Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[Steven W]

2 hours ago, Elixir said:

Aye, so when do we now conclude that everything we do from this day forward that isn't normal life is simply an ongoing game of charades?

 

Good data obvioulsy, but until such a time that lockdown, face masks and social distanicng is ditched, its not worth a toss.

Somewhere along we need to properly put these vaccines to the test.(I've every confidence they'll still owrk just as well)

[Todd_is_God]

15 minutes ago, MuckleMoo said:

Out walking the dog at the weekend and got chatting to a nurse who works in the IC wards in Aberdeen. She mentioned that they are already booked in for there boosters in September

Going to funny watching the big song and dance about boosters this autumn to deal with new variants (you know, the ones the vaccine currently cigars anyway) only to all of a sudden play down the significance of variants to avoid the need for rolling boosters.

[effeffsee_the2nd]

40 minutes ago, superbigal said:

It appears that the first doses of vaccines have been having a dramatic effect on Covid infections.

Some 74,000 people were admitted to hospitals with the virus in recent months, but only 32 who had had the vaccine, according to official data.

They then identifed within that number just under 2,000 people that had received the vaccine, and examined how many days there were between receiving the vaccine and the onset of their symptoms.

 

"Most people admitted had caught their infection within a week on either side of vaccination and then there was a really sharp drop off in numbers, so that, after three weeks after being vaccinated, we could only count 32 people out of the 2,000 that had been vaccinated," he says.

Prof Semple stresses this is a "tiny number" - less than 2% - and says "that's just after the first vaccine and that's in the elderly population.

"It's really good real world data showing that this vaccine works and one dose works really well," he says.

I'm sure I also heard P&B 's favourite dentist saying recently that they hadn't registered a single positive case in anyone who's had both doses plus the 2 weeks settling time. fantastic if true

[TheScarf]

Yet more shocking evidence proving that the vaccine does exactly what it's supposed to do.

[effeffsee_the2nd]

1 hour ago, djchapsticks said:

Not to go all Detournement on folk but this headline perfectly encapsulates why the media are seemingly happy to continue pressing ahead with the 'Never, let people out again, ever' message.

It's not enough that they added 16m new subscribers last year and have probably retained the vast majority of them since, leading to a massive increase in income. It's also not enough that they had little in the way of original output meaning costs were far lower than usual. 

They are now calling the inevitable slowdown in growth that was always going to happen 'wobbly'.

I work for a massive, worldwide pharma company and the parallels in terms of sheer greed when it comes to forecasting are staggering.

I've had to keep a close eye on many, many small companies I deal with who came into a lot of money very quickly last year due to testing facility overspill contracts and thought they were suddenly the dugs baws. I remember saying to a few of my colleagues who were seeing the same thing that I hoped these companies understood that these overspill contracts from the govt. were very much a temporary (but lucrative) measure and the companies in question were hopefully banking the cash they were making for the inevitable downturn.

It's just not a done thing anymore to run a business with a bit of prudence or at least a bit in reserve. Cash in the bank is viewed as a bad thing as if it's in the bank, it's not out there working for you in investments - never mind the fact that there are bad investments as well as good. And this is what leads to nonsensical statements like this headline. Netflix should be celebrating that amazing year they had in 2020 but instead, shareholders only want to know what has been done for them lately and are panicking, not for loss, but over not getting a wee bit richer, a wee bit quicker.

would be a wee bit simple to say the media wants us stuck at home where we have no choice but to consume their product. they struggle to produce things with SD and mask requirements ,for example, you also have many shows such as comedy and music which rely on a live audience even for studio productions not to mention live sports which have been televised throughout but are not the same product they would be with a full crowd . for there to be a media that makes things there has to be a world out there with stuff happening

I think that's why we just get stuck on a loop of covid varients in the news right now, f**k all else is happening, we have George Floyd or Brexit to break things up for a day or 2 then it's back to nothing again

[Billy Jean King]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56812293

Denmark reopening including stadiums but only via a passport app and only too those fully vaccinated or testing negative.

[NotThePars]

1 hour ago, djchapsticks said:

Not to go all Detournement on folk but this headline perfectly encapsulates why the media are seemingly happy to continue pressing ahead with the 'Never, let people out again, ever' message.

