Topic: COVID-19:VERIFIED news sources, 0 politishit, 0 CONSPIRACY SHITE

[rob1966]

This is my thinking too. If you can pay just the deposit. Use a credit card as an extra layer of security against bankruptcy. We'd be holidaying in the UK as usual as we can't justify the cost of going abroad.

That's what we've done, missus has booked 4 holidays for the next 12 months, all paid on card, all covered by holiday insurance as they were all booked when the travel corridors were open and all with savings of between £1 and £2k per holiday. We had 1 holiday out of 3 during 2020, so we're just mainly using the money refunded from those.

[PaulF]

That's what we've done, missus has booked 4 holidays for the next 12 months, all paid on card, all covered by holiday insurance as they were all booked when the travel corridors were open and all with savings of between £1 and £2k per holiday. We had 1 holiday out of 3 during 2020, so we're just mainly using the money refunded from those.

You are heading for a custom title Mr holiday pants!

[rob1966]

Watching GMB, per head we've now managed to top the charts for the entire world for deaths.

Then you see Peter Andre and his missus being interviewed, both had covid, he's still struggling from it and he's getting shit off people, accusing him of being a puppet for the media and claiming he says he has had a virus that doesn't exist

[rob1966]

You are heading for a custom title Mr holiday pants!

Missus has done 5 holidays abroad since she was early 20's, her passport looked more like Judith CHalmers passport. My first flight was a skydive at 27, first trip abroad at 29. Met her at 39 and it took off from there .

[PaulF]

Watching GMB, per head we've now managed to top the charts for the entire world for deaths.

Then you see Peter Andre and his missus being interviewed, both had covid and he's getting shit off people, accusing him of being a puppet for the media and claiming he says he has had a virus that doesn't exist

But Boris fans say we have the best vaccine rollout, isn't he great!

I think classy cara indirectly answered this a page or so ago, but was the original 'good' outcome set at 20k deaths? Then there was a period by the anti lockdown brigade saying that figure was scaremongering. Christ knows what that model says with the new variants.

[PaulF]

Missus has done 5 holidays abroad since she was early 20's, her passport looked more like Judith CHalmers passport. My first flight was a skydive at 27, first trip abroad at 29. Met her at 39 and it took off from there .

5 a year? I guess she doesn't just follow United abroad then? Unless it includes pre season tournaments 😀

[No666]

That's what we've done, missus has booked 4 holidays for the next 12 months, all paid on card, all covered by holiday insurance as they were all booked when the travel corridors were open and all with savings of between £1 and £2k per holiday. We had 1 holiday out of 3 during 2020, so we're just mainly using the money refunded from those.

We had a trip of a lifetime booked for 2020 - Kalahari desert to a reserve that has pangolins (ironically enough). Had to postpone it to this year as it wasn't officially 'cancelled' last year. The news of the SA variant is making me nervous even for November, when we're due to go.

[rob1966]

5 a year? I guess she doesn't just follow United abroad then? Unless it includes pre season tournaments 😀

She did that too, when they were actually going abroad. If I hear one more time about that time they were in Barcelona

But Boris fans say we have the best vaccine rollout, isn't he great!

I think classy cara indirectly answered this a page or so ago, but was the original 'good' outcome set at 20k deaths? Then there was a period by the anti lockdown brigade saying that figure was scaremongering. Christ knows what that model says with the new variants.

Yeah 20k was the worst case figure

Brandon Lewis getting destroyed on GMB - Piers is ripping him apart about how the ministers keep coming on trumpeting how well we are going with the vaccine rollout, acting billy big bollocks, but how they keep refusing to answer why we have the worst death rate. Piers hammering him over it and the c*nt is talking shit.

[AndyMuller]

Brandon Lewis an absolute mess on GMB. Can’t answer why we have the highest death rate in the world.

[rob1966]

Brandon Lewis an absolute mess on GMB. Can’t answer why we have the highest death rate in the world.

Morgan is a twat, but he is doing a great job of destroying minister after minister. I hope Labour are recording every interview and play it on the side of a fucking big red bus once this pandemic is over.

