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This illustrates exactly how the term, 'Covid' has come to mean, 'the non-pharmaceutical interventions adopted during the emergency phase of the pandemic', not the disease itself. The 'Covid effect' mentioned in the piece is actually acute C-19 and its sequelae. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/educ...
'The unexpected finding that vaccination-only participants showed superior cross-neutralization compared to individuals with hybrid immunity challenges conventional assumptions about hybrid immunity advantages'. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
This is an outstanding development.
Beth, that's appalling!!
5. I've been in situations like this before, and I have the same thought each time: how our public health and healthcare guidance is failing people like that frail elderly woman in the pharmacy this morning every single day. /end
4. Diligently, because she obviously wants to protect herself, not realising that the loose blue surgical mask she is wearing is much, much less effective than the FFP2 I'm wearing, the FFP2 that likely hasn't even been mentioned to her by her doctor.
3. As I waited, what I saw was this: a woman who is likely vulnerable to Covid-19, and has been told by her doctor to mask. A woman who probably has no access to information other than from her doctor and NHS leaflets. So she diligently wears her loose blue surgical mask.
2. She was also quite obviously unwell, and frail in a manner very similar to the frailty my late mother first developed around 2017. As the pharmacist spoke to her, she adjusted her mask again, making sure it fully covered her nose and mouth.
1. I was at my local pharmacy this morning to pick up a prescription, and as I walked up to the counter, I immediately noticed that the elderly woman in front of me in the queue was wearing a blue surgical mask. She was adjusting it, pulling it up over her nose.
Biological risks are inseparable from politics.
3. This is precisely how Long Covid hides in plain sight. Societally camouflaged by the imperative not to test. This is precisely why so many people have Long Covid but so few realise they do. /end
2. This is the danger of the 'just another respiratory virus' narrative; by not knowing if you've had Covid, you absolutely will not connect any subsequent new-onset chronic health issues you experience to the 'cold' or 'flu' you had previously. And neither will a doctor.
1. The single most pernicious and damaging societal imperative I see in action right now, with Ireland in a Covid wave, is this: 'There's no need to test'. Why? Not just because it tacitly normalises unmitigated transmission, but, more importantly, it hides Long Covid.
4. Increasing numbers of immunosuppressed individuals globally (especially those living with HIV who can no longer access ARV medications as a result of recent funding cuts). We are in a perfect storm, yet so few people seem to realise it. /end
3. The rapidly increasing global prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant bacterial and fungal pathogens. Perturbation of the immune systems of the global population due to ongoing SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission.
2. The growth of antivaxx ideology globally (and its institutionalisation in policy). The retreat of many national public health services due to political and public blowback from the response to Covid-19. Climate change increasing the spread of many vector-borne pathogens.
1. Biological risk is both multifaceted and additive. Any of the following individual risks would be concerning; when combined, they effectively constitute a powder keg waiting for a spark:
4. In fact, right after I read the email that confirmed anosmia as a symptom of SARS-CoV-2, I called a friend and simply said, 'this thing gets in your brain'. /end
3. As I have often stated, the moment I realised anosmia was a symptom of SARS-CoV-2 infection was the moment I decided to take significant precautions to avoid infection. Nothing should be surprising in these findings. It was obvious to me from 2020.
2. As the article notes, a form of PD was a noted sequela of the Spanish Flu (many people who developed encephalitis lethargica went on to develop it). Anosmia is a common prodromal symptom of PD.
1. 'Overall, our findings raise compelling questions about the potential role of SARS-CoV-2 infection in accelerating or triggering neurodegenerative diseases linked to protein amyloidosis'. An example of such a disease is Parkinson's Disease (PD). pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
3. Since reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 is the norm, this long-term genetic disruption - assuming that it is confirmed - will be ongoing. In my opinion, this is uncharted territory in terms of the effects on population health going forward. /end
2. ... In conclusion, COVID-19 is not just a transient infection but a catalyst for long-term genomic disruption, leaving behind a trail of cellular damage that *may shape the health of survivors for years to come*'. *my emphasis.
1. 'The findings of this study unveil a silent yet profound legacy of COVID-19: genomic instability as a potential driver of long-term health complications in survivors... bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
2. ...(a different type of immune cell), leaving people vulnerable to pathogens they were previously immune to'. /end
1. 'SARS-CoV-2 is linked to “an unusually high level of ‘indiscriminate’ killing of T cells,” says Leitner, adding that this observation is “reminiscent of” measles, which can cause immune amnesia by depleting memory B cells... www.bmj.com/content/390/...
