On this page is provided a curated (and git-clonable) list of useful Covid-19 links...
U.K. Covid-19 statistics (confirmed cases, deaths etc.), continuously updated:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/
...and original source of U.K. Government Covid-19 data:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
...and weekly deaths registered in England and Wales, compared with previous years (shows a significant spike related to Covid-19):
https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1249986080939610114
...and U.K. Covid-19 death rates compared to normal death rates at the same age (Covid-19 seems to double probability of dying):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/health-52543692
Statistical anomaly in English Covid deaths - no-one can ever recover:
https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/why-no-one-can-ever-recover-from-covid-19-in-england-a-statistical-anomaly/
...and BBC article on the story:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53443724
Thomas Pueyo:
The hammer and the dance - gives facts and figures, as of 19 March, then proposes a strategic approach to buying time:
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-hammer-and-the-dance-be9337092b56
...and out of many, one:
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-out-of-many-one-36b886af37e9
...and Learning how to dance:
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-learning-how-to-dance-b8420170203e
The Critic, on why the shutdown is worth it financially:
https://thecritic.co.uk/why-the-coronavirus-shutdown-is-worth-it/
BBC article, mentioning David Spiegelhalter, which says that our mean risk of dying from a Covid-19 infection, whatever our age, is roughly equal to dying in a year from any other cause:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52758024
...and more from David Spiegelhalter on Covid risks:
https://medium.com/wintoncentre/what-have-been-the-fatal-risks-of-covid-particularly-to-children-and-younger-adults-a5cbf7060c49
CNN on seroprevalence study in Spain:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/06/health/spain-coronavirus-antibody-study-lancet-intl/index.html
BBC News on how the U.K is at the limits of easing lockdown (31 July):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53612390
Swiss Policy Research Covid-19 facts and figures, as of August 2020:
https://swprs.org/a-swiss-doctor-on-covid-19/
...and facts and figures summary:
https://swprs.org/covid19-facts/
Dr. Vinay Prasad argues that experts such as Dr. Fauci should only present the unvarnished facts, and not distort them to try and influence our behaviour:
https://www.medpagetoday.com/blogs/vinay-prasad/90445
False Positives:
Dr. Michael Yeadon on the problem of false positives for the 'Pillar 2' (PCR) testing:
https://lockdownsceptics.org/lies-damned-lies-and-health-statistics-the-deadly-danger-of-false-positives/
...and more on false positives here:
https://lockdownsceptics.org/might-most-positive-tests-be-wrong/
Mike Hearn on pseudo-epidemics, due to high rates of false-positives:
https://blog.plan99.net/pseudo-epidemics-7603b2da839
Michael Levitt explains exponential growth (video, ~8 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCgPf1SuPNY&feature=youtu.be
Swiss expert Beda M. Stadler believes that many in the general population (particularly children) are immune to Covid-19:
https://medium.com/@vernunftundrichtigkeit/coronavirus-why-everyone-was-wrong-fce6db5ba809
BBC on the 'superspreader' k-number:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52903787
Acting under uncertainty:
Harry Crane on 'A fiasco in the making'. It urges action in the face of uncertainty when you have a low-probability but still plausible and potentially catastrophic possible outcome:
https://www.researchers.one/article/2020-03-10
...and Marc Lipsitch in Boston Review on why we should view evidence pragmatically for fast-moving infectious diseases where fast action is required:
http://bostonreview.net/science-nature/marc-lipsitch-good-science-good-science
...and What happens next? - article on infectious disease fundamentals, with excellent playable models to try out the numbers. Includes this excellent advice '...pandemics are like poker. Make bets only when you're 95% sure, and you'll lose everything at stake...we have to make cost/benefit analyses under uncertainty':
https://ncase.me/covid-19/
...and why it's better to panic early - Nassim Nicholas Taleb & Yaneer Bar-Yam (video ~10 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Kga5HeAqk
...and Pancake thinking - rationality and pandemics:
https://medium.com/@frd.prost/pancake-thinkers-rationality-and-epidemics-e7e9dc023068
...and David Speigelhalter on how Covid-19 risks compare to usual risks (has been criticised because it doesn't put uncertainty bars onto Covid-19 risks, so he might be seriously underestimating them):
https://medium.com/wintoncentre/how-much-normal-risk-does-covid-represent-4539118e1196
Tom Chivers on Goodhart's law and judgement:
https://unherd.com/2020/04/we-cant-put-too-much-faith-in-covid-19-statistics/
...and 'Has Covid become less dangerous?':
https://unherd.com/2020/09/has-covid-become-less-dangerous/?=frlh
Tom Chivers in Unherd on Covid-19 serum testing and 'immunity passports'. It includes discussion of some interesting issues such as false positives and Bayes' theorem:
https://unherd.com/2020/04/how-far-away-are-immunity-passports/
The Guardian on how coronavirus exposes the problems and pitfalls of computer modelling (quoting statistician George Box - 'All models are wrong, but some are useful'):
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/mar/25/coronavirus-exposes-the-problems-and-pitfalls-of-modelling
PBS: 'it's O.K. to be smart' - on exponential growth etc. (video ~8 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgBla7RepXU
Coronavirus explained 'in a nutshell', and what you should do about it (video ~8 minutes):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=BtN-goy9VOY&feature=emb_logo
Animated GIF showing the benefits of social distancing:
https://twitter.com/SteveStuWill/status/1241660382009151488
Taleb on Radio 4, on why this is not a 'Black Swan' (audio ~5 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_KsO03NnDw&feature=youtu.be
...and here he explains that it was actually a 'White Swan':
https://medium.com/incerto/corporate-socialism-the-government-is-bailing-out-investors-managers-not-you-3b31a67bff4a
..and a Bloomberg interview (video, ~7 mins) where he talks about a White Swan and other related ideas of his:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=232&v=Tb2pXXUSzmI&feature=emb_logo
...and Taleb on what we need to learn from Covid-19:
https://twitter.com/zoeharcombe/status/1259447505747619840/photo/1
The 'sober math' behind the pandemic:
https://medium.com/@Jason_Scott_Warner/the-sober-math-everyone-must-understand-about-the-pandemic-2b0145881993
Article from the IET giving an overview of mathematical modelling of Covid-19:
https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/04/predicting-the-pandemic-mathematical-modelling-tackles-covid-19/
BBC on most likely methods of transmission (aerosols indoors):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-55680305
Argentinian fishermen at sea for 35 days yet still catch Covid-19:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-argentina-fishermen-trawler-ushuaia-covid-19-echizen-maru-a9621716.html
The B117 variant:
Kai Kupferschmidt in Sciencemag on the B117 variant:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/01/viral-mutations-may-cause-another-very-very-bad-covid-19-wave-scientists-warn
Asymptomatic spread:
Jeffrey Tucker on asymptomatic spread:
https://www.aier.org/article/asymptomatic-spread-revisited/
...and RT report on it here:
https://www.rt.com/news/507402-wuhan-asymptomatic-cases-coronavirus-study/
...and BMJ here:
https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4695
...and more BMJ here:
https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4851
Infection Fatality Rate (IFR):
Covid IFR vs. age, and comparison with seasonal flu:
https://twitter.com/tomaspueyo/status/1330779902635864064/photo/1
...and another link to the same data here:
https://twitter.com/zorinaq/status/1330631088935370753
...and Peter Goetsche BMJ letter on estimating IFR:
https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4509/rr
Zeynep Tufekci in The Atlantic on superspreaders, dispersion, clusterbusting etc.:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/09/k-overlooked-variable-driving-pandemic/616548/
...and on the more transmissable variant:
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/12/virus-mutation-catastrophe/617531/
Lockdown sceptics ask - 'How likely is a second wave?':
https://lockdownsceptics.org/addressing-the-cv19-second-wave/
Dr. David Spiegelhalter in The BMJ on how better to communicate Covid-19 mortality risks:
https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3259
Yardley Yeadon view that the majority of people have now built up immunity to the virus (Sept 2020):
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1308889807725236224.html
The Spectator (1 Sept) on cases rising but deaths falling, with some speculations as to why:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/coronavirus-cases-are-mounting-but-deaths-remain-stable-why-
BBC's Fergus Walsh asks "Why are deaths falling as cases rise?":
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53951764
Aerosols:
BBC on comparative risks (in terms of aerosol particles) of singing and speaking at different volume levels:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53853961
...and AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH: COVID-19 SPREADS THROUGH INDOOR AIR:
https://www.endcoronavirus.org/blog/an-inconvenient-truth-covid-19-spreads-through-indoor-air
...and how 'Hands, Face, Space' probably gets it the wrong way round, and aerosol transmission is the most important:
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/hands-face-space-johnsons-covid-message-has-got-priorities-wrong-scientists-warn/ar-BB19defj?ocid=st2
BBC article on how the R-number was estimated to have changed during the course of U.K. lockdown (based upon testing survey results):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53414363
WHO thinks there's a possibility the virus might spread via airborne transmission (Duh!):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-53329946
Spanish scientists claim to have detected coronavirus in Barcelona waste water samples from March 2019:
https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-spain-had-covid-19-in-march-2019-scientists-claim-after-waste-water-test-12015612
Prof. Dev Sridhar in The Guardian on potential scenarios, and a suggestion that we should aim to eliminate the virus:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/11/pandemic-scientists-second-wave-coronavirus?CMP=share_btn_tw
CNBC on spread from asymptomatic cases:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/asymptomatic-coronavirus-patients-arent-spreading-new-infections-who-says.html
Matt Ridley article in The Spectator on how we know everything and nothing, data is needed, testing is key etc.:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/we-know-everything-and-nothing-about-covid
Article focussed on California discussing in which setting Cv-19 is more (congregating indoors) and where it is less (outdoors) likely to spread:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/30/after-100000-coronavirus-cases-its-clearer-where-californians-are-getting-infected/
Epidemiologist Knut Wittkovski in Spiked says 'We could open up again and forget the whole thing' (although there seem to be multiple flaws in his reasoning):
https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/05/15/we-could-open-up-again-and-forget-the-whole-thing/
Buzzfeed on controversies surrounding the Ioannides Santa Clara study:
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemlee/stanford-coronavirus-neeleman-ioannidis-whistleblower
Taleb on why we should 'Never use single point estimates for pandemics' (video, ~4 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=_ZLrZc9NPVw&feature=emb_logo
Imperial College:
Scathing criticisms in a code review of Imperial College's pandemic model:
https://lockdownsceptics.org/code-review-of-fergusons-model/
...and a second review of the same model:
https://lockdownsceptics.org/second-analysis-of-fergusons-model/
...and some more comments here:
mrc-ide/covid-sim#165 (comment)
...and Shen et al critique of Imperial College study methods:
https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/1239933769982840832
...and Reason Magazine 27 March article on latest 'Imperial College' thinking:
https://reason.com/2020/03/27/no-british-epidemiologist-neil-ferguson-has-not-drastically-downgraded-his-worst-case-projection-of-covid-19-deaths/
...and some more criticism here by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick blog post on 'The Mad Modellers of Lockdown', which includes some useful discussion of CFR, IFR etc.:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/05/19/the-mad-modellers-of-lockdown/
