Coronavirus (2021) thread

[Tim of the Oak]

My friend is a teaching assistant in Stockport and she is getting hers tomorrow. She was forwarded a link that has been shared around Stockport and Manchester schools, for teachers and TAs to take the empty slots at the Etihad. How legit this shared link is, I don’t know, but she’s got her slot.

I hope it’s legit and it’s better more people are getting vaccinated than slots being going to waste. I know in London a couple of weeks ago there was an issue of hundreds of teachers getting a link when they shouldn’t have had but that was at a time when demand amongst priority groups was heavily outstripping demand.

 

[unicorn]

The vaccination policy is supposed to be risk / age based? I heard that Burnham remarked that age criteria should be widened re vaccination at the Etihad.

Yes, and I'd consider a teacher far more at risk in an enclosed classroom packed full of children than I am in my 50s, practically confined to home.

 

[Marvin]

Too many non-essential shops have been open, during this ‘lockdown’. People going to work unnecessarily. Ridiculously high baseline of cases to even consider opening schools, which was the main reason the November lockdown was a sham. Whoever can’t see this is deluded.

The fall in the rate of decline is consistent and suggests that R is rising but still below 1. In other words there is not much head-room to do much in relation to isolation measures. This is the result of a spreading UK variant in my opinion.

In theory as vaccination moves into the younger age groups we should see renewed declines but I wouldn't move until we are confident that relaxation wont trigger renewed growth. To beat this virus we need to manage it through to a 2nd vaccine and that means never allowing it to grow again. We really should be able to do that now that we have vaccines. We just have to watch the data and act accordingly.

 

[Rammy Blue]

My friend is a teaching assistant in Stockport and she is getting hers tomorrow. She was forwarded a link that has been shared around Stockport and Manchester schools, for teachers and TAs to take the empty slots at the Etihad. How legit this shared link is, I don’t know, but she’s got her slot.

Ha, same for my wife. The same link went round a couple of weeks ago and then got retracted, however seems it’s for real this time, she’s booked in for later too.

 

[Healdplace]

Wales data:

16 deaths - was 22 last week

363 cases - was 400 last week

positivity 2.9% - was 3.4% (about 6.5% in real terms given all the different test methods now)

Weekly Pop Score 83 - down from 84 yesterday - was 99 last week

Still edging down but like everywhere in UK the lower you go the harder it gets as there is infinitely further to go up than down.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

The vaccination policy is supposed to be risk / age based? I heard that Burnham remarked that age criteria should be widened re vaccination at the Etihad.

The authorities may also need to make more doses available through local GP Centres / pharmacies if the distance to the Etihad is putting people off.

 

[KennyG]

Another point I’ve not seen discussed is that each household should’ve been given stimulus cheques, like the States, boosting the economy. So much money has been wasted, I say wasted but really lining the pockets of friends, which the tax payer will suffer for. Best roadmap is Johnson out and Jeremy Hunt in.

 

[Healdplace]

Wales vaccination update:

853, 904 first doses given - 14, 839 yesterday - was 16, 432 day before and 33, 501 last Saturday

32, 002 second doses - 6569 yesterday - was 6091 day before and 214 last Saturday


As seems to be happening quite widely the vaccination numbers are down due to the temporary loss of Pfizer supplies during the Belgian factory refit and what they have may be being used on the ramp up of second jabs which is very evident in all nations and will mostly use Pfizer as these were the majority of the first jabs needing the second from December and early January.

I saw some UK stats that show (roughly as far as I recall) about two thirds given were Pfizer up to 1 February but more recently about 80% have been AZ.

I know 5 people who have had the jab in the last week at various sites around GM and every one had AZ.

So those fearing one is really more efficacious than the other might watch the data and compare those vaccinated in January with February in a few weeks time as this shift would then inevitably show up.

I suspect nothing much will.

 

[give it to gordon]

Kent’s new COVID hot spot home to a quarter of our active cases

The picture across Kent is much more positive however

www.kentlive.news

See my area is back at the top again :(

 

[Marvin]

Yes, and I'd consider a teacher far more at risk in an enclosed classroom packed full of children than I am in my 50s, practically confined to home.

The risk is carried by those over 50- almost exclusively. Why do you think that JCVI came up with this strategy in the first place. If the Etihad has capacity then use it to widen the age related criteria.