Corona Virus

[Neil]

So the UK:- - At risk individuals have had the chance to receive the vaccine. Many have already had the less important second dose now. - We're about to enter a state of herd immunity numbers in the population. - We've just had the lowest death rates in a March, in any year, EVER. - We're coming out of the (natural) winter spike. - CV19 infection and death rates are plummetting. We've been told for a year this is mainly about protecting the NHS. It's protected. Time to get things open IMHO, with just some simple precautions initially (eg: simple hygiene and social distancing). And we do not need domestic covid passports.

[kidgloves]

Covid passports are absolutely ridiculous. Will create a split population not to mention the very obvious problem that most of the staff who work in these establishments are young and will not be vaccinated. I also read somewhere that some councils are trying to enforce mask wearing outside in pub gardens. I mean how stupid is that? Why? Im vaccinated, been rapid home testing every couple of days for the last few months through a work initiative, constantly wearing a mask and sanitizing. Just about had enough now. If i have to wear a mask to socialize, I just wont bother socializing.

[Neil]

Covid passports are absolutely ridiculous. Will create a split population not to mention the very obvious problem that most of the staff who work in these establishments are young and will not be vaccinated. I also read somewhere that some councils are trying to enforce mask wearing outside in pub gardens. I mean how stupid is that? Why? Im vaccinated, been rapid home testing every couple of days for the last few months through a work initiative, constantly wearing a mask and sanitizing. Just about had enough now. If i have to wear a mask to socialize, I just wont bother socializing. Agreed - And how are things truly going to be much different next year, or the year after, because covid isn't going away... The majority of the UK population is vaccinated. All those at risk have had the chance to be vaccinated. We're past statistical herd immunity levels. Infect and death rates are tiny. What more do we need to achieve before ending the hysteria?

[MinionZombie]

The majority of the UK population is vaccinated. All those at risk have had the chance to be vaccinated. We're past statistical herd immunity levels. Infect and death rates are tiny. What more do we need to achieve before ending the hysteria? And yet they're only just getting around to the 45-50 age group FFS. People under 50 are going to dominate the people who are going to be flying about all over the shop mingling around with no vaccinations - and, evidently, no fucking masks on and no social distancing, as I saw driving through town today while giving the car a spin to keep the battery alive. Barely any fucker had a mask on, and of those who did, at least half of them were wearing them on their chins like dickheads. Infection and death rates have no doubt been reduced because we've all been stuck in another fucking lockdown for months. I wouldn't be surprised if infection rates increase again. One local pub was fucking rammed. No masks. No social distancing. They might as well have been having an orgy they were they close. It pisses me off, quite frankly. Me and mine have been abiding by all the rules and have basically locked ourselves away - part of which has been imposed on us by Dad's severe stroke and all the ramifications that has had on our lives - so a bunch of twats shoulder-to-shoulder for a poxy fucking pint just fucks me off. I wish we could come out the other side of lockdown and Covid in the same shape when we entered it, but that'll never happen. Fuck this fucking world.

[JDP]

LOL! I think that Minion is now starting to get a much better appreciation for the intro TV station sequence in Dawn. Yes, Romero nailed it very well. The average paranoid Joe is like that. Total disregard for what the authorities recommend as the best manner of procedure in a given crisis. Government: "Don't hide the bodies of the dead, give them to us for proper disposal. Otherwise the fuckers come back to life and will attack you. And if you get killed or bit, you will eventually become one of them!" Average paranoid Joe: "Let's hide grandma's corpse in the basement, so those fucking lying pigs can't get their stinking paws on her!"