Spreading risks in different environments:
Erin Bromage on 'The Risks - Know Them - Avoid Them':
https://www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them
...and Bloomberg on 'Where to Worry About Catching Covid-19, and Where Not To':
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-05-15/will-i-get-coronavirus-at-the-grocery-store-unlikely?sref=dK2cWjFA
...and Kai Kupferschmidt in Science Magazine on the significance of 'superspreader events' and introducing the 'dispersion factor' parameter:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/why-do-some-covid-19-patients-infect-many-others-whereas-most-don-t-spread-virus-all
CBS on using AI to track the outbreak:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/artificial-intelligence-mapping-coronavirus-pandemic-60-minutes-2020-04-26/
Virology lab theory:
The possible origins of 2019-nCoV Coronavirus. Hint:- the answer is probably not a seafood market, but instead is more likely to be one of the nearby virology labs, which were already publicly known to be working on bat coronaviruses. This is actually public knowledge, since the labs themselves had been cooperating in publicising their own work and achievements through the media and academia etc.:
https://img-prod.tgcom24.mediaset.it/images/2020/02/16/114720192-5eb8307f-017c-4075-a697-348628da0204.pdf
...and more on the evidence that the Cv-19 pandemic probably originated in a Wuhan lab studying bat coronaviruses (situated, coincidentally, a mere stone's throw from the Wuhan Seafood Market), and that this fact is being covered-up by the Chinese Communist Party, including more key players who have mysteriously 'disappeared' (video ~10 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=472&v=bpQFCcSI0pU&feature=emb_logo
...and Daily Mail Wuhan virology lab story (including Chinese government denial):
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8211257/Wuhan-lab-performing-experiments-bats-coronavirus-caves.html?ito=social-twitter_mailonline
...and Fox News gets on board with the story:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/coronavirus-wuhan-lab-china-compete-us-sources
...and evidence from CNN that the Chinese government is clamping-down on publication of academic research findings, in order to control the narrative:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/12/asia/china-coronavirus-research-restrictions-intl-hnk/index.html
...and this apparently has happened before - i.e. SARS escaped a Chinese virology laboratory twice in the past:
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-analysis/sars-escaped-beijing-lab-twice-50137
...and now the BBC gets in on the story:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52318539
...and TheGrayZone tries to pour cold water on the story:
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/04/20/trump-media-chinese-lab-coronavirus-conspiracy/
...but risky 'gain-of-function' bat coronavirus research in Wuhan lab was partially funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH):
https://www.newsweek.com/dr-fauci-backed-controversial-wuhan-lab-millions-us-dollars-risky-coronavirus-research-1500741
...and Daily Telegraph (of Australia) lays out evidence for the virology lab theory, and destruction of evidence by the Chinese authorities:
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/coronavirus/bombshell-dossier-lays-out-case-against-chinese-bat-virus-program/news-story/55add857058731c9c71c0e96ad17da60
...and Ann Coulter argues that nevertheless it was still more likely to have come from the wet market:
https://anncoulter.com/2020/05/06/lab-theory-of-wuhan-virus-cooked-up-in-a-neocon-lab-2/
...and Dominic Cummings' blog on biolab (in)security:
https://dominiccummings.com/2019/03/04/the-most-secure-bio-labs-routinely-make-errors-that-could-cause-a-global-pandemic-are-about-to-re-start-experiments-on-pathogens-engineered-to-make-them-mammalian-airborne-transmissible/
...and John Sudworth reports for the BBC from Wuhan ('city of silence'), including much speculation regarding the virology lab theory:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/ewsu2giezk/city-of-silence-china-wuhan
...and exiled Hong Kong virologist claims to evidence that the virus originated from a Wuhan lab:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8722519/Virologist-claims-publish-evidence-PROVING-coronavirus-manmade.html
Shen and Bar-Yam on linked shared spaces and closed social circles:
https://necsi.edu/a-linked-shared-space-model-for-covid-19-transmission-and-its-prevention
Scott Aaronson on armchair epidemiology, and how we should have been listening to 'contrarians' instead of 'experts':
https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=4695
What (mathematical) models can and cannot tell us about Covid-19:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b68a4e4a2772c2a206180a1/t/5e8e5ac9e696ba4b972093fa/1586387658680/Modeling2.pdf
Using a Blood Pulse Oximeter to diagnose Covid:
https://twitter.com/HeleneMarivdW/status/1344587829930815488
...and BBC catches-on:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55733527
Ed Yong in The Atlantic on 'How Science Beat the Virus':
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/01/science-covid-19-manhattan-project/617262/
Studies point to reductions in Covid death rates due to better medical treatments in hospitals:
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/10/20/925441975/studies-point-to-big-drop-in-covid-19-death-rates?t=1608451517756
Why is Coronavirus so deadly?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54648684
Can Alpaca antibodies help in Covid immunity?:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/alpaca-antibodies-coronavirus-humans-immunity-nanobodies-study-a9705666.html
BBC on Covid symptoms, and what to do if you think you have them:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51048366
Cases of myocarditis linked to Covid-19:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-19-can-wreck-your-heart-even-if-you-havent-had-any-symptoms/
The Bradykinin hypothesis about what might be causing Covid-19 symptoms:
https://elemental.medium.com/a-supercomputer-analyzed-covid-19-and-an-interesting-new-theory-has-emerged-31cb8eba9d63
...and more on the bradykinin hypothesis here:
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/is-a-bradykinin-storm-brewing-in-covid-19--67876
BBC on how scientists are baffled by much less virus severity in Africa (but have they considered Vitamin D?):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-53998374
Philadelphia Enquirer on how the virus can affect various different systems and organs in the body:
https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/inq/coronavirus-symptoms-affects-organs-human-body-20200821.html
Basic immunology tutorial in The Atlantic, and what it might mean for Covid-19:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/08/covid-19-immunity-is-the-pandemics-central-mystery/614956/
UCSF Magazine on the myriad symptoms of Covid-19:
https://www.ucsf.edu/magazine/covid-body
Possible role for Nitric Oxide (NO) as a Covid-19 therapy:
https://scitechdaily.com/powerful-medical-benefit-the-right-way-to-breathe-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/
Neurological conditions:
The Guardian on neurological conditions arising from Covid-19:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/08/warning-of-serious-brain-disorders-in-people-with-mild-covid-symptoms
...and Reuters story:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brains/scientists-warn-of-potential-wave-of-covid-linked-brain-damage-idUSKBN24837S
...and BBC Future on long-term neurological conditions caused by the virus:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200622-the-long-term-effects-of-covid-19-infection
Jamanetwork on COVID-19 and Postinfection Immunity:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2766097
How long does it take for the sense of smell to return?:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53265280
Links between lifestyle and Cv19 outcomes:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lim2.2
Death rates in U.K. hospitals appear to be falling (BBC 26 June) - some reasons are suggested:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53192532
Long-term symptoms:
Long-term effects of Cv19 in some 'recovered' patients:
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/500199-covid-19-shows-signs-of-long-term-harm-in-some-recovered-patients
...and The Atlantic on long-term symptoms, and a possible link to ME/CFS:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/06/covid-19-coronavirus-longterm-symptoms-months/612679/
...and Vox on long-term symptoms:
https://www.vox.com/2020/5/8/21251899/coronavirus-long-term-effects-symptoms
...and Science Magazine on studies of long-term symptoms:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/brain-fog-heart-damage-covid-19-s-lingering-problems-alarm-scientists
...and Covid 'long haulers' with ME/CFS-like symptoms:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/08/long-haulers-covid-19-recognition-support-groups-symptoms/615382/
...and Irish study on long-term fatigue in 'recovered' Covid patients:
https://news.yahoo.com/half-covid-patients-irish-study-233817316.html
...and James Gallagher of BBC on 'long covid' - why are some people not recovering?:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54296223
...and BBC on how 'Long Covid' may be four different syndromes:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54540544
...and a BBC reporter suffering from 'Long Covid':
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-54793726
...and BBC on how Long Covid can be like Russian Roulette for young people:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55635451
EVMS CRITICAL CARE COVID-19 MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL - suggested treatments at different stages of disease progression:
https://www.evms.edu/media/evms_public/departments/internal_medicine/EVMS_Critical_Care_COVID-19_Protocol.pdf
Sarah Constantin on studies of dose-response effects:
https://srconstantin.github.io/2020/06/02/Dose-Response.html
Endothelium and blood clotting:
Medium on how Cv19 might actually be an endothelial disease, causing blood clotting etc.:
https://elemental.medium.com/coronavirus-may-be-a-blood-vessel-disease-which-explains-everything-2c4032481ab2
...and Science Magazine:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/blood-vessel-attack-could-trigger-coronavirus-fatal-second-phase
BBC on 'Baffling observations from the front line', discussing the large variety of possible symptoms on Covid-19, which is meaning that ICU doctors find themselves on a very steep learning curve:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/52760992
The Guardian on Covid-19's 'long tail' of weird 'long-term on-off symptoms':
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/15/weird-hell-professor-advent-calendar-covid-19-symptoms-paul-garner
Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome:
Obesity may significantly increase the severity of the local response to COVID‐19 in the lung:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/oby.22856
...and Dr. Aseem Malhotra on how 'Obesity and chronic metabolic disease is killing COVID -19 patients':
https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/article-of-the-week/covid-19-and-the-elephant-in-the-room/
...and Dr. David Unwin and Prof. Roy Taylor in The Daily Mail discuss relationships between obesity and Covid-19 in Britain, and possible attempts to address it. The article includes an estimate of Boris Johnson's BMI of 36, and discusses the possibility that this severe obesity contributed to Boris' hospitalisation. The article also mentions how obesity can contribute to Vitamin D deficiency:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8332703/Getting-Britain-shape-matter-life-death.html
...and Giles Fraser in Unherd on the link between Covid-19 outcomes and obesity:
https://unherd.com/thepost/do-i-have-a-moral-duty-to-lose-weight/
...and High HbA1c (associated with type-2 diabetes) appears to be a risk factor for poor Covid-19 outcomes:
https://www.diabetesresearchclinicalpractice.com/article/S0168-8227(20)30464-2/pdf
...and the overfat pandemic, explaining some mechanisms linking Covid-19 to obesity, and also with a Vitamin D angle:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00135/full
...and Foxnews on obesity and Cv-19 risk:
https://www.foxnews.com/health/is-americas-high-obesity-levels-leading-to-more-coronavirus-deaths
...and BBC on obesity and Cv-19 risk:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53921141
BBC on 'Coronavirus: A third of hospital patients develop dangerous blood clots':
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52662065
The Lancet article saying that outbreaks of 'Kawasaki-like disease' are linked to Covid-19:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31103-X/fulltext
Twitter thread on why medicine should better adapt to treating new diseases:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1260659131045695489.html
