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Johnson the cunt ,trading young people's live for a shitty Indian trade deal. ffs
I should really fish out NERVTAG quotes I found from their meeting number 50 of April 16th about that subject. Probably I should wait until the 'pause' news chatter dies down. Teaser: their minutes include the use of the word 'consternation', which counts as strong language when it comes to that sort of official experts body minutes.
 
This comes from Harry Cole. It's not certain but I think it's inevitable.

Fuck's sake Starmer needs to kick the Tories to fucking death over this. We are - again - here because Johnson and his corrupt wanking crew are totally to blame for this. The media will make excuses; find some hapless holidaying couple and blame them for it all. Bonus points if they were actually Indian. This is a fucking mess and then some. it's take 6 months for 40% or so to be vaccinated. That's just short of 2% a week, so in four weeks that'll be another 8-10% vaccinated.

We are going to have to roll back from where we are as well, but they won't discuss that.

I'd say I can't believe what a fucking catastrofarce Boris Johnson Pfeffle Shitbag is but I've been here throughout. For anyone not a grasping flatulent race baiting opportunist pauper bashing cunt this would be a matter of resignation. Bloody hell it should be like the scene at the end of 47 Ronin where they all fucking seppuku. Except there's no honour for these bastards
 
This comes from Harry Cole. It's not certain but I think it's inevitable.

Fuck's sake Starmer needs to kick the Tories to fucking death over this. We are - again - here because Johnson and his corrupt wanking crew are totally to blame for this. The media will make excuses; find some hapless holidaying couple and blame them for it all. Bonus points if they were actually Indian. This is a fucking mess and then some. it's take 6 months for 40% or so to be vaccinated. That's just short of 2% a week, so in four weeks that'll be another 8-10% vaccinated.

We are going to have to roll back from where we are as well, but they won't discuss that.

I'd say I can't believe what a fucking catastrofarce Boris Johnson Pfeffle Shitbag is but I've been here throughout. For anyone not a grasping flatulent race baiting opportunist pauper bashing cunt this would be a matter of resignation. Bloody hell it should be like the scene at the end of 47 Ronin where they all fucking seppuku. Except there's no honour for these bastards

Well said. Given it a like for that, not for the behaviour of our government, obvs.
 
This comes from Harry Cole. It's not certain but I think it's inevitable.

Fuck's sake Starmer needs to kick the Tories to fucking death over this. We are - again - here because Johnson and his corrupt wanking crew are totally to blame for this. The media will make excuses; find some hapless holidaying couple and blame them for it all. Bonus points if they were actually Indian. This is a fucking mess and then some. it's take 6 months for 40% or so to be vaccinated. That's just short of 2% a week, so in four weeks that'll be another 8-10% vaccinated.

We are going to have to roll back from where we are as well, but they won't discuss that.

I'd say I can't believe what a fucking catastrofarce Boris Johnson Pfeffle Shitbag is but I've been here throughout. For anyone not a grasping flatulent race baiting opportunist pauper bashing cunt this would be a matter of resignation. Bloody hell it should be like the scene at the end of 47 Ronin where they all fucking seppuku. Except there's no honour for these bastards
This

Banning people who go to private/public schools from entering office would make quite a difference to how this country is governed. It’s got to the point it’s run as some form of game to these people.
They really don’t give a shit about the people who live in this country.

We are an island? Why are we here?

this is the beginning of a third wave and this government has no ability to deal with pandemics.
 
This

Banning people who go to private/public schools from entering office would make quite a difference to how this country is governed. It’s got to the point it’s run as some form of game to these people.
They really don’t give a shit about the people who live in this country.

We are an island? Why are we here?

this is the beginning of a third wave and this government has no ability to deal with pandemics.
It won't be the last variant, and it won't be the last we import (and also export, but very few talk about that as well).

What happens if the next crisis is coincides with the winter, another variant, and the lack of protection of the first people to have been vaccinated having need of a booster that is also going to require a vast nationwide rollout?

Sooner or later you know they'll outsource that process. Probably to Talk Talk.
 
I was a bit surprised when the London mayor said this.....
“: “The latest available data shows the four tests set out in the Government’s roadmap have been met in London, and it isn’t clear why our city shouldn’t relax restrictions further on June 21”


is it that he knows there will be no easing and so he’s asking for more support for businesses and putting the ball in the governments court preemptively ?
 
