I continue to be very grateful for all the time and huge effort you put into keeping us informed. I cannot understand why the government and the BBC website are not giving us this crucial information
Covid waves seem to have become the norm. This compounds the situation, it reminds me of Trump saying, ‘If you don’t test you don’t have infections’. We have taken it steps further; no tests, little in the way of data available, no media coverage, no politicians displaying concerns or intervening to protect public health, no mitigations and no plans to improve this ongoing situation. We are now left with a public who believes it to be no more than a cold or flu. 2 million with long covid, workforce and school absence increasing with the answer being to force people and children to work and school respectively because the cost to the public purse would be too much. What about dealing with the causes? There will always be those who play the system and Ive witnessed those but blanket punishment is inappropriate.
I watched and listened to Professor Kevin Fong, it not only made me cry but angered me when I considered how ‘they’ clapped our health workers in those first months of this pandemic only to then treat them appallingly. Still they gaslight!
I have watched IPC members and those at the top of the health service endeavouring to justify their dreadful decisions while continuing to support surgical masks over FP3s and still not recognising the virus is airborne.
I listened to the words of Professor Whitty and apart from his support of ventilation and air filtration much of his testimony seemed aimed at justifying decisions made by himself and his colleagues. He along with other scientific advisers and politicians were the reason I was and still am really grateful for the briefings from you and the other scientists of Independent Sage.
Sadly many have lost loved ones during this ongoing pandemic, my loss was of trust and faith in ‘leaders’ to keep us all safe and to be open, honest, transparent and to display integrity. These ‘leaders’ seem to have learned nothing from the last five years; either that or it’s easier and cheaper to bury their heads in the sand. What is also so shocking is the total abdication of responsibility towards children, they don’t seem to feature in any plans and remain unprotected. In addition with the increased infection rates and the lack of vaccinations and mitigations children will continue to become infected and therefore pass on infection to family members which could result in organ damage and long Covid.
Thankfully my husband and I are booked in for flu and Covid vaccinations. Sadly family members along with a large proportion of the public don’t have the urgency we have. With continued absence of communications I don’t see a change any time soon.
Yesterday I went to the supermarket with a proper mask on. I'm very vulnerable, vaccines don't work for me so I have to. The looks said it all! People have been seriously misled about this virus. Its only a cold they say when in reality it is a vascular disease that can cause blood clots and potentially disregulate the immune system. People don't want to hear and governments and UKHSA don't want to tell for fear the economy is affected. Well, we are entering autumn with yet another surge so watch this space for this winter. We could be in a very bad place by next spring in my opinion.
The NHS have made a massive error that they are not aware of. The mistake could mean the booking system is overwhelmed and vaccine stocks will become quickly exhausted because the demand managed by the Green Book has been underestimated. How? The green book limited asthmatics to those who have poorly controlled asthma; as defined as;
Who’s at increased risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 section which reads;
conditions that affect your breathing, such as asthma (needing a steroid inhaler or tablets), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or cystic fibrosis
I suspect the phrase
"needing a steroid inhaler or tablets"
in light of the green book guidance should properly read
"needing a steroid inhaler and tablets"
What this could mean next week is, reading literally, asthmatics like myself who take only inhaled Steroids could think they are eligible for a Covid vaccination . And there could be upto 8 million extra Covid vaccination bookings made by asthmatics who use Steroid inhalers alone. And lots of arguments with disappointed asthmatic patients at Vaccination centres, being turned away by those who have only read the green book and not the misleading(?) NHS website.
Hi Christina. Are you aware of how hard it is for people to get novavax now? If I ask the nhs for one they tell me it's reserved for people over 65 even if I tell them I have ME and have terrible reactions to mrna they won't give it to me. Privately they tell me the real reason that novavax ship 5 vials a box. So if they don't get 5 people they can't make any money. A lot of pharmacies this year stopped doing novavax altogether. Ive rang a dozen pharmacies in the Midlands and there not doing it at all this year due to not making any money I've only got two left to try. Some people like myself are having to resort to buying the entire packet to make sure we get one £300. I've had all the vaccines and I only tolerate novavax. But novavax also seems to come with fewer sides for the average person as well. I cannot wait to for these nasal vaccines though. Hope to god they don't make me feel awful like the mrna vaccines do tho. Thanks.
Thanks a lot for all your hard work on constantly updating us.
I was wondering if there are data on which hospitals/care homes are actively vaccinating health care staff, as JCVI left it to each hospital what they were offering.
And even if it is possible to get the vaccine in the hospital do they actively promote the covid vaccine as they do with flu. As without a drive like for flu vaccine, and no promotion, most will not see that it is available. Thanks a lot
Thank you so much for this Christina, extremely well put.
