Allyson Pollock can be relied upon to speak truth to power, but should they have listened?
The government has released its scientific evidence, which sheds light on the fiasco and the catastrophe that is unfolding economically, socially, and health wise. It also highlights the lack of public health input and the decimation of the speciality and expertise in communicable disease control prior to and after the Health & Social Care Act 2012. There appears to be no public health evidence from experienced physicians in communicable disease control and their teams.
“Ignorance breeds confidence more often knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.”
I know when life is getting to me, it’s when I stop reading (fiction especially) because “I don’t have time”. What I do have is time that I waste on apparently being busy, doing things that could be started, completed and given me time to read. That’s why this article resonated with me.
It’s that moment when you sink into the seat on the train home from a stressful day at work, relieved to lose yourself in a Kate Atkinson bestsellerfor 20 minutes. It’s easing yourself under your duvet at bedtime, prising open Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith, desperate to discover Sue Trinder’s fate. It’s those two minutes snatched with Jane Eyre while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil.
Reading a book is one of life’s biggest joys, but could it also be a way of coping with the difficult times in life, from bereavement to relationship problems?
New research suggests that reading could be hugely beneficial for our mental health, with classic books written by authors such as William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens being proven to help relieve depression and chronic pain. In a new study published by Oxford University Press, “challenging language” was found to send “rocket boosters” to our mind that can help boost our mental health….
I had to post a couple of pieces on Covid-19, not my words but those who are far more eloquent than me. I doubt anyone will read these but it made me feel better to share them.
Worth reading and considering. I have received half a dozen emails today trying to sell me “stuff”, from courses to scanners, using the epidemic/pandemic as an excuse – most of them are only fit for the Desperate Marketing column of Private Eye.
I wanted to read something better.
“So governments have to choose between public health and the economy.
This is, ultimately, the message of this Editorial in The Lancet:”
…..So far, evidence suggests that the colossal public health efforts of the Chinese Government have saved thousands of lives. High-income countries, now facing their own outbreaks, must take reasoned risks and act more decisively. They must abandon their fears of the negative short-term public and economic consequences that may follow from restricting public freedoms as part of more assertive infection control measures.
