Stop panicking about variants says top expert

[CottageGardener]

People need to "stop panicking" every time a new coronavirus variant is identified in the UK, a leading scientist has said, amid concern about the growing number of cases of the Indian variant.

Professor Robert Dingwall, who is a member of the government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, said that while the Indian variant may be capable of becoming the dominant variant in the UK, the risk of a surge in deaths or hospital admissions remains low.

Prof Dingwall, of the School of Social Sciences at Nottingham Trent University, told the PA news agency: "This variant seems to be better managed by the vaccines than the South African variant so that vaccinated people have only a very low risk of infection that is likely to be mild."

Source: BBC news

@SonnetForSpring

Actually, partial protection can cause more issues as the virus will be forced to mutate in order to overcome the obstacles. That's why the roadmap needs to be delayed, until we have as much vaccine protection as we can get.

We delay the roadmap until when? Let's say September? What if a new variant comes then? We delay again? Until January? New variant comes in January? What then? Another lockdown? What about the vaccines!!! Seriously, people have to start thinking bigger picture here. This is utter madness. We can't allow whole industries to die, and that is what will happen if we lockdown for another year. Seriously. People who are sitting pretty in WFH jobs now will no be smiling so much if these lockdowns continue as, believe me, we will ALL be hit. When huge industries start toppling it has ripple effects all over. Take a look at the price of gold here: www.bullionvault.com/gold-price-chart.do Investors are buying gold as they see serious inflation on the way due to all the money being printed to keep this house of cards afloat. It's insane. The next generation are going to be so, so fucked if this insanity continues.

I think university going back is right. On balance

@MarshaBradyo

Sonnet I reckon that’s why we are getting messages about anxious over variant.

It’s what is being asked for atm by MPs - test and isolate. Particularly surge testing.

Yes the gov knows what needs to be done. The messaging is coming through but whether the majority will follow the advice is another thing. You can see the overall tone on mn....

This variant will rip through universities. No doubt about that. Students are not vaccinated.

@Moondust001

a real scientist....with medical training here. He's correct. There is no evidence whatsoever that this or any other variant evades the vaccines available. It is more easily transmitted that some previous strains, but even that is a bit of a "finger in the wind" thing, because comparing conditions in India to those in the UK is like comparing Earth to Mars.

There appears to be a train of Mumsnet thought that I really do not come across in any aspect of real life, where people seem to be enjoying living in a state of hysteria conducted from their living rooms because they have no intention of ever going to the shops, on holiday, or engaging with any form of real life ever again. They are therefore willing to jump on every doomsayer bandwagon and accuse anyone with rational thought processes of being flat-earthers or anti-vaxxers. Just because the vast majority of people want to get back to normal, whether or not they fully understand the imperatives for that, does not make them less intelligent than you. It makes them probably less entitled and almost certainly less irrational.

Most people cannot afford to spend their lives working from home and doing nothing with their lives. Most people don't even want to.

I have to step away from MN as it's like la la land at times. I hate the barely disguised glee of some posters around the prospects of another lockdown/it all going tits up. It is like they are determined to have the chance to tell us all 'I told you so'.

@SonnetForSpring

It's not panic. I'm not panicked. I am unbelievably frustrated at the repeated stupidity shown in response to covid. This doesn't have to be such a mess. People sticking their head in sand, not testing and ignoring social distancing etc, this will go on and on and on.

I completely agree.

THIS particular mess is the result of Brexit which has created a government desperate to sign a trade deal with India, so they didn't want to risk upsetting them by red-listing the country sooner.

The result is that once again, the virus has been "seeded" all over the country - far too many cases now for any hope of localised surge testing to work, and the "surge" vaccinations are going to come too late to help. It's a carbon copy of last March.

The only question now is what the government does about it? If Monday goes ahead as planned, then by the end of June, we'll be well into a major third wave with the Indian variant front and centre, and new (worse) variants emerging as the virus spreads through the vaccinated population.

@SonnetForSpring universities are not going back face to face because the university year is already over. Teaching ended two or three weeks ago. There are exams and that's it, and they are pretty much all online. Universities 'reopening' won't make a blind bit of difference.

@SonnetForSpring

This variant will rip through universities. No doubt about that. Students are not vaccinated.

Erm, students are all 22 and under. So no issue there.

