Back to British politics for a change and a possible threat to Boris – politicalbetting.com

Not sure why things will speed dramatically when they get to the over 60s. The Times source suggests that is because pharmacies will be involved. Why aren't they involved before then?

BluestBlue said:

williamglenn said:

North Korea showing off their latest missiles.

https://twitter.com/nktpnd/status/1349843604488007686?s=21

Damn. @Leon must have a hell of a time knapping all of those by hand.

I wouldn't strike the pointy bit at the front too vigorously.

How come these wiped records aren't backed up somewhere?

rcs1000 said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Floater said:

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1349832342819500035

Another place that was often reported to have handled the first wave fairly well, with all the big tech bros pushing the lockdowns.

Hang on.

SoCal is Hollywood, not tech,

Northern California is Silicon Valley and big tech and San Francisco. They are doing a lot better than we are.

Hollywood seems to have been able to get a lot of exceptions. There was a video a few months ago of a restaurant owner in tears because she had to shut down while a film studio set up huge tents nearby.

For comparison, Germany now reporting 1,088 deaths

Germany is having a bad second wave

rottenborough said:

Not sure why things will speed dramatically when they get to the over 60s. The Times source suggests that is because pharmacies will be involved. Why aren't they involved before then?

Presumably, the younger people are, the easier for them to get there under their own steam.

FrancisUrquhart said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

The government are really pushing...it seems like a deliberate strategy to keep introducing these new stretch targets. I like it. If only they did this with other things.

Well sure sometimes it works, but sometimes just escalting your previous promises does not work, just as the South Sea Company.

I got there as fast as I could

https://twitter.com/twitonatrain/status/1349848160173232129

kinabalu said:

HYUFD said:

Tres said:

HYUFD said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

Scott_xP said:

Mortimer said:

The Boris paradox for the Sturge is every day he is PM, support for Indy remains, but she won't get an IndyRef whilst he remains.

BoZo can't stop her holding a referendum with the same legal weight as the Brexit vote.

Of course he can, any referendum without UK government and Westminster consent would be illegal and irrelevant as Madrid proved when it ignored the illegal referendum held by the Catalan government

I am not sure you are correct.

Don't forget the Brexit vote was advisory rather than binding.

I would imagine Nippy can do pretty much as she likes regarding plebiscite arrangements. Where she is hamstrung is that she can't legally declare UDI on the result.

s30 of the Scotland Act 1998 specifically reserves matters affecting the Union to be decided by Westminster and Westminster's approval alone is required for such matters.

No one is denying that. If Nippy calls a Referendum and wins, Johnson is perfectly entitled to reject it. However it would look bad!

Boris would not give a shit, it would look far worse for him if he allowed a referendum that risked him being the PM who lost the Union and he only has 6 Scottish MPs anyway.

He will be the PM who lost the Union. No hiding place.

He won't if he refuses a legal indyref as long as he is PM or he will pass the ball to Starmer in 2024 who if he needs SNP support to become PM may have to concede with a devomax offer to try and win it

But that will be one of those spectacular "assists" that are remembered more than the tap in.

He'll be the man who lost the union. No way round this. It's written.

No sorry. History doesn't work like that. Cameron is now remembered for Brexit, even though most of the problems and errors that led to it were not his doing,

Major is remembered for the ERM debacle, even tho, etc

If it happens on your watch, you get the blame.

Boris will be remembered for Covid and Actual Brexit. We have yet to see how history will judge him, so far the auguries are not great but he has time, maybe, to redeem.

He will fend off indyref2 and give to his successor, who will, very probably, have to grasp the thistle. He or she will live or die thereby

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

I have to ask surely they have a backup....

If not heads really should rule starting at the appropriate chief constable.

rottenborough said:

another_richard said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

If half a million vaccinations a day are reached then almost the whole country will be done by the end of March.

Knighthoods for everyone involved if that is the case.

2022 will be a good year to do a mass number of honours anyway, what with it being the 70th anniversary of the accession of our most glorious monarch.

