Brain fog suffered by those with long COVID could be caused by leaky blood vessels, new research shows. Scientists hold that catching coronavirus caused disruption in the blood-brain barrier of some victims, which they suggested could cause the cognitive issues seen in those battling the condition, Researchers from Trinity College Dublin and from research centre FutureNeuro analysed serum and plasma samples from 76 patients who were hospitalised with coronaviurus in March or April 2020, as well as from 25 people before the pandemic. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, showed that those with long COVID who had leaks in the blood-brain barrier had brain fog, while those without disruption did not. Matthew Campbell, professor in genetics and head of genetics at Trinity and principal investigator at FutureNeuro, hailed the study … 阅读全文

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has rejected Nicola Sturgeon's claim she did not seek to politicise the pandemic - claiming he "didn't believe it for a minute". The former first minister repeatedly fought back tears as she appeared before the UK COVID-19 Inquiry on Wednesday, claiming she took accusations that she sought a different approach to the virus from the government in Westminster to advance the cause of Scottish independence "very, very seriously". Ms Sturgeon said: "People will make their own judgments about me, about my government, about my decisions, but for as long as I live, I will carry the impact of these decisions. "I will carry regret at the decisions and judgments I got wrong, but I will always know in my heart and in my soul that my … 阅读全文

Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon found herself in the hot seat as she gave evidence at the UK COVID-19 inquiry. Here are five key moments from the day as the inquiry - currently sitting in Edinburgh - probes the devolved administration's response to the pandemic. 'Part of me wishes I wasn't first minister when COVID hit' Ms Sturgeon fought back tears as she told the inquiry that a "large part" of her wishes she had not been Scotland's first minister when the pandemic first struck. The inquiry heard last week how Ms Sturgeon branded Boris Johnson a "f****** clown" in a foul-mouthed message to her chief of staff as the then prime minister appeared on TV to announce the second national lockdown. Giving evidence on Wednesday, Ms Sturgeon told … 阅读全文

Nicola Sturgeon fought back tears as she told the UK COVID-19 Inquiry that a "large part" of her wishes she had not been Scotland's first minister when the pandemic struck. Ms Sturgeon told Jamie Dawson KC, counsel to the inquiry, that she thought Boris Johnson was the "wrong person" to be prime minister. Sturgeon gives evidence to COVID Inquiry - as it happened In response to whether she thought of herself to be "precisely the right first minister for the job", Ms Sturgeon replied tearfully: "No, that's not how I would have thought of it at all. "I was the first minister when the pandemic struck. There's a large part of me wishes that I hadn't been. "But I was, and I wanted to be the best first minister I … 阅读全文

Nicola Sturgeon has admitted that the Scottish government's use of WhatsApp was "too common" during the COVID pandemic - but said decisions were not made over the messaging app. Scotland's former first minister is giving evidence at the COVID Inquiry as it probes the devolved administration's response to the pandemic. Ms Sturgeon told the inquiry that the Scottish government was open, transparent and accountable during the pandemic, but admitted it "will not have got every decision right" and "will have made misjudgements". She said: "Openness and transparency with the Scottish public was very important to me from the outset of the pandemic. "I communicated to the public on a daily basis for a lengthy period of time. "We will not have got every decision right, and we will have made … 阅读全文

Exactly four years ago today the UK's first coronavirus cases were confirmed. On 31 January 2020, Public Health England said a University of York student from China had tested positive for COVID-19, along with his mother. Almost two months later, the UK locked down and it was another two years until the final legal restrictions were removed - with some arguing this happened prematurely. Now in 2024, the virus is still affecting people in ways scientists are only just beginning to fully understand - and affecting the NHS. So how prevalent is COVID today and what have we learned? How widespread are COVID infections now? Unsurprisingly, COVID cases are much lower than they have been at various peaks over the past four years. But the latest data, which covers up … 阅读全文

John Swinney "manually" deleted messages between himself, Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf in a practice which could date back to 2007, the UK COVID-19 Inquiry has heard. The former deputy first minister said he rarely spoke to his former boss Ms Sturgeon via text messages or other informal means, saying texts were generally only used to set up a phone call. These messages, he told the inquiry, were deleted in accordance with Scottish government guidance. The inquiry has 18 pages of WhatsApp messages between Mr Swinney and now First Minister Mr Yousaf. Mr Swinney had deleted the messages, which were recovered from an old handset of Mr Yousaf's and subsequently submitted to the inquiry. Mr Swinney - who also held roles overseeing education, COVID recovery and finance in his time … 阅读全文

Kate Forbes did not delete any of her WhatsApp messages with senior Holyrood ministers and officials until January 2022 when all major COVID decisions had been made, an inquiry heard. Scotland's former finance secretary told the UK COVID-19 Inquiry that a junior member of her private office advised her it was Scottish government policy from January 2022 for all messages within the office to be deleted going forward, and she "acquiesced" because she believed it was an instruction. She said she did not recall the policy applying to anybody else in and around the cabinet or government. Ms Forbes, SNP MSP for Skye, Badenoch and Lochaber, said she provided her messages to the inquiry "in the spirit of being completely open". Use and retention of WhatsApp messages by senior Holyrood … 阅读全文

Jeane Freeman has told the UK COVID-19 Inquiry she will 'regret for the rest of her life' care home deaths caused by Scottish government decision-making. Ms Freeman, who was Scotland's health secretary during the pandemic up to the 2021 Holyrood election, said there were "no risk-free choices" when considering whether to introduce social distancing measures into care homes. Her tenure oversaw key decisions such as discharging patients to care homes without testing them for COVID first. She told the inquiry: "I was very concerned about our care sector and regret very much, and will do for the rest of my life, any deaths that occurred there because of action the Scottish government didn't, or did take, and could have done better." Ms Freeman said it was incorrect to say there … 阅读全文

Humza Yousaf branded the Scottish Police Federation a "disgrace" during the pandemic, a message shown to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry has revealed. His comment about the SPF - which represents rank-and-file officers - came to light while Scotland's first minister gave evidence to the inquiry on Thursday. In a message with the then justice secretary Mr Yousaf in June 2020, deputy first minister John Swinney said: "I have just caught up with the latest insight into SPF thinking!" Mr Yousaf responded: "They're a disgrace. Right through this pandemic they have shown an arrogance and retrograde thinking. Chief (constable) was livid last night." Jamie Dawson KC, counsel to the inquiry, asked why he described the SPF as a disgrace. Mr Yousaf replied: "This was me expressing my frustration in what would … 阅读全文