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1/. It’s 3 months since I stumbled upon what may turn out to be one of the greatest scandals of modern British history: the #HerdImmunityScandal.
On 8 March, after a tip off, I found the clip of the PM’s #TakeItOnTheChin comment.
I tweeted it & it was viewed 2.5m in 24 hours. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1258706840919162880
On 8 March, after a tip off, I found the clip of the PM’s #TakeItOnTheChin comment.
I tweeted it & it was viewed 2.5m in 24 hours. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1258706840919162880
2/. Some questions raised by the #TakeItOnTheChin clip were answered by @peston No.10-sourced piece on 12 March revealing the govt’s #coronavirus “strategy” was #herdimmunity.
But then on 16 April, @peterjukes shared another tip off: the #GreenwichSpeech https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1250894405323628545?s=21
But then on 16 April, @peterjukes shared another tip off: the #GreenwichSpeech https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1250894405323628545?s=21
3/. In this speech, made on 3 February, @BorisJohnson mentions #coronavirus for the first time & warns there’s a danger it will “trigger panic & [measures] that go beyond what’s medically rational to the point of doing real & unnecessary economic damage.”
4/. Is the #GreenwichSpeech the ‘smoking gun’ of the herd immunity strategy: a strategy whereby the UK achieves immunity to #COVID19 before competitor countries & emerges like Superman “with it’s cloak flowing”?
And if so, are the govt STILL pursuing it?
And if so, are the govt STILL pursuing it?
5/. The ongoing covert pursuit of #HerdImmunity offers reason to the otherwise almost inexplicable decisions to stop community testing (12/3), to delay lockdown (23/3) & to transfer people untested to care homes (another ‘smoking gun’ I revealed on 13/5). https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1260665437790130177?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1260665437790130177
6/. A #HerdImmunity strategy would also explain lack of testing, failure to monitor people arriving in UK airports, late introduction of the tracing app & face masks etc.
The UK is not unique in attempting to deny this strategy. See Dutch PM (16/3 & 4/6)
The UK is not unique in attempting to deny this strategy. See Dutch PM (16/3 & 4/6)
7/. The narrative that #COVID19 was “an unexpected & invisible mugger” which we couldn’t have prepared for is repeated by the govt.
But...
Scientists warned us
WHO warned us
Cygnus warned us
Intelligence warned us
Italy gave us a graphic warning
But...
Scientists warned us
WHO warned us
Cygnus warned us
Intelligence warned us
Italy gave us a graphic warning
8/. Trying to get information from the govt is hard.
Ministers avoid answering the most straightforward questions on a daily basis, SAGE minutes are withheld, redacted & posted at random times.
Even PHE fails to provide facts to parliamentary committees. https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1263783585510760449?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1263783585510760449
Ministers avoid answering the most straightforward questions on a daily basis, SAGE minutes are withheld, redacted & posted at random times.
Even PHE fails to provide facts to parliamentary committees. https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1263783585510760449?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1263783585510760449
9/. By examining minutes of scientific meetings it becomes apparent that no modelling was done for the lockdown until mid-March & the capacity of the NHS / ICU was only inputted into the models around that time. That would be consistent with #HerdImmunity. https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1261610913658023937?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1261610913658023937
10/. Realising that a strategy that could kill hundreds of thousands of Britons, wouldn’t go down well, the govt have denied #HerdImmunity is or ever was a strategy.
But on 11 March, David Halpern, a behaviourist who helps lead UK #COVID response, said
But on 11 March, David Halpern, a behaviourist who helps lead UK #COVID response, said
11/. On 23 March @piersmorgan was told on @gmb by @MattHancock that “ #HerdImmunity has never been the strategy.”
@piersmorgan: Your own Chief Science Officer said it was.
MH: No he didn’t
[PLAYS AV]
VALLANCE: “build-up some degree of herd immunity.”
@piersmorgan: Your own Chief Science Officer said it was.
MH: No he didn’t
[PLAYS AV]
VALLANCE: “build-up some degree of herd immunity.”
13/ #Herdimmunity makes sense as an outcome NOT as a strategy.
On 12/3, briefed by No.10, @Peston wrote: “The strategy of the govt is to allow the virus to pass through the entire population so we acquire herd immunity.”
On 26/3 @Jeremy_Hunt said:
On 12/3, briefed by No.10, @Peston wrote: “The strategy of the govt is to allow the virus to pass through the entire population so we acquire herd immunity.”
On 26/3 @Jeremy_Hunt said:
14/. Here Prof Edmunds, a key govt modeller on #COVID19, is asked by @cathynewman:
“Did you change your mind on herd immunity?”
He replies very unconvincingly: “Err...umm...no.”
