Coronavirus Thread

[SpacedX]

4 minutes ago, Buce said:

That Spice is a bitch innit?

Old Spice is the closest it gets these days. 

Edited 4 May 2021 by Line-X

[Otis]

4 hours ago, Line-X said:

And you know this how? I know four individuals personally, currently afflicted by long covid - in their twenties and thirties. 

 

 

 

The young generally aren't seriously affected,

[Otis]

4 hours ago, Line-X said:

 

5 hours ago, Otis said:

and even those who don't want to be protected. 

 

What?

Meaning some people don't want the vaccine.

 

4 hours ago, Line-X said:

5 hours ago, Otis said:

 

If we could see a clear message saying everything would be back to 2019 normality from June 24th the imo people would say ok. 

We are talking about the complex evolving dynamic of a viral pandemic. Such assurances are undeliverable. Nothing can be guaranteed. What if there was a regional superspreading event?

Again if the vaccine works, which i believe it does we won't get a SSE and certainly not where the NHS is over whelmed.

 

4 hours ago, Line-X said:

But everything won't be back to normal - why are you unable to comprehend that? The world has changed - perhaps reflectively in some respects for the better. You need to think more widely than yourself or your immediate circumstances. This is an ongoing global crisis that in many countries will continue to evolve and grow. Yes, your familiar parochial routines and habits will in time all be restored and fully recognisable - perhaps by the end of June -  however important or superficial those may be. Saying that, irrespective of whether you can enjoy a pint indoors at the local, or attend a football match, for many, the consequences will be acutely felt for a generation to come. I agree, we need a progressive, positive outlook and we need to wrest our lives and individual existences back - fast, but we also need to learn from this and possibly be prepared for further adaptation. For the foreseeable future, simply to exercise diligence and caution, (if only through retention of the current standards of public hygiene), consider others and above all remain vigilant to the threat that still remains overseas and a spectre that could return to haunt these shores regardless of our extraordinarily successful vaccination programme. 

 

On a positive note, I am very confident that the continuing vaccination rollout will have effectively controlled, if not all but eliminated SARS-CoV-19 in the UK by 2022. 

Agree this is a global issue, but we can only control what goes on in this country, and we should be grasping the gains we've made over the last few months.

Lockdowns and restrictions are not without their own side effects.

4 hours ago, Line-X said:

Alongside poor access to public health education, low levels of hygiene, testing and availability of medical care - what do you think is the single most prevalent driving factor behind the recent horrific rates of infection in India? 

Go on...

[Zear0]

1 hour ago, Buce said:

 

You ok, bro?

 

That Spice is a bitch innit?

Think this is his "Rafa Benitez facts" moment, finally lost it. 

[st albans fox]

34 minutes ago, Otis said:

 

The young generally aren't seriously affected,

Long covid isn’t related to admissions but I agree that we shouldn’t be screwing the economy and the mental well-being of many hundreds of thousands on the back of long covid affecting tens of thousands (those with acute symptoms are perhaps not even in that bracket) 

[Guest Fktf]

The rationale for continued restrictions is based on the likelihood of a mutation that can avoid the vaccine.

 

If a vaccine reduces transmission (evidence suggests it does), it puts a pressure on the virus to mutate in order to keep spreading. The more virus you have circulating, the greater the chances of a successful mutation; lower case levels, less chance of a successful mutation.

 

The restrictions are being kept until most people have been vaccinated because they're shit scared of a mutation that can evade the immune response generated by the vaccines, which would undo all the progress we've made.

[VLC86]

10 hours ago, Fktf said:

The rationale for continued restrictions is based on the likelihood of a mutation that can avoid the vaccine.

 

If a vaccine reduces transmission (evidence suggests it does), it puts a pressure on the virus to mutate in order to keep spreading. The more virus you have circulating, the greater the chances of a successful mutation; lower case levels, less chance of a successful mutation.

 

The restrictions are being kept until most people have been vaccinated because they're shit scared of a mutation that can evade the immune response generated by the vaccines, which would undo all the progress we've made.