With the caveat that the study this article is referencing is a preprint, a 35% risk increase for Long Covid following reinfection is both significant and concerning. The study also provides more evidence that vaccination reduces risk; it's worth reading in full.
Remember: if anyone says, 'we need to live with Covid' but doesn't also talk about vaccines, therapeutics, and mitigations, they're not actually saying we need to live with it, they're saying, 'I want to ignore it'.
Very obvious now that SARS-CoV-2 infection can be characterised as: AAA A: Acceleration (e.g. dementia, vascular) A: reActivation (e.g. EBV, LTBI) A: Aging (inflammation, telomere shortening) Longevity and / or healthspan cannot be fully addressed without understanding this.
Louise, I am so sorry to hear this!
I very much appreciate that, Sharon!
8. This unpopularity has been utilised by political parties seeking to either gain or maintain power. In doing so, an alignment has been created between politics, powerful vested interests, and anti-science ideologies. This alignment perpetuates and increases the risks of Covid. /end
7. The reason this is not being addressed in any meaningful way - and, in fact, why in some countries Covid-19 is effectively being retconned, is because of the (understandable) unpopularity of both non-pharmaceutical interventions and vaccine mandates in 2020 and 2021.
6. As such - and it really is stating the obvious here - ongoing global population infection with SARS-CoV-2 will make the world sicker, through both infection-induced chronic disease and pathogen-pathogen interaction.
5. COVID-19 infection and its association with severe malaria & dengue: an epidemiological study from Southern India - PMC share.google/6HZQWJLB9taO...
4. Mass and ongoing infection with SARS-CoV-2 also adversely affects the immune landscape of the global population, primarily manifested by pathogen - pathogen interaction (the severity of both dengue and malaria is increased by prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, for example):
3. Since reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 is the norm, and the risk of developing chronic disease following infection is always present, regardless of how many infections an individual has had, it is inevitable that chronic disease will increase at the global population level.
2. SARS-CoV-2 is a pathogen that can cause both acute and chronic disease. Vaccination reduces the severity of acute disease and the risk of developing chronic disease. However, current vaccines are insufficient to meaningfully reduce ongoing infection and transmission.
1. As a consultant analyst that generally presents to the C-suite of organisations, I am often asked to produce short, concise explanations of both biological and geopolitical risks. Regarding Covid-19, I use the same summary with both C-level clients and friends:
The clear benefit of Covid-19 vaccination demonstrated in this study illustrates exactly why limiting access to vaccination is a significant negative to productivity and the economy in general. www.news-medical.net/news/2025081...
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is arguably the most urgent biological risk facing the world. The development of new antimicrobials that can combat resistant pathogens is critical for global health security. A pandemic could be caused by an antimicrobial resistant pathogen www.bbc.com/news/article...
One of my very favourite places, Diana!
Sunset earlier this evening from Ramore Head, Portrush, Northern Ireland.
11. These three factors: lack of triggering the human disgust mechanism, inability to be generalised, and lack of widespread understanding of sequelae of infection all contribute to the societal denial of the dangers of Covid-19. /end
10. In addition, the vast majority of people are not accustomed to viewing acute diseases as risk factors. Most people don't grasp that a cardiovascular event could be triggered by a mild bout of Covid-19 they had three months previously, for example.
9. Third, in my own experience, people do not understand Long Covid. They have a fixed view of it that can be summed up as 'severe symptoms that do not resolve'. It is also seen as rare, which is why I know people with Long Covid who don't know they have Long Covid.
8. This sets the scene for the disconnect we see across society today; because we are so used to being able to predict another's experience of a disease on the basis of our own experience of it, there is a constant, flawed, and ever-present societal assumption that Covid is mild.
7. This inability to generalise the experience of Covid-19 sets it apart from other common diseases, and also, more profoundly, from our shared sociological understanding of how diseases operate in society. Fundamentally, one person's experience of the disease is not predictive.
6. Likewise with flu or the common cold. This is absolutely not the case with Covid-19. The wide spectrum of symptoms and severity of the disease means it is not easily generalisable in this regard. Just because 'it's the sniffles' to you does not mean it will be for your friend.
