Coronavirus (2021) thread

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roubaixtuesday said:
Another excellent reason to ensure we don't open up until cases are very low, and then gradually, rather than as soon as the o70s are vaccinated, as political pressure may pus us.
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I agree - but with recourse to politics all but impossible to avoid sadly as it drives most decisions we take as a nation because we chose not to have a war cabinet to eliminate that.

I wish we could even now do this and show this fight is for all and apolitical - but I fear that ship sailed.

But I am certain an all party committee would be more cautious about reopening swiftly as a party wanting to win votes back from a frustrated public willing them to do so.

This is why we should be running this pandemic free of politics - hard as that is - as this thread shows.

Hard decisions ARE needed and they are only likely to be taken swiftly if there is no political advantage or disadvantage from the choice.
 
Healdplace said:
I see a piece in the Lancet is saying we should add the Russian Sputnik vaccine to our arsenal as its efficacy is now clearly established.

I suspect it will be hard to divorce politics from this vaccine or to get some people to take it for inevitable reasons but should we trust doctors evaluating it? I would if it speeds things up.
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We have to be realistic though. can you imagine the increase in vaccine scepticism if you told people they'd be getting a Russian vaccine called 'Sputnik' jabbed into their arms? Most on this thread are pretty open I'd argue, and there's already loads of cynical views towards it. Try selling that to the general public who aren't keeping up with the science of it all. Kinda reckon it'd create more problems than it solves tbh.
 
twosips said:
We have to be realistic though. can you imagine the increase in vaccine scepticism if you told people they'd be getting a Russian vaccine called 'Sputnik' jabbed into their arms? Most on this thread are pretty open I'd argue, and there's already loads of cynical views towards it. Try selling that to the general public who aren't keeping up with the science of it all. Kinda reckon it'd create more problems than it solves tbh.
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I never had any problem with smoking it in all honesty.
 
marco said:
something wrong when a parcel del Co is playing it safe and the goverment are sat on the fence,imediate postcode full lockdown would and is the only way forward
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A bit arbitrary. Let’s say there are 12 cases in that post code area. How many other post codes do you think those 12 have visited in the last week or two?

If you nuked the district, there would be be dozens more affected districts in the pipeline, scattered all over the country.
 
worsleyweb said:
I predicted who would have liked this post before i looked and i got 3 out of 3!

Its not happy clapping - the attempt to find the most depressing news article and create panic will send poor BlueMatt over the edge! Van Tam and his collogue are calm about mutation and just say we are adept at amending vaccines and it can be done quickly. The media just want sensational clicks.
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Sorry mark but when tony fauci speaks the world listens , if we just happy clapped in this thread we would be doing each other a diservice , we all need to face what is happening and stick solidly to the rules
 
worsleyweb said:
I predicted who would have liked this post before i looked and i got 3 out of 3!

Its not happy clapping - the attempt to find the most depressing news article and create panic will send poor BlueMatt over the edge! Van Tam and his collogue are calm about mutation and just say we are adept at amending vaccines and it can be done quickly. The media just want sensational clicks.
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It was PHE that announced this, not the media, so you're miles off there. Feel free to have a browse here if you like:


It isn't gossip. It's real news. Unfortunately we can't all live our lives with our fingers in our ears ignoring anything that isn't cheerful. I know that works for some, but not everyone. There is no attempt to find the most depressing article. I've shared TONNES of positive stuff in here recently. Positivity is all any of us want to read, but I will also share any new information even if its negative, because that's how the real world operates - as long as its well sourced. PHE is about as good a source as you can get. I truly get the concern for Matt, but if that's a case then Ric will have to close the thread or allow a positive news only policy.

Please feel free to post the Van Tam quotes about how calm he is regarding this very new mutation. It'd be a genuinely welcome read!
 
AlgarveBlu said:
Sputnik 5 is apparently 91% effective after the second dose, but on limited numbers right now and bigger trials being completed now. Had always been sceptical about the Russian/Chinese vaccines but it dawned upon me a few weeks ago with this variant issue that we absolutely need to get these vaccines manufactured and distributed on a global basis or we could be chasing our tails for a long time here. The Russians and Chinese seem to be donating or distributing for political reasons alot of these vaccines to the poorer countries so their role in achieving this target will be vital. Can't see the EU/U.S./U.K doing too much until our own houses are in order. Hopefully they are at least safe anyway...

https://www.theguardian.com/society...inst-symptomatic-covid-russian-trial-suggests
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I've never been against the Russian vaccine personally - the political pressure for success and knowing a little about the (lack of) quality control in Russian pharma sector would be my concerns.