Theuniondivvie said:

Is Darren the stupidest of all the grifter progeny of Brexit?

https://twitter.com/darrengrimes_/status/1349690629077532674?s=21

Lozza is not Isaac Newton.

Theuniondivvie said:

Is Darren the stupidest of all the grifter progeny of Brexit?

https://twitter.com/darrengrimes_/status/1349690629077532674?s=21

I feel like Grimes is the equivalent of those obscure, radical accounts that people on the right like to quote to show how crazy the left are, as he seem to be brought up exclusively by people who don't like him.

The blame game is truly underway now.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/14/brexiteers-blamed-problems-warned/

We Brexiteers are being blamed for the problems we warned about

As problems mount for UK businesses, both in dealing with mainland Europe and regarding Northern Ireland, don’t be surprised if Brexit and Brexiteers get the blame for what is a failure of Government, as the possibility of reintegration via the backdoor looms.

Foxy said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

Half done...not done until the booster dose.

First shot by end of March. Second shot by end of June. Holiday by end of July?

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Scott_xP said:

https://twitter.com/DavidHenigUK/status/1349831508870180864

Oh wow, Brexit turns out to be all about tearing up workers' rights. Who could have predicted that?

Why should workers have rights anyway? Just do your work and shut up. The robots are coming. You are lucky to have a job at all. Frankly

I'll be surprised if the Government enacts these measures as advertised but the thing about Brexit is that a Tory Government could deregulate things like this and then a Labour government come back in two-three years later and put them straight back in again, or even strengthen them further.

Thats kind of the point.

Was it in the Tory manifesto? If not, what mandate do they have? Personally I'd rather governments didn't have the opportunity to take away my rights with no democratic mandate.

Foxy said:

another_richard said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

If half a million vaccinations a day are reached then almost the whole country will be done by the end of March.

As I mentioned earlier, HALF DONE...

Nearly 300,000 administered on Wednesday.

kle4 said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Is Darren the stupidest of all the grifter progeny of Brexit?

https://twitter.com/darrengrimes_/status/1349690629077532674?s=21

I feel like Grimes is the equivalent of those obscure, radical accounts that people on the right like to quote to show how crazy the left are, as he seem to be brought up exclusively by people who don't like him.

I feel obliged to bring Dazza up after one former PB poster described him as the intelligent young face of the right.

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Scott_xP said:

https://twitter.com/DavidHenigUK/status/1349831508870180864

Oh wow, Brexit turns out to be all about tearing up workers' rights. Who could have predicted that?

Why should workers have rights anyway? Just do your work and shut up. The robots are coming. You are lucky to have a job at all. Frankly

I'll be surprised if the Government enacts these measures as advertised but the thing about Brexit is that a Tory Government could deregulate things like this and then a Labour government come back in two-three years later and put them straight back in again, or even strengthen them further.

Thats kind of the point.

Was it in the Tory manifesto? If not, what mandate do they have? Personally I'd rather governments didn't have the opportunity to take away my rights with no democratic mandate.

Manifestoes don't give a mandate anyway - when a government wants to do something in it which people really don't like they don't stop opposing it because it was in there, and they do things like point out that people don't agree with everything in a manifesto so you cannot assume everyone who voted for you supports it and provides a mandate for it.

Better than nothing, but awfully limited.

Alistair said:

I got there as fast as I could

https://twitter.com/twitonatrain/status/1349848160173232129

Even I laughed.

Foxy said:

another_richard said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

If half a million vaccinations a day are reached then almost the whole country will be done by the end of March.

As I mentioned earlier, HALF DONE...

One would expect, assuming other vaccines are approved and supply continues to ramp up, that the pace of vaccinations will keep rising. One would also expect R to fall as more people are vaccinated - even if the protection is only partial.

I don't know about you, @Foxy, but I'm feeling increasingly optimistic about the world.

Basically: cheer up man!

