I have no issue with this piece - other than the now-expected omission of the word, 'Covid'. What I find interesting is just how mainstreamed 'brain fog' has become. BBC News - Creatine - can muscle-boosting supplement help with brain fog? - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Fundamentally, the reason I avoid Covid is because all - all - of the elements of my life that bring me joy and fulfillment rest on my cardiovascular fitness and / or my cognition. I'm not going to risk a virus wrecking that, as I've seen happen to way too many people I know.

My mother passed away two years ago today. She had a wicked, mischievous sense of humour, prone to extended episodes of the giggles, and a joy in discovering new things or places - which is why I'm sharing this photo of her discovering IG filters for the first time in 2016!

1. Pandemics shape politics and societies. Collective trauma is a powerful force, as is societal reaction to governmental responses to reduce transmission. This is not controversial; humanity experienced it after The Spanish Flu.

This article has now been amended by the BBC listing Long Covid as a cause.

When a virus that commonly causes cognitive dysfunction has been infecting and reinfecting the global population for years but is simultaneously being collectively ignored this is precisely the kind of normalisation you get. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Very impressed with the young guy - mid-thirties - I saw standing on the platform at the train station earlier today, with a slight cough but wearing a well-fitted blue surgical mask. It really is that easy to protect other people.

In my experience, the general public often don't understand the extent to which critical infrastructure systems rely on very small groups of highly-trained individuals. In addition, some of these controllers will have lingering cognitive effects. 7news.com.au/news/covid-o...

This is precisely why Covid-19 vaccines should be available free of charge for everyone in the UK. The government not purchasing enough vaccines to make this possible is the definition of a false economy. inews.co.uk/news/hospita...

The mindset that drives me to avoid Covid is exactly the same mindset that has kept me sober for over 18 years: recognition of the dangers of normalisation and complacency, a desire to optimise my health, and knowing that fleeting doubts are easily quashed by seeing consequences.

What you are all witnessing now in the US - and, to a lesser extent, in other parts of the world - can be traced back to the tacit promotion of the erroneous idea that SARS-CoV-2 infection was somehow beneficial. Hybrid immunity is an immunological concept, not public health.

Cases of H5N1 in which the source of infection cannot be traced always unnerve me. One of the children in California - infected in Dec of last year - is now in that category . These cases always raise the suspicion of an as-yet unknown mode of transmission. www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influe...

1. While it is heartening that some individual state governors in the US are guaranteeing continued and unrestricted access to Covid-19 vaccines in their respective states, it is vital to remember that what is also urgently required is robust surveillance of H5N1.

This illustrates exactly how the term, 'Covid' has come to mean, 'the non-pharmaceutical interventions adopted during the emergency phase of the pandemic', not the disease itself. The 'Covid effect' mentioned in the piece is actually acute C-19 and its sequelae. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/educ...

'The unexpected finding that vaccination-only participants showed superior cross-neutralization compared to individuals with hybrid immunity challenges conventional assumptions about hybrid immunity advantages'. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

This is an outstanding development.

1. I was at my local pharmacy this morning to pick up a prescription, and as I walked up to the counter, I immediately noticed that the elderly woman in front of me in the queue was wearing a blue surgical mask. She was adjusting it, pulling it up over her nose.

Biological risks are inseparable from politics.

1. The single most pernicious and damaging societal imperative I see in action right now, with Ireland in a Covid wave, is this: 'There's no need to test'. Why? Not just because it tacitly normalises unmitigated transmission, but, more importantly, it hides Long Covid.

1. Biological risk is both multifaceted and additive. Any of the following individual risks would be concerning; when combined, they effectively constitute a powder keg waiting for a spark:

1. 'Overall, our findings raise compelling questions about the potential role of SARS-CoV-2 infection in accelerating or triggering neurodegenerative diseases linked to protein amyloidosis'. An example of such a disease is Parkinson's Disease (PD). pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

1. 'The findings of this study unveil a silent yet profound legacy of COVID-19: genomic instability as a potential driver of long-term health complications in survivors... bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

1. 'SARS-CoV-2 is linked to “an unusually high level of ‘indiscriminate’ killing of T cells,” says Leitner, adding that this observation is “reminiscent of” measles, which can cause immune amnesia by depleting memory B cells... www.bmj.com/content/390/...

With the caveat that the study this article is referencing is a preprint, a 35% risk increase for Long Covid following reinfection is both significant and concerning. The study also provides more evidence that vaccination reduces risk; it's worth reading in full.

Remember: if anyone says, 'we need to live with Covid' but doesn't also talk about vaccines, therapeutics, and mitigations, they're not actually saying we need to live with it, they're saying, 'I want to ignore it'.

