Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[Bishop Briggs]

8 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

It's daft enough the UK authorities doubling up on the work the EU is doing on vaccine procurement and approval without Scotland doing it as well. Just wastes time for the drug companies when they have more important stuff to be doing.

The EU only ordered the Pfizer vaccine in mid-November. The first order is for only 200 million doses for the whole of the EU. The UK has a bought 40 million doses many times what the EU would have allocated to us.

If the UK had joined the EU scheme, as the anti-Brexit campaigners had argued,  we would not be starting the vaccination process next week. 

 

[Donathan]

I’m no fan of leaving the EU but vaccine procurement is absolutely an area where we’ve done better on our own that we would have as part of the EU. I’m absolutely no fan of Brexiteers.

[Billy Jean King]

Health is a devolved matter so why should Public Health England determine when we can get the vaccines?
 

I assume the UK is buying it and it's being distributed to the 4 nations on some sort of formula basis ?

[Bishop Briggs]

1 minute ago, Billy Jean King said:

48 minutes ago, Bishop Briggs said:

Health is a devolved matter so why should Public Health England determine when we can get the vaccines?
 

I assume the UK is buying it and it's being distributed to the 4 nations on some sort of formula basis ?

Yes and, like the furlough scheme, the UK Government is paying for it.

[101]

8 minutes ago, Snafu said:

Has Leitch completely lost the plot or is he absolutely on the ball here?

I'm shocked to learn that this season footballers have failed to social distance especially when playing.

I'm 99% sure social distancing has to take place unless playing a game doing a team photo is just stupid and in actual fact if Dunfermline did one I think it would look very fitting to have everyone 2 meters apart you would be able to tell what year it was taken even in 100 years time.

[Billy Jean King]

I understand a cautious approach but really once the vulnerable groups and over 80’s are vaccinated I’d move all but Glasgow, north and south Lanarkshire to tier 1 and leave them at 2.

The vibes right now are that is simply not going to happen UK wide for many months. Not saying that's the correct approach but it appears to be the way we are heading. I suspect it will be Easter at the earliest before we see any relaxation given the responses so far from all uk wide public health officials to this very question (JVT was even worse but appeared to be slapped down by Bozo so who knows). If you asked me 10 days ago if I would get back to football this season minus restrictions I would have been fairly confident but now I'm pretty doubtful. I'm not interested in a restricted return, happy to wait for a normal matchday experience.

[Billy Jean King]

Yes and, like the furlough scheme, the UK Government is paying for it.

Eh, a few mins ago you appeared to be saying you were unaware who was buying it, now not only do you know but you know whose paying.

Fishing season perchance starts today ???

[Caledonian1]

1 minute ago, Bishop Briggs said:

Yes and, like the furlough scheme, the UK Government is paying for it.

and how exactly would the Scottish Government be able to implement their own Furlough scheme without receiving funding back from Westminster.  Ever wonder where our taxes go?

[101]

11 minutes ago, Bishop Briggs said:

Yes and, like the furlough scheme, the UK Government is paying for it.

[Bishop Briggs]

22 minutes ago, Billy Jean King said:

Eh, a few mins ago you appeared to be saying you were unaware who was buying it, now not only do you know but you know whose paying.

Fishing season perchance starts today ???

No I did not.

I was asking why the Scottish Government had not placed its own vaccine order rather than relying on Westminster. 

20 minutes ago, Caledonian1 said:

and how exactly would the Scottish Government be able to implement their own Furlough scheme without receiving funding back from Westminster.  Ever wonder where our taxes go?

Our taxes do not go to Westminster. Under the Barnett Formula, the UK Government's block grant covers the difference between the Scottish Government's spending and its tax income - https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-finances-2019-2020-key-facts-figures/.

Before Covid-19  struck, the Scottish Government's budget deficit to 5th April was £15 billion - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-53917226. This year's deficit, due to huge spending and lower income will be massive. ETA - the UK cost of Covid is around £400 billion to put the figures in perspective.

Edited December 5, 2020 by Bishop Briggs

[Caledonian1]

2 minutes ago, Bishop Briggs said:

No I did not.

I was asking why the Scottish Government had not placed its own vaccine order rather than relying on Westminster. 

Our taxes do not go to Westminster. Under the Barnett Formula, the UK Government's block grant covers the difference between the Scottish Government's spending and its tax income - https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-finances-2019-2020-key-facts-figures/.