People are better irl than mn thinks wrt compliance. We’ve been pretty good throughout but you get stories in SM or media that show more opposite ends of spectrum

I don’t know if the regions are harder, but I hope not

To avoid another lockdown, people have do realise our every day lives have to prioritise reducing transmission. I'm not saying we never open up. I'm saying the conditions right now are ripe for another wave. People have lost the will to prioritise covid and it's coming back more transmissble than ever. That is not balance.

[quote bathsh3ba]@SonnetForSpring universities are not going back face to face because the university year is already over. Teaching ended two or three weeks ago. There are exams and that's it, and they are pretty much all online. Universities 'reopening' won't make a blind bit of difference.[/quote]
That's reassuring.

Those of you who want to extend lockdown stay at home and accept that with your hysteria you'll be there forever because, shock horror, viruses mutate.

The rest of us can go back to having a semblance of a life.

I thought unis usually had exams in june?

@Glenthebattleostrich

Those of you who want to extend lockdown stay at home and accept that with your hysteria you'll be there forever because, shock horror, viruses mutate.

The rest of us can go back to having a semblance of a life.

But you won't. It's a joint effort. We have to work as a group not as individuals.

We know the highest risk is within peoples households so I hope that is delayed at least.

They won’t delay that if it’s Monday as the conditions have been met to do it

It’s more June that’s up in the air

[quote bathsh3ba]@SonnetForSpring universities are not going back face to face because the university year is already over. Teaching ended two or three weeks ago. There are exams and that's it, and they are pretty much all online. Universities 'reopening' won't make a blind bit of difference.[/quote]
Lots of unis run a summer trimester so will have students back, although no where near the same number of students.

By that I mean data from next four weeks will determine June 21

On everyone being linked MH talking about unlinking us in that way at some point (maybe June?) - with more emphasis on personal choice

im not panicking about the new variants, as new variants will continue to emerge, as thats how viruses work.

Vaccines can be tweaked, we know more about treating the virus and we just need to get on with it now. Ive done all my covid panicking and im not allowing it to ruin my mental health any further.

I personally think something will have to be done sooner than June 21st. In 4 weeks, it will be much harder to control and more restrictions will be needed. At the moment, we have the chance to find a less damaging compromise.

@Glenthebattleostrich

Those of you who want to extend lockdown stay at home and accept that with your hysteria you'll be there forever because, shock horror, viruses mutate.

The rest of us can go back to having a semblance of a life.

Over a year on & you still don't understand how a virus works. I'd be embarrassed, not cocky, if I were you.

At least the Welsh have some sense. They are pausing some relaxations

"We had thought of moving ahead with the reopening of smaller events, we’ll pause that for a moment. We were thinking of liberalising the rules in the way in which people can meet together, not just in their extended household but beyond that, we’ll pause that for the moment.

If the advice on the Indian variant is that it is safe to move ahead, we won’t need to wait for the end of our next three-week cycle to do those things, but the Indian variant is giving us cause for concern.

We don’t know enough about whether it is more transmissible than the Kent variant, we don’t know enough about whether the vaccination programme is as effective in dealing with it as it is with other variants we have in Wales, and until we’re a bit clearer on that I think it is sensible to take a precautionary approach."

Please stop wasting energy on fighting the reality and redirect it towards keeping transmission low.

@SonnetForSpring

At least the Welsh have some sense. They are pausing some relaxations

"We had thought of moving ahead with the reopening of smaller events, we’ll pause that for a moment. We were thinking of liberalising the rules in the way in which people can meet together, not just in their extended household but beyond that, we’ll pause that for the moment.

If the advice on the Indian variant is that it is safe to move ahead, we won’t need to wait for the end of our next three-week cycle to do those things, but the Indian variant is giving us cause for concern.

We don’t know enough about whether it is more transmissible than the Kent variant, we don’t know enough about whether the vaccination programme is as effective in dealing with it as it is with other variants we have in Wales, and until we’re a bit clearer on that I think it is sensible to take a precautionary approach."

We’re not doing smaller events yet?

What else can they do - meet inside like here group of 6?

@bookworm1632

He's a fucking sociologist (so not even a real scientist, never mind one with medical training). His views on viruses are worth as much as Jeremy Clarkson's input on breastfeeding.

I'll wager he knows a lot more than you.