Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[DeeTillEhDeh]

Odds on Scotland isn't getting supplied as quickly as other parts of the UK so BJ can make the SNP look bad on vaccination rates. Anything related to AZ and the EU is out in the open by now.

Not saying it is happening but if there were any other Tory government I wouldn't expect them to be so blatant - but with this one nothing would surprise me.

Lies over testing figures (including mailed out tests); lies about Cummings trip to Durham and Barnard Castle; handing over billion pound contracts to their cronies - this government are arrogant enough to pull such a stunt.

Sadly there is a significant part of the electorate who will turn a blind eye to any shenanigans by the Tories.

[madwullie]

50 minutes ago, virginton said:

She's not thick: she's using her zero Covid hot take as her golden ticket to round the clock media exposure and so elevation to being a chief government advisor or a move to a top-grade university post. 

That the zero-Covid strategy is in practice a stack of utter horseshit doesn't matter because that's not what this is about for her. 

It's not going to do your prospects too much good if your golden ticket is demonstrably a pile of unworkable unnecessary shite tho. 

[Detournement]

For all the hot air there is no real difference between Scotland and England on excess mortality and Sweden is doing ok. 

[DeeTillEhDeh]

If schools could close for three months at the drop of a hat last year then why can't they stay closed for an equal period this year, when teachers have had time to prepare work to do remotely? And any 'lost education' can be made good when there isn't a global pandemic on the go: there's no law to say the Children Cannot Possibly Learn in July Or On Saturdays.
So what you're actually saying here is not that 'schools can't stay closed' but rather 'I want them to open because that's most convenient'. Which is not exactly the most compelling case when weighted against the vast economic costs of weeks if not months longer of ruinous restrictions for the rest of society.

They have a real problem with the Senior Phase where we've been told not to assess remotely. Even when we return (blended or full time) pupils won't be diving straight into assessments because of the unequal nature of their home learning experiences.

It's always been a political decision because of the games between governments and opposition parties. I said last April that they should have made an early decision on exams - it has come back to bite them on the arse not once, not twice, but 3 times now. If Swinney has to shift the goalposts again, having cancelled N5 exams, cancelled Higher exams, and moving the estimates deadline then he can't possibly survive another moving of the goalposts.

He's fucked up from the start by making too late decisions and by putting far too much trust in the incompetents at SQA.

A decision should have been made last summer and SQA assessments issued before we returned to school - we would have built up far more quality assured evidence than we have now.

I genuinely hope he is punted from the Education brief after the Scottish Parliament elections.

[vikingTON]

9 minutes ago, madwullie said:

It's not going to do your prospects too much good if your golden ticket is demonstrably a pile of unworkable unnecessary shite tho. 

You just claim that the problem was with the government's application of it rather than the idea itself and successfully bullshit your way out of it.

She was already giving it a laughable 'Here's five mistakes the government made that killed 100k people!' piece last week, in which she had the brass neck to include 'months of debating the efficacy of mask wearing' as a government failing. It was The Science from the fucking WHO all the way down who kept that charade going, with their ridiculous advice for social distancing instead with Devi's slavish approval all along. Needless to say there was no mea culpa on behalf of this modern-day saint.

[mizfit]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9196577/Anti-lockdown-campaigners-push-illegal-Great-Reopening-shops-businesses-TOMORROW.html

Today is the great reopening apparently.

[Dan Steele]

1 hour ago, virginton said:

She's not thick: she's using her zero Covid hot take as her golden ticket to round the clock media exposure and so elevation to being a chief government advisor or a move to a top-grade university post. 

That the zero-Covid strategy is in practice a stack of utter horseshit doesn't matter because that's not what this is about for her. 

I get that you're not a fan and she might well get a govt. post out of this, but would a university post not be judged by the likes of peer reviewed articles, books written, conferences, committee chairs and the like? Media performances might be cv padding but maybe less important for a uni post? Dunno, just wondering.

[Elixir]

16 minutes ago, Detournement said:

For all the hot air there is no real difference between Scotland and England on excess mortality and Sweden is doing ok. 

The Swedes simply followed fairly standard pandemic mitigation strategies, unlike the rest of the west who were roped into following China's unprecedented lead. It's true, they've had considerably more deaths per head than their neighbours, though Sweden's dynamics are somewhat different than a simple comparison with Norway and Finland, but they also haven't completely torched the very fabric of their society.

It was always going to be about long-term trade offs.

[doulikefish]

22 minutes ago, mizfit said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9196577/Anti-lockdown-campaigners-push-illegal-Great-Reopening-shops-businesses-TOMORROW.html

Today is the great reopening apparently.

