Freester, discuss with your line manager and be open with your colleagues would be my advice.

Ask your colleagues if they want you in the office. If nothing else, it stops you blaming yourself if you go in and inadvertently pass it on.

Monday's booster update for 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 – new data alert.
It's the usual quiet Monday, with 99k reported, up just 8% on last week.
Total is now 3.7m out of 8.5m eligible, so the gap widens again to 4.8m.

1/ pic.twitter.com/4u8OxgYA6L

— John Roberts (@john_actuary) October 18, 2021

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58954707

At current booster rates, they won’t get through planned groups until well into January 2022, far from ideal if current cases/hopitalisations/deaths trends continue on an upward trajectory.

So what’s the deal with Valneva? It’s traditional inactivated vaccine but also French… is it politics or science that says Non..

I get the impression the government just wants to stop paying for anything. All the local vaccination sites I worked at are now closed.

Got Covid Done. Apparently.

So what’s the deal with Valneva? It’s traditional inactivated vaccine but also French… is it politics or science that says Non..

Manufactured in Livingston, Scotland – so I’m going with Politics.

Cheers all.

Discussed with my Line Manager (actually the MD). They deferred to HR. Spoke to Finance Director (who line manages H&S officer who wrote Covid risk assessment) they deferred to HR. Spoke to HR (who had nothing to do with the policy or the H&S Covid Risk Assessment) and they were happy to follow Gov guidelines.

Spoke to colleagues I’m in the office with and they are all OK with it. Or if they aren’t they aren’t telling me.

Flow testing daily and will keep a close eye for any symptoms.

If anyone gets too close or forgets to distance I’ll remind them I have a positive case in the household.

Well done Freester for trying to do the right thing. I can’t understand your companies attitude – we’re nearly at 50,000 cases a day and steeply rising, how much more info do they need?

So given lots of chat about waning immunity, do you reckon they will be looking to roll out the boosters to under 50s?

Don’t need a booster if you catch it just now (like me!).
Saves time, hassle and money for the gov’t!

Don’t need a booster if you catch it just now

You jest but I’m half of the mindset I’d be better getting it now whilst my immunity is hopefully reasonably high, than in 3 or 4 months when it has started to wane

I see we’ve identified a new variant sweeping across the land: AY.4.2 accounted for 6% of sequenced samples in the week starting September 27 and is “on an increasing trajectory”.

Saves time, hassle and money for the gov’t!

Spoken like a true patriot!

You jest but I’m half of the mindset I’d be better getting it now whilst my immunity is hopefully reasonably high, than in 3 or 4 months when it has started to wane and hospitals get even busier

I’ve had similar thoughts, but keep avoiding it.

I see we’ve identified a new variant sweeping across the land

Been around since July and not appear to be much more of an issue than the original Delta? Though shows the importance of PCR tests which are sampled for sequencing.

BBC News – Covid-19: New mutation of Delta variant under close watch in UK
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58965650

We live in rural Norfolk and the first few waves of COVID seemed to pass us by, small schools, lots of people work outside and low population density i guess helped.

But it is absolutely running rife in schools here now, of my daughters class of 19, 11 have tested positive in last fortnight. It hacks me off that what has happened was a clear path, yet nothing has been done to keep our children safe, and then the families behind them. My daughter, wife and i all had it at the beginning of the month, Thankfully despite being Type 1 diabetic, my daughter seemed to get over it within 3-4 days, but my wife and i are still pretty ill with it.

My wife is a consultant therapy radiographer specialising in breast cancer, which means she has missed the last 3 weeks of seeing patients in person, more than half of her team at work who have school age kids have had it, and they are genuinely on their knees when it comes to staffing levels, staff fatigue and replacing staff, all bursaries for training new staff have gone out of the window, and they cannot recruit for love nor money.

Their CT machines and clinics used to run monday to friday 8-5, now they are running 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, trying to get through a backlog of cancer patients, but the list grows daily and they are even seeing people distrust cancer treatments now due to the anti-vax movement.

A&E departments already have people waiting hours for ambulances, then often being left in ambulances outside of A&E as there is no capacity.

Here, and elsewhere the NHS is on its knees, nurses, doctors and other staff are all getting abuse in person and on social media, they have had people post up anti-vax posters in waiting rooms and staff abused as they walk into work.

Bringing down COVID numbers is simple common sense, proper PPE quality masks, social distancing, stop large capacity events where social distancing can’t be controlled and get HEPA and CO2 filters into schools with reintroduction of bubbles, masks and distancing in schools.

