Note: 'Daily emergency department attendances for acute respiratory infection, England.' 🤦Besides communicating importance of vaccination, government should be explicit about not mixing with others when ill, using effective face-coverings sensibly, and use of ventilation. www.gov.uk/government/s...

NHS data reveal 'collapse' in GP jobs in England Availability of GP jobs remains far below the level seen in 2022/23 Plus continued lies by ⁦‪Labour‬⁩ about 2600 new GPs in ARRS highlighted with just over 1100 FTE in post but other GP jobs gone!

Nautilus being cute. I spy a Jeremy Horowitz there toward the end! @schmidtocean.bsky.social dive 384 #ozoceans2020 #visioningcoralsea #MarineLife

Ladybird Artists Advent Calendar Window 13 ‘Winter Lane’ Artist: SR Badmin

New Cell Transplant Therapy Restores Insulin Production in Patient with Type 1 Diabetes

www.news-medical.net/news/2025121... Anyone recall how many years ago I said C19 appeared to be reactivating TB? They’ve picked up on the concept.

“If I could put my woods in song And tell what’s there enjoyed, All men would to my gardens throng And leave the cities void.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson.🌱

Tomorrow is the earliest sunset of 2025 in Northern Ireland. To celebrate, please enjoy two seagulls watching the setting sun from Ramore Head, Portrush, earlier this evening.

Threaded version of Prof Griffin's 🎯 posts (originals below): skywriter.blue/pages/did:pl...

Happy Friday! 🎄

Overwhelmingly, people love our NHS 💙 & want to do our bit to help in a crisis. Things you can do: ✅ Open windows ✅ Get vaccinated if eligible ✅ Wear a mask ✅ Campaign for clean indoor air so we don't have to go through this every winter!

Are you looking at me? - A Bohemian waxwing ask you #birdportrait #fågelfoto #sidensvans #bohemianwaxwing #bombycillagarrulus #naturephotography #birdphotography #PL100400 #winterguest #bjärefågel

11. Airborne viruses include, but are not limited to: SARS2, influenza, RSV, measles virus, M-Pox (likely)... 12. Yes, virus particles are smaller than mask pore sizes, but aerosol particles are NOT. 13. Masks aren't sieves, they r multi-layered & chemically/physically optimised.

9. Respirator (FFP2/3) masks, well fitted, DO protect the wearer as well as exerting source control. Surgical masks and, to a very limited extent, "face coverings" will restrict/protect from droplet-borne viruses. 10. Airborne transmission means FFP2/3 masks are gold standard.

7. Specifically, mask RCTs are inherently flawed, source control must be considered alongside protection. 8. RCTs can't account for complex behaviour. 8. Meta-analyses & systematic reviews are defined by their selection criteria, study weighting, and evidence hierarchy/idolatry.

6. Masks are key NPIs, all the more critical due to lack of clean air. 7. Respecting the impact of infection on fellow human beings and awareness of NHS capacity is not "panic". 8. Awareness that millions of vulnerable folks don't have reasonable adjustments is also not "panic".

2. COVID now adds to disease burden in an unpredictable, perennial way. 3. We maddeningly restrict access to vaccines without considering the wider and long-term costs of disease. 4. Nothing has been done nationally to improve indoor air quality. 5. Vaccines and NPIs synergise.

So, to those who say "masks don't work", cite the flawed Cochrane report, insist upon an unfeasible RCT, accuse folks of panic, and undermine public health on social and mainstream media during a flu/RSV epidemic... 1. Seasonal viruses may be "normal", but they do immense harm.

Excellent article Wear a respirator folks- ffp2/3 Clean the Air- Hepa Air Purifier/crbox #Covidisairborne #Fluisairborne #Maskup protect everyone around you this Christmas 🎄

With influenza surging in the UK and Ireland, the fact is that the culture war nonsense surrounding masks combined with the lack of airborne mitigations in hospitals (itself a result of the political and social erasure of Covid) will lead to deaths that could have been avoided.

The PCR positivity map is out. Adjusted positivity is down fractionally at 2.89% in England, 2.45% in Scotland. Admissions have been heading up again but so far are quite localized. jamestindall.info/skeuomorphol... 1/7

🚨🧵 by Dr. @harryspoelstra.bsky.social on Covid vs people's antibodies... "...🔥VERY interesting UK study, an eye-opener! Let’s try to explain: ➡️Researchers tested how well people's antibodies fight ALL types of COVID spike proteins..." Full 🧵 threadreaderapp.com/thread/19987...

