Westministenders: Peak something

[BigChocFrenzy]

Westministenders: Peak something

The story so far

COVID has changed the world for the next few years, like a slowly exploding nuke:

• killed well over 100,000 people
• made many people afraid to leave their home
• caused a Global Depression

Countries locked down because they needed the extra time to

Raise the Line while Flattening the Curve:

1. Flatten the curve of the numbers needing healthcare to a level the system can manage

2. Raise the capacity of their health services and public health systems - their testing and tracking process

Also, scientists desperately needed time to find out more about COVID:
how to avoid it, how to treat it

What happens next ?

Research teams around the world are working to produce a vaccine,
will become hopefully available within the next couple of years

In the meantime, treatment procedures are being developed to better treat COVID sufferers.

Also in the meantime, countries will need to gradually exit lockdown to rescue their economies from complete catastrophe.

Timing & measures for each country will be dependent on:

Death rate after peak,
health service capacity,
testing & tracing capacity etc

....and also what their govt and public deem an "acceptable" level of extra deaths & serious illness.

Possibly some countries will need to cycle in and out of lockdown,
whereas others will be able to accept the death toll with lesser social distancing measures.

The first few countries are already relaxing lockdown,
so the UK will watch, wait and hopefully learn what works and what doesn't

..... then copy these the correct way round

I didn't think that young children were particularly susceptible to flu - more that they can be symptomless carriers and affect others?

"the UK could end up being the only country that kills more people with the vaccine than it saves." [] Why would this happen, DG ?

If repeated vaccinations are required, and the risks have not been properly bottomed out, you could end up vaccinating more people than necessary with an increased chance of serious reaction for very little effect.

Sturgeon continues to subvert WM incompetence by setting out lockdown exit principles today.

Well done Sturgeon for treating people like adults.

It is very insulting to British scientists to think they would make a mistake that no other country does
and wilfully refuse to look at what other countries do wrt vaccine

There are more than enough disasters that we KNOW will happen

• tens of thousands of UK deaths, Global Depression, high unemployment, pay cuts, loss of savings, drop / loss of pensions, damage to education & socialisation of kids ......

There is no need to catastophise with very unlikely scenarios too
An asteroid strike may happen, WW3 may happen, the vaccine may kill millions ...

We will struggle deperately to survive the KNOWN disasters with anything like our former standard of living and life expectancy
So we need to concentrate on these

There is no capacity to handle anything further
It will just be Game Over
Planet 1: Humans 0

"kills more people with the vaccine than it saves"

But why specifially the UK being the "only country" that experiences this ?

Why would UK scientists agree to something incredibly stupid & dangerous that no other country does ?

Also, it would have to be an enormous death toll from the vaccine to exceed the hundreds of thousands that will die over the years
Even the absolute worst vaccine released to date has only had a tiny tiny % of bad outcomes compared to the disease

I'd commented at the time to dh about Gavin Williamson's performance at the press briefing on Sunday (? - the days all merge ): about how patronising it was and how he was talking down to the viewers/public as if they were children.

I then watched Nicola on Monday during her lovely and clear as usual press briefing actually use the words, "As the adults that I know you are" while explaining that it was a difficult but hard message but that we needed to continue to adhere to the guidance.

It is very insulting to British scientists to think they would make a mistake that no other country does

Who's talking about scientists ? We already know the UK government is determined to plough it's own furrow.

I'm not talking about bad science. I am talking about bad politics.

But why specifially the UK being the "only country" that experiences this ?

Have you see the stats ?

.

DG Stupid policies about PPE, hospital admissions etc are completely different to anything the UK govt could do wrt vaccines

All that is within their power is to fuck up and delay the rollout - which is highly likely

They can't actually change the vaccine protocol,
other than inject everyone with Trump's latest moneymaker instead

DG Stupid policies about PPE, hospital admissions etc are completely different to anything the UK govt could do wrt vaccines

I have absolutely no limit to my credulity about the incompetence of the government. And that's the truth. Bear in mind, for all the headlines and fluffy talk, DW still - 5 weeks into lockdown - been recognised as vulnerable. So I factor in personal experience.

If I fall ill, then she will be in dire straits very quickly. So I have to work to a plan of "not falling ill".

Sorry, got distracted, you were telling about how it was totally and utterly impossible for the government to mess something up, I believe ?

still hasn't been recognised

All this agonising about 1 in 1 million possibilities just blooks like displacement activities,
to avoid facing the horrendous problems we are definitely facing

The thousands of additional deaths - whatever the eventual balance of "economy vs lives"
The additional poverty, bankrupties, unemployment ....

Many young & middle-aged regard the boomers as having enjoyed the "Gloden Years":
Western prosperity, uni grants, house prices, well-funded NHS etc

The kids today will be Generation COVID, who may envy everyone from 1946 until Wuhan
The freedom, the discretionary income that most people had

Generation COVID risk losing so much - education, socialisation, career prospects, standard of living
.... and in some case also grandparents & parents

I can see this govt fucking up - it has done so already - many things

I don't see how the UK alone could have a vaccine program that kills hundreds of thousands
and no other country in the world does

• other than the UK not managing to organise a program

All this agonising about 1 in 1 million possibilities just blooks like displacement activities, to avoid facing the horrendous problems we are definitely facing

Agonising ? Just debating and discussion surely ?

What I think is happening - to the horror of some - is that some people are starting to suspect that

the horrendous problems we are definitely facing

are a starting to look like put-up job. By which I mean that not being able to work and pay rent is only a "problem" in a system where you need to work to pay rent.

I'm quite happy that science and scientists are doing their best. But I have zero faith in politicians - especially British ones - being able to translate that into anything significant for the greatest benefit to the greatest number.

Tomorrow is DS birthday. He was quite upbeat about having a Zoom party, but it's hardly what anyone wanted

Happy Birthday to MiniDGR 🎂

(I know he's not exctly "mini" !)

TX - I have something in my eye ..

As I was typing that, an email dropped into my inbox.

From Western Power, who wanted to update me as our records show a vulnerable person resides at this address (because I notified them years ago).

Still no sign from HMG though.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/23/older-people-could-face-extended-coronavirus-lockdown-lords-hears

Not quite sure how this squares with the over 70s that still have to go and work ..

... Like the HOL?!

Like the HOL?!

They'd be exempt from any legislation, I'm sure.

Aren't they still able to (or have voted to?) claim their £322 daily allowance by logging in remotely?

So such "restrictions" would be financially beneficial to them as they could get their money without even the inconvenience of going to WM

At work today we speculated how many people are still focusing on their flood resilience planning as that WILL be back next winter.
How long ago February feels .....