Off Topic SARS-CoV-2 Covid-19

Ace, just in time for the pubs reopening

 

It is a genuine account. She's my best mates sister so I can vouch for her!

 

How closely???

 

Didn't vouch her if that's what you were asking

 

There might be a case for testing everyone but I suspect the government won't want to recognise that - people who suffer some viral infections appear to make a full recovery but suffer devastating consequences further down the line. It is now an established fact that certain virus types, during their active reproduction cycle, do produce proteins which increase the chances of developing specific cancers in later life - as seen in around 20 strains of the very common Human Papilloma Virus and its role in the development of cervical, anal and some E.N.T. cancers.
This is by no means certain but If dangerous proteins are identified as a by-product of Covid19 infection it will be very helpful to know exactly who has previously been infected so that potential cancers can be screened for and treated conservatively at an early stage. Tests could, of course be the antigen tests for current disease or, if they are ever used, antibody tests for those who have previously been infected but have now recovered.
My suspicion is that this wide scale testing will never happen because the expense would be huge and the government won't really be too interested in picking up the tab for diseases that will occur long after this parliament.
As with HPV, it is likely that any vaccine produced will be a preventative and not a cure - if that's the case then those who have been exposed to Covid19 are unlikely to benefit from immunisation.

 

I’m not sure you’re knowledgeable enough about mass health protection strategies to be able to say definitively that there’s no need to test everyone, neither am I.
It entirely depends on the next part of the strategy. If, as seems likely, it’s going to rely on contact tracing to establish who may have been infected then it is likely the testing of this people will follow and even if not everyone it’s likely to markedly increase the numbers of tests needed, particularly when you consider people being tested multiple times.
The fact that most people only find it an unpleasant illness is completely irrelevant when it comes to managing the spread to vulnerable people, in fact arguably it might make it more challenging.
I’m not sure how you know there’ll be a vaccine by the end of the year either? Plenty of well informed people seem less convinced and of course some viruses never got a vaccine (HIV for example) Obviously I hope you’re right, but I think it’s too early to be stating it as a fact (although I realise you didn’t go the full hog and say FACT!)

 

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It mattered enough for them to email Tory members to encourage them to apply for a home test.

Why did they do that just before the end of the month. Anyone would think they were trying to boost the numbers of something.

 

quite honestly ... so what if they were ???

 

Well they certainly don't seem to have included voting preference on their list of criteria for a test. There must be some unpublished evidence that they're more disease prone than those who vote for other parties.

 

I suspect that, being lead purely by the science, they've noted that labour voting in Hull must offer greater protection than that achieved in conservative wards. That seems consistent with the quality of advice they tend to follow.

 

Years ago, on our way to a tournament in Winnipeg, we stopped at a McDonalds near Brandon and after one bite my Glaswegian team mate aked to see the Mcmanager. When asked why, he replied this burger's Mcrotten.

 

My point still stands though.
100,000 a day isn’t enough for any effective strategy relying on tracing and testing.
And part of you reasoning earlier was that we’ll have a vaccine by the end of the year. I’d say at the moment that’s closer to 50/50 than the fact you suggested it was.

 

A well-considered article by Steve Parish in the Times talks a lot of sense IMO.

https://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/2020/ma...emier-league-project-restart--crystal-palace/

 

I don’t understand how they can ethically use the testing kits on footballers (privately bought or not) when those tests would be better used elsewhere and not have time in a lab taken up over something that, at this stage, is still irrelevant in terms of people’s safety and health. And I say that as a football fan.