Coronavirus - the new strain XVI
- Thread starter Tony L
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mandryka
pfm Member
They're imposing some restrictions, tighter in a couple of large regions, but schools remain open everywhere and small shops too I think. Deaths, admissions and new cases are growing slowly, nothing like the conflagration we experienced in January. 60% British Variant there. Quite a lot of SA and Br too, or so it seems to me.
https://www.linternaute.com/actuali...s-variants-anglais-sud-africain-et-bresilien/
I don’t know how good their data is but they are a bigger country with less population density. To be honest I am only really bothered about us at the moment.
mandryka
pfm Member
Very sensible.
A drop in cases despite 1.5 million tests I believe.
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
Corruption-the new strain. It’s world beating.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...tes-in-england-say-mps?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
There is no evidence to show that the government’s £22bn test-and-trace programme to combat Covid-19 in England contributed to a reduction in coronavirus infection levels, parliament’s spending watchdog has concluded.
In a report which examined the rush to invest in the scheme, the cross-party public accounts committee has challenged ministers to justify the “staggering investment of taxpayers’ money” and criticised the use of private consultants who are paid up to £6,624 a day.
The programme, which has a budget that exceeds that of the Department for Transport, is run by Dido Harding, who was appointed by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, last year. At the time, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, said the country would have as “world-beating” system.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...tes-in-england-say-mps?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
There is no evidence to show that the government’s £22bn test-and-trace programme to combat Covid-19 in England contributed to a reduction in coronavirus infection levels, parliament’s spending watchdog has concluded.
In a report which examined the rush to invest in the scheme, the cross-party public accounts committee has challenged ministers to justify the “staggering investment of taxpayers’ money” and criticised the use of private consultants who are paid up to £6,624 a day.
The programme, which has a budget that exceeds that of the Department for Transport, is run by Dido Harding, who was appointed by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, last year. At the time, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, said the country would have as “world-beating” system.
gavreid
Pretty Words...
The report is wrong, Dido says so...
Test and Trace boss Dido Harding defends 'essential' £37bn service
...as ever that will be that, no further action!
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
Don’t go there. It’s an Aladdin’s cave of contagious diseases. I remember the scares over Marburg / Green Monkey when I was a school boy. There were still fears that smallpox would escape confinement. I should have born that in mind when I slapped a Vervet on the bum several years later in East Africa. Fortunately it only turned round and gave me a filthy look.
Hoopsontoast
pfm Member
I guess the difference with Marburg & Ebola for example is that they are not transmitted via the air, its really only direct contact with the infected fluids so its somewhat easy to limit exposure. I guess that's why a lot of the Ebola outbreaks tended to infect a LOT of people very quickly early on, especially in areas with little to no modern medical support.
Bob McC
Living the life of Riley
“Investment”?
That’s a laugh.
Ponty
pfm Member
What happens once every adult in the UK has been offered the vaccine, we open up and cases start to increase within those who, for whatever reason, refuse to take the vaccine, putting increased pressure on the NHS. There is no way the public will accept any form of lockdown in this scenario IMHO.
Tony L
Administrator
A lot will depend on what the virus does. That section of the public will be a petri dish for new mutations etc which may well jump the vaccine given time. It isn’t just here, e.g. Brazil is in a hell of a state (it has a dreadful anti-science right-wing government) so there is little prospect of controlling things globally for a while. From a personal perspective I don’t care if people stupid enough to refuse the vaccine die, that’s just Darwinism in action, but we do need to keep a very close eye on the virus and what it does as time goes on. As soon as it mutates to the point we no longer have protection all options are back on the table, i.e. more lockdown. Ironically it is the far-right anti-vaccine anti-lockdown dickheads who are placing us at the most risk of more lockdown as they are willing petri dishes for mutation.
Bob McC
Living the life of Riley
Whitty added cases could also increase among those for whom the vaccine has not worked.
Why is anti-vaccine associated with the far right?
Only yesterday I caught up with a friend who is as left leaning as they come.
He was associating the vaccine with government autocratic policy, and that's why he wouldn't trust / take it. IMO, that's dangerous.
That's why I don't like the government claiming the vaccination success as a political win. The success has been down to a collective approach between all the major players. Labour would have had just as much resources and support, if they were in power.
Only yesterday I caught up with a friend who is as left leaning as they come.
He was associating the vaccine with government autocratic policy, and that's why he wouldn't trust / take it. IMO, that's dangerous.
That's why I don't like the government claiming the vaccination success as a political win. The success has been down to a collective approach between all the major players. Labour would have had just as much resources and support, if they were in power.
Seanm
pfm Member
I think we need to be careful of this kind of thinking, it's already starting to feed into racist abuse. For a start, vaccine take up in this country is very, very high. But more importantly, those who are not taking up the offer of the vaccine are often not anti-vaxxers or anything like it: they have practical concerns relating to their material circumstances that are 100% legitimate (can't afford to take time off if side effects are severe) or have legitimate reasons not to trust public health authorities as a result of a lifetime of experience of institutional racism. None of this is stupid and it can't be addressed just by explaining things to people or urging them to trust the authorities.
Good thread and article here outlining the issues: US-focused but much of it will apply to the UK:
https://twitter.com/RheaBoydMD/status/1367981704648912896?s=20
I especially liked 'surgeons don't prep patients for surgery by saying, “Just trust me, I’ll see you in the OR.”'
wylton
Naim and Mana member
Yes, it's easy to take the hard line on this, but as you say, we don't really know the reasons behind people's decisions not to have the vaccine.
Tony L
Administrator
I agree, and my post is mainly aimed at the utter dickheads who very actively refuse to wear masks, hold anti-lockdown marches etc. Basically these pricks (Liverpool Echo), plus many of the inbreds on the Tory back-benches.
I understand there is a clear educational need to convince some in areas with high levels of religious indoctrination and in fairness to the government a lot of funding is being directed to that aim (I live in such an area). It seems to be working.
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