613 replies to this topic

[Sutol]

When you look at the stats it's the silver tops that are at risk from a fatal infection, and 'yes' that includes me. But for the sake of the country's economy I am willing to take precautions in order to keep myself safe, as long as those not at much risk respect that. That way the fit and able will be able to get back to work to fund the NHS that my age group are relying on for their dotage.

 

I have decided to go privately for my hip op. The private hospitals are having to take the overspill from the NHS for non urgent procedures. So, despite having to cough up £10k for private treatment I will still be in a queue, albeit a bit further up it.

[techieboy]

Yeah, my father in law's been waiting for a hernia op for 6 months and had a date in early December at Bedford General hospital but last week they transferred his op to a local private hospital for next week. Hopefully, that'll still happen despite the new lockdown.

 

Personally, I'm hoping they'll ban anything other single household Christmas and then I won't need to go to the in-laws.

 

[FLD]

 

 

Sooo, lockdown 2.0 looms close.  I know there are mixed opinions here but I really hope we get a handle on this beast soon.

Regrettably 'this beast' is here to stay imo and we just need to learn to live with it without having a lock down every 3 months.

 

 

I don't disagree Chris but we, as a population, have proved spectacularly incapable of following even the most basic distancing principles and self-regulating our behaviour with any consistency - see the 700 twat rave in Yate at the weekend.

 

So called herd immunity, whether gained naturally via recovery or via vaccine is clearly still the only way out of the whole thing. However, those studies that seem to show that naturally acquired antibodies after recovery don't hang around for too long are a bit worrying. Hopefully, if that is the case it's not as bad as it might be and the T-cells(?) or whatever the other type of bodily defence system still has the relevant memory to nix a new infection, if necessary. Given a vaccination program, once there's a viable vaccine, is going to take at least a year to manufacture in the necessary quantities and roll out to a significant proportion of the population - anti-vaxxers and Bill Gates microchip haters aside - we're going to have to live with it. And hope that it doesn't mutate enough to require new vaccines every year or two.

 

 

There is already a second strain.  It started in Spain and has spread across Europe accounting for 40-70% of current infections. 

 

I will caveat this in that I read it from a news report and not the original scientific source
 

[techieboy]

There is already a second strain.  It started in Spain and has spread across Europe accounting for 40-70% of current infections. 

 

I will caveat this in that I read it from a news report and not the original scientific source
 

 

 

Yeah, I read the same but understood that they thought the (certainly the "Oxford") vaccine was still going to be effective against it. Again, no more detail than the BBC report and one of the go to SAGE bods. I guess the real problem will be if it mutates to a new major strain (SARS-Cov3 or whatever the nomenclature is) rather than a minor variant. I don't think we've ever had the original Wuhan strain over here in meaningful numbers so it presumably mutated early doors and hopefully we've only ever been working against what we/Europe have or at least a very close variant.

[coldel]

I was watching the news prior to the delayed Boris arrival the other night and they talked about the new strain and made a point of saying it’s new in that 2-3 markers in its 30,000 mark gene code (or whatever the virus equivalent was) have changed but it would take substantially more for it to impact the ability of the vaccine to work.


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[PaulCP]

Unfortunately we now live in a “me, me, me” society made up of 2 main elements.

1. The “Entitled” who believe that they can just do what they want. They are used to getting their own way and when they were younger they were known as “spoiled brats”

2. The Eastenders brigade being those who insist that “no one tells me what to do”

 

On the former I saw a quick TV interview last week of 2 females who were at university. When they were asked why they weren’t following the guidance their response was “we came to university to enjoy ourselves and we are not being allowed to”🙄

If either of them had been one of my daughters I would have dragged them back from uni and told them to get a job and provide for themselves.

 

One day this Entitled group will wake up and realise that it is they who are going to contribute to the cost of the pandemic for years to come via increased taxation of one means or another

[Sutol]

It's also authority Paul, it's got no teeth. At the gun club the other day I asked a (guess) 12yo boy what covid precautions they have taken at school. There is segration of years and you're encouraged to wear masks, where teachers, years and classrooms forming individual bubbles. When changing classes using the corridors, everyone HAS to wear a mask. All very good I thought until he said, "nobody does of course". When asked if the teachers tell them to use masks he said, "oh yes they do but we ignore them". In my day disobediance was dealt with in a very painful way. I tell you Paul there is no hope.

[techieboy]

Don't we sound like a bunch of crusty old b4st4rds.

[Sutol]

Ha ha too true. Someone once said to me that a pessimist is an optimist with wisdom.

[PaulCP]

The Voices of Reason     

Edited by PaulCP, 02 November 2020 - 09:54 PM.

[coldel]

Have to be cautious of the media news stories like the university ones. I know someone she and two of her friends were asked similar leading questions which were presented back by the reporter completely out of context back in June. Additionally they were socially distancing but the news crew literally pushed them together for a photo which then made it onto national level coverage with a lead on how youngsters were blatantly ignoring social distancing, she was mortified as they were literally ambushed and harangued then quoted completely out of context.

There are definitely a part of society who don’t give two hoots, but it’s not as easy to profile as “they are youngsters” - mother of one of my sons class mates works for the NHS she is in her late forties and refuses to wear a mask and keeps asking if her daughter can come stay with us whilst she works ignoring the high tier we are in. Beggars belief.


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[hairy]

[Ivor]

Wifey and I discussing the very same thing this week....

[oblomov]

So, retrospective examination of blood tests in Italy reveal patients suffering from Covid in September 2019 which completely negates the established timeline.

[jonnyboy]

I heard this a few months ago. I think the only thing it shines a light on is the amount of time an epidemic takes to get going but it is very interesting. 

[oblomov]

 

I heard this a few months ago. I think the only thing it shines a light on is the amount of time an epidemic takes to get going but it is very interesting. 

 

Yes, I did read quite some time ago that similar retrospective blood tests in New York showed the presence of Covid at least a month earlier than the official first case. Also when Covid precautions first came out they were saying that the virus only transmitted in larger water droplets whereas other viruses of similar type were spread in much smaller airborn droplets with a much larger potential infection area. Logically it didn't make much sense to me that the Covid virus of similar size was somehow not present in smaller droplets. However someone in Italy told me that the ability of the virus to 'jump' from one person to another defied the then established transmission criteria. Airborn transmission especially in enclosed areas is now understood to be the case.

[jonnyboy]

Maybe it mutated and got going?

[techieboy]

Great news that the Pfizer vaccine has been given the seal approval this morning. It really does feel like it's the beginning of the end now.

 

Shame I'm 24,898,763rd in the priority queue to get it. Guess I won't be partying with abandon on New Years Eve, this year. Unless, of course, there's 23 million anti-vaxxer refuseniks ahead of me.

[FLD]

It's great news.  Whilst I'm pretty happy amusing myself (fnaaaarrrr), I am getting a little tired of things as they are.  Having said that, I'm not one to look at the rules to see what I can do, I've just stayed the hell away from everyone. 

 

In normal times I find my personality helps with social distancing enforcement.

[techieboy]

In normal times I find my personality helps with social distancing enforcement.

 

This is absolutely normal times for me. I hate people all year round at the best of times and have worked from home for 15 years now.

 

The only thing I've personally missed is being able to eat out at decent restaurants.