News conference 5pm today.

[beccahamlet]

Anyone any idea if this is going to be anything dramatic or just a 'be careful' pep talk?

Also re America. Double vaccinated people are sometimes still catching it (Delta). Bit they're not getting ill enough to need hospital.

*But

@Tealightsandd I'm CEV, 36 and had AZ. Hoping for a booster that's not AZ

[quote BungleandGeorge]@Nancydrawn

But you’re comparing two things that are not totally alike and come to a conclusion without considering additional factors. LA had extremely high covid levels, a lot of people would have had natural immunity. So they’ve had 2 jabs plus natural immunity. Who did they vaccinate first? (I don’t know the answer but I’m pretty sure it was different to our groups). So say for instance they did working age people, higher socioeconomic groups, white people etc first, the ones unvaccinated would be those at higher risk. Knowing ‘who’ the unvaccinated are is extremely important as it could quite easily be some higher risk groups that they haven’t managed to reach. It’s far too simplistic to jump straight into it just being the vaccine type[/quote]
Of course it's not the same! Not at all arguing that it is.

In terms of who they vaccinated first, in most cases it was the elderly and the vulnerable, followed by essential workers, followed by the middle-aged.

It's been eligible for all 18+ since early April and all those 12+ since early May.

Currently, 61% of the 16+ population has been fully vaccinated (and just shy of 70% with at least once dose). In the key 65-79 demographic, 91.5% of the population has been vaccinated.

Any adult who wants a shot has been eligible for 3.5 months; anyone over 12 has been eligible for 2.5 months.

@NotMyCat

I'm sorry. I don't want to panic anyone. Astrazeneca is still good (and will help to reduce the likelihood of getting seriously ill and needing hospital). It's possibly not as good as the mRNA vaccines, but that doesn't mean it doesn't help at all.

Astrazeneca are currently working on boosters, tweaked to work better against the newer strains. Hopefully the trial results will be good.

I don't see how anyone can think this is anything other than a mistake, given how keen the government are to get people vaccinated?

Saying something once can be a mistake. 3 times plus massive explanation/ description with JVT and BJ not correcting him... that’s no mistake.

@Dustyboots

I don't see how anyone can think this is anything other than a mistake, given how keen the government are to get people vaccinated?

Saying something once can be a mistake. 3 times plus massive explanation/ description with JVT and BJ not correcting him... that’s no mistake.

@Dustyboots

but if the government are keen to for people to get vaccinated (as evidenced by the latest vaccine passports required for clubs policy, which has been followed up with "if enough people vaccinated maybe they won't be needed"), why would it benefit them to say that more vaccinated people are ending up in hospital than the reality?

As for the detailed explanation - the fact that it's 40% not 60% doesn't invalidate it. A high proportion of vaccinated people being hospitalised with COVID may be alarming to people who aren't aware of the reasoning behind why we would expect this to happen.

As I said in PPs, no idea why he would make this mistake (or why no one picked him up on it) though, except perhaps they're all very tired and stressed

oh and of course BJ didn't pick him up on it because a) he wasn't listening and b) I'm sure doesn't have the foggiest idea of what is going on with the numbers

@Dustyboots

I don't see how anyone can think this is anything other than a mistake, given how keen the government are to get people vaccinated?

Saying something once can be a mistake. 3 times plus massive explanation/ description with JVT and BJ not correcting him... that’s no mistake.

Glad someone agrees with me its off.

I think they obviously discussed what main message was going to be today.
Be slow and cautious
Get vaccinated.

The announcement to parliament was literally only 15mins pre conference starting on the bombshell that people would need to be double vaxxed get into clubs in sept.

That was news to clubs, media and everyone really basically a vaccine passport yet then some waffle you won't need it for pubs.
Boris dident even know what platform he was using teams/ zoom who knows and he looked very confused by most questions and said jvt would answer.
It was like the jvt show. Valance looked misery and uncomfortable.
No whitty I feel speaks volumes.
Have zero respect jenny harries.
Valance can't decide if I trust him or not.
I like jvt but even hes painting a specific narrative.
If young people stick with 8 weeks gap and have 1st jab now they won't be double vaccinated by sept.
Why did they keep saying NHS can cope yet NHS in many areas say they not coping.

Gosh - it sounds awful @3asAbird

I feel like we’re actually living in a disaster movie. This should be fiction. But it’s real.

I didn't see the briefing this time
But it's categorically not the case that a high proportion of vaccinated people are being hospitalised
You are not taking into account the fact that most of the population has been double jabbed and a small % of a big number can still be quite a big number?
I think the figures I saw tonight said double vaccinations reduce hospitalisations by c96%
That is the key stat
But the 4% left can still be a big number and prrssure6

[quote Tealightsandd]@NotMyCat

I'm sorry. I don't want to panic anyone. Astrazeneca is still good (and will help to reduce the likelihood of getting seriously ill and needing hospital). It's possibly not as good as the mRNA vaccines, but that doesn't mean it doesn't help at all.

Astrazeneca are currently working on boosters, tweaked to work better against the newer strains. Hopefully the trial results will be good.[/quote]
The vaccines seem to be doing a good job but I think they need to quietly get rid of AZ

I don't know how to link to Twitter but recently Mac n Chise posted a thread saying that a recent study indicated that the AZ vaccine gives powerful protection and generates robust long-term immune system responses that may last a lifetime.

@Tealightsandd

I hope you are right, not least because I have family in America! I just know that they are a few weeks behind us in terms of this variant -- our most recent wave was well underway before they'd even heard of Delta. In some states only 33-34% of the population is vaccinated so naturally at the moment the outbreaks are in places with low levels of vaccine uptake. Of course Biden and Fauci are playing up that there is a pandemic of the unvaccinated as they want to increase vaccination levels, but I think it's only a matter of time until they are where we are, unfortunately, especially give that their vaccination rate is actually lower overall.

I think Pfizer is a great jab and I'm very glad I've had it, but I think America at the moment has been lulled into a false sense of security by the mRNA jabs. The data out of Israel also suggests the mRNA aren't really a magic bullet.

@HmmmmmmInteresting I think eventually MRNA’s will be the standard type of vaccine for covid, although AZ and it’s equivalent so have their strengths.

That said, I have a lot of confidence that boosters will be effective. All of our current vaccines were developed off the back of strains in circulation last year (and early last year) so in that context have actually performed really well.

Would Boris not knowing whether it was Teams or Zoom be more to do with not advertising though and our PM not being seen to favour one or the other, I thought that when he said it.

@UmteenthUser

Would Boris not knowing whether it was Teams or Zoom be more to do with not advertising though and our PM not being seen to favour one or the other, I thought that when he said it.

I think he's probably being flippant that the government use neither. As had legal tribunal last year and the courts use their own service not zoom or teams.. Then and again we know Boris loves whats app or rather did lol.