Conor Browne

Waiting at a train station today, I saw an elderly woman on the opposite platform wearing a blue surgical mask.

Every time I see someone in a blue surgical mask it drives home so profoundly to me how public health in this country is failing people. Every single time.

A landscape photograph taken after sunset. The foreground of the photograph is a sandy beach, with the silhouette of a person walking from the left of the shot to the right of the shot visible just where the sand meets the sea. The sea stretches to the horizon in the midground of the shot, the water glistening with muted, reflected light. There are headlands to both the left and right of the shot, and an orange glow rises above the distant horizon; the last light from the sunset. The sky has a dark band of clouds across it but is clear in the top right of the shot. The photograph was unmistakably taken during the blue hour.

West Strand, Portrush, taken during the blue hour this evening.

Trump policies at odds with emerging understanding of COVID's long-term harm Studies offer insights into the health risks and burdens faced by people who have had COVID infections. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has narrowed COVID vaccine recommendations and cut research.

'Possible risk of autism in children. Dormant cancer cells awakening. Accelerating aging of the brain'.

The last thing I said on my first call with a client regarding SARS-CoV-2, in late Jan 2020, was 'there will be significant sequelae'. It was obvious even then.

www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-l...

On Being Ill at 100: Virginia Woolf’s ‘best essay’ still shapes how we read sickness Woolf argues that illness is ‘the great confessional’ which is never talked about in literature.

Outstanding article from my friend Lucyl Harrison in @theconversation.com today.

'Human character changed in December 2019, when SARS-CoV-2 was discovered and the COVID pandemic began in earnest'.

theconversation.com/on-being-ill...

Bird flu antibodies found in cow in the Netherlands, a first outside of U.S. Dead cat led to discovery, but officials stress no further spread of H5N1 has been detected

2. www.science.org/content/arti...

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1. H5N1 antibodies have been found in a dairy cow in the Netherlands. This is the first detection of the virus in dairy cattle outside of the US. This is a concerning signal.

Link to article in next post.

Delighted to have had this wide-ranging conversation with @pathogenscribe.bsky.social covering biological weapons, accidental release, the importance of precision in terminology, mitigating airborne pathogens, dual use research of concern, and much more. Thanks for having me on, Heather!

It's obvious right now that the instability in geopolitics is rapidly heading towards an inflection point. This point may well involve serious civil unrest and / or armed conflict. Should this occur, you will fare better if you are as healthy as possible. Keep your respirator on.

Ok, thank you for your thoughts. To be honest, I'm very dubious that it's all about grant-chasing and reputation. I think those drivers apply across all scientific research.

Thanks for your comments - genuinely very much appreciated.

Who are these people that are lying to me, and what reason would they have for doing so?

Persistent attenuation of lymphocyte subsets after mass SARS-CoV-2 infection Growing evidence suggests that lymphocyte subsets are declined in COVID-19 patients, but it is unclear if these alterations persist after widespread e…

'..highlights the urgent need for long-term immune monitoring after SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Persistent T-cell reductions, particularly in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, raise concerns about *chronic immune dysfunction even in nonhospitalized individuals*'.

*my emphasis.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

We really don't.

Global health threats are inextricably linked to geopolitics. The direction the world is taking is now highly unpredictable, but one thing is absolutely certain to me: the only real winners will be pathogens. The US administration is now a force multiplier for infectious disease.

Increased levels of Alzheimer's-linked protein found in some with long COVID A study of 227 individuals who experienced neurocognitive difficulties post COVID-19 infection—such as headaches, vertigo, balance dysregulation, changes in taste/smell, and brain fog—displayed a sign...

2. medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01...

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1. Very important study - and the primary reason I avoid infection.

'The long-term impact of COVID-19 may be consequential years after the infection and give rise to long-term illnesses including neurocognitive problems similar to what is seen in Alzheimer's disease'.

'Vaccines transformed public health because policy followed science. If we abandon that principle, we will not only see old diseases return but we will face them with clinicians less prepared to stop them.

That is a policy failure we cannot afford'

Superb from @krutikakuppalli.bsky.social

Rethinking Security for a More Resilient US - Science Politics Invisible links between long COVID, AI, and social media signal an emerging trend of mass disability in the post-pandemic U.S.

'Disability isn’t securitized like death. That makes it the ideal objective for anyone with time to kill (no pun intended). Death by a thousand cuts. The frog in boiling water...Yet time somehow remains our blind spot. To die in slow motion is still to die'.

sciencepolitics.org/2026/01/09/r...

Thank you, Kitty!

As a recovered alcoholic, I am very aware of the dangers of both denial and normalisation. They are seductive cognitive processes, and they will inevitably be your downfall unless you are very, very mindful of them. This applies to the pandemic, the environment, and politics.

Absolutely Lauren - I'm particularly concerned with oncogenic and neurodegenerative potentials.

SARS-CoV-2 emerged in 2019. We have learned much about it since then, but I assure you there is much left to learn. The normalisation of this virus is both premature and dangerous. A new pathogen is infecting humans and some animals; unpredictable effects are to be expected.

I try to shout as loud as I can, Sharon!

I'm so sorry to hear your spouse is so unwell, Jo Ann - wishing for a speedy recovery.

Absolutely, Dr. Marshall. It was my own knowledge of encephalitis lethargica that played a large part in me deciding to avoid SARS-CoV-2 infection back in 2020.

I'm so sorry to hear you're so unwell, and, yes, the attitude towards people who wear masks in healthcare facilities is absolutely nonsensical.

That's an outstanding thread, Mark - I've always maintained that science is inextricably linked with politics (my eyes were opened to that at a young age, when I studied philosophy of science as an undergraduate).

Flu-like illness activity now at highest rate on record, new CDC data shows Flu activity is continuing to climb across the U.S. as hospitalizations rise, updated data from the CDC shows.

The highest rate on record.

It staggers me that no-one in public health seems to be acknowledging that immune dysregulation caused by prior SARS-CoV-2 infection is likely a significant factor in this, and the implications of this concept going forward.

abcnews.go.com/Health/flu-a...

Yes they do :). In fact, the International Appalachian Trail runs through Northern Ireland!

Next time I'm up on the North Coast of Ireland, I'll post a picture of the cliffs there - stunning!

The COVID generation: the neurodevelopmental consequences of in-utero COVID-19 exposure In historical viral epidemics, such as the H1N1 influenza and Zika viruses, prenatal exposures were correlated with risk for neuropsychiatric conditio…

Extremely important study, with very concerning implications for the future.

The COVID generation: the neurodevelopmental consequences of in-utero COVID-19 exposure.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...