General Coronavirus (COVID-19) chat

[Badgers]

Covid deaths in the UK are at their highest since February 2021 despite omicron being less severe than previous variants. Gareth Iacobucci investigates why

Confidence is growing among experts and ministers in the UK that omicron is milder than previous variants of SARS-CoV-2, and politicians and scientists alike are increasingly bullish that the worst of the covid-19 pandemic is behind us.12 At the same time, the number of people dying from covid in the UK is higher than it has been since February 2021

Covid-19: unravelling the conundrum of omicron and deaths

Covid deaths in the UK are at their highest since February 2021 despite omicron being less severe than previous variants. Gareth Iacobucci investigates why Confidence is growing among experts and ministers in the UK that omicron is milder than previous variants of SARS-CoV-2, and politicians...

www.bmj.com

 

[Badgers]

As Tim predicted, overall cases of COVID have increased as a result of children being back at school. There are now more than 160,000 new cases daily, an increase of 11% from last week. Cases are also rising in the 35-55 age group which could suggest that children are bringing infections home and passing them onto parents

COVID cases bounce back

 

[elbows]

COVID cases bounce back

That page says BA.2 is 'just as infectious' as the BA.1 strain of Omicron, but actually there are signs that it has a transmission advantage, so we should be prepared for the possibility that it will combine with the other causes of increasing case numbers and lead to a further surge.

 

[Badgers]

That page says BA.2 is 'just as infectious' as the BA.1 strain of Omicron, but actually there are signs that it has a transmission advantage, so we should be prepared for the possibility that it will combine with the other causes of increasing case numbers and lead to a further surge.

It is a 'concern' it seems.

 

[LDC]

Had an unplanned walk past the National Covid Memorial wall in London today. Really quite moving, unsettling, and dystopian, well worth going if you have some time when you're in London.

One heart that stuck out in my memory was one filled in saying something like 'Mum and Dad. Died XXXX within 24 hours of each other. RIP. Love XXXXX.'

Another 500+ hearts could be added today. Grim.

 

[Badgers]

MPs Raise Concerns as Government’s Reliance on Controversial Foreign COVID Testing Firm Continues

John Lubbock investigates why domestic lateral flow test manufacturers are still being left out in the cold by the Government

bylinetimes.com

 

[Yossarian]

In Ontario, the return to something like normality is gathering steam - the vaccine mandate for pubs, indoor dining etc. was lifted on Tuesday, though a lot of places are going to keep asking for proof of vaccination for now. Summer festivals are back on and the assorted mask mandates will probably be lifted en masse in two or three weeks.

It's weird, I thought I would be a lot happier about this phase when it arrived, but I mostly just feel sad that the war is over and COVID won.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Anyone else finding you can sometimes barely get one drop out of a lateral flow test? Definitely not the 4 that some test manufacturers state. Seems like they're putting less of whatever fluid it is in the dropper thingies.

 

[shifting gears]

Anyone else finding you can sometimes barely get one drop out of a lateral flow test? Definitely not the 4 that some test manufacturers state. Seems like they're putting less of whatever fluid it is in the dropper thingies.

The liquid in the small twist-off-top holders that were in the original blue-white packs seem to evaporate. The newer boxes all seem to come with the liquid in a test tube with a peel-off foil seal that solves this problem…

 

[Cloo]

One of the ladies in choir who stood behind me in our concert on Saturday has tested positive. I guess we'll see how much protection triple vax and having had covid 8 weeks ago is now! It also meant I finally got pinged by the app, but of course I don't have to isolate under new rules.

Nonetheless will test tonight, as supposed to be in office tomorrow, and tomorrow night before rehearsal to be sure.

 

[wemakeyousoundb]

The liquid in the small twist-off-top holders that were in the original blue-white packs seem to evaporate. The newer boxes all seem to come with the liquid in a test tube with a peel-off foil seal that solves this problem…

It's gone back to the original kits when I ordered some for me and a friend last week, which is annoying as they take longer and I dislike the tonsil scraping part of it.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Fuuuuuuuuuuuck! Daughter has just tested positive for Covid, which has screwed up plans for 1 concert, 1 party, 1 university interview, 1 kitchen installation, 2 days freelance work, and 5 days in France. Hope her night out was worth it.

