Coronavirus

[JBZ]

Wow that's FHs favourite one liner usually! Your writing style and replies have become incredibly unoriginal Mr. JBZzz...

A "lawyer" effectively lost for words 

Anyway, this is the Coronavirus thread and most use this purely to talk about the "rona". Let's keep it on track ey Sgt?

  The "lawyer" rests his case.

Moving back on topic, my parents have had their first jabs which is good news.

[4D]

 

[RobertT]

Is it just me, or these a bit "first world problems"

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56070698

[BambooToTheFuture]

Is it just me, or these a bit "first world problems"

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56070698

What is more striking is the fact the UK government is making people pay for it. Which is in contrast to rules had I got stranded in Turkey or Greece last October. The rules/guidelines stated that had the countries moved from unrestricted to a restricted one, I'd be put in a government approved hotel, fed and watered, etc. to self isolate for upto 14 days...all at the expense of the government.

I'm not necessarily saying that the above was the correct way but it appears our Gov is being a bit cunty about it. Surely enforcing a person travelling from a restricted area into providing a negative covid test and then putting them up for a day or two (having to take another test on arrival) would be a better way? Then they have to self isolate with family/wherever they are staying for a further as long as is advised.

Unless this is the government's way of making a bit of pocket money?  c£1200 for 11 days is quite a fee and they should at least be placed in accomms fairly close or relevant to the persons travel.

Whatever happened to this being a "global effort"? That ethos appears to have soon disappeared, especially since regarding vaccines it really is anything but...Wealthy nations, that represent 13% of the world population have purchased 51% of the promised doses from the leading Covid-19 vaccine candidates. Protecting monopolies and profits of big pharma, favouring the privileged wealthy nations and leaving most of the world's population waiting longer than necessary. If there was ever any conspiracy regarding covid, this would be the most accurate one.

Why is it that the UK has purchased enough for 5 doses per head of population at the outset? Some may argue future proofing but I don't think we even have the data for that yet and the vaccine may need to evolve anyway. We simply don't need over double the amount of our population.

It's true that AstraZeneca could produce 38% of the World population but this is halved as two doses are needed. Meaning only they could cover 19% of World pop. For reference the cost of providing a Covid-19 vaccine program for everyone on Earth would be at a cost of less than 0.6% of the current cumulative loss to the global economy for 2020 and 2021 of $12 trillion.

There's reference to the global plight toward the bottom of this article, which does start out partly glamourising the effort. So far only AstraZeneca has committed but as stated above the efforts of just one Pharma (mostly) is not enough. OxFam also has some good articles on this. Surely we must maintain and recognise a global plight, otherwise we could be in an eternal cycle of "institutionalised annual vaccination program for industrialised countries but what will that appetite be for low income countries..."

I moved tack RobT but I thought it relevant in the "first world problems" category. Whilst our more privileged nations may have our own hurdles to negotiate, as always there is a much bigger picture. It's good to open that up to others and remember how fortunate we are.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/15/global-immunisation-low-income-countries-rush-to-access-covid-vaccine-supply

[pauld]

Unless this is the government's way of making a bit of pocket money?

No it's their way of ensuring failing private enterprises trouser yet more cash from COVID: G4S in this case (remember them? Failed Olympics security etc) who are charging 900 quid of the £1750 charge, whereas it's Serco and Deloitte with the failed Track and Trace scheme. Seems the harder private contractors fail, the more money the Tories will shovel into their pockets.

[Bob's Orange]

One for 4D to get irritated by.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-56078203

[Abrahammer]

Anyone travelling from abroad for non essential reasons should rightly being paying those hotel costs IMO.

There will obviously be the some essential trips being undertaken but for the people who don’t really need to be travelling immediately I’ve got zero sympathy for them, charge them double

[pauld]

Anyone travelling from abroad for non essential reasons should rightly being paying those hotel costs IMO.

There will obviously be the some essential trips being undertaken but for the people who don’t really need to be travelling immediately I’ve got zero sympathy for them, charge them double

The problem is that it encourages people to evade the restrictions (which apparently is trivially easy to do). Much as with not providing adequate support for people who have been asked to self-isolate which is why there is such low compliance (c 20%) with self-isolation.

[chalkies shorts]

I struggle with the volumes of air passengers in and out of the uk the last few months. In the age of zoom etc why do so many people feel the need to travel.
There's fuck all chance you'd get me on a plane at the moment or hang around an airport even with 10 masks on.

[Abrahammer]

The problem is that it encourages people to evade the restrictions (which apparently is trivially easy to do). Much as with not providing adequate support for people who have been asked to self-isolate which is why there is such low compliance (c 20%) with self-isolation.

Good point

I also caught something on the news, didn’t catch all the details, referring to additional possible loopholes with regard to differences between the rules in England/Scotland. I.e. if you live in one of them but land in the other (can’t remember which way round) you can avoid/shorten some of the quarantine measures

[horlock07]

I struggle with the volumes of air passengers in and out of the uk the last few months. In the age of zoom etc why do so many people feel the need to travel.
There's fuck all chance you'd get me on a plane at the moment or hang around an airport even with 10 masks on.

I am aware of at least one family we know who have been to Dubai for a few weeks 'on business', its not remotely business the whole family went, it was a holiday.

Add into the mix that the quarantine only applies to the person who is travelling, so for instance if you come from a 'red' country but on the way back have to change flights at say Amsterdam, you then infect everyone on the Amsterdam- London flight but its only you who has to quarantine, plus when you get back to Heathrow you wander about the terminal for a bit infecting more until you get picked up.

I note it also covers travel, I wonder if they have thought about PPE for the coach drivers this year, this was the driver of the first coach taking people to quarantine last year...

[Bob's Orange]

I note it also covers travel, I wonder if they have thought about PPE for the coach drivers this year, this was the driver of the first coach taking people to quarantine last year...

Gareth Thomas isn't aging well is he?

[Batch]

Anyone who is thinking of risking passing it on dont. I've had it for 4 days now and it's brutal, can do little else but lie there groaning waiting for you next set of tablets. Worse bits are the constant cramps and the real bad taste of food and liquids on the rare occasion you feel hungry. In the last 24 hours I've managed a grand total of 30 minutes upright.

Anyone heard from Sutton?

[Panda Paws]

Lots of talk about the next round of jabs etc, but very little about the 2nd jab for those already received. What happens if they go longer than 12 weeks? Is the smart move not starting that group again, before worrying about the next lot?

[Peter Venkman]

Lots of talk about the next round of jabs etc, but very little about the 2nd jab for those already received. What happens if they go longer than 12 weeks? Is the smart move not starting that group again, before worrying about the next lot?

When I asked about my 2nd jab I was told it will definately NOT be longer than 12 weeks for certain.

I see they are doing trials (not read back to see if mentioned) that they think better coverage will be got from 1 of each vaccine, I had the AstraZeneca so my booster in 10 weeks time could possibly be the Pfizer/Moderna.