Follow us on twitter: @csjmagazine
COMMENT
CSJ THE CLINICAL SERVICES JOURNAL Editor
Louise Frampton
louiseframpton@stepcomms.com
Technical Editor Kate Woodhead Business Manager
Dean Walford
deanwalford@stepcomms.com
Sales Executive Holly Goldring
hollygoldring@stepcomms.com
Journal Administration
Katy Cockle
katycockle@stepcomms.com
Design Steven Dillon Publisher
Geoff King
geoffking@stepcomms.com
Publishing Director Trevor Moon
trevormoon@stepcomms.com
THE CLINICAL SERVICES JOURNAL is published in January, February, March, April, May, June, August, September, October and November by Step Communications Ltd, Step House, North Farm Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 3DR, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1892 779999 Email:
info@clinicalservicesjournal.com Web:
www.clinicalservicesjournal.com
A New Year’s toast
As I sat down and pondered how to start my comment for the first edition of 2022, I had just returned to juggling my editorial duties with home schooling my son – an outbreak of COVID-19 among staff and students had forced the closure of his class. Despite the agonies of explaining fronted adverbials to a disinterested ten-year-old, I was relieved at how far we had come. This was not a lockdown and I had booked my third booster vaccination. It made me pause to reflect on the extraordinary work behind one of the greatest medical achievements of our time that contributed to my more sanguine state in the face of a return to the joys of Google Classroom – I knew this would be temporary and there was a very good chance that, even if we caught it, we would be ok. I owed this reassurance to the scientists behind the vaccination programme.
As such, inspiration for my comment
was gifted in the form of the 44th Dimbleby Lecture by Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, one of the creators of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, who shone a light on the extraordinary story behind the vaccine’s development – including the highs and lows. The transcript of her speech is a must-read for us all, and a reminder that preparation for the unknown is everything.
STEP COMMUNICATIONS
© Step Communications Ltd, 2022 Single copy: £19.00 per issue.
Annual journal subscription: UK £114.00 Overseas: £150.00 ISSN No. 1478-5641
The Publisher is unable to take any responsibility for views expressed by contributors. Editorial views are not necessarily shared by the journal. Readers are expressly advised that while the contents of this publication are believed to be accurate, correct and complete, no reliance should be placed upon its contents as being applicable to any particular circumstances. This publication is copyright under the Berne Convention and the International Copyright Convention. All rights reserved, apart from any copying under the UK Copyright Act 1956, part 1, section 7. Multiple copies of the contents of the publication without permission is always illegal.
She explained that a large part of the reason the team of researchers were able to move so fast in 2020 was the work that had already been done, both on other vaccines against other diseases, and on planning for ‘Disease X’. “Disease X was a placeholder
representing a future, hypothetical disease. No one knew what it would be, or when it would emerge, but experts agreed that the emergence of something, sometime soon, was inevitable,” she commented. She warned that the pandemic is “not done with us”, however. The spike protein of the new variant, Omicron, contains mutations already known to increase transmissibility. There are also additional changes that may mean antibodies induced by the vaccines, or by infection with other variants, may be less effective at preventing infection with Omicron. “Until we know more, we should be cautious, and take steps to slow down the
JANUARY 2022
spread of this new variant,” she warned, adding that getting vaccinated now, and getting boosted, is still the best way to protect ourselves. However, she also warned that, in the future, there will also be a Disease Y and the next virus could be worse – more contagious, more lethal, or both. “We cannot allow a situation where we have gone through all we have gone through, and then find that the enormous economic losses we have sustained mean that there is still no funding for pandemic preparedness,” she commented. “Just as we invest in armed forces and intelligence and diplomacy to defend against wars, we must invest in people, research and manufacturing, systems and institutions to defend against pandemics,” she concluded.
Until we know more, we should be cautious, and take steps to slow down the spread of this new variant
While we must continue to prepare for future threats, 2021 will pass into history, as the year that we fought back against ‘Disease X’. Allowing myself to enjoy a small (third) dose of optimism, I plan to raise a glass to Professor Gilbert and her colleagues as the clocks chime midnight…Right now, I have a lesson on fronted adverbials, however… View the transcript at: https://www.
ox.ac.uk/news/2021-12-07-professor- dame-sarah-gilbert-delivers-44th- dimbleby-lecture
Louise Frampton l Editor
louiseframpton@stepcomms.com
Follow the CSJ LinkedIn page Search for ‘Clinical Services Journal’
Follow us on twitter: @csjmagazine
WWW.CLINICALSERVICESJOURNAL.COM l 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
