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Signs on the train still ask you to wear masks. I’m pleased to wear mine to protect myself and others. I don’t mind being in a tiny minority or even the only one & I hope you don’t either. We don’t have to follow social norms!
Finally got news that I’m cancer free after 2 years of 3 ops & radiotherapy. Had I not fought hard for screening the outcome would have been different. Urge everyone to ensure you get screening you are due.
#LoveTheNHS
It is with a heavy heart that I’ve opted out of sharing my health data for ’research & planning’ via my GP & via NHS digital. I am 100% committed to sharing for research but against allowing Govt this sneaky way of selling our data for private profit.
#LoveTheNHS
@keepnhspublic
Why are privileged, privately educated UK children allowed to end school term in time to self-isolate to see family safely at Xmas but the majority of children educated in the public sector are not allowed to? Is this unfair, discriminatory & senseless? Yes, yes & yes.
Govt protects us in our workplaces by banning smoking to prevent us inhaling air with carcinogenic particles. Why are they not protecting us from breathing in viral laden particles in a pandemic with mandatory ventilation & wearing face coverings in enclosed, crowded spaces?
Can folk stop referring to “fatigue” for
#COVID19
protective behaviour? Are we fatigued by wearing seatbelts & crash helmets, sticking to speed limits or driving on one side of the road? No. We may not like all of them but we do them because we understand the need for safety 1/2
30+ yr old said to me today “Why should I get vaccinated when I am fit & healthy?” I think this is going to be a common question. I said 4 reasons. 1. To reduce your infectiousness & protect your parents, loved ones & communities. 1/
@BBCr4today
just said “Post-pandemic airport chaos” largely due to high levels of
#Covid_19
staff absences. In what way is this post-pandemic? This is poorly managed mid-pandemic.
@BBCr4today
continues as Govt mouthpiece, this time spinning dangerous disinformation.
Thank you Deepti. I’m going to ask for a public apology from Madeley &
@GMB
& I hope others do also. A disgraceful way to treat a scientist, indeed anyone. And not sure he would have done that to a man.
On being invited to
@GMB
panel tomorrow, I have said I will not be able to do this, unless there is a public apology to
@SusanMichie
. Instigating pile ons on scientists who are already being targeted daily is unacceptable. I hope other scientists will also boycott in solidarity🧵
I love this from a colleague in relation to rumours of UK Government planning to reduce
#Covid_19
testing - “Soon they will be banning thermometers to prevent global warming”
Been speaking to a friend who is a consultant at a London hospital. S/he sobbed for an hour as the team are not coping, crying at work due to exhaustion & not able to provide a safe service due to lack of staff. They’ve told their Chief Exec this & know nothing will be done. 🧵
Today, Chris Whitty said many NHS staff will get ill & there will be shortages. Can we *please* protect HCWs by at updating PPE so all have access to high quality masks & put in HEPA air purifiers in hosp. HCWs have the highest long COVID rates across occupations. Not acceptable.
I hope that
@CMO_England
@uksciencechief
& colleagues will in future give their own scientific briefings to the British public unencumbered by distrust of
@BorisJohnson
& co. Never thought I’d say this but don’t want science to be dragged down by association with dishonesty
I do not see how the professional advisers to the government can tolerate this. They must surely consider their own positions, or they are effectively condoning the disregarding of the rules that they have been advocating.
I didn’t feel I had cancer. I had cancer. If I hadn’t fought incredibly hard for a follow up appointment in 2020 when it was cancelled due to pressure on the NHS, I might not have survived. This is the reality. The NHS is being overwhelmed & desperately needs more resources - now
.
@sajidjavid
tells Today anyone who feels they have cancer will be “unaffected” by the diversion of resources to the million-a-day booster programme. But that is implausible given that many cancers have non-specific symptoms and securing a GP appointment is incredibly…
THANK YOU to all my amazing, kind friends, colleagues & people who I don’t yet know for your lovely support in the face of a nasty & bizarre MSM attack. The family of science is positive & powerful, and I’m honoured to be in it & amongst you. 🙏
"In the past, people in the UK did not accept that they
had to learn to live with cholera, measles, polio,
plague, rabies, SARS, smallpox, tuberculosis or
typhoid – they looked at the possibilities of control
and elimination." Why any different for
#Covid19UK
?