Symptoms:
BBC on how profound is the loss of taste and smell:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53810610
...and more from the BBC on loss of sense of smell:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54359852
BBC on the asymptomatic 'silent spreaders':
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52840763
Descriptions of typical Covid-19 'mild' symptoms from an outpatient clinic:
https://www.newswise.com/coronavirus/intel-from-an-outpatient-covid-19-clinic2/
...and characteristic symptoms of Covid-19, including loss of smell and taste:
https://www.latestresearchnews.com/2020/04/26/covid-19-loss-smell-taste/
...and CNN on coronavirus potentially causing stroke in young adults:
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/04/22/health/strokes-coronavirus-young-adults/index.html
Is there a link between Covid-19 recovery and selenium?:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200429105907.htm
What are virus 'Gain of Function' (GOF) experiments, and what are their costs and benefits?:
https://mbio.asm.org/content/5/4/e01730-14
Learnings from a critical care doctor:
https://medium.com/@drhassaballa/what-ive-learned-treating-patients-suffering-from-covid-19-41adc282e973
The BMJ - 'Is ethnicity linked to incidence or outcomes of covid-19?':
https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1548
Professor Ian Frazer on why it's so difficult to make a coronavirus vaccine:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2020-04-17/coronavirus-vaccine-ian-frazer/12146616
Hypoxia:
Explanation that Covid-19 actually causes hypoxia and not ARDS. So the preference should be to supply O2, but only ventilate as a last resort, since long-term ventilation can potentially damage the lungs. The hypoxia hypothesis also posits why hydroxychloroquine therapy might be effective:
http://web.archive.org/web/20200405061401/https://medium.com/@agaiziunas/covid-19-had-us-all-fooled-but-now-we-might-have-finally-found-its-secret-91182386efcb
...and similar observations on Medscape from a NY ICU physician, Cameron Kyle-Sidell MD, who in fact had to step down because his own new thinking now goes against established protocols (video ~18 mins):
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/928156
...and another more detailed article on this topic:
https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/08/doctors-say-ventilators-overused-for-covid-19/
...and Daily Telegraph article indicating that these ideas are starting to be considered in the U.K., including perhaps maybe even for Boris Johnson:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/intensive-care-doctors-question-overly-aggressive-use-ventilators/
...and a summary (as of ~12 April) of related hypoxia/ ventilator stories here:
https://errorstatistics.com/2020/04/12/paradigm-shift-in-pandemic-vent-protocols/amp/
...and a Daily Mail article on this story:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8230775/Is-proof-live-saving-ventilators-actually-deathtraps.html
..and a CBC article:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ventilators-covid-overuse-1.5534097
...and a comprehensive Reuters article on the topic:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ventilators-specia-idUSKCN2251PE
...and CNN's views on the use of Pulse Oximeters:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/26/health/pulse-oximeters-coronavirus-wellness-scn-trnd/index.html
...and Jerusalem Post reports on Italian research on hypoxia and the potential benefits of hydroxychloroquine:
https://www.jpost.com/health-science/italian-scientist-says-she-discovered-main-mechanism-behind-covid-19-626737
...and Undark on ARDS and ventilators, maybe not always being the best thing:
https://undark.org/2020/07/09/covid-19-medicine-and-machines/
Cholesterol:
Medical researcher Dr. Uffe Ravnskov on LDL ('Cholesterol') and Covid-19:
https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m1182/rr-10
...and here's more on Cholesterol and Covid-19:
http://statinnation.com/blog/2020/3/26/cholesterol-protects-against-covid-19
Dr. Malcolm Kendrick:
Blog post from Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, discussing various possible 'can't hurt and might help' therapies for Covid-19:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/03/18/coronavirus-covid-19/
...and another blog post from Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, analysing medical reports, and raising the possibility that anti-hypertensives may increase vulnerability to Covid-19:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/03/22/covid-19-update/
...more from Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, this time on a 'Quality-Adjusted Life Year' (QALY) analysis of the costs of Covid-19 interventions:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/03/29/a-health-economic-perspective-on-covid-19/
...and yet more from Dr. Malcolm Kendrick on people dying 'with' Covid-19, although not necessarily 'because of', and others dying 'because of' but not necessarily 'with':
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/04/06/covid-with-of-or-because-of/
...and Dr. Malcolm Kendrick again saying that the lockdown is NOT a way of beating this virus:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/04/12/the-lockdown-is-not-a-way-of-beating-this-virus/
...and him again, on the NHS's 'Anti-lockdown strategy' (as he dubs it):
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/04/21/the-anti-lockdown-strategy/
...and some problems with experts and how on Covid-19 we are fighting the previous war:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/05/16/food-bank-show-next-episode/
...which references this provactive opinion piece in the BMJ on experts (and why they should be compulsorily retired):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118019/
...and why it's important to gather reliable statistics about deaths from Covid-19:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/05/31/covid-deaths-how-accurate-are-the-statistics/
...and criticism of the lockdown, comparing the risks with the post-Soviet period:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/06/11/covid-will-lockdown-lead-to-a-major-health-disaster/
...and MK on excess deaths:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/06/26/covid-the-strange-the-inexplicable-and-the-weird/
...and MK interview in Spiked magazine:
https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/06/26/the-lockdown-is-causing-so-many-deaths/
...and a Swedish Doctor's perspective, asking whether Covid-19 is really that bad:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/08/07/how-bad-is-covid-really-a-swedish-doctors-perspective/
...and an article discussing both hydroxychloroquine and vaccination:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/08/25/covid-what-have-we-learned/
...and the difference between Case Fatality Rate (CFR) and Infection Fatality Rate (IFR), and what it means for Covid (hopefully it is actually no worse than flu):
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/09/04/covid-why-terminology-really-matters/
...and a way to control Covid-19, for now:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/09/13/a-way-to-control-covid-19-for-now/
...and Covid-19 and Foxy-Loxy:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/09/17/covid-19-and-foxy-loxy/
...and open letter from Belgian doctors:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/09/19/growing-concern-about-lockdown-from-doctors-in-belgium/
...and an update from Sweden:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/09/21/more-covid19-news-from-sweden/
...and don't hold your breath for a vaccine:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/10/10/a-sars-cov2-vaccine-dont-hold-your-breath/
...and what is left to say?:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/12/30/what-is-left-to-say/
Vitamin D:
Blog post from Dr. David Grimes suggesting that the preponderance of Covid-19 deaths in ethnic minority Healthcare Professionals could be down to Vitamin D deficiency since those victims have tended to be of Middle-Eastern and African heritage, and hence probablistically more likely to be Vitamin D deficient for reasons of 'skin pigmentation, sun avoidance and dietary practice':
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/04/vitamin-d-and-doctors-in-uk-dying-from.html
...and more here, including the possibly revealing statistic that (as of 14 April) ~40% of the deaths in Sweden are people from the Somali community, even though they are <1% of the population:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/04/vitamin-d-and-immunity-important.html
...which is possibly based upon claims from this BMJ rapid response by Fiona Godlee, saying that 'Among the first 15 deaths due to covid-19 in Stockholm County, six were reported, by the Swedish-Somali medical society, to be of Somali origin (March 24). Considering that only 0.84% of the Stockholm County population was born in Somalia (n=8,178 by December 2019) this is an astonishing high rate':
https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m1101/rr-10
..and first 10 doctors in U.K. to die of Covid-19 are BAME ('Black and Minority Ethnic') whereas 'only' 44% of the doctor population are (well the article says 'Medical Staff', but presumably the figures for U.K. doctors are similar). Now what are the chances of that? (hint - even less than flipping 10 heads in first 10 coin tosses!). So this Guardian article rightly identifies that there is probably an issue here, but for some reason (ignorance?) doesn't include vitamin D deficiency among its speculation of the reasons (and, to me, all of the reasons which it did speculate were pretty weak):
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/10/uk-coronavirus-deaths-bame-doctors-bma
...and yet more from Dr. David Grimes, with some alarming data about vitamin D deficiency in U.K. ethnic minorities:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/04/covid-19-vitamin-d-and-ethnicity.html
...and more on vitamin D from Dr. David Grimes claiming that as of 2nd May 23 out of 24 U.K. doctor deaths have been of 'Black African or Asian descent' (i.e. implying darker skin tone and possibly a culture of sun-avoiding behaviour). And yet the U.K. government and media don't want to talk about vitamin D, the 'elephant in the room':
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/05/covid-19-vitamin-d-ethnicity-and.html
...and the media (in this case, the BBC) finally waking up to the vitamin D issue, but still managing to screw-up the advice they give, instead of giving the correct advice, which (in my opinion) would be "Should I sunbathe? - Yes, because sunbathing is the easiest way to get your vitamin D up to safe levels. But don't sunbathe so long in one sitting, 'on one side', such that your skin burns. If you have fair skin, sunbathe little and often until your skin develops a protective tan. To maximise benefits and minimise harms, it is better to expose larger areas of skin for shorter periods than smaller areas for longer periods. If you have darker skin tone (or already have a tan), then you need to be sunbathing for longer to increase your vitamin D levels, but on the flip side burning will be much less likely to happen":
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52371688
(but there was some useful discussion on Vitamin D between BBC's Evan Davies and Prof. Steve Jones around 17:50 on the P.M. programme, Radio 4 2020-04-23)
...and yet see this BBC article on 'Coronavirus: Black African deaths three times higher than white Britons - study' with strangely, no mention of vitamin D (almost like it's the 'elephant in the room' that the BBC don't want to mention):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52492662
...and medical research preprint showing that poor Covid-19 outcomes are associated with low Vitamin D levels:
https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-21211/v1
...and another medical research preprint saying that low Vitamin D levels seem to lead to worse outcomes, and that the countries who seem to be suffering higher fatalities, such as Spain, Italy and France also (surprisingly, to me) also tend to have lower average levels of vitamin D in the blood on a population-wide basis:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/medrxiv/early/2020/04/10/2020.04.08.20058578.full.pdf?mod=article_inline
...and Dr Malcolm Kendrick weighs-in on vitamin D, including disclosing that personally he supplements vitamin D3 by 4000 units/day, and advises others to do the same:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/04/28/covid-update-focus-on-vitamin-d/
...and for which some of Malcolm Kendrick's key data comes from this research preprint by Mark Alipio from University of Southeastern Philippines on how 'Vitamin D Supplementation Could Possibly Improve Clinical Outcomes of Patients Infected with Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-2019)':
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3571484
