Coronavirus

[kernelbogey]

A friend has sent me this link. Pehaps it belongs on the USA thread, but anyway:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13724670/trump-secret-intelligence-wuhan-lab-coronavirus/

The Sun reporting that - in the closing days of the Trump presidency - the US might declassify its secret evidence that Coronavirus originated in the Wuhan laboratory.

[Cockney Sparrow]

A friend has sent me this link. Pehaps it belongs on the USA thread, but anyway:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13724670/trump-secret-intelligence-wuhan-lab-coronavirus/

The Sun reporting that - in the closing days of the Trump presidency - the US might declassify its secret evidence that Coronavirus originated in the Wuhan laboratory.

I appreciate the additional comment. I am reluctant to link into the Sun (Daily Mail/ Express etc) website.

[kernelbogey]

I appreciate the additional comment. I am reluctant to link into the Sun (Daily Mail/ Express etc) website.

Totally sympathetic - a first for me in a long time. At least I blocked all the cookies I could!

[Anastasius]

So which one of Shapp's mates rang him up and said "Listen Grant, old mate. We're having such a cracking time here in Verbier. Can you delay the change to UK admission testing for a few days, old boy ?"

And lastly "Dear Prime Minister....for once in your miserable life, actually do something in a timely fashion. While the scientists are evaluating how much a threat the Brazilian variant is then block all incoming travellers from South America. It's not rocket science. End of. Get off the pot. JFDI." I knew that I detested Corbyn but BoJo is coming up fast on the inside track.

[Serial_Apologist]

So which one of Shapp's mates rang him up and said "Listen Grant, old mate. We're having such a cracking time here in Verbier. Can you delay the change to UK admission testing for a few days, old boy ?"

And lastly "Dear Prime Minister....for once in your miserable life, actually do something in a timely fashion. While the scientists are evaluating how much a threat the Brazilian variant is then block all incoming travellers from South America. It's not rocket science. End of. Get off the pot. JFDI." I knew that I detested Corbyn but BoJo is coming up fast on the inside track.

Well bully for you then! But first please, explain what Jeremy Corbyn has got to do with any of this??

[Leinster Lass]

Well bully for you then! But first please, explain what Jeremy Corbyn has got to do with any of this??

A useful benchmark against which one can define the depth or intensity of one's (low) opinion of somebody else, perhaps?

[Bryn]

A useful benchmark against which one can define the depth or intensity of one's (low) opinion of somebody else, perhaps?

Not if one's own benchmark is the very opposite of that of some of those you are seeking to communicate with.

From the early days of the pandemic: https://news.sky.com/story/coronavir...id-19-11958076

[Bryn]

A friend in Deal, well into his 80s is still waiting to hear of a vaccination opportunity. He had been advised that when it eventually becomes available to him, he will most likely have to get it in either Dover or Ashford, both involving significant journeys to high infection areas for him. This despite there being a suitable small hospital in Deal. Great organisation, what?

[teamsaint]

Interesting article from Stanford about the effects of lockdown and business closures.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/eci.13484

If their conclusions are correct, we should be asking serious questions of our politicians about the continued policy of lockdown.

[Flay]

Not sure if Tim Harford's other series has been mentioned here before. I've finished my shelf painting but when I was listening at length to "Sounds" I thought this episode was particularly interesting - in that vaccination doesn't provide a simple return to 2019 freedoms :

How to Vaccinate the World - Larry Brilliant
Epidemiologists don’t often hang out with rock stars, and not many of them can say they’ve played a part in eradicating a disease as deadly as smallpox. But Larry Brilliant isn’t your run of the mill public health official. He’s been warning about the dangers of a pandemic for years, and now that one is upon us, Tim Harford sat down to talk with him about how the world has handled the pandemic of 2020 and what we can hope for in 2021.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000qz3p

Excellent programme

I think the next episode should be compulsory listening. The sensible rationale for delaying the 2nd dose is clearly explained:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000r605

[oddoneout]

A friend in Deal, well into his 80s is still waiting to hear of a vaccination opportunity. He had been advised that when it eventually becomes available to him, he will most likely have to get it in either Dover or Ashford, both involving significant journeys to high infection areas for him. This despite there being a suitable small hospital in Deal. Great organisation, what?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/14/outrage-as-people-in-coventry-asked-to-travel-100-miles-for-covid-jab

Re-run of the testing fiasco last year?

[DracoM]

Had my first on Sat 9th Jan.
................so, estimating from public NHS etc communications, that means 2nd jab in about March?

[Dave2002]

Interesting article from Stanford about the effects of lockdown and business closures.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/eci.13484

If their conclusions are correct, we should be asking serious questions of our politicians about the continued policy of lockdown.

The article does appear to show that lockdowns are effective - though queries whether these should be hard or soft.

There are indeed many questions, but it may not be a good idea to follow Brazil's example. Pretending there isn't a problem clearly hasn't worked in any country.

[Dave2002]

Had my first on Sat 9th Jan.
................so, estimating from public NHS etc communications, that means 2nd jab in about March?

Earlyish April if it goes the full 12 weeks, which is the new recommendation, though this may depend on individual factors and local variants.

[teamsaint]

The article does appear to show that lockdowns are effective - though queries whether these should be hard or soft.

There are indeed many questions, but it may not be a good idea to follow Brazil's example. Pretending there isn't a problem clearly hasn't worked in any country.

The way I read it was that NPIs do work, but that there is little evidence that the most harsh, stay at home orders and business closures, actually have any significant benefit in reducing cases.


While small benefits cannot be excluded, we do not find significant benefits on case growth of more restrictive NPIs. Similar reductions in case growth may be achievable with less restrictive interventions.

This does tally with , for example, the ( admittedly moderate confidence level) findings of Sage in September that for example, retail environments are low risk.