COVID-19 and the Case Against Neoliberalism: The United Kingdom's Political Pandemic

This book seeks to better understand the meaning and implications of the UKs calamitous encounter with the COVID-19 global pandemic for the future of British neoliberalism. Construing COVID-19 as a political pandemic and mobilising a novel applied political philosophy approach, the authors cultivate fresh intellectual resources, both analytical and normative, to better understand why the UK failed the COVID-19 test and how it might ‘fail forward' so as to strengthen its resilience. COVID-19 they argue, has intercepted the UK government's decades-long experimentation with neoliberalism at what appears to be a threshold moment in this model's life course. Neoliberalism has served as a key progenitor of the country's vulnerability: the pandemic has cruelly unveiled the failings of neoliberal logics and legacies which have placed the country at elevated risk and hampered its response. The pandemic in turn has attenuated underlying systemic maladies inherent in British neoliberalism and served as a great disruptor and potential accelerant of history;a consequential episode in the tumultuous life of this politico-economic model. To meaningfully ‘build back better', a true renaissance of social democracy is needed. Drawing upon the neorepublican tradition of political philosophy, the authors confront neoliberalism's hegemonic but parochial concept of human freedom as non-interference and place the neorepublican idea of freedom as non-domination in the service of building a new UK social contract. This book will be of interest to political philosophers, political geographers, medical sociologists, public-health scholars, and epidemiologists, to stakeholders engaged in the public inquiry processes now gathering momentum globally and to architects of build back better programmes, especially in western advanced capitalist economies. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Kenyan Youth living with HIV

Background. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence studies can inform pandemic spread. By February 2021, estimates demonstrated 11%-62% seroprevalence in diverse Kenyan populations, with geographic variability and temporal increase, and well in excess of 0.2% laboratory-confirmed cases. The impact of HIV on seropositivity, particularly in youth living with HIV (YLWH) is unclear. Methods. During February to September 2021, before SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, we cross-sectionally enrolled perinatally-infected YLWH in western Kenya in four sites (Eldoret, tertiary referral center;urban Kitale, peri-urban Turbo, rural Webuye), and determined seropositivity using the Bio-Rad Platelia assay. Additional evaluations included HIV viral load (VL), CD4 and a COVID-19-focused survey. Multiple logistic regression was used to measure associations of seropositivity with age, gender, enrollment month, site, HIV treatment failure (VL > 1,000 copies/ml), and CD4 (>= 500 vs < 500 cells/muL). Results. Of 241 YLWH, 29% were seropositive, 68% seronegative and 4% equivocal. Temporal trends (linear relationship per subsequent enrollment month;Odds Ratio (OR) 1.29 [95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.06-1.58], p=0.013) and geographic variability (Eldoret-25%, Kitale-20%, Turbo-25%, Webuye-56%;p=0.027) were observed. Presumptive or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, hospitalization, or death were absent. Self-reported illness was similar among seropositives and seronegatives, and highest in Webuye. Seropositivity was significantly associated with being male (OR, 1.06 [95% CI, 0.57-1.98], p=0.848), and age 15-17 years vs < 15 (OR, 2.57 [95% CI, 1.16-5.93], p=0.023), not with VL or CD4. Among seropositives, aboverange titers were seen in 57%. Conclusion. Of 241 Kenyan YLWH, 29% were SARS-CoV-2 seropositive by August 2021, with geographical, temporal, and age differences, and most seropositives mounting a robust response. Increased prevalence in rural Webuye may reflect less widespread mask-wearing, or its location on a busy transit route. Speculations on why seropositivity is low compared to earlier estimations, like HIV status, failed seroconversion, waning immunity, perception of risk promoting adherence to mitigations, or exposure to research-related guidance, should be investigated.