I wonder if you would consider adding schools to the list of 'settings where clinically vulnerable people have no choice but to be', since staff and pupils include clinically vulnerable people too, and parents are being threatened with legal action for keeping Covid positive children at home right now.
I look forward to your writing. A shining beacon who actually still deals with this terrible disease. Just watching those clips of the Professor was heart breaking. It doesn't matter how long he lives, he will never get over what saw and heard. None of the doctors and nurses will. And what do we do now to help them? Nothing. Fight them over pay rises. Make a fuss about backlogs and expect them to carry on with Covid regardless.
I took my 89 year old mum to a small hospital this week for an appointment. We were the only 2 people we saw in the entire time we were there in masks. I made her wear one because I know it's on the rise again. I just don't understand why hospitals and GP surgeries and clinics are not insisting on staff and patients wearing masks!
My life has become very much smaller since Covid. But that's because I am suffering with a chronic health problem and I suspect Covid would not go easy on me because of it. I have given up many things to avoid it. But there are times I have to risk it just to be able to see others occasionally. The price I've paid is small really. I'm still here and so is mum. That's a massive result. I just hope I can continue to be lucky on the odd occasion I have to give in to some social event. My cousin wants to come and visit with his 9 year old. I'm hoping to put that off until we know if going back to school has caused her problems. Why do people care so little?
"We seem stuck in a phase of denial about Covid - we don’t want to remember. We don’t want to think about it. People justify this deliberate forgetting by minimising what happened"
Yes. You'll see exactly the same sorts of comments on Wikipedia about the deadly "Spanish" flu. People felt "ashamed" by it. Ashamed? Wtf was there to be ashamed about? Humans are incredibly stupid.
I continue to be very grateful for all the time and huge effort you put into keeping us informed. I cannot understand why the government and the BBC website are not giving us this crucial information
Covid waves seem to have become the norm. This compounds the situation, it reminds me of Trump saying, ‘If you don’t test you don’t have infections’. We have taken it steps further; no tests, little in the way of data available, no media coverage, no politicians displaying concerns or intervening to protect public health, no mitigations and no plans to improve this ongoing situation. We are now left with a public who believes it to be no more than a cold or flu. 2 million with long covid, workforce and school absence increasing with the answer being to force people and children to work and school respectively because the cost to the public purse would be too much. What about dealing with the causes? There will always be those who play the system and Ive witnessed those but blanket punishment is inappropriate.
I watched and listened to Professor Kevin Fong, it not only made me cry but angered me when I considered how ‘they’ clapped our health workers in those first months of this pandemic only to then treat them appallingly. Still they gaslight!
I have watched IPC members and those at the top of the health service endeavouring to justify their dreadful decisions while continuing to support surgical masks over FP3s and still not recognising the virus is airborne.
I listened to the words of Professor Whitty and apart from his support of ventilation and air filtration much of his testimony seemed aimed at justifying decisions made by himself and his colleagues. He along with other scientific advisers and politicians were the reason I was and still am really grateful for the briefings from you and the other scientists of Independent Sage.
Sadly many have lost loved ones during this ongoing pandemic, my loss was of trust and faith in ‘leaders’ to keep us all safe and to be open, honest, transparent and to display integrity. These ‘leaders’ seem to have learned nothing from the last five years; either that or it’s easier and cheaper to bury their heads in the sand. What is also so shocking is the total abdication of responsibility towards children, they don’t seem to feature in any plans and remain unprotected. In addition with the increased infection rates and the lack of vaccinations and mitigations children will continue to become infected and therefore pass on infection to family members which could result in organ damage and long Covid.
Thankfully my husband and I are booked in for flu and Covid vaccinations. Sadly family members along with a large proportion of the public don’t have the urgency we have. With continued absence of communications I don’t see a change any time soon.
Thanks Christina. I am a great fan of your shooting from the hip technique on TV, esp because you are not firing blanks.
Yesterday I went to the supermarket with a proper mask on. I'm very vulnerable, vaccines don't work for me so I have to. The looks said it all! People have been seriously misled about this virus. Its only a cold they say when in reality it is a vascular disease that can cause blood clots and potentially disregulate the immune system. People don't want to hear and governments and UKHSA don't want to tell for fear the economy is affected. Well, we are entering autumn with yet another surge so watch this space for this winter. We could be in a very bad place by next spring in my opinion.
Thanks a million ... literally.
But checked Boots website with no result ... ?
PS Masks proper grade ... for small face ... sources anybody?
