Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[PWL]

From today's FT in an article on how Wales has struggled this time around. 

Maybe, just maybe, SG were right to put limitations in when they did......

[superbigal]

4 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

Where are you getting your figures from? I'm seeing 96.1 for Highland.

You are looking at NHS. I am looking at Neighbourhoods which is what Scotgov use for "Levels".

[HibsFan]

Just now, Elixir said:

So someone in her position is either being deliberately ignorant, or is deliberately misleading the public into thinking that Covid now means the pressure of pandemic waves on healthcare systems every single winter now.

But even if it does mean that (which it doesn't, but let's entertain it), surely the answer is to massively improve how our National Health Service functions and make it suitable to deal more comfortably with just about any future public health crises that may emerge? Doesn't have to be another wave of COVID, could be anything.

That's not just a "throw more money at it and hope they sort it out" suggestion. Obviously stop fucking cutting health services is a good start, bu we need to do more to cut out a lot of the middle management and creeping privatisation shite that's now firmly entrenched in the NHS.

I can't believe that the solution to "there are going to be pandemic waves every winter for the rest of time" (which, again, is a fallacy) is to have restrictions every winter. 

[welshbairn]

Just now, superbigal said:

You are looking at NHS. I am looking at Neighbourhoods which is what Scotgov use for "Levels".

Aye, was just about to edit my post.

[madwullie]

53 minutes ago, Elixir said:

She loves herself. I can't remember despising someone as much for a long time.

Most scientists know that 'zero covid' is pseudoscience in the same way that 'zero influenza' or 'zero common cold' is.

Roughly 20% of the population have already had it ffs. Absolute lunatic.

Edit: and the worrying thing is that people who are too stupid and/or can't think logically for themselves, just blow smoke up her arse and think it's the only conceivable way back to (what wouldn't be) normality. It's so dangerous that Sturgeon listens to her.

She is not a virologist or epidemiologist. She is a glorified nutritionist, just like that Ding impostor.

Just checked out that Ding imposter's Wikipedia entry. Seems extremely qualified to me? He seems to have a fair bit of epidemiology experience studied to a pretty high level, and that's without even looking at his work history. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Feigl-Ding

 

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by madwullie

[superbigal]

This is apparently the truth behind Pfizer delays.  Not very nice of them if 100% true.

Pfizer scaled back vaccine supply after learning about ‘bonus doses’

 

 

 

 

 

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer reduced the number of deliveries after hearing that a sixth “bonus dose” could be extracted from a vial, according to Belgium’s federal vaccine task force.

Last weekend, Pfizer announced that it wanted to scale up and would therefore temporarily be able to supply fewer vaccines, but that was not the only reason for the sudden delay of the vaccinations among hospital staff, of which the government was informed on Tuesday afternoon.

The reduction in supply is linked to the fact that six doses can now be taken from a Pfizer vial instead of five, according to Sabine Stordeur (UCL) of the federal vaccination task force.

She told Le Soir that the contract between Pfizer and Belgium is calculated on the number of doses, and not on the number of vials.

This means that now that the company is aware of the fact that Belgium – and other countries as well – could almost consistently get six doses, it scaled back deliveries.

“Coming from 92 plateaus with 195 vials, we are now down to 76 plateaus,” Stordeur said. “We knew that there was a chance that they would adjust that. And they did. It is still a commercial company. It was a mistake to think we could win a dose this way.”

“We were counting the vials, but Pfizer counted the doses according to the contract,” Caroline Leys, spokesperson for the task force, confirmed to De Standaard.

Belgian virologist Marc Van Ranst also reacted to the news on Twitter, asking if he could think that the reduced delivery was “not very decent” of the company.

In the meantime, the federal medicines agency FAMHP has also indicated that Pfizer has officially changed the information on the package to say that six rather than five doses can be taken from a vial.

“That applies to the whole of Europe, those reports have been adapted,” said spokesperson Ann Eeckhout. “This is nothing new for us, but it does have an impact on the communication of the figures. That is precisely why we communicate in the number of doses supplied and not in vials. At least we were able to take advantage of the six doses instead of five for a short time.”

Edited January 21, 2021 by superbigal

[Markka]

Yes, going from 300,000 per day at present to 600,000 per day in March. They think the supply could reach that by then.

If we have the supply and the people available to administer, then hopefully we can reach that number.

I'm sure some government lackey stated a while back there wasn't a demand for 24/7 vaccinations. Based on my survey sample of about a dozen, the opposite is true.

[dirty dingus]

16 minutes ago, John Lambies Doos said:

I see Hungary have approved Russian vaccine, first in EU. Off course this was the vaccine that was being rolled out in Russia pre the UK gave their first vaccine. Of course the UK were the first in the world

Western propaganda I guess

The weird thing first person who I heard getting the Russian vaccine was American film producer Oliver Stone.

[welshbairn]

Just now, Markka said:

If we have the supply and the people available to administer, then hopefully we can reach that number.

I'm sure some government lackey stated a while back there wasn't a demand for 24/7 vaccinations. Based on my survey sample of about a dozen, the opposite is true.

