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Roland

Banned
Sep 29, 2021
29
Until Omi combines with something else and we have the next wave. Doesn't feel like an end is in sight at the moment.

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It’ll never be over. There will be 2-3 new variants every year. Each of these will ‘require’ a booster. Someone is gonna get very l/even more rich. See that they have taken the one vax (AZ) that was cheap/free off the menu too.
 




nicko31

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2010
18,574
Gods country fortnightly
Until Omi combines with something else and we have the next wave. Doesn't feel like an end is in sight at the moment.

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Like Ebola for example, just 7% of Africa is vaccinated.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59761537

Global Covid vaccine rollout a stain on our soul -Gordon Brown

May this time we'll dodge the bullet, next time we might not be as lucky, unless we act...
 




pb21

Well-known member
Apr 23, 2010
6,687
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ower-with-omicron-than-delta-uk-data-suggests

I don't know if what Ferguson says makes sense to anyone else, but it doesn't to me.

1. They have discovered from actual, real world evidence that people with omicron are 40-45% less likely to need an overnight hospital stay than people with delta.

2. This is offset by the vaccine being less effective against omicron than against delta. WHAT? The effectiveness of the vaccine is automatically taken into account in the numbers of patients going to hospital.

3. The assessment does not substantially change SAGE modelling pointing to 3,000 daily hospitalisations. WHAT? A reduction of 40% in the number of hospitalisations does not substantially change the number of hospitalisations?

4. The analysis shows evidence of a moderate reduction ... WHAT? It's a reduction by nearly half. That's better than "moderate".

Am I missing something here? Ferguson's presumably an intelligent man. Is he treating us all like idiots, or am I the idiot because what he says makes little sense to me?

It makes sense to me and I don't feel as though he is treating me like an idiot, I don't think you have read this correctly :p

1. They have actually seen a "20%-25% reduced chance of a hospital visit and at least a 40% lower risk of being admitted overnight".

2. I agree the vaccine being less effective against omicron than against delta has been taken into account.

3. I think the SAGE modelling suggested that without further Government intervention, hospital admissions in England could reach “at least” 3,000 a day. The reduction in hospitalisations is 20 to 25%, not 40%. On the basis it was predicted to be at least 3,000 a 20 to 25% reduction does not substantially change that conclusion 3,000 daily hospitalisations could occur.

4. The analysis shows evidence of a 20 to 25% reduction, not 40%, I think it is reasonable to considerer that moderate.

It could all still be b0ll0x, but a the moment, based on this evidence, the two don't differ significantly.
 


A1X

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Sep 1, 2017
20,537
Deepest, darkest Sussex








LamieRobertson

Not awoke
Feb 3, 2008
48,416
SHOREHAM BY SEA
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ower-with-omicron-than-delta-uk-data-suggests

I don't know if what Ferguson says makes sense to anyone else, but it doesn't to me.

1. They have discovered from actual, real world evidence that people with omicron are 40-45% less likely to need an overnight hospital stay than people with delta.

2. This is offset by the vaccine being less effective against omicron than against delta. WHAT? The effectiveness of the vaccine is automatically taken into account in the numbers of patients going to hospital.

3. The assessment does not substantially change SAGE modelling pointing to 3,000 daily hospitalisations. WHAT? A reduction of 40% in the number of hospitalisations does not substantially change the number of hospitalisations?

4. The analysis shows evidence of a moderate reduction ... WHAT? It's a reduction by nearly half. That's better than "moderate".

Am I missing something here? Ferguson's presumably an intelligent man. Is he treating us all like idiots, or am I the idiot because what he says makes little sense to me?

Another article in the DT referring to concerns over Professor Lockdowns wide of the mark modelling and the damage to trust in decision making based on same
 






dazzer6666

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Mar 27, 2013
55,530
Burgess Hill
It makes sense to me and I don't feel as though he is treating me like an idiot, I don't think you have read this correctly :p

1. They have actually seen a "20%-25% reduced chance of a hospital visit and at least a 40% lower risk of being admitted overnight".

