Covid Vaccine Passports

[Observer II]

and observe the the tombstoning from afar !     😉    😷

[Stallard12]

Asp I think that it’s time that we quit trying to educate the Neanderthals !   Maybe having them locked down for a few years will be a boon to mankind.

Indisputable facts, Florida and Texas ( God I love it ) took an entirely different approach to handling this pesky bug - no panic, no lockdowns and now it’s gone to the point where it no longer affects quality of life. 
 Hospitals are back on normal operational schedules, the testing stations are closing their doors, every manufacturing business, bars, restaurants are thriving and there’s a smile on everybody’s face.    All infection rate graphs are in a free fall.

On the other hand, in every other Democratic controlled State, or should I say Moronic controlled State, where Government (grasp for power) lockdowns are in place, the contamination rates are going up, as I said previously, New York has an increase in infections of 125% since the last lock down.  LOCKDOWNS DON’T WORK, FRESH AIR does.

Went to Houston today for my post op (cataract) surgery, great trip, all of the medical facilities were wait free, in fact, we were the only people in most of the hospital depts.  Great Lunch at Magianos Little Italy, best lasagne in the world with a glass of Chianti Classico, red and white table cloths and Frank Sinatra crooning non stop.  What pandemic ?

Texas didn’t win independence and Statehood by hiding behind the sofa and that’s true today,  

[Bill]

Us Neanderthals are not that far behind you Stalard and not quite as bad off as you seem to make out. You’ve been very lucky in Texas that you’ve not had the same extremely infectious virus that we’ve had here and if you had, you’d probably be singing a very different tune.

Because of the severity of this particular virus, we got hit hard and did end up with a second lockdown, but it was relatively soft compared to the first one. People were out and about; many continued to work and mask wearing was only requested on public transport or indoor areas such as shops. It was a right pain in the backside for a while but now the rates have dropped sharply, our health services are pretty much back to normal now and we can even play your beloved golf.

Clearly you don’t seem understand how a virus that shares the same name can be deadlier than what you saw in Texas or why different levels of action were needed to tackle it. Nobody likes what’s happening here, but the vast majority of people at least understand the need to prevent this or further mutations from re-emerging and hence the need for a measured relaxation of restrictions.

Now go and play your golf, have a good meal and thank yourself you’re not over here.

 

Bill 😊

[asperity]

Actually Bill, I've just seen a report that says that the Kent variant is "the most common lineage" of Covid in the USA, so clearly the situation isn't as cut and dried, us and them, as you seem to imagine.

[Bill]

Clearly the Kent strain couldn’t be constrained to the UK while some international travel was allowed and as a result it’s now spread to countries around the globe including the US. The latest upturn in infections across Europe have been linked to this variant and wherever it lands it soon becomes the dominant strain. America is no different when it comes to virus spread so no doubt it will probably become the dominant strain there before too long.

But the big difference when comparing the UK with Texas is that we had this nasty variant much earlier and well before the vaccinations got going and so we were hit hard. If we’d had all the vulnerable people vaccinated before this came along (as is the case now in the US) then there wouldn’t have been a big problem and we wouldn’t have needed such hard measures.

It’s not that difficult to understand if you take the time to think about it properly.

 

Bill 😊

[asperity]

How do you know that the Kent variant appeared in the UK before the US? It was only called the Kent variant because it was identified in the UK first and, to be the most common lineage in the US, it must have been there for some considerable time.

[Bill]

I think Mr Wikipedia might give you an indication of just how far out your assumptions are.

On a percentage basis it's grown significantly in certain areas of the US over recent months but as I said, given the current level of vaccinations over there and it's late appearance, the impact is going to be almost negligible.

Mr Confused is better at understanding these things than I am, so maybe he could settle this once and for all. 

 

Bill 😊

[asperity]

I'm not going to argue because neither of us has access to the data in sufficient detail, but the number of cases and deaths in the US as a whole are far exceeding those in the UK at the moment, although as Stall points out some states such as Texas are doing well.

[Confused52]

4 hours ago, Bill said:

I think Mr Wikipedia might give you an indication of just how far out your assumptions are.

On a percentage basis it's grown significantly in certain areas of the US over recent months but as I said, given the current level of vaccinations over there and it's late appearance, the impact is going to be almost negligible.

Mr Confused is better at understanding these things than I am, so maybe he could settle this once and for all. 

 

Bill 😊

This link shows the rapid growth of B.1.17 (Kent) in the US and its geographical spread,

Variant Proportions in the U.S. | CDC

B.1.1.7 is the largest single variant at 27% of US cases

It was first detected in the US in December 2020 shortly after being registered by UK researchers on the 20th December.

About Variants of the Virus that Causes COVID-19 | CDC

The data is available readily from CDC. The first case in Texas was January 11th following a relative who was diagnosed with the variant in the UK on  10th Jan.

 

 

[Bill]

It’s not an argument Asp, just we have different points of view. Here’s the info I was looking at that clearly shows this deadly variant had spread rapidly throughout the UK long before it became an issue in the USA.

Because of this, it’s impossible to compare the actions we took here in the UK with what Texas did during the same time.

