I’m just angry now

[BathFullOfEels]

They knew a vaccine would be the only way of getting us out of this mess. The country has already been locked down twice. Why, why, why didn’t they use this time to set up the logistics of distributing and administering these vaccines?

Why, why, why are the government allowed to decide who to prioritise to receive these vaccines when they were always going to distribute in a way that benefits them. Surely any government with an ounce of realism would be self aware enough to realise that they would make this vaccine distribution a political decision and instead allow the decision to be made by an independent third party who can distribute it in a way that would allow the country to get back to work. Instead it’s likely that months and months down the line we’ll all be forced to go back to work despite still be unprotected.

I have visions of pensioners being able to swan off on holiday over the summer while the workers of the country will still be unable to.

It’s an absolute fucking farce. Watching that press conference last night just finally made it snap for me - they genuinely don’t know what they’re doing at all

Oh and I heard last night on the news that the UK has vaccinated more people than the rest of Europe put together, so we're hardly dragging our feet about it.

@Justbrutallyhonest

They get the vaccines because there the ones dying! You want them to dye 80% of deaths are in the over 80s, but what? They will be dead soon anyway so no need to waste vaccine?

Oh ps I caught covid had it for 3 weeks and as I have a health condition I didn’t leave the house 2 weeks before I got it and only saw 1 person in those 2 weeks, 1 person - so it happens!!!!

They were the dying much more in the first wave, mainly because of lack of PPE/incompetance in care homes. Death rates are now considerably lower. I appreciate that they may still be higher risk but even so I don't think someone with only a few months to live anyway should have priority over a much younger vulnerable people including NHS workers as is happening.

Isn't the jab to minimise symptoms and will not stop you passing on the disease. Therefore it makes sense to vaccinate the vulnerable first, just like they do with the flu jab (no im not saying its the same, but kills the vulnerable the same).

Sorry I haven't rtft so apologies if this has already been mentioned.

It's not the Government who decides the priority list. It is the Joint Committee on Vaccinations.

Calm down dear!

The only people to get angry with are the dickheads who haven’t heeded the law/guidance/regulations. If everyone had just done what they were supposed to do then the virus would have been under control.

I’m no big fan of the government, they’re a pack of squabbling kids but they are up against it when there’s a pandemic. They copied the model used by most of the rest of western society but the pig headed British public demanded they had a right to party/shop/be dicks.

Save your anger and do something productive with your energy - speak to your friends and family who are sticking two fingers up to the rest of us who are quietly getting on with our lives under lockdown. If every one of us got through to one single other person about how important it is to just bunker down for one last time then lots of lives will be saved and we’ll get through this quicker.

🙄

@HappyBirthdayJC

The only people to get angry with are the dickheads who haven’t heeded the law/guidance/regulations

Exactly

If we vaccinate those most likely to overwhelm the NHS wards (keeping those not in crisis has always been the aim) then it makes sense to vaccinate the old. Another strategy would be denying medical help with covid 19 for anyone over 80 but that would probably go down badly (although in practice every year the NHS gets overwhelmed and difficult decisions are made so this is nothing new, but is worse).

I have no problem with the old having the vaccination first and we have done better than any other country in Europe on this as said above despite in a sense being physically the sick man of Europe with some of the worst obesity rates in this continent.

I think it's to protect the nhs. Elderly people are more likely to need ICU beds. If ICU beds are full of covid patients it means there aren't enough for other people, serious assault victims maybe, people involved in a traffic accident, certain surgeries etc. I think teachers should be on the list to get schools running again. I'm really annoyed the schools have had to shut again after they promised they'd take measures before they go to that point again. Majority of kids from what I hear don't learn as much at home, it destroys their routine, it turned my 11yo into a virtual recluse ,

The JCVI's plan is completely logical. The NHS is at breaking point and we have an appalling death toll already. This is the best way to rapidly reduce hospitalizations and deaths. The government has made a complete fiasco out of pretty much every aspect of Covid so far. But the vaccine rollout could be their one success story. We have to wait and see if the pace of vaccination ramps up the way they say it will.

