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The numbers continue to look more positive and I joined the growing band of the vaccinated – politic

SystemSystem Posts: 11,019
edited January 2021 in General
The numbers continue to look more positive and I joined the growing band of the vaccinated – politicalbetting.com

The rolling average of Deaths with 28 day cut off falls by 13.57 (1.09%) to 1228.141725 deaths reported today compared to 1820 last WednesdaySpring PeakNew deaths: 1224 (21 Apr)Rolling Avg: 942.43 (13 Apr)Winter PeakNew deaths: 1820 (20 Jan)Rolling Avg: 1248.43 (23 Jan) pic.twitter.com/gYrgvkTk80

Read the full story here

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Comments

  • Options
    EndillionEndillion Posts: 4,976
    First. And congratulations. If that's appropriate.
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    Did OGH's vaccine come from a bag marked "le swag"?
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    It is great getting vaccinated.
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,963
    Good news OGH.
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    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,115
    Mike, ignore Macron. He's just jealous of you.....
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,725
    I hope owning a premier political resource counts as being a critical worker, or perhaps as an underlying condition, and saw OGH bumped up the queue.
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    londonpubmanlondonpubman Posts: 3,191
    👍.
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    OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,776
    Well done mike.
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    You can tell a Doctor didn't write your details on your vaccine card, I mean it is entirely legible.
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    kle4 said:

    I hope owning a premier political resource counts as being a critical worker, or perhaps as an underlying condition, and saw OGH bumped up the queue.

    Well I'm classed as a critical worker, so why not OGH.
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    Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905
    Yay! You're getting there. We're all getting there together, ever so gradually. Feels like we've turned a corner. I hope so, anyway.
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    TimTTimT Posts: 6,328
    Jealous, Mike. There is no 'over-60s' group in the US prioritization, just 65+. So I am pretty much at the back of a longer and slower queue. But very thankful the wife has had both Pfizer jabs as a frontline HCW.
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    MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,607
    Well done Mike!
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    AlistairMAlistairM Posts: 2,004
    I produced a chart similar to this about a week ago to show change in rolling 7 day cases. Some mentioned about making it a percentage version so here it is.



    The stats from early in the first wave were all over the place due to how percentages work and so I have cut off the scaling.

    There were some larger % falls at the end of the first wave but the numbers then were far more uncertain due to limited testing. Since the most recent peak the numbers have been coming down very rapidly, about 30% per week. The current stats show an increase in pace of reduction also.

    Let's hope the vaccines help further with this and helps it accelerate.
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    StockyStocky Posts: 9,718
    Hate to trump OGH on the "medical procedures of the day" front but I`ve spent this afternoon in Oxford Hospital with a surgeon poking around in my right eyeball. It was like a horror film. Suspected retinal detachment - luckily was "just" a tear with a blood hemorrhage complication.

    What a fun week I`ve had!

    I should have sought attention a week earlier but Covid blah blah.
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    The Epping bot farm in full swing. Lots of chimps or just one very busy one?

    https://twitter.com/alisonharriso16/status/1355317709605638158?s=21
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    Congratulations Mike.
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    Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 3,386
    Well done Mike.
    My wife is 75 and am hopeful for a date soon. We live in Wales btw.
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,416
    Congratulations Mike and get well soon Stocky.
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    londonpubmanlondonpubman Posts: 3,191
    Stocky said:

    Hate to trump OGH on the "medical procedures of the day" front but I`ve spent this afternoon in Oxford Hospital with a surgeon poking around in my right eyeball. It was like a horror film. Suspected retinal detachment - luckily was "just" a tear with a blood hemorrhage complication.

    What a fun week I`ve had!

    I should have sought attention a week earlier but Covid blah blah.

    Not nice at all! Hope you are fully recovered soon 👍
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    Have to EU managed to go today without threatening to sue somebody or claim war is being initiated?
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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,274
    MaxPB said:

    I think I have a way out of this diplomatic spat for the EU and UK.

    Clearly the EU needs many millions more vaccines in the near term, however there is pressure on the UK to start supplying it's spare doses from April onwards to developing nations and let the EU fend for itself because it's rich and can afford to build output.

    There's a very good chance that from April we won't need ~20m Pfizer doses or ~50m AZ doses. That would be an invaluable boost to the European vaccination drive. We're going to be covered by supplies from Novavax and Moderna and long term we'll have J&J (up to 52m) + Valneva (60m) available for mutations.

    The way out of this is to offer the EU our spare capacity on the basis that it funds COVAX to the same level we have. Our funding is equivalent of €4.5bn scaled to the EU vs ~€750m it has currently pledged via EU and national governments. The EU won't have anywhere it can get 70m vaccine doses from in the short term from April onwards and it will make a big difference to them and making our gift to them contingent on them properly funding COVAX makes a much, much bigger difference to developing nations than 70m doses ever could as it could be used to purchase 1.5bn additional doses of AZ vaccine or 1bn additional Novavax doses both of which are in the CEPI programme.

