Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[Josquius]

Doctor I know had the vaccination the other day.
He had been skeptical about it before hand so not sure whether to believe him.... But apparently had quite an allergic reaction with temperature, a rash, and even fainting.

[Duque de Bragança]

Happens sometimes with vaccines. The full-strength covid would have had stronger effects yet.

[Sheilbh]

Happens sometimes with vaccines. The full-strength covid would have had stronger effects yet.

Yeah - and this vaccine isn't recommended if you have a history of strong allergic reactions (which I think is a general problem).

Out of interest is Macron better and out of isolation?

Edit: Also here the government are talking about possibly needing to put more regions into Tier 4 on Boxing Day because of the new variant. There's no reason given why they shouldn't go into Tier 4 now

[Zanza]

The German vaccine strategy looks really feeble and too slow. I hope they can surprise me positively, but considering their atrocious track record on Covid preparation so far, I am sceptical.

[Duque de Bragança]

Happens sometimes with vaccines. The full-strength covid would have had stronger effects yet.

Yeah - and this vaccine isn't recommended if you have a history of strong allergic reactions (which I think is a general problem).

Out of interest is Macron better and out of isolation?

Granny Macron is safe and safely isolated from Macron. 

Macron is is still in isolation at La Lanterne residence, near Versailles.
Official Elysée sources say his state is improving.

[Sheilbh]

The German vaccine strategy looks really feeble and too slow. I hope they can surprise me positively, but considering their atrocious track record on Covid preparation so far, I am sceptical.

We have taken delivery of 800,000 doses and so far 500,000 have been administered. But there are complaints about lack of transparency about where the vaccine is in the supply chain and whether it's logistically going where it should.

In part this should be something the NHS can do quite well because they have a lot of experience running vaccination programs. But, you know, this government

There was also an interesting piece by Tony Blair where he basically took that Klugen idea and suggested that because of the new strain we should consider vaccinating as many people as possible once and then do the second dose once supply has improved. I don't know if that is a good policy decision but it was sort of a reminder of the type of questions and challenges a real leader should be giving their scientific advisers so that, as a decision-maker, they have as much information and as many options available to them. It's not the sort of challenge I think is going on in the government at the minute where I worry it'll just be complacency and "jolly good" all round

Also it's very early doors on analysing the new strain but Professor Neil Ferguson (of the Imperial model) who sits on NERVTAG says there is a small but statistically significant increase in transmission in young people in areas with the new strain (this fits anecdotally with what I heard from teachers in London in the last few weeks of terms when they were saying cases were exploding). There's no evidence it's any worse for kids than normal covid (i.e. the vast majority are absolutely fine). But it feels like something that should probably be investigated before we re-open schools in January.

Edit: Also because I was praising them earlier for have a firebreak lockdown early (compared to England and Scotland) - something's gone badly wrong in Wales. I understand this is the worst rate in Western Europe, and only Lithuania is higher. I know the new variant is in South Wales which could be part of the factor but it doesn't feel like that's enough to explain what's happening here:


Edit: Having said that the difference in counties of Wales is stark and given that the new variant is in South Wales maybe that is a bigger part of it than I thought:

[Sheilbh]

Interesting suggestion by Alexander Clarkson:

Alexander Clarkson
@APHClarkson
The UK and every other European states have populations sitting at home that are confused and getting angrier. A mass mobilisation of volunteers for expanded vaccination effort giving people a task where they could contribute through service would have a positive uplifting effect
Comparisons between the COVID19 crisis and World Wars were off base. In wartime states mobilise populations in ways that keep people highly active and direct collective energy towards towards a shared goal.

With COVID19 people have been immobilised, isolated and divided
A big volunteer effort involving as many Europeans as possible in a collective effort to beat COVID19 through mass mobilisation to help mass vaccination could help foster the sense of direction and unity so many politicians and pundits like to talk about

I agree - it feels like this should be like the early days of lockdown. Ask retired medical personnel (especially nurses) to volunteer, ask the citizens who volunteer and run our elections to help run vaccine clinics in the community, get army and navy medics to support (and the military can help on logistics), ask St John's Ambulance volunteers to help out if they can etc.

It is one of the unique things of the experience of covid that we have deliberately demobilised people and the economy. I think to help get out of this we now need old-school full mobilisation.

[Tamas]

I guess, but if you get the mass mobilisation mass-y enough you kinda' increase the spread of the virus among households and work against the intention of the workload, I'd assume.

[Richard Hakluyt]

That patch of red in south Wales will be more than half the population of the principality; so it would be interesting to compare it with the figures in Kent rather than England.

[Sheilbh]

That patch of red in south Wales will be more than half the population of the principality; so it would be interesting to compare it with the figures in Kent rather than England.

It's basically looking the same as the Kent-Essex-London group:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map

Which does suggest it may be more to do with this new variant than I thought.

[Sheilbh]

From today's press conference:


Why are new areas only going into Tier 4 on Boxing Day and why not everywhere in England instead of just a few more regions?

Also while I think it makes a lot of sense for countries to close their borders, I wonder if, in retrospect, it will be a mistake making thousands of truckers linger in Kent before crossing to the continent?

[Barrister]

Canada approves the Moderna vaccine.

[Josquius]

From today's press conference:

Why are new areas only going into Tier 4 on Boxing Day and why not everywhere in England instead of just a few more regions?

Also while I think it makes a lot of sense for countries to close their borders, I wonder if, in retrospect, it will be a mistake making thousands of truckers linger in Kent before crossing to the continent?

Can't help but feel a bit of schadenfreude here after not too long ago it was the north unfairly hit whilst London got out of it.

Not that tier 3/4 really seems to change much.

[Zanza]

Germany expects 1.3 million doses from Biontech in December and 10 million more in January. Another 1.5 million Moderna doses in January. Until "summer 2021" all Germans who want to should be vaccinated. Let's see.

[Sheilbh]

Canada approves the Moderna vaccine.

And the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine have submitted final data to the UK medicines regulator. From my understanding of how these rolling approvals and studies work that means that the regulator thinks they have enough information. Hopefully it's good news on that one.