Covid the *** and the final stage.

[Chippy_Tea]

Good luck, a few weeks for me to get my second.

 

[The Baron]

just to add Chippy I have read somewhere today that the Gov has ordered 60million Pfizer jabs to be used as boosters for the elderly and vulnerable so it looks like possibly a lot of AZ people will get the Pfizer as a booster?

 

[dwhite60]

I've had COVID.

I just got shot number one which is like shot number two if you've had COVID. Still have to get shot number two.

All this and STILL have to wear a mask. No wonder some people especially here in the states aren't getting the vaccine. Nothing changes.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Nothing changes

Have you seen our death figures, if wearing a mask until everyone that can or wants a vaccination has had it means we keep the figures heading downward then it's a small price to pay.

Just announced Turkey are giung back into full lockdown, this thing isn't over keep those masks on.

 

[HSD]

I've had COVID.

I just got shot number one which is like shot number two if you've had COVID. Still have to get shot number two.

All this and STILL have to wear a mask. No wonder some people especially here in the states aren't getting the vaccine. Nothing changes.

Things will change, though sadly this isn’t going away, it won’t “end” so to speak, we will have to live with COVID and its mutations from now on as we do with the Flu viruses, some years will be better or worse than others as the mutations evolve and get weaker or stronger, but we will learn to keep on top of it with a combination of pharmaceutical innovations and social policies. I have friends in the States and know it’s been bad, family in Brasil where it is still truly terrible and look on in horror at the awful situation in India, mostly down to bad governments, any small act we can do to keep the spread down has to be worthwhile.

 

[MmmBeer]

I received a letter yseterday from the NHS, it was an invitation for me to take part in a COVID-19 in-home antibody testing research study. I took part in one in September and indicated that I would be prepared to be involved in future studies. I'm not quite sure what this will reveal, the first one came up negative for antibodies, I'm fairly sure I've had no illnesses in the last six months but I had my first *** 6 weeks ago.

Hopefully it will help somebody down the line.

 

[Leon103]

I've had COVID.

I just got shot number one which is like shot number two if you've had COVID. Still have to get shot number two.

All this and STILL have to wear a mask. No wonder some people especially here in the states aren't getting the vaccine. Nothing changes.

Why do Americans keep shooting people?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

 

[ChrisR73]

I received a letter yseterday from the NHS, it was an invitation for me to take part in a COVID-19 in-home antibody testing research study. I took part in one in September and indicated that I would be prepared to be involved in future studies. I'm not quite sure what this will reveal, the first one came up negative for antibodies, I'm fairly sure I've had no illnesses in the last six months but I had my first *** 6 weeks ago.

Hopefully it will help somebody down the line.

I’m in the UCL virus watch study, they’re sending out weekly questionnaires to fill out online too to monitor symptoms as well as blood tests (finger prick samples monthly at the mo).
I’ve never suspected I had Covid but have twice tested positive for N-antibodies this year which was an eye-opener.
Just waiting to see the S-antibodies now I’ve had my first *** and I’ll be happy.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

There is little the government can do to stop idiots being idiots,

There's plenty that can do, by giving a good example - people had been better than expected about locking down until the Barnard Castle trip, then the mood changed to "why should I stick to the rules if those 'muckers' think that rules are only for the little people". See also this photo which was proudly posted to Johnson's Twitter account despite it showing him breaking him at least two rules - drinking whilst not sitting down and without a mask coming within 2 metres of people who are presumably not in his household (and photos of the same event in the media show him leaning over to stroke the dog). And that tent probably doesn't fulfil the law on 50% open sides, so technically he's inside and should have a mask on at all times.

How can pub staff enforce rules that our leaders so blatantly flout?

i watched the football at Wembley yesterday many of the people wearing masks had them pulled under their noses.

I'm tempted to say - so what? Shame people who don't wear masks properly indoors, but the risk of infection outside is way less, like 20-times less. In fact that's another failure of government messaging which they've only recently started to correct. Add in the fact that everyone at Wembley had to take a PCR test within 5 days before and after, a lateral-flow on the day, it was only at 10% capacity and almost all over 50s are jabbed and half of the crowd at Wembley were NHS workers so have a good chance of being jabbed even if under 50 - it's a pretty low-risk environment. If you think that's bad, what would you say to someone hanging out with no mask at all around people who haven't been tested?

As for the "bodies pile high" comment they are discussing it on 5Live it was a comment said in private that a back stabber has leaked i don't think for a moment any politician wants to see bodies piled high anywhere it was a figure of speech maybe not a well thought out one but it was not supposed to have been leaked.

Johnson has made his name through florid phrases and leaking to the press - live by the sword, die by the sword. If he didn't say it then he should sue for libel - but there seem to be multiple sources saying that he did.

And whether he wanted it or not, his mistakes have led directly to "bodies piling high". There's two main ways to deal with the virus, proactively hit it hard and quickly in order to eliminate it, or try to live with it "in order to protect the economy". In fact the elimination strategy not only reduces deaths by 95% but also allows the economy to open up sooner.

But Johnson has always been a "reactive" politician, waiting to see which way the wind blows before making a move. Which can work well in politics, but is a terrible way to fight a pandemic. It doesn't help that "rules don't apply to me" is the story of Johnson's life, from his marriage vows to article deadlines, regardless of the effect on other people. So inasmuch as he has any political principles, he has a woolly libertarianism (although he's more of a nanny-state type than he cares to admit) that isn't well suited to the collective action required to fight a virus. Ditto his people-pleasing, "saving Christmas" is effectively the same as saying "I don't mind people dying" - half the total deaths linked to Covid came in about 7 weeks in January/February.

