It seems like the U.K. may have a better Covid strategy after all

[Warhertisuff]

... at least since the emergence of Delta. I generally supported the restrictions before last summer, but thought that opening up in July was sensible. It's too early to tell
for sure, but at the moment it looks like the right call.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59378849

Agreed. I also think people do not think about the incidence of Long Covid, and the impact of that on us and our society, given that it occurs in 1 out of every 10 cases of Covid infection . Still don't understand why people don't want to reduce the risk of contracting Covid by following basic precautions. We are not back to 'normality' - it is a different world now.

In the UK, we don't vote for parties that aim to spend more on health and education,, we vote for parties that say they will cut taxes (and probably therefore aim to spend less on health).

Blair led with Education line and got a landslide. I don’t think it’s impossible but it is hard to raise taxes but even Cons are trying to criticism from various quarters

There isn't actually a UK strategy. There's an England strategy. A Wales strategy and a Scotland strategy. (I'm not sure what NI is doing but I'm assuming there is an NI strategy too)

So 4 different strategies.

UK DOES NOT EQUAL ENGLAND! ENGLAND DOES NOT EQUAL THE UK!!!

@Nemorth

There isn't actually a UK strategy. There's an England strategy. A Wales strategy and a Scotland strategy. (I'm not sure what NI is doing but I'm assuming there is an NI strategy too)

So 4 different strategies.

UK DOES NOT EQUAL ENGLAND! ENGLAND DOES NOT EQUAL THE UK!!!

True CMO for England is leading our approach and we’re not all the same

@MarshaBradyo

In the UK, we don't vote for parties that aim to spend more on health and education,, we vote for parties that say they will cut taxes (and probably therefore aim to spend less on health).

Blair led with Education line and got a landslide. I don’t think it’s impossible but it is hard to raise taxes but even Cons are trying to criticism from various quarters

I guess people object when the increased taxes go to fund dodgy deals which financially reward some MPs and their associates amongst other things 🤷‍♀️

Maybe Bungle I’m sure some would see it like that

Personally I want a party that is actually quite central so focuses on health and education. I think that’s why Blair got such a landslide as he was able to combine this idea with opportunity. (Wasn’t great at end but beginning was good)

In Germany it appears that the employer is responsible for a good portion of the healthcare contribution, so 7.3% from your gross pay packet and then the employer matches that with another 7.3% ?
Would that work in the UK, would employers be willing to do that ?

@frumpety

In Germany it appears that the employer is responsible for a good portion of the healthcare contribution, so 7.3% from your gross pay packet and then the employer matches that with another 7.3% ? Would that work in the UK, would employers be willing to do that ?

We have the same system through national insurance…

In the U.K. Employer NICs are about 14% of salary in most cases.

In my sector it’s the norm to cover private health insurance for the family if you have it so I guess it takes some strain - although it’s a typically young sector and childbirth not included which would be just frequent cost

@Delatron

I think other countries in Europe have wonderful healthcare systems.

I’m very envious for example of how in France every women sees a physio after giving birth.

If this discussion is now about who has the best healthcare system then we’re winning no prizes there.

And yes the fact that the NHS is so mismanaged and underfunded was probably one of the reasons we had to have such long lockdowns.

I don't think there's any doubt at all about that.

In fact the nudging and manipulation was nothing about "saving lives". It was all about trying to prevent people seeing what an appalling stare the NHS is in. We were manipulated into believing it was the envy of the world and that its staff are akin to angels.

Look at Javid and his idiotic "How about you respect the NHS" tweet last week in an attempt to deflect criticism from a critic. He hoped everyone would turn on the critic (they didn't). It got to the stage where any questions about the NHS are a criticism of nurses...but people are starting to see through that now.

@Sunshinegirl82

In the U.K. Employer NICs are about 14% of salary in most cases

Is that on top of what the employee pays ? So the employee pays NIC and then the employers pays another seperate 14% on top of that ?