5. For example, if you're unfortunate enough to get norovirus, and then a month later a friend of yours gets it, you can describe to your friend exactly what his or her disease course is going to be like with a high degree of accuracy, based on your own experience.
4. Second, unlike other common diseases, Covid-19 is not generalisable. That is to say, unlike the common cold, influenza, or norovirus, one person's experience of the disease cannot be relied upon to accurately predict another's.
3. In simulations I took part in long before the Covid-19 pandemic, diseases with symptoms that triggered the human disgust mechanism - symptoms such as disfigurement, vomiting, incontinence, bleeding, and convulsive syncope - were most likely to cause people to avoid infection.
2. First, none of its symptoms trigger the human disgust mechanism. Adrian gives a great example of this. The two key symptoms that distinguish Covid-19 from other common diseases are cognitive dysfunction and anosmia, both of which are *invisible* to other people.
1. I've said exactly this for quite some time. Expanding on Adrian's @sillyputty78.bsky.social point on X / Twitter here, Covid-19 has three distinct characteristics as a disease that enables it to be denied at a societal level.
'Another consideration, when it comes to building immunity, is the growing body of research suggesting that for several months after a Covid infection, people become more vulnerable to other infections...' www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
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4. To download my report, please visit my website. Note Recommendation 5. Expert Biorisk Management Solutions share.google/qHrWTM4T2vgj... /end
3. See the last paragraph of the 'Discussion' section of this article: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
2. The single most important step that could be taken *right now* to *reduce* the risk of the emergence of a new Variant of Concern (VOC), like Omicron, is to ensure that every single person in the world who has HIV has full access to ARV medications.
1. The future development of Covid-19 vaccines that are much more resilient in the face of SARS-CoV-2 mutation is very important, but, as I noted in my own report earlier this year:
I hope so!
13. This is also why I am committed to discovering and developing technological solutions to near-field transmission that do not necessitate masking. I am convinced this can be done. In short, my inspiration is both personal and rooted in the worst experiences of my life. /end
12. This is why I am committed to developing technologies - using 'technologies' in a broad sense here - to drastically reduce the prevalence of infections of *all* pathogens globally, without ever having to resort to lockdowns again.
11. Six years of my own life wrecked by an unknown virus, the last years of my late mother's life blighted by SARS-CoV-2. First by the response to it, then by her own infection with it - which triggered her dementia. In addition, she never saw my face unmasked from March 2020.
10. My late mother suffered from generalised anxiety disorder her whole life, especially since the death of my late father in 1999, and I was the only person who could calm her. After five months of isolation, she was never the same. It damaged her badly.
9. ... both near-field and far-field transmission (air filtration and respirator masks respectively), I didn't get to see my late mother for nearly five months. She was bed bound, and her room was on the first floor, so I couldn't even 'window-visit' her.
8. Due to the brute-force lockdown of care homes that was necessary because of a lack of both key technologies (rapid and accurate testing being the most important one in this instance), and a lack of disseminated knowledge on the mitigation of...
7. As such, that cold in early 2001 wrecked five years of my life. Five years from a 'minor upper respiratory tract viral infection'. Flash forward to 2020. My late mother is living in a nursing home in Northern Ireland when the Covid-19 pandemic begins.
6. After two years had passed, and my non-ALS diagnosis was secure, the bottle had well and truly got me. I only managed to quit in 2007. Five years lost to chronic illness and alcoholism. Here's the thing: as my neurologist explained, a common cause of CFS is a viral infection.
5. This possibility, as you might imagine, terrified me, which led to me self-medicating this terror with a vast amount of booze. Alcohol was also the only thing that stopped the twitching, so it was doubly addictive in that regard. So I rapidly plunged into alcoholism.
4. Regardless, the key caveat that the neurologist I saw stated was that the CFS diagnosis couldn't be entirely secure until two years had passed with no other symptoms, because of the small but very real possibility that I was in the early stages of ALS.
3. It's difficult to sleep with widespread muscle twitching, I assure you. These symptoms eventually led me to a neurologist, who diagnosed me with cramp-fasciculation syndrome (CFS). Later, another neurologist considered neuromyotonia to be a more accurate diagnosis.