You sound like one of the politicians here, almost making it sound like a bad thing that we have vaccinated the majority of people in the country.

 

Edit- I misread your post when I was half asleep, my apologies.

Edited 5 May 2021 by Costock_Fox

[SpacedX]

12 hours ago, Otis said:

The young generally aren't seriously affected,

That's not what you said. To remind you...

 

17 hours ago, Otis said:

Those who haven't been vaccinated are very very low risk of developing serious symptoms. 

To reiterate, currently 31m have received their first shot. Also, we still don't know enough about asymptomatic spread. And why post a table related to admissions when discussing long covid? Additionally, and in some cases there can be lasting damage to the kidneys and heart. 

 

12 hours ago, Otis said:

Again if the vaccine works, which i believe it does we won't get a SSE and certainly not where the NHS is over whelmed.

No vaccine is 100% effective, they are however as good as, and as I said I am confident that the programme will be able to drive down infections to controllable levels and perhaps near elimination in the UK irrespective of future variants. Also, as I also mentioned in a previous post, the new types of vaccine, particularly the messenger RNA vaccines, should be quite easy to adapt to these changes in the virus. However, I'll say again - in the immediate term, currently 31m have currently their first jab. We cannot afford to completely relax restrictions at this stage. As a growing proportion of the populace continue to receive the vaccination these are being gradually lifted. 

 

Also appreciate at this stage, we still don't know how long the vaccination lasts for, the extent that it reduces transmission or whether the virus can still be spread asymptomatically/ From the growing body of evidence, the early signs are looking very encouraging however.

 

12 hours ago, Otis said:

Agree this is a global issue, but we can only control what goes on in this country, and we should be grasping the gains we've made over the last few months.

 

No, we should be protecting the gains that we've made in the past through months, not risking them - and actually curtailing unnecessary travel abroad for the next year at least. 

12 hours ago, Otis said:

Lockdowns and restrictions are not without their own side effects.

 

 

And at no point has anyone claimed otherwise. I want to see a restrictions lifted as much as you do, but there is a reason that this is phased.

 

12 hours ago, Otis said:

Go on...

The question about the current situation in India was posed to you. Think about it. You also missed this, I'm genuinely interested in your response:

 

Rewind to October 2020. You are in charge of the nations' health policy in the UK - the infection rate is soaring. You have publicly stated that "lockdown doesn't work" - so your alternative strategy is? 

 

In your own time. 

[Otis]

I don't know.

Which doesn't necessarily mean that what they did is better than nothing. 

Look I admit they work to an extent but it's a sledgehammer approach. 

[Leicester_Loyal]

 

[Jon the Hat]

17 hours ago, Fktf said:

The rationale for continued restrictions is based on the likelihood of a mutation that can avoid the vaccine.

 

If a vaccine reduces transmission (evidence suggests it does), it puts a pressure on the virus to mutate in order to keep spreading. The more virus you have circulating, the greater the chances of a successful mutation; lower case levels, less chance of a successful mutation.

 

The restrictions are being kept until most people have been vaccinated because they're shit scared of a mutation that can evade the immune response generated by the vaccines, which would undo all the progress we've made.

Isn't it great how every time the previous justification for restrictions wanes, a new one comes up just in time!

[Guest Fktf]

1 hour ago, Jon the Hat said:

Isn't it great how every time the previous justification for restrictions wanes, a new one comes up just in time!

It's almost as if they're explaining the scientific reasoning as and when it becomes relevant 

[Jon the Hat]

17 hours ago, Fktf said:

It's almost as if they're explaining the scientific reasoning as and when it becomes relevant 

They are getting way too much leeway and explaining very little for the limits on our freedoms they have put in place and are being slow to restore.  They might be right, but we could really use a media holding them to account for their reasoning, and lack of consideration of the side effects of what they are doing.