[killer-heels]

Others have hit the nail there - I think people booking holidays is to give them mentally something to look forward to and hope for. Ultimately I wouldn't do it - at earliest I'm considering an October break but wouldn't book anything until the summer at least. My fiancee keeps trying to make plans for this year for various things and I just say that will be good but inside I know it's extremely unlikely we get to do anything until June/July or after. Don't buy this talk of a spring return to normal at all. Going to be a very bumpy 5 months - this virus doesn't seem to be giving us a break at all - doing all it can to fight back at every turn.

We won’t have even completed our vaccination program by the summer and considering we are ahead on that, certainly other countries won’t have. Who knows what mutations will have occurred and is it not all our responsibilities to ensure we don’t take infections back to our country and spread our infection elsewhere?

There are lots of stuff of how things can be made safe, but in reality everything is a risk. I don’t see why there is the rush for people to almost dash for the airport in some mad sprint the second there is the opportunity to do so when all the news points to this year still being really difficult.

[ljycb]

Others have hit the nail there - I think people booking holidays is to give them mentally something to look forward to and hope for. Ultimately I wouldn't do it - at earliest I'm considering an October break but wouldn't book anything until the summer at least. My fiancee keeps trying to make plans for this year for various things and I just say that will be good but inside I know it's extremely unlikely we get to do anything until June/July or after. Don't buy this talk of a spring return to normal at all. Going to be a very bumpy 5 months - this virus doesn't seem to be giving us a break at all - doing all it can to fight back at every turn.

We booked last summer to go away October 2021 but have cancelled now. Even if we could go I don’t think I’d feel comfortable by then.

[Ashburton]

We had a trip of a lifetime booked for 2020 - Kalahari desert to a reserve that has pangolins (ironically enough). Had to postpone it to this year as it wasn't officially 'cancelled' last year. The news of the SA variant is making me nervous even for November, when we're due to go.

Same, we were meant to have a few weeks in Japan, climb Mount Fuji and have a full relax at a nice spa and are looking to 2022 to re-book it.

As to the SA variant, it likely won't cause naive-levels of severe illness amongst those vaccinated and a vaccine should still be 'good enough', however from a personal point of view you may want to look at things like better masks.

[west_london_red]

We won’t have even completed our vaccination program by the summer and considering we are ahead on that, certainly other countries won’t have. Who knows what mutations will have occurred and is it not all our responsibilities to ensure we don’t take infections back to our country and spread our infection elsewhere?

There are lots of stuff of how things can be made safe, but in reality everything is a risk. I don’t see why there is the rush for people to almost dash for the airport in some mad sprint the second there is the opportunity to do so when all the news points to this year still being really difficult.

As a few others have said, some people need something to look forward to and that’s understandable. Personally I’ll wait until there is a bit more certainty even if that means we miss out on some good deals, I had enough headache last year getting my mum and aunts refunds for their cancelled trip to India (and that was booked well before the pandemic) or having to arrange repatriation flights as my Mrs had to do for her parents, aunt and granny. Not going through that again. We planned on something big for my 40th next year and hopefully we can still do that, but anything before that will be a bonus.

[jonnypb]

This is my thinking too. If you can pay just the deposit. Use a credit card as an extra layer of security against bankruptcy. We'd be holidaying in the UK as usual as we can't justify the cost of going abroad.

I would like to get abroad in the summer, but I would only do something last minute as I've no idea how things will end up going with the new strains, how long the vaccine gives you protection for, will I have had the vaccine by then, will travel insurance cover you for covid abroad etc.

I've had many a nice holiday in this country, but last summer was horrendous here, places rammed and people were hiking prices up as everyone was staying in the UK, I've a feeling this summer will be the same.

As a few others have said, some people need something to look forward to and that’s understandable. Personally I’ll wait until there is a bit more certainty even if that means we miss out on some good deals, I had enough headache last year getting my mum and aunts refunds for their cancelled trip to India (and that was booked well before the pandemic) or having to arrange repatriation flights as my Mrs had to do for her parents, aunt and granny. Not going through that again. We planned on something big for my 40th next year and hopefully we can still do that, but anything before that will be a bonus.