    This way the EU gets its doses, it gets its "win" against the UK by getting UK vaccine supply it covets and the developing world gets funding for 1-1.5bn additional doses it doesn't currently have.

    Anyone see any downsides?

    Or we could insist on their buying a crate of our fresh fish or seafood with every packet of vaccine?
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    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,601
    Congratulations OGH.
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    Stocky said:

    Hate to trump OGH on the "medical procedures of the day" front but I`ve spent this afternoon in Oxford Hospital with a surgeon poking around in my right eyeball. It was like a horror film. Suspected retinal detachment - luckily was "just" a tear with a blood hemorrhage complication.

    What a fun week I`ve had!

    I should have sought attention a week earlier but Covid blah blah.

    Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that. Eyes are my room 101, I don't know if I could bring myself to stay in the hospital and not run away if it were me.

    I hope it all resolves fully.

    --AS
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    Well done, Mike.

    Off raving tonite then?
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    StockyStocky Posts: 9,718

    Well done, Mike.

    Off raving tonite then?

    A rave would be great wouldn`t it!
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    BBC News - Covid: EU 'made a mistake' over vaccines, Gove says
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55873288
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    Well done Mike.
    My wife is 75 and am hopeful for a date soon. We live in Wales btw.

    Your wife allows you to date? Lucky boy.

    Is this normal in Wales?
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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,274
    HY’s proclaiming Catalan nationalism as dead appears somewhat premature.
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    Stocky said:

    Well done, Mike.

    Off raving tonite then?

    A rave would be great wouldn`t it!
    Perhaps we could organise a PB Rave for all who have had the vaccine.

    Mine's due soon. :)
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,991
    edited January 2021
    IanB2 said:

    HY’s proclaiming Catalan nationalism as dead appears somewhat premature.
    I did not say it was dead, I said Catalonia remains part of Spain.

    Had Rajoy allowed a legal independence referendum in 2017 it may now not be and that poll would be for an independent state
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    StockyStocky Posts: 9,718

    Stocky said:

    Well done, Mike.

    Off raving tonite then?

    A rave would be great wouldn`t it!
    Perhaps we could organise a PB Rave for all who have had the vaccine.

    Mine's due soon. :)
    Beginning of May for me if the utility below is anything to go by.

    https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/vaccine-queue-uk
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    Well done Mike.
    My wife is 75 and am hopeful for a date soon. We live in Wales btw.

    Your wife allows you to date? Lucky boy.

    Is this normal in Wales?
    From attending England v. Wales rugby matches, dating sheep in Wales is normal.
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    DougSealDougSeal Posts: 11,138

    Evening all. To answer the anxious concerns expressed last night by those who couldn’t form an opinion about the EU’s behaviour without my guidance, the Meeks view is that the EU made complete idiots of themselves.

    Still, they managed to unite the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems, Sinn Fein, the DUP and the Irish government. So you have to congratulate them on that unprecedented achievement.

    Thanks Alistair. You are right that many wilting flowers on here needed your firm guidance.
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    Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 3,386

    Well done Mike.
    My wife is 75 and am hopeful for a date soon. We live in Wales btw.

    Your wife allows you to date? Lucky boy.

    Is this normal in Wales?
    hehe, I walked into that one.....
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    MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,607
    Also adding that any plan like that would allow the UK to take on the role of bringing people together to help the world's poorest people get access to vaccines, something the WHO has, unfairly, criticised us over.
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,725
    edited January 2021

    The Epping bot farm in full swing. Lots of chimps or just one very busy one?

    https://twitter.com/alisonharriso16/status/1355317709605638158?s=21

    Is that for real?

    'Your' doing a great job?
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,416
    MaxPB said:

    I think I have a way out of this diplomatic spat for the EU and UK.

    Clearly the EU needs many millions more vaccines in the near term, however there is pressure on the UK to start supplying it's spare doses from April onwards to developing nations and let the EU fend for itself because it's rich and can afford to build output.

    There's a very good chance that from April we won't need ~20m Pfizer doses or ~50m AZ doses. That would be an invaluable boost to the European vaccination drive. We're going to be covered by supplies from Novavax and Moderna and long term we'll have J&J (up to 52m) + Valneva (60m) available for mutations.

    The way out of this is to offer the EU our spare capacity on the basis that it funds COVAX to the same level we have. Our funding is equivalent of €4.5bn scaled to the EU vs ~€750m it has currently pledged via EU and national governments. The EU won't have anywhere it can get 70m vaccine doses from in the short term from April onwards and it will make a big difference to them and making our gift to them contingent on them properly funding COVAX makes a much, much bigger difference to developing nations than 70m doses ever could as it could be used to purchase 1.5bn additional doses of AZ vaccine or 1bn additional Novavax doses both of which are in the CEPI programme.

    This way the EU gets its doses, it gets its "win" against the UK by getting UK vaccine supply it covets and the developing world gets funding for 1-1.5bn additional doses it doesn't currently have.

