GillianSmith
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gillianrs.bsky.social
GillianSmith
@gillianrs.bsky.social
180 followers 300 following 61 posts
ex Whitehall Social Researcher, x Head of Social Research and Evaluation DfT . Covid aware, diagnosed with MND, carer, campaigner. Love wild gardens and cats. From Chorley, live Greater London Website : https://wordpress.com/home/livingonplagueisland.blog
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
Six months on, why hasn't there been action on clean air in healthcare?

The Inquiry said air filtration should be prioritised across the UK. But it has slipped through the cracks of the government’s response.

What happened - and what can YOU do?
👇
The Inquiry called for clean air in healthcare. Six months on, where is it?
Opinion | 20th September 2026By Lara Wong, Founder and CEO, Clinically Vulnerable FamiliesChapter one of the Module 3 report, paragraph 1.105. Baroness Hallett writes that new hospitals should be desi...
www.clinicallyvulnerable.org
September 20, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
👩‍🏫 Why do journalists continue to present a false binary regarding school closures during the early pandemic?

www.clinicallyvulnerable.org/post/wrong-q...
Why are the media still asking the wrong question about schools during the pandemic?
Opinion | 7 August 2026By Lara Wong, Founder and CEO, Clinically Vulnerable Families Reflecting last week on his years covering Covid for the BBC, Lewis Goodall told listeners of The News Agents that ...
www.clinicallyvulnerable.org
August 8, 2026 at 9:59 AM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
📢 MEDIA RELEASE

Cruise passengers exposed to hantavirus are about to leave hospital and isolate at home.

Where is the plan, @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social ?
Families, NHS staff and delivery drivers deserve to see it.
PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 13th May 2026 Clinically Vulnerable Families Six weeks. One in five infected may die. The public deserves to see the plan. Clinically Vulnerable Families (CVF), a participant in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, today call on Health Secretary Wes Streeting to immediately publish the full operational and clinical arrangements for passengers and close contacts linked to the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak. Exposed passengers are expected to leave supervised assessment today and continue isolation at home for around six weeks. CVF fully supports the need to protect the mental health and wellbeing of those affected, and no one should remain in supervised isolation longer than necessary. But if people are being asked to isolate at home for exposure to such an extremely high-risk virus in which at least one in five infected people die, the public deserves to see the plan. UKHSA has said that "robust arrangements are in place." Reassurance requires transparency. What happens over the next six weeks will determine whether this outbreak might fizzle out quietly or it has the potential to becomes the UK's next health inquiry. Whilst this is not considered a pandemic virus, this moment is reminiscent of the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when critical decisions were being made behind closed doors and the public was asked to rely on assurances rather than a precautionary approach relying on known potential risks and transparency over operational details. CVF is calling for the immediate publication of the full home isolation framework for passengers, including infection prevention advice, respiratory protection, testing arrangements, transport protocols, monitoring, welfare support, and the measures being taken to protect affected households, healthcare workers, and anyone who may come into contact with isolating individuals, including delivery drivers, household members, carers and emergency responders. The call follows reports that… PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 13th May 2026 Clinically Vulnerable Families ♡ important that the Government publishes the full plan so affected families, healthcare workers and the public understand exactly what measures are in place to protect everyone who may be exposed in the course of ordinary life and work. A recent opinion article in the BMJ by Trisha Greenhalgh and colleagues argues that this outbreak should reset the world's default approach to airborne risk and precautionary infection control. As a Core Participant in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, CVF successfully argued for recognition of airborne transmission risks and the importance of close-fitting respirators such as FFP3 masks in healthcare settings for staff and patients when there are airborne risks. Statement from Clinically Vulnerable Families: "Passengers are about to leave hospital for home. Mr Streeting may be about to leave office. Whichever happens first, the plan must be published first. This is not seen as a pandemic virus - but it is a high consequence one. We are asking that the families, NHS staff, neighbours and delivery drivers who will encounter these passengers over the next six weeks can see the protections in place. If this is your last act as Health Secretary, make it count." Lara Wong, CEO, Clinically Vulnerable Families. Notes to editors 1. Clinically Vulnerable Families is a Core Participant the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. 2. UKHSA update on the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak 3. BMJ opinion article: Hantavirus outbreak should reset WHO's default approach to airborne risk 4. Media reports state that 12 healthcare workers in the Netherlands entered precautionary quarantine after exposure to a linked patient. 5. UKHSA has stated that the overall risk to the general public remains low and that robust arrangements are in place. Media contact: Available on request via website ENDS
May 13, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social
OUR NEW BMJ editorial: Andes virus should reset WHO’s default approach to airborne risk. 🧵 1/

For severe pathogens with person-to-person transmission, the starting point should be precautionary airborne protections — not waiting for definitive proof after spread occurs.

www.bmj.com/content/393/...
www.bmj.com
May 12, 2026 at 3:04 PM
gillianrs.bsky.social
Unlike other countries the UK did not purchase the treatments that would have helped Amanda and pretended that everything was back to normal. They failed to mention that the vaccines could not be taken by everyone and for some people vaccines did not provide protection
cvcev.bsky.social Clinically Vulnerable Families 💙💜💗 @cvcev.bsky.social · Apr 21
Amanda is severely immunosuppressed. Vaccines don’t protect her.

The antibodies that could? - Never funded

So while the world “moved on,” she’s still living in isolation.

This is what “Living with Covid” still means in 2026.
ukcovid-19inquiry.bsky.social UK Covid-19 Inquiry @ukcovid-19inquiry.bsky.social · Apr 21
1/ “I’m still strictly shielding.”

