Off Topic Coronavirus

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Looks like I got in under the wire ‘no kits available for order’ via the NHS website. Of course, if I was to follow the government guidelines the 11 kits we have between the four of us would last at most 3 days.

In better news got through to the pharmacy and a lovely lady said they are jabbing walk in twenty somethings as long as their second jab was at least 91 days ago.
Well, not as good as hoped…..after 45 minutes queuing a bunch of people ‘with appointments’ turned up and the staff said ‘no more today’ at 5:30. Irritating, but excusable. Will take daughter again tomorrow, but the lad is in a short handed team at work and can’t really leave them in the lurch during working hours.

Quiz: a friend of mine flew back from Naples on Friday. He took a PCR test at the airport when he got back - results came in on Saturday, negative. We saw him Saturday night, all 6 of us had negative LFTs. He has also had negative LFTs on Sunday and today (busy socialising). Today he got a notification that one person on the virtually empty flight back from Naples had tested positive. Now he has to take another PCR test, and isolate until that comes through, even though he is booster jabbed. I have taken an LFT (negative). Do I have to get a PCR or isolate?
 
Well, not as good as hoped…..after 45 minutes queuing a bunch of people ‘with appointments’ turned up and the staff said ‘no more today’ at 5:30. Irritating, but excusable. Will take daughter again tomorrow, but the lad is in a short handed team at work and can’t really leave them in the lurch during working hours.

Quiz: a friend of mine flew back from Naples on Friday. He took a PCR test at the airport when he got back - results came in on Saturday, negative. We saw him Saturday night, all 6 of us had negative LFTs. He has also had negative LFTs on Sunday and today (busy socialising). Today he got a notification that one person on the virtually empty flight back from Naples had tested positive. Now he has to take another PCR test, and isolate until that comes through, even though he is booster jabbed. I have taken an LFT (negative). Do I have to get a PCR or isolate?


Who the F*** Knows. I don't really

I think you do not need to isolate...but should test (lft) regularly...obviously taking PCR if you get a positive LFT or get symptoms..


But not sure
 
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Well, not as good as hoped…..after 45 minutes queuing a bunch of people ‘with appointments’ turned up and the staff said ‘no more today’ at 5:30. Irritating, but excusable. Will take daughter again tomorrow, but the lad is in a short handed team at work and can’t really leave them in the lurch during working hours.

Quiz: a friend of mine flew back from Naples on Friday. He took a PCR test at the airport when he got back - results came in on Saturday, negative. We saw him Saturday night, all 6 of us had negative LFTs. He has also had negative LFTs on Sunday and today (busy socialising). Today he got a notification that one person on the virtually empty flight back from Naples had tested positive. Now he has to take another PCR test, and isolate until that comes through, even though he is booster jabbed. I have taken an LFT (negative). Do I have to get a PCR or isolate?
You dont have to do anything as it stands mate. If you have/had been in contact with someone positive then you now have to test everyday with the tests that arent available.
 
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Who the F*** Knows. I don't really

I think you do not need to isolate...but should test (lft) regularly...obviously taking PCR if you get a positive LFT or get symptoms..


But not sure
It’s just nuts. My mate was very shamefaced about telling me, but I think he did what he had to. I’ll keep on with the LFTs until we run out.

I think flying must be the single activity most likely to get you infected. Ironically the air quality in planes used to be much better when smoking was allowed, as they circulated the air a lot more. Now it’s essentially a sealed tube.
 
It’s just nuts. My mate was very shamefaced about telling me, but I think he did what he had to. I’ll keep on with the LFTs until we run out.

I think flying must be the single activity most likely to get you infected. Ironically the air quality in planes used to be much better when smoking was allowed, as they circulated the air a lot more. Now it’s essentially a sealed tube.

What makes you think that mate? The air circulates through the cabin approximately every two to three minutes and is safer than the air in your home, cinema, theatre or office. I heard a pilot talk about this misnomer when all this started on Ian Collins radio show.

The truth about cabin air (askthepilot.com)

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Imagine a pandemic so severe that the government can sack 88,000 of it's healthcare workforce ...

What's going on?

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We need more MP's like Steve Baker and replace the posh Worzel Gummidge for him as PM.

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What makes you think that mate? The air circulates through the cabin approximately every two to three minutes and is safer than the air in your home, cinema, theatre or office. I heard a pilot talk about this misnomer when all this started on Ian Collins radio show.

The truth about cabin air (askthepilot.com)

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Ok technically it might not be a sealed tube the air circulation might be second to none, but from personal experience as a regular flyer I have caught coughs and colds relatively frequently after flights especially long haul. That might be due to the overall experience, over mixing in airports, the tiredness and jet lag weakening immunity etc, rather than specifically air quality on planes.

On COVID in March 2020 Vietnamese businesswoman with a sore throat and a cough boarded a flight in London. Ten hours later, she landed in Hanoi, Vietnam; she infected 15 people on the flight, including more than half of the passengers sitting with her in business class. Then airlines started requiring face masks. In a long term study of arrivals in Hong Kong - where everyone has a PCR and is quarantined on arrival - they saw that rigorous and 100% compliance with mask wearing on planes really made a difference - flights which included infected people did not see spread of infections if everyone wore masks properly. Of course this isn’t imposed strongly on all flights - hence 60 people being tested positive off a flight from South Africa when it stopped in Amsterdam.

