Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[davek]

Covid: Gap between Pfizer vaccine doses should be halved, say doctors

Delaying second Pfizer doses to give more people their first is "difficult to justify", says BMA.

www.bbc.co.uk

In the letter to Prof Whitty, the British Medical Association (BMA) said it agreed that the vaccine should be rolled out "as quickly as possible" - but called for an urgent review and for the gap to be reduced.
The doctors' union said the UK's strategy "has become increasingly isolated internationally" and "is proving evermore difficult to justify".
"The absence of any international support for the UK's approach is a cause of deep concern and risks undermining public and the profession's trust in the vaccination programme," the letter said.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMA, said there were "growing concerns" that the vaccine could become less effective with doses 12 weeks apart.
"Obviously the protection will not vanish after six weeks, but what we do not know is what level of protection will be offered [after that point]," he told BBC Breakfast.
"We should not be extrapolating data when we don't have it."

Banana Republic.

 

[orchard]

Slightly off topic, we have a land line at home that we do not use apart from to contact my wife's father; nobody has the number bar a handful of close family.

We never gave the number out for years, so the only phone calls we got were close family. My daughter gave it to track and trace and guess what...

... we're now getting calls from scammers.

You've been Conservatived!

There was something fishy leaked months ago about 3rd party commercial 'partners'. Might have posted in the Scummy thread.

 

[PhilM]

You've been Conservatived!

There was something fishy leaked months ago about 3rd party commercial 'partners'. Might have posted in the Scummy thread.

I’m going to do a bit of research and then put a FOI request to see who exactly they’ve given the number to.

 

[Nymzee]

Slightly off topic, we have a land line at home that we do not use apart from to contact my wife's father; nobody has the number bar a handful of close family.

We never gave the number out for years, so the only phone calls we got were close family. My daughter gave it to track and trace and guess what...

... we're now getting calls from scammers.

People have landlines these days? I don’t even know what my phone number is lol

 

[BlueToff]

Possible translation...
"Not sure we have enough vaccine to give everybody 2 doses in 3mths. and I'm really sure we haven't got the infrastructure to do it - so 1 dose for everybody spread over 6mths it is then."

I really don't think that's the case though. Whitty explained why they took the decision - he used the phrase "medicine is all about assessing risk", or something along those lines.

Supply/manufacturing issues are going to be an issue at some point across the world, but it doesn't change the fact that if you have more people with their first dose it's far better than having 20% of people who have two doses

 

[BlueToff]

Covid: Gap between Pfizer vaccine doses should be halved, say doctors

Delaying second Pfizer doses to give more people their first is "difficult to justify", says BMA.

www.bbc.co.uk

In the letter to Prof Whitty, the British Medical Association (BMA) said it agreed that the vaccine should be rolled out "as quickly as possible" - but called for an urgent review and for the gap to be reduced.
The doctors' union said the UK's strategy "has become increasingly isolated internationally" and "is proving evermore difficult to justify".
"The absence of any international support for the UK's approach is a cause of deep concern and risks undermining public and the profession's trust in the vaccination programme," the letter said.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMA, said there were "growing concerns" that the vaccine could become less effective with doses 12 weeks apart.
"Obviously the protection will not vanish after six weeks, but what we do not know is what level of protection will be offered [after that point]," he told BBC Breakfast.
"We should not be extrapolating data when we don't have it."

Banana Republic.

With the Pfizer one I absolutely agree they shouldn't be going against the advice.

 

[BlueToff]

The whole reason queues outside supermarkets and 2m distancing became part of life was because of government policy, which businesses had to react to. No law was needed for this to happen, it was about language and instructions.

Once the government reduced 2m to 1m and started talking about maintaining distance “where possible” the door was opened for people to take the piss.

If Johnson came out tomorrow in a press conference and reaffirmed 2m distancing and instructed businesses to enforce stricter limits on capacity it would have an immediate impact.

Okay, I see that. But can't you accept that ASDA are perfectly capable of capping the amount of people in store or making people queue up without Johnson having to give a presser?

