Re: Coronavirus
 

I noticed he didn't wheel out twitty with his BS graphs and prophecies of doom .

Re: Coronavirus
 

Maybe he's softening us up for another "U" turn as in an early end to the lockdown.

Re: Coronavirus
 

And some of us who are volunteering to be on phase-3 COVID vaccine trials...

Re: Coronavirus
 

Yes but we may get placebos rather than the vaccine as part the control group. We'll not know until phase 3 is over.

Re: Coronavirus
 

True...

Re: Coronavirus
 

:confused:

Re: Coronavirus
 

It was a good combination of we need to keep going and not slacken our resolve but there's some light at the end of the tunnel. There was the trade mark Boris use of metaphors too once the more serious messages had been put across.

---------- Post added at 00:43 ---------- Previous post was at 00:42 ----------

I think we've seen the last of that particular presentation style. ;)

Re: Coronavirus
 

Don't celebrate a vaccine yet.

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Re: Coronavirus
 

Sorry I meant the way he doubled down on not doing another lockdown before u-turning and doing so. I wonder if he judges his usual optimistic tone would contrast badly with such decisions so has toned it down.

Re: Coronavirus
 

That's good news on the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine from the point that it shows that spike protein vaccines seem to work well and there are plenty of those in the pipeline. The BioNTech vaccine isn't ideal needing two doses and a -80°C cold chain which will be a massive pain but it's a promising start at least.

It looks like this will be made in Germany at least in the first instance by BioNTech itself plus a contract company Rentschler so my German sales colleagues are happy :-)

On another note, we have been having great fun with a sick kid over the last week and have been no stranger to hospitals and it seems that there is a huge variation in COVID security between different hospitals. By far the most secure was Moorfields Eye Hospital childrens unit where you had to resanitise and get a new mask to be allowed walk in the door with security enforcing this. Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital was next with sanitisation stations on the door with a nice volunteer helping but the feeling was pretty much like entering a supermarket. Our local General Hospital (Watford) was the most lax. Signs everywhere saying wear masks and hand sanitiser stations everywhere like the others but nobody on the door.

This to me seems the opposite of what it should be. If the elderly and immunocompromised are most at risk, I would have hoped Watford would be the most secure while a place where kids with eye problems probably needing the least security..

Re: Coronavirus
 

Any vaccine only prompts the immune system to react as if there was a real version of the virus present. It still takes time for the immune system be able to deal with it. People will still have to self-isolate/be in lockdown for a further 1 or 2 weeks after getting the vaccine. Otherwise in that time they could be exposed to the full real version and suffer from that and spread it to others. Not an instant overnight fix.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I don't know how this vaccine works but typically they kill the virus' ability to reproduce so whether you develop an immune response or not you shouldn't be able to 'get' a virus from it and certainly unable to spread it.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Where did I say that?
Just because you have been given the vaccine, doesn't give you instant immunity from the real one still out there. You would still have to self-isolate/shield from that real version that is still out there, whilst your immune system can build an immunity to the fake version that also works on the real version. You would still be vulnerable from getting the real version and it developing to the infectious stage.
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It is NOT INSTANT.

Re: Coronavirus
 

This was covered yesterday in the press briefing

The Pfizer mRNA vaccine is deployed at two stages, fourteen days apart. The medical bod who was on the briefing clearly stated that people once they've had the first jab shouldnt be wandering round as if they were immune (even thought there's a level of immunity building) and that they should be just as careful until they have had the second jab (and i think a week after iirc)

Re: Coronavirus
 

They work by giving the immune system a "heads-up" to what it might face in the future. It still takes time for the immune system to build an immunity. It DOESN'T directly and immediately destroy the virus.