...and the results of that above study are graphed nicely by 'Grassroots Health' here:
https://www.grassrootshealth.net/blog/first-data-published-covid-19-severity-vitamin-d-levels/
...and referenced in this Daily Telegraph article (paywall):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/03/time-take-seriously-link-vitamin-d-deficiency-serious-covid/
...and the Daily Mail weighs-in on the links between Covid-19 and Vitamin D:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8277775/People-low-levels-Vitamin-D-likely-die-COVID-19-infection.html
...and BMJ rapid response on the topic, countersigned by many scientists and healthcare professionals, which claims 20x ICU risk! for people with low vitamin D levels:
https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1548/rr-6
...and another BMJ rapid response, from Robert Brown:
https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1548/rr-6
...and a study from New Delhi in India:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3593258#.XrE0oF1wSjU.twitter
...with the headline results summarised diagrammatically here:
https://twitter.com/FatEmperor/status/1257614198537883648/photo/1
...and also some discussion by Ivor Cummins (video, ~17 mins) of this and many other Vitamin D studies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=aXw3XqwSZFo&feature=emb_logo
...and Dr. David Grimes fantasy vitamin D dream sequence:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/05/covid-19-vitamin-d-and-uk-government.html
...and 'Vitamin D insufficiency is prevalent in severe COVID-19', a preprint from medrxiv:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.24.20075838v1.full.pdf
...and BBC on 'Coronavirus: Call for public inquiry into BAME death risk' in the U.K.:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52602467
...and Trinity College Dublin weighs-in with Vitamin-D recommendations for the Irish government:
https://scitechdaily.com/vitamin-d-determines-severity-in-covid-19-researchers-urge-government-to-change-advice/
...and Foundmyfitness (Dr. Rhonda Patrick) shedding light on relationship between Vitamin D and ACE2 receptors, including citing many relevant papers on Vitamin D and Covid-19 (video, ~20 mins):
https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/vitamin-d-covid-19
...and the Vitamin D story makes it into The Times (paywall):
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/coronavirus-vitamin-d-deficiency-linked-to-risk-9mg2l29g0
...and the BBC have now (18 May) brought out a reasonably balanced article (although still not quite bullish enough in my view):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52371688
...and letter from Rt. Hon. David Davis M.P. to U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock, urging action on Vitamin D:
https://twitter.com/DavidDavisMP/status/1262398304312229889/photo/1
...and Dr. Campbell (video ~30 mins) on evidence pointing to Vitamin D deficiency being a risk factor for Covid-19:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=GCSXNGc7pfs&feature=emb_logo
...and Matt Ridley in The Spectator (paywall):
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-growing-evidence-on-vitamin-d-and-covid
...and Guardian Podcast (audio ~17 mins) about Vitamin-D with some key medical facts:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2020/may/27/covid-19-the-role-of-vitamin-d-podcast
...and Vitamin D update (7 June) from Dr. David Grimes:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/06/covid-19-vitamin-d-progress.html
...and Dr. David Grimes being quoted re. Vitamin D in the Lancashire Telegraph:
https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/18388799.e-lancs-doctor-high-rate-black-ethnic-minority-coronavirus-deaths-national-crisis/
...and quoted another time by the Lancashire Telegraph:
https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/18436996.vulnerability-ethic-minority-grave-concern-leading-experts-say/
...and study shows that infections in groups with deficient vitamin D levels are 10 times more likely to end in death:
https://borsche.de/res/Vitamn_D_Essentials_EN.pdf
...and The Guardian on Vitamin D (17 June):
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/17/uk-ministers-order-urgent-vitamin-d-coronavirus-review
...and Daily Mail (17 June):
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8432321/Government-orders-review-vitamin-D-role-Covid-19.html
...and more from the BBC (18 June):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52371688
...and report on a medical (observational) study of Vitamin D here:
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200702/More-evidence-on-vitamin-D-deficiency-and-death-rates-from-COVID-19.aspx
...and more here (6 July) from Dr. David Grimes, including criticism of SACN and NICE on their Vitamin D response:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/07/covid-19-and-vitamin-d-uk-nice-r.html
...and (anonymous) guest article on Vitamin D posted by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/07/09/here-is-a-coronavirus-puzzle-for-you-to-ponder-a-guest-article/
...and a summary of the summer of Vitamin D and Covid cases and deaths by Dr. David Grimes:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/08/covid-19-and-vitamin-d-cases-deaths.html
...and study of the benefits of administering Vitamin D to patients to keep them out of ICU:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960076020302764
...and Chris Masterjohn discussion of the above trial, arguing it proves causative benefit of bolus Vitamin D treatment:
https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/covid-19/finally-confirmed-vitamin-d-nearly-abolishes-icu-risk-in-covid-19
...and David Grimes' blog post on the same trial:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/09/covid-19-and-vitamin-d-randomised.html?spref=tw
...and David Grimes' Vitamin D questions:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/09/covid-19-and-vitamin-d-some-questions.html
...and University of Chicago study shows that people with Vitamin D deficiency are more likely to become infected:
https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2020/09/03/Vitamin-D-deficiency-raises-COVID-19-infection-risk-by-77-study-finds/7001599139929/
...and more from David Grimes, looking at the results from various small-scale Vitamin D studies:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/09/covid-19-and-vitamin-d-more-evidence-of.html?spref=tw
...and Dr. David Grimes BMJ Rapid Response on Vitamin D:
https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3598/rr-3
...and Daily Mail report on studies by Dr. Michael Holick and Boston University:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8774015/Could-getting-vitamin-D-reduce-COVID-19-death-risks-52.html
...and Dr. David Grimes on Pascal's Wager and Vitamin D:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/09/covid-19-and-vitamin-d-time-for-action.html
...and Daily Mail on how Matt Hancock misled parliament falsely claiming U.K. government had done a study showing Vitamin D ineffective:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8793235/Matt-Hancock-wrongly-claims-vitamin-D-doesnt-work-Covid-19.html
...and Dr. David Grimes mentioning Donald Trump taking Vitamin D, plus Michael Holick Boston study and more:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/10/covid-19-and-vitamin-d-compelling.html
...and more from the Daily Mail (7 Oct) on Vitamin D:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8814521/Having-vitamin-D-deficiency-make-likely-catch-Covid-19-study-claims.html
...and website on Vitamin D for Covid:
https://vitamindforcovid.com/
...and Daily Mail article on 5,000 volunteers being recruited for U.K. Vitamin D trial:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8834307/Doctors-trial-vitamin-D-protect-people-Covid-19.html
...and Matt Hancock U-turn on Vitamin D:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8844255/Now-Matt-Hancock-says-vitamin-D-amid-mounting-evidence-protects-against-Covid-19.html ...and Dr David Grimes on Vitamin D and NICE:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/10/covid-19-and-vitamin-d-nice-fails-us.html
...and David Davis' prescription for Vitamin D:
https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/10/david-davis-is-there-a-plan-b-on-covid-that-will-work-i-believe-that-there-is-namely-making-much-more-use-of-vitamin-d.html
...and more from Dr. David Grimes on various Vitamin D studies (Santander and Heidelberg):
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/11/covid-19-vitamin-d-santander-heidelberg.html
...and Guardian story on the U.K. government consulting on how to administer Vitamin D:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/14/covid-uk-government-requests-guidance-on-vitamin-d-use
...and Dr. David Grimes discussion of Bradford-Hill criteria and Vitamin D:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/11/covid-19-vitamin-d-demonstration-of.html
...and more studies quoted by Dr David Grimes:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/11/covid-19-vitamin-d-evidence-from.html
...and Dr David Grimes on 22 Nov giving compelling evidence re. BAME doctors in the U.K.:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/11/covid-19-vitamin-d-deaths-of-doctors.html
...and BMJ on '60 seconds on Vitamin D', linking to many studies:
https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m3872/rr-5
...and Dr. David Grimes on why for fast action it's better to administer Calcifediol rather than natural Vitamin D:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/11/covid-19-vitamin-d-calcifediol-96.html
...and more from Dr. David Grimes, including an interesting histogram of deaths per million vs. country:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/12/covid-19-vitamin-d-calcifediol-has-96.html
...and NICE still saying not enough evidence of effectiveness of Vitamin D against Covid:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55333063
...and Dr. David Grimes compares vaccine cost/benefit with Vitamin D:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/12/covid19-and-vitamin-d-efficacy-of.html?spref=tw
...and Dr. David Grimes on Vitamin D at the end of 2020:
http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2020/12/covid-19-vitamin-d-at-end-of-2020.html
...and trial shows high-dose Vitamin D improves ICU outcomes:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1876382020314529
...and Guardian article highlights campaigning of David and Huq:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jan/10/does-vitamin-d-combat-covid
...and Bert Hubert summary of the many sides of the Vitamin D debate:
https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/vitamin-d-the-new-covid-19-chloroquine/
Interferon beta being trialled as a therapy:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55639096
Some are suggesting that Ivermectin could be effective against Covid-19:
https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-afs:Content:9768999400
Vaccination:
Some healthcare workers are reluctant to be the first to take new Coronavirus vaccines:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.11.18.20234468v1
...and Pfizer to be given U.K. legal indemnity against claims relating to Covid vaccine adverse effects:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-pfizer-vaccine-legal-indemnity-safety-ministers-b1765124.html
...and Science Magazine on possible Covid vaccination side-effects (mostly short-term and reasonably mild):
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/11/fever-aches-pfizer-moderna-jabs-aren-t-dangerous-may-be-intense-some
...and BMJ article says vaccine trials not designed to say if vaccine will save lives:
https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4037
...and how much money will companies make from vaccines?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55170756
...and Science Magazine on vaccination update end 2020:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/12/it-s-crazy-upbeat-covid-19-vaccine-news-china-and-uk-leave-scientists-wanting-more
...and concern in Norway about deaths in elderly due to Pfizer vaccine:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-16/norway-vaccine-fatalities-among-people-75-and-older-rise-to-29
...and promising new one-shot vaccine from Janssen:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55857530
Rolling Stone on how Big Pharma will profiteer on Covid-19:
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/big-pharma-covid-19-profits-1041185/
Australian Prof. Thomas Borody on Ivermectin as a potential cure:
http://covexit.com/we-know-its-curable-its-easier-than-treating-the-flu-professor-thomas-borody/
AeroNab 'Molecular PPE' from UCSF as a possible inhaler protection:
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/08/418241/aeronabs-promise-powerful-inhalable-protection-against-covid-19
The MATH+ protocol, devised by eminent doctors, and theories as to why governments aren't rushing to adopt it:
https://lynnemctaggart.com/just-do-the-math/
Should the low-carb diet be emphasised as a way of reducing Covid-19 risk?