@ZeroCovid_UK
‘Impromptu’ is still a party. Damage of this defence is 3fold. 1. It treats us as idiots, alienating when we need togetherness, 2. It sends mixed messages which can undermine adherence to rules, 3. It perpetuates elitist one rule for them, another for us.
PM Boris Johnson says today that schools are safe. This is untrue & prevents the necessary measures that need to be taken to make them safe eg. ventilation & distancing (which requires space in unused buildings & extra staff). See plan for safe schools from
@IndependentSage
Two young people in the social circle of one of my children have committed suicide in the last 2 months. Text to me “The increasingly detached and isolated world is definitely having a terrible effect on people around me”. Govt needs to do more to look after young people - now.
‘Learning to live with’
#COVID
is about learning how to invest to make environments safe primarily by ensuring safe air in indoor public spaces by CO2 monitoring + ventilation, filtration or air sterilisation. The safer the air, the less we have to wear masks. Delays unhelpful.
How can
@BorisJohnson
keep saying schools are safe as on
@AndrewMarr9
when transmission data show it is not true?Undermines trust which is necessary for good leadership. Urgently needs to partner with LAs, teaching unions, governors, parents as advised by
@IndependentSage
Having gone through cancer surgery during
#COVID19
last year, my heart goes out to all whose ops have been cancelled in 2021. It need not & should not have been like this. The only strategy to prevent this in future is working towards
#ZeroCovid
as outlined by
@IndependentSage
News programmes saying only 28 of 56k attending large events tested
#COVID19
positive. BUT only 15% returned their test results (& these people likely to be more compliant than the others) so I don’t know how any conclusions can be drawn. I’m concerned by possible misinformation.
Neither surgical masks nor cloth masks enough against Omicron. Evidence show FFP2 masks significantly more effective - at protecting others & yourself. Govt should be distributing them free at the moment esp to health & care workers.
People are wearing cloth masks like it’s some kind of fashion statement - it’s not you need a surgical mask. These must be made publicly available for all
If New York City can provide two air purifiers per classroom to help keep children and staff safe, why can't we do this in the UK?
@sajidjavid
@GavinWilliamson
://ny.chalkbeat.org/2021/6/23/22547814/all-classrooms-to-have-2-air-purifiers-next-year-new-york-city-officials-pledge
It took centuries to discover link bet. asbestos exposure & cancer, & decades for effective legislation to protect workers from asbestosis. We already know link between
#COVID19
exposure & illness/death - & can protect workers now eg ventilation, masks.
#RethinkJuly19
.
I said the same on R4 today. Eat out to help out, Go back to workplaces. Keep pubs & other high risk venues open. Back to business as usual. Govt has to take responsibility.
@IndependentSage
has been warning against this approach & predicting the consequences for months.
I was interviewed on
@SkyNews
earlier and was asked about Matt Hancock's remarks of 'don't kill your gran' - I said that govt should take responsibility & not push it onto young people who have basically been doing what govt asked them to!
@IndependentSage
It amazes me to see the 100’s of abusive tweets (that I’ve blocked) I received as a result of this tweet - merely saying it’s OK to protect the health of those around you. Not failsafe but every bit helps. And no I haven’t yet had
#COVID19
& trying to keep it that way.
Signs on the train still ask you to wear masks. I’m pleased to wear mine to protect myself and others. I don’t mind being in a tiny minority or even the only one & I hope you don’t either. We don’t have to follow social norms!
I also said that
@IndependentSage
& other scientists had been reporting for 2 weeks the increased transmission esp in the SouthEast & had called for a Xmas rethink to save lives & give people time to plan. Yet again, Govt acted too little too late. National Tier 4 needed now.