Then, fund the NHS properly, and fund training of new staff with a Minister in charge of the NHS that comes from NHS background, not just another chancer that hasn’t a clue, with an independent body holding the government to account for every wasted penny of “jobs for the boys” PPE contracts and the like, and for every penny saved to go into the NHS.

Wot scud said.

New variant/mutation (it isn’t new) being headlined on BBC/wherever on the same day that 12-15yr olds are being shoved towards having the jab.

Who knew?

Can we put Scud in charge, please?

Vote Scud!

We were going to have friends round this week as we’ve not seen them in ages and after all…..covid is over. anyhow, back in the real world, of the 5 families 3 tested positive this weekend. nailing it britain, nailing it!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58973185

If usual form is followed I’d take the denial that they’ve discussed plan B rollout as confirmation it’s coming next week

It’s not just the NHS almost on it’s knees. Many nhs workers are working in private practice (to earn extra money) and there isn’t enough staff there too. Was talking to a friend and her colleague all health care in a bad way.

got it, double jabbed, 40, and a few weeks out from a booster (NHS staff)

bit of a cough Friday post riding, thought it was me being a bit coughy post riding, which it may have been as that went by Saturday morning, went to Lincoln to watch the crit, just after the women’s get a phone call saying the eldest (Y6) had tested positive on a lateral flow (schools been riddled) other 3 kids negative, don’t live with them but had them overnight for 2 nights midweek, went home, took a lateral flow and positive, PCR from Saturday positive, woke up today, and was waxing a chain and noticed I couldn’t smell the white spirit, so that’s about the only symptom I’ve had so far, I reckon they could inflict lack of taste/smell to aid weight loss, as suddenly, it becomes pointless, only been a day, I miss smells 😂 – isolating until 23:59 on the 25th

If usual form is followed I’d take the denial that they’ve discussed plan B rollout as confirmation it’s coming next week

Refreshing to see someone on here who sees it coming. It’s almost scripted

If not next week, then soon.

Of course, plan B was always plan A in the first place

We were going to have friends round this week as we’ve not seen them in ages and after all…..covid is over. anyhow, back in the real world, of the 5 families 3 tested positive this weekend. nailing it britain, nailing it!

And on the flip side, I know a lot of people.

None of them have it.

Refreshing to see someone on here who sees it coming

Egh? Mate we all saw it coming…. with the exception of a few trolls, everyone here is pretty aligned in their thinking.

Are we not now in a state that we are likely to need a firebreak lockdown to make a meaningful difference. Not that I expect that to happen, but it seems like plan b is pretty half-arsed.

Plan A, “good old British Common sense”.

Plan b, “good old British Common sense”. Mumble work from home mumble.

Did I miss much from our chumps in charge?

@scud obvious isn’t it? Sadly, reality is, dream on, the king of jobs for the boys is in #10.

Plan B was always likely to be needed. Around about October half term you say?

It’s deja vu all over again Rodney.

Be interesting how many people react to mask wearing coming back. Sadly a lot of people have got very used to not bothering. It might not be the key factor in restricting the spread but it’s a good reminder that uts still circulating.

Parents and my wife have their boosters booked, mine won’t be due till Christmas.

It’s just seems idiotic to me to have lifted mask mandates in England when it’s obvious Covid is still pretty widespread and coming up to winter when flu is likely to hit hard. In my local Tesco I’d say about 5% of people at most still wore masks.

Here’s a wee question.

I have had both vaccination shots (last one was in August).
I’ve currently got COVID and come out of self-isolation at the end of the week – positive PCR last Tuesday).

Do I:

a) need to worry about infecting others? Should I stay away from vulnerable people like my gran for a few extra days or a week more? Looking online it says you can infect people for up to 10 days after symptoms start.

b) not need to worry about catching it again for a while? And if so, what is “a while?”

Watched the interview with Kwasi this morning. It appears that the medical term “watchful waiting” is appropriate here. If you don’t act early then don’t be surprised at the outcome. When doubling is slow (and five weeks is slow) it looks linear. Until it doesn’t.

There has been a big shift in morbidity and mortality, but it he vaccine protection has a half-life of about 1-2 months. So of the 90+ percent protected in March, including myself, expect that to be closer to 50% now. Protection needs continual boosting to top up. This is. It measles. That will come from repeat mild infections eventually.