 

[BigMoaner]

Fuuuuuuuuuuuck! Daughter has just tested positive for Covid, which has screwed up plans for 1 concert, 1 party, 1 university interview, 1 kitchen installation, 2 days freelance work, and 5 days in France. Hope her night out was worth it.

that was definitely the worst part of having covid for me. teh disruption and being house bound for 10 days. renewed empathy for prisoners.

 

[not a trot]

Local surgeries have been sending text messages today, warning that Frimley park and Wexham Park hospitals are expecting high demand for services over the weekend. Never happened before.

 

[two sheds]

Yep looks like it's spreading again and I have no idea why

 

[MrCurry]

View attachment 314001
Yep looks like it's spreading again and I have no idea why

Waning immunity from booster doses which are now 3 months past and lack of caution from people who’ve picked up on the prevailing mood of “pandemic is over”?

 

[two sheds]

Yeh you tell that to Johnson he'll just ignore you.

Mind you, they'll likely stop testing altogether soon so the new cases will drop to zero

 

[wemakeyousoundb]

Yeh you tell that to Johnson he'll just ignore you.

Mind you, they'll likely stop testing altogether soon so the new cases will drop to zero

Fool's day is the end of free testing.

 

[existentialist]

Fool's day is the end of free testing.

How appropriate

 

[_Russ_]

I've continued to watch John Campbell's videos, He's fallen right down that anti-vax hole now.
All his videos now are full of shitty commentary and heavily biased conclusions given to the data he presents in order to advance his herd immunity via infection mantra.
Its easy to see through but is willingly swallowed by thousands of followers who hang on his every word...depressing

Honestly cant fathom how Tim Spector referred to him once as the esteemed Dr John Campbell

​

 

[teuchter]

anti-vax

​

Is he actually advocating against vaccination or is this something you've just made up?

 

[Griff]

Never watched him before, but his last two videos he''s just talking about Pfizer's own data that's just been released.

 

[elbows]

Is he actually advocating against vaccination or is this something you've just made up?

He is misusing information to peddle a thinly disguised agenda.

Im trying never to watch his videos again as I had seen quite enough with which to reach a conclusion in the past, but on this occasion I have forced myself to watch his latest video "Long list of side effects to look out for".

In the video he is forced to retract stuff he said in a previous video, because the fucking idiot previously mistook a long list that was part of released Pfizer documents for something that the list is most certainly not. I have not read the pfizer documents myself or put myself through the torture of watching his previous video on this subject. I understand the documents were released as part of a court case they lost, and I will try to read some of them for myself in case there is additional context in regards the list.

Anyway the list is a very long one of medical issues that should be monitored for and reported if they show up post-vaccination. But he mistook it for a list of side-effects that had been seen and reported after being vaccinated. A disgraceful error to make if ever there was one.

And I cannot help but note that while issuing this retraction, he still takes the opportunity to spread fear using a number of techniques including dwelling on obscure, scary-sounding conditions that are on the list. And implying that health professionals have forgotten about many of these conditions and were not aware that they should be reported if they happen post-vaccine. And he makes vague reference to some heart issues that it sounds like he has previous gone on about. He also quotes the blog of a doctor who deems it appropriate to put the word vaccines in speech marks. I have not looked into that doctor yet, but signs of a typical dodgy vaccine FUD agenda appear to be present.

Red flags galore, as if I needed any more from this dangerous idiot. If I came out with the sort of things he has come out with in recent months then I'd expect to be torn a new one on here, and I say that as someone who was not afraid to take early signs of clotting issues seriously and mention them here.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Never watched him before, but his last two videos he''s just talking about Pfizer's own data that's just been released.

And, as elbows has just posted, he's misunderstood a lot of what he was reading, and mispresented the information, feeding the anti-vaxxer loons.