'I think what we’re seeing is a national demoralisation and a national depression'.
Professor Susan Michie says the 'over-promising' throughout the pandemic has been a real problem.
Watch GMB live 👉
We - and the Govt - need to get these messages out loud and clear now, not wait till we find out young(er) people are dragging their heels when it comes to vaccination.
Yes.. and we will not give children & their teachers the ‘freedom’ & ‘personal choice’ to breathe safe air. They are forced to breathe air that is likely to make them ill & may even kill them. What sort of society would do that? It beggars belief -UK. History will judge harshly.
Dominic Raab says people get a "very high" level of protection after receiving one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. What is definition of very high, what evidence is this based on & assume he is talking about protection of self only (not others)? Clarity & transparency please.
2. To achieve population-wide immunity so we can get out of this pandemic ASAP, 3. To reduce chance of new variants undermining vaccines for everyone, 4. For you to avoid illness such as Long Covid which many young people are getting. 2/
We don’t know the damage that
#LongCovid
will bring to children & adults just as our grandparents didn’t k know the LT damage that smoking would bring to them & their loved ones. The Govt shd protect our children at school inc. ventilation & offer of vax.
Releasing these important & worrying data 11pm on Sat evening & w/o section on school spread & only after scientists & others been calling for it is v worrying. Breeds distrust, the last thing we need at this knife-edge time in the pandemic recovery. We need transparency & speed.
After reports from
@guardian
that no.10 blocked
@PHE_uk
release of B.1.617.2 schools data,
@PHE_uk
has now released their technical report on variants at 11pm on a Saturday - this still doesn't seem to have data on schools (!), but what it does have looks seriously worrying. 🧵
Does anyone know why
@CMO_England
said the NHS was an “emergency” service when it patently isn’t? I hope that is not the Government’s perspective for the future for our comprehensive NHS …
Great initiative. Neighbour is sharing his car with several of us who have given up car for ecological reasons - we all pay insurance & £15/day when we borrow & book on shared calendar. Win-win. He feels less guilty. We have car for occasional get-aways. Recommend idea. 👏👏 🌎
President of the Royal Statistical Society: "Abrupt disruption of a surveillance system is wasteful, will make tracking of prevalence meaningless and will put in jeopardy the future health of the public."
40k deaths a year is unacceptable, surely, whatever has happened in the past. Would we accept 10’s of thousands of deaths on the road a year? No. We put in restrictions - traffic lights & roundabouts - & mandate protective behaviours eg seatbelts & helmets.
Minimising our current 100 deaths a day by comparing to January’s catastrophic figures sets an incredibly low bar for what is acceptable.
Comparing the situation in August to last winter doesn’t seem a sensible comparison either.
This is a failure of Government communication. They might like to draw on their behavioural scientist advisors to inform an evidence based communication strategy ….
Coronavirus may be an airborne virus, but Britons are more inclined to say hand washing (45%) and surface sanitising (40%) are ‘very’ effective ways of preventing transmission, over wearing masks (37%) and opening windows (34%)
According to
@BBCr4today
UK Govt will only bring in additional
#COVID19
measures if
#Omicron
more ‘dangerous’. If its transmission significantly higher but symptoms no more severe, it will be more dangerous in terms of number of people with serious disease and long Covid.
130k vaccinations last week. By my calculations that would take >10 years to deliver to UK population. Can we have weekly data on Govt dashboard & hear the strategy for roll-out. We need more than ambition & hope.
And they only lifted their main restrictions yesterday when they achieved it. And still distancing & masking. Having spent 2 weeks there with family who live there, they seem a very respectful & other-centred people who trust their Government. So refreshing …
86% of the *whole* population is fully vaccinated in Portugal. *98%* of all eligible over 12s have been vaccinated! this is *outstanding* and we should be aiming for the same.
In contrast, UK is 66% of whole population vaccinated.
