[COVID-19] General Discussion

[Bada-Bing!]

Minister refuses to back Hancock Covid claim of ‘protective ring’ for care homes

Helen Whately declines to endorse former health secretary’s 2020 assertion as pandemic public inquiry begins in earnest

www.theguardian.com

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Don’t blame scientists for what went wrong with Covid – ministers were the ones calling the shots | Devi Sridhar

As the UK inquiry kicks off, it’s the people in power who should be under the spotlight, says Devi Sridhar of the University of Edinburgh

www.theguardian.com

 

[Bada-Bing!]

What a mess!

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Brexit distracted UK ministers from Covid planning, official tells inquiry

Government focused on no-deal preparation and did not foresee need for PPE, contact tracing or possible lockdowns

www.theguardian.com

And an admission that preparing for no deal Brexit distracted from planning for the pandemic.

 

[Amiga500]

Don’t blame scientists for what went wrong with Covid – ministers were the ones calling the shots | Devi Sridhar

As the UK inquiry kicks off, it’s the people in power who should be under the spotlight, says Devi Sridhar of the University of Edinburgh

www.theguardian.com

Completely disagree.

If this were, say, an air disaster - the whole lot would be under the microscope, from the pilots who were flying to the guy who refuelled it to the folks who last did maintenance work.

Its not necessarily the intelligence or the integrity of any scientist that is in question, while that'll always be a subject that rears its head, its really whether the scientific opinion presented contained representative input and review of suitably qualified and experienced people across the board.

Robust review being absolutely critical. An echo chamber serves no-one.

We already know there was a serious neglect in onboarding of lessons from Asia in previous airborne viruses, we already know there was a dithering from SAGE early on and only when the horse bolted did they start to shut the door with regards social distancing (remember Cheltenham anyone?).

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Completely disagree.

If this were, say, an air disaster - the whole lot would be under the microscope, from the pilots who were flying to the guy who refuelled it to the folks who last did maintenance work.

Its not necessarily the intelligence or the integrity of any scientist that is in question, while that'll always be a subject that rears its head, its really whether the scientific opinion presented contained representative input and review of suitably qualified and experienced people across the board.

Robust review being absolutely critical. An echo chamber serves no-one.

We already know there was a serious neglect in onboarding of lessons from Asia in previous airborne viruses, we already know there was a dithering from SAGE early on and only when the horse bolted did they start to shut the door with regards social distancing (remember Cheltenham anyone?).

Well the issue is that SAGE can only give advice based on scientific knowledge known at the time. It was ultimately up to ministers and Bojo's government to make the decisions. This they failed miserably with at the end of Jan - March. How many COBRA meetings did Bojo miss to pat himself on the back for "getting Brexit done" and writing his book to fund his divorce?

Next week we will hear from Cameron and Osbourne what they did to prepare the UK for the pandemic; including defunding the NHS through austerity. Expect bluster and deflection.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Covid: How do UK pandemic death rates compare?

Death rates since March 2020 are up by 3% in France, 5% in the UK and 17% in the US.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Bada-Bing!]

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Covid Inquiry: What have we learnt so far?

The first phase of the Covid Inquiry has come to an end. What have we learnt over the past six weeks?

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Lockdowns and face masks ‘unequivocally’ cut spread of Covid, report finds

Royal Society review looks at non-pharmaceutical interventions when applied in packages of several measures

www.theguardian.com

Covid Inquiry: What have we learnt so far?

The first phase of the Covid Inquiry has come to an end. What have we learnt over the past six weeks?

www.bbc.co.uk

The public enquiry has gone a bit quiet.

Update: Preliminary hearings in September - Archives

Next month will see the Inquiry hold the first preliminary hearing for its investigation into vaccines and therapeutics (Module 4) on Wednesday 13 September.

covid19.public-inquiry.uk

Looks like restarting next month.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Finally seeing some reporting on this in terms of estimates (the usually very slow, reactive reporting we have seen from day one in my opinion). I said hundreds of thousands of Chinese deaths conservatively as I didn't want to be alarmist. Estimates now around 2 million (which I think may also be conservative unless there is a newly dominant subvariant of Omicron that I'd far weaker than what Hong Kong experienced around March/April).

