Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to pause of publication on the DHSC website of PHE dashboard daily COVID-19 death figures
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have paused their publication of the daily COVID-19 death figures from Public … read more
expert reaction to media report suggesting that a rapid fingerprick antibody test has shown high accuracy
The Daily Telegraph reported that a rapid fingerpick COVID-19 antibody test being developed has shown high accuracy. Prof Paul … read more
what do we know about T cells in COVID-19 infection and disease?
There has been a focus on the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and efforts to develop a ‘have I had … read more
expert reaction to Prime Minister’s speech on Friday 17th July, laying out next steps in easing of restrictions and changes to guidance
The UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, gave a speech today outlining the next steps in the easing of restrictions and … read more
expert reaction to the way COVID-19 deaths are recorded in England
Public Health England (PHE) have acknowledged that COVID-19 deaths are recorded in a different way in England compared to the … read more
expert reaction to latest R number and growth rate on the UK
The Government Office for Science and SAGE have published their latest estimates for the R number of COVID-19 and growth … read more
expert reaction to study looking at cost-effectiveness and health impact of BRCA cancer gene testing in the general population
A paper, published in the journal Cancers, has looked at the cost-effectiveness and health impact of conducting BRCA cancer gene … read more
expert reaction to paper looking at COVID-19 contact tracing strategies and speed of testing
A paper, published in The Lancet Public Health, has looked at the effectiveness of several different COVID-19 contact tracing strategies and … read more
expert reaction to the annual statistics on use of animals in scientific procedures in the UK
The Home Office have published the annual statistics detailing the use of animals in scientific procedures in the UK for … read more
expert reaction to study looking at dietary guidelines, global health and environmental targets
A study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), has aimed to link food-based dietary guidelines with global health and … read more
expert reaction to Boris Johnson saying there will be an independent inquiry in future into the COVID-19 pandemic
The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said today during Prime Minister’s Questions that there will be a future independent inquiry into … read more
expert reaction to study looking at SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell immunity in cases of COVID-19 and SARS and uninfected controls from data from Singapore
A study, published in Nature, has looked at data from Singapore for of SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cell immunity, including cases of … read more
expert reaction to preprint from the REACT study on community prevalence of SARS-CoV-2
A preprint, an un-published non-peer reviewed paper, uploaded to medRxiv, has looked at community prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in England. … read more
expert reaction to a news report saying to expect positive news to be published in The Lancet on the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine
Robert Peston, political editor for ITV, has reported that he has been made aware, by an unnamed source, that positive … read more
hear from scientists who have assessed the impact of the test and trace programme first introduced on the Isle of Wight
Journalists joined Dr Michelle Kendall and colleagues from Oxford University to hear about their study released today which analyses the … read more
expert reaction to reported comments from Matt Hancock that face coverings will not be made mandatory in offices
The Secretary of State for Health for the UK, Matt Hancock, said this morning on the BBC Radio 4 Today … read more
hear from scientists who’ve done the new REACT-1 study on coronavirus spread across the country
The Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT-1) programme is the largest research project looking at viral spread across England. It … read more
expert reaction to survey analysis suggesting 1 million people in UK have stopped smoking since the COVID pandemic started
A survey, published by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and University College London (UCL), suggests that one million people … read more
expert reaction to paper suggesting 5000 heart attack sufferers in England did not seek treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic
A study, published in The Lancet, has suggested that 5000 heart attack sufferers in England did not seek treatment due to … read more
expert reaction to mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate phase 1 trial
A paper, published in New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), reports on the preliminary results of an mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate phase … read more