Half the graphs were illegible & incomprehensible even to folk like me with three Uni degrees & a lifetime looking at graphs. A disgrace. Shows contempt for the public. For clarity see
@IndependentSage
& join weekly presentation of data Fridays 1.30 YouTube. Website for last week
100,000 NHS vacancies & workforce are on their knees, experiencing exhaustion & burnout. Problem pre-existed
#COVID19
- situation urgently requires pay increase to attract staff into the NHS. There will be years of catch-up. Govt needs to act now.
This is an important Tweet. One person’s ‘freedom’ is another person’s restriction. There is such a thing as society. Surely
#Covid19UK
has shown us that. The more we act with consideration towards each other, the sooner we will get out of this pandemic.
With only 1/2 country jabbed & v.little protection for me from jab due to immuno suppression -freedom day for everyone else will take my freedoms away from me. Been v.sad all day at thought I won’t be safe to go on train/in shops. Why so bad to keep masks until all double jabbed?
My
#COVID19
advice to all, whatever you are doing today & going forwards, behave as if people outside your household have
#coronavirus
w/o symptoms & act accordingly & suggest other do similarly. That way, transmission will be minimised.
No one in or around SAGE and Nervtag is aware of any scientific advice given to the PM that the requirement to isolate for those infected with Covid19 should be terminated from end of the month. “It’s politics, isn’t it” is a typical reaction
The global picture shows that those countries who locked down soon, hard & for long enough were the most effective in suppressing the pandemic AND in protecting their economies, getting on with their lives almost normally now. The health v wealth narrative is false & always was.
One man who has a lot to answer for is Rishi Sunak, the architect of Eat Out To Help Out, who fought against measures to suppress the virus because it'd be bad for the economy.
In UK’s 2nd largest crisis since
#COVID19
began, MSM features stories that it’s all over, endemic, stop tests & vax. Alice in Wonderland. Most don’t want to live with 100+ avoidable deaths a week, untold Long Covid & educational harm & continuing uncertainty
Study of 29m people who have been vaccinated show that all vaccines offer a "substantial public health benefit". Good time for UK Govt to give good support for whole population inc teenagers to be vaccinated to protect from new variants, illness & death.
Govt protects us on the roads with speed limits, seatbelts & prohibition of drink driving. Why are they not protecting us off the roads in the midst of a raging pandemic with social distancing, mandatory ventilation & wearing face coverings in enclosed, crowded spaces?
Agree 100% - this is the clearest, most succinct article I've read on the way forward. Do read & RT.....
Continual lockdowns are not the answer to bringing Covid under control | Devi Sridhar
This is my kind, generous mother, who devoted her life to science & helping others, died in a car crash & was attacked along with me yesterday by the
@DailyMailUK
. She also received hate mail but always remained positive. So will I. Science is a strong family.
Any thoughts about why
@BorisJohnson
stressed hand hygiene today at the or conference? Could it be that it is because individuals can control it unlike aerosol transmission which is part of Govt responsibility to keep workplaces safe?
#distraction
This is unhelpful headline - only 33% protection against variant B.1671.2, less than for previous variants, after 1 dose. 60% adults & 100% children have had either 1 or no doses. This headline misleads, may falsely reassure & undermines chances of Roadmap progress. Plz change.
Attention all! Message from a colleague received today: "Hi Susan, you were right, it is COVID – got my positive test result (waited 3.5 days for the result!) and had 2 prior inconclusive PCR tests + 6 negative lateral flow tests."
Nu will arrive if the past predicts the future -quite possibly soon. We should be using protective behaviours now to bring down transmission ->50k cases today. Facemasks indoors, working from home & limiting contact where possible, support for isolation & quarantine, ventilation.
Think through the consequences of
#behaviour
.
#COVID
ー19 Food bank shortage blamed on panic buying. We need a society-wide shift to mindset of caring, collective, looking after those most in need, reduce not increase
#inequalities
“You have to be willing to say you got it wrong, you have to be honest with people, you need to be transparent.”
@BorisJohnson
is it worth at last listening & following the advice of your behavioural scientist advisors?