Leon said:

Foxy said:

another_richard said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

If half a million vaccinations a day are reached then almost the whole country will be done by the end of March.

As I mentioned earlier, HALF DONE...

As I understand it, the first dose of, say, Pfizer, gives 80-90% protection, and the 2nd just tops this up to 90%+? Am I wrong?

That is, surely, the government's rationale for delaying the 2nd dose. But you are the doc

Yes... but don't forget that 80% of the doses we're going to be giving out in the next few months will be AZN, which is much mess efficacious.

rcs1000 said:

Leon said:

Foxy said:

another_richard said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

If half a million vaccinations a day are reached then almost the whole country will be done by the end of March.

As I mentioned earlier, HALF DONE...

As I understand it, the first dose of, say, Pfizer, gives 80-90% protection, and the 2nd just tops this up to 90%+? Am I wrong?

That is, surely, the government's rationale for delaying the 2nd dose. But you are the doc

Yes... but don't forget that 80% of the doses we're going to be giving out in the next few months will be AZN, which is much mess efficacious.

That is uncertain. As I understand it. Oxford-AZ's efficacy is "good", it may be "very good". We don't know yet

279k first jabs, 288k total jabs done yesterday. That's a reasonably good figure, another 70-80k on top and we'll smash through that target and if we do get to 500k per day next week as they are planning the we'll be down to group six or seven by the middle of Feb.

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Scott_xP said:

https://twitter.com/DavidHenigUK/status/1349831508870180864

Oh wow, Brexit turns out to be all about tearing up workers' rights. Who could have predicted that?

Why should workers have rights anyway? Just do your work and shut up. The robots are coming. You are lucky to have a job at all. Frankly

I'll be surprised if the Government enacts these measures as advertised but the thing about Brexit is that a Tory Government could deregulate things like this and then a Labour government come back in two-three years later and put them straight back in again, or even strengthen them further.

Thats kind of the point.

Was it in the Tory manifesto? If not, what mandate do they have? Personally I'd rather governments didn't have the opportunity to take away my rights with no democratic mandate.

Just something about a red tape challenge. Nothing more.

I don't think it will be tinkered with except at the margins. And I think it's irrelevant anyway.

Firstly we already had a WTD opt-out anyway (and most professional people sign that waiver upon signing a contract) and social pressures on mental health and competitive market pressures on work/life balance for employees is doing more for reasonable working hours than regulation ever would.

I honestly wouldn't worry about it.

Leon said:

rcs1000 said:

Leon said:

Foxy said:

another_richard said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

If half a million vaccinations a day are reached then almost the whole country will be done by the end of March.

As I mentioned earlier, HALF DONE...

As I understand it, the first dose of, say, Pfizer, gives 80-90% protection, and the 2nd just tops this up to 90%+? Am I wrong?

That is, surely, the government's rationale for delaying the 2nd dose. But you are the doc

Yes... but don't forget that 80% of the doses we're going to be giving out in the next few months will be AZN, which is much mess efficacious.

That is uncertain. As I understand it. Oxford-AZ's efficacy is "good", it may be "very good". We don't know yet

Both the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) have c. 95% efficacy. The adenovirus vaccines, whether Chinese, Russian or British appear to be in the low 60s to the mid 80s. That's not awful, but it is substantially less than with Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

If I were paying up, I know which one I'd rather get.

UK cases by specimen date

UK Local R

rcs1000 said:

Leon said:

rcs1000 said:

Leon said:

Foxy said:

another_richard said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

If half a million vaccinations a day are reached then almost the whole country will be done by the end of March.

As I mentioned earlier, HALF DONE...

As I understand it, the first dose of, say, Pfizer, gives 80-90% protection, and the 2nd just tops this up to 90%+? Am I wrong?

That is, surely, the government's rationale for delaying the 2nd dose. But you are the doc

Yes... but don't forget that 80% of the doses we're going to be giving out in the next few months will be AZN, which is much mess efficacious.

