England will have no further Covid restrictions until after the New Year.

MayBee70

It was Jennie Harries that blamed NHS staff for the shortage of PPE as she said they were ‘misusing them’. She had to keep a low profile for quite a while after that. She seems to speak differently now she’s in a new role, although I do lose track of what roles people are in these days.

She also said that masks were useless...

Kali2

Maizie- why ''(though, TBH, I always found Jennie Harris a bit suspect)''? Why anymore than any of the others? VanTamm with his silly 'sayings' always sounds so phoney to me.

Oh yes, Vantamerisms, as they are known,in layman’s terms helping people understand.

They sound totally phoney to me, sorry.

BBC 4 Christmas lecture, Prof Van Tam, speaking as a scientist and Dr, not a Gov advisor, re pandemic.

I like van Tam but he’s not in the news so much these days. I found his reassurances comforting 18 months ago when I was really scared and vaccines weren’t yet discovered.

News bulletin just now:

“Just one-fifth of new Covid hospital patients are true cases
Treat data with caution, say experts, as situation in hospitals during omicron wave is different to ‘horrific scenes’ of a year ago”

Events really do seem to be turning a corner. Other experts are being listened to. Epidemiologists and virologists more so now. Not just ‘modellers’.

I really hope all the good predictions are right. Still, I'm cautious. We view it from our own perspective - and experience. I don't see 'learning to live with it' as a viable option until, at least, the summer (that's if no nasty new variants emerge).

My son still supports his friend, devastated by the loss of his wife and unborn child. She was fit and healthy, there's no explanation - just bad luck and 'one of those things'. The virus quickly overwhelmed her.

Her children cry for her every day. Such a waste of a young life. No wonder I feel upset when I read about people assessing their own level of risk (impossible) and resuming 'normal' life. Life will never be normal again for some.

Sincere condolences Hetty to your family at the loss of your son’s friend’s wife. One can only imagine the devastating loss to her family.
?

Was the girl vaccinated do you know? I only ask because a similar case was on SKY news this afternoon. It was all the more heartbreaking because the expectant mum had refused vaccination, even after encouragement from her obstetrician and her own family.

I’m so very sorry about your son’s friend’s wife Hetty. What a terrible loss to his family, especially his children. I’ve heard/read about many pregnant women who have died because they caught Covid and had refused the vaccine because of their pregnancy. Some of the babies have been delivered but they’ll never know their mothers. On this occasion pregnant women really should listen to the experts and get vaccinated. It’s safer for them and their babies.

Urmstongran

News bulletin just now:

“Just one-fifth of new Covid hospital patients are true cases
Treat data with caution, say experts, as situation in hospitals during omicron wave is different to ‘horrific scenes’ of a year ago”

Events really do seem to be turning a corner. Other experts are being listened to. Epidemiologists and virologists more so now. Not just ‘modellers’.

That really isn't what has been reported. I can't read the whole article because it's behind the Telegraph's paywall, but this is what has been written:

"Just one fifth of the weekly rise in Covid inpatients was caused by people admitted to hospital because of the virus, figures suggest."

That's not the same thing at all.

If this mutation is actually quite mild and will bring about the end of the pandemic as it will be more like a seasonal cold, we mustn’t forget the millions of people the virus has infected to get to this state. Many of whom are suffering from long covid or have, sadly, died. Heartbreaking to hear of the young mum and her unborn child losing their lives.

MayBee70

If this mutation is actually quite mild and will bring about the end of the pandemic as it will be more like a seasonal cold, we mustn’t forget the millions of people the virus has infected to get to this state. Many of whom are suffering from long covid or have, sadly, died. Heartbreaking to hear of the young mum and her unborn child losing their lives.

Furthermore, this mutation could (and almost certainly will) mutate again, in addition to mutations of the Delta variant ... and mutations of those variants ... and so on. There are no grounds for complacency.

I’m so sorry to hear of the loss of your son’s friend’s wife and baby Hetty. He must be in pieces. It must be so difficult for pregnant women to decide whether or not to be vaccinated. First they were advised against it, now doctors urge them to do so. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to know what to do, whether there will be any as yet undiscovered effect on the baby as with thalidomide. Between a rock and a hard place.