2. I just took paracetamol and got on with it, and was completely fine in a few days. About a week later, I suddenly developed widespread and extensive muscle twitching - fasciculations. These fasciculations got severe really quickly, enough to cause chronic insomnia.
1. A recent conversation with a colleague threw into sharp relief exactly why I am so inspired to develop technologies to prevent pathogenic infection. So, if you'll indulge me, let me explain. In early 2002, I had what to all intents and purposes was a cold. Sniffles, cough etc.
My experience is that healthcare professionals in India are much more open to the concept than those in Europe and North America.
'Immune dysregulation following Covid may compromise the body's ability to mount an effective defence against common respiratory pathogens'. timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata...
You don't need to have a cough for the solution to work. It uses forced cough vocalization - so you just force a cough for about ten seconds.
There are certainly plans to make it available in Europe too!
3. Currently available in the US, and soon in Bangladesh. Link: RespiratoryScreening.com /end
2. ... using AI powered cough analysis. While a screener and not a diagnostic, it has a sensitivity of 97% and a specificity of 75.5%, and is a huge leap forward in screening technology. It captures a 10 second cough sample and returns results in under 60 seconds.
1. I have to declare this an #ad because I’ve consulted for the company concerned, but this is another huge step forward for Covid-19 screening by @raisonance.bsky.social This is the first commercially available fully online clinical decision support screening solution for Covid-19...
Fundamentally, because a lot of the land is now used for agriculture. Good overview of the Mournes here: Mourne AONB | Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs share.google/7IsLFOrrDd3H...
Thanks - and Bearnagh is my favourite mountain in the Mournes, Mick!
Looking down the Mourne Wall, from the summit of Slieve Donard, in the Mourne Mountains of Northern Ireland.
Always reactivation. Evidence for: Reactivation of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) Reactivation of latent Tuberculosis (LTBI) Reactivation of dormant cancer cells. The downstream negative population health effects of unmitigated SARS-CoV-2 transmission are undeniable now.
3. Postencephalitic Parkinsonism (PEP) was a noted complication of encephalitis lethargica, the most well-known sequela of the Spanish Flu. As such, there is precedent. /end
2. ...of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly *Parkinson's*, which involves deregulation of dopaminergic pathways'. *my emphasis. Anosmia - a common symptom of Covid-19 - is a common very early symptom of Parkinson's Disease.
1. 'They observed that genes associated with neuronal metabolism and activity are deregulated in these animals' brains in a way that is reminiscent of the molecular signatures... www.pasteur.fr/en/home/pres...
I didn't - I took on my trusty Sony RX100, a travel camera I bought about eight years ago. I carry it everywhere!
4. This has concerned me for years. The combination of constant re-infection, new-onset chronic diseases as sequelae of infection, and worsening of pre-existing chronic diseases through infection or re-infection. Happening just slowly enough to be normalised. /end
3. This reciprocal relationship is why unmitigated SARS-CoV-2 transmission will inexorably lead to decreasing population health, especially when you also consider that a new-onset metabolic disease *caused* by SARS-CoV-2 infection could be made *worse* by subsequent re-infection.
2. “If you had already had metabolic disease, like obesity, diabetes or hypertension, that meant that if you got COVID, it was going to be worse,” he explained. “On the other hand, there was a potential risk of new-onset metabolic disease after COVID.”
1. The most important concept in this excellent article is this: 'the team wanted to explore what he called a “*reciprocal relationship*” between COVID-19 and chronic conditions'. * my emphasis www.oregonlive.com/health/2025/...
Again, Deirdre, we don't know. Your annual flu vaccination is tailored around circulating strains, including H1N1. Whether that would provide any cross-protection against a future H5N1 pandemic is unknown.
I absolutely agree H5N1 is a time bomb. There is evidence, however, of a similar phenomena from the 2009 swine flu pandemic: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti....
Looking down Glenariff Glen while hiking on the Garron Plateau earlier today.
3. CFR - Case Fatality Rate. /end
2. However, considering that the population group least likely to have experienced previous seasonal influenza infection are children, this raises the concerning possibility that if H5N1 achieved efficient human - human transmission, the highest CFR would be amongst kids.
1. The idea that previous infection with seasonal flu may provide some protection against severe disease in subsequent H5N1 infection (thus potentially explaining why the majority of human cases of H5N1 in the US thus far have been mild) is positive news. www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influe...
5. Remember: Infection is not inevitable. /end