Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[BlueToff]

13 cases of Omicron variant confirmed at top flight Portuguese club

Portugal confirmed 13 cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus on Monday, all involving players and staff members of Lisbon side Belenenses SAD, after one player recently returned from South Africa.

en.as.com

 

[grandjoeblue]

Depends. They're saying the vaccines need to be re-engineered to tackle this new variant, which they're already working on.

So surely getting a booster of the re-engineered vaccine would be the place to start?

Yes but that will take roughly 6 months. Most signs point towards the current vaccine having some success against this variant so it's best to get people as protected as possible in the short term. Especially with winter. We can't just wait until say May for the new vaccine.

 

[BlueToff]

Does wearing a mask mean your life is ruined?

Bruce mate, you've totally misread that. Read my comments over the last few pages - I don't give one jot about wearing a mask or not. I've been happy to wear one voluntarily most of the time unless I've forgot it since July when going to the shops or gym or whatever. I've now put one in my car and one in my big coat so I definitely won't forget and will keep on wearing them when required. Have a snood on most of the time now anyway so will use that if I don't happen to have a mask. This isn't about masks. I don't see having to wear a mask as some infringement on my freedom.

I don't think that's what the post I replied to was on about though...

 

[BlueToff]

Yes but that will take roughly 6 months. Most signs point towards the current vaccine having some success against this variant so it's best to get people as protected as possible in the short term. Especially with winter. We can't just wait until say May for the new vaccine.

Well I think as it stands the booster spacing is recommended at 5 months after your second jab. There's talk that could come down. I had my second jab September 1st as it had to be pushed back after I got COVID. Will be interesting to see how far they're suddenly willing to knock this down...

The new vaccine won't take that long at all, it's not a 'new' vaccine. It's just tweaked to tackle the specific variant, it's already in trials according to Moderna.

 

[tsubaki]

You are quite boring on this.

Hide away all your life, insist people should be getting the STATE (like some commy wet dream) coming round to their houses, tracking everyone they've been with and everywhere they've been, for the rest of time. Because this virus will still be here and mutating in a year's time. It'll still be here the year after that, and so on and so on.

Calling people 'idiots' for wanting to get on with their lives is a new low. I was 24 when this thing started, I'll be 27 by the time I might get to do something like go on holiday without fear of having to isolate for 2 weeks. That's a big chunk of our lives all gone as it is.

Look at what you’ve posted there - on the one hand you recognise this isn’t going away anytime soon; on the other you CBA to do or support anything effective about it because you are affected by the restrictions we have now, which are required because this thing largely is out of control.

If we got this under control, you and the rest of us wouldn’t need those restrictions. You could go on holiday, go to pubs / clubs, or not wear a mask. We’d not be losing 100 plus people a day to this, or have 000s of people gasping desperately for their breath in hospitals. All you’d be asked to do is help the rest of the country out.

It really is idiotic for people to refuse to play their part in what has to be a national effort to stop this because they don’t want to live with restrictions.

 

[efcfanwirral]

Can't see it being quite that bad. The vaccine will still work it might just be slightly less effective. Obviously that will sadly result in more deaths but the vaccine won't be completely ineffective. Natural immunity also is a factor.

True about the longer term, but the next few weeks aren't looking good. They're finding loads of cases in all countries. Are they really going to just let it spread until they know for sure what the situation is? If they find hundreds in the next few days they won't be able to get away without something drastic til those results are in

Wear one if you want then mate.

Of course it seems daft, the whole thing is daft.

The point is an ale house can't operate normally under social distancing measures. Supermarkets, shops, transport etc can do. That's the logic - even if I agree the logic is daft.

I guess also pubs and football are optional. That said I think masks will be back there, maybe social distancing too, within a very short period of time

Well I think as it stands the booster spacing is recommended at 5 months after your second jab. There's talk that could come down. I had my second jab September 1st as it had to be pushed back after I got COVID. Will be interesting to see how far they're suddenly willing to knock this down...

The new vaccine won't take that long at all, it's not a 'new' vaccine. It's just tweaked to tackle the specific variant, it's already in trials according to Moderna.

I always thought it was for safety that they had these gaps but clearly not. Whatever the lowest gap it comes down to, surely that's how often a new booster will be needed going forward?

 

[The binman chronicles]

Why more dangerous though?

So far covid hasn't mutated into anything more dangerous , if this version is weaker then it's actually going the other way.

Given the amount of positive tests on a daily basis in this country, delta has been here a long time and has infected millions of people in the UK alone. Average of 40k a day then since August alone it's infected over 4 million people.

But no mutation has occured here at all, even with the changing weather climate from February (delta introduction) to now, something that does mutate a virus as it survives.

There is no evidence that covid will ever get worse other than children stories of a monster under your bed. And without any evidence so far that covid is getting worse, with evidence to the opposite instead.

We've already had a mutated variation come from these shores (Kent I believe?), so the answer to the question can it mutate to something more dangerous is a big fat yes. Anything more transmissible has the effect that it could kill more people, the worry about this variant is how different it is so may be susceptible to easier changes. Then add into the mix we already have around 50k of new cases a day during flu season and it's not hard to think that eventually you could have a delta +.

Now as said it may come to nothing but that's what people were saying when this was only killing people in China, SARS and MERS didn't cause any damage to us so why worry? A little restriction on day to day life is sensible to prevent the massive damage caused by a lockdown, even if the risk is minimal. If you are this against the new rules I can imagine how you would be if the hospitalisation rates go up and the government introduce a 2 month lockdown where people's livelihoods and mental health are at severe risk.

Given that isn't it worth a small over reaction to protect/minimise against something far more damaging if it actually ends up being the worst case scenario?

