Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[Jacksgranda]

6 hours ago, John MacLean said:

Right from the very early days of this nightmare world leaders talked about a “new normal”. With an end hopefully now in sight, albeit some months ahead and with difficult times still to come, we absolutely should not return to the ‘old normal’.

We have endured far too much to simply treat it all as a blip in the passage of world history.

We will have failed miserably if we don’t stop and consider why our NHS needed protecting to the level that it did and take steps to ensure that it is never again placed under such strain.

We will have failed miserably if we don’t stop and consider why the state so utterly failed so many people and so many industries. We need to ensure that we have a welfare state fit for purpose. A welfare state that actually protects the most vulnerable in society when they need it most.

We will have failed miserably if we don’t stop and consider how we treat the older members of our society. Leaving the care of those that require residential care in the hands of those whose priority is profit not people should no longer be acceptable.

We will have failed miserably if Neil Doncaster still remains in place as cockwomble in chief of the SPFL.

Okay that last one is just for me.

As we end an utterly miserable year I want, on a personal note, 2021 to be a year where I again take pleasure in the things and the people I love whether that is inside a football ground, theatre, restaurant, gig venue, pub or just sitting on the couch at home with a drink in hand and the company of good friends.

Above all else though I hope 2021 is a year that sees a more compassionate, more caring society.

Happy New Year.

Well said.

(I've a horrible feeling few, if any, of your paragraphs 3 -5 will come to pass, unfortinately.) 

[Shandon Par]

On 30/12/2020 at 15:50, HeWhoWalksBehindTheRows said:

I had teachers in the 90s who used to meet in a car during lessons for a cigar and a drink. There were teachers that used to drink during lessons at their tables, and on the last day before xmas holidays all the departments would go to the local for lunch and come back absolutely steamboats.

Ah, you had my mum as a teacher. 

[philpy]

27 minutes ago, Bert Raccoon said:

Sorry 

  Reveal hidden contents

Not sorry

 

.

[Billy Jean King]

The AZ vaccine has evidence that it works fine as one dose, they should leave the Pfizer as is and get every one in group 1 done in full asal and get the AZ one fired out from the 2nd group of priorities down asap

It's the fact over half a million who have had a dose of Pfizer are now being told they won't be getting their 2nd dose as expected. Where that leaves them on the spectrum of protection seems very much up for debate which is not really on given they will be amongst those most in need of maximum protection.

[Jacksgranda]

4 hours ago, ICTChris said:

524,439 over 80s have had the vaccine in England.  This is 18% of that age group.

Chop chop.

If you chop chopped the over 80s there would be a lot less of them to vaccinate. Good idea.

[D.A.F.C]

I’d be hoping tiers are back in March and then it naturally gets better from there.

Hopefully

[D.A.F.C]

I don't know how you would define "OK" but the end of this won't be like flicking a switch and with it everything is suddenly back to the way it was. 
It might be too slow for many and certainly way too slow for those who thought that there shouldn't have been any restrictions, but it will likely be a gradual process. 
That things will be better by spring and continuing to improve is not an unrealistic proposition. And personally I'd be okay with that though naturally the quicker the better. I'm not expecting 2021, even in the latter months, to be exactly like 2019 but I'm optimistic it was be damn site closer than this miserable, fucked up year has been. 

Agreed, someone said the government were saying back to normal by spring.
This is unrealistic, it will be better like you say.

[Granny Danger]

12 minutes ago, Shandön Par said:

Ah, you had my mum as a teacher. 

Don’t Granny, just don’t...

 

[Jacksgranda]

3 hours ago, 101 said:

Tbh I think this is where the military come into their own they don't have the same ties to paper pushing and pointless meetings they come up with the most effective way of doing something and get it done, why the NHS don't have people capable to do that I have no idea but clearly the NHS management is fairly average at best.

I don't think that's quite correct.

[Shandon Par]

5 minutes ago, Granny Danger said:

Don’t Granny, just don’t...

 

It was an open goal so well done for your restraint. One day her assistant head teacher got done for drink driving after such a lunch. Her boyfriend, the head teacher, went to get her from the police station and promptly got done for drink driving too. No wonder so many of their pupils ended up on the front page of the Dunfermline Press for all manner of terrible crimes. 
 

 

[Trackdaybob]

3 hours ago, 101 said:

 

My only experiences have been similar to ICR. I don't doubt that there are pen pushers and such but there are a lot of people who are good and getting something done.

Not untrue but more so then ever we're being drawn into line with civilian practices. Much more than we've ever been before.

Whilst there are benefits, f**k me there isn't half a shit load of bullshit to deal with. It's fuckin infuriating at times. I lose half a day a week pretty much just dealing with shite that wasn't there a few years back. Might as well tie my hand behind my back some days. 

