Coronavirus (2021) thread

[BlueHammer85]

So what is the point of having the vaccine if another lockdown is on the cards ?

to reduce deaths

 

[kevin horlocks wand]

So why did he say that lockdowns are the reason death rates and hospitalisations are only falling due to lockdown and not vaccines?
Then he tells us that cases, hospitalisations and deaths are bound to go up and you think he’s not laying the foundations for another lockdown?
Fair enough, if that’s what you think, let’s just hope you’re right.

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19...-not-vaccinations-says-boris-johnson-12274266

I am hoping it’s all messaging at the moment so people don’t go mental too soon all at once.

he should stick to his “irreversible “ easing of lockdown timetable .

having said it’s irreversible if he does lockdown again he is toast in the tory party.

however this constant down playing of the vaccine effectiveness gets on my tits. I am due my second dose on Saturday and will still get it but I know many who are thinking what is the point if we are all going to be put in lockdown again.

the vaccine success should be played up not played down. They are playing up lockdown and playing down vaccines.

obviously it’s a combination of both but as vaccines increase in the adult population then the vaccines should be the main reason . Otherwise I am not sure what we are doing .

 

[M18CTID]

India reporting 186k cases for yesterday and I am not sure if that is the final total yet. This is the scariest aspect of the pandemic that we know about at the moment

186,000 cases on the face of it is very concerning but in a country with a population 20 times that of the UK, it equates to less than 10,000 cases here. In relative terms, France reporting nearly 40,000 cases yesterday is worse than India reporting 186,000 cases

 

[roubaixtuesday]

I am hoping it’s all messaging at the moment so people don’t go mental too soon all at once.

he should stick to his “irreversible “ easing of lockdown timetable .

having said it’s irreversible if he does lockdown again he is toast in the tory party.

however this constant down playing of the vaccine effectiveness gets on my tits. I am due my second dose on Saturday and will still get it but I know many who are thinking what is the point if we are all going to be put in lockdown again.

the vaccine success should be played up not played down. They are playing up lockdown and playing down vaccines.

obviously it’s a combination of both but as vaccines increase in the adult population then the vaccines should be the main reason . Otherwise I am not sure what we are doing .

How I'd put it:

Most of the reduction in COVID so far has been down to lockdown, but vaccines are now really kicking in too, even though we're only half way through the vaccination programme.

By keeping up the vaccination until everyone is treated we can continue to open up slowly without any new surge in cases and deaths.

This is a new disease and new vaccines, so there is uncertainty in exactly how fast it is safe to reopen, hence we need to be cautious and keep an eye on the spread of the virus as we open up.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

186,000 cases on the face of it is very concerning but in a country with a population 20 times that of the UK, it equates to less than 10,000 cases here. In relative terms, France reporting nearly 40,000 cases yesterday is worse than India reporting 186,000 cases

On the other hand, cases in France seem to have peaked, and France is almost certain to be testing more and finding a higher proportion of cases.

India, on the other hand, is currently experiencing exponential growth with a doubling time of just 10 days or so.

 

[cyberblue]

to reduce deaths

Thought Boris said the lockdown does that

 

[ayrshire_blue]

So what is the point of having the vaccine if another lockdown is on the cards ?

Because there might (hopefully) be no requirement for any further lockdowns?

Thought Boris said the lockdown does that

Which we can't do forever.

 

[BlueHammer85]

Thought Boris said the lockdown does that

it does aswell.

 

[M18CTID]

"And so, yes of course the vaccination programme has helped, but the bulk of the work in reducing the disease has been done by the lockdown."

Makes absolute sense. The lockdown has been strict and has given us time to get the vaccination programme up and running, which we've managed to do to a high standard. Numbers started falling in the matter of weeks after the lockdown, you don't think that was vaccines magically taking effect already by that point, do you?

In the future, the hope and expectation is that the vaccines will do their job and prevent the necessity for any further lockdowns. It takes time for a significant proportion of the population to be inoculated and the requirement for lockdown to no longer exist.

If there are further lockdowns in future, that will be the result of the virus developing in a way that everyone hopes it doesn't. He can't say for absolute certainty that there will be no further lockdowns of any sort, it would be a ludicrous suggestion to make when globally the situation is worsening and the potential is there for the virus to evolve in the manner that they sometimes do.

I'm absolutely no fan of the government, but those comments by the PM are fair and accurate and also exercise the need for caution. I couldn't ask for any different.

Yep. And from that Sky News link it also stated "However, the prime minister added that "at the moment" he couldn't see "any reason" to change his roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions."

Too many people are taking too many quotes in isolation, getting themselves into an almighty flap, and thinking Johnson wants us locked down forever more when the reality is that he probably wants all restrictions lifted as soon as is realistically possible. Whatever we may think of Johnson and this government, and I'm far from a fan, does anyone seriously believe that they're getting off on seeing us all in lockdown and being miserable fuckers? Because I can guarantee that he and all those running the country aren't exactly enjoying a situation where they themselves can't go out to their favourite bar, restaurant, or holiday resort when they have a bit of downtime on their hands.

 

[grunge]

186,000 cases on the face of it is very concerning but in a country with a population 20 times that of the UK, it equates to less than 10,000 cases here. In relative terms, France reporting nearly 40,000 cases yesterday is worse than India reporting 186,000 cases

Dont forget though France/UK have far greater testing capacity too in terms of population. so we catch more.

India's figures are probably 10x higher than what they are able to catch via testing. where as UK/France etc it was probably 2/3 times more.

UK test capacity is about 650k a day. India is about 1.5m a day at the mo.