The work goes on

Here we are again. In these unprecedented times (as we so like to call them now), we find ourselves on the brink of a second national lockdown, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. I now find it hard to remember a time when my Editorials were not about the ongoing pandemic. I am sure you must all be feeling the ever-increasing strain on your workload and your personal circumstances; in recent weeks I have been speaking to a few of our readers and contributors and I know that as the winter season ramps up, the demand you face grows with it. Once again, I continue to be humbled by the work you do.

As of today, there are 1 034 918 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK, with 46 717 deaths currently recorded (World Health Organization, 2020); a frightening figure that is hoped to be lowered with the help of the new government measures. With these numbers not relenting, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2020a) continues to publish new rapid guidelines to aid healthcare workers through the current crisis, aiming to maintain the overall care of your day-to-day practices. The systems we have in place and the strategies we once used may be altering, but these guidelines are there to ensure that you can maintain your role in the safest way possible. For example, one of the most recently published rapid guidelines (3 November 2020) details antibiotics for pneumonia in adults in hospital (NICE, 2020b). The key component of all of these guidelines is to minimise further risk to you and your patients, but also to consider what alterations you should consider when treating during the pandemic. In this example, NICE (2020b) notes that because COVID-19 pneumonia is caused by a virus, antibiotics are ineffective unless there is a bacterial co-infection.