Totally agree with you.  I'm not sure there's any abundance of good deals at the moment.  I keep an eye on 4 or 5 different places abroad that I've enjoyed going to over the years and none of them are any cheaper now than what I've paid before, in fact some are quite a bit more expensive.  I know someone who works in a travel agent and when they had a surge for bookings last August for Summer 2021 and the prices were sky high then.  She said there are some deals out there, like there always is, but the travel operators have no need to offer deals abroad on mass because once restrictions are lifted people will be flocking to book holidays abroad.

[fowlermagic]

I think the best bet now is to plan to make a travel corridor with Ireland for the summer if rates are sufficiently down in both countries.

Prop up the tourism industries in both countries, keep people away from travelling to Spain etc. Then hope for decent weather

You think that would be a possible long term priority for the government but the goalposts get moved every week so any travel corridor would be subject to change. Not sure if you saw Irelands green list which they came out with and was suppose to be updated on a weekly basis. Think they issued one or two updates on it last year and then it fell apart as it went on the back back back burner

We will see what happens as I think the government will be happy to go with staycation policy again and might open the gateways to the UK as there is many Irish living there who want to visit home. Until 70% of the pop gets vaccinated foreign tourists will have to prove they are vaccinated and should be tested on arrival to prove they are not carrying the virus. Not sure I want to go anywhere until its safe to go to the sights, restaurants, beach etc. No point traveling to a place if everything is closed / restricted. Plus get covid while on holiday or someone on your plane was positive (which is a high risk) would be a nightmare both physically and financially. 

[[new username under construction]]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/19/pfizer-vaccine-may-prevent-transmission-coronavirus-others-israeli/

Would be nice to see if the Oxford one might be the same

[No666]

If you want to travel to a country with a known mutant that evades existing vaccines, presumably new ones could be developed quickly and offered privately. May be one way Oxford-Astrazeneca plan to make their profit?

[TepidT2O]

Seems to be some talk of going back into tiers for Easter weekend.

The problem being that cases got so out of control that it will take many weeks to get them back under control again. What joys.

[Wullie160975]

Agree with people indicating holidays are something to look forward to but we have a private holiday let booked for May in the UK and I'm worried about that going ahead in this country, never mind traipsing all over the world and picking up god-knows-what variant or passing any of our variants elsewhere.

[Son of Spion]

Others have hit the nail there - I think people booking holidays is to give them mentally something to look forward to and hope for. Ultimately I wouldn't do it - at earliest I'm considering an October break but wouldn't book anything until the summer at least. My fiancee keeps trying to make plans for this year for various things and I just say that will be good but inside I know it's extremely unlikely we get to do anything until June/July or after. Don't buy this talk of a spring return to normal at all. Going to be a very bumpy 5 months - this virus doesn't seem to be giving us a break at all - doing all it can to fight back at every turn.

I can certainly understand why people might want/need to book a getaway. It's been an absolutely horrific year, and people need something positive to look forward to.

It's a personal choice whether to book something or not. For me, it's not about possibly losing the money or being cancelled. It's more about wanting to see this crisis out fully before jetting off. We also don't want to be part of the initial mad rush abroad once restrictions are lifted. So, we'll hang fire for a while and wait for something resembling normality to return. As I said, it's just personal choice there.

Regardless of what Mrs. Spion and I do, I hope everyone here who books something manages to get away and enjoy what will be a well-earned holiday.
😊 🌞 😎

[buttersstotch]

I really hope we can get to get away too, but all the noise seems to be that we are getting ready to impose a NZ/Australia level quarantine procedure. The change in tone over the past 3 weeks is quite stark with the Cabinet, remains to be seen whether they will go ahead with it but I have a feeling they may.

Now with us entering the warmer months in the future they may relax this over the summer as opposed to shutting our borders.

I was looking forward to getting away in the summer but now I am not as confident. I do wonder if we might shut up shop for 2021, allow the world to get vaccinated before travel returns in early 2022. Probably means by the summer we can lift most restrictions but as a consequence you cannot enter the country without quarantining.

[west_london_red]

Seems to be some talk of going back into tiers for Easter weekend.

The problem being that cases got so out of control that it will take many weeks to get them back under control again. What joys.