    Anyone see any downsides?

    Sounds good to me. Perhaps combined with giving ROI more of a direct helping hand as part of the CTA - bearing in mind that their share of the additional vaccines given to the EU will be very small.
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    dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,964

    Stocky said:

    Well done, Mike.

    Off raving tonite then?

    A rave would be great wouldn`t it!
    Perhaps we could organise a PB Rave for all who have had the vaccine.

    Mine's due soon. :)
    Covid cases down.
    Heart attack cases rising.
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    rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,209
    Stocky said:

    Hate to trump OGH on the "medical procedures of the day" front but I`ve spent this afternoon in Oxford Hospital with a surgeon poking around in my right eyeball. It was like a horror film. Suspected retinal detachment - luckily was "just" a tear with a blood hemorrhage complication.

    What a fun week I`ve had!

    I should have sought attention a week earlier but Covid blah blah.

    Blimey. Sounds like a close run thing. Get well soon.
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,285
    edited January 2021
    This covid crisis is creating some strange bed fellows....who would have thought Piers Corybn and Emmanuel Macron would be on the same side when it comes to vaccines.

    And the EU and Jezza against Big Pharma....
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    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Well done, Mike.

    Off raving tonite then?

    A rave would be great wouldn`t it!
    Perhaps we could organise a PB Rave for all who have had the vaccine.

    Mine's due soon. :)
    Beginning of May for me if the utility below is anything to go by.

    https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/vaccine-queue-uk
    I expect the Rave will still be going then but you may have to bring your own drugs.
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,991
    Yet given most GOP House Representatives voted to challenge Biden's election and 95% of them voted against impeaching Trump he represents his caucus
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,725
    Exciting stuff. From afar it all seems to have quieted down - not sure how thhe area moves forward without an official attempt to settle the question, which presumably is still a no no.
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    A Donald Trump supporter who wrote about attacking high-profile Democrats and the offices of Twitter and Facebook has been charged with stockpiling weapons and homemade explosives.

    Officials found dozens of firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, pipe bombs and manuals like The Anarchist Cookbook and US Army Improvised Munitions Handbook when they raided the home and business of Ian Rogers in California's Napa wine country earlier this month.

    The 44-year-old has been charged with the unlawful possession of unregistered destructive devices.

    Among the items seized by investigators was a mock credit card emblazoned with the slogan White Privilege, Trumps Everything. It bore the number 0045 - in honour, according to the FBI, of Donald Trump, the 45th president.

    Rogers also had a car bumper sticker celebrating the anti-government militia the Three Percenters. The group's name refers to the belief that only 3% of American colonists fought against the British during the American Revolution.

    The charges were revealed as the US Department of Homeland Security issued a warning that anger "fuelled by false narratives" could lead to some within the country to launch attacks in the coming weeks. The warning system is usually reserved for alerts to threats of terror attacks.

    In court documents, the FBI alleges text messages found on Rogers' phone revealed that he believed Trump had won the 2020 election. He expressed anger towards the social media companies who had suspended the president's accounts.

    He wrote: "We can attack Twitter and the Democrats easy right now."

    And in another message, he said: "I want to blow up a democrat building bad. The democrats need to pay."

    In other texts he referred to the "sac office" believed to be that of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and the "bird and face offices" referring to the headquarters of Twitter and Facebook.

    He also wrote: "Let's see what happens, if nothing, I'm going to war" - adding: "I hope 45 goes to war, if he doesn't I will."

    Rogers, who runs a car repair business called British Auto Repair, told investigators he made the pipe bombs for "entertainment purposes only".

    Bomb technicians who examined the five improvised explosive devices Rogers had constructed concluded they were fully operational and could cause great bodily harm.


    https://news.sky.com/story/pro-trump-supporter-charged-with-stockpiling-explosives-wanted-to-attack-democrats-12201839
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,725
    Paying personal homage to the defeated President does seem above and beyond.
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,991
    edited January 2021
    kle4 said:

    Exciting stuff. From afar it all seems to have quieted down - not sure how thhe area moves forward without an official attempt to settle the question, which presumably is still a no no.
    There is a Catalonian regional election in February which will likely lead to another nationalist majority on that poll, PM Sanchez will likely refuse a legal independence referendum as Boris will in May, though perhaps a little less aggressively than Rajoy did in 2017.
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    dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,964
    edited January 2021
    Does anyone know how to inform whoever needs to know that one is a key worker eligible for Group 2 vaccination?
    My partner, as a self employed counsellor and psycotherapist, has recently been added to this group.
    All we have heard is please dont conract us, we will be in touch.
    But we aren't sure anyone other than HMRC knows of her occupation. Her GP certainly won't.
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    kle4 said:

    The Epping bot farm in full swing. Lots of chimps or just one very busy one?

    https://twitter.com/alisonharriso16/status/1355317709605638158?s=21

    Is that for real?

