Tieriffic or tierifying ... who knows!

[dancemom]

Quick title as last thread about to fill up ....

A Labour resurgence would be very useful for Scotland just now.

I just saw the Tories won a by-election (although I suppose P&K is quite natural Tory territory anyway)

www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/perth-kinross/2075092/conservatives-claim-victory-in-perth-and-kinross-council-by-election/

@WouldBeGood

A Labour resurgence would be very useful for Scotland just now.

Not for women though I don't think, unfortunately.

I think I will take labour's element for women compared to the current shhhh show of SNP and women recently be that legislation or court cases!

Better than the SNP on that, though I agree not impressive. I think a more mixed Parliament would be much better and stop stuff like the HCB.

In fact, the Parliament would really be much better without the Greens who are now just a peculiar misogynistic sect who support the SNP for their own gain.

Yes, I so agree about the Greens! They're like pointless little parasites using a bigger body to cram through their own tiny agenda. They're such a disappointment, I don't recognise them from a decade or two ago.

So.. I've just been reading the AZ vaccine doesn't work against a SA variant which currently accounts for ten per cent of the cases in France ( and rising). Despite this, Johnson's refusing to put restrictions on movement from France. Aargh!

It’s really weird @UnderHisAye. I’d be quite keen to vote for the kind of eco policies and social stuff of the old Green Party, not this shower!

Me too @WouldBeGood! I feel anchorless with a Green party that has such investment in non- Green stuff.

I think a coalition parliament would be far better for Scotland. I think there should be space for both socialists and Tories. But I think having significant change in votes, eg Labour scooping up some of their natural voters, is akin to shifting that massive tanker in the Suez just now. It takes a decent shift in views for people to vote en masse for something different.

But...this vaccine argument with the EU. NS feels our ejection from the EU against the voting majority in Scotland was a change in circumstances enough to warrant a new referendum.
But, I'm sure I read stats nearer the time that showed many SNP voters (and SNP MSPs) didn't want to be in the EU (which I get- not to be ruled in any way from abroad), and I wonder if a lot of Scots with this vaccine debacle might also think a future within the EU isn't what they'd vote for....so I just wonder if this might make a difference.

Or maybe, people will stick with what they usually do.

@StarryEyeSurprise

So.. I've just been reading the AZ vaccine doesn't work against a SA variant which currently accounts for ten per cent of the cases in France ( and rising). Despite this, Johnson's refusing to put restrictions on movement from France. Aargh!

Great. He'll do it in four months' time once it's become the dominant strain here and we're back in lockdown. The man is a tit.

Interesting @speedtalker

There have been a few threads this week discussing independence being something akin to Brexit, and the vaccine example is brought up often.

I personally don't feel any different because of the vaccine thing; I believe Scotland will be better as an independent nation permanently so one instance of something hasn't shifted how I feel about it. I suspect that we would have shared vaccines anyway what with being an island land mass, it just makes sense.

But I'm not closed minded, so it's something to keep thinking about.

@StarryEyeSurprise do you have a link to that? The last I read it was offering minimal protection to mild cases of that variant which has actually been in the UK since February but still gave protection to severe cases?

However maybe that's changed now

That's been the story since s South Africa study reported February I think. This is why they've been going in and testing for weeks in areas where they detect the SA variant.

The new scare headline is that it's a proportion of cases in France where car numbers are on a rising curve.

Going in and asymptomatic testing in the UK that is.

Case numbers are riding in France and a proportion of those will be SA variant.

Cases are Rising in france. I'm giving up now,🤣.

@StarryEyeSurprise

So.. I've just been reading the AZ vaccine doesn't work against a SA variant which currently accounts for ten per cent of the cases in France ( and rising). Despite this, Johnson's refusing to put restrictions on movement from France. Aargh!

And what further restrictions would you want giving that's the main route for food imports and haulage? Or do you propose supermarket panic again? Nobody should be travelling without valid reason anyway

In UK Scotland has the highest transmission currently and we also have the SA variant.

[quote dancemom]@StarryEyeSurprise do you have a link to that? The last I read it was offering minimal protection to mild cases of that variant which has actually been in the UK since February but still gave protection to severe cases?

However maybe that's changed now [/quote]
I didn't want to say as I know she's controversial on here but Devi shared it on her twitter. My mum had her AZ one this week and I'm all for keeping free travel to a minimum anyway.

So Sridhar makes you panic and have knee jerk teactions. this is no recommendation.

To be clear, she actually just shared info from someone else, maybe it's someone you guys would find more acceptable, who knows, you can have a look I guess.

• 543 new cases of COVID-19 reported
• 24,886 new tests for COVID-19 that reported results – 2.4% of these were positive
• 6 new reported death(s) of people who have tested positive
• 26 people were in intensive care yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19 down 6
• 296 people were in hospital yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19 down 14
• 2,322,832 people have received the first dose of the Covid vaccination and 279,814 have received their second dos

559,324 new vaccinations registered in 🇬🇧 yesterday

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 258,050 1st doses / 198,206 2nd doses
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 37,121 / 16,578
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 21,432 / 10,868
NI 8,339 / 8,730

Lookachicken We have the SA variant? I hadn't heard that. Not good news.

My understanding of the AZ vaccine's efficacy against the SA variant is that there were no instances of severe illness in the study participants but all the participants were under 50.

I don't think they know how effective the Pfizer vaccine is against the SA strain yet. AZ is currently working on modifying their vaccine to make it more effective against the SA strain apparently. I have no idea how long that's likely to take. It should be quicker than developing it originally but who knows.....

I find it blooming depressing

@dancemom

• 543 new cases of COVID-19 reported • 24,886 new tests for COVID-19 that reported results – 2.4% of these were positive • 6 new reported death(s) of people who have tested positive • 26 people were in intensive care yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19 down 6 • 296 people were in hospital yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19 down 14 • 2,322,832 people have received the first dose of the Covid vaccination and 279,814 have received their second dos

So basically we are testing way more people and our % remains very low which actually means cases are probably still dropping but we didn't detect some a few weeks ago.

So in fact not an increase in cases in Scotland at all.

I fucking hate the conclusions they try and pedal because numbers 'appear' higher