Coronavirus (2022) thread

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ric
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SWP's back said:
“

UK ‘cast doubt’ on South Africa’s science​

So, we ask, why did the UK not want to believe what Dr. Coetzee was saying? Why were the words of Professor de Oliveira not convincing enough? And why did Britain only consider climbing down from its Omicron hysterics, once the same results were published by the Imperial College of London?

One person’s caution is another’s ignorance. Bizarre claims emerged from the UK’s scientific community in the first few days after Omicron was detected within their borders: Suggestions such as ‘this will cause one million cases a day’ and ‘it has a doubling time of fewer than two days’ came from the very top.

Of course, neither statement seemed to carry much weight or credence. Both have, so far, been proven wrong. But why were people like Chris Whitty, the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, so determined to ignore the positive signs coming from South Africa?

Those who spend their careers preparing for the worst-case scenarios will always claim they have to work on pessimistic assumptions. But the UK, with its rapid COVID-19 booster programme and high levels of vaccine uptake, seemed all too happy to trash its own success.

Around 90% of Brits got themselves vaccinated in 2021. Roughly 60% of them – tens of millions of citizens – have had their third jabs, too. The wall of immunity built up in Britain, alongside its large rates of previous infections, must dwarf Mzansi’s.

Time for fear is over​

Alas, instead of backing the comprehensive science behind booster jabs and their strong efficacy against Omicron, the UK put itself in a tailspin. Both Wales and Scotland have introduced tougher social restrictions, and vaccine passports have been rolled out nationwide.

It just doesn’t make much sense, though. Even with seasonality fixed in for the Brits and their bleak winters, a large number of patients in hospitals are only testing positive for COVID-19 on an incidental basis. ICU beds and ventilator figures remain static.

South Africa told the world this was a milder form of coronavirus weeks ahead of schedule. They were ignored. The top medical professionals in this country were dismissed with an alarming disdain, and although cases continue to rise in Britain, hospitalisations and deaths have not followed at the same pace set during previous waves.

Make no bones about it, South Africa was punished when it alerted the world to Omicron, then ignored when it shared data highlighting the variant’s ‘reduced lethality’. Essentially, when it suited, our science was used to justify travel bans – then disregarded when the time came to de-escalate.

Where did the UK’s Omicron hysteria come from?​

Only recently, within the past 72 hours or so, has the rhetoric started to calm in England.

Ans, as a UK-born writer for a South African publication, the last month has left me feeling like I’ve been gaslit. The people whose research formed the entire basis of our pandemic response were being cast as ‘unreliable’, by those in the British government – and its meek media landscape.

Nuts to ’em. The science from SA was never in doubt, and it shouldn’t be treated with such contempt ever again.”
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Funny how the Telegraph report is in stark contrast to scientific reports from SA. As shared on here yesterday.

You don't think, do you, that the Telegraph has a particular political axe to grind, do you?
 
SWP's back said:
So any time anyone complains about their government anywhere, we can just answer “but governments elsewhere are shite as well”?
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No but we also can’t really point to government and say look this is what happened with no restrictions thats what we should have done.
I was speaking to somebody in America yesterday and even there they need masks and vaccines to get into places, same as England.
 
www.cnbc.com

Cyprus reportedly discovers a Covid variant that combines omicron and delta

The strain is being called "deltacron."
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com

the 1st omicron + delta hybrid has been discovered in cypress. 25 cases so far. While there is so much delta and omicron out there this is an inevitable occurrence. Just need to track it carefully and see if it has any advantages over omicron.

odds are it will get squished by omicron tho.
 
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xgorton said:
Mink ? Just told the Mrs to get rid of her coat.
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Haha!

Yeah do you remember that story that broke in Denmark last year where a strain of it had jumped from human to mink and back to humans again?

www.euro.who.int

Mink-strain of COVID-19 virus in Denmark

On 5 November 2020, health authorities in Denmark reported 12 human cases of COVID-19 caused by a specific mink-associated variant strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. All 12 cases live in North Jutland and became unwell in September. Eight had a link to the mink farming industry and four cases were...
www.euro.who.int www.euro.who.int

This is where viruses can get very deadly as they can mix with similar viruses in the other animal and come jump back a wholly different variant from what it was when it jumped out. I think that’s where the 1917 flu broke out with cross-and-back-again jumps from humans to pigs

This is why we’re not allowed to go to visit mountain gorillas if we have even a slight cold, even if we’ve paid a load of money for the trip, because a slight cold in us could be a deadly virus to the gorillas because it can infect across the species.
 
Octavian said:
Does anyone know what the deal is with Covid pass expiring? Does it automatically update or is there something you need to do to get more time on it?

A friend of mine is triple jabbed but his domestic Covid pass only runs until the 17th of Jan for some reason.
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Download the NHS app. If you redoenload the Covid pass again from there, it will update in your Apple Wallet (or another wallet if you have anything else).
 
SWP's back said:
So any time anyone complains about their government anywhere, we can just answer “but governments elsewhere are shite as well”?
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The person said that uk government had overreacted to omicron ignoring some vocal SA officials.
Slightly more specific than “the government is shite”.

I am more optimistic and not greatly in favour of restrictions but even I can see the reasoning behind wanting to be cautious and not take the wrong cause of action. Some believe there should have been more interventions and in truth the government is currently seen to be trying to allow life to continue. I mean we have full football stadiums.

what has happened is a sort of voluntary lockdown lite in respect of hospitality seemingly caused both by government messaging (rather than restrictions backed by financial support) and by individuals assessing their own risk.
 
Psychedelic Casual said:
Haha!

Yeah do you remember that story that broke in Denmark last year where a strain of it had jumped from human to mink and back to humans again?

www.euro.who.int

Mink-strain of COVID-19 virus in Denmark

On 5 November 2020, health authorities in Denmark reported 12 human cases of COVID-19 caused by a specific mink-associated variant strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. All 12 cases live in North Jutland and became unwell in September. Eight had a link to the mink farming industry and four cases were...
www.euro.who.int www.euro.who.int

This is where viruses can get very deadly as they can mix with similar viruses in the other animal and come jump back a wholly different variant from what it was when it jumped out. I think that’s where the 1917 flu broke out with cross-and-back-again jumps from humans to pigs

This is why we’re not allowed to go to visit mountain gorillas if we have even a slight cold, even if we’ve paid a load of money for the trip, because a slight cold in us could be a deadly virus to the gorillas because it can infect across the species.
Click to expand...
There are some papers out there suggesting that omicron is a mouse mutation.

from humans to mice. Mice to mice for x number of months, enough time for it to change enough against the mouse immune system and then back to humans.

if so it’s a total fluke that it’s less deadly to us.
 
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Anyone noticing a change of tone in the media? Mature discussion about issues such as cutting the isolation period to 5 days, ending the policy of mass jabs and instead targeting at the vulnerable as per the flu jab, ending the practice of mass testing and targeting at the health and social care sectors, a calling out of the dodgy modelling that's been used to justify restrictions being imposed, criticism of masks in schools based on flimsy evidence, I could go on. I suspect this is being driven by them sensing a change in the public mood, but I'm optimistic we may be close to the end of the pandemic stage of covid response and moving to the endemic stage thanks to Omicron.
 
Public health officials are hopeful the NHS will be able to cope this winter in the capital.

Professor Kevin Fenton said they are seeing a "slowing down" in the increase of COVID patients being admitted to hospital.

However, he said London is still seeing higher staff absence rates - largely due to coronavirus.

The most pressure on hospitals is being caused by people who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated
 
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