SARS CoV-2 coronavirus / Covid-19 (No tin foil hat silliness please)

NYAS said:
What are your thoughts on those headlines we’ve seen this past week about hospitalisations doubling in South Africa? I’m assuming they’re clickbaity to an extent and there’s some big caveat.

Actually, were the source of those reports the same studies we saw that suggested these people were in hospital for other reasons and just happened to test positive for Covid during routine tests?
Click to expand...
A lot of them were positive tests on arrival at hospital for a different reason (it decides which ward you put people on and what PPE the staff wear).

Some were positive tests on people with serious pre-existing conditions (like being on oxygen at home) or on babies - who were taken in on a precautionary basis. The fact they had enough capacity to do anything on a precautionary basis is actually good news!

Then there's the actual new covid cases. They had next to no covid cases in SA in the weeks before Omicron hit, so any covid case represents a rise.

The good news is that the average hospital stay is shorter and that deaths are rarer.

The proviso is that we don't have much news yet on the over 60s or on people who are immune naive (no prior infection and no vaccine). Fingers crossed eh
 
Bosws87 said:
If you read into you will find alot of these hospital cases are people in for other things that happen to find they are omicron positive when in the hospital.

9HfK3zK.jpg
Click to expand...
jojojo said:
A lot of them were positive tests on arrival at hospital for a different reason (it decides which ward you put people on and what PPE the staff wear).

Some were positive tests on people with serious pre-existing conditions (like being on oxygen at home) or on babies - who were taken in on a precautionary basis. The fact they had enough capacity to do anything on a precautionary basis is actually good news!

Then there's the actual new covid cases. They had next to no covid cases in SA in the weeks before Omicron hit, so any covid case represents a rise.

The good news is that the average hospital stay is shorter and that deaths are rarer.

The proviso is that we don't have much news yet on the over 60s or on people who are immune naive (no prior infection and no vaccine). Fingers crossed eh
Click to expand...

Thanks!
 
jojojo said:
My favourite bit was that having advised people to work from home if possible, he then suggested that work parties can go ahead as planned.
Click to expand...
The work from home advice is to reduce transmission during the peak hours for public transport 7:30-9am and 5-6pm. That time when platforms are cramped and carriages are filled with people literally up each other.
 
I got my booster today. Mask wearing is being adhered to on trains. Not in supermarkets but if that changes I don't have a problem.
 
BluesJr said:
Anyone use Twitter spaces? There’s a guy on there who’s been running debates and it’s really enlightening for the general level of ignorance out there in the younger generation.

https://twitter.com/jacobbmc2?s=21
Click to expand...

Damn. That was genuinely bewildering. It's baffling the sheer amount of disinformation that can be absorbed by people in order to simply validate an initial viewpoint, yet the most basic facts on the issue are totally new to them.

Listening to that just makes you realize that there is probably no chance of getting close to natural immunity on vaccines alone, here's hoping these new variants prove less severe.
 
Bosws87 said:
Theres a little difference to an annual jab to getting one every 3 months.
Click to expand...

No one is asking anyone to get one every 3 months. Currently you have to wait 6 months for a booster on average which is probably going to become 9-12 months soon.
 
I have a question.
I'm travelling to the UK on Wednesday (Booked when only double vax was required) and I need to have a negative LFD test in order to gain entry. Is it enough with a home test kit? Do I take the device with me to the airport? I have already booked a Day 2 PCR .
 
Ballache said:
I have a question.
I'm travelling to the UK on Wednesday (Booked when only double vax was required) and I need to have a negative LFD test in order to gain entry. Is it enough with a home test kit? Do I take the device with me to the airport? I have already booked a Day 2 PCR .
Click to expand...

No because in reality what you need is a fit to fly certificate.

You'll need to book a supervised test which then gives you a certificate, which can be verified to say that you took the test & are negative. I flew back from the US yesterday, and all of the verification was done using the verifly app prior to checking in - at the airport they only checked verifly was green rather than checking all the individual documents.
 
Wolverine said:
Its going to be a huge logstical undertaking to get the booster at the levels Boris wants.

GPs and secondary care will have to cancel a lot of routine work or appointments. Army will help, they've told us they're ditching the fifteen minute post-jab observation period that was a bit of a bottle neck in keeping lines going but will be massively challenging. With staff absences during christmas period, I just don't see how one million per day will be hit but let's see.
Click to expand...
There’s nothing Tory voters love more than ”the Army being brought in to help”.
 
Skills said:
No because in reality what you need is a fit to fly certificate.

You'll need to book a supervised test which then gives you a certificate, which can be verified to say that you took the test & are negative. I flew back from the US yesterday, and all of the verification was done using the verifly app prior to checking in - at the airport they only checked verifly was green rather than checking all the individual documents.
Click to expand...

Ah ffs. I though I could just do a home-test one.
 
Skills said:
No because in reality what you need is a fit to fly certificate.

You'll need to book a supervised test which then gives you a certificate, which can be verified to say that you took the test & are negative. I flew back from the US yesterday, and all of the verification was done using the verifly app prior to checking in - at the airport they only checked verifly was green rather than checking all the individual documents.
Click to expand...
The tests needed before coming to the UK don't need to be supervised.
 
