Delayed   461 #3937 Posted January 29, 2021 1 hour ago, L00b said: I'm reserving final judgement on this particular issue, until the contracts have been published and facts have been delineated from allegations.  We're hearing about inequitable conduct by Astra Zeneca favouring the UK in breach of their contractual obligations with the EU, here - something which I very much doubt that you are hearing over there. Now I'm saying that in passing without any partiality* here, simply to illustrate the point that there is a lot of media noise over a lot of allegations, both in the UK and outside of it, with little verified substance and an a sea of misinformation.  *this is the Covid thread, and my position remains that this vaccines stuff has *sod all* to do with the UK-EU relationship, considering 'Brexit' really only started at all 29 days ago, when all these issues about PPE, vaccines funding and supply contracts, etc. were all in the works and done months and months ago in 2020, whilst the UK was to all intents and purposes still in the EU, under the WA.  It's yet another issue that is turning adversarial and antagonistic between the UK and the EU27, when really there was no need whatsoever. With English politicians pouring it as kerosene on their blame-the-EU-for-everything fire, it's not going to get better anytime soon either. For shame. Same old rhetoric.  EU good UK bad   Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Thirsty Relic   208 #3938 Posted January 29, 2021 As I understand it, we are still in lockdown, with penalties for people meeting in large groups, and no end-of-lockdown date has been given.  Can anybody explain to me how then we can have premises not only arranging for concerts and the like in the future (e.g. on SF), but advertising them and taking monies on the basis they will take place? Travel companies are also taking bookings, and I caught the back end of a TV advert for some last week, for summer holidays abroad! How are they allowed to do this in the middle of a pandemic, with restrictions still in place on travel? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
El Cid   212 #3939 Posted January 29, 2021 4 hours ago, apelike said: I think its already been explained that no corners were cut How many people do you think a vaccine should be tested on, to show its safe and it works. How many people over 70 should the vaccine be tested on, before its releade? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
L00b   441 #3940 Posted January 29, 2021 46 minutes ago, Delayed said: Same old rhetoric.  EU good UK bad  How so?   Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
andyofborg   11 #3941 Posted January 29, 2021 7 minutes ago, West 77 said: The only strong EU supporter poster who has had the good grace to acknowledge the EU have messed up regarding the covid-19 vaccine program is Pettytom. i think everyone knows they messed up over the vaccine program...   Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
El Cid   212 #3942 Posted January 29, 2021 5 hours ago, apelike said: I think its already been explained that no corners were cut The trials required volunteers to "be in good health". So the results of 90% effectivness are not applicable to all the many vulnerable people that have died of COVID. Some of the trials are showing 60% effectivness, so ONLY 40,000 people would have died so far. There needs to be more scrutiny! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Becky B   31 #3943 Posted January 29, 2021 22 hours ago, Westie1889 said: You are going through more than me Becky so deserve your chocolate and alcohol. Im struggling with home schooling never mind the conditions you are having to work in so I take my hat off to you and thankyou for everything that you are doing. We will get through this and things should look different by Summer but this does feel like the toughest time of the pandemic and it’s understandable you and many others feel this way as I think we all do to some degree. Stay safe.    I dunno, I think I'd rather be doing the job I'm doing than homeschooling 😆😄😆  Thanks, and good luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Becky B   31 #3944 Posted January 29, 2021 5 hours ago, *_ash_* said: A proper lockdown from the start? When do you think is considered the start? January like China did? We didn't have a confirmed case until 1 week AFTER they were in lockdown.  Even in here, people were just saying, Oh it's just another SARS MERS rubbish... blah blah  I think people have short memories in here. Even now with tens of thousands of cases per day, many people are denying/not following rules etc.  Reminder: (of course with hindsight we now know it was rife and spreading fast, but it was so early in the pandemic that it wasn't even 1st in the news. )  Jan 31 - 1 confirmed case. Feb 29 - 23 confirmed cases. March 5 - cases surpasses 100. March 16th - 1500 cases, and 55 deaths. March 18th - death toll exceeds 100  **https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_Kingdom_(January–June_2020)  100 deaths is 100 too many, but do you think people would have accepted a complete lockdown on 100 people? Some people live in a hindsight dreamworld.  