SARS CoV-2 coronavirus / Covid-19 (No tin foil hat silliness please)

Massive Spanner

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The situation in India looks so horrible. I do think it's strange that it took so long so spread so badly in a really densely populated, developing country like India. I'd be intrigued to know what similar African and Asian countries have been doing to combat it so well.
 

Pogue Mahone

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They are. It's down to Italy's ageing population and the way they are distributing the vaccine internally. Italy is ahead of Cyprus in pretty much every vaccination metric, but there are so many old people here, and fully vaccinating people is being given priority over giving only a first dose. About 2/3 of the population falls into the over 60s or priority categories.

The situation is likely different in the South. I've read some regions are refusing to follow the national plan and are giving vaccines to whoever they feel like. Where I am they are doing about 1% of the population per day.
How is that possible if everyone above the age of 39 in Cyprus has had at least one dose?
 

golden_blunder

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My family in Pakistan are saying things are quite bad & it’s spreading very quickly, so I would assumed they’re in a Covid wave that is yet to peak. There’s at least 10 people of all ages I know who have been infected with Covid in the last week & they’re all over the country, so it doesn’t look like it’s restricted to one city.

Hopefully it doesn’t explode, but things aren’t looking good and with Eid upcoming in 2 weeks’ time, things may get worse. The vaccination program isn’t as good as India’s either.
Oh. In which case why are they offering to lend ambulances to India?

also is Eid going to be home based rather than loads celebrating together? Religious and political gatherings are a big reason why India is in trouble
 

11101

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How is that possible if everyone above the age of 39 in Cyprus has had at least one dose?
I am not sure how Cyprus are distributing their vaccines. Maybe Cyprus has a very young population, and Italy's first few million doses went to medics and other front line workers.

As of last Friday both countries had given exactly 20% of their populations at least one dose, whilst Italy was ahead in daily and cumulative administrations, and therefore also in full vaccinations.
 

massi83

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How is that possible if everyone above the age of 39 in Cyprus has had at least one dose?
They have given only like 24% of people the first dose, so either the poster gave false info or it is correct only very locally or their uptake in elders is minimal.
 

led_scholes

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Serious question: has anyone in his 30s done AZ? Tle platform just opened here (Greece) for 30-39 but only with AZ. My brother already made an appointment but I m not 100% sure..
 

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Serious question: has anyone in his 30s done AZ? Tle platform just opened here (Greece) for 30-39 but only with AZ. My brother already made an appointment but I m not 100% sure..
I have, my housemate has and loads of my friends in their 20s have too, honestly I’d go for it if the option is there.
 

Pogue Mahone

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I am not sure how Cyprus are distributing their vaccines. Maybe Cyprus has a very young population, and Italy's first few million doses went to medics and other front line workers.

As of last Friday both countries had given exactly 20% of their populations at least one dose, whilst Italy was ahead in daily and cumulative administrations, and therefore also in full vaccinations.
They have given only like 24% of people the first dose, so either the poster gave false info or it is correct only very locally or their uptake in elders is minimal.
Ah. Ok. When you look at comparable data across the EU it all looks very similar. Seemed strange to have Cyprus apparently so ahead of the curve.
 

massi83

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Serious question: has anyone in his 30s done AZ? Tle platform just opened here (Greece) for 30-39 but only with AZ. My brother already made an appointment but I m not 100% sure..
For men it should be fine. You would have to wait around 2 months probably for Pfizer, so depends on your situation.
 

ha_rooney

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Oh. In which case why are they offering to lend ambulances to India?

also is Eid going to be home based rather than loads celebrating together? Religious and political gatherings are a big reason why India is in trouble
I think the ambulance thing has come from a charity organisation rather than the govt. Regardless, it seems India is far worse & needs any help it can get so it’s good to see countries put aside pathetic politics in times like these.

On Eid I very much doubt it’ll be home based, unless the govt imposes an enforced lockdown. There’s talk that the army is being deployed in various cities but how strictly they can enforce a lockdown in the face of the religious groups, I’m not sure. Eid caused a spike last year & I fear it’ll be the same again.
 

MTF

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They are. It's down to Italy's ageing population and the way they are distributing the vaccine internally. Italy is ahead of Cyprus in pretty much every vaccination metric, but there are so many old people here, and fully vaccinating people is being given priority over giving only a first dose. About 2/3 of the population falls into the over 60s or priority categories.
That sounds like the typical "if everyone has priority, no one has priority".
 

groovyalbert

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Serious question: has anyone in his 30s done AZ? Tle platform just opened here (Greece) for 30-39 but only with AZ. My brother already made an appointment but I m not 100% sure..
I just turned 30 - as did my fiance - and we both have had the AZ vaccine. Loved it, great experience, 10/10, would do it again (will need to do it again).

Got a lot of friends around the 30 mark/mid-late twenites who've all had it and - other than a day of feeling under the weather - it's been fine. Arm ached for a few weeks after, but nothing to write home about.
 

