Coronavirus

[Dave2002]

Oooh...Bryn for Captain Mainwaring and Serial Apologist for Corporal Jones ?

Sergeant Wilson and Private Pike?

Mrs Fox and Mrs Pike - probably best left unfilled.

[Cockney Sparrow]

I wonder if there is enough here for a separate thread - fantasy FoR3 "Dad's army"; fantasy FoR3 football teams / Match of the Day. No doubt a lot of others.
Whilst digression and OT are proud traditions, perhaps this isn't the Topic for a Thread where it would go much further?

[Leinster Lass]

So who's going to be Captain Mainwaring or Lance Corporal Jones?

'Don't tell him, Pyke!'

[Dave2002]

I wonder if there is enough here for a separate thread - fantasy FoR3 "Dad's army"; fantasy FoR3 football teams / Match of the Day. No doubt a lot of others.
Whilst digression and OT are proud traditions, perhaps this isn't the Topic for a Thread where it would go much further?

Sorry - we should stop this diversion, but the gloomy concerns from msg 4738 needed addressing.

Fantasy teams sounds like a fun idea - so go ahead if you want to.

[Simon B]

Didn't Vallance sort-of address this "SA variant escapes neutralisation in a lab experiment with convalescent plasma" thing in passing in his commentary at the most recent TV briefing?

Basic summary: You can't necessarily extrapolate any conclusion about what happens in the real world from a lab expt like this. Reason to be concerned, but anything but conclusive. Something like that?

[I've got no idea at this point: Interpretation of sample data and fairly heavy-duty statistical reasoning and modelling - yes; anything to do with immuno-biology or whatever - no idea.]

Looked at another way, it has recently been demonstrated pretty conclusively in the UK's "Recovery" trials that convalescent plasma packed full of antibodies against the correct strain is no statistically significant use as a treatment in the seriously ill. IIRC for Ebola, convalescent plasma has been determined to be a rather effective treatment... Clearly this stuff is all rather complicated and counterintuitive.

To that extent at least, his point about "You can only determine this stuff from significantly large samples of clinical (i.e. observational) data" appears to stand.


At this stage I'm trying to adopt Sergeant Wilson as a role model - face potential doom with an attitude of laconic philosophical indifference. It's not going very well.


Edit:
Upon rereading, the paper does contain the qualifier:

"Despite neutralization escape, we show here that a significant proportion of non-neutralizing, RBD binding antibodies remain active against 501Y.V2. While antibody effector functions elicited by infection and vaccination have been implicated in protecting from
reinfection and disease [35, 36], the role of non-neutralizing antibodies and the efficacy of T cell responses to 501Y.V2 remain to be elucidated. Ultimately, the correlates of protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 disease remain undetermined and rely upon ongoing large-scale clinical trials."

To the wrong-sort-of-scientific reader, that is the bit that appears to say "While all this is alarming prima facie, nobody knows yet if it follows that the current vaccines are rendered useless, or perhaps relegated to mitigating against severe illness". This does seem to correlate with what Vallance said...

[Serial_Apologist]

Oooh...Bryn for Captain Mainwaring and Serial Apologist for Corporal Jones ?

Stupid boy!

[teamsaint]

Re post # 4737, if this is the government trying not to frighten the natives, it is terrifying to think what it will be like when they are really trying to frighten us.
Yet again, they seem to be presenting figures based on the worst possible scenarios. They were caught out once, and they need to keep the public onside .
I don’t think this is a good approach to achieve public compliance.

I had to make a valid journey up the M3 today . OB very much in evidence, and traffic exceptionally light.

[Nick Armstrong]

OB very much in evidence...

OB...?

[LeMartinPecheur]

OB...?

Old Bill?

ts: in this fraught time I think you could show a little more respect and call them SW, Senior William

[Nick Armstrong]

Old Bill?

ts: in this fraught time I think you could show a little more respect and call them SW, Senior William

Ahhhh!!

[Anastasius]

Reading across everything that's happening, it's people like the one mentioned here in this article that have me alternating between incandescent rage and wanting to weep. To be honest, having already been fined once yet repeating the offence, money is no object for this apology for humanity and who clearly cares not one whit for others. So I propose a double orchiectomy without anaesthesia is a far better penalty and deterrent to others and I, not surprisingly, would like to be at the head of the queue.

[Roslynmuse]

Reading across everything that's happening, it's people like the one mentioned here in this article that have me alternating between incandescent rage and wanting to weep. To be honest, having already been fined once yet repeating the offence, money is no object for this apology for humanity and who clearly cares not one whit for others. So I propose a double orchiectomy without anaesthesia is a far better penalty and deterrent to others and I, not surprisingly, would like to be at the head of the queue.

Presumably to perform the operation rather than be a recipient of it?

[johnb]

I had Any Answers playing in the background this afternoon and heard a Doctor phone in to assert that the interval between the Pfizer jabs should be changed back to 3 weeks.

During her phone call she said that the Pfizer Phase 3 trial showed that there was only 50% efficacy after the first dose. Yes, true - but that rather shows a complete misunderstanding. The 50% covers the whole 3 weeks whereas the efficacy of the vaccine only kicks in after the first two weeks and it 90% from day 15 (if my memory serves me).

She might at least have done her research before phoning into a programme.

[Serial_Apologist]

I had Any Answers playing in the background this afternoon and heard a Doctor phone in to assert that the interval between the Pfizer jabs should be changed back to 3 weeks.

During her phone call she said that the Pfizer Phase 3 trial showed that there was only 50% efficacy after the first dose. Yes, true - but that rather shows a complete misunderstanding. The 50% covers the whole 3 weeks whereas the efficacy of the vaccine only kicks in after the first two weeks and it 90% from day 15 (if my memory serves me).

She might at least have done her research before phoning into a programme.

The "dictatorship of the inarticulate or semi-articulate" applies, apparently, with bumblers hogging the line. Sometimes on these phone-ins even qualifieds don't get a chance to put their point across completely. Or, rightly anticipating being cut off, you put your point across in filletted form, badly.

[Cockney Sparrow]

The "dictatorship of the inarticulate or semi-articulate" applies, apparently, with bumblers hogging the line. Sometimes on these phone-ins even qualifieds don't get a chance to put their point across completely. Or, rightly anticipating being cut off, you put your point across in filletted form, badly.

Yes, anyone putting across a blunt / personal / highly critical opinion is destined to be shuffled off in quick order - the virtual panic can be heard in the presenter's voice as (I presume) the producer is shouting over the earpiece.......

Another device I've noted recently (not that I can muster the interest to tune in every week) is to set - ok, engage - one caller against another - Lahd di Dah,retired usually, captain of industry against some not so sharp person who ends up not disagreeing that much. Fills the air time. I often find the responses depressing - a reflection of the overall views of my fellow voters who are returning those who have power over us - in particular the present lot.