[Buce]

 

NHS Covid jab booking site leaks people’s vaccine status

Exclusive: Health service revising its process in England as ‘shocking failure’ allows access to medical data

 

NHS Digital is revising its process for booking Covid vaccinations in England after the discovery of a “seriously shocking failure” that leaked medical data from the site.

The website lets users make appointments using their NHS number or, if they do not have it to hand, some basic identity information. But in the process, users’ vaccination status is disclosed, allowing anyone who possesses basic personal details of a friend, colleague or stranger to find out what should be confidential medical information.

 

Employers would therefore, in theory, be able to trivially find out which of their staff had been vaccinated, for instance, while others may feel under pressure not to get the vaccine for fear of criticism from anti-vaccination friends or colleagues.

The problem comes because of the different responses the vaccination website gives to users based on their vaccination status. For users who have not had any jabs, entering personal details takes them straight through to a standard screening page, while for users who have had their first shot and booked their second, they are presented with a screen asking for their booking reference to continue.

But for those people who have received both vaccinations, simply entering the basic biographical information takes them straight to a page that says “you have had both of your appointments”. Worst of all, for those users who have had only one jab through a GP and have not booked a second, the screen lets them book their follow-up then and there, without any further verification.

“This is a seriously shocking failure to protect patients’ medical confidentiality at a time when it could not be more important,” said Silkie Carlo, the director of privacy group Big Brother Watch.

“This online system has left the population’s Covid vaccine statuses exposed to absolutely anyone to pry into. Date of birth and postcode are fields of data that can be easily found or bought, even on the electoral roll.

“This is personal health information that could easily be exploited by companies, insurers, employers or scammers. Robust protections must be put in place immediately and an urgent investigation should be opened to establish how such basic privacy protections could be missing from one of the most sensitive health databases in the country.”

A spokesperson for the national data guardian for health and social care, who regulates the use of medical data, confirmed the concerns. “The office of the national data guardian has been contacted by two individuals about the way that the coronavirus booking website works,” she said.

“It is important that it is as simple and easy as possible for people to book their vaccinations and we understand that the website has been developed to support this aim. The NDG has contacted the organisations which run the website to ensure that they are aware of the concerns that have been raised and will discuss with them the twin important aims of protecting confidentiality whilst maintaining easy access to vaccinations for the public.”

NHS Digital said it was working to revise the pages, and a spokesperson said: “The online ‘book a coronavirus vaccination’ service has enabled millions of people to book their vaccinations quickly and easily, with over 17m first and second dose appointments made in over four months.

“The system does not have any direct access to anyone’s medical record and people should not be fraudulently using the service – it should only be used by people booking their own vaccines or for someone who has knowingly provided their details for this purpose.”

[Jon the Hat]

NHS in "not very good at IT systems" shock.

[StanSP]

27 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

NHS in "not very good at IT systems" shock.

Where does the buck fall for this? 

[Guest Fktf]

2 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

They are getting way too much leeway and explaining very little for the limits on our freedoms they have put in place and are being slow to restore.  They might be right, but we could really use a media holding them to account for their reasoning, and lack of consideration of the side effects of what they are doing.

Agreed. There is consideration of the side effects of continued restrictions, but the public never get to hear about it via the horses mouth, or via decent journalism - where we just get to hear the answer to a set of especially meaningless questions. I'd probably also expect an effective opposition, however much they might think they agree with continued restrictions, to also hold the government to account on how they've come to the decision to keep rather than lift restrictions. 

[Jon the Hat]

5 minutes ago, StanSP said:

Where does the buck fall for this? 

To be fair it is probably one of Health department led outsource ones.

[dsr-burnley]

1 hour ago, Buce said:

 

NHS Covid jab booking site leaks people’s vaccine status

Exclusive: Health service revising its process in England as ‘shocking failure’ allows access to medical data

 

NHS Digital is revising its process for booking Covid vaccinations in England after the discovery of a “seriously shocking failure” that leaked medical data from the site.

