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Covid-19 Megathread


Loki

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I see Matt Hancock has stated that the NHS is ready to roll out the vaccine when and if it becomes available.

What he seems to have missed is that the one thing that we need to get this done (and done properly) is a functioning workforce - what we have is a workforce caught in the middle of a 2nd wave of the pandemic where the number of people off for Covid related reasons has doubled in the last 14 days (in the region I work in at least - which is one of the least affected).

NHS are talking about about training all sorts of people to be able to administer the jab (leisure centre worker is my current favorite) but until we get on top of wave 2 I fear that this might not be the immediate fix that we want (and need).

 

 

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1 hour ago, Merzbow said:

Just jab me with one, I'll take an arm growing out of my back if it means seeing a shitty noise gig with 12 people again.

That's my take on it, too.

Obviously there's a fear mechanism - and it's there to protect you, and not always indicative of tin foil hattery - but unless you're completely nonplussed by the notion of living in segregated Amazon/Netflix pods for the foreseeable future then you're going to have to eventually hedge your bets somewhere. 

They've come up with the goods exceedingly fast, here, but from what I understand the effort that went into this is like a bank of supercomputers compared to the Commodore 64 of any immunology endeavour that came before it. If I don't extend my trust to something, I'll fucking crack up. So I'm extending my trust to this, quite happily, as someone whose also a bit lost not being able to bump off a dozen sweaty men upstairs in a pub. 

Shoot me up, Scotty. I'm actually allowing myself to see a way out for the first time all year. It's been a good few days, it has. 

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2 hours ago, John Matrix said:

My concern re a vaccine is just how quickly they’ve come up with it and what if any, the long term effects may be?  

To answer the quickness question, the effort to find a vaccine/cures for COVID-19 has probably significantly more man power and money being thrown at it globally than anything in medical history. Medical companies are basically being thrown blank cheques from governments to sort this shit out.

My brother in law is doing a biology PhD and he says pretty much every fucker is on this, even down to the student level. His PhD work is studying the effects of existing drug treatments on corona. It's a very all hands on deck moment in medicine.

Edited by LaGoosh
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@John MatrixThis is only the case for the Oxford vaccine, though I'm sure it will be something similar for the other ones including the Pfizer one that has been succesful (pending license). The Oxford one is not a wholly new vaccine, it's one that they were developing for SARs which has been adapted in to a SARs Covid 2 vaccine. They have been working on it since China announced Covid cases, not since Covid hit the UK so longer than 8 month, closer to 11.

It has gone through all the same rigorous tests that vaccines usually go through, there is no real way of short cutting the systems that are in place to get approval, you have to go through the trial phases etc and you have to test it on the right amount of people. The biggest difference between this vaccine and any others that are in production is funding. Usually drug companies struggle to get money to fund development and the trials, however with Covid, companies are literally throwing money at them so they have been able to get things done much much quicker than usual. Getting volunteers for trials is usually a long drawn out process, again, volunteers have been coming forward in their masses for this trial (other than ethnic minorities which they have had to advertise for). 

Since the last major vaccine for world stopping illnesses were developed, science has developed by leaps and bounds which has also added to the speed of this vaccine but the main factor is money. The whole world has a vested interest in finding a vaccine so has been happy to pump money in to it but it has gone through all the same processes, just much quicker than usual as they haven't to bid/beg/look for money.

Edited by deathrey
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@Hannibal Scorchthat is indeed true and only time will tell as you say. In the meantime it's up to you whether you want to take the risk of getting the vaccine or continue to live socially distanced (or not give a fuck at all and happily catch Covid which people are opting for). 

It will be an individual choice, personally I'm happy to take the risk and had I not been pregnant, I would have volunteered for the trials but that's my choice. As long as people have a choice in it, I think it's fine. If everyone is made to have the vaccine, that's a different kettle of fish altogether, but I can't see that happening. If it were made mandatory the government would have to accept some liability for future long term effects and I can't see them doing that.

Edited by deathrey
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@quote the ravenI think that will be a very interesting thing to watch, particularly in regards to frontline NHS staff. 

We are always encouraged to get the flu vaccine where I work and we are sent regular emails where HR say they will pay for anyone who wants to have it etc but it's not policy in anyway. Frontline NHS staff are not only at risk themselves but also at risk of spreading to those that are already vulnerable. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out

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Thanks for adding that Keith. If offend you so much you can always block me. 
 

Back on topic the hep vaccination was paid for by work but not mandatory. I dint think they can force anyone but I wonder if it will affect recruitment. 

Edited by quote the raven
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2 hours ago, DiscoPistol said:

NHS are talking about about training all sorts of people to be able to administer the jab (leisure centre worker is my current favorite) but until we get on top of wave 2 I fear that this might not be the immediate fix that we want (and need).

 

 

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Edited by Pogue
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I'd be skeptical of any vaccine quickly developed by a company working hand-in-glove with the likes of Putin or Trump, as I'd suspect due diligence had been bypassed for corrupt political reasons. But in most cases, I'm willing to trust that the science supporting an approved vaccine outweighs the alternative. Neither may be ideal, but if a calculated risk must be made I'll back the folks with years of training an expertise to pick the best imperfect option.

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