 

[Deleted member 48881]

You are quite boring on this.

Hide away all your life, insist people should be getting the STATE (like some commy wet dream) coming round to their houses, tracking everyone they've been with and everywhere they've been, for the rest of time. Because this virus will still be here and mutating in a year's time. It'll still be here the year after that, and so on and so on.

Calling people 'idiots' for wanting to get on with their lives is a new low. I was 24 when this thing started, I'll be 27 by the time I might get to do something like go on holiday without fear of having to isolate for 2 weeks. That's a big chunk of our lives all gone as it is.

Well said

 

[BlueToff]

Look at what you’ve posted there - on the one hand you recognise this isn’t going away anytime soon; on the other you CBA to do or support anything effective about it because you are affected by the restrictions we have now, which are required because this thing largely is out of control.

If we got this under control, you and the rest of us wouldn’t need those restrictions. You could go on holiday, go to pubs / clubs, or not wear a mask. We’d not be losing 100 plus people a day to this, or have 000s of people gasping desperately for their breath in hospitals. All you’d be asked to do is help the rest of the country out.

It really is idiotic for people to refuse to play their part in what has to be a national effort to stop this because they don’t want to live with restrictions.

I'm not affected?

I have to wear a mask in a shop - I've been doing that anyway? The only thing that might affect me is the 10-day automatic isolation if you're a contact which to me makes no sense at all, especially with the new drive to get booster jabs? Surely a PCR test would suffice and surely that could be set up and monitored easily enough?

I hate the entire idea of restrictions and I didn't like the way you called people stupid for wanting to be done with this thing. It's looking down on people, insisting you're cleverer than they are.

I'm not massively arsed about going away, I can deal with it - some people aren't fortunate enough to ever go away, I'll live. European cities or New Zealand or the west coast of America isn't going anywhere. I was just using it as an example of something that should be easily done and we shouldn't have to be worrying about 2 years into this thing.

Why are you thinking me, or anyone else in here, is 'refusing to help people out' or 'refusing to play their part'? I'm not, at all.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Bruce mate, you've totally misread that. Read my comments over the last few pages - I don't give one jot about wearing a mask or not. I've been happy to wear one voluntarily most of the time unless I've forgot it since July when going to the shops or gym or whatever. I've now put one in my car and one in my big coat so I definitely won't forget and will keep on wearing them when required. Have a snood on most of the time now anyway so will use that if I don't happen to have a mask. This isn't about masks. I don't see having to wear a mask as some infringement on my freedom.

I don't think that's what the post I replied to was on about though...

My take on it is that if people aren't able to take basic steps, like wearing a mask, until such point as the world is vaccinated and variants stop emerging, then slightly harsher measures are likely.

 

[jackyboy]

Was looking at booking a trip there for April but now I don’t know what to do, whether to wait or bite the bullet

Completely understand pal. We've had this booked for a while and free cancellation on hotel and flights upto the night before. Would imagine we'll know one way or another by then. Although being honest I'm leaning towards more we'll probably go rather than not. Don't know if Biden will want to shut the borders so soon after opening

 

[BlueToff]

True about the longer term, but the next few weeks aren't looking good. They're finding loads of cases in all countries. Are they really going to just let it spread until they know for sure what the situation is? If they find hundreds in the next few days they won't be able to get away without something drastic til those results are in

I guess also pubs and football are optional. That said I think masks will be back there, maybe social distancing too, within a very short period of time

I always thought it was for safety that they had these gaps but clearly not. Whatever the lowest gap it comes down to, surely that's how often a new booster will be needed going forward?

I think they'll get through Xmas because trades can't afford another busy time of year to be completely scuppered in that sense.

 

[BlueToff]

My take on it is that if people aren't able to take basic steps, like wearing a mask, until such point as the world is vaccinated and variants stop emerging, then slightly harsher measures are likely.

I fully agree but I don't think Tsubaki is on about basic steps here and I didn't like how they called people idiots for wanting done with this thing.

On the vaccines I totally agree, but it's safe to say variants of this will keep developing for years even if every single person is vaccinated, unless they develop a vaccine that does not allow any infection at all.

 

[tsubaki]

I'm not affected?

I have to wear a mask in a shop - I've been doing that anyway? The only thing that might affect me is the 10-day automatic isolation if you're a contact which to me makes no sense at all, especially with the new drive to get booster jabs? Surely a PCR test would suffice and surely that could be set up and monitored easily enough?

I hate the entire idea of restrictions and I didn't like the way you called people stupid for wanting to be done with this thing. It's looking down on people, insisting you're cleverer than they are.

I'm not massively arsed about going away, I can deal with it - some people aren't fortunate enough to ever go away, I'll live. European cities or New Zealand or the west coast of America isn't going anywhere. I was just using it as an example of something that should be easily done and we shouldn't have to be worrying about 2 years into this thing.

Why are you thinking me, or anyone else in here, is 'refusing to help people out' or 'refusing to play their part'? I'm not, at all.

You literally just said that the state coming to someone’s house to test them (after that person reported illness) sounded like communism. You literally just said that measures which would help control this was boring you. Do you want to go back to normality or not?

 

[tsubaki]

I fully agree but I don't think Tsubaki is on about basic steps here and I didn't like how they called people idiots for wanting done with this thing.

On the vaccines I totally agree, but it's safe to say variants of this will keep developing for years even if every single person is vaccinated, unless they develop a vaccine that does not allow any infection at all.

Oh - and I don’t think people who want done with this are idiots. I think people who want done with this but refuse to do anything to actually bring that about are idiots.

I mean, if someone wanted a cake but then refused to make one, buy one or do anything else to bring a cake about I’d probably think they were idiots too.