#Metoffice yellow warnings ⚠️ for #rain issued for this weekend #weatheraware www.metoffice.gov.uk

Finally, it's worth saying that actuaries typically use a different measure of life expectancy which is forward looking, but more subjective. This has NOT recovered from the pandemic - we remain more pessimistic about the outlook for future mortality rates than we were before.

Drilling deeper there is lots going on below the headline statistics. Life expectancy in Scotland is 2 years lower than UK average. Across UK, life expectancy has improved for pensioners but has not recovered from the pandemic for younger people. I'll save more detailed analysis for future posts.

🦠COVID and flu continue to strain and stretch the NHS. If anything is 'traumatised,' it’s the health service and those impacted by both of these viruses - and that's due more to falling vaccination rates, poor ventilation, and misuse of face coverings - not people choosing to wear them! Latest data

🚨🧵by @michaelryan756 on Twitter on "why we still talk about COVID in 2025..." Here's why 👇 "COVID infections don’t just give you a rough week. They hit your heart, vessels, rhythm, and long-term risk profile..." 🎯🧵 by Michael & data subthread from @1goodtern: threadreaderapp.com/thread/19981...

A mix of lichens including a Xanthoria (I think) a couple of Physcia spp, and others. All hanging out on a tree branch. Northwest Territories, Canada. #lichen #fungi #fungifriends while #hiking

Lilies In The Night Rain #photography #art #flowers

Korean study finds how COVID-19 affects memory, suggests a possible treatment. Korean researchers found the COVID S1 spike protein disrupts nerve cells, harming memory and causing anxiety in mice. Metformin restored nerve function and reduced toxic proteins, suggesting a possible treatment.

Buses replace trains between ##North Llanrwst and ##Blaenau Ffestiniog until the end of the day

Good morning Bluesky! There's a beautiful one without clouds and a glorious Moon to wake up to. 65.8% Waning Gibbous #astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

Magnificent Aurora over Loften, Norway ~ time lapse

One from the archives for #RoseWednesday with layers of petals.Time for more clarity and ease in this world. 🌱🌻

🌱 #RoseWednesday I think the sun might shine today and if it doesn’t here is Rosa “Absolutely Fabulous’ to brighten your day. I am off to Wisley for my monthly Tour Guide training with Jonathan.

You mean this office?

Yup! COVID almost killed me by causing a LAD MI on January 11th, 2025. Not one attending cardiologist at William Osler Hospital were knowledgeable enough to recognize this. They had no answers, so I tried to teach them. They wouldn't listen. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC....

This. People are contagious before symptoms start — masking protects everyone. #COVIDisNotOver #COVIDisAirborne #MaskUp😷 Source: x.com/haziethompso...

Morning light at Loch Maree

Considerable amount of rain causing some travel disruption in the SW today

Victo Ngai, contemporary award-winning illustrator who grew up in Hong Kong #WomensArt

Today’s pop of colour: bright green moss on a stone.

Walter the Wren #BirdOfTheDay #SideViews #ukbirds #birds

UNIST researchers used South Korea’s COVID-19 data to estimate hidden asymptomatic infections. At least 49% of vaccinated infections were asymptomatic during Omicron, with only 9.3% detected. Silent spreaders likely drove much of the transmission. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Government public health policy is completely irresponsible & is harming kids. We need: ✅ Clean Air ✅ Vaccine Access ✅ Honest Communication of risks

A beautiful close up shot of a European Robin eyeing up a mealworm on the ground.

"Staff, patients and visitors are being asked to wear face masks on wards at three hospital sites as flu cases rise." #Flunami (This is what appropriate masks to stop the spread of airborne infectious diseases look like!👇)

www.mirror.co.uk/news/health/... NHS has issued a UK wide stay at home alert and advised people to stay away from others and ‘cover noses and mouths’. UKHSA are incapable of saying wear a respirator & clean the air.

“wearing a face mask can help significantly stop the flu and other respiratory viruses from spreading.” When The Mirror is suggesting people mask… things must be bad. Mask up folks! Ideally N95 or better! A good respirator will protect you and those around you from flu, covid, rsv and more

Ladybird Artists Advent Calendar, window 9 ‘Evening Snow’ Artist: SR Badmin