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

I have friends where one half of the couple tested positive and the other never did (both NHS staff so lots.of testing) even though they continued to share a bed etc.

Same here. My brother-in-law tested positive twice on PCR tests, my sister tested negative. Maybe she just has Covid superpowers.

seems like third wave is here then, now what?

Nothing to see here:-

I'm guessing they're betting on it not being unbounded exponential growth and that it will tail off some time soon. I don't hold much hope for that myself.

I think the news will start to be dominated by pieces that highlight the fact that a vaccine that is ~95% effective still leaves 5% (3.5 million people in the UK) susceptible. So much of the news so far has pushed the "double vaccination == immune" line, and that's going to quickly unravel as things go up from here.

95% effectiveness is good, if everyone has it.

The number of people still on 1 dose or none means that another wave could still be large, although will have the see. Places like Bolton are showing signs of declining again.

London 2 weeks ago vs now (https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map)

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Also it seems at this stage that the number of vaccinations may just about have broken the link from cases to hospitalisations/death, so even if (when) we see the third wave of cases, we may be at the stage that we can live with it / NHS can cope with it.
That's the hope anyway. The next couple of weeks will be pretty tense I think...

I don’t want to get in anyone’s way but i’d love to be offered a second jab ahead of time, i’m a bit worried

Just to give an idea of what vaccine hesitancy might look like in the general population, here in one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country where we have had access to vaccines for anyone of any age who wants them since January, we still haven't hit 80% fully jabbed.

Not all people have phones with 5g support yet.

Yeah very concerning gaps between the headline figures for % of >50s vaccinated and the coverage in areas of east & south ldn that were worst hit by the last wave. Definitely enough unvaccinated people for a problematic third wave in big cities, especially london.

Seem to be a reluctance to get jabbed.

Wonder why, especially in certain ethnic groups.

Just had notification that my 2nd jab has been moved from 12th July to 15th June. You think they are getting nervous about a possible third wave/new variant. I'm not in a at risk group. Anyone else had this happening? I had the AZ one if that makes any difference?

Standard weekend leak to friendly media:
https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/1403397062205624320

NEW: Final decision Monday, but Sun can reveal chances of freedom day on June 21 now next to zero.. plan to announce delay to July 19 - with break clause on July 5 if hospitalisations remain low. But it's not looking good..

From a European point of view it’s absolutely baffling that you’ve managed to fuck up this badly despite hoarding vaccines.

90% of the cases are now delta variant, the refusal to put India on the red list has created this situation, mind boggling incompetance

It's like those videos of people celebrating before the finish line and then being overtaken at the last second.

What a weird hot take.

Where are these hoarded vaccines?

Where are these hoarded vaccines?

Also, didn’t that accusation boil down to the EU not getting its contract terms right with the vaccine producers in the UK?

I suspect the "hoarded vaccines" are probably in people's arms and hopefully preventing hospitalisations and deaths. And I hope the exact same for Europe. And everywhere else.

Some thing new?

I think the new delta-variant wave is just the uk gov returning to form. I had a moment wondering if at last they'd got their shit together but it's become clear they got lucky with the early vaccine success. Unfortunately (like with the vaccine shit show here in the EU), it's not the politicians who pay for their stupidity, it's the rest of us.

That said, given the EU has zero checks on land borders and has totally inconsistent rules on whether UK residents are allowed in, I expect the delta variant is going to swamp the EU in late summer.

In the 30 doses per 100 the UK is ahead of the EU.

https://theconversation.com/did-the-uk-outsmart-the-eu-over-astrazeneca-vaccines-157926

Call it 'outsmart' if hoarding hurts.

I'm not sure you know what hoarding means.

Ah right, you’ll have to excuse my command of the English language. What’s the word I should have used? I take it you do get the point I was trying to make?

I really don't. Because it came across as petty and nationalistic. Which a shitty attitude to have so I imagine that's probably not what you were aiming for.

I'll try to reframe my snarky remark as a question that addresses the underlying concern: How come the UK is seeing such a rapid rise in cases despite a successful vaccination campaign? And will mainland Europe meet the same fate as the delta strain becomes the dominant strain here? Is it inevitable that the delta strain becomes the dominant strain here just like the alpha strain did half a year ago?