Hopefully nearly all the elderly and vulnerable will have had their firsts jags by then, so they should be able to dual track 24/7 conveyer belt stuff for the mobile under 60s alongside conventional GP stuff for the over 60s second jag. If the supply ramps up sufficiently with more vaccines potentially getting approval.

[Elixir]

10 minutes ago, madwullie said:

Just checked out that Ding imposter's Wikipedia entry. Seems extremely qualified to me? He seems to have a fair bit of epidemiology experience studied to a pretty high level, and that's without even looking at his work history. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Feigl-Ding

 

BTW Manaus had estimated 75% of people having had it and they're being/ have been brutalised with a second wave. 

 

This is also a very good article: https://undark.org/2020/11/25/complicated-rise-of-eric-feigl-ding/

[invergowrie arab]

23 minutes ago, superbigal said:

Todays summary

Mr Swinney says the latest estimate for the R number in Scotland is around one and has probably fallen in the last week.

The deputy first minister says the current lockdown restrictions are helping to stabilise the R number.

Thank you John for the 1st nearer to the truth statement on R in the last week.  My feeble calculations say it is likely between 0.8-0.9.

Now accessed the other home nations for the cases per 100K latest.   These are a little behind the Scottish cases.  England 497.3,   Wales 304.3, Northern Ireland 384.3

Scotland peaked at 301.9 for figures 29th Dec to 4th Jan    So our peak is still lower than where the other nations currently stand.

From 11th to 17th January we were down to  207.3

Todays figure for 12th Jan to 18th Jan is 200.4   Another decent single Day drop of 3.33%. Infections have dropped every day since the  aforementioned peak.  Total drop is now 33.62%   Also now not a single Council in one of the Level 4 Indicators of over 300 cases per 100K as Glasgow & North Lanarkshire drop below the magic number.   Other big cities Aberdeen & Dundee close to dropping below 200.  Edinburgh on a different planet and going back in time would be screaming for Level 2.

Are you sure?

I can't be arsed going back and looking but my recollection was that very roughly it seemed to be applied Tier 2 under 100, Tier 3 100-200 and Tier 4 at above 200. 

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

5 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

Hopefully nearly all the elderly and vulnerable will have had their firsts jags by then, so they should be able to dual track 24/7 conveyer belt stuff for the mobile under 60s alongside conventional GP stuff for the over 60s second jag. If the supply ramps up sufficiently with more vaccines potentially getting approval.

Getting the Johnson and Johnson single dose vaccine approved for roll out in April will get this thing beat, im absolutely convinced of it. 

[Markka]

Hopefully nearly all the elderly and vulnerable will have had their firsts jags by then, so they should be able to dual track 24/7 conveyer belt stuff for the mobile under 60s alongside conventional GP stuff for the over 60s second jag. If the supply ramps up sufficiently with more vaccines potentially getting approval.

Fingers crossed.

[No_Problemo]

5 minutes ago, invergowrie arab said:

Are you sure?

I can't be arsed going back and looking but my recollection was that very roughly it seemed to be applied Tier 2 under 100, Tier 3 100-200 and Tier 4 at above 200. 

It wasn’t ever applied based on what they said it would be, from what I remember!

[Theroadlesstravelled]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-55704312

Lockdown in NI until Easter.

[Spider Rico]

1 hour ago, HibsFan said:

Guess who's back with another zero COVID article?

Of course, she refuses to set out what the plan for zero COVID actually entails:

 

She never does.

All we get a are a few gems like “Governments should use the summer months to implement policies that really go after the virus”.

Fantastic insight there Devi. Several levels of quality  below the bullet points I used to scrape the minimum pass mark in my first year uni exams.

[Arch Stanton]

2 hours ago, Spider Rico said:

Leitch today

“ Getting out of this will be slow and it will be gradual. Schools and the wellbeing of children will be the priority and so will places of worship”

 

What a load of shite that is. God botherers believe that he is omnipresent and therefore able to be worshipped from anywhere.

[Thereisalight..]

5 minutes ago, Theroadlesstravelled said:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-55704312

Lockdown in NI until Easter.

BJ basically saying the same earlier. Over a year of our lives sitting in the house never thought I'd be desperate for something as simple as a day out in Glasgow

[Jacksgranda]

44 minutes ago, Elixir said:

South Korea is a de facto island with a much more obedient population than in the west. They have also had a far more restrictive society than many people realise. Whenever they have 'opened up', they have soon seen spikes in cases which then result in restrictions on most of the things that make life interesting. They have doubtless done far better, but they are also going to have to hope the vaccines work as well as intended, or like Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and Australia, they will face some very difficult choices longer-term.

Must be a bit like New York.

[latapythelegend]

1 minute ago, Thereisalight.. said:

BJ basically saying the same earlier. Over a year of our lives sitting in the house never thought I'd be desperate for something as simple as a day out in Glasgow

Need to remember though there are thousands who never thought they would be so desperate for something as simple as a deep of breath of air.