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BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Nigel Parsons Date: 05 Apr 21 - 06:22 AM My view? Let the pubs re-open in full. There will be different groups of customers: The vaccinated: Not really a risk to themselves or others (but take precautions if going home to someone not vaccinated) The yet-to be vaccinated: Assume everyone else is contagious and take reasonable precautions. Those unable to be vaccinated (for health reasons); continue to take extreme care Those who choose not to be vaccinated; Your fate is in your own hands, don't expect others to avoid you for your protection. Of course the pubs should continue with current good hygiene systems and spacing (where possible) at least until the 'yet-to-be' group have had a chance to get a vaccine. In the future we can expect a 'new norm' where masks may be a fact of life, and everyone will take a bit more care for themselves and for others. But I haven't seen signs of that in the mass evening gatherings in the last week or so. Reopening the pubs might reduce these mass gatherings. From the above you may gather that I'm missing the pubs (and the pinball machines) |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Steve Shaw Date: 05 Apr 21 - 05:47 AM So you'd be happy to sit next to someone in the cinema who has "tested negative" using an extremely unreliable test? You'd be happy to stand next to someone in the mosh pit with a "vaccine certificate" granted by a government that has killed tens of thousands of people via sheer ineptitude and which has wasted £37 billion on a useless "world-beating" no-track-and-no-trace "system"? I've got a better idea: stay at home, spend your flicks dough on a nice bottle, and watch a film on the telly. Butterkist make nice popcorn. One day, you can go to the flicks feeling unconditionally safe. It will come. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Bonzo3legs Date: 05 Apr 21 - 03:57 AM I'm pleased to see that the UK government will offer to deliver 2 free covid tests to everyone once lockdown starts to ease more substantially!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Bonzo3legs Date: 04 Apr 21 - 05:32 PM But it has has taken an incredibly short period of time to vaccinate 30 million adults. I would not want to sit next to an unvaccinated lady or man at a gig, in the cinema or theatre. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Steve Shaw Date: 04 Apr 21 - 11:14 AM I don't agree with you. If and when we get case numbers very low (we live in hope, keeping a wary eye on Europe's third wave) we won't need them. By then, the only role of vaccine passports would be to nobble vaccine deniers. I don't like vaccine deniers but I don't want the government to enact laws that are matters of somebody's principle rather than matters of pragmatism. It is not against the law to refuse a vaccine, and passports would discriminate against people who are not lawbreakers. They would also discriminate against people who, for one reason or another, are fearful of the vaccines. We already know that there is a large disparity in proportions between the vaccine-worried in white and black communities, for all sorts of reasons. Vaccine passports would readily be seen as carrying racist connotations. On top of all this, it would be unconscionable to introduce them before everyone has been offered a vaccine. We are a long way from that aspiration at the moment and it's looking like it'll take a lot longer than the government's promised deadlines. |
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Subject: BS: Covid passport From: Bonzo3legs Date: 04 Apr 21 - 09:45 AM Covid passports are an excellent idea, of course they are bound to be disliked by people who have something to hide!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 12 Mar 21 - 11:55 AM This was discussed by Anthony Fauci on The Rachel Maddow Show last night. He said they're only effective if they are administered very early. The problem is that they require an IV setup and the research now is to render these drugs into more easily administered forms. The best and easiest would be a pill to take by mouth as soon as possible, but he said it looks like the companies are aiming at intramuscular or sub-cutaneous administration as a shot. But he kept going back to the early testing being needed to administer these treatments. They only have snippets of the program on the Maddow Blog, but you may find the bit I'm talking about. (Her regular program is available over cable or online services.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Steve Shaw Date: 12 Mar 21 - 06:25 AM Do tell us more. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Donuel Date: 12 Mar 21 - 04:52 AM There are as many as THREE direct anti viral therapeutic medicines (anti body) that will save a patient from death ONLY IF THEY ARE ADMINISTERED IN TIME. however they do not not have them for the varints yet. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Mr Red Date: 12 Mar 21 - 03:55 AM I bumped into a local ceilidhnaut last week and we chatted about the dance possibilities (mostly lack of) and as we parted she handed me a broadsheet called "the Light" (a truthpaper) - politely taking it and secreting it in my knapsack. There was a hint of evangelical religion about it, but the evengel was anti-vax & paranoia about mendacious Gov statistics (OK, but I prefer healthy sceptisism on Gov offerings). Re: people dying after vaccination, ignoring that statistically/law of averages there are going to be some no matter what. Britain has its fair share of AltFactsers but it is hard to see people you know being so misguided in the logic department. And unable to even offer more than "Well I have been shot and I didn't fall over" with a smile on my face. