Do you think there is more to this new strain than they are letting on...

[Zara50]

...and if so, what?

My mind is fried.

@BethlehemIsInTier1

This Government lie about everything

Read the scientific reports then

@Bornlazy that’s exactly it. They are worried more people are going to catch it quicker. We are now in a viral-vaccine race against time. Thank goodness we have started the vaccination programme already. We need to get as many of the most vulnerable people vaccinated as quickly as possible now. It really is a race.

@BethlehemIsInTier1 it is not possible for the government to lie about the science. Do you really think all the dozens of reports on this new strain are fabricated by all these established titles such as the British Medical Journal in cahoots with the government. If you do then you are living a sheltered life.

I think they have realised the impact of the new strain on the infection rate. They’ve known this strain exists but have been exploring what it can do. The fact that infection rates kept increasing despite stricter restrictions hasn’t obviously contributed although the thought it wasn’t due to non compliance. They worked out 60% of London’s cases last week and 45% of Kent’s were due to the new strain, so the concern for other areas is that their case numbers will do the same

The exponential growth and the NHS being overwhelmed has been the concern all along and this could potentially have a big negative impact on top of the existing winter pressures.

Watch BBC's The Hospital on iPlayer, it follows the teams at a couple of London hospitals this autumn - it really shows why covid is such a big problem for the NHS and has wide-reaching implications for all other treatment (i.e. you can't just make more ICU beds if they are all full because there isn't the staff).

[quote Nc135]@BethlehemIsInTier1 it is not possible for the government to lie about the science. Do you really think all the dozens of reports on this new strain are fabricated by all these established titles such as the British Medical Journal in cahoots with the government. If you do then you are living a sheltered life.[/quote]
This.

@reprehensibleme I promise this isn't my 1st post, I name changed a couple of weeks ago as the Mirror did an article based on one of my threads which was very outing (MN can confirm if you want to check as they deleted the thread for me)

Thanks everyone for the opinions, reading this today has made me feel a lot better. My mind has been in overdrive. I have a 2yo on the shielding list but im also a key worker so 1st lockdown was stuck between a rock and a hard place, however knowing the impact on little ones was so minor I wasn't too bad.

This last few days I feel like my heart is beating out my chest, that "impending sense of doom" feeling.

Definitely feeling more reassured though now.

Thank you

@Zara50 happy that you feel reassured. It really does help to read the science journals but please rest assured if you don’t or don’t want to, that many of us have and there is nothing more sinister than the contagion.

They're really not hiding anything. The scientists are perfectly transparent: it's most likely more transmissible, they don't know yet whether more or less virulent, they think the vaccine will still work or if not be adapted in a fairly short period of time. The government aren't this great sinister dystopian threat, they're a load of bumbling idiots yes but they are responding to the science they are given. This article lays it out quite helpfully.
I really hope it's less virulent, but time will tell.

www.statnews.com/2020/12/21/looming-questions-new-variant-coronavirus/?

Maybe go to NHS or Gov.uk in future if you are unsure of what the law / guidance is.

If there is any ambiguity then perhaps post here.

In this case, the guidance / law is very clear and not open to interpretation.

Ignore above. Wrong thread

Zara - apologies, it's just there have been so many shit stirring first posts - things are febrile enough without trouble makers stirring things further. Glad you feel reassured, there are many intelligent and informed posters, and loads of good science resources, it's just the soundbitey scaremongering is doing so much damage.

@PeppermintSoda

In the 1918 pandemic the second wave was more virulent than the first. The 3rd was more virulent than the first, but not as bad as the second. So probably just what happens

I also looked up how that panned out to see how previous pandemics had presented.

I would say we are in second wave still. It's definitely a more transmissible variant.

What we need to watch and be keeping on top of is the third wave.

Will it be more virulent whereas this strain doesn't show signs it is.

More transmissible again?

Less transmissible and more virulent?

Even more transmissible and less virulent?

There's so many different ways a virus can behave that we really need to be ahead even more so than we've needed to be the past year.

One good thing about this country, we have ery good scientists who will speak up and are not controlled by the govt.

The press is different but if you look away from the tabloids/ telegraph you can normally find the truth.

I think this strain is worse. I had to go to hospital for steroids and oxygen (no risk factors) and the Red Zone was full of other youngish people. Some just stayed a few hours and went home with steroids. others like me stayed overnight. All of us on heart monitors.

Doctor said they’re seeing more serious inflammation and organ damage in younger people this time. They were worried about pulmonary embolisms, heart damage, kidney damage. Doing blood tests a lot. Telling us all to keep drinking fluids as it causes dehydration. Some of the patients were vomiting a lot.

In the first wave I was frontline and don’t remember it being like this. Not sure if the mutation’s worse or if the transmission rate is worrying them but something is different this time.

Last time I had mild symptoms, this time it’s hit me like a steamroller and I can’t imagine feeling normal again.

Will it be more virulent whereas this strain doesn't show signs it is

Actually it maybe does. The admissions don’t correlate to the same increase in cases,and we don’t even know if the admissions are strain one or two. So to say it doesn’t show signs it is, is pointlessly negative. You don’t know, I don’t know, even the scientists don’t know, for sure, but is there signs it’s less virulent, yes, based on hospital admissions.

itsgettingweird Yes we are in second wave.

It would make sense if it has become more transmissible that it has become less virulent.

I'm not sure it has become more transmissible though, I think people aren't socially distancing as much as they were.

@MrsMiaWallis

It would make sense if it has become more transmissible that it has become less virulent.

I'm not sure it has become more transmissible though, I think people aren't socially distancing as much as they were.

Why do you say it makes sense? I mean I’d love it to be the case but why so

The data reflects more than lack of SD.

@AlecTrevelyan006

No I don’t think there’s anything else going on.

In fact I suspect it was massively overplayed by the govt in order to justify the sudden introduction of further restrictions - which hugely and quickly backfired

I agree with this. They had to justify cancelling Christmas but went overboard and scared all the other countries into closing borders

Hike, so you are saying you have had it twice

I'd be lying if I said this hadn't crossed my mind

Re the gov looking worried, I was thinking it maybe more about other background things that domino effect..

The background stuff like food chain.

I agree with this. They had to justify cancelling Christmas but went overboard and scared all the other countries into closing borders

Countries would act on data through the right channels not headlines

@MrsMiaWallis

It would make sense if it has become more transmissible that it has become less virulent.

I'm not sure it has become more transmissible though, I think people aren't socially distancing as much as they were.

If it was ebola then yes but not with Covid unfortunately. The reason why we often see a reduction in virulence with an increase in transmissibility is because dead or incapacitated people don't spread viruses as much as people who are still going about their daily business. Most of covid's spread is pre-symptomatic or in the first few days of symptoms - since severe symptoms don't tend to develop until a week or so in then there's very little selective pressure against killing the patient. If covid has become more transmissible due to higher viral load then you'd actually expect an increase in disease severity.