Proof of the power of vaccination

Meant to say there is no proof the vaccine works against the Indian variant .

GrannyGravy13

It’s a virus that is here to stay, like many others. We (the world) has to live alongside it.

The world cannot totally shut down for a given amount of time, it needs power, food, medics, managing it is all we can do. Influenza, nova virus even the common cold kill, I am more worried about the Cancer time bomb about to explode along with all the other things that have been put on hold to ^save the NHS^

Here here....Very well said....

grandtanteJE65

Anything is possible, even that the corona virus will become much less virulent soon.

I have mentioned it before, but will gladly say it again. The Spanish flu swept through the world in 1918 and 1919, killing millions, literally more people than had died in the first World War, then it disappeared. The virus still exists, but has not caused outbreaks since 1919.

It is difficult to prove, historic sources being what they are, but syphilis seems to have reached epidemic proportions when introduced to Europe at the start of the 16th century then settled down as a nasty and contagious disease, but not an epidemic.

Similarly, Europe suffered various outbreaks of bubonic plague - the first one killing, as far as we know, an average of every third person in Europe. Subsequent outbreaks killed fewer, but still horrifying numbers. Since around 1700 there have been no large outbreaks recorded.

The sweating sickness (sudor angelicus) afflicted England and the geographic England only at regular intervals during the 1500s- Henry VIII would never have married Katherine of Aragon if the sweating sickness had not killed his brother. Anne Boleyn survived it - at the time many felt it would have been better if she hadn't, but try imagining history without Elizabeth Tudor! No-one has suffered the sweating sickness since somewhere around 1600 as it is not identical with any known strain of influenza.

So the corona virus may just disappear too.

That’s what I hoped, too, but a corona virus is not the flu. SARS1 disappeared though so I am hopeful. I’ve always been fascinated by the sweating sickness ( I guess that’s down to watching Wolf Hall on the tv).. I think someone in here explained to me once what it was. Ditto the plague which people did actually seem to treat and deal with in a far more civilised way than people realise. I never thought of how the sweating sickness had changed the course of history though. You’ve given me lots to ponder on there!

BusterTank the vaccine does work against the Indian variant, it’s not resulting in more hospital admissions for the vaccinated groups - that’s why they want to speed up the vaccine programme.

Totally with you on that GrannyGravy13. We need to get on with it now.

toscalily

This from the BBC article "This spike is related to international travel, particularly with people returning to Bolton from India".

We are only now coming out of the Lockdown restrictions, with most of us not having ventured to the next town/county let alone travelling to another continent therefore why is it considered acceptable for the asian community to flout these rules and travel internationally?

I’m cross about this. I remember when we first heard about this variant thinking we should put India on the red list. Two weeks went by and British Indians scrambled to return to the UK before the borders were closed, bringing it back with them.
We we slow closing our borders right back at the beginning and it’s happened again!

I am very anxious about the Indian variant. A scientist (can't remember her name) on the news said that it would be wise to slow down the easing of restrictions for a few weeks, until they have more information. Otherwise there could be a big surge and the hospitals could be overwhelmed again. Everything does seem to suggest that numbers are likely to rise - the infection rate is slightly up already - but it's unclear about how much.

What I can't figure out is how safe it is to start resuming something like normal life. Like most oldies, we've had two jabs and thought we could gradually return to the haunts of men...Now I'm doubtful. What I would like to know is how much the risk has gone up, or level of protection has gone down, due to this variant. It is, apparently, "likely" that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will give "some protection" against the variant whilst Astra Zeneca is "less likely" to do so. That's very vague. If I am going to take calculated risks, I would like to have some idea about what the calculations might be.

OK, so I am a coward. I am particularly worried about my DH, who is older than me, Asian (said to be more vulnerable) and has had the Astra Zeneca. I just want to know how high the risk of catching the virus, and how high the risk of dying, is with this variant. I can't be the only one.

