Northern Europe during Pandemic -- Summers 2020 & 2021 & onwards

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Sorry mate.. only time I check for things about this crap shoot is when I come on here or if something appears on the MSN home page.. otherwise I avoid it all.. get enough paranoia from the former health worker I live with..
Only thing I was aware of before was the Invermectin controversy ranted about in here..

I'm pretty sure Trump was on a a course of Dexamethasone way back when he caught covid. Not much of a cure but apparently can a least mitigate symptoms/effects.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Macblaze

I'm pretty sure Trump was on a a course of Dexamethasone way back when he caught covid. Not much of a cure but apparently can a least mitigate symptoms/effects.

Musta been drowned out by the scandalised screams over his 'Bleach' joke..

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Umm, not absolutely false at all - I am simply paraphrasing the observations in the CDC pre-print report. The report absolutely does say that an asymptomatic vaccinated person can shed just as much viral load of the Delta variant as an unvaccinated person.

However, vaccinated people are much less likely to develop serious symptomatic illness themselves, unlike an unvaccinated person, so from a personal protection point of view getting vaccinated continues to make sense. But from a population protection point of view, much less so with the Delta variant.

That even a high proportion of vaccinated may not prevent Covid from infecting people, with resulting potentially serious effects for those who can’t or won’t be vaccinated continuing forever. That is the serious bummer.

Sorry, what you wrote is:

Originally Posted by fxykty

. . . Bottom line from the article - neither vaccines nor previous infections provide protection from the Delta variant. .

This is totally false, and the CDC never said that. The vaccines on the contrary provide robust protection against the Delta variant. The CDC estimate that even against asymptomatic infection by the Delta variant, the vaccines are 65% to 70% effective, and almost 100% effective against hospitalization and death.


The article says that vaccinated people who are INFECTED, that is have breakthrough infections, can just as easily transmit the virus as unvaccinated people. But vaccination prevents most of those infections. I suggest you read it again: https://www.washingtonpost.com/healt...mask-guidance/ "“Although it’s rare, we believe that at an individual level, vaccinated people may spread the virus, which is why we updated our recommendation,”

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Zippee

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/pfiz...144816596.html


It looks like the combination of the super aggressive and more serious Delta, the developing data that vaccines are fading in efficacy, plus the lack of vaccination in the 3rd world countries, and vaccine resistance in the northern countries may be the perfect storm. I personally am going to get my 3rd, a booster, as soon as I can, at about 5 months. I'd rather be early than late, especially at my age. At this rate it seems pretty sure that new and perhaps variants worse than the Delta may be in our near future.


What this means to me is that I feel like General Custer, deciding where and how to make my last stand. I pray that our world and governments can work together for the benefit of all of us.

Firstly viruses get typically more transmissible and less virulent , this is self selecting behaviour.

Secondly the data actually suggests the vaccines are very effective against variants

The end of this pandemic is in sight

[Dockhead]

What a lucky country Finland is!


No lockdowns, almost no school or business closures, almost exclusively voluntary measures (including even self-isolation!), and the country has gotten this far without any significant pandemic deaths. Now the country is significantly vaccinated, not completely, but I reckon substantially all of the vulnerable are done already, so the fact that Finland is now having its worst outbreak of the whole pandemic, fueled by the Delta variant, does not seem to be bothering anyone so much.


Another great thing about Finland is the border process. I cross international borders and average of two to three times a week. Just arrived in Finland, and the process has changed yet again. Now they've set up some of the passport control booths as "COVID document check" booths. I waved my U.S. vax certificate and was waved through by the smiling lady in 15 seconds. No checks of passport or residence permit. No longer is there mandatory testing on arrival (but that was also cheerful, quick, and free so no big deal), at least for the vaxxed.


I note also with satisfaction that the UK's big outbreak has crashed to about half of its peak rate in just a couple of weeks, despite the "Freedom Day" elimination of restrictions. Deaths in the UK during this outbreak peaked at only a little over 1 per million, a fraction of the peak of 18 per million reached during the last wave, before many people were vaccinated.


In our region, the infection rates vary, with Denmark as has been typical during 2021 with the highest rate at 153, and with Sweden and Latvia with the lowest daily infection rates at 46 and 32 respectively.


Finland has exceeded 100, but the increase in cases has been gradual and no one here seems much worried about it.