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In response to the above queries, there has been a low uptake of AZ vaccines for the 50 to 70 year age bracket, therefore the rollout has progressed rapidly towards the 39+ group. The former age group is waiting for a 500.000 Pfizer delivery in about a month since people here are very anti-AZ.

And yes, we currently have a 2 week short circuit to lower our cases. We have an higher than usual case count compared to the rest of EU because we test on average 50 to 60k per day of our 880k population.
 

golden_blunder

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I think the ambulance thing has come from a charity organisation rather than the govt. Regardless, it seems India is far worse & needs any help it can get so it’s good to see countries put aside pathetic politics in times like these.

On Eid I very much doubt it’ll be home based, unless the govt imposes an enforced lockdown. There’s talk that the army is being deployed in various cities but how strictly they can enforce a lockdown in the face of the religious groups, I’m not sure. Eid caused a spike last year & I fear it’ll be the same again.
It’s crazy. Perhaps after what has happened the people themselves will apply some common sense..
 

massi83

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In response to the above queries, there has been a low uptake of AZ vaccines for the 50 to 70 year age bracket, therefore the rollout has progressed rapidly towards the 39+ group. The former age group is waiting for a 500.000 Pfizer delivery in about a month since people here are very anti-AZ.

And yes, we currently have a 2 week short circuit to lower our cases. We have an higher than usual case count compared to the rest of EU because we test on average 50 to 60k per day of our 880k population.
Yeah, that explains it, most countries don't use AZ for those age groups.
 

Suv666

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No wonder we have people dying in the streets. The Indian government hasn't stopped the super spreader event even after so much outrage and death.

 

duffer

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I've got my first jab tomorrow morning. The NHS booking system didn't tell me which of the vaccines I'll be getting.

I don't really care but did anyone else who has had their via the NHS get told?
 

Snowjoe

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I've got my first jab tomorrow morning. The NHS booking system didn't tell me which of the vaccines I'll be getting.

I don't really care but did anyone else who has had their via the NHS get told?
Nah you’ll get whatever they have there tomorrow when you get there!
 

Wolverine

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I've got my first jab tomorrow morning. The NHS booking system didn't tell me which of the vaccines I'll be getting.

I don't really care but did anyone else who has had their via the NHS get told?
Honestly we sometimes don't know until the day
Usually if its arranged via your GP practice/primary care network we usually can tell but if its via an NHS trust then it's difficult to tell, they will tell you tomorrow during consenting procedure obviously

We are expecting large UK-wide shipment of Pfizers in May so probably AZ but wide regional variation.
 

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Looking at how things are going in the UK and the roadmap...do you think after 21st June, indoor weddings will be allowed to go ahead in big numbers?
 

F-Red

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Looking at how things are going in the UK and the roadmap...do you think after 21st June, indoor weddings will be allowed to go ahead in big numbers?
My (third rescheduled) wedding is after that date and we're working towards having the original numbers we were planning before the pandemic.
 

Rado_N

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Serious question: has anyone in his 30s done AZ? Tle platform just opened here (Greece) for 30-39 but only with AZ. My brother already made an appointment but I m not 100% sure..
My wife and I have both had it and we were both absolutely fine. Only “side effect” was a sore arm for a day or so.

I've got my first jab tomorrow morning. The NHS booking system didn't tell me which of the vaccines I'll be getting.

I don't really care but did anyone else who has had their via the NHS get told?
Not until they stabbed me in the arm with it and handed me a little bit of paper with AstraZeneca on it and the batch number etc.
 

Jippy

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I've got my first jab tomorrow morning. The NHS booking system didn't tell me which of the vaccines I'll be getting.

I don't really care but did anyone else who has had their via the NHS get told?
They had a sign up on the door saying it was AZ when I went and they asked me twice I think if I was comfortable with that.
They were very open about it.
 

berbatrick

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Friend in switzerland (30 yo, healthy) told me he isn't expecting a shot till next year.
Is switzerland going through the EU? aren't they both insanely rich and with their own pharma industry?
 

Sparky Rhiwabon

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No wonder we have people dying in the streets. The Indian government hasn't stopped the super spreader event even after so much outrage and death.

Hold on though, let’s put this in perspective - India has had 200k Covid deaths out of a population of around 1.4bn, the UK has had 150k out of a population of just 67m. I can’t help but wonder if all the media coverage of India here in the UK isn’t an attempt to try and make the UK Government look good when India actually seems to have managed it much better overall.
 

BD

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Friend in switzerland (30 yo, healthy) told me he isn't expecting a shot till next year.
Is switzerland going through the EU? aren't they both insanely rich and with their own pharma industry?
Last I heard, the government here are still saying that anyone who wants it will have their first dose by end of June, though I can't see that being the case. And they rejected AstraZeneca, so they're working off just Pfizer and Moderns.
 