That is uncertain. As I understand it. Oxford-AZ's efficacy is "good", it may be "very good". We don't know yet

Both the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) have c. 95% efficacy. The adenovirus vaccines, whether Chinese, Russian or British appear to be in the low 60s to the mid 80s. That's not awful, but it is substantially less than with Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

If I were paying up, I know which one I'd rather get.

Yes, Oxford because of the snobbery.

UK Case summary

rcs1000 said:

Leon said:

rcs1000 said:

Leon said:

Foxy said:

another_richard said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

If half a million vaccinations a day are reached then almost the whole country will be done by the end of March.

As I mentioned earlier, HALF DONE...

As I understand it, the first dose of, say, Pfizer, gives 80-90% protection, and the 2nd just tops this up to 90%+? Am I wrong?

That is, surely, the government's rationale for delaying the 2nd dose. But you are the doc

Yes... but don't forget that 80% of the doses we're going to be giving out in the next few months will be AZN, which is much mess efficacious.

That is uncertain. As I understand it. Oxford-AZ's efficacy is "good", it may be "very good". We don't know yet

Both the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) have c. 95% efficacy. The adenovirus vaccines, whether Chinese, Russian or British appear to be in the low 60s to the mid 80s. That's not awful, but it is substantially less than with Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

If I were paying up, I know which one I'd rather get.

If Oxford-AZ turns out to be mid 80s then yay. Low 60s, meh. We don't know yet, surely. Their testing was a bit pff

UK Deaths

rcs1000 said:

Foxy said:

another_richard said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

If half a million vaccinations a day are reached then almost the whole country will be done by the end of March.

As I mentioned earlier, HALF DONE...

One would expect, assuming other vaccines are approved and supply continues to ramp up, that the pace of vaccinations will keep rising. One would also expect R to fall as more people are vaccinated - even if the protection is only partial.

I don't know about you, @Foxy, but I'm feeling increasingly optimistic about the world.

Basically: cheer up man!

Some pretty steep reductions in new cases in London, Kent and Essex as well:

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Scott_xP said:

https://twitter.com/DavidHenigUK/status/1349831508870180864

Oh wow, Brexit turns out to be all about tearing up workers' rights. Who could have predicted that?

Makes no difference to the Pensioners and "dole scum" who voted for it.

My stepson who has never done a days work in the last 20 yrs and has 10 kids with his various partners of the same ilk tweeted "Independence Day" on 1.1.21

Its the people paying his benefits who will be hardest hit

another_richard said:

UK vaccinations

11/01 166,474
12/01 223,726
13/01 288,688

England vaccinations

11/01 140,441
12/01 187,645
13/01 248,177

Northern Ireland vaccinations

11/01 7,521
12/01 9,782
13/01 12,454

Scotland vaccinations

11/01 12,664
12/01 16,156
13/01 16,442

Wales vaccinations

11/01 5,218
12/01 10,143
13/01 11,615

Hopefully today's snow will not have affected things much.

England rocking it there. Almost a doubling in two days. WTF happened in Scotland and Wales?

Casino_Royale said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Scott_xP said:

https://twitter.com/DavidHenigUK/status/1349831508870180864

Oh wow, Brexit turns out to be all about tearing up workers' rights. Who could have predicted that?

Why should workers have rights anyway? Just do your work and shut up. The robots are coming. You are lucky to have a job at all. Frankly

I'll be surprised if the Government enacts these measures as advertised but the thing about Brexit is that a Tory Government could deregulate things like this and then a Labour government come back in two-three years later and put them straight back in again, or even strengthen them further.

Thats kind of the point.

Was it in the Tory manifesto? If not, what mandate do they have? Personally I'd rather governments didn't have the opportunity to take away my rights with no democratic mandate.

Just something about a red tape challenge. Nothing more.

I don't think it will be tinkered with except at the margins. And I think it's irrelevant anyway.