Ive got jeans and boxer shorts on instead of living in my shorts/joggers if that counts 

[LongTimeLurker]

12 minutes ago, The Skelpit Lug said:

...but would a university post not be judged by the likes of peer reviewed articles,...

Not necessarily on the admin side of things.

[Mark Connolly]

40 minutes ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

 

 

They have a real problem with the Senior Phase where we've been told not to assess remotely. Even when we return (blended or full time) pupils won't be diving straight into assessments because of the unequal nature of their home learning experiences.

It's always been a political decision because of the games between governments and opposition parties. I said last April that they should have made an early decision on exams - it has come back to bite them on the arse not once, not twice, but 3 times now. If Swinney has to shift the goalposts again, having cancelled N5 exams, cancelled Higher exams, and moving the estimates deadline then he can't possibly survive another moving of the goalposts.

He's fucked up from the start by making too late decisions and by putting far too much trust in the incompetents at SQA.

A decision should have been made last summer and SQA assessments issued before we returned to school - we would have built up far more quality assured evidence than we have now.

I genuinely hope he is punted from the Education brief after the Scottish Parliament elections.

You would hope that one of the few positives to come out of this will eventually be a total overhaul of the SQA, but I won't hold my breath

[Todd_is_God]

48 minutes ago, Detournement said:

For all the hot air there is no real difference between Scotland and England on excess mortality and Sweden is doing ok. 

Yeah but they got it wrong, remember.

[DeeTillEhDeh]

You would hope that one of the few positives to come out of this will eventually be a total overhaul of the SQA, but I won't hold my breath

Neither will I.

[LongTimeLurker]

48 minutes ago, Detournement said:

For all the hot air there is no real difference between Scotland and England on excess mortality and Sweden is doing ok. 

I suspect NI is lower than the rest of the UK because it has a younger population, so the numbers are not directly comparable if no effort is made to normalise for the number of people in high risk groups rather than just using the general population. The main thing to bear in mind with Sweden is that they were supposed to wind up with almost twenty times more deaths on their first wave than they actually did if the models that were circulating at the time had been accurate. Being on the same order of magnitude as EU countries that locked down harder calls into serious question whether the extra lockdown measures elsewhere made a significant difference and were worth the economic pain.

[Elixir]

I saw a very valid point made about 'Zero Covid' zealots yesterday which I meant to share on here: that they are effectively endorsing the state having the power to inflict any draconian measure they see fit, presumably indefinitely.

Another reason why they are so dangerous and there are likely ulterior motives beyond the pseudoscience.

[Elixir]

2 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:

I suspect NI is lower than the rest of the UK because it has a younger population, so the numbers are not directly comparable if no effort is made to normalise for the number of people in high risk groups rather than just using the general population. The main thing to bear in mind with Sweden is that they were supposed to wind up with almost twenty times more deaths on their first wave than they actually did if the models that were circulating at the time had been accurate. Being on the same order of magnitude as EU countries that locked down harder calls into serious question whether the extra lockdown measures elsewhere made a significant difference and were worth the economic pain.

Has any insight been given into Belarus? Of course, it would be impossible to trust any state published data, but it would be nice to see some analysis.

[MP_MFC]

The WHO have appealed for the UK to stop vaccinating after the priority groups and give their doses to poorer countries.

Thoughts?

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

11 minutes ago, MP_MFC said:

The WHO have appealed for the UK to stop vaccinating after the priority groups and give their doses to poorer countries.

Thoughts?

Probably not popular but no. 

[Bairnardo]

The WHO have appealed for the UK to stop vaccinating after the priority groups and give their doses to poorer countries.

Thoughts?

Na. If theres an appeal to anyone it's to the pharma companies to look to increase production by any means neccessary including the previously discussed, allowing it to be produced under licence by anyone capable. The UK gov responsibility is to the people of the UK I'd say.

Bottleneck of available doses is not caused by the UK taking what they ordered IMO, it is caused by a drive for profit.

Let's not forget that the scientists being lauded for coming up with the stuff arent the conpanies. Pfizer et al would have made most folks pre pandemic list of top ten worst c***s on the planet.

[The Stig]

2 hours ago, superbigal said:

NHS Fife is aware of a cluster of confirmed COVID-19 cases associated with West Park Care Home in Leslie.

A total of 30 residents have tested positive for the virus. A further 21 staff have also tested positive for COVID-19.

Sadly, 12 people have died after contracting COVID-19

The news of this has been delayed.  Mrs Stig is one of the tracers in Fife has said to me yesterday the good news that there has not been a positive case in a care home in the last week and a half.  I hope that this shows that the vaccination process is actually working and these people are now protected.