https://www.dietdoctor.com/bmj-editorial-endorse-low-carb-for-covid-19-prevention
...and original BMJ Editorial here:
https://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/2020/07/09/bmjebm-2020-111451
Peter Goetzsche on Remdesivir, hope or hype?:
https://www.scientificfreedom.dk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/G%C3%B8tzsche-Remdesivir-against-coronavirus-hope-or-hype.pdf
Hydroxychloroquine:
Promising Covid-19 treatment results using the anti-malarial hydroxychloroquine (HCQ):
https://www.dermatologytimes.com/coronavirus/malaria-drug-hydroxychloroquine-may-treat-covid-19
...and Fox News article on potential therapy using anti-malarials (includes video ~3 mins):
https://www.foxnews.com/media/toxicologist-reacts-after-trump-announces-fda-making-anti-malaria-drug-available-to-test-covid-19-treatment
...and some promising HCQ therapy results reported by an M.D. in Monroe NY:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SesxgaPnpT6OfCYuaFSwXzDK4cDKMbivoALprcVFj48/preview#
...and promising results from a French double-blind trial:
https://www.trustnodes.com/2020/03/28/debate-ends-over-chloroquine-as-france-officially-sanctions-usage
...and FDA provides emergency authorisation for hydroxychloroquine therapy:
https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2020/03/29/fda-emergency-authorization-anti-malaria-drug-155095
...and a US M.D. who claims very good results when hydroxychloroquine is used in conjunction with zinc:
https://abc7.com/coronavirus-drug-covid-19-malaria-hydroxychloroquine/6079864/
...and a blog post from Dr Peter Breggin M.D. on how fake news and fake science making claims hydroxychloroquine is ineffective (and even celebrating the fact!) when in fact the study they cite actually shows it is in fact effective (includes video ~8 mins):
https://breggin.com/negative-study-of-trump-miracle-drug-actually-shows-it-works/
...and Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) reports 90% chance of benefit when using HCQ:
https://aapsonline.org/hcq-90-percent-chance/
...and comparison of HCQ versus Remdesivir (video ~5 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=iBma_0oAiMI&feature=emb_logo
...but article 'Pandemic Science Out of Control' pours cold water on the HCQ claims:
https://issues.org/pandemic-science-out-of-control/
...Prof. Eberlin and others protest at people claiming to act in the name 'of science', and argue that HCQ is being prematurely condemned:
https://conexaopolitica.com.br/ultimas/brazilian-scientists-and-academics-write-an-open-letter-on-the-science-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic/
...and views on HCQ from Turkey:
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hydroxychloroquine-coronavirus-turkey-lancet-study-who-trial
...and Mumbai Mirror in India:
https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/cover-story/hcq-now-a-part-of-state-govts-treatment-protocol/articleshow/75983824.cms
...and article pointing out that zinc seems to be important as a supplement when taking HCQ:
https://conservativewoman.co.uk/malaria-drug-and-zinc-the-missing-link/
...and article casting doubt upon Surgisphere, the company behind an article in The Lancet itself casting doubt upon HCQ:
https://www.medicineuncensored.com/a-study-out-of-thin-air
...and article in Jeune Afrique (in French) giving the points of view of various supporters of HCQ, including many in African countries:
https://www.jeuneafrique.com/990170/societe/lhydroxychloroquine-toujours-plebiscitee-en-afrique-malgre-les-controverses/
...and Science Magazine with more on the Surgisphere fiasco:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/mysterious-company-s-coronavirus-papers-top-medical-journals-may-be-unraveling
...and BBC on the Surgisphere study paper being retracted:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52929916
...and Oxford study says HCQ ineffective:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52937153
...and Science Magazine article says other studies also showing HCQ ineffective:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/three-big-studies-dim-hopes-hydroxychloroquine-can-treat-or-prevent-covid-19
...and study in Michigan indicates that HCQ therapy halves the death rate:
https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/07/02/michigan-henry-ford-health-study-finds-hydroxychloroquine-lowers-covid-19-death-rate/5365090002/
...and CNN story on the Michigan study:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/02/health/hydroxychloroquine-coronavirus-detroit-study/index.html
...and press release from Henry Ford, the hospital involved:
https://www.henryford.com/news/2020/07/hydro-treatment-study
...and academic paper on the Henry Ford study:
https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(20)30534-8/fulltext
...whilst WHO says it is stopping trials of HCQ (4 July):
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-who-drugs-idUSKBN2450OJ
...and some thoughts from Dr. Malcolm Kendrick here:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/07/05/distorting-science-in-the-covid-pandemic/
...and Zerohedge summarises the HCQ farce up to 8 July:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hydroxychloroquine-and-fake-news
...and preprint of study of Dr. Zelenko's HCQ/zinc/azithromycin 'triple-therapy':
https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202007.0025/v1
...and Todaro paper:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTi-g18ftNZUMRAj2SwRPodtscFio7bJ7GdNgbJAGbdfF67WuRJB3ZsidgpidB2eocFHAVjIL-7deJ7/pub
...and Todaro tweet thread on the weakness of the anti-HCQ case:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1289563464499781632.html
...and proposed specific treatment protocol (with doses), including use of HCQ, from Swiss Policy Research:
https://swprs.org/on-the-treatment-of-covid-19/
...and country-by-country comparison of effects of HCQ treatment (79% lower death with HCQ use):
https://hcqtrial.com/
...and Scott Adams video (~10 mins) discussing the issue:
https://scottadams.locals.com/post/101520/episode-1076-scott-adams
...and article from Dr. Amesh A. Adalja of Johns Hopkins who thinks that, based upon studies, HCQ should not be prescribed:
https://leapsmag.com/the-only-hydroxychloroquine-story-you-need-to-read/
...and Harvey Risch says "Hydroxychloroquine works in high-risk patients, and saying otherwise is dangerous":
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/hydroxychloroquine-works-in-high-risk-patients-and-saying-otherwise-is-dangerous
...and Fox News interview with Yale Dr. Harvey Risch (video, ~10 mins):
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1297715098795094017
...and Norman Doidge in Tablet Magazine on the 'Hydroxychloroquine Morality Tale':
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/science/articles/hydroxychloroquine-morality-tale
New York clinical trial quietly tests heartburn remedy (famotidine) against coronavirus:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/new-york-clinical-trial-quietly-tests-heartburn-remedy-against-coronavirus#
Anti-parasite drug Ivermectin shows some promise against Covid-19:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=GCSXNGc7pfs&feature=emb_logo
Observations suggest some component of tobacco is protective for Covid-19, maybe nicotine:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/22/french-study-suggests-smokers-at-lower-risk-of-getting-coronavirus
Disinfectant injection:
Donald Trump's critics (of which there are many!) accuse him of being crazy and wanting to inject disinfectant to cure Covid-19:
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/04/trump-actually-suggests-injecting-disinfectants-could-cure-coronavirus
...however, from the evidence in this article here (and the included video of his remarks) it looks like he was talking about using UV light as a virus killer, which doesn't seem too crazy at all:
https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2020/04/23/fact-check-no-trump-didnt-propose-injecting-people-with-disinfectant/
...also Daily Wire rebuttal here:
https://www.dailywire.com/news/fact-check-no-trump-did-not-tell-people-to-inject-themselves-with-disinfectant-or-drink-bleach
...and it turns out that UV light therapy is indeed a serious proposal as shown here (video, ~3 minutes), with input from Cedars-Sinai, albeit thus far it is maybe still somewhat unproven (Note: on 2020-04-26 this video was blocked for 'violating Youtube's Community Guidelines', whatever that means. See also here: https://twitter.com/LokiJulianus/status/1254273643619782656/photo/1):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=RZHQbKe9TtI&feature=emb_logo
...and some folks have taken the idea seriously enough to apply for a patent on a suitable UV injection device:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20160114185.pdf
...and UV light from LEDs for disinfection:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/cheaper-leds-can-disinfect-against-covid-19-israeli-scientists-find/
Some hope that blood plasma infusions containing antibodies can be a useful therapy in severe Covid-19 cases:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/07/plasma-from-coronavirus-survivors-found-to-help-severely-ill-patients
Could MMR vaccine provide some protection against the worst symptoms of Covid-19?:
https://asm.org/Press-Releases/2020/MMR-Vaccine-Could-Protect-Against-the-Worst-Sympto
Wired on the benefits of proning:
https://www.wired.com/story/proning-covid-patients-seems-to-save-lives-but-how-many/
Using sniffer dogs to test for Covid-19:
https://thejeffreylord.com/report-dogs-trained-to-detect-covid-through-armpit-sweat/
Two IMF Economists advocate 'Universal Testing':
https://voxeu.org/article/universal-testing-overlooked-covid-19-policy-response
The BBC on why 'test-and-trace' is failing in the U.K. (20 November):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55008133
Rapid testing:
The benefits of frequent, fast and cheap tests, even if less sensitive:
https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2020/07/frequent-fast-and-cheap-is-better-than-sensitive.html
...and more on rapid testing here:
https://www.rapidtests.org/
...and more here, including mention of Prof. Mina:
https://harvardmagazine.com/2020/08/covid-19-test-for-public-health
...and a promising rapid saliva test ASSURE-19 from a company in Hawaii:
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/08/03/hawaii-news/local-covid-19-saliva-test-could-help-turn-pandemics-tide-doctors-say/
...and an article in The National Review says 'Allow us to test ourselves, and we could shut down the virus in four weeks':
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/08/coronavirus-fast-testing-by-schools-businesses-key-ending-pandemic/
...and the benefits of rapid 'crappy' tests:
https://elemental.medium.com/potential-new-weapon-against-covid-19-rapid-crappy-tests-df8133f3e8bc
...and Healthline on rapid testing:
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/fast-isnt-always-better-experts-worry-about-rise-of-rapid-covid-19-testing#Less-accurate-tests-can-still-help
...and 15-minute test from Abbott:
https://theconversation.com/will-the-new-15-minute-covid-19-test-solve-us-testing-problems-145285
...and more on the Abbot rapid test here:
https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/trump-administration-send-new-covid-19-rapid-tests-state-leaders
...and Scientific American on 'instant coffee tests':
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/instant-coffee-covid-19-tests-could-be-the-answer-to-reopening-the-u-s/
...and new 5-minute rapid test for covid using CRISPR technology:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/10/new-test-detects-coronavirus-just-5-minutes
...and Reason Magazine on rapid testing:
https://reason.com/2020/10/20/rapid-home-covid-19-tests-are-the-best-path-to-a-new-normal-theyre-illegal/
...and more persuasion from Michael Mina on antigen testing:
https://time.com/5912705/covid-19-stop-spread-christmas/
...and U.K. plans rapid testing and 'freedom passes':
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8974617/Britons-test-negative-Covid-twice-week-set-receive-freedom-pass.html
...and CU Boulder study showing rapid insensitive tests much better than slower tests, even if more sensitive:
https://www.colorado.edu/today/2020/11/20/frequent-rapid-testing-could-turn-national-covid-19-tide-within-weeks
...and Lex Fridman interview with Michael Mina about cheap and rapid testing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-RuvUkcyJI
...and report on Liverpool testing study:
https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2020/12/23/covid-19-liverpool-community-testing-pilot-interim-findings-published/
...and Annie Sparrow makes the case for cheap rapid testing:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/05/cheap-mass-testing-covid-pandemic-pcr-antigen/
...and rapid expansion in lateral flow testing expected in England:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/10/rapid-covid-testing-across-england-will-help-identify-symptomless-carriers
BBC on a promising saliva test for Covid-19:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53437555
The Spectator on the perils of mass testing:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/could-mass-testing-for-covid-19-do-more-harm-than-good-
Hyperlipid on a virus which stinks:
https://high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/2020/12/igg-iga-and-sniffing-virus-which-stinks.html
Rules in various countries, for compensating people who need to self-isolate:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-55773591
BBC on the U.K.'s volunteer vaccinators:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55721798
Pressure on U.K. medical staff in second wave (Army helping out):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55726767
BBC on how QR codes have really taken off during Covid:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55579480
Working From Home (WFH):
BBC on difficulties for WFH couples:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-54977170
The 'Barrington Declaration', calling for a more focussed approach to lockdown:
https://unherd.com/2020/10/covid-experts-there-is-another-way/
BBC asks whether we should learn to live with the virus:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54228649
Coronavirus Ghost Cruise Ships at anchor in the English Channel:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53720419
