‘No object better symbolises the pandemic than the mask, and no object better explains the world into which the pandemic arrived. Social distancing, at first, felt like a strange notion: the inaction of it, the vagueness of it. But the mask sang out to our deepest consumeristic impulses. In the absence of a drug or a vaccine, the mask is the only material protection we can buy; it’s a product, and we’ve been trained like seals to respond to products. As a result, in every corner of every country, the humble face mask – this assembly of inexpensive plastic – has been elevated into a fetishised commodity. One mask broker described it as “a madhouse”, another as “the craziest market I’ve ever seen”...
‘Whatever the new normal is after this pandemic, everyone I spoke with agreed on one thing: there will be masks. Lots and lots of masks. They’ll be handed out on airlines and at hotels; they’ll be stacked next to the till at Boots; they’ll be stashed in sock drawers and linen closets in practically every home. Every country will produce and stockpile its own supply, unwilling to rely any more on the vagaries of the international market; Germany, forever ahead of the curve, has already begun.’
Read here (The Guardian, April 28, 2020)
Worst ever Covid variant? Omicron
John Campbell shares his findings on Omicron. View here (Youtube, Nov 27, 2021)
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On September 14th 2020, the GPMB released its second report titled, A World in Disorder. In this report, the GPMB provides a harsh assessmen...
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‘A focus on the coronavirus has disrupted detection and treatment of other infectious diseases. Governments and funders can do four things t...
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‘We also used this investigation to quantify the impact of behaviours (i.e. mask wearing, handwashing) that were promoted to reduce the risk...