Here we go again

[The Aquila]

I would agree if the restrictions in place were working Jim B. It doesn’t matter which government in which country implements them, other than complete lockdown and isolation, they haven’t really worked because as soon as lifted and we get on with “normal life” it spreads again. Considering the high cases and low death rate globally I would say that Omincron IS less serious than other strains.

I heard yesterday that a village Bar has now decided to close because his wife refuses to have the vaccine and she does the cooking. This is same bar that was complaining when the government imposed the lockdown and they couldn’t open.

She was happy to be tested regularly and, to be honest, was probably more sure of not having the virus than the double / treble vaccinated customers who hardly test unless required.

[wantoosoon]

I believe the measures being put in place are to slow the infection rate down, not to stop the infection. This relieves the pressure on the hospitals and helps people in serious need of treatment having that opportunity.
It's not proven that Omikron is less serious than previous strains, only a statement from a South African representative who is annoyed that flights to the UK were stopped.
The Scientists have made great strides with oral medicines to treat Covid and to my mind it would be stupid to lift restrictions after two years of struggle when they're so close to a solution.

Actually, the available evidence indicates that Omicron is much milder than Delta. Just look at the UK stats and the difference is obvious.

[Jim B]

It's the complacency that kills.

The available evidence I've read suggests the jury is still out.
Your link only refers to "HOPE its a milder variant" which doesn't rally mean anything.
The infection rate is much higher which in turn raises concerns about higher numbers of hospitalisation.

[Dominic]

There is SOME evidence that it is a milder form. That gives me some hope.

[Yioula]

I don’t know if anyone on the forum watched the Royal Institute Christmas Lectures with Jonathan Van-Tam BBC 4 1-3 parts I thought it was exceptionally interesting

[Jim B]

I'm not saying I'm right about Omikron but it does appear the scientific jury is out on its severity and I personally think it's better to be safe than sorry until such time as we know either way.
As Aguila said, people are irresponsible but many people take the measures seriously.

[Kili01]

It has flu like characteristics,and only some people get it ( as with your friends family, Lloyd).
But here in Cyprus it is still putting a number of people into intensive care at the hospitals here. It seems to be a milder disease if caught by fully vaccinated people, but its often the unvaccinated who get it very badly. Also some elderly people. As people are still dying here from Covid... see the health stats here which record relentlessly the number of deaths.

Dee

[Beechwood]

Fingers crossed indeed!

[galexinda]

'I am a retired GP. In the past we all carried on working while suffering from colds and coughs'.

This goes against advice staff were given as far back as 2001-2004 when I was working in UK NHS Hospitals.

Immunologist Dr Jenna Macciochi ...
Macciochi says: “For a long time, I’ve been an advocate against presenteeism, whereby people would still turn up to work with a cold. We have a lot of data showing when people are under the weather, they are not as productive at work. They are also spreading their germs to colleagues and commuters and making other people sick.”

Even if we have tested Covid-negative, she recommends we take one or two days at home, not to work but to rest, recuperate and free up energy for the immune system to do its job.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitn ... nter-2021/

[Dominic]

Yes, it's better to stay away with a cold rather than infect everybody else. It's normally gone in a day or two. I used to hate working in an office where somebody in the next cubicle along would be sneezing and blowing their nose. Obviously, if you get a cold every month, you need to look at your lifestyle choices, but if you only have a sniffle once a year its better to keep it to yourself.

[Firefly]

I first started nursing in the NHS in the 1970s, I asked if I should still go to work if I had a cold. I was told that if I was fit enough to work, then I should turn up for my shift.

I was never sent home if I had a cold, when working on the wards or in A & E.

Times change.

[Dominic]

Best practices get updated. Like washing hands before surgery etc.

[Steve - SJD]

As in the UK, these deaths are not directly attributable to Covid. They simply report deaths of patients who contracted Covid up to one month before death. So if you died of lung cancer or a tumour or heart attack, but also contracted Covid before or after going into hospital, that is written up as a Covid death.

Yes & No - In relation to the UK at least, that very much depends on the numbers and stats that you are looking at.

The daily stats published (Gov.uk) are the ones where death occurred within 28 days of a positive test - whereas the
ONS figures show where Covid was the underlying cause of death, as determined by a doctor or coroner.

The underlying cause of death is what started the eventual path to death and is based on international principles.

Comparing the figures shows that the daily stats are a little higher than the ONS figures but only by a small percentage.

Remembering of course that there will also be deaths not recorded in the daily stats as the patient died in the community
without undergoing a test.

Obviously time is of the essence in managing a pandemic, so the daily stats are the quickest indicator of the mortality
rates, and to be fair they are not far off.

Cheers

Steve

[Steve - SJD]

However we should also take much of the news from Reuters with a pinch of sale, after all its the same Chairman on the boards of Rueters and Pfizer. A conflict of interests possibly.

Not quite - and not new - he's the Chairman of the Thomson Reuters Foundation (London-based charitable arm of Thomson Reuters)
and also a board member of Pfizer since 2014.

Cheers

Steve

[PolemIan]

For those with 15 mins to spare, this gentleman, Dr John Campbell, has a channel on YouTube and is retired NHS teacher, one of the clearest speaking people I’ve come across and explains a lot of the COVID info we see snippets of in the press with commendable clarity.

Well worth 15 to mins to get some insight on the delta / omicron relationship based on the actual science research rather than press reporting.

https://youtu.be/PYLbJ0H8zdc

Ian