Britain officially no longer in a pandemic

Endemic now

Those of you thinking that the vaccines will end the pandemic, might want to hold off partying for a bit longer...

Do you realise that in people with compromised immune systems the vaccine is less than 40% effective?

In some conditions such as blood cancers, it’s been suggested by blood cancer charities that support research in this area, that it’s only 13% effective.

This means that for a greater number of people with compromised immune systems their bodies DO NOT produce Covid antibodies after having the vaccine. And therefore are completely unprotected from catching Covid and it’s devastating consequences..

I’m still very cautious because DH has a blood cancer and until his bloods are tested, we’ve no idea if the Pfizer vaccine has worked for him.

The difficult bit for us is learning now how to live and accept what's left in the UK.

Pandemic” means it’s in every country across the world all the time, “endemic” means it’s really around and it’s there but it’s always going to have the potential to come back.’

But Thank you Esspee-it is something to be pleased about.

Pandemic: a disease prevalent over a whole country or the world. Britain might be in a good place today, just as we were during last summer, but remember that dreadful post Christmas spike in January? Yes, we have a selection of vaccines, thanks to worldwide scientific co-operation, but if we import one of the new variants, currently evolving in India and Brazil and elsewhere, and if the evil little beast turns out to be able to by-pass our vaccine immunity, what then? As Lyse Doucet of the BBC has said, 'No-one is safe until we are all safe.'

Yesterday we had our second Pfizer vaccine here in France - we again had an interview with a doctor before receiving the vaccination. He asked about any reaction we might have had from the first dose. He then told us that we would have 95% protection after 10 days. He said the vaccine was effective against the variants such as the English and SA but as yet they were unsure about the Indian and the Brazilian varieties.
This morning were talking about still being cautious about travelling and DH said we still needed to be careful about being able to pass any virus on to others - has anything changed with that - can you pass it on if you have been vaccinated?

Had my second vaccination this morning - just hoping I don't get two horrible days of after effects again. However will still carry on being extra careful and not celebrating too soon. My friends in Canada tell me the situation is quite bad and they are in lockdown again. My worry is the number of flights I notice coming overhead and the countries these people are coming from - are all incoming travellers going into 10 day quarantine?

yggdrasil

We are in a pandemic that will last at least another couple of years. What happens in the UK is good news, but should not be exaggerated. The Telegraph is not a scientific journal, nor a trustworthy source these days.

I totally agree with you Yggdrasil.
Although we are very lucky and have done so well with the vaccines in this country and I applaud our scientists for that , this pandemic is not over until it is over for the whole planet .
I also agree with you about the telegraph. This used to be my newspaper of choice but their reporting of the pandemic has been atrocious. They have either been releasing scaremongering headlines late at night or unfounded good news stories without scientific backing. They are behaving more like a tabloid and are definitely not my chosen newspaper now.

Not sure a country can choose to opt out of a worldwide pandemic...

We need to be cautious about celebrating this. We have no idea whats going to happen in the Winter, or if too many people refuse to be vaccinated at all. Its great news but if it means everyone just returns to "normal" as we were in 2019 it could be just a blip and we end up almost as bad again.

Cabbie21

Until it is under control in other countries, any travel keeps us all at risk. I am not trying to be gloomy be suggesting there will be another wave once people start flying around the world again, just realistic. Although the current vaccines are a brilliant achievement, they will need to keep up the good work to adjust them for new variants, and keep a regular programme going to keep us safe.
Meanwhile I am enjoying the sunshine, have had my hair cut, been to the opticians and bought new underwear since having my second jab.

I know businesses have been diversifying but hadn't realised opticicians were selling lingerie!
Maybe so you don't make a spectacle of yourself... groan!

Covid is a worldwide pandemic and until there is a successful worldwide vaccination programme we are all still at risk. Yes it is good news, but personally I think it is a bit too early to be putting out the bunting. As someone else said, NZ & Australia have contained the virus by keeping their borders closed and having lockdowns for a single case! Our government is not known for being so cautious.

lemongrove

Rationality isn’t the word I would have used!
Am guessing that if Labour were in power there would be gushing comments on how wonderful it is that the UK has done so well
If, scientifically speaking the UK is no longer in a pandemic, then that’s the simple truth, we have stepped back from the brink.Wonderful news. The rest of Europe and the US will catch up at a later date, and then at a much slower pace, the rest of the world.

