Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to study from Denmark and Norway looking at rare blood clots after the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine
A study published in the BMJ looks at arterial events, venous thromboembolism, thrombocytopenia, and bleeding after vaccination with the Oxford-AstraZeneca … read more
expert reaction to Israel nation-wide study looking at Pfizer vaccine effectiveness
A observational study published in the Lancet looks at impact and effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine against infections, cases, … read more
expert reaction to phase 2a-b trial of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa against the B.1.351 ‘South African’ variant
A paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) looks at results from the phase 2a-b trial of … read more
impact of melting land ice on sea level rise
Rising temperatures as a result of CO2 emissions will cause land ice to melt and sea level to rise. Glaciers, … read more
expert reaction to the latest fortnightly release on the ONS Coronavirus Infection Survey looking at characteristics of people testing positive for COVID-19 in the UK, 5 May 2021
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released the latest report from the COVID-19 infection survey, looking at characteristics of people testing … read more
expert reaction to ONS stats on deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional: week ending 23 April 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 study looking at short-term air pollution, cognitive performance and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use
The Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study, published in Nature Aging, looks at short-term air pollution, cognitive performance and use of nonsteroidal … read more
expert reaction to CRISPR-based gene editing tools used to correct Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy mutations in mice
A study published in Science Advances demonstrates the effectiveness of two CRISPR-based gene editing technologies for correcting Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy … read more
study looking at immune response to variants after one dose of Pfizer
A new paper, published in Science at 3pm this afternoon, looks at the immune responses in UK healthcare workers following … read more
expert reaction to latest R number and growth rates estimates, published by the government
The government have published the latest estimates for the COVID-19 R number and growth rates. Prof Kevin McConway, Emeritus … read more
ISARIC4C/CO-CIN SAGE paper on hospitalised vaccinated patients during the second UK COVID-19 wave
A short report investigating hospitalised vaccinated patients during the second wave of the UK COVID-19 outbreak using the ISARIC4C / … read more
expert reaction to document produced for SAGE (not a peer-reviewed paper) looking at hospitalised vaccinated patients during the second COVID-19 wave in the UK
One of the documents informing the advice from SAGE looks at hospitalised vaccinated patients during the second wave in the … read more
expert reaction to press release from Synairgen announcing data from their phase II trial of inhaled interferon beta in COVID-19 patients
Synairgen have published a press release today announcing the data from their phase II trial of inhaled interferon beta (IFN-beta) … read more
expert reaction to latest data from the ONS Infection Survey
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released the latest data from their COVID-19 Infection Survey. Prof James Naismith, Director of … read more
expert reaction to study looking at pharmacological blood pressure lowering for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease across different levels of blood pressure
A study published in the Lancet suggests that blood-pressure lowering medication is effective in reducing relative risk of cardiovascular events … read more
expert reaction to the weekly statistics for NHS Test and Trace (England): 15 April to 21 April 2021, specifically around PCR-adjudication of secondary school pupils’ positive lateral flow test results
The government have released the latest statistics from the COVID-19 Test and Trace system. Prof Sheila Bird, Formerly Programme … read more
expert reaction to study looking at a potential link between body weight and risk of severe COVID-19, especially for younger adults
A study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology looks at body-mass index and COVID-19 severity. Comment on the … read more
expert reaction to whether masks need to be worn outdoors
An expert debate on whether masks should be worn outdoors has been published in the BMJ. Dr Simon Clarke, … read more
expert reaction to BMJ opinion piece on mass testing
An opinion piece on mass screening for asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection from Mike Gill and Angela Raffle has been published in … read more
expert reaction to study looking at childhood air pollution exposure and mental health at age 18
A study published in JAMA Network Open looks at air pollution exposure in childhood and adolescence and mental health at … read more