The website lets users make appointments using their NHS number or, if they do not have it to hand, some basic identity information. But in the process, users’ vaccination status is disclosed, allowing anyone who possesses basic personal details of a friend, colleague or stranger to find out what should be confidential medical information.

 

Employers would therefore, in theory, be able to trivially find out which of their staff had been vaccinated, for instance, while others may feel under pressure not to get the vaccine for fear of criticism from anti-vaccination friends or colleagues.

The problem comes because of the different responses the vaccination website gives to users based on their vaccination status. For users who have not had any jabs, entering personal details takes them straight through to a standard screening page, while for users who have had their first shot and booked their second, they are presented with a screen asking for their booking reference to continue.

But for those people who have received both vaccinations, simply entering the basic biographical information takes them straight to a page that says “you have had both of your appointments”. Worst of all, for those users who have had only one jab through a GP and have not booked a second, the screen lets them book their follow-up then and there, without any further verification.

“This is a seriously shocking failure to protect patients’ medical confidentiality at a time when it could not be more important,” said Silkie Carlo, the director of privacy group Big Brother Watch.

“This online system has left the population’s Covid vaccine statuses exposed to absolutely anyone to pry into. Date of birth and postcode are fields of data that can be easily found or bought, even on the electoral roll.

“This is personal health information that could easily be exploited by companies, insurers, employers or scammers. Robust protections must be put in place immediately and an urgent investigation should be opened to establish how such basic privacy protections could be missing from one of the most sensitive health databases in the country.”

A spokesperson for the national data guardian for health and social care, who regulates the use of medical data, confirmed the concerns. “The office of the national data guardian has been contacted by two individuals about the way that the coronavirus booking website works,” she said.

“It is important that it is as simple and easy as possible for people to book their vaccinations and we understand that the website has been developed to support this aim. The NDG has contacted the organisations which run the website to ensure that they are aware of the concerns that have been raised and will discuss with them the twin important aims of protecting confidentiality whilst maintaining easy access to vaccinations for the public.”

NHS Digital said it was working to revise the pages, and a spokesperson said: “The online ‘book a coronavirus vaccination’ service has enabled millions of people to book their vaccinations quickly and easily, with over 17m first and second dose appointments made in over four months.

“The system does not have any direct access to anyone’s medical record and people should not be fraudulently using the service – it should only be used by people booking their own vaccines or for someone who has knowingly provided their details for this purpose.”

OK, it's a breach, but I'm finding it hard to get excited by it.  How excatly could a company, insurer, employer or scammer exploit it?  An employer couldn't admit the had the information, an insurer would have already asked the question, I'm not aware of any scammer trying to sell fake vaccines but I'm sure if they are they will target people at random.

 

As for friends who search your medical records illegally and put pressure on you accordingly - they would be "friends" you're better off without.  

 

Let them fix it, let them take care it doesn't happen again, and if anyone can show they have been damaged by this failure, let them be appropriately compensated.  And then let that be an end of it.

[Parafox]

6 hours ago, Buce said:

 

NHS Covid jab booking site leaks people’s vaccine status

Exclusive: Health service revising its process in England as ‘shocking failure’ allows access to medical data

 

NHS Digital is revising its process for booking Covid vaccinations in England after the discovery of a “seriously shocking failure” that leaked medical data from the site.

The website lets users make appointments using their NHS number or, if they do not have it to hand, some basic identity information. But in the process, users’ vaccination status is disclosed, allowing anyone who possesses basic personal details of a friend, colleague or stranger to find out what should be confidential medical information.

 

Employers would therefore, in theory, be able to trivially find out which of their staff had been vaccinated, for instance, while others may feel under pressure not to get the vaccine for fear of criticism from anti-vaccination friends or colleagues.

The problem comes because of the different responses the vaccination website gives to users based on their vaccination status. For users who have not had any jabs, entering personal details takes them straight through to a standard screening page, while for users who have had their first shot and booked their second, they are presented with a screen asking for their booking reference to continue.