    'Your' doing a great job?
    Appears to be. Natev67 was so full of BJ love he joined Twitter this month to proclaim it.

    https://twitter.com/natev67/status/1354761258650771461?s=21
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    HYUFD said:

    Yet given most GOP House Representatives voted to challenge Biden's election and 95% of them voted against impeaching Trump he represents his caucus
    They are all traitors.
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,416
    I'm glad these sinister propaganda videos are not a feature of British politics.
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,725
    HYUFD said:

    kle4 said:

    Exciting stuff. From afar it all seems to have quieted down - not sure how thhe area moves forward without an official attempt to settle the question, which presumably is still a no no.
    There is a Catalonian regional election in February which will likely lead to another nationalist majority on that poll, PM Sanchez will likely refuse a legal independence referendum as Boris will in May, though perhaps a little less aggressively than Rajoy did in 2017.
    Quite, but how to break this cycle?
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    dixiedean said:

    Does anyone know how to inform whoever needs to know that one is a key worker eligible for Group 2 vaccination?
    My partner, as a self employed counsellor and psycotherapist, has recently been added to this group. But we aren't sure anyone other than HMRC knows of her occupation.

    Ring your GP surgery.
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    NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,334

    Congratulations Mike and get well soon Stocky.

    Hear hear! Do you have as date for round 2, Mike?
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,285
    edited January 2021
    BBC News - EU 'fiasco' on N Ireland heaps pressure on Commission

    "It's like watching a car crash in slow motion," one irate EU diplomat told me. "President von der Leyen is a medical doctor. She wanted to take over the mass purchase of vaccines for all the EU - as a high-profile exercise. Normally health issues are dealt with nationally. This hasn't been a great advertisement for handing over powers to Brussels. I think that's the lesson member states will take away from this."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55872763
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    MikeSmithsonMikeSmithson Posts: 7,382

    Congratulations Mike and get well soon Stocky.

    Hear hear! Do you have as date for round 2, Mike?
    The second jab is booked for mid-April. Have you had yours Nick?
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,963

    BBC News - EU 'fiasco' on N Ireland heaps pressure on Commission

    "It's like watching a car crash in slow motion," one irate EU diplomat told me. "President von der Leyen is a medical doctor. She wanted to take over the mass purchase of vaccines for all the EU - as a high-profile exercise. Normally health issues are dealt with nationally. This hasn't been a great advertisement for handing over powers to Brussels. I think that's the lesson member states will take away from this."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55872763

    It's just amazing/bonkers that Ireland wasn't involved, or even told, of the upcoming decision.
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,285
    edited January 2021

    Congratulations Mike and get well soon Stocky.

    Hear hear! Do you have as date for round 2, Mike?
    The second jab is booked for mid-April. Have you had yours Nick?
    Its interesting in some areas people get booked up for second jab then and there, others they don't. Not sure what the thinking is.
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    kle4 said:

    The Epping bot farm in full swing. Lots of chimps or just one very busy one?

    https://twitter.com/alisonharriso16/status/1355317709605638158?s=21

    Is that for real?

    'Your' doing a great job?
    Appears to be. Natev67 was so full of BJ love he joined Twitter this month to proclaim it.

    https://twitter.com/natev67/status/1354761258650771461?s=21
    He's a Chelsea fan, so he's automatically sub human scum.
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,725
    Family member told me they wouldn't take a Johnson jab if offered, given the 66% effectiveness. Hope that is not common, albeit it'll be some time before it occurs.
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    dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,964

    dixiedean said:

    Does anyone know how to inform whoever needs to know that one is a key worker eligible for Group 2 vaccination?
    My partner, as a self employed counsellor and psycotherapist, has recently been added to this group. But we aren't sure anyone other than HMRC knows of her occupation.

    Ring your GP surgery.
    Cheers. Will do.
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,285
    edited January 2021
    RobD said:

    BBC News - EU 'fiasco' on N Ireland heaps pressure on Commission

    "It's like watching a car crash in slow motion," one irate EU diplomat told me. "President von der Leyen is a medical doctor. She wanted to take over the mass purchase of vaccines for all the EU - as a high-profile exercise. Normally health issues are dealt with nationally. This hasn't been a great advertisement for handing over powers to Brussels. I think that's the lesson member states will take away from this."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55872763

    It's just amazing/bonkers that Ireland wasn't involved, or even told, of the upcoming decision.
    The EC were too busy pulling all the tins off the shelves in the supermarket like somebody who has been asked to leave for not wearing a mask...
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,963
    kle4 said:

    Family member told me they wouldn't take a Johnson jab if offered, given the 66% effectiveness. Hope that is not common, albeit it'll be some time before it occurs.