Probably because really no one is dying here. Denmark with the highest infection rate has a death rate of only 0.2. Finland is at 0.8, and Sweden is at 0.6. Norway is at 0.


So far so good! Vaccination in the region, which started out slowly, has taken off with a bang, and most countries here have now passed the U.S. And unlike the U.S., which plateaued, people continue getting vaccinated at a high rate. So I think all this adds up to pretty good basis to hope that life will be more or less like normal, coming out of the summer.


I'm worried about inflation though -- construction costs have gone crazy, and there are such labor shortages that there aren't enough people to drive taxis (per this morning's newspaper). Yikes. I mean, it's great that the economy has come back so strong, but if it's too hot we will have other problems.

[goboatingnow]

Ireland is seeing steadily rising hospital admissions with 70 % of the pop fully vaccinated

People are beginning to get worried and nervous despite on going removal of restrictions

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Ireland is seeing steadily rising hospital admissions with 70 % of the pop fully vaccinated

People are beginning to get worried and nervous despite on going removal of restrictions

Daily death rate in Ireland is only 0.26 -- basically nothing.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Daily death rate in Ireland is only 0.26 -- basically nothing.

Feed people fear long enough and sooner or later that's all they §hit..

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Feed people fear long enough and sooner or later that's all they §hit..

Indeed. There is a happy medium between the extremes of willful ignorance of the very real dangers of this pandemic, on the one hand, and freaking out over it, on the other.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Ireland is seeing steadily rising hospital admissions with 70 % of the pop fully vaccinated
People are beginning to get worried and nervous despite on going removal of restrictions

Maybe, partly, because of on going removal of restrictions.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Maybe, partly, because of on going removal of restrictions.

Ireland has basically flat daily infections since mid July. UK had a peak just before "Freedom Day" and the infection rate has been falling ever since.






And no one is dying. This is a bunch of nothing so far.

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

snip..

I'm worried about inflation though -- construction costs have gone crazy, and there are such labor shortages that there aren't enough people to drive taxis (per this morning's newspaper). Yikes. I mean, it's great that the economy has come back so strong, but if it's too hot we will have other problems.

The construction costs are most part due some trouble with wood eating pests in Canada which, as I understood, prohibited lumber exports to US and thus caused a world wide shortage and allmost doubled the lumber price..

Having my second shot tomorrow. A storm with winds up to 50kn blowing RN here..
opps, sorry up to 70kn

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

The wording is ambiguous. My interpretation has been coloured by news reports, so yes, it may be incorrect. Thanks for picking this up.

SWL

Gladys is probably wishing she had never suggested it -

https://www.theage.com.au/national/n....html#comments

She has lost the plot entirely.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Gladys is probably wishing she had never suggested it -



https://www.theage.com.au/national/n....html#comments



She has lost the plot entirely.

Good idea to vaccinate 12+ though. Doing the same here before schools reopen. Walk in centres now very popular with 16+ at present.

[Zippee]

"The biggest challenge: My energy level and lung capacity are (as of October 2020 – seven months later) less than half of what they used to be. I’m stationary and strategize about things I need to do with as little energy as possible when I get up. I still have no sense of taste or smell. About three-quarters of my hair has fallen out, necessitating a wig. I wake up several times per night and sleep restlessly. I feel and look like I’ve aged 20 years and am ashamed of my appearance. Recently, I had bloodwork done, and it revealed several levels were out of range, such as ferritin, autoimmune, LDH, and BUN. My lymph nodes are bulging at the base of my neck, and I’m still seeing doctors to sort through the implication of these issues. I have tingling and twitching constantly in strange places all over my body, such as a finger or my calf and right thigh".

https://www.honeycolony.com/article/...l-coronavirus/


It seems clear to me that Covid will be with us a long time, and that regular boosters and upgraded jabs are coming. I'm getting my booster soon, mostly for the long haul stuff, which seems to affect 10 to 30% of all who contract Covid, even so-called mild cases.



It's not death or hospitalization that I fear, since the vaccines seem very effective in that regard. It's but the notion of having to live out my life with significant limitations in my activities and enjoyment of life that is top of my mind and fears. The fact that the Delta can be contracted even after vaccination, whew...


The above link seems very thorough, and frankly, scares the heck out me...