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For openers, we have COVID vaccines – a choice or three, but not at our discretion. We are, indeed, lucky to have what is on offer, but do remain a touch cynical – none have been adequately tested and tried. At least the brief phases 0 and 1 of clinical trials did not harm anybody, … Continued

It should not be any sort of surprise that a new COVID variant has arrived rudely on our doorstep to mess up our sacred Christmases. Although the coronavirus family is not as speedy a mutator as the influenza virus, COVID already has 20,000 close cousins known to science. Whether or not this one, succinctly dubbed … Continued

Smallpox epidemics ravaged the world for millennia. By the 1950s, it is estimated that 50 million cases occurred each year, up to 60% dying from the disease. “Variolation” against smallpox originated in China using old scabs from healing pustules applied to newly scarified skin. This practice spread to India over the next 200 years, and … Continued

* Over age 60, COVID-19 kills three times more males than females.   * Before age 60, males have up to eight times higher levels of circulating testosterone.   * After age 30, testosterone in males declines steadily throughout life, unlike the abrupt menopause.   * Abnormally low testosterone in men over 40 becomes common … Continued

  We are told that the much anticipated COVID-19 spike has arrived. On 17 October, there were 785 new COVID in-patient admissions to hospitals in England, including 87 to hospitals in London. There were 8 COVID patients occupying beds at Guy’s and St Thomas’ (who care for 95,000 in-patients a year). On 17 October, there … Continued

  It’s smart to admit you don’t know the answer. Sir, Ed Conway (May 29) asks, “how did Britain suffer one of the worst episodes of (Covid-19) in the world?” It might be old hat, but Occam’s razor remains relevant; the simplest solution to a conundrum is often the right solution. The UK death rate … Continued

  The hairy quina quina tree is a native of the warm, moist slopes of the Andes. In 1532, following the Spanish victory over the Inca empire, Peru became a viceroyalty. The incoming Jesuit missionaries were made aware of the bark of the quina quina tree as a remedy for the endemic fevers by local … Continued

  “Nobody but poor wretches in the streets”                                                            Samuel Pepys writing of The Plague in September 1665 At 1.3 billion, China is home to 20% of the … Continued