J&J - The no more Tiers formula...

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Another new Fred...

This Is Your Life! 😄

What is the scam around vaccinations that was mentioned on the news?

Thanks Waxon, that makes sense.

There's an email vaccine phishing scam

Oh my family are not keeping up with tech so that's one less worry.

@sexnotgender

Nursing is for the moment a mix of online and in person learning. As are things like medicine and vets
you cant just become any of these professions sitting in front of a screen so there had to be exceptions
Pharmacists have time in the labs on campus as well.

I would like to think by September our lecture theatres will
be re-open but who knows.. its really depressing

I really want my s4 back in school and I want to know how he is going to be assesed for his qualifications

I really dont think the scottish govt seem that fussed about how the kids will get their qualifications

I don’t think they seem fussed about much except independence.

@WaxOnFeckOff

Any idea how that works for something like nursing? My daughter has applied to study nursing starting in September 🙁

I'd imagine that the theory stuff will be on-line and placements in hospitals and other care settings will work as normal. DH sees trainee nurses amongst the staff when he is in the hospitals - they tend to stand out as they are the ones doing all the covid stuff correctly.

That sounds about right Wax - I’m in languages so everything is online but practical placements and labs are still happening in the subjects that need them. @Sexnotgender I would think that even if your DD’s academic year started mostly online (except for practical bits) there’s a good chance there’ll be a return to on campus teaching during that year.

@Iwillneverbesatisfied I’m professional services at a Uni and the wfh ‘for now’ is what all of our new hires are being told. I would guess they absolutely won’t force you onto campus for a professional services role.

For practical courses (nursing, medicine), there has been a mix of remote and in person teaching since the start of the academic year at my university, and that has continued throughout. Other students have had to be taught entirely remotely in order to increase the amount of space available for these courses, and there has been some resentment around that, both from students and lecturers.

For lab-based research (PhD) students, which I'm more familiar with, at our institute first year students were all started off with a literature review type project for the autumn term, remotely supervised, plus an intensive series of hands on remote workshops to level up their base research skills (data management, stats, project management, good research practice, etc). They began coming in for lab work in January. The 2nd year & up students have been in the labs since summer 2020 when we were allowed to re-open the building for research. We operate a shift system for reduced occupancy, and people like myself who are purely computational research can only go in for special reasons to keep the shared space occupancy low. The students seem to be ok with this set up.

To be fair neither of mine have moaned either. DS1 is now more or less a recluse, apart from his trips to Uni or a walk around the block, he's only been out with friends about 4 times since he left school (and 3 of those were this summer when restrictions were lower) and he'll be 21 this year! He doesn't mind being on-line obviously but imo he needs to be out. I'm gutted that the little improvement we'd seen in the brief respite (2 trips to hang out outside and 1 trip to the cinema) was then taken away again.

DS2 is living away and not complaining as he is sharing a flat with his girlfriend so been happy to stay in. He's been keeping on track and has passed everything well. He is in 2nd year so at least had most of his first year as a "normal" experience.

I feel more sorry for the first years to be honest. These students have really missed a year of growing up and becoming adults and maturing. I noticed a huge difference in DS2 being away from home and maturing.

As was said, I don't think anyone is having anything easy, just different levels and types of shit.

@blowinahoolie and everyone else who's desperate to get the schools back. I get it but what's the point of it's going to cause numbers to rise again? I can see an argument for the little ones but having worked in a high school where we only very rarely didn't have huge numbers self isolating due to contact with positive cases I just can't see how this would be helpful?

Just my own view @kurtrussellsbeard but the reality we are facing is that whatever we open we run the risk of numbers going up. We are close to a year into this now and the cure is becoming worse than the disease. I don't agree it should just be younger groups I think all groups should be in school. School closures work for short periods but this has went on too long to justify anymore.

It looks like it could be seasonal so take advantage of that and know we may get a small rise for a few weeks with kids back but it will start to plummet once the weather changes. (I appreciate I'm not a scientist but that's based on last year).

Today's case numbers down again 🤞🤞🤞 here's hoping for some good news this afternoon

We're also vaccinating the vulnerable which will soon reduce the impact on the health service even if the number of cases stays similar.

Re early years - haven't verified but someone on UsForThem did an FoI on the care inspectorate who said they'd had about 1700 confirmed cases in childcare settings since March. That's across the full nursery and ASC population plus staff, the poster had stats suggesting that was about 270k

@IsurviveonCoffeeandWinein2021it just seems so dangerous. Surely we should be trying to preserve life as far as possible and minimise the potential for the debilitating effects of long covid. People are so cavalier about it all as if it's nothing. I just don't get it.

I just can't see how they can justify saying after Easter for majority of pupils. That's what, 10 or 11 weeks away? There's no way they can predict with Covid being so volatile how things will be then. Surely they can only act on the data they have now which is cases falling consistently for over 3 weeks now and deaths and hospitals admissions following suit.

@kurtrussellsbeard I do get where you are coming from but what about quality of life? My friend died a few years ago, early 40's and incredibly quickly around 9 weeks from diagnosis to death I often think of those last few weeks and the things she was able to do. Surrounded by family and friends. I could get cancer tomorrow and be gone this having been the last year of my life?

I supported restrictions, understood them for a long period of time but I personally believe in quality over quantity from a personal perspective. We gave them a year to figure this out, instead they still ruin our lives whilst fighting amongst each other. I want my kids to grow up in a world that's a life worth living not a half life that it is currently.

Deaths and cases are falling consistently because we're locked down.

Open up and they rise.

We're now also dealing with variants which are relatively unknown. We can't open until more people are vaccinated surely? Or else it will be another rise, more needless deaths and then yet another shitty lockdown.

[quote kurtrussellsbeard]@IsurviveonCoffeeandWinein2021it just seems so dangerous. Surely we should be trying to preserve life as far as possible and minimise the potential for the debilitating effects of long covid. People are so cavalier about it all as if it's nothing. I just don't get it. [/quote]
Because the negative effects - both long and shorter term - do not just come from covid. I think many people are being cavalier with the impacts of everything except actually catching covid.

Well quality of life is shit either way you look at it if you ask me. The scenario you describe isn't going to be allowed any time soon even if the schools do go back.

People keep demanding normality without truly I think understanding what would happen if the NHS tipped over an edge, if schools shut randomly because of staff absence etc etc

What we have now is controlled shitness with many lives being saved.

Anything else is a descent, fast or slow, into uncontrolled shitness with needless deaths.

@dancemom what I'd like to see is a caveated timetable based on the numbers. So x classes will go back on y date provided case levels z or below for previous 7 days. I think we'd all appreciate some of the logic - if indeed there is any - being shared more transparently.

@StatisticallyChallenged no of course not and people often bring up cancer treatment, for example, or mental health treatment. If the NHS tips over an edge, which lets face it it could, these areas would be neglected anyway.

It's not like we can ignore Covid and just get on with it. It has a real and tangible impact on everything.

2021 - controlled or uncontrolled shitness. A good summary of our options, shit either way!

There is no logic in looking at case numbers that come off the back of a lockdown when it is the lockdown alone that is keeping them low.

Sadly yes @anon444877 🤷🏻‍♀️