Your rationality is spoiling the only pleasure the Boris Bashers get! They would have been so much happier if Jeremy Corbin had been in charge. Or perhaps Starmer, who promised full support to the government, then spent his time criticising and warding off the back stabbers in his own party?.

As for comparisons with countries oceans away from others with more land and lower population! Ironically the moaners were so much more invested in gloating about how badly we were doing, are the same people who often think we should open our borders to all comers with no questions asked.

France is really struggling now and India. Might be a bit too soon to offer them the temporary hospital tents and equipment that didn’t get used. Those hoping for increased outbreaks to further their political agenda would then have something more to bleat about.

Keep it up though. The negativity and innate sense of superiority is what cost them the last election!

But sad to see the number of AZ related blood clots has more than doubled in the last two weeks in the UK with deaths now at 32. The BBC doesn't report this but GMB did.

Can someone tell my 31 year old DD that! She is so stressed at the thought of catching it then giving it to someone else who then dies that she is a nervous wreck. She had to go to work twice this week instead of working from home and this morning she was so stressed she was crying down the phone on her way in! Meanwhile as the vulnerable member of the family, over 65 and diabetic I'm completely chilled. I had my second jab this morning. Some people are going to take a long time to get over this and I don't know how to help her. She lives 400 miles away so there is so little I can do to comfort her!

Yaaaaaaa. Still being careful though ♡

Even with strict precautions it can still sneak in again. A man who flew to Perth, Australia was quarantined in a hotel for 2 weeks. He then stayed with a friend, and went out on the town for a few days. Then he flew to Melbourne, and tested positive on his arrival. Now Perth, and other places, are having a lockdown again, which has put a spanner in the works for all the Anzac Day celebrations this weekend.
My son’s theory is that the quarantine hotel’s air-conditioning must have spread the infection around. WA has been very pro-active at keeping its borders safe.
He is also very annoyed at the extremely disorganised way that the vaccination programme is being implemented over there

Let's hope...

a large proportion is NOT beign careful- and with variants - we are not out of the woods yet, I am very sorry to say.

jocork

Can someone tell my 31 year old DD that! She is so stressed at the thought of catching it then giving it to someone else who then dies that she is a nervous wreck. She had to go to work twice this week instead of working from home and this morning she was so stressed she was crying down the phone on her way in! Meanwhile as the vulnerable member of the family, over 65 and diabetic I'm completely chilled. I had my second jab this morning. Some people are going to take a long time to get over this and I don't know how to help her. She lives 400 miles away so there is so little I can do to comfort her!

Does she have a partner and children?

As so many of you said, until the virus is manageable across the world then we are still in a pandemic. There are new variants that are with us and the vaccines will have to be adjusted to deal with them. Let us still be very cautious.

The role of the opposition is to question and hold the government to account kamiso. It's the nature of a democracy.

We are still being very careful, avoiding crowded spaces, socially distancing and I notice that virtually everyone you pass in my corner of N Yorkshire gives a wide berth. Cautiously optimistic but we have to be careful. I hope people can curb their overseas holiday desires a bit longer. Shame we allowed flights from India to keep coming for so long.

If Labour had handled the beginning of the pandemic as badly as the Conservatives did I would have been equally as critical. It seems to me that Labours problem is that it’s members are always criticising their leadership whereas Conservatives remain loyal no matter how badly their leaders behave. Johnson was far more concerned about getting brexit done than protecting the country from the looming covid crisis. I don’t see how anyone can defend him on that count.

jocork. I feel so sorry for your daughter. If you’ve been working from home and then have to venture out into an environment that isn’t as safe it must be terrifying. Having shielded for so long I don’t know how I’m going to adjust to any sort of normality. My daughter, who no longer works, set up a covid support group last year but admitted to me recently that she was terrified of catching it. Can you just advise your daughter on all the things that will keep her safe? We all take VitD. Now, I know many people on here say it doesn’t work but for the past year, as a family we’ve felt protected in some way by taking it. Ok it may be a placebo effect and we’re all very careful anyway but it has helped me mentally. We also listen to DrJohn Campbells utube blogs. Have done so for over a year and find them very informative and empowering. He often does web chats with people from all over the world and we get to know the various contributors. Stops you feeling alone.

My worry after reading that, is that there are some who will interpret it as "we're done with it now - you can go back to your normal lives and forget all the measures that we've had in place for the last year".

It is wonderful news that the vaccination programme has had such a huge impact on the number of cases, but don't let us lose sight of the fact that Covid19 is going nowhere for a very long time, and whilst our measures can be relaxed, we must not fall into the trap of complacency.