Notices by Kit Yates (kityates@mas.to)

Boris Johnson says at the inquiry "it was slow to dawn on government generally about the full horror of of Covid."

Why? Why was it so slow to dawn on the government what could happen?

That slowness cost lives and livelihoods at a grand scale.

“A new study shows that receiving an updated COVID vaccine reduced people’s risk of severe disease and death in all age groups, regardless of immunity from prior infection or vaccination”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-study-finds-annual-covid-vaccines-protect-people-against-severe-disease/

Bit niche I think, but apparently this parking spot is reserved for female rock climbers.

"In a study taking data from across the USA, children and adolescents were found to have double the risk of developing long COVID after their second infection with SARS-CoV-2"

Timely study given the current #CovidInquiry module is focussed on children.

https://www.iflscience.com/long-covid-risk-in-kids-found-to-double-after-their-second-covid-19-infection-81005

First op-ed for LiveScience on my Association of British Science Writers media fellowship.
"Ultimately whether good science is swamped by an ever rising quagmire of poor quality studies or whether we are able to turn back the tide depends on the integrity of researchers and the awareness of the organizations which facilitate and fund it."
https://www.livescience.com/human-behavior/citation-cartels-ghost-writing-and-fake-peer-review-how-fraud-is-causing-a-crisis-in-science-and-what-we-can-do-about-it-opinion

If I was a tutoring company and I wanted to convince you that I could teach your kids maths, I would probably not have an advert that said “3=2” on it!

That’s just me though.

Makes you wonder how the pandemic would have panned out if it were just health journalists penning the headlines rather than political journalists.

Expect more silence from the Royal Society in the face of their most notorious fellow advocating for the overthrow of the democratically elected government of a country he is neither a citizen nor a resident of (yet he is a fellow of their most prestigious learned society).

If you’re an academic and you’re not worried by the sort of rhetoric then you’re not paying attention.
You might think you’re insulated from this in the UK, but this sort of anti-academic propaganda is travelling over here.

“A child has died at Liverpool's Alder Hey Children's Hospital after contracting measles”

An avoidable tragedy.

Please get yourself and your kids vaccinated. For yourself and for others.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8j1k3k44e2o
1/2

I guess you've heard some bad jokes about Fibonacci sequences?

Well, this one is as bad as the last two you heard put together.

Live by the sword…

“The analysis, billed as the most in-depth look yet at public procurement during the crisis, warns that systemic bias, opaque accounting and uncontrolled pricing resulted in vast waste of public funds on testing and personal protective equipment (PPE).”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/sep/09/tory-covid-contracts-worth-15bn-had-corruption-red-flags-study-finds?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

"In a new study published in the Journal of Hospital Infections, researchers found simple infection control measures could save lives and reduce costs."

It's not surprising really is it? Does make you wonder why we aren't even doing the basics.

https://buff.ly/3Xihxq2

“Despite the removal of mandates around masking and other safety procedures, COVID continues to cause severe illness, disability and death”

https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/protecting-hcws-and-patients-an-impossible-fix-or-an-essential-one

“Several posts on Facebook claim that mpox (the disease caused by the monkeypox virus) is actually a side effect of the Covid-19 vaccines. This is not true.”

Can’t believe we even need these fact checking articles. It’s a sad reflection of where we are.

https://fullfact.org/health/mpox-covid-vaccines/?utm_content=buffer5bc9d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

“Fake manuscript titles ranging from “Unpacking the Aerodynamics of Flying Pigs” to “Why Dogs Follow You into the Bathroom: Insights into Canine Codependency”, the game pokes fun at the “absurdity” of what it takes to build a successful scientific career”

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02511-5

"Sunak and Johnson pushed repeatedly against autumn lockdown, inquiry told"

Although we have known for years hearing the details confirmed from independent sources, it still shocks me how callous they were with our health and our lives.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/07/fears-of-nhs-transfers-causing-care-home-deaths-raised-early-covid-inquiry-told?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

Government ignores own scientific advisers to "approve the use of a banned bee-killing pesticide just days after the European Union’s highest court blocked its deployment on the continent."
https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/britain-brexit-freedoms-bee-killing-neonicotinoid-2104102

I'm sorry, but you can't *always* be experiencing a higher volume of calls than average.

That's not how averages work.