Paul Garner on Long Covid and ME/CFS - BMJ articles and other media.

rvallee said:


Apparently Sharpe re-tweeted it so it's probably going to be bad. But we'll see.

Definitely not a good look at the comment above showing ignorance that ME is commonly relapsing-remitting, meaning no knowledge of PEM. Then again is there any research at all that studied this? Feels like something massive that has been overlooked, it's common knowledge for those familiar with the disease and yet there is basically no evidence to point to.
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They did a prerecord with Dr Shepherd and PG is rumoured to be involved too.
 
rvallee said:


Apparently Sharpe re-tweeted it so it's probably going to be bad. But we'll see.

Definitely not a good look at the comment above showing ignorance that ME is commonly relapsing-remitting, meaning no knowledge of PEM. Then again is there any research at all that studied this? Feels like something massive that has been overlooked, it's common knowledge for those familiar with the disease and yet there is basically no evidence to point to.
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Deb Cohen did the piece on science controversy re Covid-19 with Wessely and Gerada. I think of her as connected to that sort from other interactions I've seen, but that could be a misleading impression I've got.
 
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From a member of Physios for ME on Twitter.

"@BBCNewsnight report on #longcovid unfortunately gave too much focus on @PaulGarnerWoof. Well done Charles @MEAssociation for flagging up the importance of #stoprestpace not #GET for people with #LongCovid developing signs of #ME. #Physios please go to longcovidphysio.com"

"1. @PaulGarnerWoof says #LongCovid 'just does not fit the biomedical model' really? What is causing all of the longcovid symptoms? As a Professor of immunology I would expect you to want to research why some people have a positive response to the vaccine. @LongCOVIDPhysio"

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Merged thread.

Ten minute segment on Newnight looking at the 'controversy' over how to treat LC and ME/CFS, but isn't very balanced and gives the impression (by focusing on the opinion of medics, not evidence) that patients just need to exercise and tackle their fears. Starts at 31 mins.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000tzkd/newsnight-08042021

edit: new summary

There was a good intro at the top of the programme). It did mention scientific scrap over PACE (while showing tweets on screen claiming patient harassment) and NICE recommending against exercise "for now". But it focused on clinicians whose opinion was that exercise and psychosocial treatments were the answer. No evidence to support effectiveness was presented. The reporter has worked for the BMJ in the past.

The piece started with Paul Garner and closed with him saying "it just doesn't fit the biomedical model".
 
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On most days I'm able to do a 20 minute walk and have done so for the last year or two. This has no noticable positive effect on the illness. Doing more than what I can tolerate quickly leads to a worsening. It does seem to lower heart rate somewhat and maintain some fitness that would otherwise be lower but I don't count that as effect on the illness.
 
Andy said:
From a member of Physios for ME on Twitter.

"@BBCNewsnight report on #longcovid unfortunately gave too much focus on @PaulGarnerWoof. Well done Charles @MEAssociation for flagging up the importance of #stoprestpace not #GET for people with #LongCovid developing signs of #ME. #Physios please go to longcovidphysio.com"

"1. @PaulGarnerWoof says #LongCovid 'just does not fit the biomedical model' really? What is causing all of the longcovid symptoms? As a Professor of immunology I would expect you to want to research why some people have a positive response to the vaccine. @LongCOVIDPhysio"
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@PhysiosforME thanks for your Tweets re Paul Garner.

I don't think he is an Immunologist. His field is more Infectious disease/epidemiology.
 
It seems like a very poor piece and not in the normal newnight style of challenging those making claims. I notice the journalist who did the piece used to work at the BMJ so I suspect a large amout of bias there.

They mentioned PACE but not by name and suggested the controversy was around patients not wanting the trial to happen due to the type of treatment rather picking up on the very poor trial and the way it was run and the results were spun. They also showed Gardner's tweet where he retweeted Sharpes complaints about attacks and talked of 'personal attacks' rather than that patients were pointing out their scientific failures. They did show some tweets in response to Gardner but they didn't reflect what people were saying or the criticism of him promoting an anacdote.

Altogether a poor quality report.
 
Andy said:
@PaulGarnerWoof says #LongCovid 'just does not fit the biomedical model'
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So what is all his bullshit about autonomic responses and brains doing funny things about?

I don't think the 'positive responses' to vaccines are a good argument, though. Same unreliable evidence as peddled by people like Garner and Vogt and so on. The biomedical model takes on board bias due to suggestibility - which is why we do blinded trials rather than PACE.
 
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Yet another example of a journalist doing a superficial report and getting it wrong. Charles Shepherd did his best, but came across as a lone voice and I suspect had most of his useful points cut to fit the journalist's narrative. The general impression left was that increasing exercise overcoming fear of exercise are the right treatment and that the problems over CFS are about patients not liking the treatment and attacking researchers, not about science. Very poor quality item.
 
I am certain that a piece like this does not get onto the BBC without considerable networking endeavours by the BPS crowd, and exploiting their influence to the hilt. I'm sure it also fits well with various politically driven bean counters. The influence for doing such a piece, and driving its tone and content, will be very potent.
 
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