It's not enough that they added 16m new subscribers last year and have probably retained the vast majority of them since, leading to a massive increase in income. It's also not enough that they had little in the way of original output meaning costs were far lower than usual. 

They are now calling the inevitable slowdown in growth that was always going to happen 'wobbly'.

I work for a massive, worldwide pharma company and the parallels in terms of sheer greed when it comes to forecasting are staggering.

I've had to keep a close eye on many, many small companies I deal with who came into a lot of money very quickly last year due to testing facility overspill contracts and thought they were suddenly the dugs baws. I remember saying to a few of my colleagues who were seeing the same thing that I hoped these companies understood that these overspill contracts from the govt. were very much a temporary (but lucrative) measure and the companies in question were hopefully banking the cash they were making for the inevitable downturn.

It's just not a done thing anymore to run a business with a bit of prudence or at least a bit in reserve. Cash in the bank is viewed as a bad thing as if it's in the bank, it's not out there working for you in investments - never mind the fact that there are bad investments as well as good. And this is what leads to nonsensical statements like this headline. Netflix should be celebrating that amazing year they had in 2020 but instead, shareholders only want to know what has been done for them lately and are panicking, not for loss, but over not getting a wee bit richer, a wee bit quicker.

Isn't it the case with Netflix tho that they're hopelessly in debt? 

[scottsdad]

Interesting that we're leaving the science-led phase of the pandemic and approaching the psychology-led one. 

On "the science" we have treatments and vaccines we didn't have before. The vaccines are safe. It's simply a matter of time and production to get this virus under control for the future. 

Now the psychology. For 13 months people have been scared silly (literally). Day after day of doom and gloom, of analysing news reports, of reading all the bonkers stuff on social media (the true cancer of the 21st century). There are a great many people who do not want lockdown eased, like Stockholm Syndrome. They have convinced themselves that plague exists outside their front door. They don't see others as people, they see them as germ factories determined to spread infection. Something as simple as seeing a few people sitting on a bench in a park is enough to send these people into orbit, worrying that the virus is oozing out of people with every breath. 

Many of us here want a return to normality ASAP. We miss living more than half a life. But there are others who dread it. I'll be interested to see how governments treat the next year, coaxing people out of their homes. 

Edited April 21, 2021 by scottsdad

[Todd_is_God]

27 minutes ago, Billy Jean King said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56812293

Denmark reopening including stadiums but only via a passport app and only too those fully vaccinated or testing negative.
 

There is a very telling quote in that article:

"It makes you feel more safe"

The horrendous over the top messaging over what was a respiratory virus slightly more deadly than a bad flu, combined with the "everyone can get it" and "the vaccine doesn't stop you catching or transmitting it" has caused irreperable damage to people.

The parts in quotation marks above are demonstrably false, but people just don't want to accept that.

[TheScarf]

21 minutes ago, scottsdad said:

Interesting that we're leaving the science-led phase of the pandemic and approaching the psychology-led one. 

On "the science" we have treatments and vaccines we didn't have before. The vaccines are safe. It's simply a matter of time and production to get this virus under control for the future. 

Now the psychology. For 13 months people have been scared silly (literally). Day after day of doom and gloom, of analysing news reports, of reading all the bonkers stuff on social media (the true cancer of the 21st century). There are a great many people who do not want lockdown eased, like Stockholm Syndrome. They have convinced themselves that plague exists outside their front door. They don't see others as people, they see them as germ factories determined to spread infection. Something as simple as seeing a few people sitting on a bench in a park is enough to send these people into orbit, worrying that the virus is oozing out of people with every breath. 

Many of us here want a return to normality ASAP. We miss living more than half a life. But there are others who dread it. I'll be interested to see how governments treat the next year, coaxing people out of their homes. 

Have we ever been in the science phase?  Both governments and the media seem to want to ignore the science and take guidance from utter nobodies who want this to go on indefinitely.

[scottsdad]

24 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

Have we ever been in the science phase?  Both governments and the media seem to want to ignore the science and take guidance from utter nobodies who want this to go on indefinitely.

I think in the background there has been - development of treatment and vaccines is what I mean.

[Todd_is_God]

2 minutes ago, oaksoft said:

Hang on. I don't like unnecessary restrictions any more than you do but that bit in bold is bollox and you know it.

Flu doesn't kill 140,000 people. Nowhere near that amount.

