Covid-19 discussion thread

[AntsyVee]

If true, it's not a bad move by the admins, though it would seem he's using a different COVID thread.

It might be a good idea to just ban him from Covid section all together...but I think Covid is just the latest fixation because of his anti-vax views. My guess is that he'd find something else to fixate on if Covid wasn't around. I think his problem is OCD and narcissism, not current events.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Lenco, the numbers in hospital around here are falling. It was <10 everytime I checked anyway but it did slightly rise after Staffs Moorlands spiked and has fallen back to the levels before Delta. Whilst Staffs Moorlands is decreasing, Newcastle started increasing and then Stoke. So no impact from these two so far.

Out of the 5 I watch all apart from Stoke have high vaccination rates. One is closing in on 90% for first jabs. This will be making the difference. Stoke is lagging behind the overall national rate but if you consider the >50 age groups we would be looking at <50% second jabs to protect them. We are over 55%.

So, I think that bodes well for our population as Delta continues to spike. I wouldn't be surprised to find our spikes are less sharp compared to some of the badly hit areas in the North West. And Newcastle us already seeing decreases which, if it continues, backs up the Staffs Moorlands experience that showed a quickly reached and short lived peak (it's slowing down so has reached a bit of a plateau in the downward trend).

[NoraB]

It might be a good idea to just ban him from Covid section all together...but I think Covid is just the latest fixation because of his anti-vax views. My guess is that he'd find something else to fixate on if Covid wasn't around. I think his problem is OCD and narcissism, not current events.

COVID is all consuming with Phil and he would get his fix somewhere else though - either on a different forum or he'd be like my lad with Pokémon - as in he manages to work it into any conversation - regardless of appropriateness. Someone would start a thread up on here about a spot on their @rse and Phil will be straight in there with 'When can I go on my holidays though?'

Re narcissism? I'm seeing something else tbh - more of neurological difference than a personality disorder. It's hard to gauge online - which is why I'm not entirely sure. I've seen folk pretending to be two different people (different genders) and posting at the same time. Also, some bloke who wanted to know what I was wearing on my feet? Apparently, ' a pair of size 4 Reeboks, mate' wasn't what he wanted to hear?

[Lencoboy]

Lenco, the numbers in hospital around here are falling. It was <10 everytime I checked anyway but it did slightly rise after Staffs Moorlands spiked and has fallen back to the levels before Delta. Whilst Staffs Moorlands is decreasing, Newcastle started increasing and then Stoke. So no impact from these two so far.

Out of the 5 I watch all apart from Stoke have high vaccination rates. One is closing in on 90% for first jabs. This will be making the difference. Stoke is lagging behind the overall national rate but if you consider the >50 age groups we would be looking at <50% second jabs to protect them. We are over 55%.

So, I think that bodes well for our population as Delta continues to spike. I wouldn't be surprised to find our spikes are less sharp compared to some of the badly hit areas in the North West. And Newcastle us already seeing decreases which, if it continues, backs up the Staffs Moorlands experience that showed a quickly reached and short lived peak (it's slowing down so has reached a bit of a plateau in the downward trend).

That sounds promising Terry.

In fact, hospital admissions nationwide have dropped slightly according to the latest count on the dashboard site.

[Phill2]

What do you think of Boris allowing 140,000 people at the Grand prix?
Doesn't seem like a real good idea to me.

[Lencoboy]

I know this may sound a bit controversial to some, but I'm now beginning to have second thoughts over future full-on national lockdowns in the UK, as I read an article on the BBC website this morning that children being admitted to hospital with (non-Covid) ailments typical of the autumn-winter season has risen dramatically recently, and it's partly believed to be as a consequence of many of them being shut away from the real world during much of the pandemic, and since they've started mixing more again they've started developing such illnesses once again, as their immune systems to such bugs, etc, were allegedly weakened.

So whilst I still believe the previous national lockdowns were necessary due to there being no vaccines, and little knowledge of Covid in general at the time, I am now beginning to wonder that as 83 per cent of us have now been jabbed once, and almost 61 per cent twice, is a fourth national lockdown really warranted right now, even though there's still no talk of one by the govt ATM?

Probably for the exact reasons I mentioned above.

[Gary A]

Further full on lockdowns, from now on, should be a last resort. When this virus first reared its ugly head, we knew very little about it, we had no treatments and we of course had no preventative measures, such as vaccination.

We now know much more about its spread and how it affects certain portions of the population. We have highly effective vaccines and better means of treating the sickest patients. Unfortunately, we really do have to accept that this virus is now endemic and all we really can achieve is a reduction in risk.

People will continue to be infected, become ill, and die. That’s just the reality of it I’m afraid. All we can do is bring those instances down to an absolute minimum, and when we do, just get on with it. We can’t keep running and hiding, if we do that then eventually the cure really will become worse than the disease.

[Carys]

eventually the cure really will become worse than the disease

I am getting to that point of realising that too, for lots of reasons. Echoing what Lenco said above, I read an article 2 days ago (can't recall where or who) crediting various eminent medics, who were concerned that we are not experiencing natural exposure to bacteria and viruses (thus not creating antibodies and weakening the immune system) and there could be some problems this winter from the remergence of common standard viruses and people getting various infections, that might not have been dangerous in the past for those individuals. This is not to scare people, but just saying that its a fine line now between minimising risk from COVID and causing problems in a multitude of other ways.

[Pamplemousse]

What do you think of Boris allowing 140,000 people at the Grand prix?
Doesn't seem like a real good idea to me.

Of course it's a bad idea.

But in a country led by a corrupt government with an amoral philanderer at its head, money talks. And the circuses of F1 and UEFA have lots of money.

[Pamplemousse]

I am getting to that point of realising that too, for lots of reasons. Echoing what Lenco said above, I read an article 2 days ago (can't recall where or who) crediting various eminent medics, who were concerned that we are not experiencing natural exposure to bacteria and viruses (thus not creating antibodies and weakening the immune system) and there could be some problems this winter from the remergence of common standard viruses and people getting various infections, that might not have been dangerous in the past for those individuals. This is not to scare people, but just saying that its a fine line now between minimising risk from COVID and causing problems in a multitude of other ways.

So the people who shouted loudly - and equally, were shouted down for saying that lockdowns damage the immune system were right then?