Author Archives: Science Media Centre
the second quarterly report on progress to address COVID-19 health inequalities
Today the Government has published its second quarterly report on progress to address COVID-19 health inequalities. The document sets out … read more
expert reaction to JCVI interim advice on Phase 2 of COVID-19 vaccination programme rollout
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has issued its interim advice on Phase 2 of the COVID-19 vaccination … read more
expert reaction to preprint on asymptomatic infections after a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, suggests that a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine reduces asymptomatic infections. … read more
expert reaction to study of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)
A study published in Nature Geoscience suggests that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), also known as the Gulf Stream System, is … read more
latest results from the REACT-2 study on coronavirus antibody prevalence in England
The REACT-2 study from Imperial College London aims to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies across England. The new batch … read more
expert reaction to preprint from the REACT-2 study of antibody prevalence in England
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed paper from the REACT-2 programme, looked at prevalence of antibody positivity to SARS-CoV-2 in … read more
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A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, looks at Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 in Israel.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