John Gray in Unherd on 'How apocalyptic is now?':
https://unherd.com/2020/05/are-we-living-through-an-apocalypse-now/
U.K. Herts Polics on avoiding Test and Trace scams:
https://www.herts.police.uk/news-and-appeals/avoiding-test-and-trace-scams-0196
BBC on people using the lockdown as an opportunity to slow down:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52892076
The Conversation on how coronavirus could usher in a new ‘golden age’ of rail travel:
https://theconversation.com/how-coronavirus-could-usher-in-a-new-golden-age-of-rail-travel-138648
NEJM on the Occupational Health risk of Covid-19, suggesting that for some (the most vulnerable) it could be up to around 10x the risk of hitherto the riskiest professions (commercial fishermen), who supposedly had death risk of 1 per 1000 per year. Gives advice on how such high-risk people should be advised:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2013413
In The Atlantic (paywall) - 'For Schools, the List of Obstacles Grows and Grows':
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/reopening-schools-easy-part/612046/
Arstechnica article on how 'The pandemic is bringing us closer to our robot takeout future':
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/04/the-pandemic-is-bringing-us-closer-to-our-robot-takeout-future/
NHS trusts putting pressure on whistleblowers to stop talking about lack of PPE:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52671814
Kent head teacher's brutally honest letter to parents over returning their children to school - who said that there is "no such thing as social distancing in a primary school" in a frank and direct letter to parents:
https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/kent-head-teachers-brutally-honest-4129384
Dr. John Lee in The Spectator gives 10 reasons why we should end the lockdown now:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/ten-reasons-to-end-the-lockdown-now
Quillette says 'Enough With the Phoney ‘Lockdown’ Debate', arguing that a lot of the lockdown is due to people changing their own behaviour, rather than government diktat:
https://quillette.com/2020/05/08/enough-with-the-phoney-lockdown-debate/
British Columbia's Provincial Health Officer says 'please go outside' (Covid-19 transmission is likely to be much less outdoors):
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/please-go-outside-dr-bonnie-henry-says-covid-19-much-less-likely-to-spread-outdoors-1.5550191
BBC on 'How amateur radio is connecting people during lockdown':
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52442553
Simon Jenkins in The Guardian says that the total lockdown is failing (he makes some good points, while still acknowledging the precautionary principle):
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/01/why-can-i-visit-a-diy-shop-but-not-a-museum-this-total-lockdown-is-failing
BBC on 'The rise of the milkmen and women':
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52358248
BBC on 'How will coronavirus change the way we live?':
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52356136
...and 8 ways that Coronavirus has already changed the U.K.:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52229828
Quarantining:
Vox presents strong arguments for quarantining of Covid-19 patients who don't (at least yet) have serious enough symptoms for ICU treatment (it's what they do in East Asia) - e.g. using vacant hotel rooms (of which currently there are many!):
https://www.vox.com/2020/4/28/21238456/centralized-isolation-coronavirus-hong-kong-korea
...and here's a detailed proposal for how voluntary quarantining might work in a city such as New York (hint - luxury hotels and food delivery):
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1241169555260469249.html
...and Wisconsin opens voluntary isolation facilities:
https://www.nbc15.com/content/news/Wisconsin-opens--569259181.html
Lithuanian capital (Vilnius) to be turned into vast open-air cafe:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/28/lithuanian-capital-to-be-turned-into-vast-open-air-cafe-vilnius
...and the airport has become a drive-in cinema:
https://news.yahoo.com/emptied-virus-lithuanian-airport-turns-drive-cinema-100214126.html
Why 'Scientists who express different views on Covid-19 should be heard, not demonized':
https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/27/hear-scientists-different-views-covid-19-dont-attack-them/
Mark Manson on how nobody knows what is going on, but with a few ideas for coping:
https://markmanson.net/nobody-knows-what-is-going-on
Slate on why we should allow people to go outside during the pandemic:
https://slate.com/business/2020/04/coronavirus-parks-beaches-open-them.html
Walking and Cycling:
Popup 'corona cycleways' being introduced in Paris (and other European towns and cities):
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2020/04/22/paris-to-create-650-kilometers-of-pop-up-corona-cycleways-for-post-lockdown-travel/#4f0475d954d4
...and calls for accelerating cycling infrastructure growth in Sydney, Australia:
https://sydney.org.au/news-events/news/a-chance-to-build-sydneys-cycle-network-in-3-years/
...and France introducing subsidies for bicycle maintenance among other cycling-related expenses:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52483684
...and making towns and cities more pedestrian and cycle friendly, by closing-off streets etc.:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52353942
...and BBC on 'Are we witnessing the death of the car?':
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200429-are-we-witnessing-the-death-of-the-car
...and Seattle to permanently close 20 miles of streets to most vehicular traffic:
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/seattle-streets-closed-stay-healthy-trnd/index.html
...and U.K. Transprt Secretary Grant Shapps calls for more walking and cycling:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52592421
...and more here from the BBC on making streets more livable:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52524807
...and 'Coronavirus: 'Lockdown is opportunity of a lifetime for bike lanes':
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-52670597/coronavirus-lockdown-is-opportunity-of-a-lifetime-for-bike-lanes
...and demand for bikes and bike spares in the U.K. is surging, leading to long lead times when trying to buy them:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53023552
...and BBC 'Coronavirus: Will pop-up bike lanes keep new cyclists on the road?':
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53105020
BBC on the Smithfield pork factory outbreak in the U.S. (Sioux Falls, South Dakota):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52311877
Nesta on how there will be no 'back to normal':
https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/there-will-be-no-back-normal/
Craft Beer, and focussing on redundancy, not efficiency (drawing upon Taleb's antifragility ideas):
https://medium.com/@stoffel.brian/covid-19-craft-beer-hope-for-a-better-future-no-really-5044c218768b
Ed Yong in The Atlantic (paywall) on 'our pandemic summer', and what life might be like for the duration:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/pandemic-summer-coronavirus-reopening-back-normal/609940/
Masks:
Jeremy Howard in the Guardian, on the benefits of masks:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/04/why-wear-a-mask-may-be-our-best-weapon-to-stop-coronavirus
...and here's Jeremy Howard's 16 April interview on BBC News (video ~3mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VawlmG9tsXI&feature=emb_logo
...and David Sacks on why masks should be the law:
https://medium.com/craft-ventures/masks-should-be-the-law-3f53f08709cc
...and BMJ article on 'Face masks for the public during the covid-19 crisis':
https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1435
...and a curated list of references regarding the effectiveness of masks:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HLrm0pqBN_5bdyysOeoOBX4pt4oFDBhsC_jpblXpNtQ/preview
...and a Mask FAQ for skeptics:
https://www.fast.ai/2020/04/20/skeptics-masks/
...and Science Magazine interview with Chinese expert George Gao, who among other things advocates mask wearing:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/not-wearing-masks-protect-against-coronavirus-big-mistake-top-chinese-scientist-says#
...and a makeshift mask from two squares of kitchen roll and two elastic bands (video ~2 mins):
https://twitter.com/startupdaemon/status/1239762445591142400?s=21
...and Bishop's Stortford school making PPE masks:
https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/news/birchwood-staff-manufacture-protective-visors-for-health-workers-9104267/
...and National Review on why government should create a mask demand stimulus:
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/04/coronavirus-mask-shortages-government-purchase-guarantees-incentivize-production/#slide-1
...and Scottish Government advice on masks, which seems sensible:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-public-use-of-face-coverings/
...and The Atlantic on 'The real reason to wear a mask':
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/dont-wear-mask-yourself/610336/
...and Vanity Fair says 'If 80% of Americans Wore Masks, COVID-19 Infections Would Plummet, New Study Says':
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/masks-covid-19-infections-would-plummet-new-study-says
...which links to this excellent online video demo of Monte Carlo simulations of mask wearing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfeW2l8G_W4&feature=youtu.be
...experiments with hamsters show effectiveness of masks:
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3084779/coronavirus-hamster-research-proof-effectiveness
...and Time Magazine on results of studies on masks and social distancing:
https://time.com/5846288/social-distancing-face-masks-covid/
...and Ottawa will request passengers to wear masks on public transport:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/transit-commission-mandatory-marks-1.5593115
...and BBC on masks being made mandatory on public transport in the U.K.:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52930245
...and masks to be made mandatory for visitors to hospitals in England too:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52946850
...and interesting anecdote from Missouri where two Cv19-infected hairstylists seemingly didn't infect any of their 140 customers, when all were taking precautions by wearing masks etc.:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/11/us/missouri-hairstylists-coronavirus-clients-trnd/index.html
...and Taleb on The masks masquerade:
https://medium.com/incerto/the-masks-masquerade-7de897b517b7
...and Surgeon Howard Luks on why we should wear masks:
https://www.howardluksmd.com/sports-medicine/wear-a-mask-save-a-life-today-maybe-your-own-maybe-someone-elses/
...and German study, focusing on Jena, attempting to quantify the benefits of mask wearing:
https://voxeu.org/article/unmasked-effect-face-masks-spread-covid-19
...and CapX on the masks fiasco and the noble lie:
https://capx.co/the-masks-fiasco-shows-the-dangers-of-a-noble-lie/
...and LA Times on how wearing masks may lower your viral load, making the virus less deadly:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-14/evidence-mounts-that-masks-help-lower-your-exposure-to-the-coronavirus
...and outbreak at Starbucks in Korea (customer sitting under an air conditioner), but none of the employees wearing masks were infected:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-24/hong-kong-reports-first-coronavirus-re-infection-in-it-worker?sref=M5yhqEtt
...and same Korean Starbucks story here:
https://fortune.com/2020/08/25/covid-outbreak-starbucks-seoul-masks-employees/
...and Daily Telegraph on how mask wearing can help with stimulating asymptomatic immunity, by reducing viral load:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/face-masks-could-giving-people-covid-19-immunity-researchers/
...and UCSF on mask science:
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/06/417906/still-confused-about-masks-heres-science-behind-how-face-masks-prevent
...and Unherd on how the experts messed-up on covid by being overconfident (mainly regarding masks):
https://unherd.com/2020/10/how-the-experts-messed-up-on-covid/
Zeynep Tufekci in The Atlantic on why we should keep the parks open:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/closing-parks-ineffective-pandemic-theater/609580/
...and the beaches too:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/07/it-okay-go-beach/613849/
COVID-19: How to win:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e7b914b3b5f9a42199b3337/t/5e8a5e701249b622794cf8e3/1586126448746/WinningCOVID.pdf
Palladium magazine article explaining that effective pandemic response requires competence, rather than preparation:
https://palladiummag.com/2020/04/01/effective-pandemic-response-is-not-about-preparation/
Splitting the US into 'Red Zones' and 'Green Zones':
https://medium.com/@jack.connor/green-states-red-states-89490ca10d00
A guide to 'safe circles' (video ~2 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=90&v=EiCnM387Toc&feature=emb_logo
Is home Cv19 testing on the way soon in the U.K.?:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/25/uk-coronavirus-mass-home-testing-to-be-made-available-within-days
U.K. Government guidance on workplaces:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/guidance-for-employers-and-businesses-on-coronavirus-covid-19
Serious Eats on Coronavirus and food safety:
https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/03/food-safety-and-coronavirus-a-comprehensive-guide.html
Astronauts:
Chris Hadfield - An astronaut's guide to self-isolation (video ~2 minutes):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=32&v=4uL5sqe5Uk8&feature=emb_logo
...and some thoughts from U.K. Cosmonaut, Helen Sharman:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-52104844
Hoarding:
Research indicates that shoppers are buying just a little bit more of key items (think toilet-rolls), rather than actually bulk-buy hoarding as such:
https://www.kantarworldpanel.com/en/PR/Accidental-stockpilers-driving-shelf-shortages
...and more reasons (e.g. market segmentation, just-in-time supply chains etc.) why the shortage of toilet paper is not necessarily due to panic buying or hoarding:
