Weston Super Saint

You may mock, but this is all part of the cunning plan for world domination....

Jesus wept! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55659820#:~:text=Some early results suggest the,be weaker and shorter-lived. Selected quotes : Seems to be a fairly simple and consistent message (not surprised it's escaped you) - have your jab, keep calm and carry on. Still, you carry on believing the scare tactics about each new variant whilst the rest of us start getting back to normal

The England Men's and Women's teams receive equal pay and bonuses so presumably the FA believe the quality, standard and actractiveness are the same - although I think the women may have won more on the international stage

Do they have to say the vaccines don't work for them to suggest the lockdown measures shouldn't be lifted? You're quite an odd person aren't you? You've taken a conversation about 'scaremongering' and the timing of information releases regarding new variants and the inevitable questions about whether lockdowns should be extended and are now demanding a quote stating that vaccines don't work. To my knowledge, SAGE have NEVER stated that vaccines don't work. They HAVE stated that they 'feared' that they 'might not' work / be as effective, against pretty much every new variant that has arisen and had their fears allayed each and every time. Have you heard the story of the boy who cried wolf?

They ('top advisors' who may or may not be SAGE), have certainly raised 'fears' about hospitalisations and 'urged' the PM to delay the easing of lockdown restrictions because of the 'threat' of the Indian variant. Sadly, when 'scientists' raise 'fears' dim wits who can't think for themselves and carry out basic analysis of freely available data tend to get scared.

Good news for 'Bass'

But you can never be too careful eh? I mean, which scientists to trust, right? SAGE or Oxford? Matt Hancock said the same thing earlier today, but you were sceptical because he's not a scientist?

Seems perfectly legit to me - especially after all the protests of the past year. Just looks like lots of small groups of six people out for an afternoon stroll - no guidnce on how far apart those individual groups of six should be

Lol. It took him 10 minutes to figure out you'd insulted her!

Unless you've had your vaccine which is still, as it's always been, the way out of lockdown! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57134181

That makes more sense as they said it takes four weeks for the data to be 'evaluated'.

Where are you getting your figures from as they are a long way off the ones Whelk posted yesterday? Not sure what your argument is with 'partially vaccinated' as I believe there hasn't been one single death from 'partially vaccinated' people since we started the program. Not only that, but the efficacy of the vaccine is now stated at around 85% from one vaccine (up from the original prediction of 60% before real world studies could be carried out). Further, of the 15% of 'partially vaccinated' people who are still potentially at risk of catching the virus, the effects of it for those that do are 'drastically' reduced due to the anti bodies created by the vaccine. All this information has come from 'scientists'. Since you are obviously way more educated than me (lol) and clearly far more knowledgable, where exactly is the risk to the NHS coming from?

They also seem to want to move the goal posts. When the 'road map' out of lockdown was launched, the steps were very clear with a four week gap between each one. The four weeks were put in place - on the advice of scientists! - so that the effects of each stage / gradual reopening could be monitored effectively to see what effect it has on the number of infections, but more critically, the number of people in hospital. Now, they are trying to say the next step should be cancelled because of 'fears'. Thankfully, Boris doesn't appear to be working on the premise of 'fears' but what is shown in the data - which at the moment is telling us we have very few infections and even fewer hospitalisations, and therefore within the previously set parameters to carry on with the next stage of the road map!

Me, my, mine.

That wouldn't surprise me....

Ah, that makes sense now (you've missed the point once more!). The rest of us were discussing the Government response and the 'potential' to extend lockdown due to the variants - as far as I'm aware, SAGE aren't able to enforce a lockdown, only give scientific advice on which the sitting Government will base its decisions. I would have thought everyone else already understood that SAGE would, by the very nature of their work, dealing with the unknown most of the time, be sitting on the ultra cautious side of the fence when it comes to new variants with little or no data.

I read somewhere that in the 'real' world (i.e now that the vaccine has been rolled out and actual results can be interpreted), the AZ vaccine is 85% effective after one dose, as opposed to the 60% that was theorised based on more limited data sets.

Same question about who you are referring to when you say 'they'....

When you say, 'they', who exactly are you referring to?

Panic and hesitancy driven by lack of knowledge regarding the variant, thus being over cautious and protective?

Newsflash - as per the article I posted yesterday there will be multiple varaints of the virus (mutations) for each and every infection....

Indian variant spreads 50% - 60% faster (on another note, are we allowed to keep referring to the UK, South African, Brazilian & Indian variants, but we're racists that should be hung if we call it the Chinese virus?) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-57119579 Headlines from the article : It (possibly?) spreads a 'smidge' faster than the Kent variant! Sage are worried that at 40% more spreadable, pressure would be put on the NHS 36.2 million first doses of vaccine 19.3 million second doses (all 'vulnerable' people) 50k people currently infected - down from 1.25 million at the start of the year 1000 people in hospital - down from circa 25k(?) in January (but they don't give that figure, so it's a rough estimate based on hospitalisations per 100k people at the time) The much vaunted "herd immunity" was achieved many weeks ago Anyone know how the NHS will become over run with this variant? If it spreads 50% faster than the old one - which spread pretty quickly anyway! - how are people going to be ending up in hospital if all the 'vulnerable' people have had two vaccines and pretty much everyone over 40 has had one? Unless this variant is more 'potent' for those aged 18 - 40 and will put more of them in hospital???

And yet you've failed to reach it

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7095397/ (Selective quotes)

Never have words been written that were more true!!! Literally 'erased' by virtue of them stealing from charities etc etc.