ⬇️

“WHY ARE YOU STILL MASKING?”

The folks at the @TheWHN have put together a really excellent set of science-based answers to various questions about why you’re still wearing a mask.

(Even if you’re not still masking, you might be interested in the answers).

Let’s take a look…🧵

https://twitter.com/thewhn/status/1886896718618239051

1. “Isn’t the pandemic over?”

Short Answer: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the emergency phase over, but that doesn’t mean the pandemic itself has ended.

(h/t @TheWHN)

I’ve been reflecting on this letter from Minister @GwynneMP ⬇️

The letter which says the government supports Dr Lisa Ritchie’s view that “Covid is not predominantly transmitted through the airborne route”.

I suspect there may be a little more to it than meets the eye… 🧐

/1 You see, here’s the thing:

Letters like that don’t get written in a vacuum.

Letters like that are usually drafted on behalf of Ministers by a civil servant who has expertise in the subject matter.

So I’m left wondering: who drafted it?

Who is advising Mr Gwynne?

/2

UK COVID INQUIRY

In this video, I’ve compiled crucial evidence from expert witness Prof Clive Beggs where he confirms:

🔎 Covid is airborne
🔎 Covid is predominantly spread via airborne aerosols (not droplets)
🔎 Breathing & talking generate significant amounts of aerosols. Here’s a little more detail from Prof Beggs’ testimony where he again confirms that the BULK of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is carried in the small airborne aerosols, NOT in the larger droplets which rapidly fall to the ground.

This is CRUCIAL for infection control purposes.

As Module 4 of the @CovidInquiryUK begins, attention turns to the Covid vaccines…

And it just happens that UKHSA’s annual accounts for 2023/24 have recently been published, revealing that a staggering £1.09 BILLION were wasted on unused vaccines during 2023/24.

🧵 For me, one of the most shocking things was in Autumn 2023, when the govt bought enough vax doses for ALL over-50s…

…but then decided to restrict eligibility, denying millions of people under the age of 65 the chance to be protected.

theguardian.com/society/2023/a…

This is the Chief Exec of @NHSEngland ⬇️

She’s “really worried about the toll that flu & other viruses are taking on our patients and on services across the NHS.”

Yet, despite the fact these viruses are mostly AIRBORNE, there are NO airborne infection controls in hospitals. 🧵

https://twitter.com/amandapritchard/status/1877072570714874310

Make it make sense!!

The Covid Inquiry module which specifically investigated the impact of Covid on healthcare systems ended just before Christmas and some very clear recommendations emerged…

WHY on earth have these not been made the absolute top priority and implemented?

It’s a real shame that comments on this thread ⬇️ have been shut down so I’m not able to respond to the reply from @SpeechAndLangUK about the impact of lockdowns on speech & language for children born during lockdowns.

Here’s what I would have said if I’d been able to reply… 🧵

https://twitter.com/speechandlanguk/status/1876642081676132477

I would have said how pleased I am that the doc they shared from @RCSLT acknowledges the major contribution of Long Covid towards the issue:

“Long COVID needs identified by SLTs included dysphagia, dysphonia, dysarthria, aphasia, cognitive communication disorder & dyspraxia.”

This situation makes me so angry.

It should NOT be the responsibility of individual NHS Trust CEOs like @Nickhulme61 to have to plead with the public to wear masks in hospitals.

There should be clear national guidance, as advised by the IPC experts at the @covidinquiryuk…

🧵

https://twitter.com/bbcnews/status/1874054677999845419

And it shouldn’t just be patients & visitors wearing masks… all NHS staff should be wearing them too.

And not just loose-fitting surgical masks…

…they should be wearing FFP3 masks which are the only class of mask acceptable to HSE for use against infectious aerosols.

https://twitter.com/_catinthehat/status/1860782909122121911

[10 Dec 2024] Opening Remarks from @DrTedros at WHO media briefing:

“We cannot talk about COVID in the past tense.

“It’s still with us, it still causes acute disease and Long COVID, and it still kills.

“The world might want to forget about COVID-19, but we cannot afford to.” Link to the full transcript of the WHO Director-General's (@DrTedros) opening remarks at the media briefing on 10 December 2024 can be found here:

who.int/director-gener…

It was announced this week that SIR CHRIS WORMALD has been named as the new Cabinet Secretary & Head of the Civil Service, one of the most powerful jobs in government.

I thought I’d take a look back at what we learned about him from his recent Covid Inquiry appearances…

🧵 In her Closing Statement at the end of module 3, the Counsel for Covid Bereaved Families for Justice UK gave a scathing appraisal of Sir Chris Wormald’s evidence, describing it as:

“…an object lesson in obfuscation, a word salad – so many, many words, so very little substance”.