Thursday 7 May 2020
Access to lifesaving medical resources for African countries: COVID-19 testing and response, ethics, and politics
Read here (The Lancet, May 7, 2020)
Tuesday 5 May 2020
The invisible pandemic: Our most important task is not to stop spread but to concentrate on giving the unfortunate victims optimal care
Read here (The Lancet, May 5, 2020)
Saturday 2 May 2020
It’s unfair to blame China for coronavirus pandemic, Lancet editor tells state media
‘His comments came after the US top spy agency said that the intelligence community did not believe the virus had been man-made or genetically modified, but said it will continue to examine whether the outbreak “began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan”.’
Read here (South China Morning Post, May 2, 2020)
Monday 27 April 2020
Higher transmission rate among household contacts and individuals traveling with infected people
Read here (The Lancet, April 27, 2020)
Wednesday 8 April 2020
First-wave COVID-19 transmissibility and severity in China outside Hubei after control measures, and second-wave scenario planning: a modelling impact assessment
‘In all selected cities and provinces, the Rt decreased substantially since Jan 23, when control measures were implemented, and have since remained below 1. The cCFR outside Hubei was 0·98% (95% CI 0·82–1·16), which was almost five times lower than that in Hubei (5·91%, 5·73–6·09). Relaxing the interventions (resulting in Rt >1) when the epidemic size was still small would increase the cumulative case count exponentially as a function of relaxation duration, even if aggressive interventions could subsequently push disease prevalence back to the baseline level.’
Read here (The Lancet, April 8, 2020)
Saturday 28 March 2020
Offline: COVID-19 and the NHS—“a national scandal” - Commentary in The Lancet
Read here (The Lancet, March 28, 2020)
Tuesday 17 March 2020
Improving epidemic surveillance and response: Big data is dead, long live big data. The Lancet
The first challenge: Misaligned incentives. Academics are largely incentivised to write scientific articles and to fund their work through individually led grants... Companies are incentivised by profit, and are rightly beholden to national regulatory frameworks and the public with respect to the data they collect.
The second challenge: Gap between (1) technological or methodological innovation, which often occurs in academic settings in high-income countries, and (2) implementation in field settings, frequently done by NGOs or governments in low-income and middle-income countries.
The third challenge: Epidemic forecasting is inherently uncertain... [With] emerging outbreaks—with COVID-19 highlighting this point—we often lack accurate data about case counts and biological processes driving an epidemic, let alone the behavioural responses of people affected, making it challenging to swiftly adapt or interpret very complex models on the spatiotemporal scales relevant for decision making.
‘These innovations will remain dislocated and impractical until the challenges above are addressed. Encouragingly, all three issues could be improved by moving much of the focus of funding and expertise to the populations most vulnerable to epidemics.’
Read here (The Lancet, March 17, 2020)
Friday 6 March 2020
Covid-19: The gendered impacts of the outbreak
Read here (The Lancet, March 6, 2020)
Tuesday 25 February 2020
The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence
‘The December, 2019 coronavirus disease outbreak has seen many countries ask people who have potentially come into contact with the infection to isolate themselves at home or in a dedicated quarantine facility. Decisions on how to apply quarantine should be based on the best available evidence. We did a Review of the psychological impact of quarantine using three electronic databases. Of 3166 papers found, 24 are included in this Review. Most reviewed studies reported negative psychological effects including post-traumatic stress symptoms, confusion, and anger. Stressors included longer quarantine duration, infection fears, frustration, boredom, inadequate supplies, inadequate information, financial loss, and stigma. Some researchers have suggested long-lasting effects. In situations where quarantine is deemed necessary, officials should quarantine individuals for no longer than required, provide clear rationale for quarantine and information about protocols, and ensure sufficient supplies are provided. Appeals to altruism by reminding the public about the benefits of quarantine to wider society can be favourable.’
Read here (The Lancet, Feb 26, 2020)
Worst ever Covid variant? Omicron
John Campbell shares his findings on Omicron. View here (Youtube, Nov 27, 2021)
-
‘Much was riding on the Oxford vaccine, a British-led endeavour also involving UK drugs firm AstraZeneca. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s gov...
-
‘It appears that vaccine hesitancy is due to lack of information and trust. Despite the government's assurances about Covid-19 vaccines,...
-
‘It is hard to stare directly at the biggest problems of our age. Pandemics, climate change, the sixth extinction of wildlife, food and wate...