2. I agree the vaccine being less effective against omicron than against delta has been taken into account.

3. I think the SAGE modelling suggested that without further Government intervention, hospital admissions in England could reach “at least” 3,000 a day. The reduction in hospitalisations is 20 to 25%, not 40%. On the basis it was predicted to be at least 3,000 a 20 to 25% reduction does not substantially change that conclusion 3,000 daily hospitalisations could occur.

4. The analysis shows evidence of a 20 to 25% reduction, not 40%, I think it is reasonable to considerer that moderate.

It could all still be b0ll0x, but a the moment, based on this evidence, the two don't differ significantly.

That's how I interpreted it, but at virtually every stage recently the 'worst case' modelling has been proven to be hugely pessimistic.................let's hope this is as well. I think the (English) Gov are right to delay measures for a bit (accepting it's a gamble)
 


Billy the Fish

Technocrat
Oct 18, 2005
17,594
Haywards Heath
That's how I interpreted it, but at virtually every stage recently the 'worst case' modelling has been proven to be hugely pessimistic.................let's hope this is as well. I think the (English) Gov are right to delay measures for a bit (accepting it's a gamble)

Forget the worst case scenarios, most of the "best case" have been pretty pessimistic!
 




macbeth

Dismembered
Jan 3, 2018
4,172
six feet beneath the moon
For anyone that wants to read a really depressing article...merry Xmas .... :)

https://eand.co/the-lesson-of-omicron-is-that-were-now-in-a-covid-doom-loop-978284a78b0f

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what a load of s***. don't even know where to begin with this...

obviously I have no epidemiological background, but this pretty much disagrees with what the vast majority of scientists have actually said about COVID.

nowhere in that article does it mention the tradeoffs omicron has made to increase transmissibility, such as the fact that it now cant replicate as easily deeper in the lungs. it also makes that frankly farcical suggestion that the only way to avoid a hybrid variant causing societal collapse is to shut down the whole planet for two months. I don't think even the Indy Sage lot have suggested something so unfeasible. And that's before you even start talking about the patronising tone of the article.

the vast majority of scientists have suggested the virus will end up endemic. if that article wanted to offer some evidence to the contrary, then fine, but it doesn't. it just says that we'll get more waves (which is probably true) but then it just offers a load of frankly hysterical what-ifs.

ordinarily I wouldn't even waste my time of such an intentionally pessimistic piece, but people could be genuinely terrified by reading that. I bet every penny I own that the predicted societal collapse doesn't happen
 


beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
36,014
what a load of s***. don't even know where to begin with this...

obviously I have no epidemiological background, but this pretty much disagrees with what the vast majority of scientists have actually said about COVID.

its ok, neither does the author of the article. he makes bold claims that are not supported by links referenced. essentially that Omicron has merged with common cold rhinoviruses to become more transmissable, ignoring that ~30% of colds are caused by coronaviruses. so really Omicron has picked up genetic traits shared by other coronavirus that lead to common colds. this is no grounds to support the claim that every mutation makes it worse, as we know common colds are very mild.
 


macbeth

Dismembered
Jan 3, 2018
4,172
six feet beneath the moon
its ok, neither does the author of the article. he makes bold claims that are not supported by links referenced. essentially that Omicron has merged with common cold rhinoviruses to become more transmissable, ignoring that ~30% of colds are caused by coronaviruses. so really Omicron has picked up genetic traits shared by other coronavirus that lead to common colds. this is no grounds to support the claim that every mutation makes it worse, as we know common colds are very mild.

yeah I saw that he didn't now that I've looked him up :thumbsup:

also I saw that he's got form for this sort of sensationalist bollocks:
https://stevengambardella.medium.com/on-umair-haque-abdd762860b
 






Kinky Gerbil

Im The Scatman
NSC Patron
Jul 16, 2003
58,792
hassocks
F02CF8F7-C588-43A3-A9A9-1DCD6934E6D4.jpegF02CF8F7-C588-43A3-A9A9-1DCD6934E6D4.jpeg

Up to 30 percent incidental people in hospital with Covid, some will be with Delta as well.

