Covid 19 - Lift all restrictions?

Well now they have let a few people in from overseas we are back to restrictions on numbers in our homes (5max ) , wearing masks, cancelling events etc. The vaccination here is slow, the hotel quarantine is dodgy and we are getting the disease coming in from travellers. You just wonder why they can’t get it right before they open the airports. People are already starting to buy in bulk, you wouldn’t read about it, would you !

I think there seems to be a lot of complacency and vaccine hesitation in Australia. I do worry that it could still take off in Australia at some point.

This makes very interesting reading:

twitter.com/chrischirp/status/1396574267349872644

Covid is the new ‘c’ word as far as I am concerned. ??

PippaZ

This makes very interesting reading:

twitter.com/chrischirp/status/1396574267349872644

Thank you for the link.

Complicated read, it seems that if you get three scientists in a room you will get three differing opinions along with differing analysis of statistics.

I've just started a new topic about the increase in travel restrictions in some areas. Looking like more restrictions rather than less. I understand that they are not law. In which case probably pointless.

It is here with one of those horrible headlines that tells you nothing about the thread. Sorry Daisymae but it I find this sort of headline, in a factual thread, very unhelpful and a link woudl overcome the lack of information.

Well, it's under the topic of Corona virus and a link is now available ?

Update on the position in Bolton.
www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/19325543.coronavirus-cases-highest-among-youngest-people-bolton/
It does bear out what we’ve been told about fully vaccinated people being at low risk. However inpatient numbers have increased, 41 inpatients including 8 in ITU according to the hospital’s update this morning. This does demonstrate to me that we aren’t out of the woods yet, it will be tragic if young people die, as they must be making up a significant proportion of the admissions to hospital at the moment there.

I am copying this for another of my posts as we now have three Covid threads running:

One of the things that has not been clarified (or I haven't seen it) is just how ill those who have only one dose can/will be from the (First found in India variant)FFIIV. With only 30% protection (apparently). We know a very large proportion of the elderly and people with the underlying illness have been vaccinated and should have better protection but what about the younger people who have only had one vaccine. Long Covid seems to be going to an ongoing challenge - will there be more because of this variant?

Again, it seems there is so much reliance on the vaccine and little attention to suppression by TTTI.

GrannyGravy13

PippaZ

This makes very interesting reading:

twitter.com/chrischirp/status/1396574267349872644

Thank you for the link.

Complicated read, it seems that if you get three scientists in a room you will get three differing opinions along with differing analysis of statistics.

I'm not sure why you think that thread shows disagreement. As ever, Professor Pagel presents facts. Some people don't like those facts and try to cover them up, but they're still facts and nobody has tried to dispute them using a factual argument. Even SAGE and PHE England agree that there's a concern.

The only disputed issue is whether current vaccines are effective against the new variant and the answer is that nobody is sure. It's too early to be absolutely definite about that. Nevertheless, there are some signs that it is less effective and, given that the UK is now wanting to go for complete lifting of restriction, only a lunatic would claim it's 100% the right decision. It's better to be overcautious for another few weeks than get this wrong.

growstuff I wasn’t saying that there were three different opinions in the link, just pointing out that whenever a scientific expert is interviewed or tweets the conclusions and analysis often differ.

The salient point from the Bolton article I posted above is this:

According to Public Health England, the infection rate for residents aged between 10 and 14 is 1,171.1 cases per 100,000. Whereas the rate for 70 to 74 year olds is 7.2 per 100,000, with zero cases identified for any residents over the age of 85.

The infection rate has risen among some other age groups. The infection rate in the seven days to May 19 for people aged between 35 to 39 was 720.6 per 100,000 residents.

The vaccine must be effective after two doses, just how effective isn’t known I agree, with such small numbers affected so far we won’t know for a while, but I take encouragement from the low rate of infection in older people.

GrannyGravy13

growstuff I wasn’t saying that there were three different opinions in the link, just pointing out that whenever a scientific expert is interviewed or tweets the conclusions and analysis often differ.

Which is why it's so important to go back to the facts and not rely on interpretations which are made to fit a political spin.

Casdon If you were in control of Bolton and knew the infection rate amongst 10 to 14 year olds was so high, what would you do immediately? I know what I'd do.

Austria have just put the U.K. on their red list. Looks like we may as well lift all restrictions here so we can all do what we like given that the way things are going we won’t be able to go anywhere else.....

growstuff I’d close the schools to protect the children’s parents, as most aren’t fully vaccinated yet (nor a lot of teachers probably), and put 100% effort into the vaccination programme, including personal discussion with refusers by professionals who can explain the risks to them.

Casdon

growstuff I’d close the schools to protect the children’s parents, as most aren’t fully vaccinated yet (nor a lot of teachers probably), and put 100% effort into the vaccination programme, including personal discussion with refusers by professionals who can explain the risks to them.

So would I.

I wish they had I suspect I am not alone in wanting my school age children at home at the moment. We are ALL making a lot of sacrifices, I would rather we close down earlier if it means we reopen quicker. I haven't seen my parents in over a year as we live away from them and we seem to have different restrictions at different times. I was hoping I'd be able to see them soon, now that looks really unlikely.

Casdon, I live in one of the affected areas, they were slow to vaccinate at the very beginning and now people are being offered walk in vaccines the people volunteering cannot cope with the demand. It is far too easy to blame people

Is it just me but do all the places that have a high infection rate seem to be, in the main, socially deprived areas? Is it still something that is affecting the poor more?

Did anyone watch the Ch4 programme about the pandemic last night?

JaneJudge I can understand why you’d prefer not to send your children to school at the moment, I’d feel the same if I lived in an affected area- I don’t understand why they don’t do that as a short term measure at least?
I’m certainly not blaming the staff and volunteers who are manning the vaccination centres, I think it’s been an amazing effort across the whole country. I just think that now we have flare ups in specific areas there should be a way of mobilising extra people with skills to speak directly to the vaccine refusers and those who for other reasons have been unable to get to centres to try to persuade them to get vaccinated now. It’s a marathon task I know.

MayBee70

Is it just me but do all the places that have a high infection rate seem to be, in the main, socially deprived areas? Is it still something that is affecting the poor more?

No, it's not just you who's noticed that. It's a fact.

Casdon I'm not so sure that vaccination refusal is the issue which some in government seem to want people to believe.

The big increases have been in the younger age groups, who haven't been offered vaccinations.

Bangladesh managed a much more marathon effort, when it was the only country in the world where smallpox was still endemic. Even with our fragile economy, we are a much richer country than Bangladesh has ever been.