https://marker.medium.com/what-everyones-getting-wrong-about-the-toilet-paper-shortage-c812e1358fe0
...and a 'cash-and-carry' (wholesaler) in Harlow, which has seen its commercial business plummet, switching to direct-to-retail-consumer sales (video ~2 minutes):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-52186998/the-shop-where-you-can-still-buy-huge-bags-of-pasta
...and a description of Covid-19 shopping habits and logistics in various different countries around the world from The Economist:
https://www.1843magazine.com/food/panic-at-the-supermarket-how-covid19-rewrote-the-shopping-list
For perhaps the first time, millions are asking: 'Is my job essential?':
https://qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/qz.com/work/1844302/the-coronavirus-pandemic-raises-a-question-is-my-job-essential/amp/
Dilbert on social distancing:
https://dilbert.com/strip/2020-07-04
German cafe uses pool noodles to enforce social distancing (or should this go in the serious section?):
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/15/europe/german-cafe-noodle-distancing-scli-intl-grm/index.html
THREE tasty lockdown recipes from a single can of SPAM (plus a few additional ingredients, natch):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzf2FCMHBJ8
Daily Mash:
The Daily Mash on furloughed man with no kids and a garden living like a f@@king king:
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/lifestyle/furloughed-man-with-no-kids-and-a-garden-living-like-a-fking-king-20200416195513
...and new words to blame on Covid-19:
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/facewine-secluedo-and-other-twatty-new-words-we-can-blame-on-coronavirus-20200417195546
...and Mum buys flour on the Dark Web:
https://twitter.com/BBCTwo/status/1251163204408840193
...and A-list celebrities doing their bit:
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/celebrity/group-of-celebrities-get-together-to-shut-the-fk-up-20200423195728
...and a timeline of U.K. government fk ups:
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/politics-headlines/all-the-governments-coronavirus-fk-ups-a-timeline-20200423195737
...and why social distancing will rock:
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/six-reasons-why-ongoing-social-distancing-will-fking-rock-20200506196178
...and 'Five smug middle-class social isolation activities':
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/lifestyle/five-smug-middle-class-social-isolation-activities-20200320194773
...and 'Five annoying activities that shouldn't be reintroduced after lockdown':
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/lifestyle/five-annoying-activities-that-shouldnt-be-reintroduced-after-lockdown-20200514196411
...and 'Five excellent upsides to the coronavirus crisis':
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/five-excellent-upsides-to-the-coronavirus-crisis-20200319194671
...and 'Six things we'd know about pandemics if our history lessons weren't so obsessed with the Nazis':
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/six-things-wed-know-about-pandemics-if-our-history-lessons-werent-so-obsessed-with-the-nazis-20200519196568
...and 'Friends meeting in park fail to recognise each other':
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/friends-meeting-in-park-fail-to-recognise-each-other-20200525196791
...and U.K. Government defends Cummings' decision to go dogging:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?zx=ev2psciwud5r#inbox
...and 'Men happy to avoid talking to barbers' (under lockdown):
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/lifestyle/men-happy-to-avoid-talking-to-barbers-20200528196953
How the Coronavirus is making us all Northern:
https://medium.com/@adamjwells/coronavirus-has-made-us-all-northern-b70720e6acec
The pandemic is leading to a surge in demand for COBOL programmers:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/08/business/coronavirus-cobol-programmers-new-jersey-trnd/index.html
...and slightly more technical depth here:
https://www.i-programmer.info/news/99-professional/13618-wanted-cobol-programmers.html
xkcd on what the virus is thinking:
https://xkcd.com/2287/
Simon Evans:
Simon Evans on working from home - funny:
https://life.spectator.co.uk/articles/how-to-work-from-home/
...and more from Simon Evans, on how the U.K. Police Force can do better in getting us to behave:
https://life.spectator.co.uk/articles/heres-how-pc-plod-can-get-brits-to-behave/
...and ignoring our impending economic doom:
https://life.spectator.co.uk/articles/why-are-we-all-ignoring-our-impending-economic-doom/
...and beginner's guide to exiting lockdown:
https://life.spectator.co.uk/articles/a-beginners-guide-to-exiting-lockdown/
...and why we should reopen comedy venues:
https://life.spectator.co.uk/articles/comedy-can-brings-us-back-together-if-well-let-it/
...and masks:
https://life.spectator.co.uk/articles/mask-wearing-gives-us-a-break-from-ourselves/
Difficult choices around quarantining - very funny! (video ~14 secs):
https://twitter.com/DrEades/status/1241121606954397696
A personal story of long tail covid:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-53948028
BBC on the story of 43 y.o. Scottish Vietnam Airlines pilot, Stephen Cameron, known as 'Patient 91' in Vietnam:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-53196009
Craig Murray and his family's (probable) brushes with Covid-19:
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/06/coronavirus-only-an-anecdote/
BBC on ITV presenter Kate Garroway's husband's struggles with Covid-19, and possible long-term after-effects:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52933404
The early outbreak on the Shetlands:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-52823510
What was Dominic Cummings really doing in Barnard Castle when he should have been in lockdown?:
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/05/why-barnard-castle/
...although here's another possible angle on the story:
https://twitter.com/PaulWoodh0use/status/1264644333053063168
Doctor Malcolm Kendrick in RT talks about his experiences in the NHS and care homes during the first wave of the pandemic:
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/488075-nhs-made-covid-19-crisis-worse/
...and on his own blog here:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/05/11/how-to-make-a-crisis-far-far-worse/
Guardian story on NHS Doctor Peter Tun, who begged his administrators for PPE equipment, which they refused. Soon after that, he contracted Covid-19 and died, aged 62:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/23/emails-reveal-doctors-plea-for-ppe-before-covid-19-death-dr-peter-tun
Doctor Wu Feng from Guangdong talks about seven weeks on the frontline in Wuhan during the virus peak:
http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1005474/i-spent-seven-weeks-in-a-wuhan-icu.-heres-what-i-learned;text=I
Time Magazine on solution steps:
https://time.com/5929257/covid-19-u-s-cases-reduce-transmission/
Various measures to reduce indoor spread through proper ventilation techniques:
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/05/indoor-spread-covid-19-can-be-lessened-experts-say
The Atlantic on hygiene theatre:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/scourge-hygiene-theater/614599/
Yaneer Bar Yam:
Yaneer Bar-Yam - Can a lockdown stop COVID-19? (video ~3 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=ETPzHa2iuLM&feature=emb_logo
(spoiler - yes!)
...and a Q&A with Yaneer Bar Yam:
https://medium.com/@travcom13/how-to-crush-the-curve-2f0a92632570
...and Yaneer Bar Yam again in a CNN article May 12 calling for US citizens to 'crush the curve' and not reopen too early:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/12/opinions/governors-reopen-states-opinion-bar-yam/index.html
...and tips for everyday living with Covid-19:
https://www.endcoronavirus.org/papers/everyday-life-and-covid-19
Contact Tracing:
The U.K. Bluetooth contact tracing app debacle:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52371688
...and the importance of backward contact tracing:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54648734
BBC In Pictures - 'Coronavirus: Creative solutions to social distancing':
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-52746584
Article suggesting that Covid-19 might lead to cubicles making a comeback in the workplace:
https://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/cubicles-make-comeback/
Online comic, showing how a distributed contact tracing phone app would work:
https://ncase.me/contact-tracing/
Testing:
Paul Bucheit proposes various solutions, including viral scanners based upon surface plasmon resonance:
https://paulbuchheit.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-third-solution.html
...and 'Contactless' Covid-19 testing booths being developed and deployed in Israel:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8226793/Israel-launches-new-contactless-roadside-covid-19-testing-booths.html
Crush the curve: Stopping COVID-19 (video ~3 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=cnbBkCHpi6c&feature=emb_logo
Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO Executive Director, on applying Ebola lessons to Covid-19 - emphasising the need for speed, even if mistakes will be made along the way (video ~1 minute):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEUwig1GkHo
COVID19: A Path Forward:
https://medium.com/@AmeshAA/covid19-a-path-forward-868d5e8dc53
Covid-19 - measuring the urgency to act (puts numbers on costs of delays, calls for 'Manhattan projects'):
https://medium.com/@jseims/covid-19-measuring-the-urgency-to-act-f54b75a12fca
Ventilators:
U.K. government spec for a 'Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator System' (RMVS)...
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/874279/RMVS001_Rapidly_Manufactured_Ventilator_Specification__PDF.pdf
...and GTech already have a design:
https://www.gtech.co.uk/ventilators
...and car manufacturers and motorsport firms looking into making ventilators and other medical supplies:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51956880
...and Dyson, Oxford University and many others:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52021757
...and use of computer server fans for emergency ventilators, by Trevor Blackwell (video, ~2 mins):
https://twitter.com/tlbtlbtlb/status/1242615050990280704
...U.K. government provisionally orders 10,000 ventilators from Dyson:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52043767
...and various U.K. ventilator initiatives are scaling-up to mass-production:
https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/29/ventilator-challenge-uk-to-start-production-in-covid-19-fight
...and the Guardian, on how the U.K. government has ordered 61,000 new ventilators:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/31/more-orders-for-nhs-ventilators-covid19
...and Raspberry Pi Zeros in demand for embedding within ventilators:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-ventilators
Raspberry Pi selling many more units during pandemic for a variety of different purposes:
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/raspberry-pi-why-sales-have-rocketed-in-the-middle-of-the-coronavirus-outbreak/
Doulas Irwin claims that the pandemic 'adds momentum to the deglobalisation trend':
https://voxeu.org/article/pandemic-adds-momentum-deglobalisation-trend
Russ Roberts on how we should be making more use of market mechanisms in supply of PPE etc.:
https://marker.medium.com/price-gouging-could-actually-fix-our-face-mask-shortage-e85abb16b75e
Article in The American Conservative, advocating testing economies for 'anti-fragility' (as practiced by Netflix, apparently):
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/why-didnt-we-test-our-trades-antifragility-before-covid-19/
The option value of waiting:
https://voxeu.org/article/covid-19-and-option-value-waiting
Paul Graham, on coronavirus and journalistic credibility (or lack thereof):
http://paulgraham.com/cred.html
...which refers to the Daily Show 'Pandumbic' clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAh4uS4f78o
Slatestarcodex on 'a failure, but not of prediction', showing where the media went wrong, but with also lots of useful discussion on how we should all act in the face of uncertainty, not only in this scenario, but also in others:
https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/04/14/a-failure-but-not-of-prediction/
BBC report on a year of Covid in China:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-55628488
BBC 12 Oct article on how China is planning to test the whole of Qingdao (using 'pool testing'):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-54504785
AP on goings-on in the Chinese leadership early on in the outbreak:
https://apnews.com/68a9e1b91de4ffc166acd6012d82c2f9
and Niall Ferguson - let's Zoom President Xi, he has questions to answer:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-lets-zoom-xi-he-has-questions-to-answer/
Prominent critics of China's response to Covid-19 find themselves in difficulties:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/08/critic-xi-jinping-clown-ren-zhiqiang-covid-19-outbreak-investigated-china
...and Zeynep Tufekci in The Atlantic (paywall) on 'How the Coronavirus Revealed Authoritarianism’s Fatal Flaw':
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/02/coronavirus-and-blindness-authoritarianism/606922/
...and China re-writing Coronavirus history:
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/China-is-rewriting-coronavirus-history-and-nobody-will-stop-it
...and USA Today - Time to put China on lockdown for its dishonesty amid coronavirus crisis:
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/04/07/time-put-china-lockdown-dishonesty-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-crisis-column/2954433001/
How Mongolia killed the virus (as of 18 May):
https://medium.com/@indica/covid-underdogs-mongolia-3b0c162427c2
Taiwan:
'Taiwan Is Exporting Its Coronavirus Successes to the World', being emulated by countries such as Israel and New Zealand:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/09/taiwan-is-exporting-its-coronavirus-successes-to-the-world/
...and Straits Times on 200 days in Taiwan with no new cases:
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/record-200-days-with-no-local-cases-makes-taiwan-envy-of-world
