Mar 16, 2021Latest on the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccineWritten this evening of Tuesday 16 March. Story will evolve over the coming days, will try to keep this up to date. Short summary — There’s currently no obvious reason for concern around any COVID-19 vaccine, including the Oxford AstraZeneca candidate. …Covid 193 min readCovid 193 min read
Feb 24, 2021COVID-19 and where-are-we-nowPosted this on Facebook initially, and reposted here for easier sharing Some general where-we-are-now thoughts on pandemic stuff. TLDR — We’re in the “optimistic but…” phase. Hopefully heading in the right direction but we desperately need to avoid a twist in the tail — The UK roadmap…3 min read3 min read
Feb 5, 2021COVID-19 and vaccine safetyI initially scribbled this as a facebook post, but adding it as a blog as well to allow for easier sharing. So, vaccine safety The TLDR version is that the safety record of both Pfizer and the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines is excellent. No vaccine-caused deaths and reported side effects are…Covid 192 min readCovid 192 min read
Jan 12, 2021A personal rant — the UK and a failure of governanceIt’s 12 January 2021, and we’re about to hit 100k deaths from COVID-19 in the UK. In less than a year. One. Hundred. Thousand. Deaths. From. COVID-19. This is a personal viewpoint post. Links/citations in the comments. And very much political and critical. …Covid 195 min readCovid 195 min read
Dec 20, 2020In a pandemic winter, Christmas is simply not that importantFirst published on The Conversation on 4 December 2020 Christmas is coming, and as the old rhyme goes, the goose is getting fat and we are urged to put a penny in the old man’s hat. …Christmas3 min readChristmas3 min read
Nov 10, 2020Scabies: the neglected tropical disease no one wants to talk aboutOriginally published at https://theconversation.com on November 10, 2020. Some diseases are more likely to enter public conversation than others. COVID-19 has dominated the public discourse in 2020, while cancer and AIDS are high-profile diseases that attract significant scientific and media attention. You can safely discuss these diseases around the dinner…Scabies4 min readScabies4 min read
Sep 30, 2020Santa Claus in the COVID-19 era: good infection control practice can save ChristmasOver breakfast this morning my 8-year-old daughter causally asked “is Father Christmas coming this year, what with COVID-19 and everything?” Quite the opening gambit to our day, but there followed a thought-provoking discussion around present delivery logistics. The advent period There’s several key issues here, covering Santa himself, and the…Covid 196 min readCovid 196 min read
Sep 21, 2020UK and COVID-19 : what can we all do?Your latest public service announcement, following on from the UK press conference today from CMO Chris Whitty and CSA Patrick Vallance. #COVID19 is still really really important. You can help make it less important. If you aren’t a fan of the decision-makers and are wondering why Johnson told you to…3 min read3 min read
Jul 2, 2020There’s no “I’m alright Jack” with COVID-19 — a pandemic is everyone’s problemHere in the UK and as of early July 2020, COVID-19 cases are much lower than in the recent past. …Covid 195 min readCovid 195 min read
May 19, 2020Unspoken of — domiciliary care in pandemic timesThe world of residential, nursing and domiciliary care is about as unsexy as it gets. …Domiciliary Care6 min readDomiciliary Care6 min read
