Have You Started Attending Concerts?

[Bryn]

. . . If you're bothered by big brother - just wait until you need another box of lateral flow tests (as I found on Friday).

Last Friday, as I left the local Tesco supermarket, an NHS Lateral Flow test kit distribitor effectvely forced 4 boxes of such kits into my hands with offers of more if I wanted them.

[teamsaint]

Last Friday, as I left the local Tesco supermarket, an NHS Lateral Flow test kit distribitor effectvely forced 4 boxes of such kits into my hands with offers of more if I wanted them.

There wan't one to be had on Boots in central London two weeks ago. Must have all gone to Tesco.......

Very odd what happened to you , given the new controls on obtaining the tests.

[Serial_Apologist]

And in Cornwall over 500!

I know we are relying on vaccinations, and there are some who stubbornly spurn them, there does appear to be an increasing number of hospitalisations of people who have been doubly jabbed. There seems slow progress with boosters - its six months this week since my 2nd jab and despite having my flu jab last week - no indication of when and where I’ll receive the booster. The mass centre which did a fantastic job was closed recently just at the time that large numbers would be due their booster. Very strange. Meanwhile I cautiously get on with life whilst many people around seem to think Covid doesn’t exist anymore.

Hopefully this is not useless as a suggestion, but information on how and where to get my booster came courtesy of my regular council tax payment, made online, where other information kindly provided by Southwark Council included a link to the local NHS booking site, which I then used in default of no communication coming from my nearest surgery, who had administered both my main jabs back in January. The booking site offered a list of vaccination sites, including their relative travelling distances from my address here. I selected the nearest one on offer, one mile away, and was immediately informed: an email from the pharmacy in question was literally waiting in my email inbox, offering booking slots, and I was able to book for 11.30 am the very next morning. My regular surgery did not contact me (by email, as previously) for another two days!

I don't know how well your local authority is served, cloughie, but unless you have meanwhile managed to find an alternative means of access, maybe worth giving this a try?

[french frank]

The problem is that the ONS figures show starkly that vaccination really doesn't reduce the numbers getting infected much if at all, compared to the unvaccinated group.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1025358/Vaccine-surveillance-report-week-41.pdf

See table 2 , last two columns.

Table 2: "Interpretation of the case rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated population is particularly susceptible to changes in denominators and should be interpreted with extra caution. " I'd guess your guess is as good as mine on that point (or vice versa).

Our very high numbers of infections currently are enormously skewed towards students in years 7-11. See figure 4.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulat.../15october2021

Because they're largely unvaccinated? And can still transmit. Meanwhile, 852 people died in the 7 days prior to 18 Oct and 5559 were admitted to hospital. If someone gets infected and becomes very ill, it's no comfort for them to be told: "Yes, but not many other people are ill." You read the figures and assess your risk; others must do the same. And if they don't want to attend a concert where there is no mask-wearing or social distancing, so be it.

[teamsaint]

Table 2: "Interpretation of the case rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated population is particularly susceptible to changes in denominators and should be interpreted with extra caution. " I'd guess your guess is as good as mine on that point (or vice versa).




Because they're largely unvaccinated? And can still transmit. Meanwhile, 852 people died in the 7 days prior to 18 Oct and 5559 were admitted to hospital. If someone gets infected and becomes very ill, it's no comfort for them to be told: "Yes, but not many other people are ill." You read the figures and assess your risk; others must do the same. And if they don't want to attend a concert where there is no mask-wearing or social distancing, so be it.

The caveat in table 2 is I think the unknown number of unvaxxed in each age group, which is principally those not registered with a GP. This was the conclusion of a BBC investigation.However large this group is,(and it probably is fairly modest, maybe 10% ?) it is clear that the possibility of being infected is only marginally helped by vaccination, at best.

I don't disagree with your final point, though we perhaps come at it from different positions.

I would also add that most if not all statistics on this should be treated with care, and perhaps used as indicators rather than hard evidence. As regards number of deaths, 450 people each day die of cancer in the UK some of them avoidably, and some because of failures of care during lockdown.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Last Friday, as I left the local Tesco supermarket, an NHS Lateral Flow test kit distribitor effectvely forced 4 boxes of such kits into my hands with offers of more if I wanted them.

Start stockpiling Bryn - I must go into town on market day where they have been pressing them into our willing hands.......

I can't imagine my busy pharmacist (advertising for staff with a poster on the door) looks forward to helping his customers through the maze I was asked to negotiate - so he wouldn't have asked me to do it unless he had to (I've lost the leaflet I picked up about it). I went outside to get a better signal on my mobile. I took it to be a harbinger of:
[

https://www.ft.com › content
UK to phase out free rapid Covid tests by spring, believes ...

“14 Sept 2021 — Innova chief would be 'surprised' if free lateral flow testing was available ….” by the end of Spring 2023, depending... (IIRC) as the cost will be too high.

We're entering a post "I will do anything" Chancellor's policy into austerity MkII, Ritchie style, delivered on a plate with a friendly smile in a eatery ready to be filmed by the obliging media.

I think this is the process I was following - the same as :

https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests

[CallMePaul]

I will be at the Quatuor Danel concert at Manchester University on Friday (unfortunately I cannot get to the Thursday lunchtime freebie). The programme is quartets by Hans Rott (I hope it's up to the quality of his Symphony) and Hugo Wolf (I have heard and enjoyed these previously). I have just done a Day 2 test following a holiday in Greece, which was negative and I have no qualms about attending a concert. Sadly, the University does not market these concerts well, so attendances are poor. Perhaps R3 should be invited to record some of them (there will be a complete Shostakovich cycle in the new year, so this might be a good place to start)?

I went to and greatly enjoyed this concert. The Rott was outstanding - quite different from his Symphony. I am sure that, had he lived longer, we would have seen him as a major composer of the Mahler generation. The quartet played all 3 of Wolf's works for string quartet - the Quartet and Intermezzo were programmed and we got the Italian Serenade as an encore. The next concert in the seies will be on 5 November and I cannot recommend this series too highly to anyone living within travelling distance of Manchester University.

[Bryn]

I went to and greatly enjoyed this concert. The Rott was outstanding - quite different from his Symphony. I am sure that, had he lived longer, we would have seen him as a major composer of the Mahler generation. The quartet played all 3 of Wolf's works for string quartet - the Quartet and Intermezzo were programmed and we got the Italian Serenade as an encore. The next concert in the seies will be on 5 November and I cannot recommend this series too highly to anyone living within travelling distance of Manchester University.

Thanks for that. I will have a listen to:



via QOBUZ.