Coronavirus (2021) thread

[Blue Maverick]

I worked at the outdoor mobile testing sites for 4 months and not once were any of the staff tested.

I now work on the indoor "rapid" sites and all staff are tested before every shift. If negative they send you home for 10 days.

No idea why it's so different between.the two "types" of site and not one colleague/manager knows why either.

Is it because you are inside?

 

[inbetween]

I wonder as well, if the strain does turn out to weaken the impact of vaccines, that this perhaps won't be so bad news for Pfizer and Moderna but potentially terrible news for AZ as it has a lower efficacy to begin with? Ie could a vaccine which is 95% efficacy become 70% against this new strain however one which is 63% becomes only 38%...for example?

We will never know until the vaccine is in circulation with enough people, the current efficacy is still unknown by the way given they've only been tested on perhaps 0.001% of the population at clinical trials. The next few months will be key but I wouldn't be surprised if some tweaks are made to boost efficacy as more is learnt about the immune reaction.

Don't forget, a virus doesn't mutate to avoid the vaccine, it mutates to avoid an immune system which has been instructed by a vaccine. So therefore if there was a large change in this new variant then we'd likely also see some surge in reinfections because currently in the absence of a vaccine only previously infected people are protected.

The likely worst case is that the vaccine will still be effective as expected but the virus will remain in circulation and mutate due to selective pressure so annual(?) boosters might be required for the vulnerable as with flu.

 

[wolfie1988]

Do you mean are the checking if people actually have symptoms?

What do you mean?

I mean more the admin that is required to qualify to administer the vaccine.

 

[worsleyweb]

23% of over 80s - half of the total

Some details of GPs etc (about 1000 in all, I think - 570 GPs, 108 hospitals, some others)

The numbers are really important for people can see progress.
Further update on Thursday, and then daily from Monday.

Johnson said that the NHS had committed to doing the 13 million by mid-Feb (I think)

Wonderful - a great effort.

 

[Gaylord du Bois]

Sam Coates from Sky looks like he's got a bad case of Beth Rigby Lip.

 

[Ban-jani]

I mean more the admin that is required to qualify to administer the vaccine.

Ahh I see... I think both come in a sort of pack.

Obviously the vaccine probably needs more due care so possibly a little slower, I don’t know but I get the impression resources will be taken away from testing to get the vaccine rolled out even quicker.

 

[MillionMilesAway]

Very clear statement from Whitty that the single dose/long gap is to hit as many as possible as fast as possible - a balance of risk to life vs overall good of the country. That seems reasonable to me, but obviously there are crossed fingers involved.
Belief is that the risk of a mutant breaking out is small, and JCVI (and others) back the decision.

For the next 3-4 months, the vaccine doses available is the constraining figure.

 

[Eds]

These journalists are absolutely useless. All they are trying to do is get someone to say something so that in four weeks time they can say ' but a few weeks ago you said....'. Ask some proper questions you muppets. I wonder if Boris is as pissed off with the stupid questions as Pep his with the ones he gets asked in his pressers

 

[ShaunMCFC]

Hopefully the construction industry either gets reclassified or they shut.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

Putting aside the shenanigans of the last 24 hours we now have to get the vaccine rolled out ASAP.
I read this morning we are way ahead of other European countries in doing this.
There are some risks in going first but they are definitely worth taking and as a critic so far of the Government's handling of the pandemic it is only right that they should be given credit for getting the vaccination show on the road.

Nice to read that, thanks for sharing Len.