 

[Polcho]

I think Boris should be more direct and clear in his approach when talking ton the news and such like.

He is constantly thanking the public for obeying the rules, when really he should be saying ‘don’t blame me if you are stupid enough to break the rules’.

 

[Covrich]

40s can get it now

i booked mine although im 39 I am due the big 40 this year second one i had to move dat cant get a *** teh day before my spartan run

 

[Pezza24]

Just had a letter for mine. Seems they're all the way down to the 32 year olds in Wales.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

he should be saying ‘don’t blame me if you are stupid enough to break the rules’.

Don't worry, blaming other people comes very naturally to someone who's never taken responsibility for anything in his life. But he's more subtle about it, if you pay attention he's been quietly setting things up so that he can say "Nope, none of this was my fault, blame the peasants".

That's not what real leaders do - you can't imagine Army officers like Johnny Mercer or Tom Tugendhat doing that.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

And whether he wanted it or not, his mistakes have led directly to "bodies piling high". There's two main ways to deal with the virus, proactively hit it hard and quickly in order to eliminate it, or try to live with it "in order to protect the economy". In fact the elimination strategy not only reduces deaths by 95% but also allows the economy to open up sooner.

As has been said in the many Covid thread here hindsight is a wonderful thing, do you honestly think he made all those decisions alone or do you think he took advise from people much more qualified to advise on the virus?

 

[ChrisR73]

As has been said in the many Covid thread here hindsight is a wonderful thing, do you honestly think he made all those decisions alone or do you think he took advise from people much more qualified to advise on the virus?

I think it’s pretty clear that the government ignored the expert advice initially, even when Italy and Spain were in deep sh*t.
Everything they did in 2020 was too late, but at least 2021 has seen an improvement.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I think it’s pretty clear that the government ignored the expert advice initially, even when Italy and Spain were in deep sh*t.
Everything they did in 2020 was too late, but at least 2021 has seen an improvement.

And as i said hindsight is a wonderful thing i am sure if we were to go back to day one they would have done things differently but they cannot and as the thread title says
Covid the *** and the final stage, we have had several threads about how they didn't handle it well this thread was posted to put that behind us (as its been discussed so many times) and to look forward to us all getting vaccinated and the world getting back to something like normality.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Covid-19: Scientist urges patience before 17 May lockdown relaxation

People need to be "patient for a short period" ahead of the next planned relaxation of Covid rules in England, a government scientific adviser has said.

Prof Sir Mark Walport said there was "very good news" in the progress of the pandemic, but many people were still not vaccinated yet.

He told the BBC there is still a "potential for that spark to reignite" and cause infections to rise.

But restaurateur Hugh Osmond called for a faster reopening before 17 May.

That date has been set at the likely next stage for relaxing restrictions in England and is expected to include allowing pubs, cafes and restaurants to serve customers indoors.

International travel is also expected to resume with a traffic-light system grading destinations on their risk level.

Mr Osmond, the founder of Punch Taverns, said "hard data" suggested restrictions could be eased more quickly as infections, patients admitted to hospital and deaths were falling faster than had been predicted, and there was now "zero chance of the NHS being overwhelmed".

Sir Mark, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was important not to repeat the mistakes of the past in reopening social life too soon.

"We are on the cusp of being able to move to the next step of relaxation. It's absolutely right that vaccines have been spectacularly successful but not everybody is protected," he said.
"The truth is the virus has not gone away."

Only 27.6% of people have had both doses of the vaccine, and 35% have not been vaccinated at all, according to the latest government figures.

And Sir Mark suggested that the current low levels of infections and deaths were not just due to the vaccination programme, but because people were adhering to coronavirus regulations, practising social distancing and not meeting indoors.

He said: "The mistake that has been made repeatedly is relaxing just slightly too early. What we need to do is get the numbers right down. It's important that we don't act as an incubator for variant cases that might be able to resist immunity."

The pandemic arrived in the UK with about 1,500 separate imported cases of the virus, Sir Mark said, and the Office of National Statistics suggests there are still 4,600 cases a day.

"There's the potential for that spark to reignite, it seems increasingly unlikely, but we need to get the numbers down," he said.

If the data continues in the right direction, the next stage of relaxation in England will go ahead on 17 May, Sir Mark said.

"It is all very good news, we are getting very close and we just need to be patient for a short period," he said.



Full article - Covid-19: Scientist urges patience before 17 May lockdown relaxation - BBC News

 

[ChrisR73]

And as i said hindsight is a wonderful thing i am sure if we were to go back to day one they would have done things differently but they cannot and as the thread title says
Covid the *** and the final stage, we have had several threads about how they didn't handle it well this thread was posted to put that behind us (as its been discussed so many times) and to look forward to us all getting vaccinated and the world getting back to something like normality.

Agreed, at least in part - hindsight is a wonderful thing because so many potential epidemics have flared up and then fizzled out.
But the minute that Spain and Italy were overwhelmed we should have acted swiftly.
But - as i pointed out earlier this vaccine roll-out has been among the best in the world which is what I wanted to focus on.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I agree with all above, and next thursday i will be fully jabbed the misses had her second last wednesday, and to top it off we are off on holiday for a week the day after my ***