395 posts
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Post by lichtie on Oct 27, 2021 13:45:42 GMT
You've hit the nail on the head there. Basically don't send out confusing messages as most people hear soundbites, not detail. The bit about about people dieing with rather than of covid is a red herring by the way. That might explain factors of 2 difference with the rest of Europe (since they all count these things differently), but not factors of 5-10 as seen between us and some other countries. Case numbers are a different thing though, since the positivity rate here looks low compared to say Germany. So yes total numbers probably are increased by the testing, especially in schools. That's also why we might be seeing the plateau in the numbers as well - the schoolkids are building up to near herd immunity (it's also why this current wave didn't affect London as much as I've noted before, since the same pool of uninfected had already disappeared earlier in the pandemic). (John Edmunds was good on this whole topic on the Today programme this morning). But if they are right about waning immunity after a few months in the over 50s, the decrease in incidence should not be used as a reason for people not to get boosters. Make sure if you're offered to get the flu/covid booster jabs. It be interesting to see how long natural immunity lasts. If that starts to fail and there is a surge of second infections that could push the figures up in the areas where the virus has been stronger. I believe the evidence, such as it is (ie partial), shows no real difference in the at risk groups in terms of waning of immunity between jab and infection. Both are dropping after some months. |
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Post by nick on Oct 27, 2021 15:22:55 GMT
Keir Starmer today is the second MP to have tested positive since Rees-Mogg's stupid little speech implying they were protected by their convivial spirit. Without wishing anyone to become seriously ill, I think I would enjoy it if a minor outbreak of mild cases amongst MPs were to show up his idiotic words for what they are so soon after he spoke them. I am totally for masks and can't understand why Reece-Mogg holds the views he does. But it's a little strange that it is Starmer and not a Tory who has tested positive. He has young children which might be a clue how he caught it (and isn't it the fifth time he has had to isolate?). Oh was he positive or isolating because he's been in contact with someone who has tested positive? |
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Post by hairspray57 on Oct 27, 2021 17:31:18 GMT
Keir Starmer today is the second MP to have tested positive since Rees-Mogg's stupid little speech implying they were protected by their convivial spirit. Without wishing anyone to become seriously ill, I think I would enjoy it if a minor outbreak of mild cases amongst MPs were to show up his idiotic words for what they are so soon after he spoke them. I am totally for masks and can't understand why Reece-Mogg holds the views he does. But it's a little strange that it is Starmer and not a Tory who has tested positive. He has young children which might be a clue how he caught it (and isn't it the fifth time he has had to isolate?). Oh was he positive or isolating because he's been in contact with someone who has tested positive? He wasn’t. It was detected after a positive lateral flow test of which he takes daily. |
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Post by olliebean on Oct 28, 2021 7:41:29 GMT
I notice that, now that a couple of MPs have recently tested positive, a fair number of Tory MPs seem to have decided that actually they will wear masks in parliament after all. Including the Prime Minister, although he seemed to be wearing it very sloppily and entirely below his nose yesterday.
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Post by Deal J on Oct 28, 2021 10:10:14 GMT
[...] he seemed to be wearing it very sloppily and entirely below his nose yesterday. The same way he runs the country  |
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Post by maggiem on Oct 28, 2021 14:26:34 GMT
[...] he seemed to be wearing it very sloppily and entirely below his nose yesterday. The same way he runs the country Well, he looks down his Tory-toffee nose at everything else, why not a mask? |
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Post by sfsusan on Oct 28, 2021 22:43:09 GMT
It may be mainly the unvaccinated who are suffering but it's not only them. I know 3 families (2 in the US, 1 in the UK) who all had breakthrough cases because one unvaccinated member spread it to the rest of the family. Luckily, none have required hospitalization so far, but in all three cases, elderly family members were put at risk. In one case, the unvaccinated person has symptoms but refuses to test, even knowing others in the family tested positive after being with them. |
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Post by dontdreamit on Oct 29, 2021 16:25:00 GMT
Today marks 190 days since my 2nd dose... and I received a text today inviting me to book my booster. I feel oddly relieved that the system seems to be working for me!
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311 posts
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Post by olliebean on Oct 29, 2021 17:57:18 GMT
Are people getting the booster at the same place as they got their first two jabs, or is there a reduced availability of vaccination venues now?
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Post by dontdreamit on Oct 29, 2021 18:58:07 GMT
Are people getting the booster at the same place as they got their first two jabs, or is there a reduced availability of vaccination venues now? I’ve gone for somewhere close to home this time as I’m getting it at the weekend. My others were closer to work. |
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Post by lynette on Oct 29, 2021 19:25:00 GMT
SAME PLACE
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Post by isabel on Oct 29, 2021 22:39:30 GMT
Dad tested Positive for Covid tonight. So far rest of the household are all negative.
He is double vaccinated, but still a worry as he has a heart condition .
At the moment feels like flu with a cough and temperature
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Post by sfsusan on Oct 30, 2021 14:08:49 GMT
Are people getting the booster at the same place as they got their first two jabs, or is there a reduced availability of vaccination venues now? There might be more. Originally, I couldn't get the jab in any pharmacies or doctor's offices (this is in the Camden area of London). Today I got my booster in a pharmacy on the high street. (And they were really busy with both appointments and walk-ins. They had to stop taking walk-ins at 1 pm as they were full up.) And while I was there, I got my flu jab, too. So hopefully I'm set for winter (although I'm still masking and taking precautions when around other people). |
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Post by londonpostie on Oct 30, 2021 15:29:28 GMT
This thread prompted me to have look at my NHS Covid bingo card. Turns out I had my second jab on 30 May, so exactly 5 months ago. Looking forward to a text nudge in another 30 days or so ..