    Did you tell them it's almost completely effective at preventing serious illness?
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,725
    RobD said:

    BBC News - EU 'fiasco' on N Ireland heaps pressure on Commission

    "It's like watching a car crash in slow motion," one irate EU diplomat told me. "President von der Leyen is a medical doctor. She wanted to take over the mass purchase of vaccines for all the EU - as a high-profile exercise. Normally health issues are dealt with nationally. This hasn't been a great advertisement for handing over powers to Brussels. I think that's the lesson member states will take away from this."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55872763

    It's just amazing/bonkers that Ireland wasn't involved, or even told, of the upcoming decision.
    That is the part with really no excuse. Doing it, even doing it improperly by not informing the UK, can be argued as either justified or minor (not easily, but you could do it). But even if the Commission could do it regardless of Ireland's wishes, there's no excuse for not picking up the phone to Dublin. That's just rank stupidity.

    It won't be Ursula even though she must have been consulted about it first, but someone at least needs to be pinned down on it.

    Interestingly, the BBC story on this this morning only, as far as I could tell, referred to the Irish PM as Prime Minister, not the more common Taoiseach (Prime Minister).
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    dixiedean said:

    dixiedean said:

    Does anyone know how to inform whoever needs to know that one is a key worker eligible for Group 2 vaccination?
    My partner, as a self employed counsellor and psycotherapist, has recently been added to this group. But we aren't sure anyone other than HMRC knows of her occupation.

    Ring your GP surgery.
    Cheers. Will do.
    Just make sure your partner has evidence of her status that she can take to vaccination site to prove she is a key worker.

    There's some tossers out there who have been saying the are key workers when they aren't to get a vaccine.
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    kle4 said:

    Family member told me they wouldn't take a Johnson jab if offered, given the 66% effectiveness. Hope that is not common, albeit it'll be some time before it occurs.

    I think the government do need to a better job of communicating all these vaccines have an incredible high level of protect against serious illness. I don't want Covid, but if i got a bad flu for a week, that isn't the same as being in ICU because I didn't get a jab because it only stopped me getting covid with 66% efficacy.
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    FishingFishing Posts: 4,561
    FPT:
    Omnium said:

    Kwarteng on R4 doing very well. I don't see him as a future leader, but this sort of good performance isn't so common.

    I used to know him fairly well many years ago, and I've dealt with Johnson briefly professionally. I'd say Kwasi is much more Prime Ministerial material than Boris, but would have less of an appeal to the Red Wall types.

    Personal anecdote - Kwasi and I last met in the British Library in late '09 or early '10. Back then, it still looked more than likely that Cameron would get an overall majority. I said they would. He demurred. History has spoken and he was right.
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,725
    RobD said:

    kle4 said:

    Family member told me they wouldn't take a Johnson jab if offered, given the 66% effectiveness. Hope that is not common, albeit it'll be some time before it occurs.

    Did you tell them it's almost completely effective at preventing serious illness?
    Yes, and about the sort of level required for approval. Hopefully they consider that, as their initial take seemed to be that 66%= hardly worth it.
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,963
    kle4 said:

    RobD said:

    kle4 said:

    Family member told me they wouldn't take a Johnson jab if offered, given the 66% effectiveness. Hope that is not common, albeit it'll be some time before it occurs.

    Did you tell them it's almost completely effective at preventing serious illness?
    Yes, and about the sort of level required for approval. Hopefully they consider that, as their initial take seemed to be that 66%= hardly worth it.
    BTW, your friend isn't a certain E Macron, is he?
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    StockyStocky Posts: 9,718

    Stocky said:

    Hate to trump OGH on the "medical procedures of the day" front but I`ve spent this afternoon in Oxford Hospital with a surgeon poking around in my right eyeball. It was like a horror film. Suspected retinal detachment - luckily was "just" a tear with a blood hemorrhage complication.

    What a fun week I`ve had!

    I should have sought attention a week earlier but Covid blah blah.

    Blimey. Sounds like a close run thing. Get well soon.
    It was. I`ve been mentally preparing myself to being blind in one eye. Would have meant only being able to ski round Sella Ronda anti- clockwise. (That was a skiing joke.)

    Moral of the story is if you get big floaters in your eye go straight to Eye Casualty; don`t faff around I like did for a week thinking it wasn`t serious and being wary of catching the pox is the hosp.
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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,274
    It’s easy to neglect our feet - until something goes awry.
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    CiceroCicero Posts: 2,215

    kle4 said:

    The Epping bot farm in full swing. Lots of chimps or just one very busy one?

    https://twitter.com/alisonharriso16/status/1355317709605638158?s=21

    Is that for real?

    'Your' doing a great job?
    Appears to be. Natev67 was so full of BJ love he joined Twitter this month to proclaim it.

    https://twitter.com/natev67/status/1354761258650771461?s=21
    He's a Chelsea fan, so he's automatically sub human scum.
    If they cant speak English, I suppose they are automatic trolls... and the fact that so many trolls fight on one side might be suggestive...
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    I'm glad these sinister propaganda videos are not a feature of British politics.
    Allo allo, what have we here?

    https://twitter.com/scotsecofstate/status/1355197696487919620?s=21

    'So preem ministeer, have yoo foond yoor veesets in Scodland interesting todday?'

