Whitty saying we'll still have restrictions next winter

[bathsh3ba]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-55542393

Fan-fucking-tastic. And I don't swear. Honestly don't know how I'm going to get through this.

@cheninblanc

They also can't promise that all children will return to school before summer holidays. I'm lost for words at how messed up this actually is

They can’t promise anything. Everything changes in a pandemic. They, and we, have to react accordingly. That’s why they, ‘can’t promise.’ We can’t yet look that far ahead, unfortunately; the situation is evolving constantly.

I honestly think it’s time for a rethink.

Herd immunity in the young in summer when flu is low anyway.

If these new variants are resistant to vaccines then this is life forever otherwise

As pp have already said, that isn't at all what he said. We were always going to carry on needing some restrictions for a while yet, but it will be minor things like masks on public transport and in shops etc. That is not new information. Masks are quite normal in some parts of the world.

As an aside I am so fed up of posters spouting "well this is why we are in the situation we are in, because we aren't following the rules". This is bullshit. Yes you may get the odd rule "flouter" (bloody hate that word) but by and large people comply. You have to realise that there are still a huge number of people who are at work, who go to the supermarket etc, and until yesterday millions of children and teachers in close proximity at school.

We are in this mess because Boris and co didn't lock down early enough, didn't close the borders, didn't use the summer to get track and trace working, have too short a list of symptoms, don't support people to properly isolate, don't enforce quarantine upon returning from abroad, didn't use any of the multitude of options which would have meant schools could open safely and also because there is a very infectious new strain doing the rounds.

@RaspberryCoulis

Chris Witty, dementor in Chief, the man who never smiles in case his face cracks.

He's the most miserable man on the planet.

For goodness' sake, he spends every working - probably waking - hour thinking how to limit the body bags.

Do you want him to be act like Morecambe and Wise?

Just grow up a bit, think what his job actually involves. He doesn't have time to read conspiracy bullshit on FB and pretend it's not really happening.

@FleetwoodRaincoat

This government has fucked everything up. They've been an absolute disgrace. We're now the laughing stock of the entire world due to their inability to tackle this virus properly. I hate them for all the people they've let die through their lack of care for their people. They've ruined everything.

Please, it hurts just to read that.

I hope you have people close by you can talk to! It can't be asy to carry that level of despair around in your head!

I know this will probably read as very patronising, even sarcastic or belittling. But I mean it very sincerely [hug: FleetwoodRaincoat :hug]

And someone screams “worst case is going to occur” then runs round their house with their pants on their head, before starting a thread on mumsnet so others can join in with the pretend stuff said

I so agree, @Bluntness100 - it's like Chicken Licken on here lately!
Where on earth in the article does it say anything about there will be restrictions, it doesn't say that at all!!

It says he warns the virus "is not going to go away", saying we "shouldn’t kid ourselves that this just disappears with spring" - although the risks will go down
“Hopefully we’ll have spring, summer, autumn, possibly winter as well, with almost nothing in place, once the full vaccination programme is through. But we just need to be aware of the fact this is not a problem that just disappears.”

To me, that reads that they are hoping to get through the rest of the year with hardly any restrictions, and we have a vaccination programme that is vaccinating people.
The virus isn't going to magically go away, that's all he's saying and no-one knows what is going to happen.
Really wish people would stop scaremongering too, and actually read the articles, and stop spreading speculation as fact.

@emptydreamer

Everyone I know who knows Whitty personally from his medical practice days, is also of an extremely high opinion of the man - both from the intellectual and caring / "bedside manner" point of view.

Good for you, sticking up for him. I think he comes across extremely well. He’s so knowledgeable, calm, professional and, above all, honest. He won’t give empty promises - unlike many politicians.

We're not the 'laughing stock' of the world, what bullshit. Loads of European countries are in deep shit like us, but what they haven't done yet is vaccinate over a million people.

Herd immunity won't do anything if the new strains are vaccine resistant.