Ystdy, he admitted late lockdown was a mistake. The relationship btw govt & scientists is fraying.
“Did you change your mind on herd immunity?”
He replies very unconvincingly: “Err...umm...no.”
Ystdy, he admitted late lockdown was a mistake. The relationship btw govt & scientists is fraying.
15/. Over the past 3 months, my timeline has become filled with interlinking threads which attempt to document & make sense of an ever expanding multitude of issues around the govt’s #coronavirus response. All seem to stem from, or lead to, #herdimmunity. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1252354324136521736
16/. This threadexplores what has happened to the PM’s promise of a fully operational “world beating” track & trace app by 1 June.
There are reports that it won’t be operational at local level until September.
Yet the lockdown is being eased anyway. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1268843570498338817
explores what has happened to the PM’s promise of a fully operational “world beating” track & trace app by 1 June. There are reports that it won’t be operational at local level until September.
Yet the lockdown is being eased anyway. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1268843570498338817
17/. “Test, test, test!”
We've known from the start that accurate mass testing is vital.
So why was contact tracing was stopped on 12/3 & why are we sending out home test kits which have a 30% chance of being inaccurate?
This thread has some answers https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1263001351702958086
We've known from the start that accurate mass testing is vital.
So why was contact tracing was stopped on 12/3 & why are we sending out home test kits which have a 30% chance of being inaccurate?
This thread has some answers
https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1263001351702958086
18/. This threadexamines “the science” & asks why govt #COVID19 strategy has excluded public health experts.
e.g. The SAGE meeting of 13/3 comprised:
14 govt advisers
4 modellers
3 behaviourists
2 virologists
10 independents
ZERO public health experts https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1248251362648952836
examines “the science” & asks why govt #COVID19 strategy has excluded public health experts.e.g. The SAGE meeting of 13/3 comprised:
14 govt advisers
4 modellers
3 behaviourists
2 virologists
10 independents
ZERO public health experts https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1248251362648952836
19/. This threaddocuments the incomprehensible & ongoing failures to source:
• proper PPE for front line NHS staff & carers;
• sufficient #COVID19 tests even for doctors & ICU nurses;
• ventilators (opting out of the EU ventilator procurement scheme) https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1242426814842261504?s=21
documents the incomprehensible & ongoing failures to source:• proper PPE for front line NHS staff & carers;
• sufficient #COVID19 tests even for doctors & ICU nurses;
• ventilators (opting out of the EU ventilator procurement scheme) https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1242426814842261504?s=21
20/. This threadasks why the recommendations of #ExerciseCygnus – the 2016 drill which showed UK's unreadiness to respond to a pandemic - weren't implemented.
Hancock claims they were. Others hadn't heard of it despite it being front page news on 28/3. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1255056502752194562
asks why the recommendations of #ExerciseCygnus – the 2016 drill which showed UK's unreadiness to respond to a pandemic - weren't implemented.Hancock claims they were. Others hadn't heard of it despite it being front page news on 28/3. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1255056502752194562
21/. This threadlooks at some of the conflicting evidence & inexplicable memory loss of SAGE members when questioned about the failure to model for #COVID19 lockdown 'til mid-March, #herdimmunity, abandoning community testing, & changing govt messaging. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1257711574007132160
looks at some of the conflicting evidence & inexplicable memory loss of SAGE members when questioned about the failure to model for #COVID19 lockdown 'til mid-March, #herdimmunity, abandoning community testing, & changing govt messaging. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1257711574007132160
22/. This threadasks why hundreds of thousands of people were allowed to walk into the UK from #COVID hotspots without screening.
@OliverDowden repeatedly claimed cabin crew had been trained to spot #COVID19 & that people arriving are tracked. Really?! https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1252146558537273344
asks why hundreds of thousands of people were allowed to walk into the UK from #COVID hotspots without screening.@OliverDowden repeatedly claimed cabin crew had been trained to spot #COVID19 & that people arriving are tracked. Really?! https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1252146558537273344
23/. The trampling of some basic precepts of press freedom gives cause for concern: ratcheting-up negative rhetoric & curbing proper transparency.
This threadincludes a look at how media have been banned from Daily Briefings or boycotted by ministers. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1267170374946557953
This thread
includes a look at how media have been banned from Daily Briefings or boycotted by ministers. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1267170374946557953
24/. BOTTOM OF LEAGUE IN FOOTBALL
Fans wouldn’t stand for it.
They’d be unfurling banners in the stadium, ripping up season tickets & tweeting up a storm.
BOTTOM OF LEAGUE: COVID DEATHS
What are you going to do?
This threadisn’t really about football https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1258303190610706433?s=21 https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1258303190610706433
Fans wouldn’t stand for it.