...Taiwan firesand fines airline NZ pilot who tested positive:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-55433588
Hong Kong:
Hong Kong seeing multiple days with no new cases, quarantining incomers (usually returning citizens/ residents):
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3082081/coronavirus-another-day-new-no-covid-19-cases
...and what Hong Kong has done right about containing the virus (as of 8 April):
https://medium.com/@samgellman/what-hong-kong-has-done-right-2563004e7871
...and how Hong Kong has achieved zero care home deaths (as of 19 May):
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/19/mps-hear-why-hong-kong-had-no-covid-19-care-home-deaths
Vietnam:
So far (as of 16 April), Vietnam is also winning this latest of its many wars:
https://consortiumnews.com/2020/04/16/covid-19-vietnam-winning-new-war-against-invisible-enemy/
...and Reuters reports that Vietnam has been hacking China to get advanced information about the virus spread:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-cyber-vietnam-idUSKCN2241C8
...and BBC on how 'overreaction' made Vietnam a virus success:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-52628283
South Korea:
Bloomberg on South Korea returning to a 'new normal':
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-18/seoul-s-full-cafes-apple-store-lines-show-mass-testing-success
...and how South Korea crushed the curve (video ~2mins):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-52584494/coronavirus-how-south-korea-crushed-the-curve
...and Financial Times article (16 June) on ongoing efforts to control fresh outbreaks:
https://www.ft.com/content/d68d6292-0486-4bfc-bf5c-54ce850a3f7a
...and how South Korea has weathered the crisis economically:
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/south-korea-technology-brought-covid19-success-by-jim-o-neill-2020-08
...and (in December) a rise in new cases in SK:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-55285305
Japan:
Bloomberg on Japan's success (so far):
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-22/did-japan-just-beat-the-virus-without-lockdowns-or-mass-testing
...and Japan Times with more on Japan's success, including the importance of masks:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/05/28/national/science-health/masks-helped-fight-coronavirus/#.XtCfTWhKi73
...and BBC on the mysterious 'Factor X' which appears to protect the Japanese:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-53188847
£500 grant being mooted in U.K. for self-isolators:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55760467
Parliamentary committee criticises U.K. border policies early in the pandemic:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53654644
Scotland is getting close to eliminating Covid-19 (as of 28 June):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-53192024
...and Wired on how Scotland is adopting a zero-covid approach, but England isn't:
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/zero-covid-coronavirus-elimination
Ian Leslie in the New Statesman argues that the U.K.'s problem was that it did have a (bad) plan, and stuck with it for too long:
https://www.newstatesman.com/international/coronavirus/2020/05/problem-our-response-covid-19-wasn-t-we-didn-t-have-plan-it-was
Andrew Rawnsley in The Guardian on the difficulties facing the U.K. government in exiting the crisis:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/12/theres-danger-in-dreaming-that-there-is-a-quick-and-easy-escape-from-lockdown
NEJM article on 'Covid-19 and the Stiff Upper Lip — The Pandemic Response in the United Kingdom':
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2005755
...and a detailed Reuters article showing how the U.K. government were consistently behind the curve:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-path-speci-idUSKBN21P1VF
...and Taleb and Bar-Yam in the Guardian on the failure of U.K. government science and 'herd immunity' policy:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/25/uk-coronavirus-policy-scientific-dominic-cummings
...and an epidemiologist who thought the U.K. government's initial 'herd immunity' strategy was intended as 'satire':
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/15/epidemiologist-britain-herd-immunity-coronavirus-covid-19
...and a March 21 Buzzfeed article on heated debate in U.K. government leading to change of policy:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham/10-days-that-changed-britains-coronavirus-approach
...and The Times on '38 days when Britain sleepwalked into disaster':
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-38-days-when-britain-sleepwalked-into-disaster-hq3b9tlgh?shareToken=d5cf36716e702fb645e9d591043348df
...which Polly Toynbee comments on in the Guardian, taking more shots at Boris Johnson and his government:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/20/boris-johnson-sunday-times-prime-minister-coronavirus?fbclid=IwAR2gYhSZqJNFuixVJ-2_Vzl7wxIJ8OWDBC_QRWzRqeUJV_zcI8ez9cSGF0A
...and 'Mainly Macro' blog on the failures of U.K. government strategy:
https://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2020/04/did-scientists-advising-government-on.html
...and a scathing critique in The BMJ of 'The UK’s public health response to covid-19':
https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1932
...and excellent interview with Jeremy Farrar in Prospect Magazine, a coronavirus expert and member of the U.K. SAGE committee, talking about how to act in the face of uncertainty, how the U.K. response was slow and how transparency would be helpful:
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/science-and-technology/alan-rusbridger-sage-jeremy-farrar-covid-19-coronavirus-dominic-cummings-herd-immunity
Prescient interview with Rory Stewart on 12 March, which unfortunately not many people have been paying attention to, since only <3k views by 21 March (video ~13 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdeHUGalpaE
Comparing and contrasting the Covid-19 response with what happened in WWII (by Mark Harrison):
https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/markharrison/entry/the_war_on/
NPR says- Years Before The Pandemic, War Games Predicted A 'Global Tempest'. However, it remained impossible to get the threat elevated in the list of U.S. government priorities:
https://www.npr.org/2020/05/19/853816473/years-before-the-pandemic-war-games-predicted-a-global-tempest
Believe it or not, it turns out that George W. Bush was at the forefront of pandemic planning:
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/george-bush-2005-wait-pandemic-late-prepare/story?id=69979013
Politico on an actual pandemic 'playbook' that was ignored by the Trump administration:
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/25/trump-coronavirus-national-security-council-149285
...although this article by Joel Pollak suggests that the playbook was in fact severely lacking, and gave bad advice on certain key issues such as following the WHO, and restricting travel:
https://www.breitbart.com/health/2020/05/18/pollak-the-obama-biden-pandemic-playbook-is-less-than-advertised/
Guardian article saying the White House had been warned by advisors in January how bad Covid-19 could get:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/07/donald-trump-coronavirus-memos-warning-peter-navarro
...and Bloomberg - The U.S. government has significant experience in mobilizing for crises. What went wrong this time?:
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-10/the-coronavirus-mistakes-trump-made-that-we-can-never-make-again
Zeynep Tufekci article in The Atlantic (paywall?) about how systems thinking was needed, but lacking:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/03/what-really-doomed-americas-coronavirus-response/608596/
...and formal letter sent by Donald Trump to Dr. Tedros of the WHO criticising WHO actions on the pandemic, and threatening permanent withdrawal:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1262577580718395393
...and BBC article on Trump's letter to the WHO here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52718309
US Navy Captain Crozier fallout, and how it may affect opinions on future US defence spending:
https://consortiumnews.com/2020/04/13/covid-19-fallout-from-a-navy-captains-heroism-the-possible-emergence-of-a-new-idea-of-national-security/
The Lancet on pioneering mass antigen testing in Slovakia:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32261-3/fulltext
Russia:
The Daily Mail with a story on how doctors in Russia who complain about lack of PPE seem to be mysteriously falling out of windows. Purely accidental? Maybe, but it's strange that the one survivor is now retracting his compaints!:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8282033/Third-Russian-doctor-plunges-coronavirus-hospital-window.html
...and a report (8 Dec) on the Russian vaccine rollout, and a Covid field hospital on an ice rink:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55221785
The Atlantic on how the pandemic will (might) end:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/how-will-coronavirus-end/608719/
Harvard Business Review, on lessons to be learned from Italy:
https://hbr.org/2020/03/lessons-from-italys-response-to-coronavirus
New Zealand:
The Guardian, on New Zealand's success (as of 6 April) with lockdown:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/06/new-zealand-sees-positive-signs-amid-strict-coronavirus-lockdown
...and continued success in NZ (as of 20 April), with plans to lighten restrictions soon. They're still looking to eliminate the virus, rather than just suppress it:
https://theconversation.com/delight-relief-and-caution-six-experts-on-new-zealands-move-to-ease-its-coronavirus-lockdown-136715
...and NZ wipes out Covid-19 as of 8 June:
https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-new-zealand-wipes-out-covid-19-after-last-person-infected-recovers-12002632
...and BBC story on a Covid-free NZ:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-52961539
...and BBC on how New Zealand went in 'hard and early' with virus control:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-53274085
...and New Zealand charging some travellers for quarantine:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/29/new-zealand-to-start-charging-some-travellers-for-coronavirus-quarantine
...and description of NZ test-and-trace, and an argument that Ireland should be doing likewise:
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/zero-covid-must-be-the-aim-of-ireland-s-health-authorities-1.4344839
...and Business Leaders think NZ has performed best in terms of covid response:
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/new-zealands-covid-19-response-the-best-in-the-world-say-global-business-leaders/ar-BB19NL4M?ocid=st2
Denmark to open schools and kindergartens next week (dated 6 April):
https://www.thelocal.dk/20200406/denmark-to-reopen-schools-and-kindergartens-next-week
Sweden:
Science Magazine on the backlash suffered by critics of Sweden's policy:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/10/it-s-been-so-so-surreal-critics-sweden-s-lax-pandemic-policies-face-fierce-backlash
Spiked on how Sweden's non-lockdown possibly didn't lead to a higher spike than otherwise:
https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/10/01/sweden-has-destroyed-the-case-for-lockdown/#.X3WQi0thNtU.twitter
The Australian (Sept 11) on Sweden's policy being 'vindicated':
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/coronavirus-sweden-vindicated-as-covid-cases-hit-new-low/news-story/a255817a6c28dfb2a4b0e543d40bb541
LA Times on progress in Sweden (21 Sept):
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-21/sweden-spared-second-wave-coronavirus-so-far
Reason Magazine asks 'Did Sweden Accidentally Blunder into COVID-19 Herd Immunity?':
https://reason.com/2020/08/14/did-sweden-accidentally-blunder-into-covid-19-herd-immunity/
Bjorn Smedman on the incorrect assumption behind Sweden's COVID-19 strategy:
http://www.openias.org/swedens-covid19-strategy
...and yet maybe there are potentially benefits to the Swedish approach to lockdown (i.e. a 'softer' and more 'voluntary' version):
https://reason.com/2020/04/17/in-sweden-will-voluntary-self-isolation-work-better-than-state-enforced-lockdowns-in-the-long-run/
...although the architect of Sweden's policy agrees that some mistakes were made:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-03/man-behind-sweden-s-virus-strategy-says-he-got-some-things-wrong
On the IHR, the 2005 decision that made the 2020 pandemic an inevitable event:
https://pandemic.substack.com/p/the-2005-decision-that-made-the-2020
John Gray in the New Statesman (paywall?) on why this crisis is a turning point in history:
https://www.newstatesman.com/international/2020/04/why-crisis-turning-point-history
Spat between China on Australia on a potential investigation into the cause of the pandemic:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-30/china-ambassador-reckless-over-coronavirus-inquiry-downer-says/12200534
How Kerala in India is dealing with Covid-19:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/14/the-coronavirus-slayer-how-keralas-rock-star-health-minister-helped-save-it-from-covid-19
Israel:
Vaccination campaign speeding ahead in Israel:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israel-covid-vaccinations-1.5859396?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar
Baltic states:
Baltic states opening a travel bubble:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52673373
Lithuania faring well (as of 30 July):
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-30/it-wasn-t-a-dark-economic-quarter-everywhere-in-europe
Nesta on the Covid Test, exploring which nations have done a good job in response to the crisis, and wondering how things might develop:
https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/covid-test/
...and more from Nesta, suggesting four possible Coronavirus futures:
https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/four-coronavirus-futures/
BBC on how Turkey is doing well on tackling the virus, including use of hydroxychloroquine:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52831017
Reuters on signs the virus could be losing potency in Italy:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-virus-idUSKBN2370OQ