I was a bit surprised when the London mayor said this.....
“: “The latest available data shows the four tests set out in the Government’s roadmap have been met in London, and it isn’t clear why our city shouldn’t relax restrictions further on June 21”


is it that he knows there will be no easing and so he’s asking for more support for businesses and putting the ball in the governments court preemptively ?

Demanding thing X is easy when you know there's no prospect of it happening.

It's not very helpful though. The whole idea that we can have the virus controlled in one bit of the country but not in another is not helpful. If cases are rising anywhere, they'll soon be rising everywhere.
 
Demanding thing X is easy when you know there's no prospect of it happening.

It's not very helpful though. The whole idea that we can have the virus controlled in one bit of the country but not in another is not helpful. If cases are rising anywhere, they'll soon be rising everywhere.

There’s one big factor in controlling the virus that varies massively across the country, and that’s vaccinations. Compare Shetland with 92% of adults having had their first dose and 67% their second, with Tower Hamlets where it’s 44% and 22%. London is ranks particularly badly on this metric, of which the mayor is well aware.
 
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2h ago 14:00

Robert Peston: So we’re delaying by four weeks aren’t we?

PM: Well we’re setting out the position on Monday but what I can certainly tell you is that to deliver an irreversible roadmap you’ve got to be cautious, we’re still looking at the data, we’re seeing unquestionably not just cases but also hospitalisations going up - there’ll be arguments about the extent to which they’re going up, extent to which feeding into fatalities. But in order to deliver an irreversible roadmap gotta be cautious.

RP: Is hospitalisations the key bit of data?

PM: I think we’ve got to do whatever it takes to protect life in this country.

RP: So hospitalisations is the key bit of data?

PM: We’re looking at all the data but what we’re wanting to do is avoid another wave of deaths that could be prevented by allowing the vaccines to work in the way that they are - the vaccine programme has been absolutely astonishing and there’s no question that if you look at the people going into hospital now they tend to be in different groups, younger groups than we saw in the first couple of waves of the pandemic, seen different outcomes but it may be that we need in the race between the vaccines and the virus, we need to make sure we give the vaccines extra legs.

RP: Do you regret not putting India on red list a bit earlier? We put it on the red list on April 23 You must have a bit of regret?

PM: We put India on the red list so that you have to spend 10 days quarantining in a hotel if you come from India, which was before the variant was identified as ... a very deep concern.

Regarding that last bit, NERVTAG were concerned on April 16th and told the government to add India to the red list. Johnson etcs excuse that the variant of concern was not labelled as such till quite a bit later is not a convincing excuse. I probably will fish out the NERVTAG quotes shortly.
 
NERVTAG Meeting 50, April 16th. The substance of these quotes is somewhat repetitive because some come from summaries and others are from the slightly more detailed discussion. I've included them all anyway.

PHE updated on VUIs and VOCs. B.1.617 is still considered a VUI, but the committee wished to raise with DHSC because of 1) its genomic characteristics, 2) the situation in India and 3) the significant number of importations into UK via travel. NERVTAG recommended to DHSC that the travel policy with India should be reviewed.

B.1.617, a new VUI from India was highlighted. This was reported directly by India;forming a high proportion of what is being sequenced in Maharashtra, where a surge is taking place. It has a novel combination of L452R and E484Q substitutions. The variant appears to be very successful and in the two weeks it has been monitored, 70 caseshave been imported, despite travel restrictions.

Members expressed their consternation about the number of introductions of B.1.617 in to the UK in the light of likely unlocking of travel restrictions this summer and the fact that India is not red listed.

Given the observed substitutions, the COVID-19 situation in India, and the introductions into the UK, it was felt that the committee should raise an alert about B.1.617 and make a recommendation that measures, such as travel restrictions, were reviewed. PHE indicated that at the moment, based on the phylogenetics, importations are taking place and then there are small household clusters, not community transmission.

It was noted that there is an assumption that B.1.617 is widespread in India, because of importations from India. However, there is limited sequencing data from India and the surge in cases may not be associated with this particular variant. B.1.617 constitutes 60% of sequencing from Maharashtra, but it is not known if all the imports are from Maharashtra

NERVTAG highlighted two issues to DHSC:1.) B.1.617 is a worry because of 1) its genomic characteristics, 2) the situation in India and 3) the significant number of importations into UK via travel. NERVTAG recommended to DHSC that the travel policy with India should be reviewed.

