Day: 10 March 2021

A study appeared in the BMJ today claiming the British Covid variant is up to twice as deadly as the older variant. But is it? Dr Clare Craig takes a closer looks and says it is unlikely.

Historian and Lockdown Sceptics regular Guy de la Bédoyère, who wrote a book about the development of the Polio vaccine, explains why having the Covid jab was a no-brainer for him.

Travellers into Spain will need to show vaccine passports from May. That rules out unvaccinated Brits. But what about those with the vaccine? May could still be too early, warns Grant Shapps: "you can't say for certain".

by Guy de la Bédoyère One of the great virtues of this site has been the exchange of views in lively debate. It allows Lockdown Sceptics to be an island of measured sanity (at least sometimes!) in a sea of madness. In that spirit Toby invited me to write a piece about why I had a Covid vaccination. My decision was an individual one based on a variety of previous experiences and so it should be for everyone else, but the fact remains that all sorts of considerations arise in these most unusual of circumstances. The only message I have is that each of us should make our own judgements about what we do. Nobody should be forcing anyone to have the vaccine, and nobody should be hurling abuse at someone for deciding to have it. That kind of intolerance, on both sides, has become quite common of late and it’s a great pity. I also don’t think it’s worth adopting an entrenched dogmatic position. That creates hostages to fortune. Circumstances, and diseases, change. Deal with the situation at hand. Until last winter I’d never had a flu vaccine – I’ve never had flu so I didn’t see the point, and I’d managed nine years teaching in a secondary school until the age of 58 without having a single day ...

The current mass testing regime for children in schools simply doesn’t pass by the numbers, according to Biostatistics Professor Jon Deeks. Of particular concern is the occurrence of false positives.

In the lead up to the Parliamentary debate on Vaccine/Immunity Passports next Monday March 15th, the UK Medical Freedom Alliance is mounting an email/letter campaign to MPs, expressing opposition to this measure.

In January, Grant Shapps said that if the Government did not fully unlock the country by early March, he would stand "on the barricades to get our freedoms back". This date has passed, but Mr Shapps has lost his nerve.

The Prime Minister hoped that it would be "world-beating," but it turns out that England's test and trace system has met none of its key targets despite its £22 billion price tag, according to a new report.

Lockdown Sceptics has published an original piece by an experienced research scientists about the MHRA's Yellow Card reporting system. The verdict? Not fit for purpose.

From Friday, private garden parties and picnics in parks – with up to four people from two households – will be permitted in Scotland, under an "accelerated" easing of the country's lockdown before Easter.