But for those people who have received both vaccinations, simply entering the basic biographical information takes them straight to a page that says “you have had both of your appointments”. Worst of all, for those users who have had only one jab through a GP and have not booked a second, the screen lets them book their follow-up then and there, without any further verification.

“This is a seriously shocking failure to protect patients’ medical confidentiality at a time when it could not be more important,” said Silkie Carlo, the director of privacy group Big Brother Watch.

“This online system has left the population’s Covid vaccine statuses exposed to absolutely anyone to pry into. Date of birth and postcode are fields of data that can be easily found or bought, even on the electoral roll.

“This is personal health information that could easily be exploited by companies, insurers, employers or scammers. Robust protections must be put in place immediately and an urgent investigation should be opened to establish how such basic privacy protections could be missing from one of the most sensitive health databases in the country.”

A spokesperson for the national data guardian for health and social care, who regulates the use of medical data, confirmed the concerns. “The office of the national data guardian has been contacted by two individuals about the way that the coronavirus booking website works,” she said.

“It is important that it is as simple and easy as possible for people to book their vaccinations and we understand that the website has been developed to support this aim. The NDG has contacted the organisations which run the website to ensure that they are aware of the concerns that have been raised and will discuss with them the twin important aims of protecting confidentiality whilst maintaining easy access to vaccinations for the public.”

NHS Digital said it was working to revise the pages, and a spokesperson said: “The online ‘book a coronavirus vaccination’ service has enabled millions of people to book their vaccinations quickly and easily, with over 17m first and second dose appointments made in over four months.

“The system does not have any direct access to anyone’s medical record and people should not be fraudulently using the service – it should only be used by people booking their own vaccines or for someone who has knowingly provided their details for this purpose.”

Really? So what?

Not even Fake News

[Parafox]

4 hours ago, dsr-burnley said:

OK, it's a breach, but I'm finding it hard to get excited by it.  How excatly could a company, insurer, employer or scammer exploit it?  An employer couldn't admit the had the information, an insurer would have already asked the question, I'm not aware of any scammer trying to sell fake vaccines but I'm sure if they are they will target people at random.

 

As for friends who search your medical records illegally and put pressure on you accordingly - they would be "friends" you're better off without.  

 

Let them fix it, let them take care it doesn't happen again, and if anyone can show they have been damaged by this failure, let them be appropriately compensated.  And then let that be an end of it.

This.

[Buce]

New concerns as Indian Covid variant clusters found across England

Exclusive: Leaked emails show Public Health England assessment of ongoing risk from B16172 variant is ‘high’

 

Clusters of the Indian variants of Covid-19 have been found across England, including in care homes, the Guardian has learned, amid growing fears about the speed with which they are spreading in communities.

The latest update of case numbers of these variants was due to be published on Thursday. But leaked emails seen by the Guardian show the announcement was delayed until at least Friday because of the local elections.

The documents also suggest officials from Public Health England are poised to escalate one of the variants to one “of concern”.

Scientists have been assessing three closely related variants first detected in India and since found in the UK because they may have mutations that help the virus to evade the body’s immune responses and be more transmissible due to their spike protein mutations.

All three of the variants – known as B16171, B16172 and B16173 – have been designated “under investigation” by Public Health England.

According to internal documents from PHE, dated to 5 May and seen by the Guardian, the assessment of the ongoing risk to public health from B16172 is “high”.

Every week PHE releases new data revealing the latest case numbers of variants that are either under investigation or deemed of concern.

But in an email containing details of the situation, a staff member at the Department of Health and Social Care wrote: “Data publication [is] to be delayed 24 hours from Thursday to Friday given it is local elections tomorrow.”

PHE said the delay was due to “a processing issue”.

In addition, the email said one of the India variants – likely B16172 – could be upgraded to a variant of concern as soon as Friday, as part of a broader set of communications.

In the PHE documents, 48 clusters of Indian variant B16172 have been identified, including those linked to secondary schools and religious gatherings, with evidence of community transmission in some of the clusters. 

In London clusters have been located in care homes.

