Coronavirus: Unless further setbacks, Covid will be treated like the flu, adviser says

[Paphos Life]

Annual vaccinations against Covid-19 are on the cards for the elderly, vulnerable and immunosuppressed as part of the return to normality, epidemiologist Michalis Voniatis said on Tuesday. ...

Read the article and chat about it below...

[trevnhil]

And let's hope that those of us eligible for a 'yearly vaccination' are well informed as to where and when we can receive it

[galexinda]

Makes sense for those who choose to have an annual vaccination, particularly from October onwards to cover the winter months.
It will be interesting to see if it is a stand alone vaccine or combined with the annual flu jab (by that I mean one injection for both).

[Beechwood]

Flew over on Sunday with Jet2 and it wasn’t a requirement to wear a mask onboard, only a recommendation.

[Dominic]

Nothing to do with "mask theatre". If you drive a car and have your seatbelt on for 80% of the time, it is safer than if you didn't have it on at all. The risk on a plane is not just from people sat next to you. People walk up and down the aisle throughout the flight.

[ast]

Last week I travelled from Paphos to London, I sat in row 2 in the window seat with no one in the middle and a lady whom never spoke once and wore a mask for the duration of the flight in the isle seat, in the front Row (1) there was no one seated at all and behind me Row (3) was one man sat in the isle seat. I wore my mask for 95% of the flight other than to have a drink and i would say the plane was 40% occupied most sat in the middle or the back.

Three days after the flight i received an alert from NHS track and trace telling me someone whom had sat near me on the flight had tested positive so I needed to test myself for 10 days, I am fully vaccinated so no need to isolate. i did so and no symptoms or positive tests.

Goes to show its still out there and also the track and trace / passenger locator info works.

[Steve - SJD]

So the latest decision of the Cabinet is that... pretty much all existing measures in place until end of the month.

Cheers

Steve

[Dominic]

This has been known since the outset. It is no major revelation. The whole point of the vaccine was to lower the effects of the virus, so that when people got it it didn’t knock them for six.

That was also the whole point of social distancing, to slow the spread and keep the hospitals functioning. That was also the point of the safe pass.

I think I posted (or somebody did) an explanatory video containing a lot of marbles and a big funnel. The crux was that while the funnel slowed the process, all the marbles still had to pass through it.

The major change recently is that some people have stopped giving a shit about the vulnerable, as can be seen in the death rate.

[galexinda]

The major change recently is that some people have stopped giving a shit about the vulnerable, as can be seen in the death rate.

Yet more don't care about anyone else anyway and still do not understand that their behaviour does affect other people.

[Dominic]

The UK has basically stopped caring about the frail, the immuno-suppressed and the vulnerable. It isn't anything to be proud about.

And as to wrapping yourself in cotten wool, that is an absurd notion. Personally, I would steer clear of any Doctor dumb enough to go to a party with at least 500 other guests at the moment. Social distancing is not a great hardship, it just requires a bit of common sense and an acceptance and understanding that there are people out there more vulnerable than you who are still at risk.

[galexinda]

Covid-19: Is the UK heading for another omicron wave?

The latest figures from NHS Test and Trace show that in England a total of 323 032 people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between 3 and 9 March 2022, an increase of 55.5% from the previous week.

https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o738

[Dominic]

It is everywhere in the UK at the moment. The notion of waves no longer applies really.

[Dominic]

Full steam ahead and bugger the vulnerable. Marvelous.

The expression "I'm all right, Jack" springs to mind. While it is true that life has to return to normal. The rate at which normality is reached is surely up for debate. The UK Way is to throw the vulnerable under a bus.

[Dominic]

Who says it is not up for debate? What do you think we are doing now. If your in laws should die, how would you or your partner feel then? Just shrug your shoulders and think “Oh well”. The many are forcing the few to have COVID. That may not bother you, but it bothers me.

[galexinda]

Full steam ahead and bugger the vulnerable. Marvelous.

The expression "I'm all right, Jack" springs to mind. While it is true that life has to return to normal. The rate at which normality is reached is surely up for debate. The UK Way is to throw the vulnerable under a bus.

It’s not a case of throwing the vulnerable under the bus, far from it. Both of my In laws 77 and 89 currently have covid in U.K. but the world can’t continually be on hold. The vulnerable need to take steps to protect themselves whilst the rest of society return to normality.
Unfortunately the rate at which we return to normality isn’t up for debate, economically and social health mean it needs to be soon

I agree the vulnerable need to take steps to protect themselves, but surely everyone should also take steps to protect them and each other. And that is what has been lacking - people thinking their individual needs are more important than overcoming this pandemic as a unified body of individuals.

[Firefly]

No-one has yet addressed the damage to the mental health of people from the lockdown experience, people who are not classed as medically vulnerable.

Yes we have vulnerable people in society, but that's nothing new. We haven't been wearing masks, using sanitizers, or have social distancing in the past to protect them from illness, such as flu. The majority of people in the UK just want life back to normal, as hard as it is, it doesn't follow that life can change for the benefit of the minority. The Covid vaccine was given to the elderly and medically vulnerable first, that was of course the right thing to do, but now we have all been offered our three jabs, it's time to move on.

Those who chose not to have the vaccine, must take their chances. Those who cannot have the vaccine for medical reasons, should take care to protect themselves, or those who care for them must.

Personally I can't see any other way forward.

[Dominic]

Why on Earth would their neighbours stay in?

As to demographics, I am more concerned about my father, who is over 80, and my sister and neice, who have knackered immune systems.

[Dominic]

So you would be ok with them dying then, because it would be for the greater good?

Young people have older relatives, and care about them.

I'm not talking about keeping social distancing in perpetuity, but the UK approach is too much, too soon.

[Yioula]

It’s very active in the U.K. numerous friends and relatives have it, it’s hit some of the older friends hard and they are active and exceptionally fit for their age but they were saying that more people had starting to wear masks in the supermarkets in the last 10 days

[Steve - SJD]

We went to Limassol yesterday for a meal with sister and hubby who are visiting from the UK. After the meal we walked around the Old Castle tourist area and then afterwards, the whole of the new marina.

No-one, but no-one, was wearing masks. Life was normal.

Probably why there is currently a higher infection rate in Limassol.

Much of the rest of the world has moved on, while Cyprus has got stuck in this bizarre time-warp and with it on this forum certain pseudo-virtuous defenders of an outdated ideology.

No two countries are the same so not sure comparing Cyprus, which is currently experiencing its highest number of covid deaths since this started, with what's happening elsewhere is applicable.

It's certainly not outdated to base relaxations on the data not populism or simply because people are fed up with it now.

Wanting slow and steady progress is not the same as wanting no progress or just wanting to remove all restrictions because others are.

"pseudo-virtuous defenders" did you just make that up?

And when there is widespread flouting of laws, it's time to look at them again to see if they make sense.

Let's bring back smoking in bars & restaurants then, after all those who are clinically vulnerable to smoke, will simply have to
continue to wear masks or stay at home.

That said - perhaps it's best not to drop laws on the basis that they are flouted by many in Cyprus - or is it just some laws


Cheers

Steve