Of course it could be the same in any enclosed place - a train, a pub, a house - especially where you can’t open a window. Not that I recommend opening a window on a plane.
 
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Ok technically it might not be a sealed tube the air circulation might be second to none, but from personal experience as a regular flyer I have caught coughs and colds relatively frequently after flights especially long haul. That might be due to the overall experience, over mixing in airports, the tiredness and jet lag weakening immunity etc, rather than specifically air quality on planes.

On COVID in March 2020 Vietnamese businesswoman with a sore throat and a cough boarded a flight in London. Ten hours later, she landed in Hanoi, Vietnam; she infected 15 people on the flight, including more than half of the passengers sitting with her in business class. Then airlines started requiring face masks. In a long term study of arrivals in Hong Kong - where everyone has a PCR and is quarantined on arrival - they saw that rigorous and 100% compliance with mask wearing on planes really made a difference - flights which included infected people did not see spread of infections if everyone wore masks properly. Of course this isn’t imposed strongly on all flights - hence 60 people being tested positive off a flight from South Africa when it stopped in Amsterdam.

Of course it could be the same in any enclosed place - a train, a pub, a house - especially where you can’t open a window. Not that I recommend opening a window on a plane.

Then that just proves that you can't hide from a virus? Flying through the air is as safe as can be. If you feel feel vulnerable lock yourselves away and let everyone else just get on with it. Man Up!
 
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What the **** is the Labour Party thinking in backing the government on this ****? They're supposed to be the opposition and representing the working class. This is suicidal for them.
 
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Took my third/booster shot today - moderna - in the vain hope that after 14 days I would be ok to fly back for Christmas. Now it seems full on outbreak in the UK again, I can see me being stuck here for yet another Christmas.

Just an endless cycle

Travelling/flying is a complete nightmare nowadays
 
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Took my third/booster shot today - moderna - in the vain hope that after 14 days I would be ok to fly back for Christmas. Now it seems full on outbreak in the UK again, I can see me being stuck here for yet another Christmas.

Just an endless cycle

Travelling/flying is a complete nightmare nowadays

You'll be going native. Are you wearing a tea-towel yet?... :grin:
 
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Pfizer, AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines less effective at fighting Omicron, study suggests
Pfizer and AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccines are not as effective in fighting off the Omicron variant compared to other strains, research suggests.

Jackie Salo, NY Post
less than 2 min read
December 14, 2021 - 2:04PM
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Several US states have recorded cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.
Pfizer and AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccines are not as effective in fighting off the Omicron variant compared to other strains, according to a new study published Monday.

Researchers from the University of Oxford said in the preprint paper that they had discovered a “substantial fall” in neutralising antibodies when the Omicron variant was introduced to blood samples 28 days after participants received their second dose of either Pfizer or AstraZeneca’s vaccine, the NY Post reports.

The study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, discovered that some of the participants “failed to neutralise [the virus] at all”.

“This will likely lead to increased breakthrough infections in previously infected or double vaccinated individuals, which could drive a further wave of infection, although there is currently no evidence of increased potential to cause severe disease, hospitalisation or death,” the study’s authors said.

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An Israeli health worker administers a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to a student on December 12, 2021. Picture: Jalaa Marey/AFP
But scientists said more research is needed to determine whether the variant evades other types of immunity provided by the vaccines.

“These data (points) are important but are only one part of the picture. They only look at neutralising antibodies after the second dose, but do not tell us about cellular immunity, and this will also be tested,” said Matthew Snape, Oxford professor and co-author of the paper.
Researchers, however, said the findings should “press home the message that those who are offered booster vaccination should take it”.

“Whilst there is no evidence for increased risk of severe disease, or death, from the virus amongst vaccinated populations, we must remain cautious, as greater case numbers will still place a considerable burden on healthcare systems,” said Gavin Screaton, head of the university’s medical sciences department and lead author of the paper.


 
Ok technically it might not be a sealed tube the air circulation might be second to none, but from personal experience as a regular flyer I have caught coughs and colds relatively frequently after flights especially long haul. That might be due to the overall experience, over mixing in airports, the tiredness and jet lag weakening immunity etc, rather than specifically air quality on planes.

On COVID in March 2020 Vietnamese businesswoman with a sore throat and a cough boarded a flight in London. Ten hours later, she landed in Hanoi, Vietnam; she infected 15 people on the flight, including more than half of the passengers sitting with her in business class. Then airlines started requiring face masks. In a long term study of arrivals in Hong Kong - where everyone has a PCR and is quarantined on arrival - they saw that rigorous and 100% compliance with mask wearing on planes really made a difference - flights which included infected people did not see spread of infections if everyone wore masks properly. Of course this isn’t imposed strongly on all flights - hence 60 people being tested positive off a flight from South Africa when it stopped in Amsterdam.

Of course it could be the same in any enclosed place - a train, a pub, a house - especially where you can’t open a window. Not that I recommend opening a window on a plane.
Another example of how wearing a decent surgical mask properly everywhere outside your home ( and at home if you have visitors) helps prevent you catching and spreading the virus. It is such a simple, non-problematic thing to do, but so many people in Europe and N America don't wear them. Utterly stupid imo.
 
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They are going to have to stop putting Raab on TV.
The breaking news was that there were 250 people with Omicrom in hospital. Then he said later that there is 10. <doh> His maths is worse than Abbott’s!