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Donuel Date: 11 Mar 21 - 07:14 PM Almost all initial new introduction of knowledge is greeted with denial. We are hard wired with some protection to the lie but repitition breaks down that denial surpringly quickly. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Mrrzy Date: 11 Mar 21 - 06:27 PM Here is a fascinating look at covid denial, from 6 months' of MIT listening in on them online. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Donuel Date: 11 Mar 21 - 12:33 PM 8.4 million Americans are long haulers. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Donuel Date: 09 Mar 21 - 01:55 PM Good news on the financial Covid relief bill is promising as well as Biden's full speed ahead with the vaccination delivery. Nigel is your brain collection large?? Tin foil and metal trays do not help preserve or control excess heat from degrading brains. What you do in the field is use a small kit with syringes and some basic solution reagents You can then go in and anesthetize the animal and set up a little field station to embalm the brain in formaldehyde right there. Gycerine and sodium benzoate in a zip lock baggie with no air also works in a pinch. ;^) |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Mar 21 - 10:30 AM Yesterday the CDC said that fully vaccinated adults may, beginning two weeks after the second shot, gather indoors without masks or social distancing. And may gather with low-probability to infection people like small children. When out in public still wear masks and still stay socially distant. CDC Says It's Safe For Vaccinated People To Do These Activities In Texas, after tomorrow (March 10), all of that is a big crap shoot. The Governor lifted all of the restrictions on people, so those who are still being cautious need to do so while avoiding people who aren't being cautious. And look: it's time for Colleges and Universities to have Spring Break. Southern beaches are a classic destination so Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, look out. |
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Subject: RE: BS: So much Good News! From: Nigel Parsons Date: 09 Mar 21 - 09:05 AM Hedgehoppers Anonymous: It's good news week Someone's dropped a bomb somewhere Contaminating atmosphere And blackening the sky It's good news week Someone's found a way to give The rotting dead a will to live Go on and never die Have you heard the news What did it say? Who's won that race? What's the weather like today? It's good news week Families shake the need for gold By stimulating birth control We're wanting less to eat It's good news week Doctors finding many ways Of wrapping brains on metal trays To keep us from the heat It's good news week Families shake the need for gold By stimulating birth control We're wanting less to eat It's good news week Doctors finding many ways Of wrapping brains on metal trays To keep us from the heat To keep us from the heat To keep us from the heat |
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Subject: BS: So much Good News! From: Donuel Date: 09 Mar 21 - 06:32 AM Good Grief there is so much good news it feels alien. However guarded there is so much change this month that hope feels giddy with promise. What can be done will be done outside be it music, ball games or friends and family reunion. Gigs, cheers and hugs to all. After being darkest before the dawn here comes the sun, vaccine relief and good times. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Mr Red Date: 09 Mar 21 - 02:44 AM I can't re-find the Youtube video on the fact that H1N1 almost not circulating during COVID. But there is one out there if you can find the search terms. Basically the different families of human virus don't co-exist in one body. Maybe not totally true, but for most healthy and many unhealthy people that would be the case. The statistics are fuzzy at the population level because of the distancing measures, but in one body the evidence is clear. H1N1 is not a problem at the moment, and the research, such as it is, has not come up with firm conclusions. Interferons in the nose generated during a viral attack that is well under way may be too much for a smaller viral load in its initial stages, is one postulation. Or maybe like plants secreting unctuous stuff to deter competition, who nose? (sic). no, I don't know what they are either! |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Donuel Date: 08 Mar 21 - 11:38 AM https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/research-training/initiatives/activ/2020_NIH_Antiviral_Summit_Report_508.pdf This info is about antiviral therapeutics that some people may need for years. New rules by CDC regarding returning to pre pandemic behavior based on who is and is not vaccinated. https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-guidance-what-can-covid-19-vaccinated-people-do-2021-3 |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Mar 21 - 02:16 PM From Bloomberg Opinion: How Covid's Toll Compares With Other Things That Kill Us Stacking up the disease's impact on young and old against other causes of death in the U.S., including influenza, heart disease, car accidents and drownings. Over the past year the death toll from Covid-19 has been compared to deaths from lots of other causes, ranging from seasonal influenza to war to heart disease to car accidents to swimming-pool drownings. There are lots of tables for comparison. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Donuel Date: 05 Mar 21 - 06:01 AM In the US culture wars against virus protection, the Biden response to the pro virus efforts by the Texas govenor has politizied of all things the Neanderthals. Along with the cave men of antiquity, Transgender Mr. Mr. Potato head and Dr. Seuess have now entered the culture war faith based fray. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Steve Shaw Date: 04 Mar 21 - 12:28 PM The study that pointed the finger at blood group A was carried out in Vancouver on 95 patients already critically ill. Group A patients were more likely to need ventilation. 95. These people were already victims of the virus, so that study had nothing to do with the risk of getting infected. I submit that there was enough there for a hypothesis, nowhere near enough to reach a science-informed conclusion. The other study, a survey of people in Denmark, showed that people in the study who were group O appeared to be less likely to become infected. Other blood groups showed no differences. I wasn't able to find the stats for these studies, and I have to cook the tea in a minute. Neither study informs the desirability or otherwise of getting vaccinated. They are of passing interest. As Mrs Steve is A+, I'll pass it on (she gave blood this morning, as it happens). I guarantee that no eyebrow will be raised. As for me, I'm a Tony Hancockian AB negative, but I don't brag about it. Nobody wants my blood... |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Mrrzy Date: 04 Mar 21 - 11:40 AM Aparently blood groups are back in the mix, with A being at higher risk after all, which is what they said at first then backed off from. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Steve Shaw Date: 16 Feb 21 - 05:09 PM We've seen nothing but full mask compliance in Bude and Launceston. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Doug Chadwick Date: 16 Feb 21 - 04:32 PM With the availability of clear visors which sit on a headband and cover the whole face without blocking the airway, as an alternative to masks over the mouth and nose, I can't see the need for exemptions on medical grounds. DC |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Senoufou Date: 16 Feb 21 - 04:20 PM I've been rather worried at the sight of quite a few people in supermarkets not wearing a mask. I know they're 'exempt' but surely they present a risk and should get someone else to obtain their food for them? We were stopped at the door of a Tesco and challenged for being two people together, in spite of being well-masked. I explained that I have a heart condition and need my husband to lift things and push the trolley. He needs me to translate and direct the purchases as his English is a bit dodgy, so we were allowed in. But non-mask wearers are far more risky I would have thought? |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Jack Campin Date: 16 Feb 21 - 02:33 PM Looks like British pubs are done for. they can't avoid spreading it |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: punkfolkrocker Date: 16 Feb 21 - 12:20 PM Just been out to the Post Office. Hardly anyone bothering to wear masks.. Then I realised, the streets from my home to town and back reeked of skunk smoke; which is normal round here.. Maybe this is something for health scientists to research, perhaps why the South West has lower infection rates...??? Are most of the tiny covids floating in the air around us getting too stoned to be bothered infecting us...??? |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: keberoxu Date: 06 Feb 21 - 03:18 PM I concur, Allan. I'm not so gaga for Tom Brady and the Gronk that I would attend a super-spreader event to watch them. I figure reason doesn't even enter into doing such a thing, it must be driven by sentiment and emotion. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Allan Conn Date: 05 Feb 21 - 07:57 PM I can hardly believe that about 25,000 or so are to attend the Superbowl. Think of all the people travelling and mixing for no necessary reason. In the spring we learned our lesson here in the Borders. Again they got on top of it quickly but were initially the highest infection rate in Scotland. This is a rugby area and many folk went to Italy for the game. Then down to Cardiff and that game wasn't cancelled until most of the Scots were down there. It was blamed for much of the initial surge. One of my friend's uncles contracted it along with some of his friends. He died. They have no proof but were convinced they contracted it on the Cardiff trip. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Steve Shaw Date: 05 Feb 21 - 07:19 PM Cheers Allan. We live in a country with the best vaccine rollout at the moment. That doesn't mean that we should feel either smug or that we should wish to indulge in schadenfreude. It means that, having been one of the worst-hit countries on earth, we are at last seeing the light. Early days still. For the last couple of days I've heard that every signal is positive. Well, perhaps we're not quite there with the numbers of new infections and the numbers in hospital, but we're winning, slowly. Our context should always be the world situation, and that is not good and it should dampen our optimism. But the vaccines are great and that's where we should place our hope. There's a lot of gloomy negativity in this thread. That's entirely understandable in countries that are still struggling. But we have to live in hope, and press our governnents to do the right thing. I'm looking forward to a normal barbecue summer, dammit. