Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[Barnfred 55]

Not underestimating these reports because I haven't seen them but for the last few years there have been newspaper reports around the Merseyside area that ambulances haven't been available for emergency calls due to them queuing at Hospitals in the region. And also every winter hospitals report that they are under strain due to massive increases in cases. . Covid has undoubtedly made these pressures worse but hopefully this lockdown, which should have come sooner, and the vaccine rollout will gradually start to ease the pressure the NHS are under.

I don't know what the answer is, but they have to come up with a better system where the ambulance/paramedics hand over responsibility for the patient to the hospitals more quickly, allowing them to return to their jobs. Or possibly endeavor to bring about a an environment whereby a paramedic is comfortable making a decision NOT to take a patient into hospital in the first place. In my experience they are often too worried about covering their backsides in case they make a mistake.

Our A&Es are often overrun and I'm sure many of the patients don't need to be there. An old neighbour of mine when I lived in Liverpool was a SRN who worked at the Royal A&E and she was often complaining that most patients didn't need to be there, but had to be processed the same as others. Many were regulars.

As I say, I don't know what the answers are or how we compare to other countries.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

It's also because he thinks it's a flu

Flu has few thousands years on COVID, thus natural human evolution and now medicines has had a chance to catch up in some ways, at the very least it lays all of out for 10 days, kills many too...
However, looks like flu is getting a right kicking with this social distancing etc. However, this COVID has quickly crowned itself top virus killer.

 

[Tubey]

Flu has few thousands years on COVID, thus natural human evolution and now medicines has had a chance to catch up in some ways, at the very least it lays all of out for 10 days, kills many too...
However, looks like flu is getting a right kicking with this social distancing etc. However, this COVID has quickly crowned itself top virus killer.

Well it sort of doesn't. Coronavirus and influenza are both millions of years old; indeed it's arguable that coronaviruses have existed much longer than influenza has.

COVID is just a new variant, not new in of itself.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

Well it sort of doesn't. Coronavirus and influenza are both millions of years old; indeed it's arguable that coronaviruses have existed much longer than influenza has.

COVID is just a new variant, not new in of itself.

Concluding with some guess work I would punt that the number of Covid hospitalisations will be considerably higher than the number of flu hospitalisations in a bad flu season.

Sure the great and good of Academia will catch up.

 

[Tubey]

Concluding with some guess work I would punt that the number of Covid hospitalisations will be considerably higher than the number of flu hospitalisations in a bad flu season.

Sure the great and good of Academia will catch up.

Not necessarily no. I'm not diminishing COVID at all, but 1918 Spanish Flu is one example but there's a few others, like a flu epidemic in 1951 which absolutely devastated Liverpool particularly.

Indeed, we're "lucky" in a way that it's a coronavirus that is the pandemic this time round; a particularly bad strain of flu could and probably would have been much, much worse, as you have virulence combined with mortality across age ranges that COVID doesn't particularly have.

 

[Barnfred 55]

YES YES and goes against the very fundamental of evidence based practice in clinical health care, make no mistake this is political move.

And if you believe the upper echelons of health is not political, then you are sadly mistaken.

Are WHO right to investigate China?

Are WHO right not to back UK vaccine spacing?

I have it in my head for some reason that you work within the NHS. Is that right? If so, what's the view of your colleagues on this matter? is it something you discuss? Do they all agree with you or is it a mixed bag?

I thought medics and scientists in general were about facts and above politics. That's not to say they don't get things wrong, but I don't expect them to stand up in front of media and outright lie such as a politician would do. Maybe I am just naive.

Yes I believe the WHO are 100% right to investigate China. The question is why are they preventing them. If the WHO decided that they wanted to come into the UK and investigate something, do you really think our authorities would even consider stopping them?

Yes I believe they have the right not to back the UK decision if they feel there is not sufficient scientific data to say it is the correct decision. That doesn't mean that we have made the wrong decision for our own unique circumstances, that are not mirrored in the vast majority of other countries. We have made a decision that the virus is so prevalent in our society that it is better to give a single dose to more of the high risk people, than to give a double dose to half of them. I trust them and it makes absolute sense to me.