Skills said:
Don't they? I thought they all had to be supervised whether virtual or in person.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I meant to say needed but, no (pretty sure) they don’t need to be. I’ve heard of people uploading the same test code for the whole family (which I wouldn’t advocate)
 
Sparky Rhiwabon said:
Sorry, I meant to say needed but, no (pretty sure) they don’t need to be. I’ve heard of people uploading the same test code for the whole family (which I wouldn’t advocate)
Click to expand...

But I'm not sure how you can do that?

I flew back yday from the US, and all the pre departure checks are done by VeriFly. You either upload a test QR code which automatically verifies your name & time/date of test or you upload a PDF copy of your results for a manual check.
 
Skills said:
But I'm not sure how you can do that?

I flew back yday from the US, and all the pre departure checks are done by VeriFly. You either upload a test QR code which automatically verifies your name & time/date of test or you upload a PDF copy of your results for a manual check.
Click to expand...
They’re only done by Verifly if you use Verifly
 
Skills said:
But I'm not sure how you can do that?

I flew back yday from the US, and all the pre departure checks are done by VeriFly. You either upload a test QR code which automatically verifies your name & time/date of test or you upload a PDF copy of your results for a manual check.
Click to expand...
Verifly is a standard that BA and the other transatlantic carriers adopted. It's not standard across Europe.

It depends where @Ballache is traveling from, what he'll be able to get. I know that he can't use a free NHS test kit, but hopefully he's got a locally available option.

Guide is at
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-for-people-travelling-to-england
 
jojojo said:
Verifly is a standard that BA and the other transatlantic carriers adopted. It's not standard across Europe.

It depends where @Ballache is traveling from, what he'll be able to get. I know that he can't use a free NHS test kit, but hopefully he's got a locally available option.

Guide is at
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-for-people-travelling-to-england
Click to expand...

I'm flying from Sweden.
The guide is unclear, says LFD but doesn't specify whether it needs to be supervised or not. I'm hoping to get an answer to this soon but if I don't I'm just going to go for a lab.
 
Pogue Mahone said:


Covid Twitter is an even more weird and divided place than usual right now. Lots of very smart people seeming genuinely cross/disappointed at every bit of good news coming out of South Africa.
Click to expand...

Everybody's too scared to believe it. If the good news bit holds though we're going to be celebrating Omicron arrival by Christmas!

London is expected to be mostly Omicron cases by the middle of this week. Scotland is probably in the same position. The first Omicron cases are now in hospital. So much we don't know but we'll know a lot more next week.

Meanwhile, it is tantalising to dream:

Read the thread though, not just the first tweet as there's some interesting chat in there.
 
Last edited:
Pogue Mahone said:


Covid Twitter is an even more weird and divided place than usual right now. Lots of very smart people seeming genuinely cross/disappointed at every bit of good news coming out of South Africa.
Click to expand...

Is there an argument to be made that Covid becoming irrelevant is bad for the media and twitter experts who would also largely become irrelevant?
 
Got my booster booked for the 29th but I am gonna try walk in on Wednesday. My partner tried booking after the announcement and waited in a queue only to be given 4th Jan, which is already past his date of getting all adults done by December 31st.

There’s just no way they are gonna do 1 million a day.
 
Massive Spanner said:
Is there an argument to be made that Covid becoming irrelevant is bad for the media and twitter experts who would also largely become irrelevant?
Click to expand...
For some, particularly the ones who've become celebrities off the back of campaigns for more restrictions maybe.

For most of the real virus and vaccine scientists though - no. They really are conscious that this is early data and there might be a real sting in the tail as it moves across the age spectrum or attacks people with comorbidities. They don't want to start the party until we know what we're celebrating.

There's also the question of how mild is mild. If deaths are 1:1000 cases and hospitalisations 1:100 - and the infection rate is maintained we're still looking at 10,000 deaths in January and 3000+/day going into hospital. Which will be pretty grim for something that the rest of us will think is mild. If it's a lot lower than that then it's party hats time. If it's higher then we're in full on crisis.

Plus, outside countries like the UK (high vax rates + most unvaxxed have had past infections) and SA (high infection rates + some vaccination in risk groups) Omicron might not look mild at all.
 
jojojo said:
For some, particularly the ones who've become celebrities off the back of campaigns for more restrictions maybe.

For most of the real virus and vaccine scientists though - no. They really are conscious that this is early data and there might be a real sting in the tail as it moves across the age spectrum or attacks people with comorbidities. They don't want to start the party until we know what we're celebrating.

There's also the question of how mild is mild. If deaths are 1:1000 cases and hospitalisations 1:100 - and the infection rate is maintained we're still looking at 10,000 deaths in January and 3000+/day going into hospital. Which will be pretty grim for something that the rest of us will think is mild. If it's a lot lower than that then it's party hats time. If it's higher then we're in full on crisis.

Plus, outside countries like the UK (high vax rates + most unvaxxed have last infections) and SA (high infection rates + some vaccination in trial groups) Omicron might not look mild at all.
Click to expand...
That makes sense. The last sentence is quite concerning too, especially as Covid has generally been hitting us a lot harder in Ireland than the UK recently :nervous:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.