Coronavirus (2021) thread

[inbetween]

SAGE or Public Health England should take all the approved vaccines and test them against the SA like variants. We have assumed that we have to keep the variant in check through lockdown / quarantine / testing etc until a new vaccine is developed by Oxford / Pfizer etc but what if there is another approved vaccine that functions quite well against it? I would look at the Chinese vaccines because at least one of them is a whole virus vaccine and theoretically, it should be less affected by mutations to the spike protein. There's also Novovax, to which the UK has an order, but has yet to be approved by the MHRA, which claims 60% effectiveness against the SA variant.

Why is everyone assuming we are completely reliant on one vaccine or vaccine type when there are alternatives?

It's impossible unfortunately to test a vaccine against a particular strain as the vaccines don't kill the virus so this can't be tested for example in a lab. The vaccines teach the body to deal with an infection and so the only way to find out effectiveness is to vaccinate people and then send them out to live their lives. You then compare how many vaccinated people get sick or test positive compared to unvaccinated people.

I can see a situation developing where we might all end up having several vaccines over the coming years depending on how the variants change. It really is a very dynamic and difficult situation because of the fact that COVID-19 has never been encountered before but that will slowly change.

In Israel they monitored 750,000 vaccinated people and only 38 people have ended up in hospital with COVID, none have died. We should be very confident in the vaccines and the science because all of the evidence so far suggests the vaccines work very well. There is nothing to suggest that any existing variant will be problematic.

The critical thing for anyone when they get vaccinated is to be very cautious afterwards. It takes 3 weeks to build immunity and there is an increasing number who are catching COVID because they think they are immune right after their vaccination.

 

[mosssideblue]

I get that but that's not the silver bullet - I go running every day and don't drink yet with all this going on I still feel shit. The goverment should be giving people hope and planning a road map out instead of the daily press conferences of doom.

We all feel suppressed and look for hope, but we should also be made fully aware of the continued risks and consequences of opening up too soon.

Im sure as soon as there is assured light at the end of the tunnel, Boris will be biting at the bit for a slot on TV to tell us.

He has already said a roadmap will be provided to us on 22 Feb

 

[paulchapo]

I sympathise with people who have an addiction of any kind, whether it be drinking, eating, smoking, gambling or whatever. However, I don't agree with the "what else can they do?" line. They could:-

- go for a walk
- do some gardening
- read a book
- play a computer game
- play a board game
- watch TV
- surf the internet
- do some baking
- learn a new skill

and that's just off the top of my head.

That's missing what alcohol and drugs do. They relax people, often induce a feeling of happiness, numb pain and depression. It may be a short term fix and the side effects can be bad but a lot of people are done to death with most of those suggestions. The underlying mental torture of being denied love, warmth, human interaction, normality,hope it's ever going to end eventually saps even the strongest spirit in the end. A bottle of wine and some loud music dulls it all for a while.

 

[RobMCFC]

I get that but that's not the silver bullet - I go running every day and don't drink yet with all this going on I still feel shit. The goverment should be giving people hope and planning a road map out instead of the daily press conferences of doom.

Roadmap's on the way - week commencing 22nd February.

I don't drink much either - my addiction, pathetic as it may sound - is holidays. I've always loved holidays but with the mortgage paid off, the last few years we've been on 2 or 3 main holidays a year plus some city breaks. We plan our whole year around holidays. Whilst I consider myself fortunate - regular income and all my family are healthy, the lack of being able to go away or plan holidays with any certainty has pretty much crushed me mentally this last 12 months.

Watching footy, chatting on here, reading and Netflix have all kept me going. We all want things open, but it cannot happen with the level of hosptialisation that we currently have. When that comes down to an acceptable level, things will start to open up. I do think the government should state some figure that they deem to be acceptable case numbers/hospitalisations.

 

[BLUEMATT23]

We all feel suppressed and look for hope, but we should also be made fully aware of the continued risks and consequences of opening up too soon.

Im sure as soon as there is assured light at the end of the tunnel, Boris will be biting at the bit for a slot on TV to tell us.

He has already said a roadmap will be provided to us on 22 Feb

Let's hope so - surely the very fact that a lot of people have had a vaccine you could argue the road map should be now not in 2 weeks?

 

[mosssideblue]

Let's hope so - surely the very fact that a lot of people have had a vaccine you could argue the road map should be now not in 2 weeks?

I think people have fallen into the trap of thinking everything the Gov and Scientists are facing is binary, where in fact these last few weeks should tell everyone, this is a moving feast and things change, sometimes quick, sometimes slow.

If it were binary and we knew exactly what we were dealing with wasn't changing, then I think we would be seeing the road map now, if ot, even before now

 

[KennyG]

Yes lost my dad already through drink. I don't blame people what else can they do?

Religion. Start to examine why you are on this earth.

 

[Marvin]

It's impossible unfortunately to test a vaccine against a particular strain as the vaccines don't kill the virus so this can't be tested for example in a lab. The vaccines teach the body to deal with an infection and so the only way to find out effectiveness is to vaccinate people and then send them out to live their lives. You then compare how many vaccinated people get sick or test positive compared to unvaccinated people.

I can see a situation developing where we might all end up having several vaccines over the coming years depending on how the variants change. It really is a very dynamic and difficult situation because of the fact that COVID-19 has never been encountered before but that will slowly change.

In Israel they monitored 750,000 vaccinated people and only 38 people have ended up in hospital with COVID, none have died. We should be very confident in the vaccines and the science because all of the evidence so far suggests the vaccines work very well. There is nothing to suggest that any existing variant will be problematic.

The critical thing for anyone when they get vaccinated is to be very cautious afterwards. It takes 3 weeks to build immunity and there is an increasing number who are catching COVID because they think they are immune right after their vaccination.

Ultimately you need human trials too but Novovax was trialed in South Africa and claimed 60% efficacy against the SA variant. It is being tested in labs, and with computer models against different vaccines and this work is being published.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

Sorry mate, you are clutching at straws trying to make your argument. I know exactly what I said and in the end, reluctantly revealed why.

I have spoken personally to one of the top medical bods in the Country wrt my rare condition and the fears our family have wrt vaccine reactions, and we have been given sufficient assurances that we are going to take it when offered.

Well Im pretty sure you did say that , but f i recall now when asked again you gave your reasoning as having a medical reason for not being able to take the vaccine?? But I freely accept you may have changed your mind since then after the advice you have taken. Which i believe is very good news for you. So apologies.

 

[BlueHammer85]

I am not saying they don't mate.
But I object to the tone of them and ordering people what to do every day, we didn't elect them. They have taken over too much.

dam scientists taking over and saving hundreds of thousands of lives