Covid-19 discussion thread

[pulisa]

Hospital admissions are rising though but we don't know the criteria for admission and whether the majority are young people who will spend less time in hospital and will be better able to fight off covid. There's still the enigma of Long Covid to consider and its link to an FND for some.

[MyNameIsTerry]

The papers down here say you guys are in a mess with the Delta variant.
What's the real story at your end?

Whilst the government have stalled the final stage of their roadmap for lockdown easing they haven't backtracked. In previous waves they would be closing businesses now to slow down the spread. I think that tells us a lot about their confidence in the vaccination programme.

So they are monitoring the impact to hospitalisations and deaths instead. They are still saying there is the potential for the NHS to become overwhelmed if infection rates rise to very high levels but some areas badly hit are passing their peaks already.

As pulisa says though there is a call from some experts to analyse in greater detail to predict if more vaccinated people will end up in hospital or whether the current ones are due to specific conditions that make them more vulnerable which may not translate to the wider population.

There are hardly any restrictions now though.

[Lencoboy]

Whilst the government have stalled the final stage of their roadmap for lockdown easing they haven't backtracked. In previous waves they would be closing businesses now to slow down the spread. I think that tells us a lot about their confidence in the vaccination programme.

So they are monitoring the impact to hospitalisations and deaths instead. They are still saying there is the potential for the NHS to become overwhelmed if infection rates rise to very high levels but some areas badly hit are passing their peaks already.

As pulisa says though there is a call from some experts to analyse in greater detail to predict if more vaccinated people will end up in hospital or whether the current ones are due to specific conditions that make them more vulnerable which may not translate to the wider population.

There are hardly any restrictions now though.

You're dead right Terry, the current situation in the UK (at least restrictions-wise) seems like a walk in the park compared to the extremely dire situation we were in back in December-January, and even this time last year when daily cases were actually far lower than they are right now.

It does seem that hospitalisations and deaths are now the 'gold standard', as opposed to daily cases, and despite cases being in excess of 10k since last Thursday, there's still no talk of any further national lockdowns.

In fact, they're saying that we're still on track for the final easements by 19th July.

Plus I think those protesting in central London today have been wasting their time, and it seemed there were antivaxxers amongst them too, obviously with another agenda!

[Phill2]

Thanks for the update guys.
The papers are always sensationalising stuff to sell more papers.
Your vax program is way ahead of ours.
My wife and I get our second jab on Friday.

[Lencoboy]

Thanks for the update guys.
The papers are always sensationalising stuff to sell more papers.
Your vax program is way ahead of ours.
My wife and I get our second jab on Friday.

Also the media always seem to revel in labelling the UK 'the sick man of Europe'!

Not only with this pandemic, but virtually every other past crisis.

[Pamplemousse]

Thanks for the update guys.
The papers are always sensationalising stuff to sell more papers.
Your vax program is way ahead of ours.
My wife and I get our second jab on Friday.

Hardly surprising - you've got the Murdoch disease in your papers, as do we.

Good to see you're getting your second jab: over here it's suggested you've had a pretty poor vaccination roll-out and more than a degree of resistance.

[Pamplemousse]

Also re: Australia - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-57549796

Well, if you Aussies want to stay in splendid isolation for ever...

[Fishmanpa]

Some encouraging news here in the US. New cases dropped below 10k and the death rate dropped below 300 for the first time since March of 2020. While I don't think we'll reach Biden's July goal and get free beer from Anheuser Busch, more and more people, and especially younger folks, are getting the vax. Things are actually beginning to show hints of returning to a new normal.

FMP

[Lencoboy]

Also re: Australia - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-57549796

Well, if you Aussies want to stay in splendid isolation for ever...

I wonder how prevalent the jab no-shows/cancellations are here in the UK right now?

[Lencoboy]

Some encouraging news here in the US. New cases dropped below 10k and the death rate dropped below 300 for the first time since March of 2020. While I don't think we'll reach Biden's July goal and get free beer from Anheuser Busch, more and more people, and especially younger folks, are getting the vax. Things are actually beginning to show hints of returning to a new normal.

FMP

Here in the UK it still seems like we're fighting a losing battle as daily cases are still rising relentlessly, and we're above 20 deaths for the first time since early May, though it is Tuesday, plus only one day, of course.

Nevertheless, today's claim earlier on that deaths are at their lowest level since late August last year and other more 'encouraging' news trumpeted by Bozzer and Hancock earlier today seems like a bit of a cruel joke!

Still no talk of a fourth national lockdown though.