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Coronavirus - the new strain XXIV

COVID in 2023 and beyond – why virus trends are more difficult to predict three years on
One thing is for certain though – the pandemic is not over yet.

"The proportion of people estimated to be infected has varied over time, but this figure has not fallen below 1.25% (or one in 80 people) in England for the entirety of 2022. COVID is very much still with us, and people are being infected time and time again. Meanwhile, the number of people self-reporting long COVID symptoms in the UK is around 3.4%, or one in 30 people. And the cumulative risk of acquiring long COVID grows the more times people are reinfected with COVID."

https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/c...trends-are-more-difficult-predict-three-years
 
Personal I think it's going to be around for a long time yet. Mother Nature is starting to fight back to the shit we are putting her through. It will keep on mutating and mutating, staying at least one step ahead until a vaccine arrived that will stop it dead. Hopefully sooner rather than later, our health service just doesn't need this or indeed the people dying of it.
 
This is causing a stir - one rule for some/double standards atc...

"Purified Air were tasked to incorporate filtration solutions into the existing HVAC system of the Houses of Parliament to improve the indoor air quality of the building. We achieved this by installing Electrostatic Precipitators (ESP) within the existing Air Handling Units.

The ESPs vastly improved upon the indoor air quality, ensuring that airborne viruses and bacteria were kept to an absolute minimum within the space. The cleaner air also helped enhance feelings of well-being and increase productivity for the occupiers of the space. Purified Air were very proud to supply product for this air purification project. "

https://www.purifiedair.com/case-studies/the-houses-of-parliament/
 
This is causing a stir - one rule for some/double standards atc...

"Purified Air were tasked to incorporate filtration solutions into the existing HVAC system of the Houses of Parliament to improve the indoor air quality of the building. We achieved this by installing Electrostatic Precipitators (ESP) within the existing Air Handling Units.

The ESPs vastly improved upon the indoor air quality, ensuring that airborne viruses and bacteria were kept to an absolute minimum within the space. The cleaner air also helped enhance feelings of well-being and increase productivity for the occupiers of the space. Purified Air were very proud to supply product for this air purification project. "

https://www.purifiedair.com/case-studies/the-houses-of-parliament/
I will take the positive that they have actually done something that will protect people in the houses of parliament and so the precedent has been set and so they can start to improve ventilation and occupant safety of other government / public buildings.
 
I will take the positive that they have actually done something that will protect people in the houses of parliament and so the precedent has been set and so they can start to improve ventilation and occupant safety of other government / public buildings.

We can live in hope - I suspect that it won't get as far as schools anytime soon!
 
A sharp fall in hospitalisations now. 599 (16/1)

Hi @gavreid, good to see another fall.

It is so difficult to predict from the data what is likely to happen in the future, in fact the last spike has made it even more difficult than it has been.

The dynamics of infection and human behaviours must continue to be hard for the modellers and decision makers to really get to grips with. I wonder if it is the most vulnerable who are wearing masks, avoiding groups of people in buildings etc and so numbers of people going into hospital is gradually reducing. As my immune system recovers we have started to have the odd visitor in our house as long as they are well and I am wearing a mask (visitors sometimes wear a mask) and we have portable HEPA filters in operation.
 
Flu and pneumonia deaths a quarter higher than usual in England and Wales
Figures for December up on typical year but overall mortality rate for 2022 below average, latest data shows


Flu and pneumonia were the leading cause of “excess death” in England in December with 574 extra deaths, 26% above the average, while flu deaths in Wales were 11% higher and the fourth most common cause of death that month.

Despite this, full-year figures for 2022 show the mortality rate fell below average for the first time since the Covid pandemic reached the UK in early 2020, with fewer people dying across the two countries last year when age and the size of the population was taken into account. Just 4% of deaths had Covid as the primary cause last year, compared with 11% in 2021.

The data also shows that 14% more people died in households last year than is typical, indicating the increase in home deaths that took place during the Covid pandemic is continuing. There were 2% fewer deaths in hospitals and only 0.3% more deaths in care homes.

https://www.theguardian.com/society...uarter-higher-than-usual-in-england-and-wales
 
This I fear is the purpose of proposing charges:

Consultation charges in Ireland deter a large proportion of patients from seeing the GP: results of a cross-sectional survey


"Conclusion: Even in countries with exemptions for the poor and more vulnerable, a consultation charge can deter a large proportion of poorer and less healthy patients from seeing their GP."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18324505/
 
JCVI prepares for Autumn 2023 booster (although covid is not a seasonal illness) but pulls the plug on future boosters for the U-50s. Closure of the current round is 12th Feb.

 


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