Day: 15 December 2020

by Galina Gardiner “Quick – grab an extra loaf for the freezer – the shelves are bare!” Fear can cause us to behave illogically in response to perceived threats. It also spreads like wildfire. Whether through exaggeration or underestimation, disproportionate behaviour + spread = dramatic consequences. Impact of fear Fear of Coronavirus has led to extreme personal and governmental responses, from panic-buying and social distancing to school closures and lockdown. In Spring 2020, such measures appeared necessary. Their long-term effects – recession, neglected health, damage to education – were considered a price worth paying, though subsequent research indicates that the damage caused by lockdown may exceed that of COVID-19 itself (ONS, 2020; Chi et al, 2020). The impact of fear on society should not be underestimated – studies have shown it to be the biggest predictor of compliance with new measures, over and above moral or political leanings (Harper, Satchell, Fido, & Latzman, 2020).Understanding fear – how, and why, it rips through society – is vital if we are to react proportionately to global events such as COVID-19. What is fear? The APA Dictionary of Psychology defines fear as “a basic, intense emotion aroused by the detection of imminent threat, involving an immediate alarm reaction that mobilizes the organism” (2020). This ‘alarm reaction’ involves the amygdala – a collection of ...

by Guy de la Bédoyère One of the current tropes peddled by the government and its rag, tag and bobtail of scientific advisers is ‘don’t kill Granny’. This has led to some beliefs circulating which are that: 1. If Granny is exposed to COVID-19 she will catch it 2. If Granny catches COVID-19 she will automatically die as a matter of course 3. If Granny isolates herself and keeps away from her family and everyone else, she will not only escape COVID-19 but also apparently death itself since the consolation for missing Granny at Xmas is that she is guaranteed to be available for a hug in a year’s time. I thought I’d look into this. By looking at the ONS figures for deaths by week and sex in 2019 (available here) I was able to work out that 194,945 women aged over 75 in England and Wales died that year from all causes, of whom we can assume a fair number could be classified as grannies. That’s an average of 534 women aged 75 and over dying per day, every day throughout the year. As it happens, 530,841 deaths were registered in England and Wales in 2019 or 1,454 per day (36.7% of the total). Or, in other words more than 1:3 people who died in England and Wales ...

Here We Go Again... Matt Hancock raised the alarm in Parliament yesterday when he said a new variant of Coronavirus was doing the rounds and linked this to the rise in community infections in Kent and London. The press release from Public Health England has the details. The strain was identified due to Public Health England’s proactive and enhanced monitoring following the increase in cases seen in Kent and London. The variant has been named ‘VUI – 202012/01’ (the first Variant Under Investigation in December 2020).As of December 13th, 1,108 cases with this variant have been identified, predominantly in the South and East of England. PHE is working with partners to investigate and plans to share its findings over the next two weeks. There is currently no evidence to suggest that the strain has any impact on disease severity, antibody response or vaccine efficacy.High numbers of cases of the variant virus have been observed in some areas where there is also a high incidence of COVID-19. It is not yet known whether the variant is responsible for these increased numbers of cases. PHE will monitor the impact of this in the coming days and weeks.It is not uncommon for viruses to undergo mutations; seasonal influenza mutates every year. Variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been observed in other countries, such as Spain.This variant includes a mutation ...