Re: Coronavirus
 

Coronavirus: US buys up almost entire world supply of COVID-19 drug Remdesivir


https://news.sky.com/story/coronavir...sivir-12018430

Re: Coronavirus
 

There isn't a more self centred country in the world. And brexiteers seem to think the USA is going to offer us an amazing trade deal that will make up for leaving the biggest single market in the world on our doorstep :erm:

Re: Coronavirus
 

Your biggest single market can't get it either,so you can't blame this on brexit.

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This is why it's better UK scientists get to any promising treatments ahead of the States. If we get there first we can ensure we don't export any of the drug we have here and then tell the whole world at the same time that it works.

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:tu:

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So if they knew about these sweatshops why weren't they closed down by H&S busybodies or the police?

No doubt too busy harassing the general public instead of dealing with the real issue. :rolleyes:

Re: Coronavirus
 

Sadly Leicester might not be the only place at risk of a local lockdown as there are 36 cities and counties where Covid cases are rising again.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...cal-lockdowns/

https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/30/non-e...ster-12920228/

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No need to wait for test results to determine where to lockdown, just use census data. The map says it all.

Link.

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doesn't take Sherlock to see the common thread there

if certain groups failed to adhere to lockdown then, unchallenged as they were, i don't they expect to change if they lock them down again

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The North-East :erm:

I don't think we should treat all Yorkshiremen/Mancunians the same though. Some of them are very nice people.

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I've noticed that the farther North you go, the better sense of humour people have . . or had, until having one was abolished ;)

Re: Coronavirus
 

The numbers won't be uniform across a given area. There will be higher rate areas and lower rate areas. Even in Leicester, there are variations across the city.


Area of Leicester that includes the major affected area(North Evington).
Link

As if a mere app is going to help.:rolleyes:

Re: Coronavirus
 

My sister in law's family are based in Leicester but brother's family are in Lincolnshire so hoping she hasn't been visiting then bringing it back but it's possible my brother was infected much earlier in the epidemic so likely she was and can't directly infect others. Still could "carry" it.
Are we going to see "quarentine areas" formed where areas are "locked in" preventing movement in/out, controlling products etc? Since the problem "seems" to be race related that's going to go down well.

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I don't think you can be a carrier if you've had it can you? The virus won't get a foothold on the body in order to multiply/spread?

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If the virus can 'live' a few days on plastic/metal/glass etc, I'm sure it can live elsewhere without a host - clothing, bags, personal effects :erm:

any ideas?

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Supposedly if you have had the virus then you are not a carrier. This is why Tony Blair wants immunity certificates.

Doesn't mean you cannot carry it on something though. But everything is risk management

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Sure but I don't think that's what a carrier means in this context means you actively pass it on because you have the virus and are producing a lot of it.

The amount of virus that can survive on someone physically is probably pretty low.

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You can still be re-infected, it just won't take hold. For the immune system to tackle it, the virus has to be in the blood stream, ie you've been re-infected.

I wonder if in certain circumstances, it can infect tissue almost directly, without having to travel too far in the blood stream. Nasal and lung tissue is fairly accessible in a direct way. To that extent, it is almost external tissue like skin, without the barrier the skin has of dead skin tissue.

Re: Coronavirus
 

It's an interesting point to debate . . . sort of like having the virus present but being asymptomatic in a way

Re: Coronavirus
 

Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech shows positive results. Only a small sample though.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/01/coro...port-says.html

Re: Coronavirus
 

True the exact term carrier means you are infected but what other term would you use that you are transporting the virus on things you carry or have with you? There was concern at one point that cats could act as a vector carrying the virus into households on them rather than in them.

Re: Coronavirus
 

'SLAVE LABOUR' How Leicester sweat shops are still full of workers earning £2.50 per hour despite lockdown


IT was business as usual for the poor factory workers servicing Britain’s high street fashion industry today.

Heads bowed as they shuffled wearily from the hulking red brick buildings that dot Leicester’s garment districts to the east of the city, the mainly Indian and Eastern European migrants seemed oblivious to the government order to stay at home.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/120042...pite-lockdown/

Re: Coronavirus
 

Interesting that the Sun are more interested in where they came from rather than the fact we have “business owners” opening against Government advice and seemingly paying below the minimum wage.