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Allan Conn Date: 05 Feb 21 - 06:46 PM Re about what month I am living in. No-one suggested it wasn't a problem that the variant is more infectious. The suggestion was that it is more deadly. That is that it is more deadly to any individual who has it than the old varient was. As Steve says the evidence for that is very flimsy and the PM was criticised by scientists for blurting it out. Re my comments about people in intensive care in Scotland. That is fact. The new varient is endemic here and more people were infected, and more were hospitalised than last spring. However less people ended up in intensive care here. About 75% to 80% compared to the Spring. Here in the Borders we went from Level 1 with about 35 cases per 100,000 to about 400 cases per 100,000 in a short time. However the same social distancing measures work on this varient and we have it back down to about 65 again. All the time the vaccine is rolling out. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Steve Shaw Date: 05 Feb 21 - 06:27 PM And that was to Maggie's 11.11 job! :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Steve Shaw Date: 05 Feb 21 - 04:00 PM Your problem is that your vaccination programme isn't up to speed as yet. Otherwise, what you say is correct (I'm tempted to say "at last," but I like you too much! ) ;-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Thompson Date: 05 Feb 21 - 12:49 PM Someone was asking about extra deaths in Ireland. There's someone tracking rip.ie in which most, but not all, death notices appear (many people don't put notices in the papers, or on rip.ie) and they were about 50 a day extra notices in April, at our peak, and about the same this month in this second peak. That's a huge number of extra deaths in a country with a population under 5 million. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Feb 21 - 11:58 AM There's a long article in the NY Times about why political entities in the US aren't doing a better job of getting vaccines out. They forget that just two weeks ago we got a new president after the last one deliberately made things complicated by trying to deny some states, and by not attempting, some could say even blocking, a national policy for vaccination. I see by the chart on the front page of the Times that my county is still at extremely high risk, with average of 1,721 new cases reported each day. We're watching the sausage be made before our eyes; instead of looking away, we need to carefully do what we can to help. My county has an online form for volunteering to help with the COVID response, so once my second dose has had enough time to become totally effective, I'll go ahead and volunteer. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Feb 21 - 11:11 AM The code in my last post was wrong and dropped out the rest of the statement: That is so last month—I don't know what month you and Allan are living in, but here in the US in February the strain from the UK is considered to be a big problem, along with the South African and Brazilian ones because they may spread faster and kill more people than the current main strain before enough people can be vaccinated. If it is just as deadly as the strain we have now, but it moves faster, then it WILL kill more people. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Steve Shaw Date: 05 Feb 21 - 10:37 AM The science is telling us that the UK variant is 30-70% more catching. Evidence for the mutation causing more serious illness is very thin. Of course, if it's more catching it will infect more people and will kill proportionately more people. That's how the facts and figures go. The context in the UK, and I'm not wanting to sound smug, is our very good vaccine rollout, so the above numbers game will get more and more sidelined. In a couple of weeks' time almost all in the most vulnerable groups will have been vaccinated, their first jab at least, and the stats for first jab alone providing good protection look optimistic. I'm three months too young to be in those cohorts, but I won't have to wait long. Mrs Steve is getting done tomorrow. It's in the same town as Waitrose, so I can legitimately drive the ten miles to take her there and do the shopping. :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Charmion Date: 05 Feb 21 - 09:28 AM According to CTV News, the British and South African variant strains of the virus have surfaced in Canada, but the numbers so far are small -- fewer than 300 cases. The Brazilian version has yet to arrive. But who's being tested? Compulsory testing and quarantine of people arriving at airports began only a few days ago, and road traffic continues to flow over the Canada-US border. Many major outbreaks are linked to warehouse complexes and "fulfillment" centres, and that's no coincidence. So staying home is still very much a thing well into the foreseeable future. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Bonzo3legs Date: 05 Feb 21 - 09:17 AM Change of plan - our GP surgery telephoned yesterday evening inviting me to have covid vaccine which is just 5 minutes drive away with easy parking compared with 30 minutes drive and difficult parking at Crystal Palace, so arranged for Tuesday and appointment at Crystal Palace FC cancelled. