@DLapthorne

Passionate about public health. CEV. Retired Regional Director of Public Health. Trolls blocked. Also find me @lapdevon over on https://nitter.cf/t.co/rcIITsHAZX

 South West, England
Joined May 2011
  • Tweets22.2K
  • Following1.4K
  • Followers1.2K
171Media
Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Dr Evonne T Curran NursD 💙🇺🇦@EvonneTCurran1h
IPC are not transmission experts There I said it Hand contact is not the single most important mode of transmission NIPCM England - droplets!!! NIPCM Scotland - "through the air" correct but how does it enter to infect The term you are afraid of is Airborne - inhaled-to-infect
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧@_CatintheHatSep 28
However, IPC guidance in healthcare settings should be addressing a fundamentally different question: 👉🏻How to prevent avoidable transmission within a setting containing large numbers of people, including patients who are clinically vulnerable to severe & prolonged consequences.
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧@_CatintheHatSep 28
Healthcare workers are the canaries in the coal mine as they’re exposed to COVID infections most frequently through their workplace. A recent report revealed that 40% of healthcare workers worldwide infected with SARS-CoV-2 go on to develop Long COVID. bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026…
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Invivyd
@Invivyd3h
Invivyd and the SPEAR Study Group Announce Initiation of “FLINTLOCK” Phase 2 Study of VYD2311, a Monoclonal Antibody for the Potential Treatment of Long COVID or Post-Vaccination Syndrome investors.invivyd.com/news-r…
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Dr Evonne T Curran NursD 💙🇺🇦@EvonneTCurran9h
AGPs had to go but, the risk to any HCW being in close proximity to an infectious patient for a long period, with unknown room air quality e.g., providing prolonged can was/is not recognised as a significant risk and should have been/be. Significant errors remain in the guidance
Tim Cook@doctimcookOct 3
Published today A reflection regarding Scotland’s decision to abandon AGP (aerosol generating procedures) as a concept About time And the rest of the UK & more widely should follow suit! @_andyshrimp @BJAJournals sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Clinically Vulnerable Families 💙💜💗@cv_cev6h
🚨Our NEW upgraded website is live - and our new style CVF newsletter launches today! Explore our resources on cheaper private vaccines, clean air, and schools, plus reports and our Covid Inquiry work. Visit, subscribe & share: clinicallyvulnerable.org/?fr… #ClinicallyVulnerable

Clinically Vulnerable Families – UK support and advocacy

Clinically Vulnerable Families supports, informs and speaks up for Clinically Vulnerable households across the UK with evidence, campaigns and practical help.

