Coronavirus outbreak

[InFamous]

Unfortunately I think corona virus is the least of Israels worries at this particular moment.

[SholasBoy]

Indian variant cases up by 1,000 in UK


There are now 2,323 confirmed cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus in the UK - up from 1,313 last week. Of these, 483 were in Bolton and Blackburn where it is the dominant strain, the health secretary said. Matt Hancock told MPs there were 19 people in hospital with coronavirus in Bolton and eight in Blackburn. The vast majority had been eligible for the vaccine but had not taken it, he said, saying it showed the Indian variant was "not penetrating older, vaccinated groups". Bedford is the next most concerning area with regards to the Indian variant, with surge testing about to get under way there, he said. The UK has recorded five deaths on Monday and 1,979 new coronavirus cases.

BBC


So, these people who chose not to bother having the vaccine are putting coming out of lockdown in jeopardy for the rest of us. They should be locked in a cell to quarantine so the rest of us can move on.

[theMathematician]

So, these people who chose not to bother having the vaccine are putting coming out of lockdown in jeopardy for the rest of us. They should be locked in a cell to quarantine so the rest of us can move on.

1. Calm down! You're extreme here.
2. Those people are not responsible for a certain reason: Thus far, demand is still higher than supply, so no vaccine is wasted. If one person isn't wanting the vaccine, it's getting to another person. From a macro perspective, it doesn't matter whether the dose is going to Mr. Miller or Mrs. Smith.

[jio]

Of course the number of unvaccinated people is completely irrelevant to what the state decides to do with the lockdown for vaccinated people...

If the vaccine is effective, the lockdown can be lifted for vaccinated people, no matter how many remain unvaccinated
If the vaccine is not effective, the lockdown cannot be lifted even if everybody gets vaccinated

One cannot have it both ways, the amount of vaccinated is totally irrelevant to a vaccinated person's lockdown status, in a country that is claiming herd immunity (i.e. massive drops in infection rates due to massive vaccinations)....

[SholasBoy]

1. Calm down! You're extreme here.
2. Those people are not responsible for a certain reason: Thus far, demand is still higher than supply, so no vaccine is wasted. If one person isn't wanting the vaccine, it's getting to another person. From a macro perspective, it doesn't matter whether the dose is going to Mr. Miller or Mrs. Smith.

well that’s not strictly true because the vaccines are being offered in an order of most vulnerable, so if 80 year old anti-vaxer Brenda has found herself in hospital because her vaccine went to 30 year old healthy Karen, then her decision could end up having a greater impact than just her own hospitalisation. It states that the majority of these cases are for people who have declined vaccines, not people that haven’t been called up yet, so we can assume from that it’s more vulnerable people that are ending up in hospital.

[DnBLover]

Of course every country will reach a point where the people who are interested have received their doses of vaccination, and it's hard to reach beyond. However, I would use Israel as example that that point usually starts at around 60%. And the US is still a bit away from that. If I read correctly, you're only approaching herd immunity with something roundabout 70%.
Canada is focussing on first vaccinations now, just like the UK initially did, because they believe that many people having slight protection is better than few people having full protection. Of course, in the long run, they'd aim for many people having full protection as is already the case in e.g. Israel.

In the US the population is polarized by parties. Roughly 40% is Republican, and I would guess that a huge chunk of dose aren't pro-vaccine. I'm still sure they will be able to reach 60%, maybe even 70. More than that might be complicated.

[Parkelife]

BBC


So, these people who chose not to bother having the vaccine are putting coming out of lockdown in jeopardy for the rest of us. They should be locked in a cell to quarantine so the rest of us can move on.

Apparently, there's more than 500,000 people over the age of 65 who didn't take the vaccine up. Over 70% are men, with pubs opening indoors from today, this is where the covid will strike and strike hard.

They chose not to take the vaccine up, can't blame anyone else if they end up with it and in hospital.

[SholasBoy]

Apparently, there's more than 500,000 people over the age of 65 who didn't take the vaccine up. Over 70% are men, with pubs opening indoors from today, this is where the covid will strike and strike hard.

They chose not to take the vaccine up, can't blame anyone else if they end up with it and in hospital.

I agree that’s how it should be, but unfortunately we will all end up taking the consequences when we have to regress back through the lockdown stages to protect the people that couldn’t be arsed to protect themselves.

[Artoo]

I just need the world to be fixed so I can actually consider travelling.

[bm08]

In the US the population is polarized by parties. Roughly 40% is Republican, and I would guess that a huge chunk of dose aren't pro-vaccine. I'm still sure they will be able to reach 60%, maybe even 70. More than that might be complicated.

As I pointed out in my earlier post, CDC data show that first dose for US is currently 59.7%, and fully vaccinated at 47.1%
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tra...ination-trends

That is a very healthy start for the US, but there will always be pockets that are unvaccinated for whatever reason, even if it goes above 70%

[InFamous]

SholasBoy a friend of mine sent me a few pics from GC on Sunday, the area in front of Diamonds was completely packed, like the whole square.

[InFamous]

BBC


So, these people who chose not to bother having the vaccine are putting coming out of lockdown in jeopardy for the rest of us. They should be locked in a cell to quarantine so the rest of us can move on.

I agree. Or sent to live in a remote area with only basic services and no wifi. I mean if you choose not to take a vaccine whatever happens from there on is on you. You don't deserve to be protected if you refuse the thing that will protect you.

