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



These data look very very bad (need to read whole thread). Is covid still gumming up the UK health service?

@jojojo

Multiple layers of problem I think. Ambulance service has lost staff (+ high absences due to Omicron). A&E are picking up the slack because the GP system has been overwhelmed by the COVID backlog. And basically, things are pretty much business as usual elsewhere, so it's all the usual demands (traffic accidents etc) + COVID related calls, A&E visits.

I was with a family member last week who has had recent surgery and who had fallen. Long story short - I was told by the visiting district nurse that, "she needs A&E - blood gushes out when I disturb the dressing," and that an ambulance could take an hour to arrive but I could drive her there myself if I wanted. Call me a wimp - but I was terrified that I would disturb the dressing getting her from wheelchair to car so stuck with the ambulance. As it turned out the wait for the ambulance was only ten minutes - but I'd rather not have had to make that decision.
 
I've read some of the WHO stats. Overall the figures seem plausible but when you look at individual countries it's harder to call. The estimates are based on "excess deaths" but to get those you have to choose an "expected deaths" baseline.

For some countries (including the UK) the baselines look pretty plausible based on the 5 years prior to the pandemic. For others, like Germany, they look more suspect. There's no doubt that there's been massive underreporting in some countries - but I'm not that convinced that WHO's analysis is better than the one produced by the Economist or the FT for example.

The headline graph for example:
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But it all relies on that estimate of "expected deaths" as discussed here:


Incidentally the BBC graphic also ignores the error bars on the WHO data. It's not a League table, just a cautionary tale about reported v actual COVID deaths.
 


I had it at the end of March and was sick enough in bed for three days with a fever and lost sense of smell, along with brain fog. The first few weeks back in work were tough and everything took me longer to do and figure out. I've had to take notes and screenshots in order to follow my train of thought through solving a problem when I never would have before for something similar. It's improving all the time but I'm still not as sharp as I was mentally and am now wondering if I ever will be.
 
I had it at the end of March and was sick enough in bed for three days with a fever and lost sense of smell, along with brain fog. The first few weeks back in work were tough and everything took me longer to do and figure out. I've had to take notes and screenshots in order to follow my train of thought through solving a problem when I never would have before for something similar. It's improving all the time but I'm still not as sharp as I was mentally and am now wondering if I ever will be.

That sounds rough mate. Thankfully you're improving as time goes on and hopefully you'll continue that way and make a full recovery.
 
Man, everything told in this video about the inhumane conditions of the (still undergoing) lockdowns in Shanghai is just heartbreaking. Thanks for the report being as true and raw as possible, Vice News.



Absolutely nonsensical for this to be going on for 38 days now.
 
Started a new job last week, now work in the USA and commute every day (it's hybrid WFH but to start i wanted to go in every day). Finally got COVID after a week after never getting it before and working in person for the past 2 years :lol:

Couldn't make it up. It's likely not actually from work, think I got it from my s.o. But still. Funny. Not fun though.
 
When will the pandemic officially be declared over?
When enough countries will have done a proper job vaccinating enough people. A number of countries are still doing a really poor job at 1) getting people vaccinated and 2) choosing the best vaccines (mRNA are still the best).
 
It really seems to get you at the worst possible time. My other half has just turned up positive today (almost definitely from a karaoke room she went with some work friends), and was meant to be flying to Spain tomorrow and attending a festival there this weekend.

Meanwhile, it's my birthday on Saturday, and I was planning to spend the weekend with a couple of mates in Manchester and had bought tickets for the United Legends game...

Back at the beginning of the year, my grandma in the US was quite poorly, and my dad was planning to visit, but got it literally 2 days before flying, so had to cancel, and she passed away the week after, which hit him really hard.

I'm negative today, but feel it's inevitable that I'll end up positive in the next few days.
 
Tested positive today, can only assume it’s from the pub while watching the match on Saturday, it was very busy and rowdy. Feel trashed. Rough as feck. Bad timing too, just had some compassionate leave from work and have a big backlog I needed to get through, now I’m back off work, shivering in bed.
 
I though mandating vaccines and deplatforming anti vaxxers would usher in communism?
How long do I have to wait?
 
Deaths starting to climb in Australia. Not surprising given it is heading towards winter and regulations have almost disappeared. Mask wearing in public is very low which won't help.

https://www.theguardian.com/austral...tionals-spill-aged-care-health-economy-budget
There's not much evidence that public mask wearing helps with Omicron at all. Though people wearing N95s can get some protection for themselves - especially if they continue wearing them in workplaces, transport and similar long contact situations.

The most disturbing Oz news I've read this week is on flu though:


After a couple of years with very low flu levels, it looks like winter could bring a whole new set of problems. There's still a glimmer of hope though, we may just have got better at spotting/recording flu because of the way testing now works for Covid.
 
There's not much evidence that public mask wearing helps with Omicron at all. Though people wearing N95s can get some protection for themselves - especially if they continue wearing them in workplaces, transport and similar long contact situations.

The most disturbing Oz news I've read this week is on flu though:


After a couple of years with very low flu levels, it looks like winter could bring a whole new set of problems. There's still a glimmer of hope though, we may just have got better at spotting/recording flu because of the way testing now works for Covid.


Yikes. Flu is always a real globe trotter too. Won’t be contained in Aus for long.
 
There's not much evidence that public mask wearing helps with Omicron at all. Though people wearing N95s can get some protection for themselves - especially if they continue wearing them in workplaces, transport and similar long contact situations.

The most disturbing Oz news I've read this week is on flu though:


After a couple of years with very low flu levels, it looks like winter could bring a whole new set of problems. There's still a glimmer of hope though, we may just have got better at spotting/recording flu because of the way testing now works for Covid.


Most states have just made flu vaccine free to try to reduce the flu outbreak.
 
Such a load of shit.

SARS was gonna kill us all. Swine flu and Bird flu was gonna kill us all. Ebola was gonna kill us all. I'm sure it's a serious illness but it's deadliness is amplified 6000% to fill 24 news cycles. No-one will care about this in two weeks.

Replace weeks with years and you were right