Re: Coronavirus
 

Indeed. Their flawed strategy was entirely based on believing the virus was a “once and done”. Waning immunity from vaccines and previous infection isn’t uniquely an Omicron feature it was seen with Beta (in clinical trials) and delta in the real world. Omicron just shot holes in it in a way even the most dubious spinning of statistics can’t salvage the idea that Sweden got anything from it but dead Swedes.

Re: Coronavirus
 

So the Swedes have the highest death rate in Europe because of their actions? That would be the obvious result of their "flawed stratergy".

Re: Coronavirus
 

I still find it staggering that people think you can stop a virus. Yes, you can slow it down, but that's not quite the same thing. Canute is outside for these people.

Re: Coronavirus
 

It would be obvious that the strategy was bad if they had the worst death rate. It wouldn’t necessarily follow that the strategy was good if that honour fell to someone else.

Two or more countries could have bad Covid policies, with the outcome varying based on a number of factors. General health of the population, availability of healthcare at the point of infection, what treatments were available, vaccines, which vaccines.

---------- Post added at 22:03 ---------- Previous post was at 21:50 ----------

Smallpox? And well on the way with polio? SARS? MERS? It’s certainly possible but requires an extent of collective effort that will never be seen when some can profiteer in the chaos.

Although rehashing that debate is of little value.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Aside from the fact you clearly understood what was meant by the post, the "flexible working laws" only allow you to make a request, they dont mean a company has to grant it (as many in people in my company have found out).

If you're wondering, I am classed as "Decentralised", which means I WFH permanantly, regardless of any covid measures.

---------- Post added at 23:23 ---------- Previous post was at 23:16 ----------

Yes, afaik, thats the only virus we have ever eradicated, and that took many hundreds of years.

It was declared as eradicated in 1980.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Let's just take Smallpox, the first vaccine was produced in 1796. It took until 1978 for it to be eradicated. Just under 200 yrs to eradicate. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation vaccines are from the original though the production process is different in each case.

Heck, let's add polio.

Source

Source

But do feel free to carry on.

Re: Coronavirus
 

So it’s possible. Thanks for sourcing all that and saving me the hassle, pip.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Yes, much like travelling to the moon - its possible, but doesnt happen often. :)

Re: Coronavirus
 

That was a perfectly sensible proposition before we had the vaccine, jfman. But as pointed out by pip, lockdowns only slow it down.

Interesting that your solution would take centuries to achieve. Not very practical, is it? Still, it would achieve the lockdown you crave for the rest of your life!

Re: Coronavirus
 

The Telegraph reports that Sajid Javid has admitted that Covid death data is skewed because many people die from conditions unrelated to the virus after testing positive. ONS data shows a big discrepancy between weekly death registrations and the figures on government dashboards.

Nothing we didn't know already

Re: Coronavirus
 

We've known that since the start though which is why 'excess deaths' was used in the initial wave to judge between nations by some.

As long as the measurement is consistent it's still useful as a way to benchmark what's happening.

---------- Post added at 08:56 ---------- Previous post was at 08:50 ----------

The other thing with smallpox is that it's much easier to spot and isolate when it becomes transmissible. You do not have asymptomatic smallpox (as far as I know).

So when they identified a case of Smallpox the WHO would take a break from their touring schedule and swoop into the area to do 'ring-vaccination' around the suspected case. Basically starving it of further carriers. Every time another case occurred they too would be isolated and people in that community vaccinated again until it had nowhere left to go. No more Smallpox.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Yes skewed from 17,000 as per last nights news.

Re: Coronavirus
 

SARS-CoV-1 is also gone, and that was done in less than two years just with masks and social distancing.

I've seen a report that it doesn't even exist in labs.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Don't forget that Canute was trying to prove to his people that he couldn't stop the tide not that he could.

Re: Coronavirus
 

It’s still an over-simplification. Excess deaths are also caused by people not getting diagnosed and/or treated in time as a result of prioritising Covid patients.

It shouldn’t be a problem working out who has actually been admitted and/or died of coronavirus, but recording has been shambolic because no country seems to have taken a sensible and pragmatic means of recording. Even we cannot differentiate which patients are admitted because of or die because of Covid.