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Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧 Profile picture
Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧
@_CatintheHat
Mum • Lover of nature and clean, fresh air • Passionate about science • “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.”
26 subscribers
Jan 4 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
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…Image 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…Image
Dec 17, 2025 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
“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
Dec 11, 2025 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
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
Dec 10, 2025 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
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
Dec 8, 2025 • 18 tweets • 8 min read
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
Dec 4, 2025 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
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?!
Nov 22, 2025 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
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
Nov 12, 2025 • 65 tweets • 25 min read
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… 🔎 Image 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? Image
Nov 6, 2025 • 27 tweets • 14 min read
“The room is
almost all
elephant.

Almost none
of it isn't.”

This poem by Kay Ryan feels so painfully appropriate right now as the news is dominated by stories of Britain’s £85bn sickness crisis…

…but without even mentioning the single most obvious cause.

#LongCovid Image To those paying attention, none of this has come as a surprise.

Experts predicted this would happen from early on.

Scientific American (July 2021):
“A Tsunami of Disability Is Coming as a Result of Long COVID”

scientificamerican.com/article/a-tsun…

(Paywall free: archive.ph/OoLbd) Image
Oct 26, 2025 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
“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…Image 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. Image
Oct 20, 2025 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
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? Image
Oct 17, 2025 • 21 tweets • 12 min read
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…Image 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
Oct 13, 2025 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
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. Image 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) ⬇️ Image
Oct 13, 2025 • 6 tweets • 4 min read
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. Image Link to this newly published guidance can be found here:

educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/reduci…
Jun 19, 2025 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
@LucyGoBag Hi @LucyGoBag, the article quotes you as saying that schools are still dealing with “terrifyingly high levels of school avoidance”.

This is primarily due to higher levels of illness absence which remain 40% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

But here’s the interesting thing… Image @LucyGoBag Would it surprise you to learn that illness absence is ALSO 40% higher in teachers compared to the pre-pandemic average?

Are the teachers also truanting and suffering from “terrifyingly high levels of school avoidance”?

Or could it be that there’s just a lot more illness…? Image
May 22, 2025 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
“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…Image 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. Image
May 15, 2025 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
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. Image 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…Image
Mar 15, 2025 • 11 tweets • 7 min read
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. 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).
Feb 18, 2025 • 27 tweets • 13 min read
⚠️ 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… Image 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.” Image
Feb 15, 2025 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
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? 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 ⬇️
Feb 13, 2025 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
“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…🧵 Image 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) Image