Firstly we already had a WTD opt-out anyway (and most professional people sign that waiver upon signing a contract) and social pressures on mental health and competitive market pressures on work/life balance for employees is doing more for reasonable working hours than regulation ever would.

I honestly wouldn't worry about it.

Nothing to see here... Not sure if you've ever worked at the sharp end of the labour market or only in nice white collar jobs with dress down Friday. My first job was £1.50 an hour, twelve hour shifts, not getting paid for the last hour of your shift. There are people who absolutely need protection from the "nanny state" in the shape of these kind of rules. Where is the mandate to take these protections away? How many times were we told that Brexit definitely wasn't about eroding workers' rights?

Leon said:

Theuniondivvie said:

kle4 said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Is Darren the stupidest of all the grifter progeny of Brexit?

https://twitter.com/darrengrimes_/status/1349690629077532674?s=21

I feel like Grimes is the equivalent of those obscure, radical accounts that people on the right like to quote to show how crazy the left are, as he seem to be brought up exclusively by people who don't like him.

I feel obliged to bring Dazza up after one former PB poster described him as the intelligent young face of the right.

"Dazza"?

You can do better than that. It only elicits a minor *Ugh*.

After all , you're the guy who warned us about "PROBS FOR THE DEMERSAL AND PELAGIC BOYS" so I feel a similar level of scrotum-tighteningly cringeworthy "I like Drill even tho I'm 80" fake matey yoof creole is required here.

Ta, fam

You’re the bloke that thinks the Zhou Enlai ‘too early to tell’ guff is cutting edge insight. Maybe you need to get down with the kids more grandad, they’d have cleared that one up for you.

isam said:

I saw this and thought of you @Theuniondivvie

Assume that's the somewhere to park your bike one?

Leon said:

Cases wildly accelerating in Spain. 36.000 today, close to a new pandemic record

Their sluggishness in rolling out the vaccine is..... bewildering

The record was 38k set yesterday - so its not a one off but a serious problem.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/spain/

And its even worse in Portugal:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/portugal/

another_richard said:

UK vaccinations

11/01 166,474
12/01 223,726
13/01 288,688

England vaccinations

11/01 140,441
12/01 187,645
13/01 248,177

Northern Ireland vaccinations

11/01 7,521
12/01 9,782
13/01 12,454

Scotland vaccinations

11/01 12,664
12/01 16,156
13/01 16,442

Wales vaccinations

11/01 5,218
12/01 10,143
13/01 11,615

Hopefully today's snow will not have affected things much.

So at that daily rate of increase, tomorrow we should be at the daily rate required to hit government targets, no?

isam said:

The Crown s4... Gillian Anderson’s Maggie is pretty ridiculous isn’t it?

It's a really unrealistic portrayal. She seems almost human in places.

Leon said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Leon said:

Theuniondivvie said:

kle4 said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Is Darren the stupidest of all the grifter progeny of Brexit?

https://twitter.com/darrengrimes_/status/1349690629077532674?s=21

I feel like Grimes is the equivalent of those obscure, radical accounts that people on the right like to quote to show how crazy the left are, as he seem to be brought up exclusively by people who don't like him.

I feel obliged to bring Dazza up after one former PB poster described him as the intelligent young face of the right.

"Dazza"?

You can do better than that. It only elicits a minor *Ugh*.

After all , you're the guy who warned us about "PROBS FOR THE DEMERSAL AND PELAGIC BOYS" so I feel a similar level of scrotum-tighteningly cringeworthy "I like Drill even tho I'm 80" fake matey yoof creole is required here.

Ta, fam

You’re the bloke that thinks the Zhou Enlai ‘too early to tell’ guff is cutting edge insight. Maybe you need to get down with the kids more grandad, they’d have cleared that one up for you.

PROBS FOR THE DEMERSAL AND PELAGIC BOYS

Why didn't you put a Z on Probz, or indeed Boyz? You clearly hang out in the bars of Eyemouth, so you know how they stan Z bruh

Ragin'!