The Lib Dems are pushing for teachers to go into group 4. I think this would be a good balance.

Actually it wasn't the government who decided the priority. And it makes sense to get the most vulnerable vaccinated and all the front line workers so we can start getting back to normality whilst the rest of the population gets vaccinated.

It’s a hard choice between vaccinating the biggest spreaders or the most vulnerable.
Logically you should choose the first group because that will stop spread to the second, but since it will take a lot of time to get through the first group and we don’t yet know if the vaccination even stops spread (it may just mitigate - which is actually worse for spread as so many won’t even know they have it) then we have to choose the second.

@Rachel1874

Actually it wasn't the government who decided the priority. And it makes sense to get the most vulnerable vaccinated and all the front line workers so we can start getting back to normality whilst the rest of the population gets vaccinated.

I think it was probably the government that directed that the priority should just be reducing deaths. That won't necessarily have the biggest impact on the NHS.

I've always said younger people should be able to lead their lives and older people stay inside or shield. Most of them have a stable pension and homes they own. I'm one of the olds by the way.

@Livinginthecity - how would you divide society into young and old. What's the cut off? What about older people who work in supermarkets, hospitals, schools? What about older people who live with younger people? Would old people be allowed to be treated by younger health care professionals? Would older people be allowed to go out for dinner?

Anyone who thinks the young should not lock down and can happily go about their lives, or the vacinnes should not be rolled out in a way that protects the NHS are no better than the Torries they hate and blame for how crap the NHS is. Attitudes like this will contribute to what is happening with the hospitals.

I've always said younger people should be able to lead their lives and older people stay inside or shield. Most of them have a stable pension and homes they own. I'm one of the olds by the way.

You’ve always been wrong then. The actual experts must be so annoyed repeating themselves, explaining why the order is what it is, only to have people who clearly have no understanding constantly talk shit.

@Livinginthecity I agree 100%. There will be analysis for years to come of the way this crisis was handled, and I think history will suggest that it could have been different.

@Icenii

Anyone who thinks the young should not lock down and can happily go about their lives, or the vacinnes should not be rolled out in a way that protects the NHS are no better than the Torries they hate and blame for how crap the NHS is. Attitudes like this will contribute to what is happening with the hospitals.

I agree, I do feel for young people and I do understand that they feel they are not at risk and may think they should be allowed to carry on as normal but that would be a crazy idea, most young people have elderly relatives, a lot of carers and nurses are young and will be caring for the elderly so they would pose a huge risk, many young people live with parents or grandparents so would bring the virus home. The graphs show that at the moment the biggest spread is amongst younger people, probably because of schools, colleges, unis and work places. Young people may not be at much risk of dying but they are spreaders.

@Flyonawalk

There will be analysis for years to come of the way this crisis was handled

Yes, because I'm sure those you seem to so ferviently look up to (whoever they are) would have been so intelligent to handle this much more successfully. Get real

Surely the young should be vaccinated first as they are the spreaders.

@Livinginthecity

Surely the young should be vaccinated first as they are the spreaders.

heavy sigh

The vaccine doesn’t stop you passing it on. It makes it less likely you will get seriously ill / die. That’s why those who are most likely to get seriously ill / die need to get it first. I genuinely do not understand how anyone isn’t getting this point!

@Livinginthecity

Surely the young should be vaccinated first as they are the spreaders

These vaccines have not yet been proven to prevent transmission. This has been repeated over and over on these threads

@Livinginthecity

Surely the young should be vaccinated first as they are the spreaders.

88% of deaths are in the first 4 priority groups.

A vaccination stops severe disease (hospitalisations).

Our problem atm is hospitalisations which are stopping everyone, including the young, get care for other conditions.

Vaccinating the young first prolongs the hospital problem.

@trulydelicious There will be plenty of time for realism when the damage from repeated shutdowns has to be addressed. Hopefully economists will come more to the fore as we repair devastated social structures.