Dr Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist and senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, said the variant was “increasing very rapidly” and that “at the current doubling rate it could easily become dominant in London by the end of May or early June”.

The documents reveal 15 cases of B16172 were found in one London care home where residents had their second doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in the week prior to the outbreak. Four of the cases were hospitalised with non-severe illness, and there were no deaths.

It comes as public health officials revealed B16172 has been found for the first time in Northern Ireland, with seven cases confirmed. “While preventive measures – including travel restrictions – are very important, the assessment is that these will delay rather than permanently prevent the spread of variants already detected elsewhere on these islands,” said the chief medical officer for Northern Ireland, Dr Michael McBride, adding the news was not entirely unexpected.

“The most effective way to stop variants developing or spreading is to keep pushing down infection rates and transmission of the virus in our community,” he added. “All variants spread in the same way. We protect ourselves and others by following public health advice and getting vaccinated when our turn comes.”

Cases of the India variants have risen dramatically in recent weeks in the UK. The key driver of the rise appears to be B16172.

But Prof Ravi Gupta of the University of Cambridge, who researches variant mutations , told the Guardian he believed all the India variants should be designated variants of concern “given we cant afford to be wrong”.

Prof Christina Pagel, the director of the clinical operational research unit at University College London and a member of the Independent Sage group of experts, said: “Clearly this variant has escaped into the community and is spreading quickly. It highlights the fundamental weakness of the red list travel system in that we just don’t know where the next dangerous variant is coming from. This should prompt a complete overhaul of our travel policy for the summer.”

Pagel added that the data should have been made publicly available.

“Public Health England are clearly very concerned about the rapid spread of this variant – as they should be,” she said. “But telling the public about a public health emergency should not need to wait for a specific release day or local elections – this should have been communicated earlier, not least to protect communities where the clusters are.”

Gurdasani said while research was ongoing to explore the impact of the variants’ mutations, action was needed now, noting that people were continuing to mix, trials around large gatherings were being carried out, there has been a proposed relaxation of some Covid measures in schools, and England was planning to restart some international leisure travel on 17 May.

“What is happening in reality is completely opposite to the stuff that I am seeing from [the PHE documents], which suggests there is cause for actual alarm,” she said.

A spokesperson for PHE said it would not comment on leaked data.

Dr William Welfare, the Covid-19 incident director at PHE, confirmed that there had been clusters in care homes. “Public Health England is monitoring the situation closely and appropriate public health interventions, including targeted testing and enhanced contact tracing, are being undertaken,” he said.

 

 

 

[DennisNedry]

35 minutes ago, Buce said:

New concerns as Indian Covid variant clusters found across England

Exclusive: Leaked emails show Public Health England assessment of ongoing risk from B16172 variant is ‘high’

 

Clusters of the Indian variants of Covid-19 have been found across England, including in care homes, the Guardian has learned, amid growing fears about the speed with which they are spreading in communities.

The latest update of case numbers of these variants was due to be published on Thursday. But leaked emails seen by the Guardian show the announcement was delayed until at least Friday because of the local elections.

The documents also suggest officials from Public Health England are poised to escalate one of the variants to one “of concern”.

Scientists have been assessing three closely related variants first detected in India and since found in the UK because they may have mutations that help the virus to evade the body’s immune responses and be more transmissible due to their spike protein mutations.

All three of the variants – known as B16171, B16172 and B16173 – have been designated “under investigation” by Public Health England.

According to internal documents from PHE, dated to 5 May and seen by the Guardian, the assessment of the ongoing risk to public health from B16172 is “high”.

Every week PHE releases new data revealing the latest case numbers of variants that are either under investigation or deemed of concern.

But in an email containing details of the situation, a staff member at the Department of Health and Social Care wrote: “Data publication [is] to be delayed 24 hours from Thursday to Friday given it is local elections tomorrow.”

PHE said the delay was due to “a processing issue”.

