Coronavirus: Pandemic and Panic

[The Gaffer]

Here's a rather sad casualty of the pandemic - one of the Inklings' watering holes is no more.

Although I wouldn't worry too much, St John's College is probably the richest in the UK so I have no doubt they will open it up again when the students are back.

You made some great posts up there Earniel, many thanks for that. And thanks for putting yourself in the firing line Katya.

This whole thing has thrown up some interesting "individual vs society" dilemmas. For me, it's shown how antisocial extreme individualism is. It also seems to feed off this exceptionalism that has placed the UK and the US amongst the worst-hit.

We've been watching aghast at the maskless rallies etc over recent months. I wonder how many people died as a result? That poisonous oaf Trump really, really doesn't care whether you live or die. Your only importance is to boost his flagging ego.

[Earniel]

True, we already saw the individual vs society-dilemma at play in the epidemic and the lockdown regulation, now that the vaccines have entered the arena, I expect we will see even more of it.

One way I feel like we should be happy there is such a high demand for the vaccine, despite the anti-vax movement already being on a roll, but the other way, the fight over the limited access to vaccines is not going to be pretty.

The WHO, despite its many faults, were not wrong about rich nations using their wealth to get first in the vaccination line.

I am very happy my old grandfather will soon get his second dose but... I have to admit, I find it hard to answer whether I would be as content to wait for mine until people more at risk in poorer nations have had theirs.

It also looks like we're about to have the first, proper post-Brexit row between the EU and the UK about the AstraZeneca vaccines. Aah, Brexit, the gift that keeps on giving.

[The Gaffer]

Yeah. Predictably, the rightwing truth-phobes here are claiming we got the vaccines first because of Brexit. FYI, that's a lie. We got it because we have universal healthcare: processes and expertise in contracting on a nationwide scale, health professionals who are on the money wrt assessing the evidence and a flexible, huge-scale health system that is used to rolling out vaccines to the whole population on a regular basis.

And finally, we activated emergency authorisation when the EU didn't. EU member states could have done the same thing as us, btw.

The only effect of Brexit has been to make it possible for EU states to block exports of vaccines to the UK. They have stepped back from that now, but thanks to Brexit, the supplies our switch-on health system secured 4 months prior to the EU (by prioritising availability over price), could be disrupted at any time perfectly legally. If we had still been in the EU that would have been illegal.

[Earniel]

Yeah, the emergency authorisation had a lot to do with it, for sure. But looking at the numbers, the UK currently really does need those vaccines more than us.

I would like to know on what evidence the EU concluded AstraZeneca had sold off vaccines produced by EU money. They seem so sure of that, but I still think it's quite a leap. And while AstraZeneca's response was less than satisfactory (An agreement that just says "you should do your best"? Come on! Pull the other one.) I hope it isn't just thinking that Brits in general can't be trusted to keep their words after the Brexit.

I think trying to make Ireland close their borders with NI by using the emergency mechanism just to get those vaccines to stay on the continent was a very stupid, panicked reaction. First upbrading the UK for threatening the Friday Agreement and then almost unthinkingly doing themselves. Good show, guys.

Just when I was thinking the EU was getting its act together and act as the unity it is supposed to be. The (mostly) coordinated EU response certainly aided small countries like mine. We would not have been able to negociate such vaccine deals on our own, without the weight of the EU behind us.

But then if the EU can't act as one in an emergency such as this one, questions about its usefulness are not unfounded. But I haven't seen anything new yet that convinces me the UK really is better off on its own.

Still, I would have liked them not to give Brexiteers more ammo. But then I suppose there's nothing Brexiteers won't use to twist to their advantage, whether you give them ammo or not. The moment the Brexit was based on emotions and not facts, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

One can only hope that at least with Brexit the NHS will finally get the funding it requires. Well, one can always hope for money that isn't there...but not much else. And what is that mess about not wanting to feed children?

[katya]

I got my second dose January 13th! I did get a little sick the day after (headache, body aches, nausea) but it was better the next day. I'm glad because I really am exposed to a lot of people at work, people who don't wear masks and who congregate, people who come over to visit their COVID positive family members without any masks or anything, etc... Come on guys, get it together...

