Coronavirus (2021) thread

[Gabriel]

It does seem that Belgium has dominated production of vaccines with even the US supplies of the Pfizer jabs being flown in from Belgium. I see our Government invested in vaccine manufacturing in Oxfordshire and Essex but I don’t know if these sites are up and running and producing the Oxford / AZ vaccine.

Government to develop £100m Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing centre

New sites in Braintree and Oxford will open in 2021, with a rapid deployment facility due this summer

www.theguardian.com

I understand the MHRA and EMA Frameworks are similar so I guess there is case for the EMA fast tracking approvals but they probably consider themselves to be working fast (especially in comparison with non pandemic timescales).

I agree with you that many of us were expecting vaccines to be stockpiled leading up to regulatory approval and it hasn’t been explained well why this hasn’t been the case. I know there will probably be good reasons but it is a frustrating when areas are having to slow down vaccine roll out due to lack of availability of vaccines.

I think Pfizer, AZ, J&J and others have all got production facilities in Belgium. Looking to the future, it might be prudent to have extra facilities and capacity in other countries as well, as it looks like a security weak spot if one such area were attacked.

I don’t know if it was ever feasible to produce the Pfizer vaccine and stockpile it, but I believe the J&J one has been stockpiled, though not in the quantities that will be required.

Again, looking to the future, I can see a case for manufacturing facilities, both in the U.K. and the EU to be somehow ‘nationalised’ so that such problems can be averted. Many lessons to be learned.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

I don't know how practical what you suggest specifically is.

But I am certain that 1 year of half-arsed measures introduced too late and relaxed too early have been completely the wrong approach and have failed dismally as any kind of strategy.

I am sure the government has had all the best intentions, trying to save lives and protect the NHS whilst at the same time wanting to preserve as many jobs as possible and to disrupt individual freedoms as little as possible. But the end result has been an utter disaster with nearly 100,000 dead and counting. This is a terrible outcome which could have been SO much better.

And the huge irony is that they have also failed at protecting jobs and personal freedoms, because the lockdowns have had to go on for much, much longer with a far more damaging effect... compared to had we grasped the nettle, acted quicker and been more strict. The first lockdown could I reckon have finished 6 weeks sooner had we started it 2 weeks earlier, for example.

why wouldnt it be practical. If you can shut some sectors of the economy down completely for 10mthans many others for several mths why cant we shut everything for two weeks. It would take some organising but I genuinely dont see the problem. The benefits would be enormous and we would be out of this much sooner. The alternative is another two or three mths of this misery, high positive cases and very high death tolls. I genuinely think its a no brainer.

 

[AlgarveBlu]

My new pulse oximeter arrived yesterday evening, had much fun checking me and the family....

98% seems to be my average oxygen saturation, and 58 resting heart beat. Happy with that.

The mrs only told me this morning she’s ordered two of these - I can understand the benefit of this but she’s the type who will go on to order hazmat suits and a ventilator. Fully expecting to see a Red Cross flying over our house by February

 

[Snape]

My mam's going there on Tuesday, she has real difficulty walking (she's waiting for another hip replacement that's been delayed due to the pandemic), just asking if there's a closer car park that I can use for her or will she have to walk over the bridge to the stadium

It’s at the tennis centre not in the stadium, so not far to walk. I suppose you could ask security if you can park closer the doors.

 

[ctwrd]

Disgraceful scenes today. Many people out enjoying the snow in the fresh air. Covidiots. Lock them up

 

[Rammy Blue]

Disgraceful scenes today. Many people out enjoying the snow in the fresh air. Covidiots. Lock them up

Is this a clarkie?

 

[Rammy Blue]

The mrs only told me this morning she’s ordered two of these - I can understand the benefit of this but she’s the type who will go on to order hazmat suits and a ventilator. Fully expecting to see a Red Cross flying over our house by February

Out of interest mate, why has she ordered 2, lol?

 

[TINY]

Brother in law back in hospital today, on oxygen

 

[Healdplace]

Wales data today:

Deaths 44 - it was 48 last Sunday

Cases 796 - it was 1172 last Sunday

At 5.9% positive

Wales has done extremely well at pushing numbers down from scary levels.

Weekly Pop scores falls again to 245,

Here are the last ten day's scores on this measure day to day

372 - 345 - 322 - 306 - 295 - 285 - 281 - 271 - 261 - 245


This is not dissimilar to many boroughs in GM whose Weekly Pop scores I post nightly and which I gave a week to week for a couple of days ago.

This is the best evidence out there of a shrinking epidemic. As is the tumbling positivity rate in Wales as that is cases found per tests carried out. This is because cases can look artificially low if you just do fewer tests - so by showing a percentage positive of the tests you do do then you have a consistent measure to judge against.

All sensible nations use this.

England does not.

 

[Ban-jani]

Disgraceful scenes today. Many people out enjoying the snow in the fresh air. Covidiots. Lock them up

You never know these days but I am presuming this is sarcasm.