How many people might die, and why, under relaxed China COVID curbs

China's abrupt end to its zero-COVID policy has raised concerns of widespread infections among a vulnerable, undervaccinated population with little natural immunity that would overload the health system and result in up to 2 million deaths, or more, various research groups are reporting.

www.reuters.com

Estimates converted into reality. Thankfully, it was a bit less than my novice prediction.

Nearly 2 million excess deaths followed China's sudden end of COVID curbs, study says

China's move to dismantle its strict COVID regime could have led to nearly 2 million excess deaths, a US study shows.

www.reuters.com

I'm still mystified by the lack of almost any attempt by the media to try and investgate this man-made slaughter of the elderly by Xi as it unfolded. Sure, its a fairly closed society but its not yet North Korea.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

In brighter news. Up here flu vaccines will be offered to over 50s but Covid vaccines only to over 65s. If anything says the health service considers Covid pretty much banal now, then treating it as less of a threat to 64 year olds than flu is surely. I do not have a problem with this at all and the American boosters reportedly tackle the latest Omicron subvariants.

 

[The Seeker]

Pro Wrestler Bray Wyatt died yesterday from a heart attack at age 36. Shortly after his death it was revealed that he had been dealing with Covid-19 which exacerbated an already existing heart issue.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

In brighter news. Up here flu vaccines will be offered to over 50s but Covid vaccines only to over 65s. If anything says the health service considers Covid pretty much banal now, then treating it as less of a threat to 64 year olds than flu is surely. I do not have a problem with this at all and the American boosters reportedly tackle the latest Omicron subvariants.

Covid boosters to be available next year (probably) to purchase for those who won't get it free. Suspect a combined flu-Covid vaccine. But how much? My local pharmacy charged £15 for flu shot 2 years ago. So a combined one £30? Enough to put off people needing it before another winter epidemic.

 

[The Seeker]

Covid boosters to be available next year (probably) to purchase for those who won't get it free. Suspect a combined flu-Covid vaccine. But how much? My local pharmacy charged £15 for flu shot 2 years ago. So a combined one £30? Enough to put off people needing it before another winter epidemic.

The latest round of Covid-19 boosters are expected to be released in mid-September here in the USA. My guess is they'll be free, all the other ones have been.

 

[Which Tyler]

COVID patients exhale up to 1,000 copies of virus per minute during first eight days of symptoms

COVID patients exhale high numbers of virus during the first eight days after symptoms start, as high as 1,000 copies per minute, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. It is the first longitudinal, direct measure of the number of SARS-CoV-2 viral copies exhaled per minute over the course of...

news.northwestern.edu

COVID patients exhale high numbers of virus during the first eight days after symptoms start, as high as 1,000 copies per minute, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

It is the first longitudinal, direct measure of the number of SARS-CoV-2 viral copies exhaled per minute over the course of the infection — from the first sign of symptoms until 20 days after.

On day eight, exhaled levels of virus drop steeply, down to near the limit of detection —an average of two copies exhaled per minute.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

What you need to know about Covid as new variant rises

Hospitalisations have gone up since the summer and a new variant is spreading. Should we be concerned?

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Which Tyler]

Shockingly, the Nobel prize for medicine has gone to vaccine researchers, not YouTube uploader.


Nobel Prize Awarded to Covid Vaccine Pioneers
The physiology or medicine prize for Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman recognized work that led to the development of vaccines that were administered to billions around the world.


https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/02/health/nobel-prize-medicine.html?

 

[Bada-Bing!]

50m dead Americans from Covid vaccines and vaccine induced AIDS?

 

[The Seeker]

A man deliberately got 217 Covid shots. Here’s what happened

One German man has redefined “man on a mission.” A 62-year-old from Magdeburg deliberately got 217 Covid-19 vaccine shots in the span of 29 months, according to a new study, going against national vaccine recommendations. That’s an average of one jab every four days.

www.yahoo.com