Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to new stats from the ONS on deaths involving COVID-19 by vaccination status, England: deaths occurring between 2 January and 2 July 2021
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released new data for the number of deaths from COVID-19 in England in relation … read more
expert reaction to two papers from earlier this week looking at rates of miscarriage in women who had and hadn’t received COVID-19 vaccines
Two papers published on Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and in The New England Journal … 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 reaction to launch of consultation by government on mandatory vaccination for frontline health and care staff
The government have announced the launch of a consultation on mandating vaccination for frontline health and social care staff in … read more
expert reaction to MHRA regulatory change which means the Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines can be used as booster doses
The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have issued a statement on booster doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 … read more
expert reaction to EMA adding Guillain-Barré syndrome as a very rare side-effect of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (Vaxzevria) in the product information
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has updated the product information of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (Vaxzevria) to include Guillain-Barré syndrome … read more
expert reaction to study looking at exposure to traffic noise and dementia risk
A study published in the BMJ looks at residential exposure to traffic noise in Denmark and incidence of dementia. … read more
expert reaction to latest ONS stats on deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional: week ending 27 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 news that the UK government will be raising the time limit on storage of frozen eggs, sperm and embryos to a maximum of 55 years
The UK government has announced* that the time limit on storage of frozen eggs, sperm and embryos will be raised … read more
expert reaction to unpublished conference presentation on nicotine e-cigarettes and clotting
An unpublished presentation*, to be given at the European Respiratory Congress (ERS) International Congress, looks at the impact of nicotine … read more
expert reaction to JCVI updated advice on COVID-19 vaccination of children aged 12 to 15
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has issued the advice that children aged 12 to 15 with medical conditions … read more
Q&A with paediatricians and vaccine experts on updated JCVI advice on vaccines for 12-15 year-olds
We put on a Q&A so science and health journalists could ask their questions to paediatricians and vaccine experts on … read more
expert reaction to launch of review into nitrous oxide, laughing gas
There have been several media reports suggesting that the Home Secretary Priti Patel has asked the Advisory Council on the … 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. Prof Sheila Bird, Formerly Programme … read more
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