Last week, the Inquiry published its fourth report : ‘Vaccines and Therapeutics’ (Module 4).
April 21, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
Dr. Cathy Finnis shared her vulnerable daughter's experience trying to get hold of a vaccine before she started school.

She also explains the need to restore the vaccine offer to include all Clinically Vulnerable people.

4/
April 17, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
Next, @shannonleebanks.bsky.social shared her personal story involving her damage from the AstraZeneca vaccine, and her ongoing - unaddressed - high risks.

3/
April 17, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
And Sarah Steven explains the struggles her family went through whilst trying to access antivirals in a broken system.

5/
April 17, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
Six years of being ignored.
Yesterday that changed...

Four CVF members set the record straight.

Starting with @larawong.bsky.social sharing our official statement:

1/
April 17, 2026 at 7:29 PM
gillianrs.bsky.social
@cvcev.bsky.social have been let down by lack of safe access to vaccines, changing rules made on cost grounds which means many of us are not eligible for a booster, and huge problems in accessing anti virals in time. Head of CVF Lara Wong is calling for a meeting with the health secretary
April 16, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
The UK Covid Inquiry (Module 3) confirms what we lived through - an overstretched system, unsafe care, and lives put at risk. Our voices were ignored!

We need accountability, reform, and protection for those most at risk - before the next crisis hits...

1/2
HT @gillianrs.bsky.social
LIVING ON PLAGUE ISLAND A personal evidence based perspective on living in the UK with a clinically vulnerable household member during a period when we are meant to be 'living with the virus'. 7th Apr 2026 Covid Inquiry Report On Healthcare Systems - Module Three ! Key findings Preventing the spread of Covid-19 in healthcare settings was paramount to protect patients and healthcare workers. Initial guidance on preventing the spread of infection was flawed. It assumed the virus was spread by contact transmission, failing properly to consider the extent to which it was also spread by airborne transmission. In future, guidance should assume that all plausible routes of transmission are possible until sufficient evidence proves otherwise.
April 11, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Reposted by GillianSmith
jjonesn.bsky.social
The Covid inquiry acknowledged many of Clinically Vulnerable Families key points.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlkJ...
CVF - Covid-19 inquiry statement regarding the Healthcare report
YouTube video by Clinically Vulnerable Families
www.youtube.com
March 19, 2026 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
catinthehat.bsky.social
The Covid Inquiry Module 3 report has ordered that:

“In future, guidance should assume that ALL plausible routes of transmission are possible until sufficient evidence proves otherwise.”

There are no excuses anymore.

The govt MUST NOT make the same mistakes again.

We MUST learn from the past.
March 21, 2026 at 10:04 AM
Reposted by GillianSmith
trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social
Students and others, we don’t know if meningococcal disease can spread through the air. I see some of you in the outbreak zone are wearing masks. If you want to maximise your protection against a *possible* airborne threat, wear a *respirator* (FFP2 or - better - FFP3). These are ~N95/N99 in USA.
March 17, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
carlzimmer.com
See under "airborne organisms" here: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531...
Airborne Precautions
An airborne disorder is any disease that is caused by a microorganism that is transmitted through the air. Various pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, cause many clinically important ai...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
March 18, 2026 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
afzalkhanmcr.bsky.social
Agreed! Clean air is something I've long campaigned on.
February 20, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
This Clinically Vulnerable Families member, and teacher, was asked to work in a room without windows or ventilation.

Sadly, this *important* aspect was missing from her impact video.

Mental health is given as the reason, but it was caused by unaddressed physical health risks.
February 16, 2026 at 1:12 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
duncanrobertson.bsky.social
I wonder how this will be reported in the UK media. How much 'both sides' we will wake up to in the Today programme or on GB News.
sundersays.bsky.social Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · Jan 17
Trump's "tantrum tariffs" will harden British public opinion against him - over Greenland, Nato & generally. It will be interesting to see how the pro-Trump politicians & commentators navigate with this
January 17, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
It turns out that just one BIG share can change *everything* for a petition.

Please help protect vaccine access for Clinically Vulnerable people by tagging people who could amplify.

- ONLY 6 WEEKS LEFT! -
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
Petition: Fund NHS COVID boosters for Clinically Vulnerable people – keep covid boosters
'Protect the NHS' and 'Save Lives' by continuing to fund NHS COVID boosters for Clinically Vulnerable people, including most previously shielded as CEV, rather than limiting them to over-75s, care hom...
petition.parliament.uk
January 12, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
So, we ask that Lakeside urgently reconsiders this harmful policy. Let people protect their health without being turned away.

Public spaces must be safe and accessible for all!

6/
December 20, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
⚠️LAKESIDE: Please DO NOT discriminated against Clinically Vulnerable families, who are trying to shop safely during a wave of "super flu".⚠️

Would you ban customers in wheelchairs or with hearing aids?

1/
My ask of parents is that, make sure you know where your children are and to make sure you are able to contact them." The dispersal order covers the area shown in the map above. There will be additional patrols from police and dedicated Lakeside security officers. The shopping centre does not allow face covering to be worn within and anyone wearing one will be asked to leave and parents may be contacted.
December 20, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
The influence of Lisa Ritchie on national infection control continues to risk Clinically Vulnerable lives.

@teamlabouruk.bsky.social she MUST go!
#Flu #SackRitchie
December 12, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Reposted by GillianSmith
cvcev.bsky.social
⚠️Despite *significant* and long-term financial impacts, Clinically Vulnerable people are not represented at the UK Covid Inquiry.

Questions are seriously lacking without our input.
#NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
#Budget #AutumnBudget
1/3🧵
November 26, 2025 at 5:43 PM