The flu vaccine is only 60-70% effective (?) so the vulnerable can get it and die or be seriously ill....because most people aren't vaccinated against it and can spread it. Perhaps fewer people would die of flu if the population was vaccinated against it. Not suggesting we do that...on the grounds of costs and sheer logistics (as shown by how long it will take us to vaccinate against Covid). Just an observation.
Still seems extremely optimistic, to say the least, that that would eradicate it. And you're making assumptions about near universal vaccination which will never happen. Much more likely that it's here to stay regardless of what we do. I agree about keeping masks in place for a while though.
The British have never been mask wearers...one of those things funny foreigners do....but we may see it become fairly regular every winter cold and flu season, especially amongst us oldies. Hint....it keeps you nice and warm on cold days.
We've eradicated wild viruses in the past: polio (as a wild virus) has been eradicated worldwide with the exception of a couple small pockets in Pakistan and Afghanistan, smallpox has been eradicated outright, and measles was heading in that direction. Influenza is particularly difficult because it mutates so damned fast, but COVID doesn't: a concerted vaccination campaign that doesn't end when life gets back to mostly-normal may well be able to achieve it.
I’ve been over the allotment. Has the same effect. God, what an old man I’ve become. Not sure when that happened.
"but COVID doesn't:" Are you sure? We have the English and South African mutations causing concern. Others no doubt to come. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55404988
Same here. I was up at the allotment yesterday planting garlic that I had growing in pots, all 72 of the little buggers. It was cold up there and the ground was hard but they all got planted. The reason I planted so many is that I have enough room on the allotment to grow twice what I need so this year half of everything I grow will be going to food banks. Not sure if garlic will be popular but I have plans for lots of fruit and veg this year.
So far so good. It's going to need a worldwide ongoing research and development program for this and constant monitoring for new viruses. Perhaps other existing deceases eradication can benefit from the concerted CV effort.
On the flip side, eradicate diseases and you begin to expose the fallacy of Western lifestyles. Brits already eat way beyond what can be sustained by the planet - and rely on the relative food poverty of the world to continue. Can we cope with a world where all the old people survive and extra two or three cold and flu seasons? Logan's Run here we come
“Minimal”? Define, please? One death due to incompetence would lead to a business and its directors being prosecuted. So ..... the U.K. government did not close the borders or insist on quarantine when the virus was known about and rampant in China and Italy. The U.K. government failed to install a proper track and trace system, despite spending an unimaginable amount on it (which, strangely enough, went to associates of the government). The U.K. government ignored pleas from the science advisers and the opposition parties to lockdown earlier and allowed schools and universities to go back ...... the prime minister didn’t even attend COBRA meetings to discuss the virus then went on camera boating how he’d been on the wards shaking hands with patients. He then allowed his adviser (and his father) to break lockdown rules and appeared to support their actions. I could go on and on .... Johnson and his band of marauding imbeciles should be hauled up in court and prosecuted fully for these. I truly hope the population of this country remember fully and don’t get suckered once more by the right wing media when it comes to voting the heartless, cheating bastards out ..... as you may gather, I’m not in a happy place currently ......
Minimal as in minimal. People die every day with all sorts of causes so a similar level to other things. You're surely not suggesting we should remain in lockdown until there's 0 deaths?
Yes let's prosecute Boris and half of all the World leaders for not coming up with a perfect strategy to deal with a global pandemic.
