Read on Twitter
1. Last NYE was a quiet one for @AmyMcLellan2 & I, after a busy year writing and helping @DavidHHeadley and @LizzieCurle organise @CapitalCrime1
Someone I follow on Twitter shared this story, and we jokingly said we hoped it wouldn’t be another SARS. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3044050/mystery-illness-hits-chinas-wuhan-city-nearly-30-hospitalised
Someone I follow on Twitter shared this story, and we jokingly said we hoped it wouldn’t be another SARS. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3044050/mystery-illness-hits-chinas-wuhan-city-nearly-30-hospitalised
2. A few days later, after watching social media footage coming out of Wuhan, I went for a meeting to plan Capital Crime 2021, and said it was likely we’d have to cancel the festival because of the emerging pandemic. My partners in crime looked at me as though I was unhinged.
3. As the situation worsened, I reconnected with people I knew from my previous life working as a consultant to the medical industry, and it became clear we were witnessing the start of a pandemic.
4. Knowing something about the history of pandemics, I was aware that early intervention, and quick and decisive action were essential. I was asked to write a report for Matt Hancock on the risks of reinfection and long-term ill health caused by coronaviruses.
5. Knowing the public health and economic costs of a pandemic, I joined people like @DrEricDing trying to raise the alarm in February, calling for decisive government action. In the report sent to Hancock, I recommended a 4-week precautionary border closure and lockdown...
6. ...to stop transmission while a robust test, trace and isolate system was established. Basically New Zealand. SARS & MERS suggested the new coronavirus would leave a trail of long-term illness in its wake & based on endemic HCoVs, reinfection was a possibility.
7. @Sir_David_King was complimentary about what I’d written, but when another scientist said, “Why would we inflict a 4-week, 50% reduction in GDP for the flu?”, as this thread highlights, I knew our national response would be directed at tackling the wrong virus. https://twitter.com/adamhamdy/status/1344723723962740736
8. @Tim_R_Dawson saw some of my alarming tweets and asked me to write an article for @FMConservatives based on the report. This was published on 1st March. https://freemarketconservatives.org/the-government-needs-to-be-much-firmer-in-its-response-to-covid-19/
9. Much of my 2020 was then spent trying to combat #COVID19 misinformation and raise awareness of how the government’s flawed policies could be improved.
10. Over the course of the year I’ve got to know some genuine experts, whose advocacy has been inspiring. @BillHanage has been generous with his time and insight. @dgurdasani1 is an amazing scientist and communicator. She wrangled the John Snow Memo authors...
11. ...and has been a tireless advocate for a better public health response to the pandemic. @Dr2NisreenAlwan has been a voice for those suffering from #LongCovid All of the John Snow Memo authors are worth following.
12. @florian_krammer @AliNouriPhD @EckerleIsabella @GYamey @DebbyBogaert @theresphysics @eyejosh @bealelab @devisridhar @HZiauddeen - all working tirelessly to help us better understand #COVID19 and meet the challenge it poses. Full list of authors here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32153-X/fulltext
13. I’ve been vocal on the subject of schools because I don’t like the blind risk we’re taking with children’s health and can’t believe the government hasn’t implemented public health measures recommended by the @WHO and others to protect against transmission in schools.
14. Through this I’ve become aware of other advocates on the issue of school safety. @DrZoeHyde has been a leading voice.
And @SarahDRasmussen whose threads remind me why I love maths.
And @SarahDRasmussen whose threads remind me why I love maths.
15. Parents, teachers and union representatives who are trying to make schools a safer place @HoppySaul @germanacanzi @karamballes @cyclingkev @paysupplystaff @DmodosCutter @ConcernedofBri1 @ChrisDo30828241
16. I’ve been impressed by the work @NafeezAhmed @peterjukes @BylineTimes have been doing to expose the dark underbelly of the money, shadowy networks and advisers who have tried to exploit the pandemic or minimise its impact. https://bylinetimes.com/2020/09/23/scamademics-right-wing-lobbying-groups-reviving-herd-immunity-in-the-uk/
17. @chrischirp @Sir_David_King @martinmckee @GabrielScally @globalhlthtwit and the other members of @IndependentSage who have given so much time and energy to try and help improve the UK pandemic response.
18. @fitterhappierAJ has been hawkish on immunity and has been proven right again and again. He’s been generous with his time and thinking.
19. And @PRussW1 has been dogged in highlighting reinfection when people were saying it was impossible. It is an important issue we still don’t know enough about.
21. @DrDomPimenta for his tireless communication, medical and charity work. Still in awe of your epic #COVIDIOT battles with deniers, Keto nutritionists, Gompertz curve fans and those who believed the virus had ‘gone away’. https://healthcareworkersfoundation.org/
22. @DrSimonAshworth @doctor_oxford @rupert_pearse and all the frontline NHS staff at the sharp end of this pandemic. They deserve far more than claps.
23. @mirvatermos @katemeredithp @ahandvanish @LongCovidSOS @keyeri @preshitorian and many others for being voices on the issue of #LongCovid
@itosettiMD_MBA for sharing useful info (and a sense of disbelief at how some governments are failing to respond to the pandemic).
@itosettiMD_MBA for sharing useful info (and a sense of disbelief at how some governments are failing to respond to the pandemic).
24. And so many others who’ve shared info, insight or laughs to make 2020 a little easier.
I think we’ve all had enough of this pandemic, so I really hope our governments can get a handle on things. Half measures only make things worse & the new variant will punish inaction. https://twitter.com/dgurdasani1/status/1344774555718590464
I think we’ve all had enough of this pandemic, so I really hope our governments can get a handle on things. Half measures only make things worse & the new variant will punish inaction. https://twitter.com/dgurdasani1/status/1344774555718590464
25. And looking at the relative success of eradicators such as China, New Zealand, Vietnam, and others, we may want to revise all future pandemic plans. https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4907
26. I hope 2021 is a better year for everyone and that the day will come when we can put this all behind us.
In the meantime, stay positive, keep safe and be kind to yourself and others.
In the meantime, stay positive, keep safe and be kind to yourself and others.
27. Almost forgot @ToryFibs and @Parents_Utd who have done a great job of sharing information on schools and exposing some of the dangerous misinformation out there.