 

[Prevenger17]

Not necessarily no. I'm not diminishing COVID at all, but 1918 Spanish Flu is one example but there's a few others, like a flu epidemic in 1951 which absolutely devastated Liverpool particularly.

Indeed, we're "lucky" in a way that it's a coronavirus that is the pandemic this time round; a particularly bad strain of flu could and probably would have been much, much worse, as you have virulence combined with mortality across age ranges that COVID doesn't particularly have.

The worrying thing is that many epidemiologists refer to "the big one", meaning that they almost expect a much more transmissable/deadly disease to materialise at some point in the future. I think we can safely say that, if we're looking at this particular pandemic as a a sort of drill, most Western countries have failed miserably

 

[Methuselah]

Went for my warfarin blood test this morning. I asked the brilliant nurse who does it (most of the doctors appear to be on 12 months fully paid holiday) what is happening re Covid vaccination. She said that they had just received a batch in and there is a chance that we will hear something today. Me and her indoors, at 84, are both in the top category. However, the nurse said that they are not doing it in age order but where you happen to be on the list! Here's hoping we get a phone call.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

I have it in my head for some reason that you work within the NHS. Is that right? If so, what's the view of your colleagues on this matter? is it something you discuss? Do they all agree with you or is it a mixed bag?

Did do for many years as mental nurse, quit in 2009 as trust went to foundation status, and Tories and Virgin care were waiting in the wings, now with Local Authority in side a health run building, evidence based is evidenced based, no if or buts more or less the holy grail. in particular more the responsibility you have as clinical practitioner,its the only protection against litigation. No one is happy who hold the responsibility its a leap of faith.

 

[Tubey]

The worrying thing is that many epidemiologists refer to "the big one", meaning that they almost expect a much more transmissable/deadly disease to materialise at some point in the future. I think we can safely say that, if we're looking at this particular pandemic as a a sort of drill, most Western countries have failed miserably

Yeah it's called Disease X. COVID isn't necessarily it.

I wouldn't call COVID "mild" but compared to what a pandemic could be, we have got "lucky". We need to treat this as a trial run and have lessons learned and sustained. Which is why I was calling for strong action on China just to send the message it's unacceptable to create the habitat where these viruses can thrive.

 

[JimmyJeffers]

The worrying thing is that many epidemiologists refer to "the big one", meaning that they almost expect a much more transmissable/deadly disease to materialise at some point in the future. I think we can safely say that, if we're looking at this particular pandemic as a a sort of drill, most Western countries have failed miserably

Aye but on a positive note we are now better equipped for handling such a virus due to the protocols that were put in place. Just need a fairly competent government and a compliant population now to make them effective.

 

[Prevenger17]

Just need a fairly competent government and a compliant population now to make them effective.

So what you're saying is we're finished as a species?

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

The worrying thing is that many epidemiologists refer to "the big one", meaning that they almost expect a much more transmissable/deadly disease to materialise at some point in the future. I think we can safely say that, if we're looking at this particular pandemic as a a sort of drill, most Western countries have failed miserably

There was an interesting article in the Lancet that I read in the spring of 2019 about this subject. It sticks in my mind as I read the article whilst on route to a remote field trip for a separate project but within our mission we were tasked with educating about the dangers connected with deforestation and particularly bushmeat. I'm not the bravest when it comes to culinary adventures, which was picked up quickly by the locals that we were working with. They jumped on the opportunity to tease me about the evening feast of pangolin and fruit bat soup. It is a vivid memory and I remember desperately trying to instill the dangers of bushmeat and the like to one of our guides as it was clear that many saw our concerns as white foolishness.

Anyway, here it is, a quick peak into the world just before covid entered stage left.

Loading…

www.thelancet.com

 

[COYBL25]

Everton in the Community have donated a load of lap tops to kids in my lads school who can’t afford one / don’t have one for home schooling.

How good is that ?

 

[Billy Dean]

The worrying thing is that many epidemiologists refer to "the big one", meaning that they almost expect a much more transmissable/deadly disease to materialise at some point in the future. I think we can safely say that, if we're looking at this particular pandemic as a a sort of drill, most Western countries have failed miserably

It's not as if there weren't previous warnings over the last 50 years. Hopefully this will be the one that actually drives governments to do something about it in future.