Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to correspondence paper looking at decline in antibody levels in a group of people with mild COVID-19 in the US
A correspondence paper, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), has looked at the antibody levels in a group … read more
expert reaction to preprint (not a published paper) on weather and COVID-19 severity
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed paper posted on medRxiv, has looked at links between weather and severity of COVID-19 … read more
expert reaction to latest ONS stats on deaths in England and Wales up to week ending 10 July 2020
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have published their latest update of registered deaths in the UK, up to week … read more
Results of the Oxford phase 1/2 COVID-19 vaccine trial
Early stage results from a phase 1/2 clinical trial of the University of Oxford’s vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 have just … read more
expert reaction to two vaccine candidate studies: a phase 1/2 trial of the University of Oxford’s ChAdOx1 vaccine candidate; and a phase 2 trial of China’s Ad5-vectored COVID-19 vaccine candidate
Two papers on vaccine candidates for COVID-19 have been published in The Lancet. The first* discusses the results of a phase … read more
expert reaction to announcement by Synairgen that their drug SNG001 has had positive results in initial trials on COVID-19 patients
The UK drug company Synairgen, founded by academics from the University of Southampton, have announced in a press release that … read more
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