Casino_Royale said:

rcs1000 said:

Leon said:

rcs1000 said:

Leon said:

Foxy said:

another_richard said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

If half a million vaccinations a day are reached then almost the whole country will be done by the end of March.

As I mentioned earlier, HALF DONE...

As I understand it, the first dose of, say, Pfizer, gives 80-90% protection, and the 2nd just tops this up to 90%+? Am I wrong?

That is, surely, the government's rationale for delaying the 2nd dose. But you are the doc

Yes... but don't forget that 80% of the doses we're going to be giving out in the next few months will be AZN, which is much mess efficacious.

That is uncertain. As I understand it. Oxford-AZ's efficacy is "good", it may be "very good". We don't know yet

Both the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) have c. 95% efficacy. The adenovirus vaccines, whether Chinese, Russian or British appear to be in the low 60s to the mid 80s. That's not awful, but it is substantially less than with Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

If I were paying up, I know which one I'd rather get.

Yes, Oxford because of the snobbery.

I'd be more than happy with the Oxford vaccine, particularly if the claim that close to 100% of those taking it, even if they do not become immune, will at worst get a mild form of the disease, without needing hospitalization.

But, being in the States, I guess there is a good chance I won't be up for mine until Novovax and J&J are also online. The J&J one sounds the way to go if given a choice.

Lets hope that Oxford vaccine still protects against Brazilian Bum or Saffers COVID....that the next potential hiccup for government vaccine strategy.

...

Theuniondivvie said:

isam said:

I saw this and thought of you @Theuniondivvie

Assume that's the somewhere to park your bike one?

Yes, that’s the one

Anabobazina said:

Leon said:

rcs1000 said:

Leon said:

rcs1000 said:

Leon said:

Foxy said:

another_richard said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

If half a million vaccinations a day are reached then almost the whole country will be done by the end of March.

As I mentioned earlier, HALF DONE...

As I understand it, the first dose of, say, Pfizer, gives 80-90% protection, and the 2nd just tops this up to 90%+? Am I wrong?

That is, surely, the government's rationale for delaying the 2nd dose. But you are the doc

Yes... but don't forget that 80% of the doses we're going to be giving out in the next few months will be AZN, which is much mess efficacious.

That is uncertain. As I understand it. Oxford-AZ's efficacy is "good", it may be "very good". We don't know yet

Both the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) have c. 95% efficacy. The adenovirus vaccines, whether Chinese, Russian or British appear to be in the low 60s to the mid 80s. That's not awful, but it is substantially less than with Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

If I were paying up, I know which one I'd rather get.

If Oxford-AZ turns out to be mid 80s then yay. Low 60s, meh. We don't know yet, surely. Their testing was a bit pff

A 60% vaccine that is piss easy to store and distribute is great to have at this stage in the game.

https://twitter.com/LuwandaJenkins/status/562707754679549952

Leon said:

Foxy said:

Leon said:

Foxy said:

another_richard said:

rottenborough said:

All over 50s done by end March!!!

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1349845527236587520/photo/1

If half a million vaccinations a day are reached then almost the whole country will be done by the end of March.

As I mentioned earlier, HALF DONE...

As I understand it, the first dose of, say, Pfizer, gives 80-90% protection, and the 2nd just tops this up to 90%+? Am I wrong?

That is, surely, the government's rationale for delaying the 2nd dose. But you are the doc

To get that figure, the first 2 weeks after the first injection are ignored, and the week after the second injection added in, so based on very small numbers. The Confidence Intervals are high, and we do not know yet how long the immunity lasts. The AZN vaccine is noticeably lower protection after the first dose.

We should know by the end of Feb how reliable a single dose is, particularly in the elderly, who do mount a more feeble response to vaccines in general.

If the gamble comes off, plaudits all round, but if it doesn't...