Hetty sorry for your DS’s friends loss, Covid devastated so many lives in the early days, and in some instances continues to do so.

Vaccinations are the main tool in the worlds toolbox thank goodness for the worlds amazing scientists.

I’m also so sorry to hear of the loss of your son’s friend’s wife and baby Hetty.

There are many vaccinated people who have died of Covid and many people with illnesses which continue to make them vulnerable. Some people who are immunocompromised have been shown to have no antibodies even after being vaccinated.

I saw some research earlier this year about the genetic susceptibility of some to serious complications from Covid. I believe Neanderthal genes are involved and more recently, a gene common in South Asian peoples. I know people like to have a reference and the best I can find on a quick search is this one, it's a systematic review:

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34016183/

If anyone wants it, I'll find the article I remember which I discussed with a medical friend in the autumn. I feel sad and shocked that attitudes in the UK are complacent if not directly careless to those who are not lucky enough to be able to just shrug off the virus.

Here is a similar article if not the exact one:

www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01827-w

"The quest to find the genes that drive severe Covid". From the journal Nature, July 2021.

Yesterday I looked on the BBC Covid in Your Area website, which I’ve looked at all through the pandemic to check rates in the area I live in, and the area that many of the members of my husband’s family live in, which is in the north west. I was truly shocked, my own area has a rate of nearly 2000 cases in the week ending 24th December, and the area where my husband’s family live was nearly 5000 cases in the week up to the same date. These rates have never seen before. It’s frightened me again, because I truly do not want this awful illness again. We managed to avoid it by being careful up now, but what when we need to go shopping? I’ve always advocated trying to live as normally as possible within reason but I’m beginning to think I may need to become a hermit again for a while.

I think that there may be more restrictions in January.

I try not to be scared by reported numbers in my area. Three members of my family have had it recently. Most likely caught while out shopping or in the course of daily life. They were reported as cases but truly were no worse than a cold. In one case a very mild one indeed.
The serious cases are, of course, serious and deaths are all tragedies for the families involved.
Interesting to read yesterday that many of the Covid cases in hospital were not admitted due to Covid but discovered on routine testing. It's infuriating to hear that so many serious cases are among the unvaccinated. The staff looking after them must be so exasperated by them.

Whitewavemark2

I think that there may be more restrictions in January.

Oh I so hope this will not affect schools- it has been so hard on the kids. DGS is doing GCSE mocks after Christmas.

Aveline I know many people are not experiencing severe symptoms with this new variant, but because I had serious Covid last January, pre my vaccinations, and was taken to hospital, I’m very afraid of getting it again. I’ve tried to live as normally as possible, taking all proper precautions and we achieved a near normal summer, but I’m now getting very frightened again. I’m on steroids right now, for my asthma, and my lungs have scar tissue from the Covid pneumonia I suffered last year. It’s very frightening.

It is frightening Maddy. I haven’t had covid but I too take steroids for asthma and am frankly terrified of being hospitalised and unable to breathe. I’m annoyed that the Tesco delivery drivers don’t always wear masks and it’s difficult to keep your distance when you’re unloading things from a crate and they’re standing on the doorstep waiting to put the next one down. I expect a lot of people will say I’m silly and unnecessary fearful but it does make me feel vulnerable and expecting them to be required to wear a mask surely isn’t too unreasonable.

If you wear a mask yourself- just ask them to put down the crate- and pick it up after he has turned away.

This is worth taking note of:

New Omicron Variant fills up Children's Hospitals (NY)

edition.cnn.com/2021/12/27/health/covid-kids-hospitals/index.html

I believe there are children in hospital here too.

For the first time I know several people including a close family member,who currently have Covid here in Australia. For all our very harsh isolation we have got more here in Victoria than anywhere else in the whole country which poses a few questions about the shocking 2 year isolation and curfews we had to put up with, not to mention not being able to see or visit our own families. We got it in the end with bells on. Unfortunately it seems to have become very political with the different parties slating each other whinging and whining whilst we cannot even get tested without hours and hours waiting times because they haven’t organised things properly.