Start of third wave - what will this actually mean?

[Moonme]

With so many of the population vaccinated what do you think a third wave means? Will we need another lockdown? 😩

Covid-19: UK in early stages of third wave - scientist www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57304515

It is not certain the UK government will approve a vaccine for kids, due to the balance of risks.

@colouringcrayons

It is not certain the UK government will approve a vaccine for kids, due to the balance of risks.

Germany is offering vaccine to over 12 from June

Which shifts the Overton window somewhat

We’ll see. Not everyone will want it.

@awishes

The Indian variant particularly hits young people hard so that's why the hospitals will fill up as they have yet to be vaccinated.

I'm pretty sure this is not true. Young people are being affected because they're the ones who haven't been vaccinated yet.

I can never quite understand why - on here, anyway - there seems to be little middle ground between OPEN IT UP NOW/21 JUNE and WE MUST LOCKDOWN FOREVER. If we are indeed about to see a rise in hospitalisations - hopefully much smaller than in previous waves - then surely sticking with the data not dates approach is really sensible? Rather than opening up and then having to lockdown again, just easing a little more slowly? Masks inside for a little bit longer, social distancing in place for just a little longer, till more adults are fully vaccinated and the link between cases and hospitalisations is properly broken?

@everybodysang

I can never quite understand why - on here, anyway - there seems to be little middle ground between OPEN IT UP NOW/21 JUNE and WE MUST LOCKDOWN FOREVER. If we are indeed about to see a rise in hospitalisations - hopefully much smaller than in previous waves - then surely sticking with the data not dates approach is really sensible? Rather than opening up and then having to lockdown again, just easing a little more slowly? Masks inside for a little bit longer, social distancing in place for just a little longer, till more adults are fully vaccinated and the link between cases and hospitalisations is properly broken?

Some people characterise it that way, but it's obviously a false dichotomy.

I've never seen anyone say "lockdown forever."

Ever.

@MarshaBradyo

Well NZ has done it for 15 months so far, so let's aim for that.

Ok good luck holding out for zero Covid. It’s not been on the agenda the whole time I doubt it will change.

On the school issue in the actual situation we are in Colouring there could be an offer of vaccine and we take our choice and chances.

Whatever the likelihood of our government bothering to combat covid effectively, the facts remain the facts.

If there's very little virus circulating there's very little disruption to education.

It doesn’t matter you can go on about NZ the whole time it won’t change it.

Talking about possible solutions for schools, we’ll see

We could of course just carry on in step 3 for longer. Seems the bleeding obvious solution to me, but then I'm not our arrogant fuck of a prime minister who can do no wrong in so many eyes.

Yes, effects on businesses but the vaccine is the only way out of this as Johnson fucked up and let a super contagious variant in because yet again he ignored sense.

Yes, effects on businesses

Its not easy to dismiss. I take it it doesn’t effect you but there will be pressure. Listening to the chief exec of an industry body effected they’re going for it - can’t happen they say.

Holding as we are right now isn’t a big deal to me but I get it is to many.

@murbblurb

We could of course just carry on in step 3 for longer. Seems the bleeding obvious solution to me, but then I'm not our arrogant fuck of a prime minister who can do no wrong in so many eyes.

Yes, effects on businesses but the vaccine is the only way out of this as Johnson fucked up and let a super contagious variant in because yet again he ignored sense.

What I can't understand is why they can't just say 'we MAY have to continue with step three for longer'.

This repeated line 'there is nothing in the data to suggest we WILL need to delay' makes them sound like they can't fucking read - because the data definitely suggests we MAY need to delay.

A bit like when Johnson said everyone should definitely send their kids to school in January. For one day. Before he u-turned.

@Reallybadidea

I work in ICU. We're just starting to see quite young people being admitted with covid again for the first time in months. It's quite upsetting, I'm not sure how any of us can bear to go through another surge again. I hope that won't happen, but also quite upsetting to see people say that they don't care

That’s why I’m not a medic, I don’t really care about people I don’t know, same as I don’t expect them to care about me. I don’t actively want people to get ill and die, of course not, but I’m unwilling to put up with yet more restrictions to stop it.

I won’t comply with another lockdown either, people are mugs if they do IMO. The government have dicked around, acted too late, allowed new variants in at every turn. They clearly don’t give a monkeys about Covid. Yet we are rxoectef to? Nah

As for the young in ICU, no more than were previously from what I can gather. The Scottish clinical director said last week that the people in hospital now would have been in hospital if they’d caught it in one of the previous waves too. It’s not like it’s now targeting young people. It’s just that most older ones have protection from vaccines

The Scottish clinical director said last week that the people in hospital now would have been in hospital if they’d caught it in one of the previous waves too.

Yes, this is correct. The issue is that in previous waves, the numbers of younger people in ICU was prevented from rising because we introduced restrictions. We don;t know what the government intend to do this time.

@MarshaBradyo

It doesn’t matter you can go on about NZ the whole time it won’t change it.

Talking about possible solutions for schools, we’ll see

We've spent 16 months on here talking about solutions for schools.

The government's not going to do any of it.

The government will let British children get infected and jet British adults get infected until infrastructure is threatened and then order a lockdown.

That's it, that's the policy.

@Donitta

Honestly I’m at the point now where as long as it’s not me dying I don’t really care. I suspect many others feel the same, and it will fuel the next wave because people won’t stay at home any more.

Could have written this myself

Well why go on about NZ, it’s irrelevant.

Anyway at some point schools will stop the interruption to education. There may be a lag but no I don’t think we’ll keep this situation past September with bubbles etc. Either vaccine will be offered to above 12 (or other) or some other change - only positive to stay home not close contact.

For those saying they don’t give a damn and won’t be following any further restrictions, well let’s just hope you don’t get caught up with having to watch a loved one’s urgent treatment being delayed all because you need felt your needs were far more important!

Already been there actually. Because the NHS deemed Covid the only thing that matters and my dad’s chemotherapy an irrelevance. So that isn’t going to wash with me.

@MarshaBradyo

Well why go on about NZ, it’s irrelevant.

Anyway at some point schools will stop the interruption to education. There may be a lag but no I don’t think we’ll keep this situation past September with bubbles etc. Either vaccine will be offered to above 12 (or other) or some other change - only positive to stay home not close contact.

NZ is the "exemplar of pandemic preparedness" that Jenny Harries said the U.K. was.

NZ schoolchildren aren't experiencing anything like the disruption to their education that U.K. children are because the NZ government suppressed the virus.

So they are the best example of the unarguable fact that the less virus circulating the less disruption to education.

And far from irrelevant.

Yes it’s great for them. Meanwhile going on about it won’t change things here.

At some point school strategy will change.

I do not understand the mindset of people who do not care about others. I am not denying people think like that, I just do not understand it.

@MarshaBradyo

Yes it’s great for them. Meanwhile going on about it won’t change things here.

At some point school strategy will change.

I have no optimism that government strategy on schools will improve.

Probably not in the way you are looking for if you’re looking to NZ.

But disruption hopefully will be looked at, past September at least.

That's it, that's the policy.

I agree that what we are seeing is all we are going to get - reactive measures only, and the minimum they can get away with.

@shakingstevensfan

I do not understand the mindset of people who do not care about others. I am not denying people think like that, I just do not understand it.

I agree. It's shocking.

I don't see how disruption will be less from September when things are potentially worse in colder months.

The NHS barely coped with flu season anyway, how does flu + covid season even work?