“The longer [the govt] leaves it, the longer the lockdown will have to be and the more people will die ahead of that.”
@UCL
Health Psychology Prof
@robertjwest
tells
#Newsnight
the UK is likely to follow France and Germany into another national lockdown
Reminded here of our 2021 statement signed by 120 scientists published in The Lancet branding the Government’s mass infection strategy as “dangerous and premature”. Not only would hundreds of thousands of people be likely to acquire Long COVID 🧵1/2 …
Sajid Javid announcing that 'we don't believe the pressures on the NHS are unsustainable' - how many health workers have to make this clear? This is wilful denial of the reality on the ground.
2/2 If the need for safety were similarly explained & supported by good comms & regulation,
#COVID19
would also become a way life where needed, w/o fatigue, as in much of SE Asia.
Excellent comments on R4 today by Prof Lucy Yardley - it is not the breaking of rules that is the problem but the rules themselves eg having nurseries & non essential workplaces open. It is primarily indoors rather than outdoors where most transmission occurs.
No one
#Covid19
measure will suffice, we need many, inc. ventilation & supported isolation. Need leadership, a scientific understanding of behaviour, learn lessons from other countries, heed
@WHO
to act decisively - & avoid previous mistakes via
@YouTube
Could everyone look at these numbers carefully & ask themselves why the difference? Feel free to add your explanations here. Might it reflect the fact that England has a drift rather than elimination strategy (meaning 27000 extra deaths by next Spring)?
@IndependentSage
reports
UK new deaths reported today:
England: 147
Scotland: 0
Wales: 1
N.Ireland: 0
UK new confirmed cases: 820 cases.
Numbers are not coming down fast enough. And no idea how many people tested in England to find those 820.
THREAD: New paper published by SPI-B/SAGE on removal of remaining protections Removal of free access to testing will make it more difficult for people experiencing Covid-19 symptoms to ....1/n
This has got to be a joke. A family of 7 across 2 households can’t get together outdoors unless they have guns shooting at innocent birds ...and then they can invite an additional 23 to the gathering ...
NEW: Boris Johnson's Rule Of 6 has a controversial exemption - for grouse shooting and similar field sports.
Upto 30 people can gather to hunt with guns cos classed as a licensed outdoor sport.
EXCLUSIVE: Cab Office drafted special meeting on exemption
UKHSA say people with any symptoms of respiratory illness should avoid mixing with others. Suggesting vulnerable individuals lead isolated lives rather than a population-wide strategy of reducing infections for all is punitive.
Not only do you think working from home is one of key things to reduce transmission, SAGE’s modellers stated this in their published report of Sept 8th. Their suggestion of facemasks wasn’t limited to transport & shops as PM has suggested. Act early in pandemics.
@IndependentSage
It doesn’t have to be like this - ventilate public spaces inc schools/workplaces, work from home where you can, wear facemasks in indoor crowded spaces, isolate inc. from household members if positive or symptomatic - with adequate financial & practical support.
@IndependentSage
The complacency was Govt threatening people back to workplaces, urging to go to pubs & restaurants, encouraging international travel, no measures re opening schools & Unis. We’re now paying for Govt complacency, majority want more not fewer restrictions.
I have seen five major reforms of the NHS in my working life (1990, 2000, 2012, 2014, 2019) and now another proposed reform by
@BorisJohnson
! All reforms been modelled on ‘Kaiser’ model of healthcare of USA.
They all lead to ultimate PRIVATISATION of the NHS!
RT to oppose !
If we had followed your strategy, we would in all likelihood have had only one early lockdown. If we follow the strategy now, we can avoid future lockdowns - its called
#ZeroCovid
- for details see reports from
@IndependentSage
It’s strange to be misrepresented as ‘pro-lockdown’ when everything I’ve been writing & saying since Feb has been about how to **avoid** lockdown/release cycles. Which means don’t try to stay within healthcare capacity (which forces reactive lockdowns). Crush the curve.
Am in Portugal on holiday. Everyone wearing masks indoors & outdoors if crowded. Feels so much more respectful, safe & therefore relaxing than in UK. Thank you Portugal.