[Neil]

And yet they're only just getting around to the 45-50 age group FFS. People under 50 are going to dominate the people who are going to be flying about all over the shop mingling around with no vaccinations - and, evidently, no fucking masks on and no social distancing, as I saw driving through town today while giving the car a spin to keep the battery alive. Barely any fucker had a mask on, and of those who did, at least half of them were wearing them on their chins like dickheads. Infection and death rates have no doubt been reduced because we've all been stuck in another fucking lockdown for months. I wouldn't be surprised if infection rates increase again. One local pub was fucking rammed. No masks. No social distancing. They might as well have been having an orgy they were they close. It pisses me off, quite frankly. Me and mine have been abiding by all the rules and have basically locked ourselves away - part of which has been imposed on us by Dad's severe stroke and all the ramifications that has had on our lives - so a bunch of twats shoulder-to-shoulder for a poxy fucking pint just fucks me off. I wish we could come out the other side of lockdown and Covid in the same shape when we entered it, but that'll never happen. Fuck this fucking world. Four things I think are applicable to this?:- * The average age of death - prior to vaccination - is/was OLDER than life expectancy. What does that say about the people being taken by this virus? They are generally, sadly, old people who'd be taken by what ever disease is prevalent. The number of people under 60 with no secondary conditions who have died from covid is under 300 I believe. * Most people who have died have had a significant secondary condition. * Death rates are lower than they have EVER been. In March for example, 2021's death figures were lower than any year EVER. * Lockdown measures have their own casualty figures. Mental health. Undiagnosed/untreated diseases. Some research is now suggesting lockdown measures have inflicted more 'life years lost' than they've potentially saved. If lockdowns are indeed doing more harm than good, surely we need to end them ASAP? So now most at risk folks have had the vaccine, and the UK is in herd immunity realms, and we're leaving the natural winter spike period, what are we waiting for? And how are the conditions now going to be any different to this time of year in 2022, or 2023? ps: I am truly sorry for your dad's situation, and thus the situation of your family. I can't begin to even imagine what a drawn out and worrying affair it has been. But for the majority of the population who are fit and healthy and for whom this disease poses little to no threat, surely they can move on now? To return to normal life and get the economy moving... We're over a year into "three weeks to protect the NHS". That's more than done now, with many hospitals not even having covid cases. We need to move on...

[MinionZombie]

General death rates will also be lower in-part (at least) because of lockdown - e.g. seasonal flu hasn't had the chance to spread 'cos of selfish idiots who are blatantly full of it, but insist on getting a hair cut right fucking now while sneezing infected gunk all over healthy people. I'm not saying people can't start "moving on" - I'm saying that, when they're told to still wear masks and socially distance, but immediately fail to do either of those, it fucking pisses me off. I will say I do agree that lockdowns have ended up causing damage while simultaneously limiting the spread of the virus itself. Especially in the first lockdown, the NHS was so paralysed with fear that it just shut everything down and was basically getting people to self-diagnose and only talk to you on the phone with their sights set on 'how can this be medicated with some pills from the pharmacy?' This was certainly the case with my Dad. We missed the signs, and so too did the local GP surgery. He has had a history of nasal issues, so we thought the breathing problems were related to that, and the GP even had him filling out a Sleep Apnea survey the morning before the stroke. The week before it was prescribing a nasal inhaler. They didn't ask any of the questions that could have revealed that something far more dangerous was happening. We're not health professionals and we were convinced to go down the wrong path. Now his health is ruined, he has permanent brain damage, and my parents' golden years have been ripped away from them. There's only me here to help them and it's already a day-to-day struggle (not helped by, seemingly, every fucking thing breaking or needing repaired in the house all of a sudden), so yeah, I absolutely agree on the side-effects of lockdown. When Dad's stroke happened we were straight onto 999, but we later heard how there were people who had had strokes who didn't go to hospital because they had been scared out of going for anything but Covid. There were multiple instances of that just in the Stroke Ward just in my local hospital. No doubt that sort of thing has happened in all wards of all hospitals across the nation. Then there's the knock-on effects of the stroke - on Dad, but also on my family and I. All of this kind of damage inflicted upon innocent people the world over, people who were trapped in abusive households and all the other situations where people have been trapped or misdiagnosed or just missed altogether, industries and economies ruined etc etc etc - and all because the Chinese government can't keep their nation's public health shit together. Frankly, the Chinese government owe the entire world big time. And, on top of all that, we've had ineffective governments the world over handling a pandemic like they're in a Marx brothers skit. The zombies will definitely take over.