Covid is considerably more deadly than flu.

What has changed the game is vaccines.

Pretending that the game doesn't exist at all is @Detournement territory and doesn't help anyone.

Spanish Flu killed 228,000 in the UK. Last time I checked that was a flu virus. 

Highlighting that Covid 19 is not as deadly as the hysteria that was generated last March is not the same as saying it doesn't exist.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

1 hour ago, effeffsee_the2nd said:

I'm sure I also heard P&B 's favourite dentist saying recently that they hadn't registered a single positive case in anyone who's had both doses plus the 2 weeks settling time. fantastic if true

My brothers wife just tested positive (unvaccinated) whereas he got his second dose 3 weeks ago, hes gone for a test as track and trace have asked him to, waiting on the results just now. Will share the news when I get it. Be interesting to see if its positive, also hes a wee dick so I hope if it is (and not serious infection obvs) that they take him to a lab and perform all manner of experiments. 

[Michael W]

1 hour ago, Todd_is_God said:

There is a very telling quote in that article:

"It makes you feel more safe"

This is a massive problem. As you say, all about perception. 

Why does it make people "feel more safe"? Given the messaging banded about vaccines not being 100% effective and that you might have it and not know about it, including being infectious but not returning a positive test during the incubation period, why would one feel safer with this because it says you are either negative for covid or have been vaccinated? The virus certainly isn't going to be stopped by a mobile phone app. I struggle to see how this can possibly coexist with the messaging the government puts out. It seems unnecessary. 

And at what point do we ditch them? If everyone's vaccinated, for example, why will we need proof of it? Are we going to continue mass testing after vaccination? If the answer is no, which I hope it is, its usefulness is further diluted. 

 

Edited April 21, 2021 by Michael W

[Elixir]

 

[The Moonster]

2 hours ago, Steven W said:

Good data obvioulsy, but until such a time that lockdown, face masks and social distanicng is ditched, its not worth a toss.

Somewhere along we need to properly put these vaccines to the test.(I've every confidence they'll still owrk just as well)

We have data already on the vaccines reducing viral load to the point where we don't think those who are vaccinated will be able to transmit the virus. News that only 32 people who'd had a vaccine at least 3 weeks previously have required hospital treatment from an overall 75000 is absolutely tremendous.

From what I see locally, lockdown doesn't exist any more, people are doing their own thing. I remember someone saying on here previously that government announcements are now basically making legal the things the majority have been doing for the previous 3 weeks anyway, I'd agree that we've now reached that point and as such continued restrictions are fairly pointless. 

[Thereisalight..]

1 hour ago, Billy Jean King said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56812293

Denmark reopening including stadiums but only via a passport app and only too those fully vaccinated or testing negative.
 

We will definitely go down that route sadly. I feel sorry for the old boys I know who go to Somerset and don’t have smart phones. I have no room on mine for any more apps so looks like an inaccurate test will be the only way I’d get in to see yet another Ayr humping. Not sure it’s worth the hassle in all honesty 

[The Moonster]

2 minutes ago, Thereisalight.. said:

We will definitely go down that route sadly. I feel sorry for the old boys I know who go to Somerset and don’t have smart phones. I have no room on mine for any more apps so looks like an inaccurate test will be the only way I’d get in to see yet another Ayr humping. Not sure it’s worth the hassle in all honesty 

I'd rather we didn't have passports but you've got no room for an app? I don't believe that, nor do I believe you'd rather go to the hassle of returning a negative test every time you wanted to go to the football rather than simply deleting an app you don't use.

95% of the UK households have mobile phones. I'm sure we can sort out the other 5% without too much bother. 

[Thereisalight..]

4 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

I'd rather we didn't have passports but you've got no room for an app? I don't believe that, nor do I believe you'd rather go to the hassle of returning a negative test every time you wanted to go to the football rather than simply deleting an app you don't use.

95% of the UK households have mobile phones. I'm sure we can sort out the other 5% without too much bother. 

I have about 4 apps that I use  multiple times a day. I swear on my life that I have no room for another. I certainly would cut down on the amount of games I go to rather than having to take a test each time. I’m sure I’m in the minority but restrictions like that will put me off football for good (or until they bin them)

[Michael W]

Covaxin is the same type of vaccine as AZ, isn't it? Would he good if they could test it against the Indian variant too.