Disconnect with the data.

So can those 7 million operations take place if the hospitals have to cope with a rise in covid hospitalisations?

The rate of hospitalisation is very low, compared to the time before mass vaccination.
The hope is that there will be very low numbers of covid patients.

But what if more and more hospital operation staff are pinged? Or did I read that the rules regarding self isolation are going to change? We went for a walk on the beach today. Beautiful weather: everyone was happy and relaxed. We chatted with several people from a distance: waved and smiled at many more. I didn’t see it as people that were being shackled in any way, but people that were on their way out if a pandemic and a bit more caution would mean we could be out of it completely.

There is also the Lambda variant to worry about. Scientists don't yet know whether it is more transmissable or more impervious to vaccine than other strains. The fact is that 70% of our population needs to be vaccinated before we reach herd immunity, and we're currently at something like 60%. The 70% also applies to global figures. We need 70% of the world's population to be vaccinated before we can begin to think that we're winning against this disease, and it's currently 10.9%. In low income countries, less than 1% are vaccinated at the moment.

Until we have mass vaccination everywhere, not just in the countries which have enough wealth to buy vaccines and set up and run efficient vaccination programmes, the virus will continue to spread and mutate. The relaxation on overseas travel will inevitably bring those mutations here. If they prove to be more resistant to the vaccines, we're going to see the death toll start to rise again. At the very least, wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing seems like a good idea at the moment.

I saw a headline on Bloomberg which said "Football fandom may be driving Covid-19 infections amongst English men." You don't say?

B9exchnge Robert Dingwall is a sociologist, a researcher into healthcare, legal services and science and technology policy. He has had a number of textbooks published by Sage Publishing. He is obviously an expert on methodology but this does not make him an expert on virology or epidemiology. So, the fact that he's not going to wear a mask doesn't really help the people in the various listed. I'm sure most of them would prefer the rest of us to continue to wear masks as necessary.

I wonder if he was one of the sociologists that advised the government that the people of this country would never accept lockdowns?

I would also like to remind people about Derek Draper, age 53, Kate Garraway's OH. For those who don't know of him, he was in hospital with covid for 1 year during which he was in an induced coma for some of the time. He returned home in April and requires full time care and has not recovered all his faculties.

So, please think about the people who are yet to suffer when you decide not to social distance or wear a mask on public transport or indoor public spaces.

Oh give it a break Dinahmo. Very sad for the Garraways but do you honestly think an entire nation needs to live in such restriction for ever??

MaggieTulliver

Oh give it a break Dinahmo. Very sad for the Garraways but do you honestly think an entire nation needs to live in such restriction for ever??

What a disgusting remark remark. You should be ashamed of yourself ( but obviously won’t be)….

I saw a headline on Bloomberg which said "Football fandom may be driving Covid-19 infections amongst English men." You don't say?

That's a sexist remark - I saw more than a couple of women in the crowds!
Racist too - other nationalities are available.

Dinahmo

B9exchnge Robert Dingwall is a sociologist, a researcher into healthcare, legal services and science and technology policy. He has had a number of textbooks published by Sage Publishing. He is obviously an expert on methodology but this does not make him an expert on virology or epidemiology. So, the fact that he's not going to wear a mask doesn't really help the people in the various listed. I'm sure most of them would prefer the rest of us to continue to wear masks as necessary.

Having an ology does not make someone an expert on Covid.

Obviously it’s very sad for Derek Draper and his family but the point is we never hear about the hundreds of thousands (possibly millions?) of people who have had the virus and made a complete recovery.

It’s important to keep the risks in perspective.

Yes, let’s just forget about the people suffering and just concentrate on those that aren’t. Head in the sand stuff.

I will be carrying on as before, mask, social distancing, being careful because masks are not just to protect me, they are to protect others. If Boris's opening up plan succeeds he will be a hero, if it fails it will be Jo public's fault "we told you to be responsible but you didn't listen" etc. On scientist described unlocking everything equal to abandoning all road signs, lights, warnings for motorists.

I didn’t say that MayBee70 did I?
All I was saying was that in assessing risk we need to know the facts, and the facts are that, sad though it is for those who had a bad outcome, they are in the minority.

Its like people have collectively lost their minds, really.

Random unproved statistics, exhortations to think of others or do your own research, doom laden warnings about new variants, and even poor old Derek Draper.

I don't think Johnson is doing the right thing but its like everybody has jumped to the worst conclusion possible and now everybody is running around with their hands in the air.

You can have a go at me now if you like, it seems par for the course today

No Alegrias1, your post about sums up how things are, though Derek Draper is a new name to me.

And anyone who stresses the positives is accused of being uncaring, unrealistic or burying their head in the sand.

I hope the scientists who developed the Oxford vaccine aren’t reading some comments on here

I would imagine the people who developed the Oxford vaccine are in despair at the thought of our stupid PM undoing a lot of the good their vaccine has done.

There seem to have been lots of comparisons with flu. Listening to one of the question and answer slots on the news a couple of days ago the scientist was saying that this cannot be compared to flu or, if you want to use that as a comparison then the only flu it compares with is the Spanish flu.

Since December 2019, COVID-19 has killed more people in the U.S. than influenza has in the last five years. Influenza is a significant burden on the population, but COVID-19 has had a vastly larger effect.

Many more people are susceptible to COVID-19 because there is little preexisting immunity to the virus that causes it—SARS-CoV-2. Through vaccinations and previous infections, a portion of the population has some immunity to influenza, which helps limit the number of cases we see each year. There is a lot of similarity between how the two viruses are spread, but the number of susceptible people is really what allows SARS-CoV-2 to spread so easily. COVID-19 has a higher severe disease and mortality rate than influenza in all age groups, except perhaps children under the age of 12.

So it is not like flu and if you are going to say it is you should back up your statements.

You can, however, compare it to the Spanish Flu. That virus killed more than the First World War, likely even more than the Second World War and possibly even more than the two wars combined. It is believed that more people died of influenza in the single year of 1918 than in the four years of the Black Death from 1347 to 1351. Now that actually was a "flu" pandemic.

Thankfully we know more than we did then but, I would suggest, not enough to be complacent.

Mollygo

No Alegrias1, your post about sums up how things are, though Derek Draper is a new name to me.

Apparently he has had the worst symptoms of any Covid survivor in the world. He was in a coma for a long time and in hospital for over a year and may never recover fully.

He was a SPAD to Tony Blair and is married to Kate Garraway, TV presenter.

Alegrias1 Thu 08-Jul-21 17:12:07

I think you are pretty near the mark Alegrias. I have to say that, above all else, I feel so angry with Boris and his cohorts.

Of course, we have to be responsible for ourselves. However, he has never shown any understanding of that. When it comes to the fact that we hand over responsibility to our government when it comes to all things national rather than personal it appears they just want the power without the responsibility.

I will continue to do my bit as it appears will many on here. However, I think it's time to stop the inefficiency and incompetence, bluster and lies, and get on with the job or hand it over to someone else if the toy has lost its lustre.

Thanks Callistemon.

Well i am carrying on as i am shopping on line and wearing mask when i venture out

I followed someone today that was collecting for charity. I ended up having to walk up to the village pub, somewhere I haven’t been to during the day since the pandemic began, so I wore my mask. I was the only person wearing one. I know it was outside but it was quite crowded ( or crowded by what I’m used to these days). I realised that I was speaking to one of the charity workers that was wearing a hearing aid and it made me realise how difficult it is for people hard of hearing when someone is wearing a mask. I waited till he wasn’t surrounded by people, took off my mask and spoke to him then. I won’t be doing anything like that when infection rates escalate even more in the coming weeks though.