    'I've had a fantastic day Alister, so far in Scotland and looking really at the contribution of Scottish people.

    The Scotch – what a verminous race!

    Canny, pushy, chippy, they’re all over the place, Battening off us with false bonhomie, Polluting our stock, undermining our economy...'

    Camera hastily switched off and BJ bundled off to learn alternative script.
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    DougSealDougSeal Posts: 11,138

    The EU's problems stem from last year, when the commission only signed a deal with Oxford-Astrazeneca three months after the UK had secured a priority deal for the vaccine. Two French vaccines backed by the EU had failed to materialise.

    The French vaccines surrendered to Covid-19, who could have predicted that.

    The only permanent member of the UN Security Council yet to develop its own vaccine.
    HYUFD said:

    Yet given most GOP House Representatives voted to challenge Biden's election and 95% of them voted against impeaching Trump he represents his caucus
    Then they are traitors too.
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    alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518

    Well done, Mike.

    Off raving tonite then?

    Or French orgying?
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    Wulfrun_PhilWulfrun_Phil Posts: 4,600

    Congratulations Mike and get well soon Stocky.

    Hear hear! Do you have as date for round 2, Mike?
    The second jab is booked for mid-April. Have you had yours Nick?
    Don't bank on that if it's the Pfizer jab, Mike. I know that Michael Gove has gone on record saying that the Government is not worried about 2nd doses being interrupted by the EU, but that seems to be window dressing. It's not in our Government's hands. Even if some reassurance has been given behind the scenes, it would still come down to whether this country can place any trust in the word of a mendacious EU Commission and the likes of Macron, and the answer to that is obvious now. It seems foolhardy at this point not to start giving some 2nd doses to the very early Pfizer cases, at least to reduce the backlog if everything goes pear shaped and exports from Pfizer plans in the EU are suddenly halted.
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,725

    I'm glad these sinister propaganda videos are not a feature of British politics.
    Allo allo, what have we here?

    https://twitter.com/scotsecofstate/status/1355197696487919620?s=21

    'So preem ministeer, have yoo foond yoor veesets in Scodland interesting todday?'

    'I've had a fantastic day Alister, so far in Scotland and looking really at the contribution of Scottish people.

    The Scotch – what a verminous race!

    Canny, pushy, chippy, they’re all over the place, Battening off us with false bonhomie, Polluting our stock, undermining our economy...'

    Camera hastily switched off and BJ bundled off to learn alternative script.
    It's not the same without an authoritative voice over from someone who probably does movie trailers that begin 'In a world...'
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,285
    edited January 2021
    BBC News - Russian billionaire Arkady Rotenberg says 'Putin Palace' is his
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55872249

    Of course you are......perhaps on paper.....and Vlad is your permanent unpaid house guest

    And of course the documentary never claimed Putin owned it on paper. They went into great depth about how official ownership had changed over time and how there was a very complex network of names who owned the vieyards and shell fish processing ventures associated with it.
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    StockyStocky Posts: 9,718

    Congratulations Mike and get well soon Stocky.

    Hear hear! Do you have as date for round 2, Mike?
    The second jab is booked for mid-April. Have you had yours Nick?
    Don't bank on that if it's the Pfizer jab, Mike. I know that Michael Gove has gone on record saying that the Government is not worried about 2nd doses being interrupted by the EU, but that seems to be window dressing. It's not in our Government's hands. Even if some reassurance has been given behind the scenes, it would still come down to whether this country can place any trust in the word of a mendacious EU Commission and the likes of Macron, and the answer to that is obvious now. It seems foolhardy at this point not to start giving some 2nd doses to the very early Pfizer cases, at least to reduce the backlog if everything goes pear shaped and exports from Pfizer plans in the EU are suddenly halted.
    It was AZN - card is in the Header.
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    DougSealDougSeal Posts: 11,138

    A Donald Trump supporter who wrote about attacking high-profile Democrats and the offices of Twitter and Facebook has been charged with stockpiling weapons and homemade explosives.

    Officials found dozens of firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, pipe bombs and manuals like The Anarchist Cookbook and US Army Improvised Munitions Handbook when they raided the home and business of Ian Rogers in California's Napa wine country earlier this month.

    The 44-year-old has been charged with the unlawful possession of unregistered destructive devices.

    Among the items seized by investigators was a mock credit card emblazoned with the slogan White Privilege, Trumps Everything. It bore the number 0045 - in honour, according to the FBI, of Donald Trump, the 45th president.

    Rogers also had a car bumper sticker celebrating the anti-government militia the Three Percenters. The group's name refers to the belief that only 3% of American colonists fought against the British during the American Revolution.

    The charges were revealed as the US Department of Homeland Security issued a warning that anger "fuelled by false narratives" could lead to some within the country to launch attacks in the coming weeks. The warning system is usually reserved for alerts to threats of terror attacks.

    In court documents, the FBI alleges text messages found on Rogers' phone revealed that he believed Trump had won the 2020 election. He expressed anger towards the social media companies who had suspended the president's accounts.

