Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to comments from Jeremy Hunt about the COVID-19 booster schedule, including his thoughts that “we should just get on, not wait for that advice” in reference to the JCVI advice on boosters
The former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt suggested the government should “get on with the booster programme” in an interview on … read more
expert reaction to new ONS stats on deaths from suicide that occurred in England and Wales: April to July 2020
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released the latest stats on deaths from suicide between April and July 2020 in … read more
expert comments on schools’ reopening in England
Here are some general comments from scientists about the reopening of schools in England in case useful. Prof Paul … read more
expert reaction to latest ONS data on prevalence of ongoing symptoms following COVID-19 infection in the UK: 2 September 2021
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released the latest estimates of the prevalence people with self-reported “long COVID” using data from … read more
Expert Encounter with Liam Smeeth, Director of LSHTM
On 1st August, Professor Liam Smeeth took over from Peter Piot as head of the London School of Hygiene & … read more
expert reaction to study looking at vaccination, breakthrough infections, COVID disease and long COVID, from the ZOE COVID Symptom Study app
A study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases looks at risk factors and disease profile of post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infection in … read more
expert reaction to study looking at teachers and risk of hospital admission or severe COVID-19 during the 2020-21 academic year
A study published in the BMJ looks at risk of hospital admission with COVID-19 among teachers compared with healthcare workers and … read more
expert reaction to latest dashboard death numbers involving COVID-19, as published on the government dashboard
A comment from Professor Paul Hunter on the latest figures on the DHSC COVID-19 Dashboard. Prof Paul Hunter, Professor … read more
expert reaction to JCVI advice on third COVID-19 vaccine dose for severely immunosuppressed people
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has issued the advice that people with severely weakened immune systems should … read more
expert reaction to the latest fortnightly release on the COVID-19 Infection Survey looking at antibody and vaccination data for the UK, 1 September 2021
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released the latest report from the COVID-19 infection survey, looking at antibody and vaccination data … read more
expert reaction to ONS stats on deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional: week ending 20 August 2021
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released provisional counts of the number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the … read more
expert reaction to preprint from the CLoCk study looking at long COVID in children
A preprint, unpublished non-peer reviewed data, from the CLoCk study, looks at the physical and mental health of children and … read more
First findings from world’s largest study on long COVID in children
A new study of nearly 7,000 children and young people in England has shed more light on the prevalence and … read more
expert reaction to the approval by NICE of the anti-cholesterol drug inclisiran
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has today issued a draft final guidance recommending the novel anti-cholesterol … read more
expert reaction to study looking at risk of hospitalisation from the delta variant compared with alpha
A study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases looks at hospital admission and emergency care attendance risk for SARS-CoV-2 variants of … read more
expert reaction to Leamington Spa fire
There have been several reports of a large fire in an industrial state in Leamington Spa, thought to involve a … read more
expert reaction to latest data from the ONS COVID-19 Infection Survey
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released the latest data from their COVID-19 Infection Survey. Dr Simon Clarke, Associate Professor … read more
expert comments on the upcoming bank holiday and festivals and transmission risks
A few journalists have asked about the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission during festivals and the upcoming bank holiday, so here … read more
Update on research into vaccines, COVID-19 and blood clotting events
Researchers undertook a self-controlled case series study of people vaccinated in England between December 1, 2020 and April 24, 2021, … read more
expert reaction to study looking at risk of thrombocytopenia and thromboembolism after COVID-19 vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 infection
A study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) looks at risk of thrombocytopenia and thromboembolism after the first dose … read more