COVID-19 (Coronavirus) discussion

[CapitalOne]

That's no real surprise - the government assumed that there would only be one short lockdown so the funding / furlough etc were too generous and the rules accordingly strict - then when it became clear there would be further lockdowns they couldn't wind back all the funding hence the ruinous cost.

Probably true, if only Sunak had backed up his whatsapp messages we’d know for sure.

Given the public are refusing to pay the credit card bill and given the continuing after effects of lockdown I suspect any further pandemics will see a much less expensive response..

You are also the “public”. Who is refusing to pay and how? Utter nonsense so you can keep the flippant narrative going because “you are right”.

Pandemic responses should absolutely focus primarily on the public health impacts of that pandemic, otherwise it’s hardly what anyone would expect when you say “pandemic response”. I know that head in sand is technically a “pandemic response” but to call it that is just disingenuous.

 

[Rroff]

The interventions should have focussed on the vulnerable only.

Which in a country like the UK is simply unworkable... but I shouldn't need to tell you that.

EDIT: It is amusing people still come out with that clueless garbage, many key industries like retail, distribution, etc. have a high ratio of employees who are carers, still living with their parents, etc. etc. there is no feasible way to make both sides of that equation work which wouldn't be more complex and costly than the lockdowns.

 

[Ayahuasca]

I like how n111ck ignored all of the well thought out responses to what was essentially "just flu but weaker bro" comment.

 

[Hagar]

I cannot wait for all the with hindsight criticism of the covid response. From memory nobody put forward coherent alternatives, there were a few missteps, eat out to help out the major one in my view but the catering and hospitality industries were calling out for help.

No country in the world got this right unless they cut themselves off from the rest of the world like New Zealand and many would say that was not right either. The economic damage was huge.

The UK is not an outlier here.

 

[n111ck]

I like how n111ck ignored all of the well thought out responses to what was essentially "just flu but weaker bro" comment.

Which well thought out responses would they be?

The one where someone suggested the flu vaccines weren't good last year? They later corrected themself that they were.

Or the comment where someone pointed out that flu is seasonal? Not exactly new info and doesn't detract from the fact that flu was involved with killing more people than covid last winter.

 

[n111ck]

Which in a country like the UK is simply unworkable... but I shouldn't need to tell you that.

EDIT: It is amusing people still come out with that clueless garbage, many key industries like retail, distribution, etc. have a high ratio of employees who are carers, still living with their parents, etc. etc. there is no feasible way to make both sides of that equation work which wouldn't be more complex and costly than the lockdowns.

Its great that you are still supporting Boris, Matt and co and their policy decisions all this time later but locking down the whole country, trashing the economy, massively increasing wait lists, ruining kids education etc is not something that history will look back on favourably.

The focus should be on the vulnerable and not projecting minority scenarios on the whole population.

 

[Allnamestaken]

I like how n111ck ignored all of the well thought out responses to what was essentially "just flu but weaker bro" comment.

It’s what he always does. He’s just Roar but exclusively focused on British politics lol.

 

[Rroff]

Its great that you are still supporting Boris, Matt and co and their policy decisions all this time later but locking down the whole country, trashing the economy, massively increasing wait lists, ruining kids education etc is not something that history will look back on favourably.

The focus should be on the vulnerable and not projecting minority scenarios on the whole population.

So not answering the question, purposefully ignoring all the times I was not in support of the governments approach... the issue is not a minority scenario you'd have to be entirely and intentionally clueless to suggest that.

and doesn't detract from the fact that flu was involved with killing more people than covid last winter.

Which is somewhat meaningless when the majority of flu cases were within a seasonal window where the window for the counted numbers happened this time to fall mostly during a relative dip in COVID cases and COVID cases/deaths throughout the year overall are much higher:

UKHSA data dashboard

Showing public health data across England

ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk

 

[n111ck]

So not answering the question, purposefully ignoring all the times I was not in support of the governments approach... the issue is not a minority scenario you'd have to be entirely and intentionally clueless to suggest that.

Are you suggesting that the majority of households in the UK contain one or more vulnerable people where shielding would be impossible because reasons?

