What is going on in Bolton?

[Cloudsurfing]

Over 300/100,000 rate now, and still rising. This surely can't just be the Indian variant can it? Nowhere else seems to be this high and 86 counties now have the variant. Will the government do a local lockdown? surely they can't let people meet inside when cases are so high there?

Predictably Seeing so many here playing the race card easy to deflect blame whilst calling any criticism racist and I'm surprised after the Brexit vote and the conservatives significant polling figures people think this is a widely held view. It seems obvious that from the government's own statistics vaccine hesitancy amongst certain ethnic groups is an issue. Secondly the Indian variant surprise surprise occured in areas with a large number of people who have relatives in that area that is not racist simply a fact. The government collects data on ethnicity and test results for covid but chooses to not release that data. The biggest culprit though is the government who allowed travel and failed to biosecure their borders.

So no I don't think it is racist the narrative however the buck stops with the government and their travel policy. However if it can be shown covid is circulating mainly around certain groups then it is absolutely necessary to find out why. Unfortunately only the government has statistics for this.

*It seriously has nothing to do with vaccine refusal

Factually it has.*

Please would you provide proof of that @Bluntness100

Unfortunate for the responsible few, but it seems that many idiots have not been vaccinated when it was offered to them, so that of course means everyone in that area has to suffer the consequences. Those vaccine refusers are no doubt too thick to see any connection between these things.

@Piggywaspushed

Oh God, yes : you got the one kicked out of Bedford didn't you? When poor old Alastair Burt was ousted by his own party.

Bedford MP now is really great : he ahs been personally translating vaccine info and knocking on doors.

I've been pretty impressed by him. I liked Alastair Burt, genuine bloke. In North Beds you could put a blue rosette on a wheelie bin it would get in so I suppose it serves us right.

That's just so wrong. I've had one jab back in Feb, I'm 50 years old, and in London. Let's assume that vaccination in Bolton is at a similar rate, you will have thousands and thousands of people who have only had one jab - and there are some patients with Covid in hospital who have had one jab, or two jabs. According to the NHSTrust Bolton website, some patients are in their 40s and 50s. They might not have been offered the jab yet, or have had one dose.

Stop the accusations of people being stupid.

@Whoarethewho

Predictably Seeing so many here playing the race card easy to deflect blame whilst calling any criticism racist and I'm surprised after the Brexit vote and the conservatives significant polling figures people think this is a widely held view. It seems obvious that from the government's own statistics vaccine hesitancy amongst certain ethnic groups is an issue. Secondly the Indian variant surprise surprise occured in areas with a large number of people who have relatives in that area that is not racist simply a fact. The government collects data on ethnicity and test results for covid but chooses to not release that data. The biggest culprit though is the government who allowed travel and failed to biosecure their borders.

So no I don't think it is racist the narrative however the buck stops with the government and their travel policy. However if it can be shown covid is circulating mainly around certain groups then it is absolutely necessary to find out why. Unfortunately only the government has statistics for this.

The government data shows that the rise in cases was initially through age groups not even asked to vaccinate yet.

And then it's spreading into older, vaccinated members of their households.

The fact that it's creating symptomatic disease in vaccinated people means it's unlikely to stop them from passing it on (which is a VERY serious problem - contrast with one dose of vaccine stopping 80%+ of onward transmission with the Kent variant).

So no - vaccine hesitancy is contributing almost nothing to the problem here at the moment - EVENTUALLY it will, as in substantially more unvaccinated folk will end up in hospital in the event of a third wave, but so will many vaccinated - particularly as we of yet have no idea HOW effective the vaccines are against serious illness with this variant - we only have very limited lab studies which show AN effect, but every 1% lower efficacy translates to thousands of lives lost during a major wave.

[quote DumplingsAndStew]@countrygirl99

5 buses a day is standard in some places.

Is the real problem with the booking system? That people cannot book a vaccine slot that suits them time-wise?[/quote]
5 buses may be standard in a lot of places but that's exactly the problem people who rely on public transport face. The booking system may be fine if you can travel when you want but not if you can't.

countrygirl : Alastair B lives in my village. A genuinely nice man.

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/19/stop-blaming-vaccine-hesitancy-for-spread-of-india-covid-variant-says-council-leader

"Mohammed Khan, the leader of Blackburn with Darwen council, said that six of the nine coronavirus patients in the region’s hospital had received at least one jab."

