BIG NEWS! SafeWork Australia has just published a Model Code of Practice for health facilities.
Note on page 101 it says facilities MUST (not optional) ensure there is enough ventilation to avoid WHS risks including airborne pathogens.
www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/model-co...
I built AIRE, a free browser tool that estimates airborne COVID risk indoors using the PMC framework.
It also offers an optional “cigarette pack equivalent.”
Why?
Because 3% per event is abstract.
Cumulative harm is easier to grasp on a familiar scale. 🧵
Sickness, Disability, and Death in NHS England Staff All three rising significantly from the point that covid infections started.
Sickness, Disability, and Death in NHS England Staff
The three graphs that *every person* needs to see.
The question that every single person needs to ask their government:
What are you doing to protect me from Covid infection?
🚨 Scotland's resident doctors have called off next week's strikes over pay.
Our explainer includes analysis of how doctors' pay compares across the four UK countries at different points in their careers and the various factors affecting this. Explore more here: buff.ly/1B29O4J
Did you run the data set controlling for fewer medically qualified doctors and desperately for fewer allied health professionals in these organisations? For it to be meaningful we have to be able see the impact of all care-giving clinical staff groups and the association with higher mortality rates.
'Too often, the focus on NHS staff retention has been based on incomplete evidence about why staff have left, rather than why they stay.' Prof James Buchan, Senior Visiting Fellow, REAL Centre at the Health Foundation
A key moment in 2026 will be the publication of a new long-term workforce plan for the NHS. In this new blog, James Buchan looks at the central role improving NHS staff retention must play in delivering on the government’s ambitions for the NHS.
Read more ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4swThyY
USA: Respiratory virus activity in the US is high, driven by influenza and RSV. COVID remains relatively low but is rising.
Flu positivity is 24.7%, with 8 recent child deaths linked to influenza A (H3N2).
RSV-related ED visits and hospitalisations in children aged 0–4 are increasing.
Here’s ten of the best papers I published this year (thread).
1. A rapid systematic review of the UK literature on physician associates. With @martinmckee.bsky.social
www.bmj.com/content/388/...
A black-background table titled “AUSTRALIA Weekly COVID Update: 12 December 2025.” It contains four columns: States & Territories, Trend, % Change, and Reporting notes. TAS: Up +31.0%; monthly update, positivity 2.5% QLD: Up +16.6%; weekly update, 40 in hospital (stable) VIC: Up +6%; fortnightly/weekly update, positivity 2.5% WA: Up +5.4%; weekly update, average 16 in hospital, positivity 1.8% SA: Down –17.3%; weekly update NSW: Down –6.2%; weekly update, positivity 2.5% ACT: No data; weekly reporting paused until autumn/winter 2026 NT: No data; COVID reporting no longer published on NT Health’s website Aged care: Up +7.3%; weekly update, 3 deaths reported
🇦🇺AUSTRALIA Weekly COVID Update: 12 Dec 2025
🔹TAS: Up (+31%)
🔹QLD: Up (+16.6%) 40 in hospital
🔹VIC: Up (+6%)
🔹WA: Up (+5.4%) Avg 16 day in hospital
🔸SA: Down (-17.3%)
🔸NSW: Down (-6.2%)
▫️ACT: Paused reporting for 2025
🔹Aged-care: Up (+7.3%) Sadly, 3 deaths reported
"A landmark new study shows COVID-19 isn’t ‘just a cold’: One infection left people with long-lasting immune damage, and those with heart disease lost up to 70% of key immune cells. Reinfections may worsen this. The message is clear: protecting ourselves still matters."
A social media post by Nate Bear (@NateB_Panic) on X/Twitter. Nate’s comment above a shared post reads: “The UK says it won’t even bother when the next pandemic hits. The lesson most countries have drawn from covid is that letting the old and weak die is better for capitalism. The pandemic was a waymarker on our journey to a harsher, crueller world.” Below is a shared post from Cat in the Hat (@_CatintheHat) responding to guidance from NHS England. Cat’s message quotes an excerpt and says it’s shocking: “This has got to be one of the most 🧠 things I’ve ever seen written down…” Beneath their comment is a screenshot of an NHS England document titled “Framework for managing the response to pandemic diseases” (dated July 2024). Key text is highlighted in yellow, stating: “it will not be possible to halt the spread of a new pandemic virus, and it would be a waste of public health resources and capacity to attempt to do so.” The highlighted passage suggests rapid transmission, limited initial control, and challenges in preventing spread. The entire screenshot looks like an official government webpage with headings, bullet points, and formal formatting. The post timestamp shows 6:13 PM · Dec 5, 2025 with 111.1K Views.
By Nate Bear @natebear1.bsky.social
"The UK says it won't even bother when the next pandemic hits. The lesson most countries have drawn from covid is that letting the old and weak die is better for capitalism. The pandemic was a waymarker on our journey to a harsher, crueller world"
A woman wearing a blue shirt and a face mask sits in the back seat of a car with her sleeve rolled up, while a healthcare worker in a mask and gloves leans in through the open car door to administer a COVID-19 vaccine. Sunlight comes through the windows, and medical supplies rest on the woman’s lap. Below the image is a MedPage Today headline that reads: “COVID Shots Tied to a Lower Risk of Death From Any Cause,” with a subheading stating that the benefit remains even after excluding coronavirus-related deaths.
"COVID Shots Tied to a Lower Risk of Death From Any Cause"
According to a nationwide study of 28 million people in France, vaccinated adults had a 74% lower risk of dying from severe COVID-19, and a 25% lower risk of death from any cause compared to unvaccinated.
Source: archive.md/me3mp
Alt text: A screenshot from Thread Reader shows the start of a thread by Zdenek Vrozina (@ZdenekVrozina), dated August 24. The text reads: “A new preprint study shatters the idea that pediatric long COVID is just a mild or different version of the adult form. It shows that children share the same core…” On the right side is a small photo of Zdenek wearing sunglasses. The Thread Reader logo is at the top, and a preview link is shown below the text.
By Zdenek Vrozina:
"A new preprint study shatters the idea that pediatric long COVID is just a mild or different version of the adult form.
It shows that children share the same core immune patterns - and, strikingly, some resemble those seen in chronic infections like HIV"