Not sure what the alternative is though, other then stay in lockdown until we can eradicate the virus completely, and put in such strong border measures that we can’t import the virus back in, ie the Australia approach? Not sure that’s realistic with our population, our geography, our economy or our reliance on imports for that to ever happen. I think we’ll end up the same as last year, there will be an easing over the summer and cases will come down and come autumn/winter cases will start to increase again and we’ll need stricter measures or another lockdown. We might just have to accept we have roughly half a year of freedom and half a year of restrictions for at least the next year.

[filopastry]

Not sure what the alternative is though, other then stay in lockdown until we can eradicate the virus completely, and put in such strong border measures that we can’t import the virus back in, ie the Australia approach? Not sure that’s realistic with our population, our geography, our economy or our reliance on imports for that to ever happen. I think we’ll end up the same as last year, there will be an easing over the summer and cases will come down and come autumn/winter cases will start to increase again and we’ll need stricter measures or another lockdown. We might just have to accept we have roughly half a year of freedom and half a year of restrictions for at least the next year.

Yes I have seen a few people pushing the "Zero Covid" approach as the policy we should be following.

I would be shocked if we would see ongoing public compliance for the extended lockdown that would be needed to achieve that goal, that may be feasible when cases and deaths are running at scary numbers, I'm not convinced that would still be the case if we were looking at much lower case numbers and deaths with vaccinations also widely rolled out.

Even maintenance of Zero Covid isn't some kind of return to normal, you would be looking at indefinite significant border restrictions, followed by short sharp lockdowns every time the disease gets around those restrictions and is reintroduced to the country.

If vaccinations leads to large reductions in mortality, hospitalisations and long covid impacts then I think the only outcome I can realistically see, is one where we learn to live with Covid.

[tinman1]

There's a hell of a lot of people who moved their holiday from last year to this year. I have two myself with Lanzarote in June which was booked myself direct with villa owner and Ryanair and Paphos in Sept booked through Tui that we moved from last year.

Who knows what's happening next week though never mind June and Sept.....

[filopastry]

Vaccination data by day for England, not sure if there are any unusual factors at work in terms of reporting delays, but yesterday also looking a little lower.

[John Higgins]

Only two explanations for me with the vaccinations data, they might be a day further behind than the stats show, so today’s numbers are vaccinations completed on Sunday, or we are already running short on supply.

Edit, just noted it’s reported by date rather than date of vaccination so suspect it’ll be similar to tests where we tend to see lower numbers on Tuesday.

[So… Howard Philips]

Interesting article from the BBC bout vaccination process;

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210114-covid-19-how-effective-is-a-single-vaccine-dose?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB

[rob1966]

Yep but numbers have to be taken into context.  Think there was a poll a few months back showing that around about one fifth of the UK population would not take the vaccine.  That number would be more concerning.

Yes it is concerning that so many dickheads won't take the vaccine, fuck knows how we deal with these, hopefully education and the realisation that millions have had the vaccine with no ill effects.?

I'm looking at it from the POV that the displaced people will possibly want the vaccine, they've endured enough in life as it is if they have fled Iraq, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, so they least we can do is give them a status and let them live here in peace and with the ability to get vaccinated. Humans by nature flock to what they know, look at the Brits communities in Spain/France etc, so it's not a stretch to say that people who have arrived here via boats/lorries/whatever are living in communities made up of people from their country of origin, so we can have large pockets of people who have not been vaccinated.

Like you say its not large numbers, it won't hurt to allow them to stay.

[RainbowFlick]

Vaccination data by day for England, not sure if there are any unusual factors at work in terms of reporting delays, but yesterday also looking a little lower.

I believe there were a few other vaccination centres/hubs opened up over the past few days. Maybe logistically they've been trying to sort that plus the roll out to over 70s? Unclear really. Hopefully brought up if it continues to be a trend.

[reddebs]

Been into our village this morning and we've got a vaccination centre set up. 

We thought we'd have to go into Rotherham when our turn came so that's great to have one on the doorstep.

