Re: CORONAVIRUS-Updates, discussion, etc

[TrueCrazyLion]

That’s a massive relief, that the vaccine covers this new strain! 
(I was hopeful it might do, since any mutated virus would be so similar to the original; I’m guessing it would have to mutate several times in order to start “escaping” the vaccine. But you hear horror stories, etc!)

Yeah, I’ve checked out the latest news now, and it does look like we’re going into lockdown from Boxing Day onwards! That’s a relief, although it’s a shame we’re not doing it sooner, like Wales is for example.

We’re so close to getting the vaccine rolled out now, personally I think we should just go back into lockdown till at least a significant number of the population have been vaccinated.
It would do so much to help control the pandemic!

[Kaere]

I am so annoyed by it all, I really am. We could have crushed it right to the ground here if they hadn't opened up so quickly after the first wave. Now instead of suffering once and recovering, people are suffering twice and for so much longer.

I read the general population here is looking at having the vaccine in mid-Spring or so.

I'm also annoyed at the gov't here clawing back payments they gave out as pandemic relief because they gave out the wrong qualifying information and they gave out money to anyone who submitted an application in order to move things along quickly. So those who thought they qualified (self-employed for example) but who didn't actually qualify now have to pay the gov't back thousands of dollars. How are they expected to manage that! All cause M. Trudeau enjoyed his photo ops and how good it all made him and his gov't look... UGH!!

[TrueCrazyLion]

I hear you, K. I think the government in the UK has done the same kind of thing in terms of easing restrictions too soon and allowing the virus infection rate to skyrocket. To me it seems crazy that they didn’t anticipate such a predictable result.

And the government there making people pay money back because they made a mistake sounds ridiculous.

You say most people there are due to get the vaccine in the spring; will you qualify to get the vaccine quickly, or will you have to wait to get it along with the general population?

[Rogue]

It is crazy how quickly most places opened up when a little patience would have saved lives and helped the economy in the long run. I feel thankful here that our state has had the longest of lockdowns as far as closed borders have gone. We have had so much pressure from the other states like NSW to open, then we finally did and now NSW has growing community infections. Needless to say our border has been slammed shut again from last night. WA has now gone 254 days with no community infection. Says something about not rushing with opening up too soon!

[Rogue]

Yeah, I’ve checked out the latest news now, and it does look like we’re going into lockdown from Boxing Day onwards! That’s a relief, although it’s a shame we’re not doing it sooner, like Wales is for example.

From Boxing Day!! ? That's next weekend! Ludicrous

[Agartha]

Lion, yes, the mutation has not affected the spike proteins which the vaccines create an immune reaction too. The UK government (Johnson) has been useless at dealing with the pandemic. Sturgeon has done so much better: Covid transmission rates in Wales have been 6 times that of Scotland, England 2.5 times and NI almost 2 times (see graph 19/12/20).





Kaere, that's terrible! So many people have lost their incomes due to the pandemic, how can the government expect people to pay back???


Rogue, I totally agree with you, we should have refrained from opening places too quickly and now we are paying for it! (I hear WA is doing as well as NZ). I also agree with Nicola Sturgeon imposing a lockdown from the 26th, however, I would have done it from tomorrow!

[TrueCrazyLion]

Yeah, I’ve checked out the latest news now, and it does look like we’re going into lockdown from Boxing Day onwards! That’s a relief, although it’s a shame we’re not doing it sooner, like Wales is for example.

From Boxing Day!! ? That's next weekend! Ludicrous  

Yep, my thoughts exactly. Even in Scotland, we’ve tended to be a day late and a dollar short during this pandemic when it comes to imposing important lockdowns. Or, as you and Aggie say, a week late! I also would’ve imposed lockdown straight away.

I don’t get why there’s so much reluctance here to “cancel Christmas”, when the virus doesn’t care that it’s Christmas.

[TrueCrazyLion]

Lion, yes, the mutation has not affected the spike proteins which the vaccines create an immune reaction too. The UK government (Johnson) has been useless at dealing with the pandemic. Sturgeon has done so much better: Covid transmission rates in Wales have been 6 times that of Scotland, England 2.5 times and NI almost 2 times (see graph 19/12/20).

That’s good to know, that the virus’s spike protein is unaffected by the mutation. Hope that stays the case for a long time!

And yeah, Nicola does seem to have been doing an excellent job of controlling the pandemic so far compared to other leaders(We have still opened society up again too much at times and been too slow to react to rising infection rates IMO, but I’m reluctant to blame Nicola for those things, as I know these won’t be always entirely her decisions or preferences; I’m willing to believe she would probably have kept us safer if acting alone).

And that’s a brilliant graph, very helpful! Thanks for sharing!

[Agartha]

That’s good to know, that the virus’s spike protein is unaffected by the mutation. Hope that stays the case for a long time!

I was just coming to add to my previous post! lol

EDIT as I posted something incorrect before:

The mutation is in the spike protein, making it more able to glue itself to human cells and increasing its chances to enter those cells. So far scientists aren't worried because a single mutation doesn't affect a vaccine's performance. However, the new strain is being monitored all over the world right now.

