How the UK Sleepwalked into Another Covid Disaster article

[middleager]

'By failing to prevent the rapid spread of coronavirus in schools, Boris Johnson has thrown children and adults to the wolves.'

As a late 40 something who caught Covid off my son in September (who caught it at secondary school) and was ill for weeks, there's a lot in this article that resonates. My other son caught Covid at his secondary school and while it was inevitable, schools have just been left to get on with it.

Wanted to share:

www.newstatesman.com/comment/2021/11/how-the-uk-sleepwalked-into-another-covid-disaster

I agree the roll out of the vaccines for 12-15 year olds has been woefully slow. I am still waiting for the letter that our health board has advised we must receive to get an appointment, but I plan to phone the booking line to try and get an appointment tomorrow (we are in Wales). An opportunity was missed over the summer to vaccinate this cohort and it's very frustrating.
However, I think that the article is a bit misleading. It implies 1000 children hospitalised a month is alarming, but this is only 33 a day. There is no indication of the severity of these illnesses which resulted in hospitalisation or whether they were the primary reason for hospitalisation. How many were requiring respiratory support?

Wow. That is a great article.

How the country that was second in the vaccine race gave into anti-vaxxers, dropped the ball, closed down vaccine centres, cut down the hours of vaccine hubs to 2 hours a week, send 4 million doses to Australia the day the JCVI ruled against vaccinating 12-15 year olds, failed to implement enough vaccine hubs for the boosters and many-months-late vaccinations of over 12s - some things the author could also have mentioned.

Yes, so many failings and missed opportunities.

A near miss that my mother, in her late 70s, didn't catch it off my DS and me.

Thanks. It's a good article. Think it will resonate with a lot of people.

Good article. Maybe could have said more about long covid as well. When you look at all the facts like that it's very stark, isn't it.

@sproutsandparsnips

I agree the roll out of the vaccines for 12-15 year olds has been woefully slow. I am still waiting for the letter that our health board has advised we must receive to get an appointment, but I plan to phone the booking line to try and get an appointment tomorrow (we are in Wales). An opportunity was missed over the summer to vaccinate this cohort and it's very frustrating. However, I think that the article is a bit misleading. It implies 1000 children hospitalised a month is alarming, but this is only 33 a day. There is no indication of the severity of these illnesses which resulted in hospitalisation or whether they were the primary reason for hospitalisation. How many were requiring respiratory support?

No it isn't misleading.

If you want those questions answered, you can research it yourself.

This is much better:

www.spiked-online.com/2021/11/12/its-time-to-put-covid-behind-us/

The part I really don't understand is why UK teenagers are only being offered one jab.

Ds has finally had his jab. I’m so angry that Covid has been allowed to spread in schools, such that many won’t be eligible for the jab because they’ve had covid within thirty days.
It is disgusting. I’ve been so stressed since September, as we have no real clue about who close contacts are, whether to get PCRs, avoiding grand parents when the kids have been unwell as we don’t know if it’s covid or not.

Appalling. I’ve written to my MP so many times on this and she gives such shit responses.

[quote manolantern]This is much better:

www.spiked-online.com/2021/11/12/its-time-to-put-covid-behind-us/[/quote]
All very well. But until this government sorted out the shit show (of its own making), that is the NHS being underfunded, then covid remains an issue.

How the country that was second in the vaccine race gave into anti-vaxxers

There are people who proudly announce on this board that they’re unvaccinated even though they could medically have the jab. They are utterly selfish, just like the people who don’t wear masks on public transport because they don’t give a fuck about keeping others safe. I speak as someone with a relative who is seriously ill from Covid.

Good article.

@zzzozzz

How the country that was second in the vaccine race gave into anti-vaxxers

There are people who proudly announce on this board that they’re unvaccinated even though they could medically have the jab. They are utterly selfish, just like the people who don’t wear masks on public transport because they don’t give a fuck about keeping others safe. I speak as someone with a relative who is seriously ill from Covid.

It's not selfish to want to choose what you put in your own body. I am not anti vax and I've had my jabs but I do not agree that people should be forced to have a jab they don't want to protect other people.