Presumably not collecting income tax or paying national insurance contributions either. But hey, the enemy is the guy working for £2.50 an hour just in case they starve.

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Standard Right Wing Media misdirection. I mean it has worked for years, look at all the fools that have been duped. Why stop now?

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

This is a good game :) I'll raise you:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/120042...pite-lockdown/

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Why should those details not be included?

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Willing to work long hours for a pittance frames them as the enemy. It’s the coming over here stealing our jobs narrative.

Employers paying below the minimum wage is a crime regardless of where the employee was born. Someone with a Portugese passport has the right to work in the UK.

Whether they should or will in the future is irrelevant. The fact is they do.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Can you phrase the idea in a way that is not painting them as the enemy without leaving out information?

Re: Coronavirus
 

Why does all of the information need to be included?

Where they were born is irrelevant unless we think they are illegal immigrants. Whether they are willing to work for below the minimum wage is also irrelevant. The point of legislating for a minimum is to protect people from that.

Desperate people, of all creeds and colours, turn to desperate situations.

“Rogue employers paying less than minimum wage continue to operate sweat shops in Leicester during lockdown.”

Does the job.

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Well it's very relevant to the discussion. The fact they are undocumented migrants means they are incentivised not to sue their employer for paying under minimum wage. If I thought they were British citizens I would dismiss them as stupid for being conned like this.

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The only people in the whole discussion I can see committing a crime here is the employer.

Romanians and people carrying Portuguese passports have the right to travel and work in the EU and UK (for now).

Re: Coronavirus
 

If Romanians are carrying Portuguese passports, then something is up. Romania is perfectly capable of issuing passports.

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If the article said that I’d agree with you - indicative of people smuggling and wider international crime no doubt.

However it doesn’t say that. Those from Goa are legitimately obtaining Portugese passports, in line with the law there and the end of Portugese rule allowing some to apply for Portugese nationality (and their children, and grandchildren).

Re: Coronavirus
 

Workers at a Wrexham food factory linked to 237 coronavirus cases have said they do not feel safe

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-53260897

You'll probably find similar remarks from workers in most factories

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tbf, it is in Wales... :D

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You do understand that if they couldn't get away with paying less than minimum wage then there would be a crack down on people from Goa?

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Do any solutions come to mind?

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Yep, but none that your mates in office would understand . . . or like ;)

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You’re right, Seph. The culture of capitalism at its worst. :D

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The BBC 6pm news said that the virus is found in sewage up to a week before people show any symptoms, so this might prove to be a help.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Genetic residue (RNA), not the actual virus - big difference.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Maybe this genetic residue can be used to predict areas where the virus is about to explode?? If this is the case, we could take pre emptive action to decrease it's impact?

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Not sure how many infected people there would have to be out there in an area, for enough to show up in a particular sample.

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It is their normal diet;)

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Only if you're going to swab backsides:

" Bend over sir this won't hurt a bit" :D

Re: Coronavirus
 

No need for track and trace, then...:D

---------- Post added at 09:55 ---------- Previous post was at 09:53 ----------

:shocked:

Remind me never to French kiss a journalist.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

No one seems to be too concerned about how the Creative Arts is slowing dying :( There is a lot of concern to get football back and to open the pubs but nothing about the Arts. The Government seems unwilling to help struggling theatres, etc.

This sector employs 100's of thousands of people and contributes more to GDP than football and fishing combined and possibly more than agriculture. It is not just the financial impact, the cultural loss will be immense.

Some interesting articles:

https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/14/...don-s-west-end

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/...anent-shutdown

https://www.classicfm.com/music-news...atre-and-arts/

One thing does puzzle me: if you can sit together on a plane for 2+ hours, why can't you sit in an auditorium?

Re: Coronavirus
 

I think the "logic" is that people are sat quietly on a plane - in the theatre, they are reacting to the show (singing along, laughing, etc., all of which increase exhalations).

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Infection rates have just increased by about 30% in my area . . . now they've decided to include all the figures for testing done outside of hospitals :rolleyes:

How the hell anyone knows what's going on is beyond me :(

Re: Coronavirus
 

2nd JUly 2020

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/

Re: Coronavirus
 

Percentage differences can be very misleading.

