Paphos residents have been cheered by the results of coronavirus testing among the community which showed only four positive cases from a total sample of 707, philenews reports....
Read the article and chat about it below...
Paphos cheered by high number of negative Covid-19 results
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Paphos Life
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Re: Paphos cheered by high number of negative Covid-19 results
Not sure it's such good news, we need people infected, but assympomatic, or with few symptoms to create herd immunity.
Essential when restrictions are lifted, otherwise reinfection is highly probable.
Essential when restrictions are lifted, otherwise reinfection is highly probable.
Re: Paphos cheered by high number of negative Covid-19 results
I thought the 'Herd Immunity ' idea had well and truly been thrown out... I suppose it is OK as long as you are not one of the 'herd' and especially if you are not one of the 'dead herd' 
...
Include me out..
...Include me out..
Trev..
Re: Paphos cheered by high number of negative Covid-19 results
The results of the testing are very encouraging but its a pity that only 707 of the targeted 1000 people actually turned up, as they were supposed to have all been tested.
I thought that the experiment with this so called ‘herd immunity’ theory in the UK failed dismally.
Dee
I thought that the experiment with this so called ‘herd immunity’ theory in the UK failed dismally.
Dee
Re: Paphos cheered by high number of negative Covid-19 results
The Herd immunity thing is an example of how science and the media don't necessarily mix, especially if the media treats scientists like they treat politicians.
Science is complicated. When you have to explain complicated stuff to non-scientists it gets simplified. When things are simplified, they are less accurate. The aim is not that you understand the intricate details, but that you get the overall picture.
An example I have already used is photosynthesis. In O level biology we get taught this subject. In A level biology we also get taught it, but we learn that a lot of the stuff in O level biology was actually wrong. And when you do it at degree level you learn once again that A level biology was wrong.
Now, what an O level student knows about photosynthesis is fine - a knowledge that plants need light, and that it produces energy which they can use later. However, if they start picking at the information wanting to know more, then they will find flaws. The solution is to study A level biology, and then go through the same process. If they are THAT bothered they end up doing a degree in the life sciences.
What students shouldn't do, when presented with simplified data, is shriek and wail and call for the teachers to be sacked because they clearly don't know what they are talking about.
The term "herd immunity", like photosynthesis, will mean different things to the scientists than it does to the journalists. I studied a bit of virology at degree level. I didn't enjoy it, and it was complicated. I have no wish to bone up on the minutiae of what the scientists actually mean, but I am happy for them to advise the rest of us.
There is a danger though, that too little exposure within a population is bad. No country can isolate itself from the rest of the world forever. And besides, social distancing itself is about slowing down the rate of transmission, rather than eradicating it completely. The aim is not to overload the health services, rather than achieve the impossible dream and eradicate the virus completely.
That's my take on it, anyway.
Science is complicated. When you have to explain complicated stuff to non-scientists it gets simplified. When things are simplified, they are less accurate. The aim is not that you understand the intricate details, but that you get the overall picture.
An example I have already used is photosynthesis. In O level biology we get taught this subject. In A level biology we also get taught it, but we learn that a lot of the stuff in O level biology was actually wrong. And when you do it at degree level you learn once again that A level biology was wrong.
Now, what an O level student knows about photosynthesis is fine - a knowledge that plants need light, and that it produces energy which they can use later. However, if they start picking at the information wanting to know more, then they will find flaws. The solution is to study A level biology, and then go through the same process. If they are THAT bothered they end up doing a degree in the life sciences.
What students shouldn't do, when presented with simplified data, is shriek and wail and call for the teachers to be sacked because they clearly don't know what they are talking about.
The term "herd immunity", like photosynthesis, will mean different things to the scientists than it does to the journalists. I studied a bit of virology at degree level. I didn't enjoy it, and it was complicated. I have no wish to bone up on the minutiae of what the scientists actually mean, but I am happy for them to advise the rest of us.
There is a danger though, that too little exposure within a population is bad. No country can isolate itself from the rest of the world forever. And besides, social distancing itself is about slowing down the rate of transmission, rather than eradicating it completely. The aim is not to overload the health services, rather than achieve the impossible dream and eradicate the virus completely.
