#SouthSudan #Sudan #SSOT

*Exposé of the Healthcare Sector in South Sudan*

Monday 4 January, 2021
(Washington DC; London)

*HIV/AIDS in South Sudan: The Diagnosis That Leads to the Murder of Doctors*

1/23 We haven't had a lot to celebrate during this pandemic. But achieving the milestone of offering vaccine to the over 70s, health and care workers and the most clinically vulnerable just before target date is a huge cause for celebration, given the scale of the achievement.

2/23 When Margaret Keenan got her first jab in Coventry on December 8th last year, who’d have thought that, by Valentine’s Day, we’d have vaccinated over fourteen million people across the UK in just ten short weeks? Amazing, extraordinary and truly, really, world class!

3/23 I’ve been struck by how much joy and relief has been brought to those doing the vaccinations and those receiving them. A GP told me yesterday that nothing had given him greater pleasure in his long career. And that the patient's relief was sometimes overwhelming.

4/23 It's vital to recognise the extraordinary contribution of the staff and volunteers who have made this happen. One of my close family had their jab yesterday and was in awe of the volunteer standing outside in the freezing cold for a four hour shift meeting and greeting.

5/23 What I wanted to share in this thread was the slightly untold story of some of the extraordinary challenges the NHS has had to overcome to deliver this target. Requiring superhuman effort from NHS leaders and staff, way beyond the call of duty. Five challenges set out below.

Want to include the menstrual cycle in your scientific work, but aren't sure how to do it? My lab (@katjaschmalen) have just published an article on best practices for observational studies of the cycle! Thread below! 🧵

Despite decades of research on the menstrual cycle, empirical studies have not adopted consistent methods for operationalizing the menstrual cycle, resulting in confusion in the literature and limited possibilities to conduct systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Below, I summarize this "how to" article, and relay some of the key points!

PARTICIPANTS: All participants should be naturally-cycling people with ovaries (remember that they are not necessarily "women"! 🏳️‍⚧️ ⚧).

We provide a Reproductive Status Questionnaire with rules for identifying naturally-cycling people (current function of the sexual organs and hormonal/other medications that stop the cycle).

I do want to talk a bit about connections, conflicts and information during a pandemic. Since @fordnation insinuated I have COI which I don't, let's take a look at a single instance where @fordnation and Hospital for Sick Children are both making interesting decisions.

Both share a powerful supporter in Peter Gilgan, who has been a great supporter of Sickkids

But his company, Mattamy Homes, has also substantially bankrolled Ontario Proud, which I have reason to believe pushed the Postmedia hit on my reputation.

Sickkids and Mattamy have very close ties. Here is Mary Federau, a longtime Sickkids exec who has moved to Mattamy but remains involved with the Sickkids foundation:

Mary's bio is too modest. It looks as though it has been scrubbed a bit over the last 72 hours. Here's the google cache from Jan 25: