Thomas Johnson - Medical Blog

 Pandemic Data and Analytics, better known as Panda, burst onto the scene a year ago with their infamous report the economic consequences of the lockdown would allegedly kill more people than Covid-19.   The media gave them significant coverage but no one questioned their and front man Nick Hudson’s faulty, mischievous assumptions and analysis.   Later when they issued a “study” that questioned epidemiological models predicting Covid deaths could exceed 50,000, and they said deaths would not exceed 20,000, the media still reported them, although with less interest.   But as the pandemic wreaked its heavy toll, Panda fell out of favour and was eventually sidelined.   Recently Daily Maverick’s Nafeez Ahmed and Rebecca Davis took down Panda – “Kung Flu Panda: dodgy analytics or pandemic propaganda”. But like most of the media, they have a short memory. At the time the media never critically examined Panda for what they obviously are: pandemic denialists. Th...

A doctor Suzanne Walter, 47, a palliative care specialist, and her 71-year-old patient, Diethelm Harck are asking the high court in Johannesburg to order the government to enact legislation that would allow physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia . Both are terminally ill, Walter with multiple myeloma and Harck with motor neuron disease. The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), National Prosecutions Authority (NPA) and government are respondents. One of the grounds of their application is euthanasia is not permitted in a Christian country. This is an interesting case. But I'm not sure it will succeed, not because of religion, but as the law and more importantly public consensus in most countries applies to doctor-assisted euthanasia. Wikipedia lists the few countries and states where euthanasia in some form is legal. Ironically, euthanasia is not permitted in, for example, most US states particularly southern where the death penalty is actively pursued. Ditto abort...

Covid reached a million cases in South Africa over the Christmas weekend and the band plays on. No one seems to have noticed the oddity revealed in President Cyril Ramaphosa's "emotional" address on Monday: members of the military-style command council recalled from their "festive breaks" while a "war" is raging. Like Western Cape health MEC Nomaindia Mbombo who went on holiday to Limpopo while the WC experiences a Covid surge worse than the first. And when these putative leaders return from their breaks they'll bring the virus with them, infecting colleagues and family, ironically, what they're concerned holidaying citizens are doing. It's no wonder the virus is rampant in SA. Like UK and US, its leaders are on holiday, playing golf or - something Ramaphosa shares with Johnson - weak, ineffectual and flip-flopping. And SA's people too are throwing caution to the winds as they always do - capacity shopping malls and beaches and ignoring...

Prof. Devi Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health, University of Edinburgh in The Guardian on December 24:  “The responsibility for this new [Covid-19] variant [in the UK which is similar to SA's] can partly be attributed to those who argued against restrictions, believing that allowing the virus to run rampant in young people while shielding the vulnerable would allow immunity to develop. Such conditions are ripe for variants to emerge. Unless we suppress the virus, it will probably mutate further. This could make our current vaccines ineffective, or lead to reinfections.” The UK is now called “Plague Island”, exacerbated by its Brexit woes. Because of the infectious variant, Boris Johnson, after as usual flip-flopping, “cancelled Christmas”. The British wanted to be isolated but not in the way they thought. Meanwhile, like the UK, the DA and DA-run Western Cape too are heading for their own right-wing isolationist bubble by arguing against restrictions (John Steenhhuisen, ri...

Last month I wrote Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and the DA (leader John Steenhhuisen et al) continue to push back against the even benign level 1 lockdown. This was as Europe, UK and Australia experienced a resurgence of Covid-19 and US numbers continued worsening. But Winde and DA wanted travel restrictions between South African and countries lifted. Winde and the DA oppose lockdowns, even when Covid infections were at their worst mid-year and despite lockdowns being the only way community infections can be slowed. Now Covid is increasing again, as one expected. This week Winde is warning WC residents of a 50% increase in cases , particularly along the Garden Route. This is not surprising as the Eastern Cape is a hotzone. Covid appears to be making its way from the EC to Cape Town. Infection numbers, Winde says, are like May's.  He says another lockdown will "kill all jobs" (sic), but like his DA colleagues doesn't suggest ways to slow it. With inter-provincial m...

This post contains previously posted information. Links provided. It is custom that when a person dies the community, even those who didn’t know the deceased, show empathy and respect to the family. People express sympathy – “sorry for your loss” and “condolences”. The cultural tradition is as old as civilisation. It’s rooted in our humanity and basic decency. Even enemies put aside their rhetoric for a while. The Western attitude to death is influenced by Greek and Latin/Roman cultures and Christianity . The other is Persian which too has ancient roots. Death is an inevitable part of life and is cause for reflection. What happens after is unknowable and so it’s treated with reverence. And to honour the life, achievements and new generation the departed contributed to. The loss is felt closest to the deceased, but the impact ripples to the wider community, more or less, depending on the contact the deceased had with them. My mother died at Groote Schuur Hospital in 2017 aged 91, ...

Public health experts and health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize are concerned about a second wave. He and his wife are recovering from Covid-19.  A number of countries in Europe, and the UK, have implemented lockdowns over the past two weeks. There are concerns the resurgence is going to get out of control - "collapse" was used to describe the state in Spain. On Friday October 23 the US broke the previous record in July with 85 000 cases reported in a day.  South Africans have reason to be worried. But the DA and Western Cape government, who want travel restrictions lifted, are not among them. A pandemic denialist believes it's a hoax, minimises it or rejects universally accepted measures to combat the spread: masks, distancing and lockdowns. From the outset the DA, leader John Steenhuisen and WC government - Premier Alan Winde - insists the lockdown, even the present benign level 1, is exaggerated and unnecessary (they haven't heard about the "prevention paradox...