Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[Billy Jean King]

I read it as them being proactive at this stage. I highly doubt, given the Kent variant, that the one from South Africa is suddenly going to become dominant in any way given the current restrictions and onset of spring in two or three months.
I'm sure they'll ramp up the fear, though.

Urgent door to door testing is a whole new ball game though.

[Burnieman]

"Nicola Sturgeon says she will set out more detail on how quarantine restrictions will work in Scotland, saying the current UK-wide plans do not go far enough."

Here we go.................

[Billy Jean King]

Sounds like a lockdown extension coming tomorrow.

Of course it would be, hospital admissions and deaths are barely passed the peak. They need to fall considerably before we start relaxing measures and we know already that schools are likely to be the first step.

[Paco]

 
Take it you haven't seen their breaking news re community transmission of the SA variant ? Seems it's prompted a mass door to door testing program which suggests to me this fucker is way more dangerous than we are being told !

It hasn’t come via the government, granted, but we do already know it’s dangerous. It has a far higher chance of evading existing vaccines, there’s evidence that having other strains of Covid won’t necessarily protect you from this and Moderna/Novavax/I think AZ have all said they’re working on a third dose of vaccine, specifically designed to target the South African variant.

In addition the direct border with South Africa has been shut for some time, albeit in true UK fashion we just let them connect in Dubai or Doha en route before welcoming them without even the need to quarantine.

It’s dismissed on here as ‘scaremongering’ because a large group of posters are going down the Karol Sikora route of only wanting ‘good news’. This isn’t good news and community transmission of it in the UK is a problem.

The ‘good news’ spin is I haven’t seen evidence so far of people being more likely to get seriously ill or die while vaccinated. The J&J study (or was it Novavax?) suggested you’re more likely to catch it, even while vaccinated, but still very very unlikely to get seriously ill.

[Todd_is_God]

Just now, Billy Jean King said:

5 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

Sounds like a lockdown extension coming tomorrow.

Of course it would be, hospital admissions and deaths are barely passed the peak. They need to fall considerably before we start relaxing measures and we know already that schools are likely to be the first step.

Of course. I wasn't meaning that to come across as a criticism.

[MP_MFC]

Very clear from the FM there about RECEIVED dose numbers as opposed to OFFERED.

Think we can see what's going on here.

[DMCs]

Freeman saying they can do 400k in a week? So an average of 57k daily including Sunday? No chance.

EDIT: We only need about 37k daily to hit the mid Feb target. Let's hope to see 30k+ daily this week although I'm suspecting the numbers out today won't be too high considering it was a Sunday.

Edited February 1, 2021 by DMCs

[Aladdin]

I thought it was already confirmed that the lockdown is continuing until mid-February (and realistically, wasnt going to be relaxed until nearer the end of the month)?

[Todd_is_God]

4 minutes ago, Michael W said:

The reaction to the SA varient is worrying. Clearly, they are shitting it over this. 

The Government needs to front up about this, frankly. We've heard some stuff about vaccines May not work as well and I think we're due an explanation. 

I'm reading it as whilst the vaccines etc are slightly less effective against it, and it might be slightly more easily transmissible, it isn't in itself any more dangerous.

It's more a case of trying to limit its spread whilst they work through vaccinating people.

[craigkillie]

1 minute ago, DMCs said:

Freeman saying they can do 400k in a week? So an average of 57k daily including Sunday? No chance.

Depends on the capacity and speed of the mass vaccination centres. The Louisa Jordan was doing 5k per day - it's unlikely most others will be able to churn out quite as many as that, but even if they can do 1-2k per day it wouldn't take many of them to put a big chunk in the total.

[Todd_is_God]

2 minutes ago, DMCs said:

Freeman saying they can do 400k in a week? So an average of 57k daily including Sunday? No chance.

EDIT: We only need about 37k daily to hit the mid Feb target. Let's hope to see 30k+ daily this week although I'm suspecting the numbers out today won't be too high considering it was a Sunday.