Whitty and Valance are realistic and articulate well their points. Our PM is not articulate unless reading off a pre prepared speech and over promises.
I think it’s best to listen carefully to what the scientists and medical professionals say and to be realistic. There is a lot of hysterical nonsense bandied around on MN frankly.

@blue25

I’m hearing online learning is being planned until the summer holidays. Can’t believe it, what a nightmare.

Isn’t that just sensible planning for a worst case scenario? It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to happen.

Isn’t that just sensible planning for a worst case scenario? It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to happen

Exactly.

Johnson, who throughout much of the pandemic has been the government’s main voice of optimism, was notably wary. He refused to guarantee that children would be fully back at school before the summer, instead calling this a “fundamental hope”.

From the Guardian.

I have so much respect for Chris whitty. Especially how he was working shifts on COVID wards all throughout Christmas.

Isn't there a "shadow" SAGE already? With very celebrated experts too. Yes. And contrary to what some reporters wanted us to think early on, they all communicate, share infomration and data.

Public Health isn't as secretive or exclusive as some might think! Their whole reason for existing is to share ideas and look at large cohorts of people.

But they do get quite ariated An ex boss thinks he should have been asked to sit on Sage, one of his ex pupils does. There's a very visible ego bruise. But that hasn't stopped them discussing things sensibly!

I have the greatest respect for Chris Whitty. He speaks like an educated professional, which he is. No empty promises one day and then something else the next day. No one can know what path the virus will take in the next few months ,so he is cautiously answering to allow for that. He gives me hope that there are at least a few intelligent and trustworthy people out there.

"Civilization is coming to an end, you understand"

• Dorothy Parker

Are the scientists withholding some critical material discovery?

Would the new vaccines keep pace with the mutating strains?

2% of UK population now recorded infected. So what is the expected real rate of asymptomatic super spreading? More than 10%?

What needs to be happening over the next few weeks is the govt working with PHE and teachers, as the NAHT have requested, to ensure a safe return to school as soon as possible.

Many of the ideas that schools had last summer eg part-time in school, part-time at home would be worth thinking about for secondary for example.

Or even the government funding schools so they could employ additional staff to enable more social distancing on site.

What really needs not to happen is for parents to spend the next x many weeks slagging off teachers over some Twinkl worksheets sent last March and keeping their fingers crossed.

@GGilbert

Way back in March of last year I recall seeing a scientist on tv who advised that we might never return to fully normal life as we know it. He was never seen again . I wondered if he didn't fit the party line. In the 1950s that we lived with outbreaks of polio and TB.

Also the Asian flu ... things always go back to normal once the fear as gone

I think once hospital rates are manageable they’ll lose any public enthusiasm. It’s sad people will still die but I don’t think people will be willing to put their lives on hold much longer once the hospitals can cope, and we don’t do so for any other diseases.

@Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow

I honestly think it’s time for a rethink.

Herd immunity in the young in summer when flu is low anyway.

If these new variants are resistant to vaccines then this is life forever otherwise

What no business etc it will eventually burn out

We had very few restrictions where I am from May to November lockdown.

We had really low cases even then.

We don't now

With regards education. The issue IMO is we have placed so much focus on GCSEs and a levels. It's not the only route to a future.
Plenty of pupils fail them or fall foul or the one size fits all system and go on to start companies and earn a fortune!

Not all pupils can cope with exams even when academic.

And because it's a whole cohort and not a few individual cases there will be much more cohesion moving forward.

To be clear, iirc, Chris Whitty stated that he expected covid to become seasonal, like colds and flu. I believe this is where the word "likely" was used (though I'm not certain on that point).

Obviously the severity of that reality would depend on how often significant mutations take place and whether vaccines can be modified, manufactured and distributed quickly enough each 6 months (based on northern and southern hemisphere Winter seasons) to vaccinate enough of the population to cover new variants - and how much resistance previous vaccination and/or infection might afford against a new variant.

We do occasionally see variants come through which aren't covered yet by that season's flu vaccine and these are known as "bad flu years". The hope is that eventually we could reach that point with covid.

I really like Chris whitty and JVT they speak a lot of sense