[TepidT2O]

Interesting article from the BBC bout vaccination process;

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210114-covid-19-how-effective-is-a-single-vaccine-dose?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB

Very interesting

Having had covid, I wonder if I will get a benefit from the vaccine.  Or will it act like a booster shot? Would be interested to know.

[filopastry]

Interesting article from the BBC bout vaccination process;

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210114-covid-19-how-effective-is-a-single-vaccine-dose?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB

It will be interesting to see how Janssen/J&J gets on when it releases the Phase 3 data from its one dose trial, expected to report before the end of the month.

[west_london_red]

Vaccination data by day for England, not sure if there are any unusual factors at work in terms of reporting delays, but yesterday also looking a little lower.

It’s also worrying that the 2nd dose number are hardly moving, and they are just storing up problems for later when (and this is just a hunch on my part) they can’t deliver the second doses in 12 weeks and then we get told there is in fact no need for a second dose.

[classycarra]

Very interesting

Having had covid, I wonder if I will get a benefit from the vaccine.  Or will it act like a booster shot? Would be interested to know.

Acting like a booster shot would be you getting a benefit from the vaccine.

It’s also worrying that the 2nd dose number are hardly moving, and they are just storing up problems for later when (and this is just a hunch on my part) they can’t deliver the second doses in 12 weeks and then we get told there is in fact no need for a second dose.

It's not concerning in and of itself. The decision was made to lengthen the dose interval a while ago now, so these are partly just the final leftover 3 week interval appointments that clinicians chose not to extend to 12 weeks. Would expect the overnight increase on those to keep trending to a lower increase up until around the end of Feb at the earliest (unless way ahead of schedule and many peoples second dose is moved to a shorted interval than the maximum of 12).

[CraigDS]

Seems to be some talk of going back into tiers for Easter weekend.

The problem being that cases got so out of control that it will take many weeks to get them back under control again. What joys.

Especially with this lockdown looking seemingly more like a lockdown lite 2.0.

Roads are chocker outside heading into town. Drove through yesterday to the supermarket and it was as packed as a normal day.

Supermarkets themselves need investigating after this is over too. In March-May they had queues outside as they limited numbers in, and they had one way systems in place. Those places a are fucking free for all now though - and they’re certainly not enforcing mask wearing (in my experience) even now they’ve said they’re not allowing those in without. They’ve played a huge role in this spreading imo.

[redgriffin73]

There's a hell of a lot of people who moved their holiday from last year to this year. I have two myself with Lanzarote in June which was booked myself direct with villa owner and Ryanair and Paphos in Sept booked through Tui that we moved from last year.

Who knows what's happening next week though never mind June and Sept.....

Yep, same here, sweating on a June holiday which was moved from last June.

[west_london_red]

It's not concerning in and of itself. The decision was made to lengthen the dose interval a while ago now, so these are partly just the final leftover 3 week interval appointments that clinicians chose not to extend to 12 weeks. Would expect the overnight increase on those to keep trending to a lower increase up until around the end of Feb at the earliest (unless way ahead of schedule and many peoples second dose is moved to a shorted interval than the maximum of 12).

Yeah, that was a thought as well, but will mean we get no new people vaccinated for a period while they go back over everyone whose been vaccinated once already.

[Andy82lfc]

Especially with this lockdown looking seemingly more like a lockdown lite 2.0.

Roads are chocker outside heading into town. Drove through yesterday to the supermarket and it was as packed as a normal day.

Supermarkets themselves need investigating after this is over too. In March-May they had queues outside as they limited numbers in, and they had one way systems in place. Those places a are fucking free for all now though - and they’re certainly not enforcing mask wearing (in my experience) even now they’ve said they’re not allowing those in without. They’ve played a huge role in this spreading imo.

Many supermarkets in other countries have mandatory mask wearing policies, no exemptions, nothing. Some also check temperatures before you go in and spray your hands. The culture in the UK of people being selfish and shops not enforcing anything is disgraceful. How many extra people will have died because people don’t bother wearing a mask in places like grocery shops where people have no choice but to go.

[filopastry]

I am lucky enough to have basically managed to avoid supermarkets since last Spring, but form those I know who do go out locally I would say Costco is about the only place which I am aware of properly enforcing mask guidance.