I use AJ Pro FFP3. They have adjustable headbands which enable a much better fit for my small face.
https://www.workmask.co.uk/products/ffp3-eu-certified-medical-respirator-face-mask-aj-pro-aj02
Thanks Kate
I have taken your suggestion
The NHS have made a massive error that they are not aware of. The mistake could mean the booking system is overwhelmed and vaccine stocks will become quickly exhausted because the demand managed by the Green Book has been underestimated. How? The green book limited asthmatics to those who have poorly controlled asthma; as defined as;
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66e7fbf624c4f1826d81bb32/Greenbook-chapter-14a-20240916.pdf
Table 3 "Individuals with a severe lung condition, including those with poorly
controlled asthma1"
"Poorly controlled asthma is defined as:
- ≥2 courses of oral corticosteroids in the preceding 24 months OR
- on maintenance oral corticosteroids OR
- ≥1 hospital admission for asthma in the preceding 24 months"
BUT, on this page (written to advise patients as to the their eligibility:
https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/covid-19-vaccine/
and specifically;
Who’s at increased risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 section which reads;
conditions that affect your breathing, such as asthma (needing a steroid inhaler or tablets), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or cystic fibrosis
I suspect the phrase
"needing a steroid inhaler or tablets"
in light of the green book guidance should properly read
"needing a steroid inhaler and tablets"
What this could mean next week is, reading literally, asthmatics like myself who take only inhaled Steroids could think they are eligible for a Covid vaccination . And there could be upto 8 million extra Covid vaccination bookings made by asthmatics who use Steroid inhalers alone. And lots of arguments with disappointed asthmatic patients at Vaccination centres, being turned away by those who have only read the green book and not the misleading(?) NHS website.
Just -- OMG. That's it, just OMG! But also thanks -- as ever. You're awesome!!
Hi Christina. Are you aware of how hard it is for people to get novavax now? If I ask the nhs for one they tell me it's reserved for people over 65 even if I tell them I have ME and have terrible reactions to mrna they won't give it to me. Privately they tell me the real reason that novavax ship 5 vials a box. So if they don't get 5 people they can't make any money. A lot of pharmacies this year stopped doing novavax altogether. Ive rang a dozen pharmacies in the Midlands and there not doing it at all this year due to not making any money I've only got two left to try. Some people like myself are having to resort to buying the entire packet to make sure we get one £300. I've had all the vaccines and I only tolerate novavax. But novavax also seems to come with fewer sides for the average person as well. I cannot wait to for these nasal vaccines though. Hope to god they don't make me feel awful like the mrna vaccines do tho. Thanks.
Thanks a lot for all your hard work on constantly updating us.
I was wondering if there are data on which hospitals/care homes are actively vaccinating health care staff, as JCVI left it to each hospital what they were offering.
And even if it is possible to get the vaccine in the hospital do they actively promote the covid vaccine as they do with flu. As without a drive like for flu vaccine, and no promotion, most will not see that it is available. Thanks a lot
Thank you so much for this Christina, extremely well put.
I wonder if you would consider adding schools to the list of 'settings where clinically vulnerable people have no choice but to be', since staff and pupils include clinically vulnerable people too, and parents are being threatened with legal action for keeping Covid positive children at home right now.
I look forward to your writing. A shining beacon who actually still deals with this terrible disease. Just watching those clips of the Professor was heart breaking. It doesn't matter how long he lives, he will never get over what saw and heard. None of the doctors and nurses will. And what do we do now to help them? Nothing. Fight them over pay rises. Make a fuss about backlogs and expect them to carry on with Covid regardless.
I took my 89 year old mum to a small hospital this week for an appointment. We were the only 2 people we saw in the entire time we were there in masks. I made her wear one because I know it's on the rise again. I just don't understand why hospitals and GP surgeries and clinics are not insisting on staff and patients wearing masks!
My life has become very much smaller since Covid. But that's because I am suffering with a chronic health problem and I suspect Covid would not go easy on me because of it. I have given up many things to avoid it. But there are times I have to risk it just to be able to see others occasionally. The price I've paid is small really. I'm still here and so is mum. That's a massive result. I just hope I can continue to be lucky on the odd occasion I have to give in to some social event. My cousin wants to come and visit with his 9 year old. I'm hoping to put that off until we know if going back to school has caused her problems. Why do people care so little?
Thanks Christina.
"We seem stuck in a phase of denial about Covid - we don’t want to remember. We don’t want to think about it. People justify this deliberate forgetting by minimising what happened"
Yes. You'll see exactly the same sorts of comments on Wikipedia about the deadly "Spanish" flu. People felt "ashamed" by it. Ashamed? Wtf was there to be ashamed about? Humans are incredibly stupid.