Day 1 = 1 case
Day 2 = 2 cases -> Shock horror 100% increase

Re: Coronavirus
 

Yeah, maybe I should have kept it simple "shot up by more than 200" does have a better ring to it ;)

Re: Coronavirus
 

You must go First Class Hugh ;) They aren't quiet on the planes I go on ! They're usually pumped up on several Stella's that they've consumed at 7am in the Terminal. Glad I got my abroad holiday done earlier in the year.

I won't be going to any pub, shop, hairdresser this weekend; it's and nothing you can't do or order from home. It'll be chaos, congestion and confusion. A nice quiet walk in the country I think, rain permitting.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Also, the air flows in aircraft 'wash' from the ceiling to floor and the air is scrubbed through HEPA filters every 1-3 minutes. The air on planes is very clean and also very dry

Re: Coronavirus
 

And if somebody coughs/sneezes as they constantly do, between the filter and you ? It's also the terminal and every surface you touch getting on/off, queuing at the gate etc. You'd be bonkers to travel at the moment unless you really have to. The Govt. doesn't have the balls to tell everyone to just stay home this year. There will be other years, hopefully.

Re: Coronavirus
 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/m...4f2f108d24e9ef

Re: Coronavirus
 

That seems sensible if it can be done cost-effectively. The other points are how will it be charged and would it compulsory?

Re: Coronavirus
 

BREAKING: Current and Regional infections rates (R number) have been revealed:

The latest regional R value and current growth rates are:

• England - R = 0.8-0.9 Growth = -5% to -2%
  
• East of England: 0.7-0.9 Growth = -5% to 0%
  
• London: 0.8-1.1 Growth = -4% to +2%
  
• Midlands: 0.8-1.0 Growth = -4% to 0%
  
• North East and Yorkshire: 0.8-1.0 Growth = -5% to 0%
  
• North West: 0.7-0.9 Growth = -4% to 0%
  
• South East: 0.7-1.0 Growth = -5% to 0%
  
• South West: 0.7-1.0 Growth = -7% to +2%

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavir...egion-12020448

Re: Coronavirus
 

I think that the Yorkshire figures must be impacted by the Asda factory in Batley that has had a second outbreak and the fact that Bradford is the second highest infected place in the UK; again, a lot of Asian people live in both of these places.

Re: Coronavirus
 

The "Midlands" is a huge area, they could have separated out East & West.

Re: Coronavirus
 

You really have to look at the map to understand which area you're in. Eg Northamptonshire is sometimes put in East of England, and other times East Midlands. In this case, it's Midlands.


As the map says, it refers to "NHS England regions".

Re: Coronavirus
 

Indeed, and it's going to be important going forward that this information (whether public or not) is used at an even more granular level - so that restrictions and interventions are genuinely targeted at the areas that need it - villages and towns.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Pretty sure everyone will agree this makes sense. Let's hope a deal can be agreed.
https://news.trust.org/item/20200703150200-bcayz/

Re: Coronavirus
 

Well that depends really. If the UK found the vaccine we should extract maximum revenue from the rest of the world for it. That's exactly what the United States would do, so good practice for us.

It's just statistically improbable that we would, so yes hedge our bets.

Mismanagement of the virus is likely to make a vaccine pointless anyway. While it might prevent more serious outcomes, it is likely to start to wearing off after 3 months to 1 year (like the flu jab) so it's now a certainty to remain within the global population for years to come to a greater or lesser degree. Great news for the capitalists who thought that the long game was better for economic outcomes. :)

Previous generations fought wars for years and we couldn't support (as a planet) everyone sitting on their arse for three months. I think that says a lot about us really...

Re: Coronavirus
 

Say we put in 10% of the cost(probably would be a lot more), how much of any vaccine would we get back? 1%, 2%? If we ended up producing 20% of it, how much would the EU allow as to keep? With the EU, it's all about control.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Nonsense. If you read the article, it's all about a bulk-buying scheme so that we don't bid against each other and inflate the prices to daft levels. As happened with PPE.

I suspect BoJo fans will like the proposal, as they can say we can pick and choose which EU aspects we sign up to and yes we can have our cake and it eat.

Re: Coronavirus
 

So the EU decides who gets what. Say the EU orders 400m doses, but how many would we be allowed to have? If the UK alone produced 100m doses, how many of those would we be allowed to use?