The publication of their data in a reputable journal is very good news, and I'd be happy to take it if it was manufactured in a reputable facility and subject to regulatory clearance.

The Germans have been talking about the possibility...
 
Healdplace said:
This is why we should be running this pandemic free of politics
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Depends what you mean by politics I guess.

What policies to pursue is kind of the definition of politics, but I guess you're more arguing against whether there should be a party line on COVID.

What I would say, hopefully without been sent to the naughty step in the politics thread, is that there are strains of politics, once niche but now mainstream, which are highly antipathetical to any policy aimed at suppressing the virus. With that being the current state, a consensus approach as you suggest is probably impossible.
 
Trials to combine the AZ and Sputnik vaccines as a way to combat new variants may start next week according to the Telegraph.

At just £7 a dose it shares several features with the Oxford one but combinations may be the way forward to create new things the virus has to avoid.
 
Healdplace said:
I think the real concern today is that there has been a further mutation that makes it more adept at evading the immune system.

Our vaccination programme is going so well it will inevitably create this fightback from a virus proving swifter at mutating in response to barriers than I think most had hoped.

Luckily we too have learned to adapt vaccines more swiftly but you cannot keep vaccinating all the vulnerable on Earth again and again until the dance between virus and vaccine slows a little more than it seems to be happening right now.

Luckily for us the UK is a genuine world leader in identifying variants and we may have a head start in getting on top of them. IF we do the right things in response.
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dont we do that with the flu vaccine every year, IE change it slightly to combat mutations?
 
worsleyweb said:
I predicted who would have liked this post before i looked and i got 3 out of 3!

Its not happy clapping - the attempt to find the most depressing news article and create panic will send poor BlueMatt over the edge! Van Tam and his collogue are calm about mutation and just say we are adept at amending vaccines and it can be done quickly. The media just want sensational clicks.
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Media are always looking for reaction and generating impact and the tied and true formula is the focus on what they conceive and the public conceive as bad news and always run with this script as they believe it will generate more advertising revenue and income to keep them alive and well.

A royal baby and wedding is short term relief for the norm.

Look at climate change its predominately if we don't do this and don't do that we are on borrowed time and we have the facts to support it.

Very little is done to focus on the benefits to the planet assuming science is predominately in the camp the average surface temperature on the planet is warming.
 
twosips said:
Genuine question. Is there anyway a doctor can tell which variant a patient has so they can use that treatment for a certain individual?
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Only by running the testing process that identifies the genetic chain.

Monoclonal antibodies (mabs) are only going to be administered in hospital, and it may be that there will be a rapid identification of the variant to go with them - with far fewer people in hospital being expected, it may be workable to do so.
 
roubaixtuesday said:
I've never been against the Russian vaccine personally - the political pressure for success and knowing a little about the (lack of) quality control in Russian pharma sector would be my concerns.

The publication of their data in a reputable journal is very good news, and I'd be happy to take it if it was manufactured in a reputable facility and subject to regulatory clearance.

The Germans have been talking about the possibility...
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Personally I wouldn’t accept the steam off that regime’s piss even I was paid.
 
Goaters said:
Jesus Christ this thread has taken a dramatically bad turn for the worse.

So firstly - this mutation that could evade the vaccine etc. This might make the vaccine slightly less efficient but still probably around %60, so more people may show signs of illness but severe illness will still be eradicated.

This is of course - if proven to be true, people need to have some semblance of keeping a level head. How many times has bad news spread like wild fire and then the next day we are back to positive news and the supposed bad news is forgotten.
we can also change the vaccines around very easily to an even more efficient boost.

Let’s not forget all the amazing medical advancements that have happened, so many vaccines haven’t even been approved yet and I know they will be changed slightly to include the new mutation.

As someone pointed out earlier we have so many strains floating around, so it’s hardly like everyone will get the same strain but the media are making it seem that will be the case.

On a different tangent Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the university of East Anglia, has said his team is releasing a paper later this week which shows the Pfizer vaccine has an efficacy of 91% 21 days after the first dose.
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some on here lap up all the negative news stories and dont highlight the positives. The media are to blame and they love a bad news story much more than a positive one. That's why the deaths and positive cases are always highlighted on the news before anything else such as how well we are doing with the vaccine roll out.
 
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