Informative, thankyou. I believe the gamble is justified. This is a war, and in war you have to balance one evil against another, worse outcome

We know that there is a real problem of poor response to immunisation from single dose vaccines in the elderly, a group that barely featured in the AZN studies. A booster vaccine greatly improves efficacy:

https://immunityageing.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12979-019-0164-9

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Casino_Royale said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Scott_xP said:

https://twitter.com/DavidHenigUK/status/1349831508870180864

Oh wow, Brexit turns out to be all about tearing up workers' rights. Who could have predicted that?

Why should workers have rights anyway? Just do your work and shut up. The robots are coming. You are lucky to have a job at all. Frankly

I'll be surprised if the Government enacts these measures as advertised but the thing about Brexit is that a Tory Government could deregulate things like this and then a Labour government come back in two-three years later and put them straight back in again, or even strengthen them further.

Thats kind of the point.

Was it in the Tory manifesto? If not, what mandate do they have? Personally I'd rather governments didn't have the opportunity to take away my rights with no democratic mandate.

Just something about a red tape challenge. Nothing more.

I don't think it will be tinkered with except at the margins. And I think it's irrelevant anyway.

Firstly we already had a WTD opt-out anyway (and most professional people sign that waiver upon signing a contract) and social pressures on mental health and competitive market pressures on work/life balance for employees is doing more for reasonable working hours than regulation ever would.

I honestly wouldn't worry about it.

Nothing to see here... Not sure if you've ever worked at the sharp end of the labour market or only in nice white collar jobs with dress down Friday. My first job was £1.50 an hour, twelve hour shifts, not getting paid for the last hour of your shift. There are people who absolutely need protection from the "nanny state" in the shape of these kind of rules. Where is the mandate to take these protections away? How many times were we told that Brexit definitely wasn't about eroding workers' rights?

The clue was in Brexit being supported by Jacob Rees Mogg, who literally dresses like Scrooge-meets-Dracula, with a dash of Flashman, and also looks like an etiolated but ennobled Victorian workhouse CEO, and actually jokes about fish-minded Scotsmen losing their livelihoods, in the House of Commons. And is a multi-millionaire who had a nanny

There's a bunch of clues, there, for those of a Sherlockian disposition.

A it happens, the British people in their wisdom chose to ignore or dismiss then, and here we are. Brexiting. The will of the British people is done.

kinabalu said:

HYUFD said:

Tres said:

HYUFD said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

Scott_xP said:

Mortimer said:

The Boris paradox for the Sturge is every day he is PM, support for Indy remains, but she won't get an IndyRef whilst he remains.

BoZo can't stop her holding a referendum with the same legal weight as the Brexit vote.

Of course he can, any referendum without UK government and Westminster consent would be illegal and irrelevant as Madrid proved when it ignored the illegal referendum held by the Catalan government

I am not sure you are correct.

Don't forget the Brexit vote was advisory rather than binding.

I would imagine Nippy can do pretty much as she likes regarding plebiscite arrangements. Where she is hamstrung is that she can't legally declare UDI on the result.

s30 of the Scotland Act 1998 specifically reserves matters affecting the Union to be decided by Westminster and Westminster's approval alone is required for such matters.

No one is denying that. If Nippy calls a Referendum and wins, Johnson is perfectly entitled to reject it. However it would look bad!

Boris would not give a shit, it would look far worse for him if he allowed a referendum that risked him being the PM who lost the Union and he only has 6 Scottish MPs anyway.

He will be the PM who lost the Union. No hiding place.

He won't if he refuses a legal indyref as long as he is PM or he will pass the ball to Starmer in 2024 who if he needs SNP support to become PM may have to concede with a devomax offer to try and win it

But that will be one of those spectacular "assists" that are remembered more than the tap in.

He'll be the man who lost the union. No way round this. It's written.

I suppose we should wonder if this might be another reason for Boris retiring early before a referendum can be held.

isam said:

The Crown s4... Gillian Anderson’s Maggie is pretty ridiculous isn’t it?

I managed about three minutes. I love Gillian Anderson normally but that Thatcher voice/character is just unbearable. Awful overacting. Absolutely risible.