Very obvious now that SARS-CoV-2 infection can be characterised as: AAA A: Acceleration (e.g. dementia, vascular) A: reActivation (e.g. EBV, LTBI) A: Aging (inflammation, telomere shortening) Longevity and / or healthspan cannot be fully addressed without understanding this.

1. As a consultant analyst that generally presents to the C-suite of organisations, I am often asked to produce short, concise explanations of both biological and geopolitical risks. Regarding Covid-19, I use the same summary with both C-level clients and friends:

The clear benefit of Covid-19 vaccination demonstrated in this study illustrates exactly why limiting access to vaccination is a significant negative to productivity and the economy in general. www.news-medical.net/news/2025081...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is arguably the most urgent biological risk facing the world. The development of new antimicrobials that can combat resistant pathogens is critical for global health security. A pandemic could be caused by an antimicrobial resistant pathogen www.bbc.com/news/article...

Sunset earlier this evening from Ramore Head, Portrush, Northern Ireland.

1. I've said exactly this for quite some time. Expanding on Adrian's @sillyputty78.bsky.social point on X / Twitter here, Covid-19 has three distinct characteristics as a disease that enables it to be denied at a societal level.

'Another consideration, when it comes to building immunity, is the growing body of research suggesting that for several months after a Covid infection, people become more vulnerable to other infections...' www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

No longer just a thought, a proposal, seven messy drafts, a pre-order... DRYSTONE - A LIFE REBUILT is officially launched! #Scotland #Books #Writing #WritingCommunity #Book #Nature

1. The future development of Covid-19 vaccines that are much more resilient in the face of SARS-CoV-2 mutation is very important, but, as I noted in my own report earlier this year:

1. A recent conversation with a colleague threw into sharp relief exactly why I am so inspired to develop technologies to prevent pathogenic infection. So, if you'll indulge me, let me explain. In early 2002, I had what to all intents and purposes was a cold. Sniffles, cough etc.

'Immune dysregulation following Covid may compromise the body's ability to mount an effective defence against common respiratory pathogens'. timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata...

1. I have to declare this an #ad because I’ve consulted for the company concerned, but this is another huge step forward for Covid-19 screening by @raisonance.bsky.social This is the first commercially available fully online clinical decision support screening solution for Covid-19...

Looking down the Mourne Wall, from the summit of Slieve Donard, in the Mourne Mountains of Northern Ireland.

Always reactivation. Evidence for: Reactivation of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) Reactivation of latent Tuberculosis (LTBI) Reactivation of dormant cancer cells. The downstream negative population health effects of unmitigated SARS-CoV-2 transmission are undeniable now.

1. 'They observed that genes associated with neuronal metabolism and activity are deregulated in these animals' brains in a way that is reminiscent of the molecular signatures... www.pasteur.fr/en/home/pres...

1. The most important concept in this excellent article is this: 'the team wanted to explore what he called a “*reciprocal relationship*” between COVID-19 and chronic conditions'. * my emphasis www.oregonlive.com/health/2025/...

Looking down Glenariff Glen while hiking on the Garron Plateau earlier today.

1. The idea that previous infection with seasonal flu may provide some protection against severe disease in subsequent H5N1 infection (thus potentially explaining why the majority of human cases of H5N1 in the US thus far have been mild) is positive news. www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influe...

1. The problem with the 'you must have had an asymptomatic infection' assertion is the premise which underpins it, namely that *infection is inevitable*. Infection is not inevitable.

This is absolutely wonderful to see - my dear friend Kristie's debut book in the wild. Kristie takes Covid as seriously as I do, and her writing is absolutely fantastic. Thoroughly recommend you pick up a copy.

1. I had a gastroscopy at a clinic in Belfast a couple of weeks ago. During the admissions procedure, I was in a small ward having a discussion with my doctor and the admitting nurse. When the nurse asked if I'd ever had Covid, and I answered no, my doctor said, 'no way'.

1. I've said this several times before on this platform, but the exact moment I knew that I was going to do everything I could to avoid infection with SARS-CoV-2 was when I read an email in February 2020 confirming that anosmia was a cardinal symptom of Covid-19.

Extremely important article on reassortment, H5N1, and pandemic potential. As I've said before, if the situation in the US regarding bird flu had happened in 2019, it would be treated like the grave emergency it is. www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

1. The most important point in this article is the 20% study group prevalence of anosognosia: having cognitive dysfunction but not being aware of it. academic.oup.com/acn/advance-...

Although risk management, when it involves the safety of human beings, always, by definition, has an ethical component, I firmly believe that it is always detrimental when the management of risk (or lack thereof) shifts from pragmatism into the realms of ideology or identity.