clinicallyvulnerable.org
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Gwladwr@gwladwr4h
Covid in England SARS-CoV-2 Laboratory-Identified Cases notified to UKHSA under the NOIDS Health Protection Regulations - W41 Weekly data, often published prior to the UKHSA Covid Cases signal, gives an early indication of the trend in prevalence. (UKHSA data, @gwladwr chart)
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧@_CatintheHat16h
Replying to @doctimcook @_andyshrimp @BJAJournals
The Covid Inquiry M3 report recommended that: “The concept of AGPs ought to be AVOIDED in future iterations of IPC guidance”. But, to be clear, this is NOT because AGPs are LOWER risk than previously thought… …it’s because natural coughing is HIGHER risk! /1
Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧@_CatintheHatOct 12
Replying to @_CatintheHat
For this very reason, the Covid Inquiry concluded in their report: “The concept of AGPs ought to be AVOIDED in future iterations of IPC guidance”. But, to be clear, this is NOT because AGPs are LOWER risk than previously thought… …it’s because coughing is HIGHER risk. /6
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Clinically Vulnerable Families 💙💜💗@cv_cev19h
Replying to @SFotonium
Thanks guys! 👏👏👏
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Sotirios Papathanasiou@SFotoniumOct 13
We are proud to announce the official publication of our foundational paper in the prestigious journal Building and Environment! 📄 "A unified framework for global indoor air quality: transitioning from guidelines to actionable open regulatory standards" goaqs.org/2026/10/13/go-iaqs…
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Dr Evonne T Curran NursD 💙🇺🇦@EvonneTCurran9h
A mode of transmission should contain the source, how the pathogen is dispersed, and how it enters to infect. So for the SARS-CoV-2 virus it is... Released during any respiratory activity, including breathing, dispersed through the air and inhaled to infect.
Dr Evonne T Curran NursD 💙🇺🇦@EvonneTCurranOct 13
So bitterly disappointed in @P_H_S_Official This is a 2026 leaflet FYI Covid is the disease SARS-COV-2 is the virus The only way for entry to infect you have is hands. According to cdc a 10,000 to 1 event It is exhaled by those infected and inhaled to infect by someone else.
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧@_CatintheHatOct 13
🚨 FIVE FUNDAMENTAL IPC MISTAKES. The COVID Inquiry exposed serious failures in infection prevention & control which had devastating consequences for healthcare workers & patients. This 7-page analysis from Dr @alitwy & @EvonneTCurran is a must read. shh-uk.org/five-ipc-mistakes…
Dr Alison Twycross RN (retired)
@alitwyOct 12
🚨 FIVE IPC MISTAKES. DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES. The UK Covid-19 Inquiry exposed serious failings in infection prevention and control (IPC) during the pandemic. ❌ Failure to apply the precautionary principle ❌ Misunderstanding how respiratory infections spread ❌ Inadequate respiratory protection ❌ Inconsistent and unclear guidance ❌ Failures in expertise, accountability and oversight Healthcare workers paid a devastating price. ⚠️ Have we learnt the lessons? Read the analysis by @EvonneTCurran and me: shh-uk.org/five-ipc-mistakes… #SafeAir4All #CovidInquiry #InfectionPrevention #LongCovid #HealthcareWorkers
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Emma Weisblatt@OldboatieOct 13
Replying to @Sunny_Rae1 @DeanEggitt
Sadly most of the NHS have zero interest in protecting anyone including themselves from SARS-2. Or another airborne virus. I cannot fathom it.
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Dr Rae Duncan@Sunny_Rae1Oct 13
Replying to @DeanEggitt
Have you read Raina McIntyres recent publication? SARS-2 found in 80% of A&E air samples, despite meeting standard ventilation requirements. NHS Wales data shows a significant %SARS2 in pts is hospital acquired. We really need to clean the air and have mask mandates in A&E
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
tern
@1goodternOct 12
I'd do this, but the last 7 years make very boring reading. Not a cough, not a sniffle, not a sore throat, nothing. Masks work.
Dan O'Hara@skeuomorphologyOct 12
Hi everyone, @UKHSA are inviting people to join Flu Survey. Anyone can participate. It covers covid, flu, and other respiratory disease. Your data will contribute to the weekly reports and the dashboard. flusurvey.net/

FluSurvey

Help us monitor the flu and other respiratory infections in the UK today.

flusurvey.net
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧@_CatintheHatOct 12
TO CONCLUDE: Here’s the flow chart one last time ⬇️ When the respiratory illness is still unknown, staff are told to don a surgical mask which WON’T protect against airborne transmission. That’s not a precautionary approach. It’s a failure to protect staff until it’s too late.
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧@_CatintheHatOct 12
And what about patients? Some patients may be unable to wear a mask themselves on admission to hospital due to their condition or treatment. As a bare minimum, why is there no equivalent right for patients to opt for a higher level of protection from staff caring for them? /26
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧@_CatintheHatOct 12
Surely adequate protection shouldn’t depend on an individual worker feeling confident enough to go against the norm? Where the exposure risk warrants a respirator, IPC guidance should make that protection the expected practice… …NOT leave it up to staff to make a choice. /25
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧@_CatintheHatOct 12
Staff opting to upgrade their protection may worry about how their colleagues will perceive them, about being seen as challenging the norm or implicitly questioning the adequacy of their colleagues’ precautions. This is a heavy burden to place on staff, day-in, day-out. /24
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Deb: 🌬️😷🦠💉 COVID is airborne 🌬️ retweeted
Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧@_CatintheHatOct 12
And a choice on paper isn’t always a choice in practice. Healthcare workers operate within professional hierarchies & workplace norms. A junior/temporary staff member may prefer to wear a respirator but feel uncomfortable doing so if everyone else is using a surgical mask. /23
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