 

[BlueToff]

Serious bleeding issues this country not just with the supposed government running it but with those who put it there and happily cheer it's decisions despite the obvious contrary evidence from the onset. Disgusting that a vaccine has been so politicised for political gain.

Covid: Gap between Pfizer vaccine doses should be halved, say doctors

Delaying second Pfizer doses to give more people their first is "difficult to justify", says BMA.

www.bbc.co.uk

Again, depends what vaccine people are getting.

We have more of the Oxford and I imagine that's now the vaccine the vast majority are getting so, with evidence that backs up the longer spacing for that one, there should be zero bad press about it.

With the Pfizer one, there isn't evidence so as the article says, it should be kept at 3 weeks or, maximum, extended a few weeks.

I do find it dead strange that a massive pharma company would not test with a different amount of spacing, though. This is an aside, but if they knew it had to be two doses, why would they not test beyond 3 weeks when literally billions of people need vaccinating?

 

[PhilM]

People have landlines these days? I don’t even know what my phone number is lol

Although he was an engineer all his life, my father-in-law is a modern technophobe, so a land line is the only way he can contact us and vice versa.

If it wasn't for that, we wouldn't need one either. The fact the number has been leaked won't be because of him, so the only other option is track and trace.

 

[orchard]

I’m going to do a bit of research and then put a FOI request to see who exactly they’ve given the number to.

Good for you, keep us posted. You may not get any joy as the current jokers don't like foi's.

 

[degsy]

I am happy to support this lockdown but I'm starting to disagree with the lockdown extremists who want continuous lockdowns forever until deaths are essentially zero.

To vaccinate the whole country we would have to be locked down until October or later. We should reopen in April once the priority groups who account for 90% of hospitalisations are vaccinated. I'm not saying open stadiums at full capacity 1st April but you should be able to see your family at that stage. There needs to be a transition back to normality.

It shouldn't be too hard a line to nail down between the, as you call them, 'lockdown extremists'and the previous attempts that came in too late and were lifted too early.
Don't have much faith in the Govt. getting it right or the bellend section of the public taking things sensibly.

 

[maccavennie]

With the Pfizer one I absolutely agree they shouldn't be going against the advice.

My missus got the Pfizer one before Christmas. Was due to get the 2nd dose and it got cancelled a couple of days beforehand.

It's certainly a strategy with massive risk saying 12 weeks will be safe. If people who have had the 1st dose and were told they would get the 2nd dose only for it to be denied to them suddenly became ill where the 1st dose didn't work well enough......well the government would have some serious issues on their hands thats for sure.

 

[PhilM]

Good for you, keep us posted. You may not get any joy as the current jokers don't like foi's.

I'm friends with someone who deals with the FOI for us, so in the past I've asked her how to best word the FOI (there's an art to it) and her success rate is high.

 

[BlueToff]

My missus got the Pfizer one before Christmas. Was due to get the 2nd dose and it got cancelled a couple of days beforehand.

It's certainly a strategy with massive risk saying 12 weeks will be safe. If people who have had the 1st dose and were told they would get the 2nd dose only for it to be denied to them suddenly became ill where the 1st dose didn't work well enough......well the government would have some serious issues on their hands thats for sure.

I agree mate. I can see the logic in it but Pfizer didn't do the testing on it so IMO it should be kept as 3 weeks.

Is your missus a key worker or is she in the vulnerable group?

It seems some people are still getting the jab 3 weeks later so I wonder if there is some extent of people who are really vulnerable still getting it 3 weeks after, rather than waiting?

Either way I don't think it's right to do it with the Pfizer one until there is evidence there that 12 weeks spacing is fine (or better, as is the case with Oxford).

 

[arminisgod]

My missus got the Pfizer one before Christmas. Was due to get the 2nd dose and it got cancelled a couple of days beforehand.

It's certainly a strategy with massive risk saying 12 weeks will be safe. If people who have had the 1st dose and were told they would get the 2nd dose only for it to be denied to them suddenly became ill where the 1st dose didn't work well enough......well the government would have some serious issues on their hands thats for sure.

i keep saying this but if you are in the catergory for the Pfizer jab, you shouldn't be going anywhere to catch the virus.