We need around 39.2k per day over the next 14 days, with, as you have already stated, a max capacity of 57k.

It's perfectly possible, but it needs to get going.

[DMCs]

33 minutes ago, ICTChris said:

One thing that will help us get out of restrictions, including travel restrictions, is to improve the ability of the UK to manufacture vaccines.  There is a government project underway to build a new facility dedicated to vaccines - it was announced in 2018 and it's construction is ongoing.  There are plans to equip it to produce the mRNA vaccines.  This specific type of vaccine is hugely useful in combating any vaccine resistant strains as the technology (so I read, don't ask me how) can be adapted very quickly.  The first vaccine design for Covid was built in two days over a year ago based on a leak of the Covid genome.

If we have faciliites to manufacture huge numbers of adaptable vaccines very quickly then the UK will be in a great position to deal with any future strains.  

Once we've done enough in the UK we should export them to Ireland and get a common holiday travel area sorted. September pints in Dublin.

[Todd_is_God]

4 minutes ago, Aladdin said:

I thought it was already confirmed that the lockdown is continuing until mid-February (and realistically, wasnt going to be relaxed until nearer the end of the month)?

It was. But the review tomorrow is to officially set mid-feb as the end date, or make it at least 2 weeks longer.

[AyrExile]

7 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

We need around 39.2k per day over the next 14 days, with, as you have already stated, a max capacity of 57k.

It's perfectly possible, but it needs to get going.

From a near standing start that’s tough plus Sunday’s seem to be sacred in Scotland. No doubt in a month a decent figure will be reached but just like the testing needs time to gain speed  

[Todd_is_God]

9 minutes ago, MP_MFC said:

Very clear from the FM there about RECEIVED dose numbers as opposed to OFFERED.

Think we can see what's going on here.

At the same time, we've gone from 95% to 98% in a week. Hardly a resounding thumping.

As I said earlier, it will be interesting to compare when care home vaccinations in care homes are actually completed both in Scotland and in England, and the overall population percentage at the same time.

NS has been using prioritising care homes as the reason why our general roll out has been slower than the rest of the UK. If it transpires that we achieve that 100% care home completion at roughly the same time, yet remain 33% or more than behind for total vaccinations, then that reasoning becomes bollocks.

I'll say no more on that until we reach that scenario as I think it's quite clear that people on all sides are entrenched in their views.

 

[Todd_is_God]

Just now, AyrExile said:

From a near standing start that’s tough plus Sunday’s seem to be sacred in Scotland. No doubt in a month a decent figure will be reached but just like the testing needs time to gain speed  

We are also now at the point where a low day will really start to shoot that number up. 27.5k today means that would jump to 40.1k

It's been my point all along. The vaccines to have been doing more are available. The SG have chosen to not go at full speed.

[ayrmad]

19 minutes ago, MP_MFC said:

Very clear from the FM there about RECEIVED dose numbers as opposed to OFFERED.

Think we can see what's going on here.

Disappointingly we're getting Trump levels of journalism in the UK at the moment, doing those in care homes etc 1st was definitely the correct course to take, just need the ramp up to kick in. 

No surprise that rUK are using offered after reports appearing of deaths in care homes, now deaths in care homes even after 1st jag being reported, the MSM are a seriously reprehensible bunch of brown nosing b*****ds towards Westminster. 

[Jacksgranda]

3 hours ago, Michael W said:

Has there been any data published on refusal rates amongst the age groups being vaccinated currently? Inevitably there will be missed appointments as well. 

I'd imagine over 80s are less likely to refuse a vaccine on the basis of half-baked conspiracy theories, but it would be good to know what the refusal rate is and if it's in line with expectations. 20% of staff in care homes refusing is unfortunately quite alarming. 

It seems high, but some will be pregnant, some will have allergies.

[Scosha]

Any word on the vaccine figure today?

[Distant Doonhamer]

Just now, Jacksgranda said:

It seems high, but some will be pregnant, some will have allergies.

and some will be stupid.