Paul Garner
Professor Paul Garner is co-ordinator of the Centre for Evidence Synthesis for Global Health, co-ordinating editor of the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group and director of the Research, Evidence and Development Initiative (READ-It) at the Liverpool School for Tropical Medicine (LSTM) in Liverpool, UK.[1] He is on the board of trustees of Sense About Science.[2]
Long COVID[edit | edit source]
Professor Paul Garner contracted COVID-19 in March 2020, suffered symptoms for many months but has now fully recovered. Professor Garner has reported extensively on his experience of living long COVID in both the media and in the widely-read the BMJ journal blog.[3]
Garner has co-authored a number of articles with Wessely School psychiatrists[4][5][6] promoting the biopsychosocial model of ME which have received substantial criticism saying they promote unsubstantiated and unscientific claims about the disease.
Excerpt from a BMJ rapid response to one of the pieces Garner co-authored:
Miller et al continue to promote the unsubstantiated claims that ME/CFS is deeply rooted in psychosomatic aetiology and occurs due to a combination of deconditioning and “unhelpful illness beliefs.” They argue that “the patients’ belief that they won’t recover can harm their mental wellbeing.” These assertions lack credible scientific basis, contradict current NICE guidelines, and risk causing further harm to people with ME/CFS. When clinicians believe that severe ME/CFS stems from “unhelpful illness beliefs,” lifesaving interventions may be withheld, on the basis that they “reinforce” these beliefs in patients. The withholding of lifesaving care is not a theoretical concern: it is a documented, devastating outcome of misapplying psychosomatic models to a serious organic illness[7]
Cochrane[edit | edit source]
Professor Garner help setup Cochrane and is the co-ordinating editor of the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group.[1]
Talks and interviews[edit | edit source]
Blogs[edit | edit source]
Paul Garner is currently blogging about his experience of living with long COVID at the BMJ website.
- May 5, 2020, For 7 weeks I have been through a roller coaster of ill health, extreme emotions, and utter exhaustion - The BMJ
- May 19, 2020, Covid-19 and fatigue—a game of snakes and ladders - The BMJ
- Jun 23, 2020, Covid-19 at 14 weeks—phantom speed cameras, unknown limits, and harsh penalties - The BMJ
- Sep 4, 2020, Paul Garner on long haul covid-19—Don’t try to dominate this virus, accommodate it - The BMJ
- Jan 24, 2021, Paul Garner: on his recovery from long covid - The BMJ
Online presence[edit | edit source]
- ORCID
- PubMed
- Website
- YouTube
- List of COVID-19 and long covid features by Paul Gardner - Cochrane
See also[edit | edit source]
Learn more[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Professor Paul Garner". LSTM. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ↑ "Sense About Science Board of Trustees". Archived from the original on January 3, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- ↑ Garner, Paul (June 23, 2020). "Covid-19 at 14 weeks—phantom speed cameras, unknown limits, and harsh penalties". The BMJ. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ↑ White, Peter; Abbey, Susan; Angus, Brian; Ball, Harriet A; Buchwald, Dedra S; Burness, Christine; Carson, Alan J; Chalder, Trudie; Clauw, Daniel J; Coebergh, Jan; David, Anthony S (July 10, 2023). "Anomalies in the review process and interpretation of the evidence in the NICE guideline for chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis". Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 94 (12): 1056–1063. doi:10.1136/jnnp-2022-330463. ISSN 0022-3050.
- ↑ Miller, Alastair; Symington, Fiona; Garner, Paul; Pederson, Maria (May 14, 2025). "Patients with severe ME/CFS need hope and expert multidisciplinary care". BMJ. 389 (r977).
- ↑ "Long Covid and graded exercise therapy | Letter". the Guardian. March 11, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- ↑ Putrino, David; Kane, Binita; Blitshteyn, Svetlana; Asad Khan, M; O'Rourke, Meghan; Buonsenso, Danilo; Ewing, Andrew; Joffe, David; Galland, Leo (May 20, 2025). "Rapid Response: Patients with severe ME/CFS need hope in the form of evidence-based interventions, not opinions". BMJ.