I was looking forward to having DD's family around next Sunday, the first time since March 2020, to celebrate my DH's birthday. Now she is worried about us being at risk from the Indian variant, which has already shown up in the children's school, and so we're meeting up in the park instead. I am also venturing out for my first haircut after 14 months, but I can't say that I feel confident about it.

Also, has there been any mention yet of jabs for kids? My DD in America says that they are soon going to start giving the Pfizer vaccine to 12-16 year olds. (Over 16s are already eligible.) She hopes they'll authorise it for 2-11 year olds, as her 8 year old DD is the only one in her family who is unvaccinated. The American programme, almost non-existent in Trump's era, is now extremely fast.

JaneJudge you're right. No social distancing happening in schools. I shall be keeping my mask on in school.

Given that people are still, sadly, being infected and dying from covid has anyone seen any breakdown of which age groups are dying and whether these people have co morbidities etc ?I hope I don’t sound callous by asking this but we were given a lot of those sort of statistics last year which made it possible to evaluate how at risk certain individuals are.

timetogo2016

The Indian variant would not be here had the government stopped all travel from India to this country.
They knew the variant was there so why give a time and date for them to come into this country,all travel to and from India should have stopped then and there.
It`s not bluddy rocket science.

The Indian variant wouldn’t be here if people hadn’t travelled and return home, poor them, not seen relatives for over a year neither have many of us, a sense of entitlement and poor Government effort , plus airlines, plus travel agents in Bolton encouraging people to fly back via Turkey. All must share the blame for this.

GrannyGravy13

timetogo2016

The Indian variant would not be here had the government stopped all travel from India to this country.
They knew the variant was there so why give a time and date for them to come into this country,all travel to and from India should have stopped then and there.
It`s not bluddy rocket science.

It’s not that easy though is it?

Could you imagine the outcry and newspaper headlines British Citizens being abandoned if they could not return home from India or anywhere else in the World come to that. Flights coming from India carry things other than passengers, vaccines are just one example.

The UK is an Island, but it is incomparable to Australia or New Zealand, it’s an International Hub, not just a destination.

No need for an International hub, people should not be flying during a pandemic. No bluudy excuse.

Lin52 et al, get a grip. Indian-origin people flying to India are doing so because their loved ones are either sick or dead. They aren't flying there for fun, for goodness sakes. You and I may not have been able to see our loved ones for yonks, but these folks may not have seen their parents for YEARS. Asians are very family-oriented. They aren't going back so they can party or lie on the beach, unlike the numerous irresponsible Brits who have been going on holiday during the past year, despite the pandemic.

Your harping on and on about Asians and entitlement smacks of prejudice. My doctor and his family are Asian and I know he was forced to fly out as his parents were dying without oxygen, and he was out of his mind with worry (so the receptionist told me). I'm sure he loved them a great deal and just wanted to see them one more time before they passed (and yes, sadly they died). To call that entitlement is pathetic. He was responsible enough to quarantine after he got back - and his family stayed behind in the UK. Oh, and he left LONG before anyone in the world knew how dire the situation in India had become.

We just don't know WHEN these "hordes of Asians" who've been flying out to India actually left the country - clearly it was WELL before we even KNEW about the Indian variant and the ghastly mess that India is in. Had we known about it when they left, they wouldn't have been permitted to fly out or in (and rightly so).

Yes, we should stop all flights to and from India.

But we can hardly blame Indians who flew out BEFORE the tragedy in India came to light.

If anyone flies out NOW they should be stopped, no question.

But please stop blaming people who left BEFORE the awful situation in India was known, and who are simply trying to get back home and to relative safety now (Britain is their home too, you know).

Besides which many of these "plane-loads of Asians" are the ones who are running our NHS and looking after our own Covid patients, placing their own lives at risk.

You might like to chew on that before you criticise an entire community.

DOI: White with many great Asian friends who are far less entitled than most of the white Brits I know.