They’d be unfurling banners in the stadium, ripping up season tickets & tweeting up a storm.
BOTTOM OF LEAGUE: COVID DEATHS
What are you going to do?
This thread
isn’t really about football https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1258303190610706433?s=21 https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1258303190610706433
25/. This threadshows SAGE noted that critical care beds were vital on 11 Feb & that "evidence on the role of children in transmission of #COVID19 is unclear” on 6 April.
Attending SAGE meetings were Ben & Marc Warner who set up the AI firm, Faculty. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1266412635215532035
shows SAGE noted that critical care beds were vital on 11 Feb & that "evidence on the role of children in transmission of #COVID19 is unclear” on 6 April.Attending SAGE meetings were Ben & Marc Warner who set up the AI firm, Faculty. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1266412635215532035
26/. A leaked document from 23/3 shows Faculty – who are working with Palantir on the app - proposed a simulation to assess the impact of “targeted herd immunity” (an oxymoron), a week after ministers insisted that #herdimmunity wasn't being contemplated. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1264677359728410624
27/. 582 deaths over last 3 days
R rate over 1 in parts of UK
Testing data not published for 2 weeks
Face masks not mandatory
Highest excess deaths in world
UK = 191st out of 195 in league of countries readiness to lift lockdown
Shops open on Monday
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1270814064764162048?s=21
R rate over 1 in parts of UK
Testing data not published for 2 weeks
Face masks not mandatory
Highest excess deaths in world
UK = 191st out of 195 in league of countries readiness to lift lockdown
Shops open on Monday
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1270814064764162048?s=21
28/. In this clip, @devisridhar asks the key question: “What is the govt’s objective?”
That she - & all of us - are still having to ask this question 16 weeks into crisis, should raise urgent further questions.
Fortunately, there are Ali some answers.
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1256985994609467392?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1256985994609467392
That she - & all of us - are still having to ask this question 16 weeks into crisis, should raise urgent further questions.
Fortunately, there are Ali some answers.
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1256985994609467392?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1256985994609467392
29/. The govt's policy of sending elderly people from hospital to care homes without #coronavirus testing is being exposed.
But there has been little exposure about the appalling situation for those treated at home. This thread
looks at #HomeCareScandal. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1275406114797113344?s=20
But there has been little exposure about the appalling situation for those treated at home. This thread
looks at #HomeCareScandal. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1275406114797113344?s=20
30/. This thread explores govt's decision to announce a further easing of the lockdown on 4 July, seemingly against most scientific advice.
It's perhaps too early to dub this the #EasingLockdownScandal, & I hope the experts & scientists are proved wrong. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1275672392187199494
It's perhaps too early to dub this the #EasingLockdownScandal, & I hope the experts & scientists are proved wrong. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1275672392187199494
31/. UK isn’t alone in attempting a #HerdImmunity strategy.
Sweden was open about it & has a #COVID19 mortality rate 7x higher than rest of EU with cases rising 16x faster.
US & Brazil are “opening the economy”.
This thread is about the Dutch strategy https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1274305487404744706
Sweden was open about it & has a #COVID19 mortality rate 7x higher than rest of EU with cases rising 16x faster.
US & Brazil are “opening the economy”.
This thread is about the Dutch strategy
https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1274305487404744706
32/. You’ve read this thread & you’re thinking: “What can I do about it?”
The answer is spread the word
Tell your friends, tag MPs & journos, contact @Under_Covid
If your friends aren’t interested in COVID stuff, share a video, a cartoon or the “football” or Hitchcock threads.
The answer is spread the word
Tell your friends, tag MPs & journos, contact @Under_Covid
If your friends aren’t interested in COVID stuff, share a video, a cartoon or the “football” or Hitchcock threads.
33/. The #EasingLockdownScandal overlaps with other scandals
Unlike the lockdown which was imposed far too late - at midnight on 23 March - the easing of lockdown has been more gradual but potentially just as deadly. THREAD #COVID19 #COVID #coronavirus https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1275672392187199494
Unlike the lockdown which was imposed far too late - at midnight on 23 March - the easing of lockdown has been more gradual but potentially just as deadly. THREAD
#COVID19 #COVID #coronavirus https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1275672392187199494
This threadexposes how the PM & his govt deliberately make themselves appear bumbling or incompetent inorder to cover-up malfeasance.
This is not to say they are not also incompetent.
#HerdImmunity is an intentional ongoing strategy, not some mishap.
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1276993242010173440?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1276993242010173440
exposes how the PM & his govt deliberately make themselves appear bumbling or incompetent inorder to cover-up malfeasance.This is not to say they are not also incompetent.
#HerdImmunity is an intentional ongoing strategy, not some mishap.
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1276993242010173440?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1276993242010173440