From the minutes pdf at :
 
I was a bit surprised when the London mayor said this.....
“: “The latest available data shows the four tests set out in the Government’s roadmap have been met in London, and it isn’t clear why our city shouldn’t relax restrictions further on June 21”


is it that he knows there will be no easing and so he’s asking for more support for businesses and putting the ball in the governments court preemptively ?
If he thinks it unlikely Boris will unlock, as the news indicates, then he's just playing a game
 
I also note this from the BBCs version of todays Johnson comments:

The government put India on the "red list" of places to which travel is banned on 23 April, two weeks later than Pakistan and Bangladesh, which had fewer cases per million at the time.

Asked if he regretted this, the prime minister said the Delta variant had not "even been identified as a variant under investigation" at the time, though documents on the government's website say it was designated as such on 1 April.

 
This comes from Harry Cole. It's not certain but I think it's inevitable.

Fuck's sake Starmer needs to kick the Tories to fucking death over this. We are - again - here because Johnson and his corrupt wanking crew are totally to blame for this. The media will make excuses; find some hapless holidaying couple and blame them for it all. Bonus points if they were actually Indian. This is a fucking mess and then some. it's take 6 months for 40% or so to be vaccinated. That's just short of 2% a week, so in four weeks that'll be another 8-10% vaccinated.

We are going to have to roll back from where we are as well, but they won't discuss that.

I'd say I can't believe what a fucking catastrofarce Boris Johnson Pfeffle Shitbag is but I've been here throughout. For anyone not a grasping flatulent race baiting opportunist pauper bashing cunt this would be a matter of resignation. Bloody hell it should be like the scene at the end of 47 Ronin where they all fucking seppuku. Except there's no honour for these bastards

I'm wondering how the hell that guy can be the political editor of the Scum. :confused:
 
Well if this wave takes off then the timing of putting India on the red list could well be Johnson's undoing. Especially if we have to go back into lockdown, don't think the public will forgive him for that after all the freedom day bollocks.

Still every cloud eh?
 
Well if this wave takes off then the timing of putting India on the red list could well be Johnson's undoing. Especially if we have to go back into lockdown, don't think the public will forgive him for that after all the freedom day bollocks.

Still every cloud eh?
Yes a third wave has been on my radar in terms of its potential to doom Johnson for ages, even before this variant, and the variant angle makes it easy for a story of his personal failure to become the dominant variant of the story quite easily.

de Waffel of the particulars of variants around that time is just smoke and mirrors. Obvious bullshit is obvious...

Yes. I mention this stuff because there have already been signs that they will try to hide behind awareness timing in regards the .2 Delta version of the variant in particular. I dont think it will wash, media have been skeptical of these excuses from the start and the trade deal stuff hands this to them on a plate.
 
Lots of no shows at the vaccination centre today. Probably a combination of the age group attending not feeling hugely at risk, and the good weather
 
But, lateral flow tests are not a replacement for PCR tests, that are only available under very specific circumstances, they are in addition to PCR testing.

Have the authorities actually stretched the use too far?

Returning to this, I dont honestly know when I will get a chance to talk about it in more detail.

But I did just stumble upon this person on twitter who has a large number of tweets about the subject. I dont suppose anyone saw the Newsnight piece on it?



Also see things like:



An example of the government potentially stretching things too far would be this trial. Granted the purpose of a trial is to determine the effectiveness of such things, but they already felt the need to pause it before, and are doing it at a fair scale if things have proceeded according to info in this article from a few months back:

 
Experiencing surreal feelings due to an article in the Telegraph that says the sort of things I say, and features the sorts of graphs I would use.


Also contains a link to a new modelling paper which I havent had time to look at yet, I will take a look on Sunday afternoon:


Elsewhere in the Telegraph there is far more typical shit, such as an article which ping-pongs back and forwards between comments somewhat resembling reality, and deranged anti-lockdown people such as MP Marcus Fysh who was happy to boast about how he would start breaking the rules if they still exist come June 21st. He has an especially hideous record in this pandemic and rarely misses an opportunity to push on every front available, including a few weeks ago when he said that schools should curtail their use of hand sanitiser due to its corrosive effects on skin. If I wanted to seek out obvious threats to public health in this pandemic, he would be high on my list of really obvious and absurd examples.
 
The unlocking in May is basically the same as the unlocking last November. The permitted socialising in November and December saw the alpha variant rapidly being devastating, so I don’t know why anybody would be surprised that the same permitted socialising is now also seeing the delta variant do the same. It’s clearly not protective enough to allow the things currently allowed.
 
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