Stop peddling the myth that vaccine refusal is driving the problem here.

@Jemimapuddleduk

I’m in Bolton and everyone I know has had the vaccine. I am unaware of any covid deniers. What is worrying is I had my first dose of Pfizer in feb and I am now 11 weeks and 5 days on from first dose. I chased the GP last week and was told it maybe up to 14 weeks until I was texted for second dose. Only after kicking up a fuss have i been offered it - tomorrow at 11 weeks 6 days from dose one. They are doing a good job with rolling our dose one but not so great at following up. Goodness knows how many are in my position and haven’t chased it. All the pop up vax centres are clearly for first dose only.

Just read the comments section of the Bolton news 🤣,whilst I'm sure they are a minority,they don't help Incidentally I had my Pfizer injection at lever chambers,in February too,and had my second one about three weeks ago,,I had to chase the GP though .

Wow the comments on Bolton news, very anti Vaxers who will never have the vaccine. They won’t have that poison in their bodies, if that’s the general thoughts of the population of Bolton no wonder the numbers are going up.

It’s not the general thoughts of the majority of us from Bolton,the ones who actually post on the Bolton news page and the racists and conspiracy theorists. That paper should stop comments it’s disgraceful.

@Baileysforchristmas

Wow the comments on Bolton news, very anti Vaxers who will never have the vaccine. They won’t have that poison in their bodies, if that’s the general thoughts of the population of Bolton no wonder the numbers are going up.

I suspect if their IP addresses were analysed the vast majority of the posters on many news sites posting comments like that don’t live in Bolton.... off to put on my tinfoil hat!

What's going on in Bolton isn't vaccine hesitancy. They have 95.7% first dose coverage of over 50s.

That's better than half the country.

I’ve not read the whole thread, I will admit, I got to “send the army in and stay the fuck home!”

DS1 is a soldier. He spent 6 weeks or more back in the Winter at testing stations in Bolton, working seven days a week. They were rushed off their feet. Others from his regiment were at vaccination centres around the area.

Four weeks to vaccinate over 18s in Bolton, three weeks for the vaccines to work... that takes us past June 21st doesn't it?

From sewage surveillance they now think Glasgow, Moray, North Tyneside, Bedford, Burnley, Hounslow, Kirklees, and Leicester also need surge testing and vaccine because of how fast their cases are rising.

news.sky.com/story/vaccine-surge-in-covid-hotspots-may-not-stop-indian-variant-spread-scientists-warn-pm-12310347

What do you think it is about Bolton then Princess?

@Baileysforchristmas

Wow the comments on Bolton news, very anti Vaxers who will never have the vaccine. They won’t have that poison in their bodies, if that’s the general thoughts of the population of Bolton no wonder the numbers are going up.

It's usually the same three people arguing. Not representative at all. Just keyboard warriors.

Vaccine uptake in the two postcodes affected by hospitalisations in Bolton is 40%

@SavingsQuestions

What do you think it is about Bolton then Princess?

Nothing that isn't replicated in 200 towns across the country.

Bolton is just the one of the first places to have enough people with symptoms who do tests which are found on sequencing to be B1.617.2.

Other places might not sequence as much.

Other people might not get symptoms or may avoid getting tested.

It's already so widespread across the country that we'll all catch up with Bolton soon.

[quote PrincessNutNuts]
Four weeks to vaccinate over 18s in Bolton, three weeks for the vaccines to work... that takes us past June 21st doesn't it?

From sewage surveillance they now think Glasgow, Moray, North Tyneside, Bedford, Burnley, Hounslow, Kirklees, and Leicester also need surge testing and vaccine because of how fast their cases are rising.

news.sky.com/story/vaccine-surge-in-covid-hotspots-may-not-stop-indian-variant-spread-scientists-warn-pm-12310347[/quote]
Dare I ask what sewage surveillance is.
Testing sewage for covid?

Yeah. Exactly that.

Vaccine uptake in the two postcodes affected by hospitalisations in Bolton is 40%

Disappointing - and perhaps an indication that "overall" take-up figures can mask issues in specific areas

More thoughts from a local MP: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/sep/20/covid-scepticism-behind-high-bolton-infection-rate-says-local-mp

Hart in Hampshire have got 100% vaccination rate.

Their cases are still doubling all of a sudden.

Where's this 40% from? I can't see it?

Here