Edited December 31, 2020 by Trackdaybob
Fat fingers

[Jacksgranda]

43 minutes ago, HeartsOfficialMoaner said:

I'm pretty confident I'll be flying off on holiday in the summertime.

But the virus has mutated over 20,000 in just a year, in the next 6 months there is a chance there might be another 10,000 mutations and the vaccine might not be effective against some of them.

Regardless, I'll be flying off as long as the airports are open for business.

#8monthstogo

[djchapsticks]

37 minutes ago, Billy Jean King said:

Pfizer themselves and the
BMA putting out statements that there is zero evidence of effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine in cases where the 2nd dose is administered more than 21 days after the first. This has lead the GPs association to request that the government publish their scientific evidence to back the new 12 week strategy ASAP.
 

And the frightening part is that the Government now have history of being warned against changing goalposts but their pig-headedness leads to them ignoring until a point where it's probably too late.

If they don't follow up with the second doses, they may have effectively dished out half a million fucking placebos. 

[welshbairn]

7 minutes ago, Trackdaybob said:

Not untrue but more so then ever we're being drawn into line with civilian practices. Much more than we've ever been before.

Whilst there are benefits, f**k me there isn't half a shit load of bullshit to deal with. It's fuckin infuriating at times. I lose half a day a week pretty much just feeling with shite that wasn't there a few years back. Might as well tie my hand behind my back some days. 

Can't give a new recruit a good beasting anymore without filling out a risk assessment. Mind you every spoof about the military from Bilko to The Virgin Soldiers and Catch 22 has taken the pish out of all the form filling. 

[Trackdaybob]

4 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

Can't give a new recruit a good beasting anymore without filling out a risk assessment. Mind you every spoof about the military from Bilko to The Virgin Soldiers and Catch 22 has taken the pish out of all the form filling. 

Nowadays it's bloody emails. 

"Didn't you read my email?" Is very common down my end of the hangar. 

[Jacksgranda]

7 minutes ago, Andrew Driver said:

No he's meaning "Chop Chop" as in 'get on with it'.   

Is he?

Thanks for that...

[Jacksgranda]

1 minute ago, Trackdaybob said:

Nowadays it's bloody emails. 

"Didn't you read my email?" Is very common down my end of the hangar. 

[Arthur Orton]

36 minutes ago, Billy Jean King said:

48 minutes ago, MP_MFC said:

The AZ vaccine has evidence that it works fine as one dose, they should leave the Pfizer as is and get every one in group 1 done in full asal and get the AZ one fired out from the 2nd group of priorities down asap

It's the fact over half a million who have had a dose of Pfizer are now being told they won't be getting their 2nd dose as expected. Where that leaves them on the spectrum of protection seems very much up for debate which is not really on given they will be amongst those most in need of maximum protection.

We were told that the second dose of Pfizer only increased protection from circa 91pct to 95pct hence delay in second job so as those who haven't been done yet can get their first dose.

That's came from board to will probably be pish.

 

Edited December 31, 2020 by Tynierose

[Bairnardo]

Coupled to that, if the second dose provides longevity rather than a massive boost to the protection, it just so happens we have about 300 million vaccines on order in case anyone needs more fired into them next year.

We were told that the second dose of Pfizer only increased protection from circa 91pct to 95pct hence delay in second job so as those who haven't been done yet can get their first dose.
 

[welshbairn]

6 minutes ago, Tynierose said:

We were told that the second dose of Pfizer only increased protection from circa 91pct to 95pct hence delay in second job so as those who haven't been done yet can get their first dose.

 

Quote

Pfizer said the safety and efficacy of the vaccine hasn’t been tested at the new interval. “Pfizer and BioNTech’s Phase 3 study for the COVID-19 vaccine was designed to evaluate the vaccine’s safety and efficacy following a 2-dose schedule, separated by 21 days. The safety and efficacy of the vaccine has not been evaluated on different dosing schedules as the majority of trial participants received the second dose within the window specified in the study design,” the company said.

Pfizer also noted there are no data to demonstrate that protection is sustained after 21 days from receiving the first dose.

“While decisions on alternative dosing regimens reside with health authorities, Pfizer believes it is critical health authorities conduct surveillance efforts on any alternative schedules implemented and to ensure each recipient is afforded the maximum possible protection, which means immunization with two doses of the vaccine,” said Pfizer. A message left with BioNTech wasn’t immediately returned.

In the briefing document the drug companies provided to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, they said about 80% of the patients who received the second dose were administered it within 10 weeks of receiving the first one.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-k-health-service-pushes-back-interval-for-delivering-second-pfizer-coronavirus-vaccine-to-a-duration-company-says-is-untested-11609424175

P.S. It's not unusual for drug companies being overly defensive about shifting rules of usage, it's possible that the 20% of people who had no ill effects from having the second jag more than 10 weeks later were of a sufficient number for the MHRA to be confident about it.

Edited December 31, 2020 by welshbairn