Penna

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Hold on though, let’s put this in perspective - India has had 200k Covid deaths out of a population of around 1.4bn, the UK has had 150k out of a population of just 67m. I can’t help but wonder if all the media coverage of India here in the UK isn’t an attempt to try and make the UK Government look good when India actually seems to have managed it much better overall.
India has definitely had many more Covid deaths than that. Most of the victims aren't even making it into a hospital bed, they're dying at home or in cars trying to find oxygen. Hardly anyone's had a vaccination.

India's not managed it at all, the leadership is responsible for what's happening. I'm no fan of Boris and co, but there were no lines of people dying on the streets in the UK even at the worst of the pandemic.
 

zing

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Hold on though, let’s put this in perspective - India has had 200k Covid deaths out of a population of around 1.4bn, the UK has had 150k out of a population of just 67m. I can’t help but wonder if all the media coverage of India here in the UK isn’t an attempt to try and make the UK Government look good when India actually seems to have managed it much better overall.
The UK media is not unique in what it is reporting - the media here(at least the ones that are not government friendly) are reporting the same things.

The difference between the UK and India is that 1) deaths are significantly under-reported in India https://www.ft.com/content/683914a3-134f-40b6-989b-21e0ba1dc403 (bar chart if you scroll down) 2) the trajectory is alarming 3) health systems have already collapsed and people are dying without access to hospitals - sometimes at the doors of the hospital unable to gain admission and
Social media is awash with people desperately asking for available hospital beds, medication and there is now a huge thriving black market where drugs are being marked up and sold at 40x the cost. There is a huge scarcity of oxygen supplies and people with respiratory distress are not getting access. At this rate, you're looking at a significantly increased fatality rate, massive under reporting and a very undignified death in a lot of cases. Crematoriums have run out of space.

The situation is not comparable at all. The UK mismanaged it, sure, but many cities and towns here are on their knees and it looks like it could get a lot worse. Keep in mind that what you see are images from the most developed cities in India(the top 10%, give or take a couple percentage points). There is massive disparity within India across regions and once you branch out into the smaller towns and the smaller villages, there'll be entire towns with a couple of ICU beds, entire villages with no oxygen supplies. There are already reports that this is happening https://scroll.in/article/993462/pe...turns-silent-killer-in-uttar-pradesh-villages
 

golden_blunder

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Hold on though, let’s put this in perspective - India has had 200k Covid deaths out of a population of around 1.4bn, the UK has had 150k out of a population of just 67m. I can’t help but wonder if all the media coverage of India here in the UK isn’t an attempt to try and make the UK Government look good when India actually seems to have managed it much better overall.
I don’t think you can compare the two. Yes U.K. has done a good vaccination programme but anything up to that is a shambles. The PM is clearly a charlatan.

everything I’m seeing out of India screams this is what the U.K. could have looked like if you hadn’t gotten AZ and/or went through with the governments original plan of shaking everyone’s hand and letting everyone get it for “herd immunity”. The hospitals would have looked like Indian ones right now
Plus I think you are seriously undercounting India’s dead. Many are being burnt without any checks for covid etc because they can’t cope with demand
 

MDFC Manager

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Hold on though, let’s put this in perspective - India has had 200k Covid deaths out of a population of around 1.4bn, the UK has had 150k out of a population of just 67m. I can’t help but wonder if all the media coverage of India here in the UK isn’t an attempt to try and make the UK Government look good when India actually seems to have managed it much better overall.
The Indian numbers are vastly underreported. Some places probably to a factor of even 10 or more :houllier:

There's places where almost every second person is testing positive! 50% positivity rate is absolutely alarming to say the least.
 

Suv666

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Hold on though, let’s put this in perspective - India has had 200k Covid deaths out of a population of around 1.4bn, the UK has had 150k out of a population of just 67m. I can’t help but wonder if all the media coverage of India here in the UK isn’t an attempt to try and make the UK Government look good when India actually seems to have managed it much better overall.

Except all the official numbers are less reliable than China. Deaths are at least 20 or 30 times more. Number of cases unimaginable. I caught Covid 20 days ago. Tried to get tested, wasnt able to. The labs don't have the capacity to process the number of people who are getting infected. Also there are reports this new strain is leading to false negative RT-PCR tests.
 

Suv666

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Except all the official numbers are less reliable than China. Deaths are at least 20 or 30 times more. Number of cases unimaginable. I caught Covid 20 days ago. Tried to get tested, wasnt able to. The labs don't have the capacity to process the number of people who are getting infected. Also there are reports this new strain is leading to false negative RT-PCR tests.
And people dying in home isolation aren't being treated as Covid deaths which are the majority of people because its incredibly difficult to get a hospital bed.
 

Traub

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Yeah at this stage any numbers coming out of India are irrelevant and shouldn’t be considered as accurate. What’s happening in India is what can and will happen in other countries if there are no clear interventions (lockdowns and vaccinations).

The worst point any country can reach is lack of medical care, especially low oxygen levels - people dying due to medical care not helping them in their specific case is tragic but unavoidable, however people dying due to medical care collapsing is avoidable and unacceptable.