Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

I have no idea how much of an assessment the testing really allows

Imperial's REACT study of 85,000 volunteers has just come out and is also encouraging but suggests 1 in 196 are infected on average across England, which if my maths is right is over 500 per 100,000 (I am crap at maths so check that):
https://news.sky.com/story/lockdown-is-working-dramatic-fall-in-england-covid-infection-rate-says-imperial-college-study-12221339

If I have the maths right I'd therefore be wary of being too optimistic based on these figures.

Might be the same for me too. My childhood asthma disappeared at 15, so it depends whether my medical records have survived and whether that part ever made it to my digital medical record.

50 year old sister-in-law (no underlying conditions) just got her invite to go for a jab in Merton.

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Thanks, I’ve not come across them but will have a look.

A recent Rich Roll podcast with Adam Grant talks about this sort of thing. Can't remember exactly what he says but it's along the lines of "be open to the idea of them being right and question them as if you wanted to know more" in order to make them explain how a chip with 666 on it would get into a vaccine, how come there are no whistleblowers, how come no journolist is trying to win a Pulitzer by publishing articles about this, etc. instead of "no, that's obviously bullshit and you're an idiot".

My wife (who manages her asthma with steroidal inhaler - the pink one and the brown one, fnarrrr etc) was told by our GP that she isn't considered high risk so isn't any higher in the vaccine queue than her age would suggest. GP said that "severe" asthma doesn't automatically put you in a higher risk bracket, but they do look at patients who have not been able to manage their asthma - so number of trips to the doctor/hospital. We will both sit tight and wait for our jabs, as and when we can have them

I read/heard somewhere that the key item to bump you up the list was "hospitalised due to asthma", on which I would possibly qualify having had that once in my life (albeit more than 30 years ago, and before my asthma cleared up and I smoked 20+/day for more than 10 years, etc, etc).

As I've said before, I don't need early access to the vaccine, there are millions of people my age or younger who deserve/need the vaccine before I should eventually get it.

Sorry to hear that, not an easy situation to be in.

Cheers, good context.

Had my 1st vaccine shot (Oxford/Astrazeneca) about 3 hours. Very slight headache but no other side effects so far.

Mentioned earlier in the thread that I thought I was in priority group 6, so hadn't expected to receive the vaccine for several more weeks. However, got an email today saying that research commissioned by the Chief Medical Officer had identified people who may be at increased risk of becoming seriously unwell from coronavirus, and to ensure early vaccination I'd been included in the list of people who are clinically extremely vulnerable. Advised to shield until 31st March...

Impressive, especially since unlike your sister's, your underlings probably don't have any health conditions. :)

One to make you laugh, my dad sort of was a catholic priest ;)

We live in strange times, people are afraid. People follow their own logic.

I think it's a combination of a number of factors, hospitalised and the way you manage it. My brother has been in hospital twice in the recent past but manages with inhalers - so is not priority. I think if you were managing it with oral steroids you would be in a priority group. If in the past you have ended up in hospital and you have been diagnosed with severe asthma (whether or not you actually have it) you would be in a priority group.

my wife had hers yesterday. ~Type 1 diabetic for 40 years+ and works for the NHS.

She had the Astra-Zeneca vaccine in the morning, felt unwell in the afternoon and was physically sick that evening but is fine today and glad she had the vaccine.

Her mother and my mother both had the vaccine sometime in late January, one A-Z and the other had Pfizer. Neither had any specific adverse reaction

Sounds interesting, do you have a link to the book?

Thank you

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Now an acquaintance of mine is following Ben Shapiro over the firing of a Mandalorian actress cos culture wars. Cos leftist suppression blah.

Even though she got warned many times for being a dick and comparing treatment of trump living republicans with holocaust Jews was final straw.

Clearly all those cult and culture war tactics work. Don't know him well enough to engage, but otherwise he's not stupid though. Bah.

In Rona news lockdown in NI to April 1, some primary year groups going back in March.

Boris wants to reopen all schools in England at the same time ATM...can't see how that won't lead to a big spike again.

Way it's going we can compare soon, but it sounds like a bad idea to me virus wise.

Parenting WFH wise it sounds great of course no idea when my son can go back.

Boris wants to reopen all schools in England at the same time ATM...can't see how that won't lead to a big spike again.

I think they're using it as a test. Send them back for 3 weeks and there's a natural firebreak with two and a half weeks off for Easter.

Remember that schools going back isn't just about children being in school. It'll mean more people moving around for work (now they are free from home schooling), more ad hoc and after school childcare, etc. But all of that is bundled in together as you can't have part of it (i.e. kids in school) without enabling/needing the rest.

If the spike is huge then they know they need another plan for schools, and pubs etc are going to be shut for even longer.
If the rate goes up slightly or plateaus then it's going to delay pubs opening (outside only) until after Easter.
If the rate continues to drop then pubs/restaurants will open for outdoors drinking/eating from Easter.

My guess is that the rate will continue to drop, but it will slow down coming up for the 2 weeks after schools are back, but still be dropping very slightly.

(By rate I mean the number of positive tests. The first stat that the UK Gov usually spout about in the televisual announcements.)

It's the Louis Theroux method. Ask polite questions, seem interested in what they are saying and people will talk to you.

https://twitter.com/DoctorChrisVT/status/1363206570151190528

Greater vaccine efficacy (for the AZ vaccine) when the doses are spaced out to 90 days.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00432-3/fulltext#.YDAv5x9knqQ.twitter

So what is more important, vaccinations or horse racing?

nice

We have a full calendar of racing in HK, not a single vaccination for COVID.

Newbury racecourse was used for vaccinations, but not today as the horse racing is on.