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

[Anfield Kopite]

Purely anecdotal but anyone i know that have had a Moderna booster have had a terrible day afterwards.

My first 2 jabs were astra zenica  and i had no reaction, not even a sore arm. Booster was pfizer and felt rotten from a few hours later for 3 days. Reminded me of having covid back in January, shivers and fever etc.

[So… Howard Philips]

I’d say doing both a throat/nose swab, even if the test says to just do the nose is more beneficial than keeping the test for longer than the 30 minutes.

Isn't the new swab shorter than it's predecessor and makes an accurate throat sample more difficult to take?

[TepidT2O]

Isn't the new swab shorter than it's predecessor and makes an accurate throat sample more difficult to take?

seem to be yes..

[So… Howard Philips]

seem to be yes..

Shoving your fingers into your mouth to obtain the sample isn't exactly likely to increase the chances of accuracy.

[TepidT2O]

Shoving your fingers into your mouth to obtain the sample isn't exactly likely to increase the chances of accuracy.

Well the short ones aren’t intended for use on your throat.  I’m not sad to see the back of the throat swab though, shoving that down your throat twice a week was grim.

[jillcwhomever]

Isn't the new swab shorter than it's predecessor and makes an accurate throat sample more difficult to take?

The kit I had was nose only and you had the results in 15 minutes.

[So… Howard Philips]

The kit I had was nose only and you had the results in 15 minutes.

That's the new kit. There's been suggestions on here that you can use the new swab to sample nose and throat similar to the 'old' kit.

[PaulF]

Anecdotal. I had been swabbing just nose and was getting negative. As soon as I did throat I got a positive. That said, the time scales for me getting it would make it coincidence. Also seen to be clear(nose and throat) today, day six. So by no means conclusive.

Also two az for me , negligible effect. Moderna, bloody painful arm. Nothing else.  Though I am a woos and some might describe it as sore.

[jillcwhomever]

That's the new kit. There's been suggestions on here that you can use the new swab to sample nose and throat similar to the 'old' kit.

On the kit I used it has a warning against using it for anything other than the nose.

[PaulF]

On the kit I used it has a warning against using it for anything other than the nose.

Hmmm. That's not helpful.
Would help if they had a friendly graphic on the box showing where it should and shouldn't be put. And the time.

[rob1966]

Purely anecdotal but anyone i know that have had a Moderna booster have had a terrible day afterwards.

Me and my wife were both fine after the AZs, with the Moderna booster I had a really sore arm, she, who never gets ill, had to go to bed the day after and was rough for a few days.

[rob1966]

That's the new kit. There's been suggestions on here that you can use the new swab to sample nose and throat similar to the 'old' kit.

You can't, the swab is really short, you'd have to shove your fingers in your mouth to do the back of the throat.

Hmmm. That's not helpful.
Would help if they had a friendly graphic on the box showing where it should and shouldn't be put. And the time.

There's full instructions on how to use it, where to swab. It's a totally different process, as the testing solution is pre done and you have to leave the swab in it for a minute, before putting 4 drops on the test strip and it's 15 minutes.

Not sure as not home, but I think the box might say nasal swab on it too.

[PaulF]

Thanks Rob. I'll make sure we skim the instructions. Didn't realise there was a version with a need to soak for a minute.   Not had any Pickford swabs though so I think we are ok.

[jillcwhomever]

Hmmm. That's not helpful.
Would help if they had a friendly graphic on the box showing where it should and shouldn't be put. And the time.

I just follow the instructions on whatever box I get.  If it tells you to just test the nose, just do that.

[Red Beret]

Did another test this morning and did my best to take my time on the throat swab, gag reflex notwithstanding.

It cam back negative, which can only be seen as a positive    Even though I've often worried about how good my swabbing is, I've never had a void test, but obviously that doesn't mean much!

[PaulF]

I just follow the instructions on whatever box I get.  If it tells you to just test the nose, just do that.

Yeah. But opening the instruction leaflet and reading it ..
You should see my self assembly furniture:)

[djahern]

Isn't the new swab shorter than it's predecessor and makes an accurate throat sample more difficult to take?

Yea they are, makes it tricky but not impossible. Means it more important not to eat/drink before the test. Having a glass of fruit juice for example just before the test would give you a positive, especially with the shorter swab which means you’d hit the side of your mouth more while trying to do it.