[Neil]

General death rates will also be lower in-part (at least) because of lockdown - e.g. seasonal flu hasn't had the chance to spread 'cos of selfish idiots who are blatantly full of it, but insist on getting a hair cut right fucking now while sneezing infected gunk all over healthy people. I'm not saying people can't start "moving on" - I'm saying that, when they're told to still wear masks and socially distance, but immediately fail to do either of those, it fucking pisses me off. Yeh, and I suspect death rates are also low(er) at the moment due to all manner of things. eg: Just less people out on the roads running people over etc etc...

[MinionZombie]

Yeh, and I suspect death rates are also low(er) at the moment due to all manner of things. eg: Just less people out on the roads running people over etc etc... I tacked on some more rambling to my previous post, and just saw your new reply. Speaking of roads - I don't know if this has been happening where you live, but some busybody tossers have been slinging up unofficial speed signs all over town with self-important signs (too long to fully read while driving, I might add) whining about how speeds need to be lower because more people are walking around because of Covid. WHAT? No more than in normal times from what I've regularly seen. Indeed, under lockdown conditions, whenever I took the car for a battery-charging spin, I never saw more people than normal. Less people than normal was the, well, norm. 30 zones 'reduced' to 20. By who? On whose order? With some logos printed onto plastic squares and hung up with zip ties? Eat my arse. Sanctimonious tits. There's literally one stretch where it says 30mph on one side of the road and 20mph on the other side of the road. So they can't even put up their fake-ass signs properly. These signs kept popping up. They were spreading as quickly as the feckin' virus. Speaking of driving, I sure as hell noticed how poor a lot of folks' driving has got since last year. It was already dodgy enough, but it was just a fucking piss-take when I was out yesterday giving the car a spin. And the state of the roads. Christ on a bike! It's like Indiana Jones has been roaming the local roads digging for treasure while coked-up. A bit of white spray paint, yeah, that'll solve it.

[Neil]

BTW - I believe UK stats have been kicked a bit more into shape with "deaths with Covid" (rather than "deaths from Covid") being logically removed from figures. I suspect the figures could come down even more... So I believe UK deaths (from ONS) have dropped by about 25%.

[MinionZombie]

A piece on the importance of wearing a mask even after vaccination (i.e. it takes weeks for the vaccination to build up strength after injection, you can still catch the virus and pass it on to someone else, also there is the problem of the South African variant etc). https://uk.yahoo.com/news/you-still-...040000821.html I saw plenty of folks walking around (of an age that you'd assume they'd been vaccinated) who weren't wearing masks, and a bunch of them cheek by jowl at a pub merrily maskless. These messages can be, and are, quite simple - but the public information campaign surrounding this pandemic has been botched. Inconsistent, incomplete, totally unclear messages.

[Mike70]

Second shot yesterday (Moderna). My arm is super sore again like it was the first time around but I don't have the chills. And I can walk again, did I mention that? From now on, people asking for money in wheelchairs are getting $5. I cannot tell you how much it sucks to only be able to move small distances without aid.

[JDP]

Another pandemic denier, this time a famous one, learns the lesson the hard way: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...id-19-1158483/

[Neil]

Another pandemic denier, this time a famous one, learns the lesson the hard way: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...id-19-1158483/ Don't get the denial stuff... Odd...

[Mike70]

Don't get the denial stuff... Odd... Early in this pandemic a Covid denier got really, really nasty with my wife at her business over wearing a mask, etc. My stepson Mark, 17, was in my wife's store that day. He walked up to the dude, didn't say a word and knocked him out cold, one shot. The police ended up charging the dude with assault for what he said to my wife. In Ohio you don't have to touch someone to be charged with assault. if you make a threat against someone and they take it seriously, they can run your ass up the flag pole. Mark wasn't charged with anything. He was defending his mom.