Before Covid-19  struck, the Scottish Government's budget deficit to 5th April was £15 billion - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-53917226. This year's deficit, due to huge spending and lower income will be massive.

ah ok so you are just fishing then.  

Another daft Tory who reads the Daily Mail or Daily Express

[Bishop Briggs]

1 minute ago, Caledonian1 said:

ah ok so you are just fishing then.  

Another daft Tory who reads the Daily Mail or Daily Express

That old cliched smear rather than a reasoned argument based on evidence.

I read the Scottish Government's key facts and figures which are compiled by its own statisticians. If you don't like them, that's your problem.

[s_dog]

44 minutes ago, Bishop Briggs said:

Yes and, like the furlough scheme, the UK Government is paying for it.

All income tax throughout the UK is collected by HMRC on behalf of the UK Gov. Scottish Gov now has the right to raise/lower taxes but they don't collect the money. 

Just like the vast majority of the coronavirus testing is organised and run by the UK Gov, so is the procurement of possible vaccines. The UK Gov then decides how and where to do the testing, and how much of the vaccine each country in the UK gets. Scotland is getting around 65000 doses of the 800,000 Pfizer vaccine that's being sent to the UK and its based on population.

The 'UK Government is paying for it' mantra that is flung around is rather pointless when you consider we all pay for the UK Government, immaterial of what part of the UK you live in. Unless you are one of those who can't tell the difference between England and the UK.

Edited December 5, 2020 by s_dog

[Bishop Briggs]

9 minutes ago, MixuFruit said:

Which country should the UK unify with to share the pain?

Ireland. 

[vikingTON]

2 hours ago, Billy Jean King said:

3 hours ago, mizfit said:

I understand a cautious approach but really once the vulnerable groups and over 80’s are vaccinated I’d move all but Glasgow, north and south Lanarkshire to tier 1 and leave them at 2.

The vibes right now are that is simply not going to happen UK wide for many months. Not saying that's the correct approach but it appears to be the way we are heading. I suspect it will be Easter at the earliest before we see any relaxation given the responses so far from all uk wide public health officials to this very question (JVT was even worse but appeared to be slapped down by Bozo so who knows). If you asked me 10 days ago if I would get back to football this season minus restrictions I would have been fairly confident but now I'm pretty doubtful. I'm not interested in a restricted return, happy to wait for a normal matchday experience.

Agreed. The restrictions were only supposed to be used until a treatment became available. There will be one soon but the goalposts are already being shifted to 'aye but the NHS!'. It is not the public's job to sit on their hands in 2021 because poorly funded hospitals with a handful of Covid cases and wee Senga falling and breaking a hip at the same time.

[Manifesto]

5 hours ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

17 hours ago, Manifesto said:

So is the dotting wars I've watched over the years..
It was the whole point the rep was introduced.
 
Tynie, VT has been called that for 15 years? Don't think it bothers him a jot. If it does, I'll refrain.

He has a skin thicker than a rhino's - I doubt very much it bothers him.

Hence the welter of Helens from him since the post

 

He doesn't mind the virgin patter, but he hates to be called out on being 'wrong'.

 

Unlucky.

[SoapMactavish]

Booked in for my first dose of the vaccine on Wednesday

[Manifesto]

On 26/11/2020 at 15:45, Turkmenbashi said:

Surprised to see the SNP winning in Cornwall and Isle and Wight

An edit?

 

Not a surprise from the most swampy of the forum .

[s_dog]

We've got to vaccinate over 50 million people, and just days after getting the news one single vaccine has been passed for use, and confirmation we're getting delivery of the first batch, which'll vaccinate up to 400,000, and some eejits already moaning about how the goalposts are being shifted 

We're vaccinating an entire country. Even the Germans admit they expect it to take them until 2022.

[Theroadlesstravelled]

1 minute ago, s_dog said:

We've got to vaccinate over 50 million people, and just days after getting the news one single vaccine has been passed for use, and confirmation we're getting delivery of the first batch, which'll vaccinate up to 400,000, and some eejits already moaning about how the goalposts are being shifted 

We're vaccinating an entire country. Even the Germans admit they expect it to take them until 2022.

But we won the war.

We’ll be done in a few weeks.