The day has finally arrived, May 17th, when we are finally allowed to hug and dine indoors and all sorts of other activities that have been off the menu for months on end. It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for — but you may have noticed a dark shadow hanging over us as we prepare to emerge from our long hibernation: a new, more transmissible variant — B.1.617.2 — has arrived on the scene. I thought I’d write a few words on what the implications of this might be.
First, let me get a little bugbear out of the…
I’ve had a few enquiries about whether you can/should be vaccinated against Covid if you are planning to be pregnant/are pregnant/are breastfeeding, and also heard of some wrong information being bandied around, so here’s a short explainer of where things stand currently. References are hyperlinked if you would like more information on any of the topics.
Are pregnant and breastfeeding women excluded from vaccination?
There’s a lot of confusion around this, because initially, they were. This is because the Covid vaccines have not been tested in pregnant or breastfeeding women during the clinical trials. It’s standard practice to exclude pregnant…
It’s been a while since I’ve written about Covid, partly because it’s felt like not much has changed during these long gloomy weeks of lockdown, and partly because I’ve been hanging out on Twitter a lot observing the discourse and mulling it over. But I guess it’s fair to say that we’re moving into a new phase of the pandemic now, and that over the past few weeks my thoughts about it all have percolated into a few persistent messages. Note that scientific and opinions and predictions as to what will or should happen next are pretty broad at the…
[NB This article was orignially a twitter thread]
Earlier this year I found myself cooking for a woman I’d never met before who lived on a local estate. She was a single mother, her teenage son had picked up Covid from school, and given it to her. She had a zero hours contract, and had run out of money to feed her family.
They’d been surviving on tinned soup for three days, but that was used up. So she made the unusual step of putting out a call on social media, and I got in touch. I have never heard…
[I am a UK-based infectious disease epidemiologist with specialism in new and emerging infections, and write regular “explainer” posts about the pandemic, of which this is the latest. There’s currently a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding swirling about the internet regarding COVID-19 — so please do remember to check someone’s credentials if they are posting about it. You can find my CV on LinkedIn (Georgia Ladbury). Usual disclaimer that I am writing in a personal capacity and my views don’t necessarily reflect those of my employer]
It’s taken me a while to write about this one because it’s Christmas week…
(TL;DR: vaccinate)
- *Hazard warning– this post comes with Shakespearean puns**
And so we draw to a close a spectacular week in which we saw Margaret Keenan and William Shakespeare (what’s in a name?) be the first people of thousands to receive a Covid vaccine in the UK. At last there is light at the end of this long tunnel that we have been feeling our way through. The news brings hope to many, but also trepidation — how can these vaccines have been produced so quickly, and how can we know that they are safe?
It’s worthwhile remembering that not every person…
[I am a UK-based infectious disease epidemiologist with specialism in new and emerging infections, and write regular “explainer” posts about the pandemic, of which this is the latest. There’s currently a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding swirling about the internet regarding COVID-19 — so please do remember to check someone’s credentials if they are posting about it. You can find my CV on LinkedIn (Georgia Ladbury). Usual disclaimer that I am writing in a personal capacity and my views don’t necessarily reflect those of my employer]
I thought it would be a good time to do another update now that…
13.09.2020 — CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
[I am a UK-based infectious disease epidemiologist with specialism in new and emerging infections, and write regular “explainer” posts about the pandemic, of which this is the latest. There’s currently a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding swirling about the internet regarding COVID-19 — so please do remember to check someone’s credentials if they are posting about it. You can find my CV on LinkedIn. Usual disclaimer that I am writing in a personal capacity and my views don’t necessarily reflect those of my employer]
Well, the coronavirus situation has all got a bit complicated and confusing…
As we’re leaving lockdown, I thought it would be a good time to write another article assessing where we are with coronavirus right now and what it means for us all. Brace yourself, we’re entering complex times so this is a long one! Usual caveat that I’m writing in a personal capacity as a UK-based infectious disease epidemiologist and not linked to any organization; if you want to check out my credentials you can find my CV on LinkedIn (Georgia Ladbury).
First of all, let’s address what’s on the minds on most Britons right now when it comes to following…
As I stepped out onto the street for my daily walk this evening, I could hear nothing but birdsong. I live on a busy street in London, and at 6pm the road would normally be full of cars, engines whirring, horns beeping, indicators flashing. But today there was only emptiness, stillness, and birdsong. The message has got through, the world is on pause, and we are finally staying at home in anticipation of what’s to come.
And we need to hold the line.
If a week’s a long time in politics, it’s an even longer time in a pandemic. I…