I’m so angry that Covid has been allowed to spread in schools, such that many won’t be eligible for the jab because they’ve had covid within thirty days.

The vaccine reduces the risk of serious illness in the individual. Children are a low risk group for serious illness and if they’ve already had the virus without any ill effects then many won’t mind that they’re ‘not eligible’. Why would you be angry about that?

@CakesOfVersailles

The part I really don't understand is why UK teenagers are only being offered one jab.

Because there was concern about an increased risk of myocarditis after the second vaccine, particularly in boys. The JCVI felt that the benefit did not significantly outweigh the risk.

@bumbleymummy

I’m so angry that Covid has been allowed to spread in schools, such that many won’t be eligible for the jab because they’ve had covid within thirty days.

The vaccine reduces the risk of serious illness in the individual. Children are a low risk group for serious illness and if they’ve already had the virus without any ill effects then many won’t mind that they’re ‘not eligible’. Why would you be angry about that?

Because the current situation puts clinically vulnerable children and families at unnecessarily high risk.

Risk that could easily have been reduced with a) less dithering and b) more efficient roll out to teens.

Vulnerable children have been eligible for two doses since the summer. They were quite rightly prioritised because they are higher risk. The vaccine offers more protection against serious illness in the individual than it does against infection/transmission to others.

Many parents are still wary about the jab, the experts, the jcvi say the balance is very fine as to whether the benefits outweigh the risks. My kids are over 18 and were vaccinated ahead of their age group (one group 6 the other queued for leftover vaccine) and would have consented if they were under 16 but I think the government was right to be cautious

No problem booking a Covid jab for my 15 year old here (South East).

I don't understand the mentality of people who are fully vaccinated supporting other people who don't feel like getting the jab. I mean, you can't control what others do, but if you yourself understand the benefit why would you give headspace to anti vaxxers?

The JCVI didn’t consider disruption to education and were apparently working on the laughable assumption that the infection rate in schools wouldn’t shoot up.

The disruption to these kids education since September has been absolutely appalling. My Y11s have been badly hit in their exam year after huge disruption last year and it could have been avoided if the JCVI hadn’t spent so much time fannying around.

@bumbleymummy

Vulnerable children have been eligible for two doses since the summer. They were quite rightly prioritised because they are higher risk. The vaccine offers more protection against serious illness in the individual than it does against infection/transmission to others.

GOD you write a lot of bollocks.

I HAVE an immunocompromised teen.

It was IMPOSSIBLE to get a vaccination until the end of August. We have ONLY JUST got the second dose. He won't be fully protected until FUCKING DECEMBER. There have been a lot of cases in his school as well. It has been SHIT.

He may need another jab as well; in that case the 3rd dose won't take effect until FUCKING FEBRUARY.

No not a good article

Too muddled, emotive and personally driven

He’s a TV screenwriter / producer and campaigner so it’s not a surprise

He doesn’t have access to information so is just offloading

And even yesterday Boris was stating he could not rule out more restrictions over Christmas. And yet him and the government are doing fuck all to try to mitigate it now.

Surely if the Government think we are going to have issues in a months time then they need to get off their arses and do something NOW.

Oh right. On the other hand, it is well written and accurate.

The situation is making me incredibly angry. Both DP and I teach in secondary and have both had it. I have had it twice now with a total of 7 weeks off, DP caught it in Feb and only went back full time in September. I spent the whole time I had it the second time terrified about passing it on to him again (he was hospitalised 3 times originally) despite us both being double vaccinated. I've been back at work 1 day after 4 weeks off and I've just taken DD16 for a PCR as she is full of whatever is floating around and has a cough and temp.

And that is my person impact; our school is something else. We are missing 4 TAs off sick, haven't ever managed to recuit enough to fill those that left last year, have multiple staff out and students off sick repeatedly. I don't think I've had a full A Level class all year yet due to testing or actual infection and our Year 11 currently has a group of positive students. We have also discreetly brought back bubbles by keeping year groups seperate to protect the exam groups but we can't get enough to wear masks as parents kick up a massive issue. Most staff are back in masks.