[Earniel]

I'm glad to hear you have had your second dose Katya! May it keep you safe.

My granddad also has his, one should hear him brag how he didn't feel a thing! Even though he quietly admitted to my mum later that yes, his arm was kinda sore for days...

I hear you about the non-maskers. It's nowhere as bad here as overseas, but I still get annoyed everytime I cross someone in the streets who isn't wearing theirs when they should, or not correctly. Come on, it's been a year; kids take less time potty training than it takes adults to learn the nose should be inside the mask!

That Trump made masks political is IMO nothing short of murder. A mask is like really the very minimum, the most basic of things one can do so you don't kill other people.

[Earniel]

I'm going to stop looking at the vacination levels in my daily doomscrolling. It goes as slow as molasses, everybody has Opinions, and I grow tired of the constantly conflicting messages about vaccine deliveries.

"We will have so many vaccines next week....
no, there will be less...
Aaah panic!....
Oh no, we actually meant we just get what was agreed....
nope again
two vaccine makers will not deliver this week...
no, three!
I mean, one!
Aaah, panic!
Yes, not next week either...
hahah, we meant April, May, June, July...
Erm....some day?
Aaah, panic!
No, scratch that....
...instead of delivering in April we will deliver in April. "

My sympathies to those who have to manage the vaccinations, one would go bonkers with less.

[Earniel]

My parents finally have their first shot!

My invitation should arrive somewhere at the end of the month. Joy. Probably fashionably late so it can nicely scupper ANY chance of a summer holiday with the family. Again. Haven't seen my granddad in nine months now.

Still, musn't complain, I guess.

Although it is REALLY annoying to constantly see references to places like the USA and even Wallonia(!) where doctors are warning they'll have to let vaccines expire if they can't find more people willing to get the shot and I have been waiting for months and still am not eligible...

Then again, if I look at the news from India and the trouble they have there, I suppose I should count myself lucky indeed. Annoyance is way preferable to death, any time.

[Snowdog]

I'll be getting my 1st shot this week.

[Earniel]

Awesome! May the side effects be few and light.

[Snowdog]

Not too bad. Sore shoulder joint and a dull headache for a day or so, and no energy, but all is good now.

Of course some fknkle got symptoms and wandered around the city for a week before getting tested and now Melbourne is in it's 4th lockdown.

[Earniel]

Great! How long do you have to wait until your second dose?

Australia didn't do so badly up until now, I thought, and their lock-downs appear to be a lot shorter than ours but gah, people, stay put when you have symptons. It's not that complicated.

We're finally on the downswing of our third wave. But seeing the scale they're already relaxing the lockdown measurements... I'm not too hopeful we'll have vaccine herd immunity before a possible fourth wave.

But fortunatelly people really want the vaccine and refusals are rare. Some pleaces have a 100% first dose vaccination rate for 65-year olds. That's something.

Which is why I probably will get the official invitation long before the reserve list reaches me. Aaany day now, hopefully.

[Snowdog]

I have to wait 12 weeks for #2 of the AZ. My wife was under 50 so she got the Pfizer and got her 2nd today.

Melbourne managed to stay relatively clear but Sydney and their lazy attitude are a bit screwed now with over 300 delta cases... and I csan't believe the dippos in the USA not getting vaccinated... the usual suspects... the bible-studying conspiracy-paranoid insurrectionist types thinking its some weird democrat attempt to plant 5G trackers into everyone. Silly.

[Earniel]

You'll be fully protected then by the time I get my own second pfizer shot! Mine's at the end of the month.

The tracker-hoax is well... at some point you've got to laugh. Everybody obsessed with injectable trackers so very clearly NEVER took their pet to the vet for an ID chip, or watched a zoo programme.

Because if they had they would know better.

The needles with chips are HUGE. Of, course because an actual chip has to go through them! It's not something you'd likely to forget, once seen. It does not compare to those itty bitty syringes they use for vaccination.

I donate blood, I was expecting a jab like that. But I didn't even feel my shot go in.

Still, it's appaling how low the vaccination rates are in our medical staff. Even the general populace has higher rates and they came after the carers and medical workers to get their shot.