[InFamous]

1. Calm down! You're extreme here.
2. Those people are not responsible for a certain reason: Thus far, demand is still higher than supply, so no vaccine is wasted. If one person isn't wanting the vaccine, it's getting to another person. From a macro perspective, it doesn't matter whether the dose is going to Mr. Miller or Mrs. Smith.

Completely illogical. If high risk groups are refusing the vaccine they are the very groups who will end up in hospital having extreme cases. If hospitalizations go up that is what will put reopening into doubt. So yes, it matters very much whether the vaccine goes to Mr Miller or Mrs Smith.

[SholasBoy]

SholasBoy a friend of mine sent me a few pics from GC on Sunday, the area in front of Diamonds was completely packed, like the whole square.

I think it was supposed to be GC pride about now (cancelled for the second year) so people went out and celebrated it anyway.

[bm08]

Great article on VOX about UK vs US vaccine hesistency.

Why getting vaccinated for Covid-19 is more popular in the UK than in the US
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2...astrazeneca-uk

Just highlights:

1. The UK’s restrained reaction to bad news about the vaccines

One of the tactics that distinguishes the UK from the US, and much of the world, is its approach to regulation and public communication in response to bad news about the vaccines. It’s an approach that could well have helped develop greater public trust in the vaccines.

...

As millions of people have been vaccinated against Covid-19, some rare side effects have cropped up. The Johnson & Johnson and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines appear to, in extremely rare circumstances, cause an unusual kind of blood clotting.

In the US, the FDA and CDC immediately paused distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The EU’s response was similar to the US’s — it paused the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. And, as with the US, that move coincided with confidence in the vaccine plummeting.

By contrast, the UK didnot pause the vaccine. Instead, the National Health Service (NHS) updated its vaccine guidelines to recommend that people under 30 or with a predisposition to blood clots get the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines instead, and to advise people on what symptoms to watch for.

2. It’s more convenient to get a vaccine in the UK

Another factor to consider is the disparity in the vaccine rollout between the UK and the US. Simply put: The UK has a centralized rollout run by the NHS, while the US’s is more fractured and confusing.

3. Nothing increases confidence in vaccinations like vaccinations do

One way to decrease vaccine hesitancy is to vaccinate lots of people.

This is clear from both US and UK hesitancy data: Hesitancy falls as more people are vaccinated. One element of the UK’s exceptionally low hesitancy, the Guardian’s editorial board has argued, is that more people know someone who has gotten the shot: “The more people get the vaccine, the more normal it becomes. A virtuous circle of confidence develops.”

4. In the UK, partisanship and right-wing populism have worked in the vaccine’s favor

In the UK, that kind of partisan dynamic hasn’t been a factor — or may actually be working againsthesitancy.“My speculation is that it’s a national pride thing,” TomChivers, a science journalist in the UK,told me when I asked why the British were so eager to get vaccinated. “The UK has had a nightmare response in many ways on Covid but unambiguously got the vaccines and science generally right, so I have a sense that we are fiercely proud of it.”

The populist right in the UK is generally suspicious of the EU and proud of Britain’s scientific and technical achievements. So when the EU worried about blood clots, the populist right in Britain rallied ... behind the vaccine. “The media has been pretty solidly pro-vaccination,” Chivers told me. “Even the much-criticised Sun ran an amazing splash headline the day after a clotting story: ‘0.0000095%: your chance of a deadly clot.’”

Comerford pointed me to the Daily Mail from the day the EU suspended the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine:

[InFamous]

I think it was supposed to be GC pride about now (cancelled for the second year) so people went out and celebrated it anyway.

Yeah all restrictions have been lifted in Spain now but I think GC still has a curfew randomly. But I am sure no one there is paying any attention to it. You just need a negative test to fly there.

[theMathematician]

I agree that’s how it should be, but unfortunately we will all end up taking the consequences when we have to regress back through the lockdown stages to protect the people that couldn’t be arsed to protect themselves.

There's a logical flaw in the argumentation. Children, disabled people and old people who can't take care of themselves anymore need extern protection. Everyone else can voluntarily decide how much protection they need, and if they refuse to accept any protection, it shouldn't be forced on them. You don't turn mature legally in order to have other people decide what is right for you.

[SholasBoy]

There's a logical flaw in the argumentation. Children, disabled people and old people who can't take care of themselves anymore need extern protection. Everyone else can voluntarily decide how much protection they need, and if they refuse to accept any protection, it shouldn't be forced on them. You don't turn mature legally in order to have other people decide what is right for you.

Yes they can, but then they should accept the consequences if they become ill after choosing not to be vaccinated, perhaps pay for private health care, that would stop the strain on the NHS.

[InFamous]

Anti vaxers make no sense.

The fact that they had to steal the feminist/pro abortion slogan and couldn't even come up with one of their own still cracks me up.

[jio]

I see the vaccines have brought out the little hitler in everybody. Locking people in? OK

[SholasBoy]

I see the vaccines have brought out the little hitler in everybody. Locking people in? OK

Isn’t that what we’ve all been doing for the last year?

[bm08]

This is the slowest crawl to my age group in history!

So close, yet so far!

[SholasBoy]

This is the slowest crawl to my age group in history!

So close, yet so far!

innit. I was promised 35+ this week and now they’ve announced 37

[theMathematician]

innit. I was promised 35+ this week and now they’ve announced 37

What's the reason for this? Not enough vaccine?

[SholasBoy]

Don’t get yourself overexcited. I’m guessing it’s to do with prioritising the areas with Indian variant outbreaks.