Doesn't matter what the price the EU offers, somebody else out there is always going to outbid. The price of PPE went up mainly to individual customers. EU suppliers aren't going to charge outrageous prices, because it would be a PR nightmare.


Looking further down in your link, we already have an order in place for 100m.
Link

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Drugs aren't produced by states, they're produced in states by drugs companies. This is consortia purchasing. If you get how this works then you will understand how the remainder of your post makes little sense.

---------- Post added at 10:51 ---------- Previous post was at 10:48 ----------

It's actually a spot-on point and I could see objections to this from EU member states. It's not a dig, that's a disappointingly defensive suggestion. It actually allows BoJo to face his critics in the eye and own the cake and eat argument.

---------- Post added at 10:56 ---------- Previous post was at 10:51 ----------

From what I've heard, the government's weighing up money saved v any donations and votes lost from hard line Eurosceptics so is consulting the latter, who are positive about it.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Perhaps you missed my additional point, about the UK already has an order in place for 100m. Why would we need to pool it with the EU, and only perhaps get 20m doses?


---------- Post added at 11:06 ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 ----------

The real reason for low death rates in places like Japan and South Korea?
Link

Japan didn't do anything much.
Although it helps not having a population of morons.

Re: Coronavirus
 

AstraZeneca is producing it for everyone - it’s a global multi-national corporation, with loyalty or preferences for no one country...

https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufac...swamped-by-new

Re: Coronavirus
 

As the quote says, "without considering profit". It's mainly an issue of reserving output.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I am surprised you say this. Applying pure capitalism to something that is chronically needed by the whole world is immoral. Putting aside the greed, who do you think would benefit from these profits? Would 3rd world countries be able to afford these prices or would we just let them die?

---------- Post added at 14:32 ---------- Previous post was at 14:30 ----------

This is the only solution that should be considered ..

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Not if capitalism does a good job distributing it at low prices. I don't care if someone makes a profit in the process.

Re: Coronavirus
 

That's not working so well for insulin users in the USA at the moment...

Re: Coronavirus
 

The US medical system is messed up you'll get no argument from me on that. It is simultaneously under-regulated and over-regulated.

Re: Coronavirus
 

That's a good point. It won't just be a case of vaccinating everyone and that's it, it will have to be repeatedly done.

Maybe to cut costs it will only be given to people with a high risk of complications from contracting Covid-19? Trouble is, the rest of the population might not die, but it will result in higher rates of sickness abscence. Ripe for fraud too, how many managers would want to insist that someone claiming to have the symptoms comes into work?

Does anyone think that there will be forced vaccinations (here or elsewhere) when/if one is found? It sounds like a draconian measure, but if some people refuse to have one, how are Governments likely to react?

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Not all people can be vaccinated. Eg those with a compromised immune system.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Need 60 to 80% for herd immunity so it doesn't necessarily need to be everyone.

Re: Coronavirus
 

While I've got many reservations about capitalism I'm able to observe it and comment on how it will act in practice.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Which part of "without considering profit" do you not understand?

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Is that a contractual commitment?

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Re: Coronavirus
 

AZ, and various countries medical organisations are (during the pandemic) - investing in future customers...

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

I will not be able to have any vaccination in the form that it is being currently developed.

My only hope is that I get a very mild form of covid-19 and that it triggers an immune response to SARS-CoV-2 without triggering my immune system to destroy all my red blood cells. Bloody scared.

Re: Coronavirus
 

If you can avoid it until herd immunity. You won't need to have it at all.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

I wish it were as simple as you say Mr d and hopefully herd immunity will help others if that point in time is ever achieved. World wide herd immunity seems to be something that could take years and I fear that unless travel across the world is severely monitored there will be pockets of this pandemic lurking in the background ready to take more lives.

For anyone interested, the Lancet published an interesting article this week entitled Comparing SARS-CoV-2 with SARS-CoV and influenza pandemics

As for me. Any viral infection could trigger my condition. Common Cold or Covid-19. I doubt if I can beat the odds for as long as I would like but I am damn well going to try and I see many more pairs of shoes in my future. :D


(for anyone who doesn't know me I have a smallish addiction to buying shoes)

Re: Coronavirus
 

I'm sorry to hear that. You are in an even worse position than myself; at least I will be able to have a vaccine when/if one is found.

Re: Coronavirus
 

You better inform AZ about that, then... https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-ce...no-profit.html