Free PCRs only likely for a max of another 6 weeks

[RedToothBrush]

www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/11/uk-treasury-pushes-to-end-most-free-covid-testing-despite-experts-warnings

Several sources told the Guardian that Rishi Sunak’s department wants to end most PCR testing for people with Covid symptoms, possibly by the end of March. The exception would be those in hospitals, high-risk settings and for the 1.3m extremely vulnerable people who are eligible for antivirals if they contract Covid.

Under the plans, everyone else with symptoms would be either given some free lateral flow tests or no testing at all. A third option would be restricting the offer of lateral flows to symptomatic people over 50 and the clinically vulnerable. The advice for people without symptoms to take routine lateral flow tests is expected to be scrapped entirely.

and

However, the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) has been urging caution within the government and has been pushing to keep existing testing arrangements in place until at least 1 April.

CMO isn’t sane as SAGE and he may well brief at press conference at end of Feb

He hasn’t always aligned with the most pessimistic eg when he said yes to July opening

I look forward to seeing him soon!

Same

He’s usually fairly sane, measured and careful - although omicron wasn’t as bad as he indicated initially

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow guess what.
If the 65% of the people in this country who are overweight or obese lost weight and stayed within a healthy weight range, covid severity would decrease and diabetes would hugely decrease.
Magic. Except no. For some reason people are happy munching themselves into hospital - more and more each year and nothing much is being done about it.

You won't need to isolate unless you are ill, in which case you stay at home whether it's covid or not. I don't need a test for flu, so why do I need one for covid.

Silverswirl

Guess what. Obesity is a disease of poverty or addiction. Or from medication. Maybe people want to lose weight but can’t. If it was that easy then no one would be overweight would they?

Oh, I see the 'fat people deserve to die' argument is back. COVID really does bring out all the nasty bastards.

Obesity is a disease of poverty or addiction. Or from medication.

Maybe it's also a result of making unhealthy food choices and not exercising?

Maybe it's also a result of making unhealthy food choices and not exercising

It’s cheaper to buy crap than fruit and veg. As l said it’s a disease of poverty and also maybe low educational attainment.

So they might not have the tools to lose weight. I would say a very small percentage of people choose to overeat and not exercise.

I was a teacher for 26 years. Taught in posh school, no overweight kids.

Taught in poorer school. Significant number of overweight kids.

Maybe poorer people choose it eh?

One issue has been by trying to lower risk weight gain has been made more likely through lockdowns

Plus the ultra high cost of all in place will do the same over the years

I do wonder how much Japan 4% v U.K. 30% ish obesity : overweight has impacted figures

The disparity since the start of covid in terms of obesity/wealth has got even wider. Grim grim grim.

Blaming the poor for the impacts of being poor never goes out of fashion.

I can see that we close all testing to save money and then it will cost even more millions to set it all back up again when a new variant comes along that floors people and hospitals get overwhelmed etc..... it would be cheaper to leave it all set up than dismantle and then set it up again which I can totally see happening come the autumn.

[quote Silverswirl]@ArseInTheCoOpWindow guess what.
If the 65% of the people in this country who are overweight or obese lost weight and stayed within a healthy weight range, covid severity would decrease and diabetes would hugely decrease.
Magic. Except no. For some reason people are happy munching themselves into hospital - more and more each year and nothing much is being done about it.[/quote]
And still the know fuck all judgemental posts continue.

I had glandular fever, followed by a virus that attacked my liver. I was barely 7 stone before that happened. That has royally fucked my entire system. I became diabetic, THEN I gained weight because my system is fucked I am now obese & diabetic, I take NO medication because I live on a highly restrictive, very low carb diet.

So you can fuck off with your judgement about MY medical condition & my weight.

I am NOT the only diabetic in this situation & prepare yourself for many others to come after covid despite being slim before they got covid.

My only hope is that through covid studies they find help/prevention for many other potential diabetics!

It’s cheaper to buy crap than fruit and veg

It's actually even cheaper to buy (and eat) less food.

*Blubells

It’s cheaper to buy crap than fruit and veg

It's actually even cheaper to buy (and eat) less food*

This has to be a joke? Right?

Tests aren’t free now!!!! We will be paying for them indirectly for years to come. I’ve seen loads of threads with people wasting them, doing a test on day 3 or 4 of covid isolation just to see or taking several in a day which I can assure you they wouldn’t have been doing if they had to pay directly

I understand the need for change and cutting costs, but having just had Covid, neither of us want it 3-4 times a year. Neither of us were capable of work and DH could WFH, so that's 3-4 weeks off work for both of us a year, on top of anything else.

I know if a teacher whose had it four times, two other schools staff on their second illness since October and both I'll both times. No joke.

To the poster that said it will mean time off school for teachers…no it will most likely mean they are in school more. I had covid last year (Delta) and was off school for 10 days as per guidelines then. I wasn’t really ill at all and would have come in to school normally. All the teachers in our school that have had Covid recently were only off for 10 days because their LFTs were positive not because they were actually ill. Same for 90% of the children who missed 10 days of school each time.

@Wfhquery

Tests aren’t free now!!!! We will be paying for them indirectly for years to come. I’ve seen loads of threads with people wasting them, doing a test on day 3 or 4 of covid isolation just to see or taking several in a day which I can assure you they wouldn’t have been doing if they had to pay directly

I agree that people should be cutting out unnecessary wasting of lateral flow tests, but that is not the same as stopping PCR testing - which is properly recorded and tracked and I think used to help identify new variants

I’m going to trust the government on this one. No, really. For the many mis-steps tgey have made, the relaxing of restrictions has gone pretty much as well as it could have done.

Plus, the cost of this is unsustainable, resources need to now go towards other conditions & getting the NHS queues down.

The government advice fir the critically vunerable is that people they meet should LFT beforehand.

Becoming critically vulnerable - often by cancer diagnosis - is a time that can wreck your household finances (it's why Macmillan has money/benefits advisers and some charities give grants). This would just be a final insult.

They've identified the critically vulnerable - the 4 jabs group, and also the somewhat larger potential antibody/antiviral treatment groups. Their life is going to become riskier as SD relaxes, and one of the govt recommended mitigations that they are told to use is now going to cost directly (as well as them having to pay their share of the costs of all pandemic extra spending)

Tests aren’t free now!!!! We will be paying for them indirectly for years to come.

Absolutely.

And in addition to the financial cost come to huge environmental cost - all that plastic!!!!