New coronavirus in/from China

[Little John]

This lockdown is going to be much harder than the first one. From what I am seeing on social media, a lot of people are taking it quite badly. There was light at the end of the tunnel, now it has been extinguished. And this time its cold and dark. There is a very real risk that the suicide rate as well as death from other non-covid reasons will spike quite badly. People have had enough.

The suicide rate has ALREADY spiked along side mental illness more generally. Just yesterday, we had 3 cop cars and a meat wagon to pick up someone in our town who finally lost the f***ing plot after losing his job over this shite becasue his company has closed down due to the lockdowns.

[Catweazle]

Large Numbers Of Health Care And Frontline Workers Are Refusing Covid-19 Vaccine

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/ ... Yk2oqm1EtM

Not sure that link is entirely relevant to the UK though:

Dr. Varon said that "the fact that [President] Trump is in charge of accelerating the process bothers" those individuals who refuse to be immunized, adding "they all think it's meant to harm specific sectors of the population." In an op-ed published in the New York Times earlier this week, emergency physicians Benjamin Thomas and Monique Smith wrote that "vaccine reluctance is a direct consequence of the medical system's mistreatment of Black people" and past atrocities, such as the unethical surgeries performed by J. Marion Sims and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, best exemplifies "the culture of medical exploitation, abuse and neglect of Black Americans."

[kenneal - lagger]

I can't see the relevance of US Health worker attitudes of vaccinations to those of UK based health workers. Perhaps LJ could supply us with some of his famous data on UK health workers?

[Little John]

https://metro.co.uk/2020/12/12/nearly-h ... -13743538/

[kenneal - lagger]

https://metro.co.uk/2020/12/12/nearly-h ... -13743538/

"As many as 40% of care home staff may decline the vaccine, an industry director has suggested" (My bold)

Hardly data.

And they could be required to take the vaccine on H&S grounds or even wear full PPE all the time to prevent infection. I suppose with some care workers spreading "fake news" about vaccines there are bound to be a few who are afraid to take it.

[Little John]

https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m44 ... jzjBouXOxQ

When good science is suppressed by the medical-political complex, people die

Politicians and governments are suppressing science. They do so in the public interest, they say, to accelerate availability of diagnostics and treatments. They do so to support innovation, to bring products to market at unprecedented speed. Both of these reasons are partly plausible; the greatest deceptions are founded in a grain of truth. But the underlying behaviour is troubling.

Science is being suppressed for political and financial gain. Covid-19 has unleashed state corruption on a grand scale, and it is harmful to public health.1 Politicians and industry are responsible for this opportunistic embezzlement. So too are scientists and health experts. The pandemic has revealed how the medical-political complex can be manipulated in an emergency—a time when it is even more important to safeguard science.

[PS_RalphW]

Los Angeles now appears to be in medical melt-down.

Ambukance crews are being told to triage patients at pick up point, Those obviously dying of covid with little chance of recovery are not to be brought to hospital.

Hospitals are running out of oxygen.

More than half of all deaths are caused by covid

In southern California the UK strain is now widespread

Also

South African Covid Variant Appears to ‘Obviate’ Antibody Drugs, Dr. Scott Gottlieb says
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/01/05/sou ... -says.html

The SA strain appears to be dominant in South and Central America where a very high summer wave is killing thousands. It seems to have some infectivity to people with antibodies to the older strains. This does not bode well for the current batch of vaccines.

I hope the labs are already working on modifying their vaccines to work with these new strains

Coming to a country near you soon.

[Little John]

Well well well....what a f***ing surprise

Then again, it'll have been far more likely to be predominantly comprised of the poor, who have been hardest hit by lockdowns in just about every area of life, so who gives a F--k...right?

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news ... JVLOoKFfzw

The number of excess deaths recorded by the Office for National Statistics in the week to Christmas Day was higher than the number of coronavirus deaths, sparking fresh fears over the impact of pressures on the NHS on care for other conditions.

New figures show there were 11,529 deaths registered in the week ending December 25. This was 3,566 deaths more than the five-year average, or 45 per cent higher.

Only 2,912 of those deaths mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate.

[Little John]

I dare say a fair few of those excess deaths will be the record number of suicides of males as they see their capacity to put a roof over their families' heads and fill their bellies go to the wall

https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... JVLOoKFfzw

[PS_RalphW]

For information my younger daughter attempted suicide twice in recent months as a direct result of the increased anxiety she has been suffering over the pandemic. Fortunately she now has new medication and in the last month her mental health has improved sharply, This new lockdown has just about finished any chance of her ever returning to a school setting. I haven't worked since march and I now classify myself as a full time carer.

[Stumuz2]

Sorry to hear that Ralph. Things will be and feel better in the spring. Be kind to yourself as much as possible.

[Little John]

So, how busy are hospitals in England?

When announcing the national lockdown, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the NHS risked being overwhelmed if the measures weren't taken.

But statistics suggest that the proportion of beds currently occupied by patients is actually lower than usual.

So how can both things be true?

They can't be. You government is lying.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/55536762?fbc ... py0DvvRroI

[anotherexlurker]

LJ do you even bother to read what you link to???

Everyone who reads this forum knows you don't get it , but why do you feel the need to continuously prove that either interpreting data is not your strongest point or you are just looking to argue with random people on the internet.

[clv101]

Everyone who reads this forum knows you don't get it , but why do you feel the need to continuously prove that either interpreting data is not your strongest point or you are just looking to argue with random people on the internet.

We see exactly the same modus operandi with climate change denial. It's a phenomena of our times, we live in the so-called information age. It's never been easier for lay people to find stuff out, educate themselves. However not only do many not take advantage of this amazing time (fair enough), but they actually publicly promote their intentional ignorance. Why? Promoting one's ignorance used to be something folk avoided.

Here's a first hand account from a big London hospital today:

So, my news for today. The hospital is full. Covid patients are sitting in ambulances all day queued up outside. At least they have some oxygen and someone to look after them, which is why they are not being stacked in hospital corridors where there's no oxygen or nurses to look after them. Yesterday, two covid patients died outside in ambulances while waiting for bed space.

Don't have a need for an ambulance because you'll have a 6-10 hour wait because they are all queued up outside the local hospital full of covid patients.

Look after yourselves and take care of your loved ones, even if that means staying away from them.

[Little John]

LJ do you even bother to read what you link to???

Everyone who reads this forum knows you don't get it , but why do you feel the need to continuously prove that either interpreting data is not your strongest point or you are just looking to argue with random people on the internet.

Of course I read the link and the bullshit the BBC tried to spin on those numbers.