    He wrote: "We can attack Twitter and the Democrats easy right now."

    And in another message, he said: "I want to blow up a democrat building bad. The democrats need to pay."

    In other texts he referred to the "sac office" believed to be that of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and the "bird and face offices" referring to the headquarters of Twitter and Facebook.

    He also wrote: "Let's see what happens, if nothing, I'm going to war" - adding: "I hope 45 goes to war, if he doesn't I will."

    Rogers, who runs a car repair business called British Auto Repair, told investigators he made the pipe bombs for "entertainment purposes only".

    Bomb technicians who examined the five improvised explosive devices Rogers had constructed concluded they were fully operational and could cause great bodily harm.


    https://news.sky.com/story/pro-trump-supporter-charged-with-stockpiling-explosives-wanted-to-attack-democrats-12201839

    I’m guessing the name of his business has more to do with the makes of (possibly vintage) cars he specialises in repairing than his nationality?
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    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    Stocky said:

    Hate to trump OGH on the "medical procedures of the day" front but I`ve spent this afternoon in Oxford Hospital with a surgeon poking around in my right eyeball. It was like a horror film. Suspected retinal detachment - luckily was "just" a tear with a blood hemorrhage complication.

    What a fun week I`ve had!

    I should have sought attention a week earlier but Covid blah blah.

    I can get you into see Rob Maclaren if you need - he still practices down at Nuffield. Lovely guy for an extraordinary scientist - world specialist in retinas
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    CiceroCicero Posts: 2,215

    I'm glad these sinister propaganda videos are not a feature of British politics.
    GBTV coming soon to a screen near you
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    alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518
    RobD said:

    kle4 said:

    Family member told me they wouldn't take a Johnson jab if offered, given the 66% effectiveness. Hope that is not common, albeit it'll be some time before it occurs.

    Did you tell them it's almost completely effective at preventing serious illness?
    And, as a single jab, it's probably as good as anything else, and may well be supplemented by another at a later date?
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    DougSeal said:

    A Donald Trump supporter who wrote about attacking high-profile Democrats and the offices of Twitter and Facebook has been charged with stockpiling weapons and homemade explosives.

    Officials found dozens of firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, pipe bombs and manuals like The Anarchist Cookbook and US Army Improvised Munitions Handbook when they raided the home and business of Ian Rogers in California's Napa wine country earlier this month.

    The 44-year-old has been charged with the unlawful possession of unregistered destructive devices.

    Among the items seized by investigators was a mock credit card emblazoned with the slogan White Privilege, Trumps Everything. It bore the number 0045 - in honour, according to the FBI, of Donald Trump, the 45th president.

    Rogers also had a car bumper sticker celebrating the anti-government militia the Three Percenters. The group's name refers to the belief that only 3% of American colonists fought against the British during the American Revolution.

    The charges were revealed as the US Department of Homeland Security issued a warning that anger "fuelled by false narratives" could lead to some within the country to launch attacks in the coming weeks. The warning system is usually reserved for alerts to threats of terror attacks.

    In court documents, the FBI alleges text messages found on Rogers' phone revealed that he believed Trump had won the 2020 election. He expressed anger towards the social media companies who had suspended the president's accounts.

    He wrote: "We can attack Twitter and the Democrats easy right now."

    And in another message, he said: "I want to blow up a democrat building bad. The democrats need to pay."

    In other texts he referred to the "sac office" believed to be that of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and the "bird and face offices" referring to the headquarters of Twitter and Facebook.

    He also wrote: "Let's see what happens, if nothing, I'm going to war" - adding: "I hope 45 goes to war, if he doesn't I will."

    Rogers, who runs a car repair business called British Auto Repair, told investigators he made the pipe bombs for "entertainment purposes only".

    Bomb technicians who examined the five improvised explosive devices Rogers had constructed concluded they were fully operational and could cause great bodily harm.


    https://news.sky.com/story/pro-trump-supporter-charged-with-stockpiling-explosives-wanted-to-attack-democrats-12201839

    I’m guessing the name of his business has more to do with the makes of (possibly vintage) cars he specialises in repairing than his nationality?
    Oui.

    British Auto Repair of the Napa Valley Incorporated opened in Napa, California in August of 2005. We specialize in repairing British vehicles, mainly Land Rover and Jaguar. Our company is owned and operated by Ian Rogers, local wine country native, along with our trusted employee Michael Yokoi.

    https://britishautorepair.net/about-us/
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,285
    edited January 2021

    Congratulations Mike and get well soon Stocky.

