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How do patients want clinicians to explain COVID-19 tests, uncertainty and the possibility of dying? In this February 2021 podcast, Rick Body speaks with patient representatives Graham Prestwich and Val Tate about communication through PPE and what matters to patients and families.

The first February 2021 report of RECOVERY's tocilizumab results, written as the announcement and preprint emerged. Simon Carley and Dan Horner outline the reported benefits in hospitalised patients with hypoxia and inflammation, while flagging the need for fuller appraisal and questions about immunosuppression.

Joke Van kerkhoven draws on emergency medicine and elite sport to explore leading yourself under pressure. Written during COVID-19, this practical reflection covers mindset, breathing, planning and recovery, with ways to prepare for difficult situations and learn from them afterwards.

Esther Murray and colleagues explore moral injury and the psychological impact of working through COVID-19. This video discussion considers recognition, prevention and support, emphasising honest conversations and the importance of feeling heard when difficult experiences challenge clinicians' values.

A December 2020 review of RECOVERY's lopinavir/ritonavir results in hospitalised patients with COVID-19. It discusses the lack of demonstrated benefit, the limits of extrapolating to earlier disease and how adaptive platform trials made rapid evaluation of proposed treatments possible.

Thomas Shanahan examines the December 2020 RECOVERY preprint on azithromycin for hospitalised patients with COVID-19. The review covers the absence of a mortality benefit, incomplete follow-up at publication and the importance of avoiding antibiotic use without a supported indication.

Why did COVID-19 cause such different outcomes in different people? John McDermott reviews the December 2020 GenOMICC findings, explaining genetic associations with severe illness, their potential to guide research and why they cannot predict an individual patient's fate on their own.

A December 2020 appraisal of PRIEST's evaluation of risk scores in emergency department patients with suspected COVID-19. It examines the balance between sensitivity and specificity, differences between predicting death and organ support, and why the population in which a score is tested matters.

Before the fuller tocilizumab trial reports, Dan Horner examined the conflicting evidence available in December 2020. This appraisal considers biological plausibility, early REMAP-CAP announcements, adverse effects and the difficulty of discussing an experimental treatment when media coverage runs ahead of the data.

Simon Carley and Rick Body discuss the strengths and limitations of COVID-19 testing in December 2020. The episode and accompanying links explore PCR, LAMP, rapid testing and lateral flow tests, alongside the FALCON/CONDOR programme evaluating new diagnostics.