@frumpety

Yes, in addition to the deduction made to employees' salaries for Employee's NICs.

www.gov.uk/national-insurance-rates-letters

I think this always boils down to this - it was a strategy. Like it or not it was a deliberate decision based on balancing out the different sides and moving forward.

I dont think you can compare - better or worse because different factors are at play and different decisions made as to priorities. But the overarching aim was to have a higher level undulating wave rather than suppression and release

Has it escaped peoples’ notice that other countries also had very long lockdowns despite better capacity in their health systems? I

@BungleandGeorge

Has it escaped peoples’ notice that other countries also had very long lockdowns despite better capacity in their health systems? I

No that's true.

But the government initially dealt with it so badly. They transparently and blatantly manipulated the public (and so many people fell for it) into believing that IF ONLY they didn't go to the park/beach/walk/homeschooled for months without complaining/shut shops etc then cases would fall. They dumped an enormous burden of guilt on the general public including children and made them feel responsible for the pandemic.

Our population has been infantilised. "We can't give them hard truths because we might lose votes"

Actually Boris's initial speech was the most honest one: many of us will lose loved ones.

But there was outrage about that.

*when I say cases would fall, I mean permanently. People really seemed to accept that if only we stayed in for a few more weeks we could wipe Covid out

It was fascinating how long that went on. Well into 2021 there were people saying that covid would be stamped out if we all just followed the rules.

Ffs now I’ve read about the Botswana strain and it’s all doom and gloom again.
Let’s hope it’s all sensationalist reporting otherwise it’s back to the drawing board again.

@DayKay

Ffs now I’ve read about the Botswana strain and it’s all doom and gloom again. Let’s hope it’s all sensationalist reporting otherwise it’s back to the drawing board again.

I don’t think it’s sensationalist, it’s the reality of viruses. That is why it is important to ensure that vaccines are shared across the world and not to hoard them. As we’ve done.

That is why it is important to ensure that vaccines are shared across the world and not to hoard them. As we’ve done.

Who would you drop from schedule? I’ve seen a lot of criticism re not doing younger or booster quickly plus people calling out for even younger here.

@Iggly Southern Africa is not unvaccinated because the UK is hoarding vaccines.

Southern Africa (incl Botswana and South Africa where new variant was first identified) is largely unvaccinated because:

1. It's not just about vaccines - it's about syringes, nurses, logistics, existing healthcare systems & data etc.
2. For these countries they really need the one dose vaccines (which they're doing) - we are certainly not hoarding J&J as far as I know.
3. There is a lot of vaccine hesitancy generally. If you read / watch the news you'll have seen that yesterday South Africa asked J&J and Pfizer not to deliver the next shipment of vaccine supply because they don't have enough people who want it.
4. Thanks almost exclusively to the EU and their politicians, even those who wanted the vaccine wouldn't use the AZ one (even while bodies were being stacked 3 per drawer in the morgues people wouldn't take it).

And it isn't only in these countries that variants are occurring - it's where they are identified. Because South Africa, along with UK, Brazil, Denmark etc are streets ahead in terms of genome sequencing programmes. Lots of countries are not tracking variants so not a surprise they aren't finding any. If I was in South Africa, I'd shut that genome sequencing lab down - last time they got themselves put on the red list for nearly a year for a variant that was completely wiped out by the delta variant and was actually more prominent in Europe than it was in South Africa.

Not everything is the UK's fault. I feel like there is probably enough that is our fault that we don't need to make up rubbish.

Young, healthy people who are at incredibly low risk from the virus. Vulnerable people and frontline healthcare workers in other countries should be prioritised.

PP to @MarshaBradyo

@MarshaBradyo

That is why it is important to ensure that vaccines are shared across the world and not to hoard them. As we’ve done.

Who would you drop from schedule? I’ve seen a lot of criticism re not doing younger or booster quickly plus people calling out for even younger here.

Uk threw 600,000 doses away as they had gone out of date. That's 600,000 people who could have had a first dose without anyone being dropped from the schedule.

I wonder if any more will be wasted.