    Hear hear! Do you have as date for round 2, Mike?
    The second jab is booked for mid-April. Have you had yours Nick?
    Don't bank on that if it's the Pfizer jab, Mike. I know that Michael Gove has gone on record saying that the Government is not worried about 2nd doses being interrupted by the EU, but that seems to be window dressing. It's not in our Government's hands. Even if some reassurance has been given behind the scenes, it would still come down to whether this country can place any trust in the word of a mendacious EU Commission and the likes of Macron, and the answer to that is obvious now. It seems foolhardy at this point not to start giving some 2nd doses to the very early Pfizer cases, at least to reduce the backlog if everything goes pear shaped and exports from Pfizer plans in the EU are suddenly halted.
    The UK does still have some control. They could opt to store all Pfizer they have left and just use AZN for the next couple of months. That it suboptimal, but one potential approach.
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    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    MaxPB said:

    I think I have a way out of this diplomatic spat for the EU and UK.

    Clearly the EU needs many millions more vaccines in the near term, however there is pressure on the UK to start supplying it's spare doses from April onwards to developing nations and let the EU fend for itself because it's rich and can afford to build output.

    There's a very good chance that from April we won't need ~20m Pfizer doses or ~50m AZ doses. That would be an invaluable boost to the European vaccination drive. We're going to be covered by supplies from Novavax and Moderna and long term we'll have J&J (up to 52m) + Valneva (60m) available for mutations.

    The way out of this is to offer the EU our spare capacity on the basis that it funds COVAX to the same level we have. Our funding is equivalent of €4.5bn scaled to the EU vs ~€750m it has currently pledged via EU and national governments. The EU won't have anywhere it can get 70m vaccine doses from in the short term from April onwards and it will make a big difference to them and making our gift to them contingent on them properly funding COVAX makes a much, much bigger difference to developing nations than 70m doses ever could as it could be used to purchase 1.5bn additional doses of AZ vaccine or 1bn additional Novavax doses both of which are in the CEPI programme.

    This way the EU gets its doses, it gets its "win" against the UK by getting UK vaccine supply it covets and the developing world gets funding for 1-1.5bn additional doses it doesn't currently have.

    Anyone see any downsides?

    What do you do when the Eu doesn’t actually pay?

    Or accuses the U.K. of charging more than they paid for the vaccines?
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    alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518

    I'm glad these sinister propaganda videos are not a feature of British politics.
    I'm glad we don't have traitors and seditionists in the House of Commons.
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    TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 114,414
    edited January 2021
    alex_ said:

    I'm glad these sinister propaganda videos are not a feature of British politics.
    I'm glad we don't have traitors and seditionists in the House of Commons.
    Technically we do with the Scottish National Party Sinn Féin.
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    alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518

    Congratulations Mike and get well soon Stocky.

    Hear hear! Do you have as date for round 2, Mike?
    The second jab is booked for mid-April. Have you had yours Nick?
    Don't bank on that if it's the Pfizer jab, Mike. I know that Michael Gove has gone on record saying that the Government is not worried about 2nd doses being interrupted by the EU, but that seems to be window dressing. It's not in our Government's hands. Even if some reassurance has been given behind the scenes, it would still come down to whether this country can place any trust in the word of a mendacious EU Commission and the likes of Macron, and the answer to that is obvious now. It seems foolhardy at this point not to start giving some 2nd doses to the very early Pfizer cases, at least to reduce the backlog if everything goes pear shaped and exports from Pfizer plans in the EU are suddenly halted.
    The UK does still have some control. They could opt to store all Pfizer they have left and just use AZN for the next couple of months. That it suboptimal, but one potential approach.
    There's a reasonable chance that having a booster of Astra Zeneca is just as good. And if you think that you're going to need another round come the autumn...
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    FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 3,886
    edited January 2021

    kle4 said:

    Family member told me they wouldn't take a Johnson jab if offered, given the 66% effectiveness. Hope that is not common, albeit it'll be some time before it occurs.

    I think the government do need to a better job of communicating all these vaccines have an incredible high level of protect against serious illness. I don't want Covid, but if i got a bad flu for a week, that isn't the same as being in ICU because I didn't get a jab because it only stopped me getting covid with 66% efficacy.
    J&J wasn't 100% (or very close) at stopping serious illness though, unlike AZN. It was 85% I think?

    I suspect it will be turned into a two dose jab and will then be more or less equivalent to AZN given the technology is similar. Isn't there a trial being run to that effect?

    Still, I wouldn't turn it down.
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    alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518

    kle4 said:

    Family member told me they wouldn't take a Johnson jab if offered, given the 66% effectiveness. Hope that is not common, albeit it'll be some time before it occurs.

    I think the government do need to a better job of communicating all these vaccines have an incredible high level of protect against serious illness. I don't want Covid, but if i got a bad flu for a week, that isn't the same as being in ICU because I didn't get a jab because it only stopped me getting covid with 66% efficacy.
    J&J wasn't 100% (or very close) at stopping serious illness though, unlike AZN. It was 85% I think?

    I suspect it will be turned into a two dose jab and will then be more or less equivalent to AZN given the technology is similar. Isn't there a trial being run to that effect?
    I think some people are also overlooking that the early vaccines were trialled when the arguably more dangerous variants weren't circulating.
This discussion has been closed.