And cases are going up again, because apparently lots of young, unvaccinated people went to Spain and Portugal to party and now can't understand how they could possibly have gotten infected when they weren't wearing a mask in the indoor dance clubs. And now they all want to come back and do their quarantine at home where it is so much safer. Honestly...

[Snowdog]

Picked up my 2nd jab last week. Tired of the excuses people use to not get vaccines. I'm so over it.

[Earniel]

What's galling to me is the way some people jump at any alternative, however ill-advised and dangerous, rather than take a completely safe and researched vaccine.

Saw one or two farmers complaining on twitter that people are buying all the cattle dewormer because some jerk said it'd work against COVID. It's a neurotoxine to humans, especially in the doses calculated for large cattle. People are going to die if they take it.

Why, people? Why?

If you want to survive the epidemic that much, just get the vaccine, people. Will go so much easier.

In better news, I also got my second dose last week! Counting down to full activation! Was out for a day or two with fever and lethargy but I've seldom been as happy to have side-effects!

[The Gaffer]

Hello! Wandered by and saw this chat still going, sterling work Earniel.

So we've (UK) finally surrendered and are doing the "get everyone infected, quick" strategy. Some sceptics have described it as an insane experiment to see how quickly you can breed a vaccine-resistant mutation.

Going well so far, deaths well over 100 a day, positive PCR tests holding steady at 30k per day. At this rate, we should be shot of all those annoying elderly and vulnerable types by this time next year.

Scotland and Wales still have a mask mandate, but England doesn't and my niece was told to remove hers by the bouncers in a nightclub in London

We have learned literally nothing from all this and deserve everything that's coming our way.

Oh, a PS on Brexit.

Massive labour shortages now biting. EU workers voting with their feet from farming, hospitality sectors etc. Not enough lorry drivers and starting to see food shortages. Government being asked to let prisoners fill in for, wait for it, butchers and abattoir staff.

Like I say, we deserve everything that's coming our way.

[Earniel]

I feel for you, Gaffer. Truly, I do. Your politicians have served you so, so badly, first with Brexit, now with the continuing mismanagement of the pandemic. I've been following a few twitters on the poor response to keep the school kids safe and I want to scream on their behalf.

Told to remove her mask? What the everlovin' hell?! I can understand loosening or lifting restrictions if the numbers are good, but I simply cannot understand the extremist reaction to ban masks.

Fortunately I aparently live in a very pro-vaccine region as over 80% of the entire population has had the full vaccination. (70% for national) But I'm still not entirely ready to let go of my mask. I was kind of hoping we'd adopt masks permanently for public transport during flu-season. It could do us much good, I'm thinking.

Also because my nephew made two for me, one with leopards and one with snakes and I'd like to get some more wear out of them.

[The Gaffer]

Thanks for your kind and sensible wishes. The freedom-lovin brigade are really on the loose now, nothing is sacred, even public health measures in the middle of the worst pandemic in a century.

But stay tuned, there's a whole slew of Brexit-related hilarity piling up. Shortage of lorry drivers has meant empty shelves in the shops. Now the gas price has gone mental, a load of gas companies are going bust, and there's a shortage of - wait for it - carbon dioxide. This is used in food processing to keep food fresh. Food packagers have about 2 days' supply left..

But never mind, what about that Emma Raducanu, eh?

You really couldn't make this up, not in the most deranged, acid-fuelled, Kafka-esque nightmare.

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by The Gaffer

Thanks for your kind and sensible wishes. The freedom-lovin brigade are really on the loose now, nothing is sacred, even public health measures in the middle of the worst pandemic in a century.

So I've heard.But at least shops and market stalls will now be able to fully embrace the imperial units once again. Always nice to see leaders having the right priorities!

't would almost be funny if this wasn't the real world and real people and real lives being affected and lost by this ... rampant idiocy.

But never mind, what about that Emma Raducanu, eh?

And such a good and proper British name!

You really couldn't make this up, not in the most deranged, acid-fuelled, Kafka-esque nightmare.

No, truly, you can't. If people had told us last year that THIS is what we had to contend with in 2021 we'd have laughed them out of the park.

We knew Brexit would be bad. But this... *shakes head*

Gotta laugh now still. Because so much of this nonsense is making you weep otherwise and you'd never stop.