Coronacast Coronacast

Welcome back! And Happy New Year!!! Bring on 2021! We are so happy to be recording again. In this episode we are discussing the new and all-important VACCINES. Tilly asks Hannah popular questions about the vaccine such as how it works, how safe it is and whether it will still be effective with the new strain, amongst lots of other things. This was recorded shortly before the Oxford Vaccine was approved so whilst all the information given is accurate, there is now a lot more to talk about in terms of the Oxford Vaccine and about the way ahead, which we will do in future episodes. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed recording and if you have any questions, comments or positive news to share, find us on twitter and instagram @thecoronacast or email us on questions@coronacast.co.uk. Enjoy and stay safe!

Dr Jenny Judge, a forensic psychiatrist in the NHS, tells us about her personal experience of coronavirus over the last 14 weeks.  She continues to suffer severe symptoms, from racing heart to crashing fatigue and burning skin, along with 30,000 other people in the UK who are thought to have post-covid syndrome.  She has not yet been able to return to work, and underlines how important it is for doctors to know about this condition, so that patients like her can be understood and taken seriously, and urgent research can be carried out into the underlying causes and potential treatments for this debilitating disease.

Jenny Judge on Twitter: @jenny_j_1

Articles in the BMJ by Professor Paul Garner (Twitter @PaulGarnerWoof)
https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/05/05/paul-garner-people-who-have-a-more-protracted-illness-need-help-to-understand-and-cope-with-the-constantly-shifting-bizarre-symptoms/

https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/06/23/paul-garner-covid-19-at-14-weeks-phantom-speed-cameras-unknown-limits-and-harsh-penalties/

Dr Jake Suett (Twitter @jakesuett), letter to his MP and news article:
https://twunroll.com/article/1274321467279388673

https://news.sky.com/story/long-term-covid-warning-icu-doctor-reports-having-coronavirus-symptoms-for-three-months-12014361

Article by writer Sophie Wilson (Twitter @sophiewilsonuk):
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/coronavirus-symptoms_uk_5ed67b7dc5b68a110026c36a/

Facebook support groups:
Covid UK Long Haulers
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1190419557970588/

Covid-19 Support Group (have it / had it)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CV19supportgroup

Petition for Clinics in all Major UK Hospitals for Covid Long Tail Sufferers
https://www.change.org/p/the-nhs-ceo-s-and-uk-government-set-up-clinics-in-all-major-uk-hospitals-for-covid-long-tail-sufferers

Professor Anthony Costello, global health expert and key member of the Independent SAGE committee, is the very special guest on this episode. London GP Hannah Harris and daughter Tilly talk to him about all the current coronavirus issues including the Government’s handling of the crisis, how to make a success of track and trace, and whether we will see a second wave.

They also discuss Public Health England’s recent report on the disproportionate number of BAME deaths, as well as the questionable accuracy of COVID-19 tests.




Professor Costello is frank about how deaths could have been significantly reduced in the UK if the Government had acted faster, and he evaluates the decision-making that has led to our current position.

This episode is produced by documentary film maker and photographer Harry Winteringham: www.harrywinteringham.uk

More about Independent SAGE and its membership: www.independentsage.org, also Professor Costello's Twitter: @globalhlthtwit

Please subscribe, follow, rate, review, send questions, comments or feedback to questions@coronacast.co.uk, or find us on Twitter and Insta @thecoronacast. Thank you!

We talk to Raz Shaw, a director whose theatre productions in Manchester and London are highly acclaimed; he won Best Director in the UK Theatre Awards in 2016 for his play WIT starring Julie Hesmondhalgh, and his first musical The Producers featured in the Guardian's top ten shows of 2018. He has also written a book, Death And The Elephant (How Cancer Saved My Life), about battling a gambling addiction having been diagnosed with cancer when he was in his 20s. We talk about all of this with Raz in this episode, as well as how it feels to be on the coronavirus high-risk shielding list and his three months of enforced isolation . We hope you find it as fascinating and heart-warming as we did.

This episode is produced by Harry Winteringham (documentary film maker and photographer: www.harrywinteringham.uk), in collaboration with Russ Williams from Pod and Chips.

Raz's book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Elephant-Cancer-Saved-Life/dp/1783524774

In this episode, we are joined by Esh Alladi who is an actor and A&E doctor who has been working on the frontline throughout the last few months. He tells us about his life and work, how he has managed to juggle and succeed at both careers. We also touch on the current political situation and the importance of humility in politics, as well as medicine.

Esh's show Fear Fatigue will be on BBC4 tomorrow night (Thursday 28th May) around 10pm. It is part of a series of 14 digital plays called Unprecedented: Plays from the State of Isolation. They will also be available on BBC iplayer:

https://theatreweekly.com/how-to-watch-headlong-and-century-films-unprecedented-on-bbc-iplayer-as-full-schedule-announced/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000jjh3

Dr Jonathan Round, a paediatric intensive care consultant at St George's Hospital in London tells us about how coronavirus is affecting children, possible treatments, as well as the far-reaching impact of the pandemic on medical education and the NHS as a whole. He also reassuringly puts things into perspective by placing this pandemic in the context of human history. And Tilly talks candidly about how the virus is affecting her personally. Thank you as ever for listening. Please like, follow, subscribe, rate, review. Email questions@coronacast.co.uk, insta and twitter @thecoronacast