[Red-Soldier]

Omicron is “not the same disease we were seeing a year ago” and high Covid death rates in the UK are “now history”, a leading immunologist has said.

Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University and the government’s life sciences adviser, said that although hospitalisations had increased in recent weeks as Omicron spreads through the population, the disease “appears to be less severe and many people spend a relatively short time in hospital”. Fewer patients were needing high-flow oxygen and the average length of stay was down to three days, he said.

John Bell told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The horrific scenes that we saw a year ago of intensive care units being full, lots of people dying prematurely, that is now history, in my view, and I think we should be reassured that that’s likely to continue.”

He said that over the course of multiple waves of Covid, including Delta and Omicron, “the incidence of severe disease and death from this disease has basically not changed since we all got vaccinated”.

He added that quiet streets over the past couple of weeks showed people had been “pretty responsible” with regard to protecting themselves from the virus.

Speaking on Tuesday, Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said people with Covid should eventually be allowed to “go about their normal lives” as they would with a common cold.

“This is a disease that’s not going away. Ultimately, we’re going to have to let people who are positive with Covid go about their normal lives as they would do with any other cold,” he told BBC Breakfast. “If the self-isolation rules are what’s making the pain associated with Covid, then we need to do that perhaps sooner rather than later. Maybe not quite just yet.”

Hunter said Covid would one day be regarded as a cause of the common cold and would not warrant the reporting of daily case numbers. “Once we’re past Easter, perhaps, then maybe we should start to look at scaling back, depending on, of course, what the disease is at that time,” he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/28/omicron-is-not-the-same-disease-as-earlier-covid-waves-says-uk-scientist

[UntouchableLuis]

Omicron is “not the same disease we were seeing a year ago” and high Covid death rates in the UK are “now history”, a leading immunologist has said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/28/omicron-is-not-the-same-disease-as-earlier-covid-waves-says-uk-scientist

Excellent news.

The end goal will be people who test positive not having to isolate IMO. Maybe a year or so away from that.

[The G in Gerrard]

I just follow the instructions on whatever box I get.  If it tells you to just test the nose, just do that.

Hopefully you aren't given the Chinese test version.

[Gerry Attrick]

America are halving isolation time to 5 days if you're asymptomatic. Seems like there is a pile of good news with it mutating into Omicron. Countries aren't as wary of it, I think we should feel optimistic this might be the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

[Wabaloolah]

Weirdly I felt absolutely fine after my Moderna booster. Sore arm but that was it - felt really bad after my first AZ jab and quite bad after my second

that was exactly like my missus

[reddebs]

It's booster day for Paul today so I'm going to see if I can get mine too.

I'm pretty much over my cold now and all my tests, including this morning's, have all been negative so I feel as ready and prepared as I can be 😁

[Red-Soldier]

America are halving isolation time to 5 days if you're asymptomatic. Seems like there is a pile of good news with it mutating into Omicron. Countries aren't as wary of it, I think we should feel optimistic this might be the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

 

[TSC]

Omicron is “not the same disease we were seeing a year ago” and high Covid death rates in the UK are “now history”, a leading immunologist has said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/28/omicron-is-not-the-same-disease-as-earlier-covid-waves-says-uk-scientist

Let’s hope it plays out as that article indicates, although it’s interesting to note the comments that premature deaths are now history in Bell’s view.  Either Bell isn’t up to speed with current news or maybe he views hundred of deaths daily as irrelevant.

[filopastry]

Omicron does feel like maybe it is the start of the true endemic phase of Covid, where it is something we just have to learn to live with, who knows maybe the next variant is a complete disaster severity wise  and this is a false dawn.

But the news that Omicron does seem to boost immunity to Delta and presumably other variants as well is very positive, given the massive number of people worldwide who are likely to end up with Omicron infection, some models were projecting that as many people will end up catching Covid in the next few months as have caught it in the entire pandemic up until now.

I have basically locked down in the run up to Christmas as we were meant to be meeting some people in the vulnerable group for Christmas which ended up being cancelled anyway as the one person I did see (osteopath) ended up testing positive a day later! Also meeting some friends in the vulnerable group for NY Eve.