The article linked below goes into some detail about what a fuckwit he is.

Pfizer’s confidential document shows adverse events reported following vaccination; it doesn’t demonstrate that the vaccine caused the events or is unsafe

Pfizer's document released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration contains information about adverse events that occurred following vaccination. Adverse events are health problems that occur after vaccination but aren’t necessarily caused by the vaccine. Therefore, these reports don’t...

healthfeedback.org

 

[elbows]

And, as elbows has just posted, he's misunderstood a lot of what he was reading, and mispresented the information, feeding the anti-vaxxer loons.

The article linked below goes into some detail about what a fuckwit he is.

Pfizer’s confidential document shows adverse events reported following vaccination; it doesn’t demonstrate that the vaccine caused the events or is unsafe

Pfizer's document released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration contains information about adverse events that occurred following vaccination. Adverse events are health problems that occur after vaccination but aren’t necessarily caused by the vaccine. Therefore, these reports don’t...

healthfeedback.org

Now I'll have to study the list myself because his retraction and new explanation for what the list actually is doesnt match what that article says the list is. That article suggests that the list was of things that happened to be seen after vaccination (very much including incidental stuff that wasnt actually caused by the vaccine, but we lack the means to make this distinction), but his retraction said it was only a list of things to monitor for in general after vaccination, rather than things which had actually been seen.

 

[elbows]

Exhibit B:



I cant bring myself to watch it. Is anybody else up for the task and willing to report back?

To be honest judging by the titles of numerous other videos of his, there is plenty else we could pick on. But I'm far from convinced its worth bothering with, especially as the insidious aspects often require some unpicking that can then result in quibbling here that I cant be arsed with too often.

I've said before that the simplest explanation for the direction Campbell has gone in is that he developed a rather large, profitable audience and learnt what sort of things that audience were interested in believing, and decided to play up to that shit. Other, even worse possibilities also exist but since I cant prove any of them I have not pursued them.

 

[cupid_stunt]

I cant bring myself to watch it. Is anybody else up for the task and willing to report back?

Not a chance, I've seen enough of the fool, and I certainly don't want to suffer Brand as well.

To be honest judging by the titles of numerous other videos of his, there is plenty else we could pick on. But I'm far from convinced its worth bothering with, especially as the insidious aspects often require some unpicking that can then result in quibbling here that I cant be arsed with too often.

Yeah, not worth wasting time on, he's been discredited enough already.

 

[elbows]

Yeah, not worth wasting time on, he's been discredited enough already.

I really should ban myself from the subject, I find it too easy to get dragged into it because there are a couple of people here that like to quibble as to whether he is really as dodgy as we like to suggest.

 

[_Russ_]

Is he actually advocating against vaccination or is this something you've just made up?

I'm not making stuff up, I simply recognise his thinly veiled agenda which is mostly trying to save face over shit hes got wrong in the past combined with his herd immunity plan via mass infection which is as shit when he states it as it was when it was the governments plan, but is now introducing the Vax = dodgy scheme
Elbows puts more effort into his explanation than I do.

The only reason I consider the twats opinion is because reading the comments it worries me that so many are taken in.

If you want to question my view of his motives, how about giving yours as a counter?, or did yo just want to get one in?

 

[teuchter]

I'm not making stuff up, I simply recognise his thinly veiled agenda which is mostly trying to save face over shit hes got wrong in the past combined with his herd immunity plan via mass infection which is as shit when he states it as it was when it was the governments plan, but is now introducing the Vax = dodgy scheme
Elbows puts more effort into his explanation than I do.

The only reason I consider the twats opinion is because reading the comments it worries me that so many are taken in.

If you want to question my view of his motives, how about giving yours as a counter?, or did yo just want to get one in?

You said he'd gone "anti-vax" - which has a fairly specific meaning.

I asked if he was actually advocating against vaccines, and haven't got a straight answer to that, but it sounds like he isn't. Misinterpreting some "adverse effects" reports is not necessarily the same as going "anti-vax" especially if he then corrected himself. I may have a look at the videos myself.