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Post by zahidf on Oct 30, 2021 19:08:58 GMT
Good article!
I got my booster today.
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Post by Roxie on Oct 30, 2021 19:18:03 GMT
Been to the Trafford Centre this afternoon and it was very busy and almost no one was wearing masks! I anticipated this, so I wore an N95 mask. While I think there shouldn’t be any reintroduction of other restrictions, I think it’s common courtesy, especially in the winter, to wear a mask in a crowded indoor space!
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Post by hairspray57 on Oct 30, 2021 21:50:34 GMT
Been to the Trafford Centre this afternoon and it was very busy and almost no one was wearing masks! I anticipated this, so I wore an N95 mask. While I think there shouldn’t be any reintroduction of other restrictions, I think it’s common courtesy, especially in the winter, to wear a mask in a crowded indoor space! It’s too late for masks. Even if they were made mandatory they would be zero enforcement as there was throughout the pandemic in most environments. |
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2,274 posts
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Post by talkingheads on Oct 31, 2021 7:06:50 GMT
Been to the Trafford Centre this afternoon and it was very busy and almost no one was wearing masks! I anticipated this, so I wore an N95 mask. While I think there shouldn’t be any reintroduction of other restrictions, I think it’s common courtesy, especially in the winter, to wear a mask in a crowded indoor space! It’s too late for masks. Even if they were made mandatory they would be zero enforcement as there was throughout the pandemic in most environments. I'm inclined to agree. If they had been enforced first time round and the messaging about why they work, protecting others if everybody wears them, wasn't so mixed, I think more people would be wearing them. Now, it would be impossible to enforce. |
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Post by Dawnstar on Oct 31, 2021 19:33:32 GMT
I don't usually comment on politicians but seeing Boris Johnson on TV wearing a poppy to commemorate those who died decades ago, while doing sod all to try to stop the hundreds of deaths per week from covid that are happening right now, really infuriated me.
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Post by NeilVHughes on Nov 1, 2021 9:55:58 GMT
Peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on face masks & public transport. We determined that the mandatory wearing of masks exhibits effects similar to maintaining 2-m social distancing in preventing COVID-19. Mandatory wearing of masks and practicing social distancing with masks during peak hours reduced infection rates by 93.5 and 98.1%, respectively. www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abg3691Its a shame the stable doors are open and the horse has well and truly bolted and mass mask wearing will never be commonplace in the U.K. but at least it confirms what I have always thought and why I continue to wear my mask in indoor public spaces where the 2m rule cannot be maintained. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2021 10:48:10 GMT
It’s too late for masks. Even if they were made mandatory they would be zero enforcement as there was throughout the pandemic in most environments. I'm inclined to agree. If they had been enforced first time round and the messaging about why they work, protecting others if everybody wears them, wasn't so mixed, I think more people would be wearing them. I'm not buying the "mixed messages" about masks. I can't have been older than about six when I learnt "Coughs and sneezes spread diseases; catch them in your handkerchief"; at least, I can't remember any time when I didn't know that couplet so I must have picked it up while very young. If young children have no trouble grasping the idea that you can help prevent spreading your germs to others by covering your mouth then there's no excuse for any adult not to understand it over a year and a half into this pandemic.
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Post by hairspray57 on Nov 1, 2021 11:12:51 GMT
I'm inclined to agree. If they had been enforced first time round and the messaging about why they work, protecting others if everybody wears them, wasn't so mixed, I think more people would be wearing them. I'm not buying the "mixed messages" about masks. I can't have been older than about six when I learnt "Coughs and sneezes spread diseases; catch them in your handkerchief"; at least, I can't remember any time when I didn't know that couplet so I must have picked it up while very young. If young children have no trouble grasping the idea that you can help prevent spreading your germs to others by covering your mouth then there's no excuse for any adult not to understand it over a year and a half into this pandemic.
We had weeks of politicians saying Masks were nit effective before they suddenly changed their tune and introduced them. But enforcement was often lax in London. And now the tube js mostly mask free as zero enforcement happens. Staff are often seen freely walking around tube stations maskless. |
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Post by sfsusan on Nov 1, 2021 12:21:09 GMT
I think it's more accurate to say it's "too late" for mask mandates. It's not too late for more people to wear masks and reduce everyone's risk.
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Post by properjob on Nov 1, 2021 19:53:25 GMT
I think the problem with getting people to wear masks was a failure to come up with a proper exemption scheme. I.e. a government issued card showing you are exempt (but not why as that is private) in the same way as blue badge parking.
Without such a scheme it was impossible to enforce.
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Post by hairspray57 on Nov 1, 2021 21:25:37 GMT
I think the problem with getting people to wear masks was a failure to come up with a proper exemption scheme. I.e. a government issued card showing you are exempt (but not why as that is private) in the same way as blue badge parking. Without such a scheme it was impossible to enforce. Who would have arranged it. GP’s would have likely have refused to the added workload as the rules would have likely contained a clause giving GP’s discretion and they would have faced lots of difficulties over that. In Turkey they simply banned those exempt from even going shopping but I doubt that would have survived a legal case here in the Uk. |
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