A brief thread on rheumatoid arthritis prompted by another terrible article about it in The Times. This illness is so badly understood in the general population. People hear "arthritis" and imagine a mild osteoarthritis "like my granny had". Rheumatoid arthritis is, instead, an autoimmune disease in which the body's own immune system attacks the joints *and other internal organs*. It is treated with heavy immunosuppression. Osteoarthritis, on the other hand, is caused by "wear and tear" on the joints.

AstraZeneca has just announced the private availability of Evusheld in the UK. While we recognise that this will allow some people to access the drug, we are of course disappointed that it has come to this. 1/4 Our campaign is unchanged by this development. As we have stated from the outset, we exist for one purpose: “to get this drug introduced in the UK with access for all those who need it. 2/4

We’d like to invite you to join us, tomorrow, Thursday 20th October, 1-2pm, online, for a special discussion hosted by Tortoise Media about the Government's refusal to make Evusheld available on the NHS!

The link to tune in is here: tortoisemedia.zoom.us/j/87035767579 The panel includes Lord Mendelsohn; @libdemdaisy MP; @drlennardlee, Academic Clinical Lecturer in Medical Oncology at the University of Oxford; @MarkOak04974342, Evusheld for the UK, and @rowntron, Director of Research, Services and Engagement at Blood Cancer UK.

Research* Playbook today hits the nail on the head today -- and it's bleak. UK HE funding is now in a catastrophic death spiral with no relief possible or planned. 1/4 "With inflation predicted to exceed 10 per cent this month, the student loan repayment threshold is already plummeting in real terms, just as the value of the undergraduate tuition fee is withering on the vine." 2/4

The @DHSCgovuk are so frustrating.

“To increase the evidence base upon which Evusheld can be assessed, we are urgently exploring commissioning a clinical trial”.

NO. You cannot do an RCT unless there is true uncertainty around the trial arm. 🧵 1/15

bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11… In this case, they are claiming that there is uncertainty about the efficacy against Omicron due to lab-based testing showing reduced neutralisation. They want a trial with placebo.

Yet Al-Obaidi et al. from the University of Arizona say different 2/15

doi.org/10.1016/j.amjm…

BIG news as we unveil the campaign we've been working on with our charity partners for months: #Forgotten500k in support of @evusheld4theuk.

It starts with full-page national press adverts that will continue to run this week. Here's The Guardian.

getevusheld.uk/500k/ 🧵 1/8 We should be on BBC Breakfast this AM, too, BBC Radio Scotland at lunch time, South Today and South East Today, Inside Health on Radio 4 on Tuesday, and Newsnight on Friday. 2/8

Even if you are not someone who would benefit from Evusheld, the government's decision-making process here should alarm you. From what the DHSC has published, just 4 people, with little expertise in the area, have blocked the treatment of 500k people. A brief thread 🧵 1/8 The DHSC "report" is here. The first thing to say is that this is pretty weak. It's just a summary of the papers and says "the quality of the data is insufficient". This is so flimsy that we can barely challenge it. 2/8 gov.uk/government/pub…

A note on how messed up the world situation is. Visiting Russia in 2002 was a hugely stimulating experience for me. A student, at the time, of Russian history, I was mesmerised. Two years later I'd fall in love with a graduate in Russian linguistics who'd teach me "я тебя люблю". But it didn't feel safe, even then. We were not well regarded as Western tourists. The entire space felt so alien that I never got to grips with it. But I also had assumed the Cold War was past, gone, passed. I don't think I dreamed that 20 years later we'd be back here.

Two years ago, today, the UK confirmed its first Covid death. On the advice of immunology, I cancelled all events and we started shielding. Since then we've met only people who have isolated. It has not been a brilliant two years. There's now some hope on the horizon. Vaccines were good. I have mounted some response after 4 doses. My immunoglobulins will soon have some antibodies. The new antivirals are excellent.

The government seems to have just posted its strategy for how it will reshape the Higher Education sector as universities go bankrupt under COVID-19 gov.uk/government/pub… Para 5: HE is a market with student choice being important, apparently, but the government wants to direct institutions to deliver "strong graduate employment outcomes in areas of economic and societal importance, such as STEM, nursing and teaching."

The thing about F1000 and its platforms for funders was that they were supposed to be the price-pressure threat against big commercial players. I.e. "we'll setup our own competitors if you won't do OA reasonably". Now those infrastructures are owned by a big commercial player. Nice way to monetize the threat against your own business model.