An interesting lesson for me in 2020 was recognising the role that mainstream media play in impacting our responses significantly. Months ago when I turned off all mainstream news it led me to Twitter, where I somehow discovered various scientists, sociologists, analysts etc, discussing things on a more even level that didn’t promote fear and … More Media Servings
Michael Levitt, a Nobel Laureate award winning scientist at Stanford University, who has been monitoring the pandemic since before it was international news, speaking about his experience on yesterday’s Roundtable session led by Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida: “… Online with Governor DeSantis was my first interaction with Jay Battacharya and Martin Kulldorff. I have … More More From Leading Public Health Experts
Scott Atlas has been described variously as an “extremist”, “Trump’s latest yes-man”, a “crackpot” and other politically driven insults that do not reflect his character, motivation or skill. Common criticism from the general public, promoted by media-led character assassinations, has included “he’s not an immunologist or a virologist”, as though public health consists of nothing … More Basic Public Health is Not ‘Extremism’
The latest letter from public health experts without political positions to those with political power was sent yesterday to the British government. Letters like this have been sent to many governments, including Australia, with little impact. Somehow this one seems like it might help shift the world away from political frenzy, towards public health evidence … More What Power in a Letter?
We Need a Radically Different Approach This excellent article is an interview with two Harvard Professors published in Jacobin Magazine, who describe themselves as “a leading voice of the American left“. I make this distinction because of the accusations of political ideology which often frame perceptions of challenging opinions. Francois Balloux tweeted this today, which … More Tips From Harvard
Anders Tegnell is chief epidemiologist with the Swedish Public Health Agency. Unlike many western countries whose health departments respond directly to elected ministers, Swedish law does not allow political intervention in agency decision making. This lack of ministerial rule seems to explain why evidence based pandemic plans were followed with minimal controversy in Sweden. Much … More Interviews Worth Hearing
Streptococcus pneumoniae (known as “pneumococcus“) is a bacteria that causes diseases such as middle ear infections, pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia. It can cause fatal disease if not treated early enough with effective antibiotics. WHO estimate that around half a million lives are lost due to this bacteria each year. It is the leading cause of … More When Is a Pandemic No Longer a Pandemic?
Infant Breathing Breathing is a complicated physiological process that occurs differently in infants. The area in our brain that controls breathing is not fully developed in infants, who are at higher risk of suffocation, particularly during sleep. The phenomenon of infants dying in their sleep inexplicably, documented for thousands of years, has become known as … More When Cute Isn’t Cute
Wicked Problems A wicked problem is a social or cultural problem that is difficult or impossible to solve for as many as four reasons: incomplete or contradictory knowledge, the number of people and opinions involved, the large economic burden, and the interconnected nature of these problems with other problems…… These problems can be mitigated through … More Solving Wicked Problems Despite Groupthinks
When I posted my Turning Tides blog two days ago it was distinctly American focused. My personal thoughts were that Australia did not appear to have any leadership able to help us through the ongoing mire of misinformation, confusion and division. Turns out that I was very wrong. Happily so! If you are an Australian … More Australia’s Turning Tide
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