Hugely disappointed Scotland has went the way of England and stopped mask mandates.
We have neither the Covid case rates nor hospital capacity to justify it.
Will the Scots now follow the majority of England and ignore the strong recommendation to keep wearing masks?
The Govt will find out that lockdown + vaccination of vulnerable + border controls is not viable strategy for controlling
#Covid19UK
. Needs to make safe workplaces & schools + reform
#TestTraceIsolate
root & branch. See
@IndependentSage
reports. See other successful countries.
Yesterday I thanked my wonderful colleagues for their generous support following a nasty personal attack. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the many journalists & broadcasters who have contacted me, appalled at what happened, expressing their support & respect.
I’ve opted out of this
#NHSDataGrab
for unknown purposes. Our data are not for sale. Happy to share it for research & education. Opting out requires sending a form to your GP. You have 2 weeks. Shocking that most people aren’t aware of what’s going on. Part of
#NHS
privatisation.
‘Patients have until June 23 to opt out and most don’t even know about it’
Thanks
@MarinaHyde
; we're urging a delay until patients+public have had time to be aware of/understand this, and so they can choose to opt-out if they wish
It is very important to separate scientific advice from how it is used (or not). My fear is that science, which is key to getting through this pandemic, will be diminished in the eyes of the public by association with this government. Independent scientific communication key.
I was surprised as I have always found Radio Scotland to be very good - informative& intelligent questioning - when I have been on other programmes previously. Not this time.
@jimmytabuk
@SusanMichie
@BBCRadioScot
So much for the BBC’s impartiality.From the start of the programme it was obvious that Kaye Adams sides with Johnson on lifting covid sanctions.Having listened to her before it is clear that has no time for the Scottish Government.
As
@IndependentSage
has been saying throughout the summer, close high risk indoor venues such as pubs, nonessential workplaces & transport to drive community transmission down to keep schools open.
#ZeroCovid
. But the Govt has no strategy. This is an emergency.
"With a growing amount of infections in a growing amount of schools and nothing being done to protect members those deaths will be the responsibility of this negligent government."
1/2 "Those who smear modellers and scientists as “gloomsters” are dishonest and irresponsible. It’s a tactic of the political world ... Just under 150,000 people have died from Covid in the UK. Every one of them meant something...."/
Blocked my first follower today. And went on to block many more. Twitter is for sharing information & ideas, even for thanking & praising, not for abuse. Following
@trishgreenhalgh
’s example,
#ZeroTolerance
of abusive messages.
It’s not over for anyone - I am virtually self-isolating in London as I am surrounded by people with
#COVID19
& I don’t want to get it because of risk of
#LongCovid
or being unlucky & having serious illness. UK Govt policy of allowing high transmission prevents normal life.
Only 7% of people in low income nations are vaccinated
So when I read a tweet saying “the pandemic is over,” I really cringe
It’s “over” for the healthy, wealthy, highly vaccinated folks who are bored of public health measures—but it’s not “over” for much of the world
‘Twas me that said that - & why the dismal record? Because
#TestTraceIsolate
contracts went to Serco & Sitel who have neither expertise nor track record & keep failing while consuming £££ - instead of giving funds to local public health who do the job excellently. The data speak.
Contacted by Test & Trace. Had to create password to reply. Tried many times, including ones stronger than the one my bank wants, but told they were not strong enough. Same happened to husband. This is bonkers. This is human behaviour - do not make it ridiculously difficult.
The NHS bill is a direct threat to universal care it has provided since its inception in 1948.The BILL is designed to ration treatment,shut hospital units, close GP surgeries,down skill the staff and open gates for PRIVATISATION!
Write to your MP to oppose the
#nhsbill
!
Requiring face masks on buses, trains and in supermarkets has no detrimental impact on the economy.
Unlike drinking and eating out, people have to buy food and travel to work.
Forcing them to risk their health when they do so isn't freedom.
It's criminal.