This week the respected German broadsheet Handelsblatt published an article claiming that the German government had leaked that the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine only gave pensioners eight percent protection against COVID-19. They hastily released a clarification: the article resulted from a mishearing of a statistic: that 8% of the subjects in the AstraZeneca efficacy study were between 56 and 69 years of age. From this mishearing came a snowballing and a potentially damaging piece of misinformation.

Misinformation comes in many forms. It’s easy to spot the obvious lies: that COVID-19 doesn’t exist, that it’s spread by 5G towers, that Bill Gates…

Masks are safe to wear. Thanks to analytics I’m aware that only about a third of readers of my posts actually read them in their entirety. So before you go I want you to know: masks are safe to wear. Whatever you may have read online, they are safe. If that’s all you take away that’s enough for me. My ego can take it. If you’d like to know more then please read on. It’s really very simple: size matters.

I’ve argued before that if you get 100 scientists in a room, broadly speaking, you’ll get consensus. The fact that…

The United Kingdom has approved the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine and the very first people in the world have received their first jabs against COVID-19. The end should be in sight of this pandemic. Following previous posts, I’ve been asked a lot in person and online about the COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination in general. Here I’ve tried my best to answer them. Hope you find them useful. Please note although I am a doctor I am not involved in any of the trials mentioned.

How does the immune system work?

The human immune system is divided into two parts: the innate and adaptive. We’re born with the innate immune system whilst the adaptive is something we develop. The innate immune system is broad while the adaptive is specialised. The innate immune system consists of cells (phagocytes) which ‘swallow’ and destroy bacteria, viruses and other disease-causing organisms (pathogens). This happens quickly after being infected. These cells break up the pathogens into smaller parts which they then display on their surface. Cells called helper T cells ‘read’ these smaller parts and start the adaptive immune response. Cells called B lymphocytes are activated…

So, here we are the end of England’s Lockdown 2. Lockdown, the word of the year, was supposed to be a one-off as we ‘learned to live’ with COVID-19 until the white knight of a vaccine arrived over the nearest hill. Yet the second lockdown was near-inevitable due to the nature of COVID-19 and the attempts in the UK to control it. This is why.

“So what do you think should be done about COVID-19?”

Chances are you’ve asked, or been asked, this, probably over Zoom, as your region moved up a Tier or as you contemplated a Christmas without…

30 years of hurt are over. Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City have been knocked off their effing perches. Liverpool have their first Premier League title. In case you were in any doubt: This Matters More and You’ll Never Walk Alone. (Unless you’re the staff they attempted to furlough or Liverpool Women neglected to their fate).

There have been and will continue to be plenty of puff pieces on this subject. The world according to Steve McManaman or Jim Beglin. Where Anfield is home to special fans who know football better than others who support a club with history; because no…

“A Lie Can Travel Halfway Around the World While the Truth Is Putting On Its Shoes”

Last Saturday saw a protest in London against the COVID-19 lock down. Its architects were global warming denialist Piers Corbyn and David Icke, a man who alleges that the British Royal Family are actually giant lizards. Cue a deep dive into COVID-19 conspiracy theories. No one can agree which conspiracy is the correct one but there definitely is one. Wake up sheeple!

The above tweet from Joe Politics showing anti-lock down protesters caught my attention as it nicely displays the general themes these lies have taken: the virus isn’t real, it’s being used as an excuse by governments and…

Last weekend saw World Gin Day; a chance to celebrate a drink which has exploded in popularity in the UK over the past few years. ‘Gin’ describes a liquor which is at least 40% alcohol by volume derived from grain distillation and primarily flavoured with juniper berries. It is the Dutch word for juniper, genever, which gives us the word ‘gin’. With the warm weather, many of us may be reaching for a relaxing beverage in the form of a gin with its most popular mixer: tonic. …

The United Kingdom is in the throes of a pandemic. A new virus without cure or vaccine kills with frightening speed. The Prime Minister is struck down with fever. His life hangs in the balance. It is September 1918. The Prime Minister is David Lloyd George. History may not repeat but she does love to rhyme.

15th September 1918. David Lloyd George, Prime Minister and leader of the wartime coalition government, although not the leader of his party the Liberals, visits Manchester to receive the freedom of the city. It is the last few months of the bloodiest conflict known…