That's my take on it, anyway.
Web Designer / Developer. Currently working on Paphos Life.
Living in Polemi, Cyprus with my wife and daughter.
Living in Polemi, Cyprus with my wife and daughter.
Re: Paphos cheered by high number of negative Covid-19 results
That's the conundrum isn't it ? It this virus doesn't die off then we are faced with a them and us society going forward. Those that have had the virus and wear a bracelet who can get travel insurance and travel again , go back to work etc and those that haven't and can't and worse those over 65 who are in any kind of rolling wave of resurgence of the virus are locked up again until a vaccine is found sometime in 2021 which also has to be cheap enough to allow mass vaccination paid for by the State.
Just on the Paphos figures " only " 4 positive cases found in the 730 tested . If this was an accurate cross section of people living in Paphos as they claim and therefore not people with close links to any hospital ( which seems to be the source of most cases in Cyprus) wouldn't that mean that if the population of Paphos is say 100,000 then in every 1000 of population there are therefore 4 others wandering about with it ?
Cheers
Mike
Just on the Paphos figures " only " 4 positive cases found in the 730 tested . If this was an accurate cross section of people living in Paphos as they claim and therefore not people with close links to any hospital ( which seems to be the source of most cases in Cyprus) wouldn't that mean that if the population of Paphos is say 100,000 then in every 1000 of population there are therefore 4 others wandering about with it ?
Cheers
Mike
Re: Paphos cheered by high number of negative Covid-19 results
Herd Immunity is bunkum without Vaccination. In this situation, it’s about sacrificing some for the many. The problem is that this virus is complex. Latest results show that the Antibody testing which has been shown to be inconclusive, isn’t down to the test necessarily. They have found that people end up with different levels of antibodies and some who dont show them even after prolonged time. That means that humans aren’t necessarily building immunity. We cant prove that yet. Some people have had covid, been tested to prove it and it has re-occurred - but it might simply be that the original situation has carried on longer than thought. There’s far too many factors at play at this time.
There is a huge scientific group in the UK and overseas, who disagree completely with the herd immunity in this situation. It has been used by the UK to simply put economics before medicine. It is still in place. The lockdown is a part of it, but we have a partial lockdown. I.e. all ports of entry open with ZERO checks. Most construction in England still going on. Many places still working. The theory behind this, from the governments viewpoint, is that most of us have to get it and we may as well get it fairly soon to get back to work... as the younger ones will likely het no or mild symptoms. Those at risk remain in isolation.
The problem is that the herd immunity part cannot work, if there isn’t a vaccine or if people aren’t developing enough antibodies to allow testing and eventually to have their own immunity. Boris took the decision with Cummings, from data provided by Neil Ferguson and his team. He has deliberately not tried to get sufficient PPE. (IMO) He had data from a Pendemic exercise completed 3 years ago, that identified ventilator and PPE shortage, yet did nothing in January and February to address it. He has been totally incompetent and in my opinion, criminally negligent.
There is a huge scientific group in the UK and overseas, who disagree completely with the herd immunity in this situation. It has been used by the UK to simply put economics before medicine. It is still in place. The lockdown is a part of it, but we have a partial lockdown. I.e. all ports of entry open with ZERO checks. Most construction in England still going on. Many places still working. The theory behind this, from the governments viewpoint, is that most of us have to get it and we may as well get it fairly soon to get back to work... as the younger ones will likely het no or mild symptoms. Those at risk remain in isolation.
The problem is that the herd immunity part cannot work, if there isn’t a vaccine or if people aren’t developing enough antibodies to allow testing and eventually to have their own immunity. Boris took the decision with Cummings, from data provided by Neil Ferguson and his team. He has deliberately not tried to get sufficient PPE. (IMO) He had data from a Pendemic exercise completed 3 years ago, that identified ventilator and PPE shortage, yet did nothing in January and February to address it. He has been totally incompetent and in my opinion, criminally negligent.
