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England sees no need for further COVID restrictions - for now

15 Comments
By DANICA KIRKA

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Good on you England!

-1 ( +10 / -11 )

A.  Amid indications that Omicron may produce “milder” illness than earlier variants 

B. Vaccination rates in Britain are indeed interesting.

A could be a result of B, get vaccinated and be safer!

If folks get vaccinated, they can still take their zinc and Vitamin D pills, after or before taking a cold shower. 'Freedom', after all.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

Vaccination rates in Britain are indeed interesting.

Single dose (over 12): 90%

Double dose (over 12): 80%

Triple dose (over 12): 60%

About 10% to 20% call it quits each time the bar is raised.

While there is some truth to what you say, the third dose is still being rolled out - and is being done old to young. Many haven't had it yet.

Also, the program has only fairly recently been rolled out to 12 year-olds, so many will not have had their second dose, let alone a third.

8 ( +12 / -4 )

The biggest problem is a 'pingdemic'. People who are entirely well sitting at home waiting for test results after their test and trace app pinged. This is what is causing staff shortages. The app responsible is iffy at best and subject to exponential spikes. They are responding by switching to regular testing instead, for health and education. I wonder whether the police have ever even used the app.

-About 10% to 20% call it quits each time the bar is raised.

Nope. Some were late to get their first doses as the vaccine wasn't cleared for young age groups for some time. Some reacted badly and may have been advised not to get the second. The booster was only made widely available quite recently. A lot of people can't access vaccination services that are not local, so it takes longer for them to be jabbed. Given medical exemptions, 90% is close to the maximum feasible. Maybe a bit less for the second. The booster is still being rolled out. These things don't happen overnight.

The opposition, who have been largely invisible for much of the pandemic, are doing themselves no favours by calling for increased lockdowns now, with Omicron.

Evidence from South Africa suggests a 4 week surge, but vaccination rates are much lower there. It will be interesting to see when real UK case rates (rather than pings) drop. And only interesting, as all that really matters is the health service impact. That's only a problem due to pingdemic staff shortages. The Nightingale hospitals, that were hardly used in the original lockdowns, are being dusted down, but are unlikely to be much needed, if at all.

We need to live with Covid, not hide from it. And as it is a pandemic, we should get rid of the border blocks too. It doesn't matter where you are, it is the same virus, the same variant will become dominant, globally, how we catch it and avoid it is the same, and the treatment is the same.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

“During a news conference, Sir Patrick Vallance, the U.K.'s chief science adviser, said rolling out booster every few months is not a sustainable plan for combatting the pandemic, Reuters reported.”

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

About half in the UK can't be bothered to even wear a mask in shops or on public transport so any "mandates" would just be equally ignored.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

“At the moment, we don’t see any data to suggest that further restrictions would be the right approach..."

Moments don't last long...and we may assume that the only "data" Johnson is looking at are his popularity ratings and the future prospects of his party and the Tories' wobbling control of the pandemic narrative. Omicron may yet prove to be what eventually unmasks the smoke 'n' mirrors of Tory misrule.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Moments don't last long...and we may assume that the only "data" Johnson is looking at are his popularity ratings and the future prospects of his party and the Tories' wobbling control of the pandemic narrative. Omicron may yet prove to be what eventually unmasks the smoke 'n' mirrors of Tory misrule.

I'm sure it's a partisan issue. rolls eyes

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Omicron may yet prove to be what eventually unmasks the smoke 'n' mirrors of Tory misrule.

It was bad in Britain in 2020. And Bozo himself got CoVid. He really need to think twice about this one.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

U.K. PM Johnson says no need to tighten restrictions due to "milder" Omicron:

How could he be so certain that Omicron is milder than Delta?

Has there been any solid confirmation?

In fact, some reports say the former could be far more contagious and more enduring than the latter.

Hence..

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I am sick of the government claiming everything is fine because omicron is “mild”. They are choosing to ignore the real life consequences of their inaction and lies. The sheer numbers of those with the virus, and are sick enough to need hospitalisation, is staggering. The death rates may be lower, and there may be less people in ICU, but those needing hospital treatment for covid are through the roof. The scary thing now is that more older people are becoming infected, and they are more likely to need hospitalisation and ICU care. There is no staff to give to this care, there have been chronic staff shortages and funding for many years, but Brexit and Covid has just exacerbated this. There are areas where there are no registered nurses on duty, or one when there should be four, or two in A&E when there should be ten. The government has drawn up plans for nonclinical staff to give care on wards. The shocking thing is they think this is acceptable.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

How could he be so certain that Omicron is milder than Delta?

Has there been any solid confirmation?

In fact, some reports say the former could be far more contagious and more enduring than the latter.

It is more contagious than Delta but milder.

The open question is whether this means more hospitalisations and deaths. The fact that it is milder may be cancelled out by the increased numbers infected.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

No, it’s more contagious so statistically more people need hospitalisation. The numbrs are going up in terms of hospitalisations.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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