Covid-19 discussion thread

[pulisa]

What the Shadow Health Secretary was doing yesterday is irrelevant, P. They're not in power so can do what they damn well like.

Hancock's got the job - he's also incompetent. So I have no sympathy if he's got a grilling off Marr, especially as Marr normally gives Tories an easy ride.

From https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57134181



The take-home from that BBC story is that the current vaccines work against it, but it is likely to become the new dominant strain.

Anyway, when the toothless wonders start filling up the Spoons from breakfast tomorrow, expect cases to rise sharply in a couple of weeks.

I wasn't suggesting that what Jonathan Ashworth was up to yesterday WAS relevant..Just contrasting their lifestyles at the moment. Who would want to be Matt Hancock, regardless of politics? I was actually listening to the interview with Sophy Ridge this morning.

[AntsyVee]

So I'm confused. Are we still gonna continue the easing of lockdown or is there a chance we'll go back into it?

There is always a chance any of us could go back into a lockdown. I don't say to that be alarmist, but there is always a chance that there could be a variant that our vaccines can't handle. That's why it's so important that the world works together to help countries like India and Brazil where the virus is running rampant. No public official is going to tell you that there will not be any more lockdowns because it would be their career if they were wrong. Public officials have to cover their asses.

The important things to remember: Get vaccinated. Encourage others to get vaccinated. Wear a mask in public places and around people you don't know.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hospital cases below 1,000

[Lencoboy]

Surprisingly today's national dashboard cases remain below 2k for the second consecutive day, despite the Indian variant now being more apparent, and more tests having been carried out over the latest 24 hour period.

It has been quite heartening to see photos of the lengthy queues of people in places like Bolton waiting to be jabbed. Looks like people are finally showing signs of getting more sensible and moving away from vaccine hesitancy!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Surprisingly today's national dashboard cases remain below 2k for the second consecutive day, despite the Indian variant now being more apparent, and more tests having been carried out over the latest 24 hour period.

It has been quite heartening to see photos of the lengthy queues of people in places like Bolton waiting to be jabbed. Looks like people are finally showing signs of getting more sensible and moving away from vaccine hesitancy!

Over 2300 cases of the Indian variant alone, Lenco, so expect the stats to start spiking. At least hospital cases from this are low but there is some media spinning of the fact most were not vaccinated by choice...tiny numbers all round though. Good that vulnerable groups aren't ended up in hospital.

Hancock mentioned polling putting the UK as having the highest vaccine confidence. Not seen it yet but great for us and I'm hoping others are close behind or there is bad news too.

They have accelerated the jabs in two hotspots.

[pulisa]

It would be ironic if the AZ were proved to be the most effective vaccine against the Indian variant, wouldn't it?

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yes, it would mean some interesting u turns and a sudden dropping of that blood clot issue by some.

I thought calling it the China virus was racist yet no big outcry over the Indian variant?

[Gary A]

Yes, it would mean some interesting u turns and a sudden dropping of that blood clot issue by some.

I thought calling it the China virus was racist yet no big outcry over the Indian variant?

Or Kent variant, South African variant, Brazilian variant.

Maybe it’s only racist when a certain orange gentleman coins the term.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Cautious hugging is now allowed!

[Carys]

Well, theres lots of variants and they need differentiating somehow. Surely its about how its said, the tone and the 'attached blame' that made it racist at the start when certain people used the phrase 'China virus'. It had a name even then, COVID19, but some people like the orange one chose to not use that term, but there are variants and people want to name them in the absence of any other name.