Now some good news… Merck delivered positive data for their oral drug molnupiravir. It reduced serious disease by 50% which is good for an antiviral. Countries are relying on us having pills in the cupboard to take at first hint of symptoms to free up healthcare. AZ antibody delivered 77% protection for six months if you are at risk and can’t be vaccinated. I think this will be marginally better than the vaccines.

Have been off the sums for a couple of weeks due to work, which has been rather mad. My antibody is now being dosed in 16 countries.

It’s just seems idiotic to me to have lifted mask mandates in England when it’s obvious Covid is still pretty widespread and coming up to winter when flu is likely to hit hard

It’s a weird one – where politics vs reality are playing, I thought it was mad in the u.s.a with the anti mask rhetoric but when it happened in the U.K. I was surprised…

But covids apparently over in the U.K. till the arse drops out the nhs then there will be a mad panic.

That no one could for see….

Thanks TiRed – amazing as usual :O)

Are there any stats showing the percentage of people in hospital who are double vaccinated?

Seems to me that part of the problem now is complacency. Spent ages on the phone yesterday morning trying to persuade my mum to get her booster against her attitude of “I’ve had two jabs already, the doctor will call when they’re ready”, while I look at nearby vaccination centres running well below capacity.

Forgive me if im misreading the data thougb but case rates and hospital admissions peaked in mid July and have been relatively constant since, deaths peaked in early September (lagging admissions) and now also seems to have stabilised. The situation doesn’t seem to getting worse at the moment.

We were told unlocking wasn’t dependant on case levels months ago but on admissions and deaths. Cases are prevalent amongst the young so these are thankfully much lower.

I know it’s not all over and they bungled the vaccination of kids, thrown away a great start to the vaccination program, but it doesn’t look quite as apocalyptic as skme posters are suggesting. Compared to the peak in January cases are at about two thirds the level, crucially deaths are way down compared to the peak and less than a quarter of where we were this time last year with control measures in place.

I think if you have kids you’re probably seeing it a lot, if you don’t it’s not so common now and people are off work for a week or two but not getting hospitalised like they were.

I’ve no time for the givernment, they’ve made an absolute mess of things which in turn means it’s highly unlikely reintroducing measures will work, people won’t comply this time. I predicted mask wearing would collapse pretty quickly and was right, the general population has no stomach for it any more.

The situation doesn’t seem to getting worse at the moment.

There’s been a definite uptick in infections, hospitalisation and death rates in the last 2-3 weeks. TiRed mentions doubling every 5 weeks?

I agree that the deaths by Covid standards are low and (hate me but its true) similar to a bad flu season. BUT thus is before any flu season properly takes hold, to add to the pressures on an overstretched, exhausted NHS which can’t get close to catching up with “regular” treatment demands.

The government needs to act soon or the genie will be properly and disastrously out of the bottle again.

Or we say that a minimum of an extra 1000 deaths a week (50,000+ a year, an additional 10% in annual deaths) is the new acceptable normal.

As irony would have it, I’m missing SPI-M today to present at my first conference paper in two years(not COVID). We have a halter for how comfortable we are close to others. Red, amber green. Might change mine to red! No masks but lots of space. Mask on the train here. I don’t honestly understand the objection.

And I agree that much of the experience is now in those who have children, including my nephews and nieces. The incidence is as high as it has ever been. More infections mean more opportunities for evolution. COVID will become a childhood infection (like RSV) but it will be some time yet. No treatments are approved for children at the moment, only adolescents.

From a work perspective, the use of REGEN-COV In U.K. hospitals based on the RECOVERY RESULTS is remarkable. The drug is not licensed at all in the U.K., but after impressive trial results for those admitted without making antibodies (likely now a relatively small fraction post-vaccination) and you will now be treated. Other antibodies are not yet approved or used in the U.K. they are used widely in the US – up to 200k doses per week!

Jabs were offered to 12-15 year olds at my sons school, he was 15 and we did the paperwork. By the time they showed up he had turned 16 and they wouldn’t jab him. So we tried the online booking service, but that wouldn’t allow booking saying he’s not eligible – call 119 or local surgery if you think this is wrong. Maybe turn up to a walk-in with the prospect of being turned away. Why has it got to be so difficult…? It’s the lack of joined up thinking that annoys me, I’m going to say it (a little tongue in cheek) that things were better when Matty was in charge.

According to our world in data cases are at 620/million now vs. 700/million in July and 880/million in January (johnson saving Xmas 🙄)

Fortunately hospitalisations are well down due to vaccination but I don’t fancy sharing air with large numbers of people any time soon. YMMV.