At the moment looks like Johnson was correct on waiting.
 


TheJasperCo

Well-known member
Jan 20, 2012
4,612
Exeter
I tell you what, if you ever find yourself with twenty minutes to spare, go back and read through this thread from the beginning.

Honestly, give it a go. I started at page 1 and skipped ahead 10 pages at a time until the first full lockdown announcement.

It's utterly fascinating as an historical record.

I'm not going to do that, but I truly admire your commitment there :thumbsup:
 


knocky1

Well-known member
Jan 20, 2010
13,108
I'm not going to do that, but I truly admire your commitment there :thumbsup:

You can do it 100 pages at a time and bear in mind Boris had a friend/donor behind the Cheltenham Festival and Carrie had a planned baby whatever you call them party the day before the lockdown was called in mid March.

No way Boris would stop them from going ahead.
 




Kinky Gerbil

Im The Scatman
NSC Patron
Jul 16, 2003
58,792
hassocks
BREAKING: Omicron is 50-70% LESS likely to result in hospitalisation than Delta early data shows - U.K. Health Agency

Drakeford looks like a fool at the moment, said it was as dangerous as Delta.
 


dazzer6666

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Mar 27, 2013
55,530
Burgess Hill
BREAKING: Omicron is 50-70% LESS likely to result in hospitalisation than Delta early data shows - U.K. Health Agency

Drakeford looks like a fool at the moment, said it was as dangerous as Delta.

Yep…..DT onto him :facepalm:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politic...ed-lying-claim-omicron-probably-severe-delta/

Mark Drakeford has been accused of lying to the public by a former health statistics boss after he said omicron was “probably” just as severe as delta, despite three studies concluding the opposite.

Jamie Jenkins, the former head of health analysis at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said that the Welsh First Minister had made an “untrue statement with the intent to deceive” as he scrambled to justify his coronavirus restrictions in the face of evidence that the latest Covid variant is milder.

On Wednesday, Mr Drakeford said he did not think it is “as simple as saying omicron is less serious than delta”.

“If you have been infected previously, it may be that it is a less severe attack,” he told a press conference.

“If you have never had coronavirus and you get omicron, the evidence is it is probably just as severe as any other form would be.”

His comments came despite new studies from the University of Edinburgh, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and a group of South African scientists, which all suggested that omicron produced less severe symptoms than delta, and was between 50 and 80 per cent less likely to hospitalise patients.

Mr Jenkins told The Telegraph that Mr Drakeford was “deceiving the Welsh public” to justify Wales’s latest coronavirus restrictions, which include £60 fines for employees who travel to the office when they could work from home, a limit of six people in groups at pubs or restaurants and the return of two-metre social distancing.

Ferguson getting a slating as well

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/busines...ptic-omicron-claims-undermine-faith-vaccines/

Prof Lockdown's 'apocalyptic' omicron claims undermine faith in vaccines and have fuelled unnecessary shutdowns
Professor Neil Ferguson's team forecast thousands of deaths a day from the latest variant but new evidence suggests it may be far milder

The Covid modellers at Imperial College have begun to back down. About time too. Over the past few weeks, they have made extreme claims about the omicron variant that cannot be fully justified by fundamental science, let alone by clinical observation.

Academic etiquette restrains direct criticism, but immunologists say privately that Professor Neil Ferguson and his team breached a cardinal rule by inferring rates of hospitalisation, severe disease, and death from waning antibodies, and by extrapolating from infections that break through the first line of vaccine defence.

The rest are entitled to question whether they can legitimately do this. And we may certainly question whether they should be putting out terrifying claims of up to 5,000 deaths a day based on antibody counts.

“It is bad science and I think they’re being irresponsible. They have a duty to reflect the true risks but this is just headline grabbing,” said Dr Clive Dix, former chairman of the UK Vaccine Task Force.
 


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