Weston Super Saint

I imagine the ECB panel members who are looking into historic social media atrocities probably aren't up to date enough to have their own social media accounts. Might need to have a look in their 'desk diaries' instead.

Who will the virus 'take hold' of that will mean they end up risking the NHS?

Absolutely! According to Michael Vaughn : Because I'm sure Michael is spot on, only now will he realise, educate himself and become a better person for it, there's no way he could possibly have done that over the last 8 or 9 years when he was growing up and couldn't possibly have figured out that what he posted in 2012 was stupid without someone pointing it out to him 9 years later! Thank heavens they've managed to catch it just in time!

According to Professor Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epedemiology at King's College, we were seeing the effects of herd immunity in April... https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/is-the-uk-close-to-herd-immunity

Starmer could be playing an absolute blinder as surely he has access to the information that says how many people in hospital have / haven't been vaccinated. Pretty simple task to use that info to his advantage, hard to think of a reason why isn't doing so.

Herd immunity is not 'all or nothing' it is a gradual process. It can be achieved when more than 50% of a population is immune to a virus (through previous infection or vaccination), however, even with mumps and measles where we have incredibly high vaccination numbers we still see 'outbreaks' from time to time in those that haven't been vaccinated. It's an American website but the principles are the same : https://www.jhsph.edu/covid-19/articles/achieving-herd-immunity-with-covid19.html

If 76.2% (40 million) of adult population has had vaccination, then 23.8% of the adult population (roughly 15 million people) HASN'T had the vaccination. The variant isn't "getting past" the vaccine and with only 31,395 infections in the last 7 days it is pretty clear that the only people who are being infected are those that haven't yet had the vaccination. Given that ALL vulnerable people were first in the queue for their jab, those that are currently being infected aren't vulnerable - i.e. they are young, fit and healthy and much less likely to suffer severe symptoms. This is highlighted in the fact that only 869 people have been hospitalised in the past 7 days and 61 have died. All figures available here There is an article that asks the question of whether we will need a third vaccine here which is quite long, however, one quote from Professor Brown that is hidden within it is quite poignant and he's saying what we have guessed at for a while now, but there have oddly been no figures released to confim it (Hancock said something similar a week or two ago) :

We reached 'critical mass' (herd immunity) about a month ago. 76.2% of the adult population have had one vaccination and 51.6% have had two.

Make your mind up! You've gone from the 'little bits' that people can't do, to (I think) recognising that WHOLE INDUSTRIES are still shut down / severely impacted by the lockdown regulations! The point is, which I think you understand, that whilst you and I and many others aren't really inconvenienced by the current regulations, hundreds of thousands of people are still massively impacted - over 750,00 in the "night time industry" alone.

Hospitality Outside Catering Pilots Airline staff Airport staff Cruise ship workers Travel Agents Wedding venues Hotels Night Clubs Night Club security Breweries Distribution networks - for food, catering, alcohol Nightlife ancillaries - e.g takeaways, taxis and associated distribution networks / suppliers Farmers Farm workers Farm distribution networks I could go on but hopefully this indicates that it is not just a few people in hospitality that are being affected by the current restrictions limiting the business opportunities, income and job opportunities. All those listed above are currently having their livelihoods affected in some way. Whilst you personally may not be affected at the moment (similarly, nor am I or my family), it's disingenous to dismiss out of hand that a lot of people are still genuinely being affected by the lockdown restrictions still in place.

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating. This war of words and increased rhetoric has nothing to do with the NHS being overwhelmed this time around. The 20 - 30 year old age group is the biggest in terms of anti vaxxers. The closer we get to that group being vaccinated, the louder the calls for extending lockdown have become - and let's face it the only parts still left to open fully are night clubs, music venues and social distancing in pubs / no masks. The blackmail has been pretty obvious for a number of months now, if the 'youth' want to go and enjoy themselves, they must have their vaccine first. I don't think the lockdown will be extended but I'm assuming the rhtetoric will 'encourage' more of that age group to have their jab....

No need to worry. No more countries added to the green list and Portugal taken off it so no other choice but to holiday in the UK, which means all the money spent will go back to the treasury.

Bloody companies 'profiteering' from the pandemic. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57336030

It's almost as if the data is telling us that the vaccine is working 😲

Or because it's a shit hole (and the Glaswegians who normally go there aren't allowed out to play).

Same old bollocks being peddled about delaying the end of lockdown. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57313399 Yep, we get it, less restrictions means the number of cases will rise. Inevitably this will also lead to a rise in hospitalisations. Interestingly the article on the BBC doesn't mention deaths at all so it's safe to assume they aren't rising. They also don't mention whether those in hospital are people who are eligible for the vaccine but haven't had it, I'm working on the assumption that the majority of them fit that criteria as there would be no reason not to report it if they weren't...

What's an 'ingle mother'?

Accordign to the BMJ the chance of ending up in hospital after vaccination (and they don't mention whether it is one or two jabs), is 'tiny' https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1127 They also point out that those that are dying after vaccination - and let's be honest, it will never be 100% effective and people will still die, just like they do each year from 'flu, despite having the 'flu jab! - are those in the highest risk categories due to age / frailty.

Nope. Getting some popcorn for the arrival of MLG

Pretty sure they only have wings.

It almost sounds like you are accusing the Catholic church of being corrupt and not having any morals 😲

Now he doesn't have to pay for the previous two divorces because this is his first marriage. Very convenient

indeed. Seems to suggest that the Government's purchasing guidelines are inept and not fit for purpose, especially when equipment is needed quickly. Most of the article suggests we won't be getting refunds because we actually got what we ordered - can't really blame the companies involved for supplying what they were asked to, except for the suggested profiteering (although that may be standard practice for Gov't contracts?).

How did we get here? The original post from Rallyboy stated that the money was going to 'friends of ministers'. Although now we've moved on to a completely different subject, I agree that the built in channels should have been used (assuming they are fit for purpose for use in emergency purchasing situations).

Did you read the article you linked to? In it, it states : BA's website lists the missing 6 destinations : BA's website