Let me tell you, if the government had have locked down then, we would almost certainly have been in a much better state now with cases, but the economy would still have been in big trouble,  And all the anti-government lot would now be saying, look at this hopeless government, killed the economy for a harmless bug.  What have the opposition done? other than wait for a mistake then complain things not done earlier. (p.s. Comparing to Aus and New Zealand isn't a good comparison, apples and oranges)    When did the epidemiologists/virologists first suggest lockdown? I'd probably have done it then... Maybe when cases were escalating exponentially, and information from other countries about the serious illness it caused was coming in?  The economy is in big trouble now, do you think it's better that 100,000 people have died and the NHS can't operate normally? With healthcare staff and teachers close to burnout because of how they are having to work, it dragging on and on with no end in sight?  And is it really apples and oranges to compare UK to Aus/NZ - they do have densely populated areas as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Delbow   686 #3945 Posted January 29, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Delayed said: Same old rhetoric.  EU good UK bad   I think you have misunderstood L00b's post, they are saying it shouldn't be an EU vs UK issue, and I agree. It shouldn't be an anyone vs. anyone issue, we should be trying to work out how to make sure the maximum number of people throughout the world get the vaccine at the most affordable price in the quickest time. Edited January 29, 2021 by Delbow Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
*_ash_*   88 #3946 Posted January 29, 2021 1 hour ago, Becky B said: When did the epidemiologists/virologists first suggest lockdown? I'd probably have done it then... Maybe when cases were escalating exponentially, and information from other countries about the serious illness it caused was coming in?  The economy is in big trouble now, do you think it's better that 100,000 people have died and the NHS can't operate normally? With healthcare staff and teachers close to burnout because of how they are having to work, it dragging on and on with no end in sight?  And is it really apples and oranges to compare UK to Aus/NZ - they do have densely populated areas as well. I think at most, it would have been done 2 weeks earlier. We'll never know, but I think it probably would have still gathered pace. Look at what happened when we have reopened! I can only guess, but I think if we'd have shut a couple of weeks earlier, then doubtless many fewer would have died in the first peak, but I also think if we got cases number right right down, like some far-eastern countries did... people would have relaxed too much, and we'd still be in this position now. But probably still huge death count.  I've listed things to do in here and online from the start, things we still haven't done! So I'm not happy in the slightest. Did you watch the 30 seconds clip I posted earlier here... https://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/topic/473199-coronavirus-part-two/page/328/?tab=comments#comment-8390967 How difficult is that?! I'm sure instead of wasting billions on our track n trace, we could have rang up Korea or China and asked for a copy of their system, for a few billion,.  Where the country has messed up I think, is not copying more of countries that controlled it. Countries around China right down to Aus/NZ had this before with SARS and were far better prepared for it. We should have done more of what they did.  Aus/NZ, is different IMO. For a start they can more easily control their borders. Their cities are far more spaced apart than UK, and isolating areas is therefore easier... and as I said above, they were more prepared because they also had SARS thread last time.  It's also not a travel hub like London is. Thousands of people going through it everyday.  I'm disappointed that this government weren't tougher earlier on, but I'm equally annoyed that the opposition have contributed nothing, other than saying this was a mistake that was a mistake.   Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
tinfoilhat   11 #3947 Posted January 29, 2021 Somebody in the EU needs to take a deep breath and calm down.  BBC News - Brexit: EU introduces controls on vaccines to NI https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-55864442 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
apelike   10 #3948 Posted January 29, 2021 3 hours ago, El Cid said: How many people do you think a vaccine should be tested on, to show its safe and it works. How many people over 70 should the vaccine be tested on, before its releade? I am glad to say that I don't have to make those types of decisions and are even happier to let those with experience and qualifications in creating and testing vaccines make them. Its not up to you or I to decide only to rely on what they have stated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...