vaccine
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Yet Another Winter NHS Crisis
The NHS is in the grips of another crisis due to infections, though mercifully, rates of Covid-19 infections are relatively low. Driven by flu, winter vomiting and RSV and other infections this was all entirely predictable. During the last week we have also witnessed the Chief Medical Officer warning about the impacts of infections on Continue reading
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The Covid-19 Autumn Wave takes off
After a period of relative calm the UK is now in a period of significant levels of Covid-19. This was of course inevitable. Without population wide mitigations and vaccination there are no signs of Covid-19 settling down into a predicable seasonal pattern of the type that some scientists were predicting back in 2022 and 2023. Continue reading
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Autumn 2025 Covid-19 Booster Programme – please sign the petition
Earlier in the summer the government approved the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation (JCVI) proposals for this Autumn’s Covid-19 booster programme which were published last November as discussed in a previous blog post. This is despite all of our lobbying about the wrongheadedness of the proposals and the inherent dangers of further narrowing access Continue reading
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How to Avoid Catching Covid – July 2025 update
The vast majority of the population of the UK have had at least one confirmed or suspected Covid infection but some people, including myself and my husband have never had Covid and many people have only had it once. In some cases this will be down to luck, or to some little understood aspect of Continue reading
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Midwinter Update on the Covid Inquiry and more
Covid Inquiry The last three weeks have been very busy at the inquiry with 48 witnesses plus opening and closing statements from core participants crammed into twelve and half days of hearings. Issues covered included: As usual Jim Reed has done a good job in producing weekly podcasts overviewing the proceedings – listen to podcasts Continue reading
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In the Eye of the Storm
As the Covid Inquiry is about to begin module 4 hearings, and nearly two weeks into 2025, the NHS, is as predicted, overwhelmed with patients suffering from flu and other viruses and illnesses. As well as truly distressing stories from the front line this has brought the usual flurry of misinformed pieces spouting the benefits Continue reading
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Further Narrowing of Entitlement to Covid-19 Vaccines proposed
Yesterday the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation (JCVI) set out proposals for who will be entitled to a free Covid-19 vaccine booster in 2025 and 2026. Whist entitlements to the spring booster remains largely unchanged, there is a very significant proposed narrowing of who will be able to get a vaccine booster in Autumn Continue reading
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Covid-19 Autumn Booster Campaign
My previous post, Submission to the Treasury on forthcoming budget and spending review was highly critical of the plans for the 2024 Covid-19 Autumn booster campaign, particularly the further narrowing of entitlement to a free vaccine, including the exclusion of informal carers and household members of the clinically vulnerable. However, one of the issues that Continue reading
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Data on Long Covid published at last
On 25 April the Office for National Statistics published data on self reported long covid from the Winter Covid-19 infections survey. This paints an alarming picture of continuing high rates of long covid, and suggests a growth in the number of sufferers since data was last published in March 2023. How many people have Long Continue reading
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The Saga of Vaccination against Covid-19 in the UK continues…
As we await the opening of bookings for those eligible for the free spring 2024 Covid booster (listed in the photo above), this blog summarises what the situation is regarding private vaccines this spring and discusses wider issues about access and equity and updates my earlier post. Novavax Early optimism about the potentially relatively low Continue reading
GILLIAN SMITH About Me
I am a semi retired social researcher and have previously held a number of senior social research positions in Whitehall Departments. See an interview with me here. I live in a London suburb with my husband who has suffered multiple serious illnesses over the last few years. I myself am living with MND.
This series of blogs represent a personal, evidence based perspective based on living in the UK at a time when we are all meant to be ‘living with COVID’. Although I am a social scientist by training, I have worked closely with people from different disciplines throughout my career in order to present a complete picture of the evidence on specific policy issues. I am therefore scientifically literate but where I quote evidence based on research beyond my particular expertise it is always validated with relevant experts. I am a member of the Clinically Vulnerable Families group, though please note that the information presented here and any views expressed are my own. We are a friendly, supportive group and can be found via Facebook in private mode or in public mode via X (formerly twitter) Or BlueSky.Social
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Living on Plague Island 