In addition, the email said one of the India variants – likely B16172 – could be upgraded to a variant of concern as soon as Friday, as part of a broader set of communications.

In the PHE documents, 48 clusters of Indian variant B16172 have been identified, including those linked to secondary schools and religious gatherings, with evidence of community transmission in some of the clusters. 

In London clusters have been located in care homes.

Dr Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist and senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, said the variant was “increasing very rapidly” and that “at the current doubling rate it could easily become dominant in London by the end of May or early June”.

The documents reveal 15 cases of B16172 were found in one London care home where residents had their second doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in the week prior to the outbreak. Four of the cases were hospitalised with non-severe illness, and there were no deaths.

It comes as public health officials revealed B16172 has been found for the first time in Northern Ireland, with seven cases confirmed. “While preventive measures – including travel restrictions – are very important, the assessment is that these will delay rather than permanently prevent the spread of variants already detected elsewhere on these islands,” said the chief medical officer for Northern Ireland, Dr Michael McBride, adding the news was not entirely unexpected.

“The most effective way to stop variants developing or spreading is to keep pushing down infection rates and transmission of the virus in our community,” he added. “All variants spread in the same way. We protect ourselves and others by following public health advice and getting vaccinated when our turn comes.”

Cases of the India variants have risen dramatically in recent weeks in the UK. The key driver of the rise appears to be B16172.

But Prof Ravi Gupta of the University of Cambridge, who researches variant mutations , told the Guardian he believed all the India variants should be designated variants of concern “given we cant afford to be wrong”.

Prof Christina Pagel, the director of the clinical operational research unit at University College London and a member of the Independent Sage group of experts, said: “Clearly this variant has escaped into the community and is spreading quickly. It highlights the fundamental weakness of the red list travel system in that we just don’t know where the next dangerous variant is coming from. This should prompt a complete overhaul of our travel policy for the summer.”

Pagel added that the data should have been made publicly available.

“Public Health England are clearly very concerned about the rapid spread of this variant – as they should be,” she said. “But telling the public about a public health emergency should not need to wait for a specific release day or local elections – this should have been communicated earlier, not least to protect communities where the clusters are.”

Gurdasani said while research was ongoing to explore the impact of the variants’ mutations, action was needed now, noting that people were continuing to mix, trials around large gatherings were being carried out, there has been a proposed relaxation of some Covid measures in schools, and England was planning to restart some international leisure travel on 17 May.

“What is happening in reality is completely opposite to the stuff that I am seeing from [the PHE documents], which suggests there is cause for actual alarm,” she said.

A spokesperson for PHE said it would not comment on leaked data.

Dr William Welfare, the Covid-19 incident director at PHE, confirmed that there had been clusters in care homes. “Public Health England is monitoring the situation closely and appropriate public health interventions, including targeted testing and enhanced contact tracing, are being undertaken,” he said.

 

 

 

 

So there were 15 cases in a care home (denoting vulnerable or elderly people) who had only just had their second vaccine dose (so not fully protected) and only 4 became unwell (but not seriously) and nobody died.

 

Big deal.

[filbertway]

17 minutes ago, DennisNedry said:

 

So there were 15 cases in a care home (denoting vulnerable or elderly people) who had only just had their second vaccine dose (so not fully protected) and only 4 became unwell (but not seriously) and nobody died.

 

Big deal.

Surely that in itself should be the news. 15 elderly vaccinated people catch Indian variant with none becoming severely ill. 

 

Seems like a positive to me as well, even though they seem to be painting it as a negative 

[Otis]

14 minutes ago, filbertway said:

Surely that in itself should be the news. 15 elderly vaccinated people catch Indian variant with none becoming severely ill. 

 

Seems like a positive to me as well, even though they seem to be painting it as a negative 

That's how i understood it to work.

 

Non story..... Actually scrap that it's an excellent story showing the vaccine works.

 

This should be a gov test event. Instead of having a bunch of mask wearing people (half who have been vaccinated) who have tested negative to social distance outside.

Edited 6 May 2021 by Otis