Contrapower harassment in paramedicine: Experiences of academic staff in Australian universities

Background: Although bullying and harassment among academic staff has been well researched, research on students bullying and harassing academic teaching staff (ie, contrapower harassment) is less common. Contrapower harassment has been on the rise in academia over the last decade, partly attributable to changes in the student– faculty staff relationship. This study aimed to understand better the extent and impact of students’ contrapower harassment on paramedic academic teaching staff within Australian universities, as well as actions and interventions to address it. Methods: This study used a two-phase mixed methods design. In phase 1, a convenience sample of paramedic teaching academics from 12 universities in Australia participated in an online questionnaire. In phase 2, an in-depth interview was conducted with nine participants from phase 1. Results: Seventy-six academic teaching staff participated in the study. Survey results showed that most academics surveyed had experienced harassment from paramedic students, with the highest incidence of harassment occurring during student assessment periods. Alarmingly, over 30% of the academics surveyed had been ‘stalked’ by a student and over 50% had felt powerless and helpless when students had attacked them on social media. Problematic students were identified as those who presented with an over-inflated sense of entitlement or with psychological states and traits that find it challenging to accept feedback and failure, and look to externalise their failures. Reasons for increases in contrapower harassment included a complex mix of consumer and demand-driven education, ondemand (and demanding) instant gratification and degree self-entitlement, and an increase in social media and online learning (particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020). Conclusion: Although most of the academics in this study experienced contrapower harassment by students, they also report that most students are level-headed and supportive, and do not carry out this type of harassment. Promoting student professionalism and reassessing student evaluations are starting points for addressing this type of harassment. Further research on the broader systemic issues that influence the contributors to contrapower harassment is needed.

Review on Home Care Recommendations for Patients with Suspected COVID-19 Presenting with Mild Symptoms

Caring for COVID-19 patients at home is a global challenge. This study aimed to review recommendations put forward on home care for patients with suspected COVID-19 presenting with mild clinical features. This is a review of the scientific literature covering COVID-19 and home care from the medical electronic databases such as PubMed, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and CINAHL. The electronic databases were searched from the beginning of 2019 to the end of August 2020. The search terms included home care, COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019, caring, and nursing care. Articles were included if they reported on aspects of home care for managing patients with mild clinical features of COVID-19. Articles were excluded if they reported on management within healthcare facilities, were about therapeutic management not possible in home care, and non-study type articles. Reference lists of retrieved journals were also reviewed. There was a total of 1,970 identified articles;950 studies were duplicates and were removed, after which 500 titles and s remained for review. Review of the title and s found 60 articles which met the inclusion criteria. After analysis of the full text articles, 12 articles were included in this study. The main areas covering home care can be summarized as home-based quarantine, management of contacts, early diagnosis at home, control of clinical features (i.e. fever and cough), appropriate nutrition and adequate fluid intake, establishment of a monitoring center, psychological support, and telemedicine. The use of home quarantine for people with mild clinical features of COVID-19 is possible with support services and will assist in reducing the demand on hospitals.

Cities and the climate and ecological emergency: The liverpool city region response

In May 2019, Liverpool City Region (LCR) Combined Authority Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram declared a ‘climate emergency’ and affirmed his commitment to undertaking proportionate remediating actions. The Metro Mayor has set his sights on LCR becoming net zero-carbon by 2040;local authorities and anchor institutions from the public, private and third sectors have likewise set net zero-carbon targets by or before 2040. The 2040 target will undoubtedly prove difficult to meet. This paper locates the LCR response within the context of the wider global climate and ecological crisis and national UK environmental policy and reflects upon achievements to date and actions which will need to be taken in future. Clearly, ‘business as usual’ will be insufficient and a new politico-institutional dispensation will be required if the net zero-carbon target is to be reached by 2040. An opportunity to undertake deep structural change exists: the COVID-19 pandemic has opened a a global debate on how best to Build Back Better. But what any new social contract for sustainability and a just transition might look like remains unclear. This paper concludes by venturing some thoughts on what such a contract might mean for the LCR and its civic leaders.1. © Henry Stewart Publications.