Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to a study suggesting that statins do not have any effect on muscle symptoms
A study published in The BMJ suggests that there is no overall effect of statins on the frequency or severity … read more
results from the StatinWISE Trial
For many years statins have been widely associated with mild side effects including muscle pain. Observational studies showing a correlation … read more
expert reaction to NEJM paper on Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine roll-out in Israel and COVID-19 outcomes
A paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) looks at the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in a nationwide … read more
expert reaction to today’s issue of data on the DHSC COVID-19 Dashboard
A comment from Professor Paul Hunter on today’s update on the UK Government website for data and insights on COVID-19. … read more
expert reaction to preprint looking at the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine efficacy in Israel
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, looks at Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 in Israel. … read more
expert reaction to ONS stats on deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional: week ending 12 February 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 roadmap out of the current lockdown for England, announced by Boris Johnson and published by the government
The Prime Minister laid out England’s roadmap out of the current lockdown in the Commons this afternoon. Dr Julian … read more
expert reaction to new reports from PHE on Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine effectiveness data and the SIREN study
New reports from PHE on the early impact and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in England, and on the effectiveness of … read more
do the vaccines work? And the modelling and SAGE papers which have informed the roadmap out of lockdown
Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at PHE, and Dr Susan Hopkins, Strategic Response Director to PHE, set out PHE’s … read more
expert reaction to SAGE documents S1128, S1129 and S1130 looking at modelling roadmap scenarios
The latest batch of SAGE documents, giving the scientific evidence supporting the government’s response to COVID-19, have been published this … read more
expert reaction to preprint from Scotland looking at hospitalisations in Scotland and vaccinations
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, looks at effectiveness of the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines against hospital admissions … read more
Scotland real-world data on vaccine roll-out and hospitalisations
A study done by scientists at the University of Edinburgh, the University of Strathclyde, and Public Health Scotland has looked … read more
ARIA: if independence and freedom are so important for funding agencies, why not let UKRI enjoy more of both
By Fiona Fox This blog contains the thoughts of the author rather than representing the work or policy of the … read more
expert reaction to Pfizer press release saying Pfizer and BioNTech have submitted to the US FDA data on stability of their vaccine at standard freeze temperatures
It has been announced that Pfizer and BioNTech have submitted their COVID-19 vaccine stability data at standard freeze temperature to … read more
expert reaction to latest R number and growth rates, as published by the government
The government have released the latest estimates for the COVID-19 R value and growth rates. Prof Kevin McConway, Emeritus … 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 Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor … read more
criteria for an effective vaccine passport
There is much domestic and international debate about the prospect of vaccine passports that could allow travel or resuming pre-COVID … read more
expert reaction to Correspondence article on data from Israel on infections in healthcare workers after first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
A letter published in the Lancet looks at data from Israel on SARS-CoV-2 infections in healthcare workers after receiving the … read more
expert reaction to announcement of UK government plans for the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA)
It has been announced that the UK government will launch a new research agency, the Advanced Research & Invention Agency … read more
expert reaction to study estimating years of life lost globally to COVID-19
A study published in Scientific Reports estimates that over 20.5 million years of life may have been lost due to … read more