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Charmion Date: 05 Feb 21 - 09:14 AM Here in Ontario, I don't think I have a hope of getting jabbed before late summer, although I'm 66 years old and asthmatic. Both the federal and provincial governments crank out anodyne propaganda while the news media publish scare stories about vaccine supply. The only part of the so-called plan that inspires confidence is that isolated aboriginal communities are high in the priority list, presumably because of their abysmal housing situation (no place to quarantine anyone) and lack of health-care personnel and facilities. Okay, maybe I'll go and count my blessings again. I'm 66, asthmatic but otherwise healthy, and quartered in a comfortable, warm, dry, uncrowded house located in a city that has not only a hospital, but also an intensive-care unit and ambulance service. But I still think at least two levels of government are trying hard to snatch a cock-up from the jaws of success. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Thompson Date: 05 Feb 21 - 09:11 AM The UK variant is apparently far, far more infections, and by the same token it's deadlier because it's infecting more people who are vulnerable. In Ireland it's now accounting for three out of every four cases. And will this mean that "only those who would have died anyway" will die of it? Probably not. One sample figure snapped out of an Irish Times story today: "36 priests died in April last year at the height of the pandemic compared to 12 in 2019, eight in 2018 and 14 in 2017. Between March and August last year 135 priests died compared to 79 priests died in 2019 in the same six-month period." (The story is about the Health Service Executive doing a special drive to vaccinate elderly clerics, who are particularly hard hit.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Mrrzy Date: 05 Feb 21 - 08:38 AM NPR also reported today that it is likely that the number of people actually capable of transmiitting the virus is likely 10x higher than the reported number of cases. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Steve Shaw Date: 05 Feb 21 - 04:59 AM Well this month there's a lot of optimism flying around here. The one thing the government has got right is the vaccine rollout. It seems that there's good news every day about the efficacy of vaccines too, even in the face of "new variants." Our grim numbers are going down fast, could be faster of course, the one fly in the ointment being the apparent greater transmissibility as nature selects variants with more effective spike proteins. We are getting better. That's so this month here. And it wasn't what Mrrzy was saying, was it? |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Feb 21 - 12:37 AM That is so last month—I don't know what month you and Allan are living in, but here in the US in February the strain from the UK is considered to be a big problem, along with the South African and Brazilian ones because they may spread faster and kill more people than the current main strain before enough people can be vaccinated. If it is just as deadly as the strain we have now, but it moves faster, then it WILL kill more people. (code typo fixed) |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Steve Shaw Date: 04 Feb 21 - 02:11 PM That is not what Mrrzy meant. What I said is the current position. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Feb 21 - 02:08 PM More deadly because while it may not make people any sicker than the original SARS-CoV-2 (the same percentages without symptoms, with symptoms, and deaths) it will spread to more people so there will be a greater number in each group, meaning a greater number will die. The weak spot in the US response now is the available number of vaccine doses, but the numbers that must also be considered the the number of doses sent around the world. Rich countries hogging the supply leave poorer countries much more vulnerable and allow for the further mutation of the gene that will eventually come back and bite everyone in the ass. There used to be a formula for the number of doses sent to poorer countries outside the US, but of course Trump trashed it along with the science committee that looked into pandemic issues. All of that has to be rebuilt quickly. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Steve Shaw Date: 04 Feb 21 - 12:02 PM "... I'm having both jabs in part of the main stand at Crystal Palace Football Club..." I should ask them to do them in your arm if I were you... |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Allan Conn Date: 04 Feb 21 - 11:59 AM Steve is right in that scientists were not happy when the PM announced that it was more deadly. It was a small amount of data and only suggested that it 'might' be more deadly - but also it 'might' not be. Certainly doesn't seem to be showing so here in Scotland. Hospitalisation and infections in general are increased from the initial spring first wave of the pandemic. However the figures for those in intensive care here are less than they were in the first wave. The new variant is endemic here and does not appear to be causing more of the evry serious illnesses than before!!! Though of course they are also better at treating the condition now than they were initially. |
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Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19 From: Bonzo3legs Date: 04 Feb 21 - 11:51 AM I forgot to mention that I'm having both jabs in part of the main stand at Crystal Palace Football Club, which has been given over to a vaccination centre. Oddly enough, we received a huge backlog of mail this morning including invitations dated 22/01/21 for myself and 19/01/21 for Mrs Bonzo to have covid vaccinations - too late, Mrs Bonzo had her first jab a week ago. and she arranged mine on line 2 days ago!! |