 

[n111ck]

So not answering the question, purposefully ignoring all the times I was not in support of the governments approach... the issue is not a minority scenario you'd have to be entirely and intentionally clueless to suggest that.



Which is somewhat meaningless when the majority of flu cases were within a seasonal window where the window for the counted numbers happened this time to fall mostly during a relative dip in COVID cases and COVID cases/deaths throughout the year overall are much higher:

UKHSA data dashboard

Showing public health data across England

ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk

Why are you downplaying the potential seriousness of flu? Is this like top trumps to you or something?

Personally I'd still rather get covid than flu..

 

[RxR]

I'd rather get the flu than COVID - survival chances are better.

 

[Rroff]

Are you suggesting that the majority of households in the UK contain one or more vulnerable people where shielding would be impossible because reasons?

I'm saying that many of the key industries tend to employ a large percentage of people either caring for or from households involving vulnerable people - the nature of those kind of jobs tend to be a good fit. Food retail for instance you get many people who work part time while living with, often caring for, an elderly parent(s) or relative, younger people still living in multi-generational households and so on. Same for many of the warehouse staff in distribution where I work. There is no way those people can exist in an environment where most people are trying to carry on as usual while not being a direct vector back to many of the most vulnerable and those industries can't continue without those people.

 

[Rroff]

Why are you downplaying the potential seriousness of flu? Is this like top trumps to you or something?

Personally I'd still rather get covid than flu..

Where am I downplaying flu?

 

[Freefaller]

How many more would have died without the lock down? I suspect tens of thousands, maybe even 6 figures.

No one knows. Conjecture and speculation helps no-one. It's just as feasible that there would have been no more deaths.

We didn't run this as an experiment with a control. The population is so broad and varied that everyone is different, so even a control wouldn't have helped that much.

I'm still skeptical on the roll out of the vaccine and we know the MHRA did rush it through and skipped some of validation processes.

Lockdowns of course work if they are applied unilaterally. However, who is going to keep the powerstations going? Investigate crimes? Keep trains running? Keep food on the shelves? Clean the water? Collect the bins? Maintain infrastructure? Man A&E and medical centres? IF EVERYONE stayed at home for 2 weeks or so then sure, but reality is not like that.

 

[Noxia]

I'm on round 2. Caught it exactly the same date last year at the very same work event lol.
Sudafed working wonders. I had the initial Vax and the first booster but not had any since and probably wont.

 

[RxR]

It would be nice to think COVID can't mutate again into a more virulent (and fatal) strain.

 

[n111ck]

I'm saying that many of the key industries tend to employ a large percentage of people either caring for or from households involving vulnerable people - the nature of those kind of jobs tend to be a good fit. Food retail for instance you get many people who work part time while living with, often caring for, an elderly parent(s) or relative, younger people still living in multi-generational households and so on. Same for many of the warehouse staff in distribution where I work. There is no way those people can exist in an environment where most people are trying to carry on as usual while not being a direct vector back to many of the most vulnerable and those industries can't continue without those people.

None of those industries were shut down though so what's your point?

 

[n111ck]

I'd rather get the flu than COVID - survival chances are better.

Maybe as you are vulnerable but I'd take a 2 day sore throat over being bed ridden for a week...

 

[Rroff]

None of those industries were shut down though so what's your point?

None of those industries had to exist in an environment where everyone else was trying to carry on as normal at the peak of the pandemic - so what is your point?

Maybe as you are vulnerable but I'd take a 2 day sore throat over being bed ridden for a week...

Far more people have had COVID worse than a 2 day sore throat, but you already know that.

Proper flu can be extremely nasty but a far higher proportion of people recover quickly back to full health from it compared to COVID where a not insignificant number of people even with mild infections are taking far longer to fully recover or some degree of not fully recovering.

 

[n111ck]

None of those industries had to exist in an environment where everyone else was trying to carry on as normal at the peak of the pandemic - so what is your point?

But in your scenario they shouldn't be going into work at all.

Hopefully the covid enquiry is not so infested in groupthink as this thread but I suspect not..