I think both you and Stalard actually know this but I reckon your just both a couple of wind up merchants. 😊

 

Bill 😊

[asperity]

A wind up merchant? Moi? 😲😉

A very pretty table full of numbers Bill, but it's a bit of a leap to say that it "clearly" shows anything to be fair.

[Davy51]

Is this Kent version not just a version that has found its way from the continent to us ?

[Observer II]

On all those rubber boats no doubt. 😠    Apparently HMG has announced that Pakistan will be added to the red list, meaning folk arriving from there will have to pay to quarantine in a hotel on arrival in the UK.  But for some strange reason, there is a delay between the announcement and the execution date, thus allowing for a mad scrabble of travellers to get here before it comes into effect.   Does the virus respect this time gap ?   I wonder if the viruses have a meeting and decide to give us a start on such counter-measures ?         😷

[Bill]

A mutation can occur anywhere and then spread quickly Davy and as this was first noticed becoming the dominant strain in the London/Kent area it’s a fair bet it originated here.

It could have been brought here but the balance of probabilities and the spread patterns make it a home grown variant. It seems to have spread to some of our neighbours in Europe about a month later and to the USA a month after that.

Wherever it lands it seems to show the same exponential growth and, in most cases, soon becomes to dominant strain. Fortunately, the delay in the spread to other countries allowed many people to be vaccinated before it really took hold so the number and severity should be less than it was here.

 

Bill 😊

[Confused52]

6 hours ago, asperity said:

A wind up merchant? Moi? 😲😉

A very pretty table full of numbers Bill, but it's a bit of a leap to say that it "clearly" shows anything to be fair.

Asp, Bill had already said he looked at Wikipedia. For the avoidance of doubt the page is here Lineage B.1.1.7 - Wikipedia and if you look at it it is indeed very clear unless one doesn't want it to be of course. 

 

[Evil Sid]

Wikipedia The online data source produced by you for you.

The info on Wikipedia tends to be around 80% accurate and is written by volunteers and can be edited by anybody with an account with them. It is still a good starting place for information though.

Definitely more accurate than "my brothers cousins mates sister in law told me the other day that....." or "i heard from a bloke down the pub who got from a website that his weird uncle Al runs"......🤭

[Observer II]

Suppose the next case of expediency will be Harry flying in from the US for his G/dad's funeral.    😷

[Bill]

I see the Israelites have introduced a “passport” system to allow early access to things like sports events concerts etc and that its been widely accepted with only a few complainers.

In contrast, Chile has had a similar high vaccination rate but without the passport or any gradual easing measures and infections are still climbing like the vaccine had no effect.   

Fingers crossed we don’t follow the same route as Chile and end up going backwards again.

 

Bill 😊

[asperity]

Chile doesn't have Covid passports but they do, however, have a regulation that requires everyone to apply online for a "safe conduct pass" which allows them to buy essential food items twice a week. No pass you can't get into the shop. If you can't access the internet you starve. Nice.

[Confused52]

On 4/10/2021 at 8:28 AM, Evil Sid said:

Wikipedia The online data source produced by you for you.

The info on Wikipedia tends to be around 80% accurate and is written by volunteers and can be edited by anybody with an account with them. It is still a good starting place for information though.

Definitely more accurate than "my brothers cousins mates sister in law told me the other day that....." or "i heard from a bloke down the pub who got from a website that his weird uncle Al runs"......🤭

As we go by the data I provided was from the United States Centers for Disease Control which is an agency of the US Federal Government. Their numbers are Official. I have an even lower opinion of Wikipedia that do you but you can always check.

[Stallard12]

Before you get carried away with anything from the CDC, know that they have pretty much flip flopped continuously from the start of this mess, it appears that guessing is their favorite tool.  On top of that, the full blown whack job who is Biden’s new head of CDC, just publicly stated that she considers racism a disease and a pandemic and will be treated as such by her department.

[Confused52]

1 hour ago, Stallard12 said:

Before you get carried away with anything from the CDC, know that they have pretty much flip flopped continuously from the start of this mess, it appears that guessing is their favorite tool.  On top of that, the full blown whack job who is Biden’s new head of CDC, just publicly stated that she considers racism a disease and a pandemic and will be treated as such by her department.

Well the data in question was genomic analysis of covid tests and they are done in state labs and counted in Atlanta. I assume they can count and that is all that is required to be done in one place. 

[Gary]

I've actually become so happy and content in my stay at home most of the time with family life I have no huge desire to mingle with the crowds any time soon.

A trip to the walled garden for Sunday breakfast, a curry in my local Indian restaurant and a trip to the seaside is pretty much all I desire now - and a decent rock gig of course!

 

[Bill]

I think everyone here is in the same boat Gary. I like a pint but there’s no way I’m rushing out to mingle in a crowded place with the desperados.  

I’m happy enough to wait until it’s quiet enough indoors.

Speaking of which, looks like my peace and quiet might be coming to an end shortly then maybe I wont have to spend as much time on here writing stuff that nobodies interested in.

 

Bill 😊

[Observer II]

Sure the lemmings will be rushing out this Summer, when we still have hot spots in the UK;  and India is still breeding variants.  They were out in the Ganges, all crowded together in the stinking water, on some kind of religious festival - and they wonder why this pandemic just goes on and on.   😷