The new strain is spreading a lot faster than the other strains and so far it seems to have been found in the UK only.

[TrueCrazyLion]

Ahh, OK. Thanks for the correction! I’d searched for articles about this new virus strain and had found a few, but none of them mentioned what exactly had mutated on the virus or whether the vaccine was still effective against the new strain, which was what worried me. So your info was and is a great source of relief! 
Don’t worry about posting something which wasn’t entirely accurate at first; I think we’re all learning as we go!  

What this tells me is that I have to be even more careful now when going out and about, to try and avoid exposure to it, as I’m guessing this one can infect after exposure to much lower concentrations. Hope a face mask will still be enough!

It does make sense from a scientific and logical point of view, as from what I understand, viruses always try to evolve to become more infectious and less symptomatic.

Only in the UK? LOL, what are the chances... A UK COVID-20!

[Agartha]

Medicine is not an exact science, and with this virus we are definitely learning every day! 

I was just reading that covid19 has had more than 4000 mutations, and the latest ones (the strain in England) has approx 20 new mutations. Scientists are still saying that it does not affect the way the vaccines work, because they have been tested with different strains. 

Today many countries have announced a ban on UK travellers today, due to this fast spreading strain. If anybody is interested and wants up to date information, please visit the Independent Sage Twitter page (all scientists, academics, etc):


Independent SAGE on Twitter: "NEW: Independent SAGE has prepared a briefing note on the new mutation. ‘The most important way to reduce emergence of new mutants is to reduce spread of the virus’ 1/ https://t.co/mYoU6HMGfl" / Twitter


Or another page I follow: Update on new SARS-CoV-2 variant and how COG-UK tracks emerging mutations – COG-UK Consortium (cogconsortium.uk)

[TrueCrazyLion]

I think I read that in an article yesterday as well, that the virus has had more than 4K mutations. Great minds and all that! 

Thanks for posting these links too, I’ll check them out!

Wow, I really hope we can speed up the vaccination program if at all possible, before this thing mutates more dangerously.
This has turned into an arms race!

[Kaere]

Kaere, that's terrible! So many people have lost their incomes due to the pandemic, how can the government expect people to pay back???

https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/pretty-scary-edmonton-woman-launches-petition-after-being-asked-to-pay-back-12k-in-cerb-benefits-1.5239448

Be born rich I guess?

[Agartha]

^^ terrible.... working and middle classes are always the ones that suffer....

Today those of us in the UK are stuck in 'Pestilence island', like someone said on twitter. Banned to travel to most countries in the world. No trucks allowed in or out, which means we may end up with food and medicine shortages. In the middle of a pandemic. Surrounded by a new highly infectious covid strain....... 2020, please end once and for all!

[Lenzabi]

Well, Imagine having to live in COVID-land where the idiots got what they wanted and that they deliberately planned on as many infections as possible to do "Herd Immunity" regardless of the consequences. And the Trump worshippers still drink the Kool-aid

[Agartha]

Len, Johnson did the same, his goal was herd immunity and he even said so on national television.

I was just listening to an epidemiologist from Oxford university and she said this is not a new strain but a variant, which is good news (a variant means some genetic changes but it still belongs to the same strain. A new strain could end up so different than the rest, the vaccines would become obsolete),

They are now studying the new variant to see whether it really is as infectious as it seems or if it's not and the numbers are going up because people are reckless. 

I think the ban on British people travelling should be lifted, because the new variant has now been found in a couple of european countries already (this is just my personal opinion). They should definitely let trucks come and go as the drivers could be tested before leaving the UK and once they reach other destinations.

[Rogue]

Do you not think the travel ban could actually help the situation a little. That has been the Australia and NZ approach, by creating 'Islands' with strict travel bans, domestically and internationally, which are still in place.

You would think they could certainly make it safe for trucks to enter but by the same token, can't food and necessary supplies also be flown in and out?

[TrueCrazyLion]

I think the idea of testing truck drivers before and after their journeys is an excellent one, and it’s definitely a way around the travel ban situation. Testing in this way is highly effective; for one example, people travelling to and from sporting events in various different countries all over the world this year have been tested in this way, and it’s been hugely successful in enabling their events to go ahead as planned without disruption. Plus I would’ve thought truck drivers will stay relatively safe during their journeys, as they are naturally isolated in their trucks.

I totally agree with testing this new strain of virus to assess how infectious it really is; like Aggie says, its discovery might well have coincided with rising infection rates due to the existing one and that could’ve made it seem scarier than it really is. I definitely hope it turns out to be less infectious than first feared! LOL

[Agartha]

Do you not think the travel ban could actually help the situation a little. That has been the Australia and NZ approach, by creating 'Islands' with strict travel bans, domestically and internationally, which are still in place.

I totally agree with travel bans, but that should apply to all the countries where the variant has now been found (Denmark, Belgium and even Australia - in your country only found in two British travellers). I think it was more of a political statement from France, closing the border.

By now the new variant is probably everywhere.  Let's hope the tests indicate it was people's faults it spread, and not the virus becoming more infectious.

[Rogue]

Yes I also totally agree. It surprises me how much travel between countries, and like the US - within countries, has continued throughout this year.

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