Conor Browne
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brownecfm.bsky.social
Conor Browne
@brownecfm.bsky.social
Biorisk analyst
'..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...
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…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 17, 2026 at 11:41 AM
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.
January 16, 2026 at 1:43 PM
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'.
January 14, 2026 at 6:15 PM
'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
January 12, 2026 at 7:12 PM
'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...
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.
sciencepolitics.org
January 12, 2026 at 1:21 PM
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.
January 9, 2026 at 4:25 PM
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.
January 7, 2026 at 2:35 PM
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...
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.
abcnews.go.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:08 PM
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...
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…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 4, 2026 at 5:44 PM
A wintry Glenariff Valley, Northern Ireland, taken on a hike earlier today. Scotland can be seen on the horizon.
January 3, 2026 at 6:29 PM
In 2026 there will be more mass media articles and commentators ridiculing people taking precautions to avoid SARS-CoV-2 infection while simultaneously hundreds of pieces of research will be published further demonstrating the long-term harms of infection.

Ignore the ridicule.
January 2, 2026 at 12:49 PM
A very Happy New Year to you all. If you're still mitigating against infection from SARS-CoV-2 you have nothing but my respect and admiration. Wishing each and every one of you a wonderful 2026.
January 1, 2026 at 10:18 AM
1. Sometimes, the absurdity of the situation we're all in just hits me. Going forward, ongoing and continuous transmission of SARS-CoV-2 will lead to an ever-increasing percentage of the global population developing chronic illnesses due to sequelae of infection.
December 28, 2025 at 11:45 AM
This was my late mum's favourite Christmas ornament. One year, she forgot to put Santa here away, and when her friend from Canada visited in May and pointed out that he was still on the mantelpiece, mum deadpanned, 'it's Christmas every day in this house'.

Happy Christmas all!
December 24, 2025 at 7:21 PM
A key component of analysis is the distillation of complex situations to the fundamental concepts that underpin them. I never, ever thought in 2020 that the simple concept of, 'I don't want to get infected with a novel virus' would be warped from common sense to a rebellious act.
December 24, 2025 at 10:04 AM
SARS-CoV-2 is so dangerous precisely because of its insidious nature. Its propensity to continually re-infect. The superficial similarity of the symptoms it causes to those of other common viruses. The unseen risk of sequelae. That wretched molecular shark tricks almost everyone.
December 22, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Please remember, every time you see a newspaper or magazine article denigrating people - people like myself - who choose to avoid infection with SARS-CoV-2, there will always be a tiny, quiet voice in the mind of the author whispering, 'what if they're right'?

We are right.
December 21, 2025 at 11:08 AM
To be blunt: if you are doing anything at all right now to reduce your risk of infection from SARS-CoV-2, you're being smart. As a result of the current high prevalence of flu, masking is back in the media. Ignore anything negative said about it. Political nonsense is irrelevant.
December 20, 2025 at 10:52 AM
'John Muir, co-founder of the Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation, a UK charity campaigning for the improvement of clean indoor air, said any investment in the devices was well worth the money'.

There's a poll in this article - please vote.

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/educati...
Education bosses ‘missing a trick’ by failing to roll out air cleaners in schools
Northern Ireland is “missing a trick” by not rolling out air cleaners across its school estate, an industry expert has said.
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
December 18, 2025 at 10:04 AM
I am convinced in the future we will look back and realise the sheer unimaginable folly of letting a virus that can cause immune dysregulation and cognitive dysfunction in humans infect and re-infect the global population over and over again. Worse still, that we encouraged it.
December 18, 2025 at 12:12 AM
This is a great piece from Lucy at Pandemic Pages Podcast drawing comparisons between masking during the 1918 - 1920 influenza pandemic and today. Strongly recommend!

pandemicpages.substack.com/p/the-case-for…
https://pandemicpages.substack.com/p/the-case-for…
December 16, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Read the study and think about population level implications, remembering that the vast majority of people have been infected multiple times.

What are the possible long-term neurological sequelae?

What are the implications for societies now?

news.griffith.edu.au/2025/12/16/c...
COVID-19 leaves a lasting mark on the human brain - Griffith News
COVID-19 does not just affect the respiratory system, but also significantly alters the brain in people who have fully recovered from the infectious
news.griffith.edu.au
December 16, 2025 at 11:10 AM
While this is to be lauded, it always frustrates me that masking is *initiated* when levels are high. The best time to mask in hospitals is always; the second best time is when it is patently obvious that prevalence of flu / RSV / Covid is low but *increasing*.

www.derryjournal.com/health/face-...
Face masks return at hospitals and health hubs in Derry and the west amid flu and other viruses surge
The Western Trust has announced that all visitors, staff and patients are required to wear face masks at some hospital areas and other health care facilities for the first time since the pandemic, due...
www.derryjournal.com
December 15, 2025 at 8:19 PM
1. As a result of the current high prevalence of influenza and the accompanying media coverage of the spread of the disease, I've been asked about mitigations by a number of friends who take *no precautions against SARS-CoV-2*. A few observations regarding these conversations:
December 15, 2025 at 1:01 PM
1. Like everyone else in the biodefense community, I've been watching H5N1 like a hawk since long before SARS-CoV-2 emerged. H5N1 could easily undergo reassortment with another influenza strain to create a reassortant virus with a significant CFR and efficient human transmission.
December 13, 2025 at 12:34 PM