United Kingdom VI: Summer Lovin'

[Anpanman]

It says November for me, all I know for definite is I'm in Group 8.

[Golgo]

Question: is it really the intention to vaccinate everyone, or is there some critical mass of vaccination at which point total vaccination becomes pointless? I hope the latter, as the logistics and timescale of the former - especially given the current shower of government - strikes me as unachievable.

[Neon Ignition]

Largely to reach the herd immunity level I think, which still plants us deep into 2022 at the current rate and that's assuming a vaccine-resistant variant doesn't do the rounds

[Dogg Thang]

You get a level of herd immunity at a certain point - Marty had a good article on it maybe a few pages back? But worth noting that herd immunity is still a bit of a numbers game. You can get outbreaks. In the real world, this is mostly applied to livestock where they can cull a herd as needed. There are a lot of unknowns here, especially with changing forms of the virus. But I think one thing seems pretty clear - any attempt to half ass it will only lead to problems and disappointment. So as far as I'm concerned, even with the prospect of herd immunity at a certain threshold, it shouldn't stop there.

[MartyG]

Yes, there's a point at which you reach herd immunity, but it depends on the effectiveness of the vaccine - the less effective it is, the larger the take-up has to be - the further you pass the critical point the better so vaccinating past this isn't pointless, see post #1706

[Soundwave]

On the subject of Vaccination my mum n dad had a call today & are getting their first dose tomorrow

Totally unexpected as they are both only 70 & no underlying health conditions so was thinking they'd be a way off yet but nope tomorrow

Neil

[QualityChimp]

I'm glad herd immunity is going so well thus far.

[ZipZap]

Articles like this are a bit worrying:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/05/martin-kenyon-gets-second-covid-vaccine-dose

"Kenyon, who says the immunity from the vaccine means he can now hug his “enchanting” two grandchildren"

“Now, I don’t have to think about it again. It’s all done. I am going to survive"

"In a few days I will be immune. I don’t think I’ll pass anything on to anybody else. I think all will be well. And my family are very pleased."

Unless I'm missing something there's no 100% immunity from vaccines, and possibly less-so in older people. I think they really need to emphisise this is a gradual process to reduce illness and trasmission, not a magic switch. Hopefully things will be better by Easter, but I've seen a number of social media posts from people who think that by summer it's going to be all street parties and festivals.

[Dogg Thang]

Yep. Getting the vaccine is no guarantee. And it's certainly no guarantee that you can't pass it on. People are essentially going to have to be retrained how to live for a while after getting the vaccine.

[Hirst]

My concern is that as vaccine doesn't stop you passing it on and as the mainland UK has effectively become a plague island, no overseas territories will allow British travellers in - perhaps for years. This gives me a lot of anxiety as the first thing I'd like to do is get out of here.

[Anpanman]

Question: is it really the intention to vaccinate everyone, or is there some critical mass of vaccination at which point total vaccination becomes pointless? I hope the latter, as the logistics and timescale of the former - especially given the current shower of government - strikes me as unachievable.

On the Beeb News yesterday they were saying that the younger children will not get it - or at least that is the plan at the moment.

[QualityChimp]

My concern is that as vaccine doesn't stop you passing it on and as the mainland UK has effectively become a plague island, no overseas territories will allow British travellers in - perhaps for years. This gives me a lot of anxiety as the first thing I'd like to do is get out of here.

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[Neon Ignition]

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/

Cases nearly hit 61,000 whilst deaths hit over 800 and hospitalisations top 3,000

[ZipZap]

My concern is that as vaccine doesn't stop you passing it on and as the mainland UK has effectively become a plague island, no overseas territories will allow British travellers in - perhaps for years. This gives me a lot of anxiety as the first thing I'd like to do is get out of here.

I expect there's far too much money in tourism for that!

This new variant is popping up in other countries and may have originated in the US (https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-since-october)

The UK's numbers are bad, but currently lower than Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Croatia, Czech Republic and more.

We don't hold the exclusive rights to being led by bumbling idiots.

Edit: Also, the vaccine will reduce transmission, I just meant that it's not an instant flick of a switch. The vaccine creates a strong immunity overall which means the virus has less people to infect and so cases will go down. That's "herd immunity". It won't happen overnight though.

[SuperDanX]

The UK's numbers are bad, but currently lower than Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Croatia, Czech Republic and more.

Daily cases? That’s not correct is it?