After that I think I am just at the stage of getting on with my life again (while obviously wearing masks etc where I should), living in London that means I have a fair chance of catching Omicron I suspect, but I have reached the stage where the cost of trying to "Zero Covid" my life seems higher than taking my chances fully boosted with a variant that generally doesn't seem to hit fully boosted people too badly.

A bit of a risk I know, and maybe I change my mind as more data becomes available, but that is pretty much where I am now.

[The G in Gerrard]

With the talk of more boosters for certain age groups (vulnerable people), etc & the daily deaths. Perhaps too early to say the "end" is near?

[reddebs]

All jabbed up finally 💪🤗

[Mister Flip Flop]

America are halving isolation time to 5 days if you're asymptomatic. Seems like there is a pile of good news with it mutating into Omicron. Countries aren't as wary of it, I think we should feel optimistic this might be the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

Covid has made an absolute fool out of us all the last 2 years. I hope this is the end but it could just as easily mutate again into something worse and we are back to square one.

[Nick110581]

News seems to be more positive at least.

Maybe we can get back to normal in 2022

[Red-Soldier]

Let’s hope it plays out as that article indicates, although it’s interesting to note the comments that premature deaths are now history in Bell’s view.  Either Bell isn’t up to speed with current news or maybe he views hundred of deaths daily as irrelevant.

Here's the full quote:

“The horrific scenes that we saw a year ago of intensive care units being full, lots of people dying prematurely, that is now history, in my view, and I think we should be reassured that that’s likely to continue.”

[djahern]

Omicron does feel like maybe it is the start of the true endemic phase of Covid, where it is something we just have to learn to live with, who knows maybe the next variant is a complete disaster severity wise  and this is a false dawn.

But the news that Omicron does seem to boost immunity to Delta and presumably other variants as well is very positive, given the massive number of people worldwide who are likely to end up with Omicron infection, some models were projecting that as many people will end up catching Covid in the next few months as have caught it in the entire pandemic up until now.

I have basically locked down in the run up to Christmas as we were meant to be meeting some people in the vulnerable group for Christmas which ended up being cancelled anyway as the one person I did see (osteopath) ended up testing positive a day later! Also meeting some friends in the vulnerable group for NY Eve.

After that I think I am just at the stage of getting on with my life again (while obviously wearing masks etc where I should), living in London that means I have a fair chance of catching Omicron I suspect, but I have reached the stage where the cost of trying to "Zero Covid" my life seems higher than taking my chances fully boosted with a variant that generally doesn't seem to hit fully boosted people too badly.

A bit of a risk I know, and maybe I change my mind as more data becomes available, but that is pretty much where I am now.

Think I’m of the same mind, Christmas was the goal for me, New Year’s Eve not so much.

The immunity boost from omicron for other variants really is key news. There was always the chance we would go through this month of omicron running wild without any upside for population immunity - essentially ending up back where we were in November with delta once it had run its course. That would have been frustrating.

There’s another few things we needs learn that could make the outlook even better. Main one being what kind of protection does an omicron infection give against another omicron infection. Will be a while before we learn that though. I still have one worry and it’s are we deducing the severity of omicron based on timelines for previous variants. We know it replicates really fast, and replicates better in the upper airways. My worry is that the lag between identifying an infection and severe disease for omicron is a longer timeline for this one - that it takes up to a week longer for a lower airway disease to develop. Then hospitalisations would be a further week delayed compared to delta infections for those that will develop the severe illness. That worry recedes day by day, I’d imagine it’s one of the signals that the government and advisors are actually referring to when they say they are monitoring the data. Chances of that signal coming are fairly slim though, and getting slimmer each day.

[PaulF]

Covid has made an absolute fool out of us all the last 2 years. I hope this is the end but it could just as easily mutate again into something worse and we are back to square one.

Partially true.
Square 1 means knowing almost nothing about the virus.
It also means being a year away from a vaccine
It also means not having our immune systems primed by omicron.
Bleak, but not supermarket shelves devoid of bog roll bleak.

[PaulF]

It's booster day for Paul today so I'm going to see if I can get mine too.

I'm pretty much over my cold now and all my tests, including this morning's, have all been negative so I feel as ready and prepared as I can be 😁

Great news!

[PaulF]

Excellent news.

The end goal will be people who test positive not having to isolate IMO. Maybe a year or so away from that.

Why would we even bother testing if we don't have to isolate?

[PaulF]

I don't drive? 


I was only exposed on Saturday and the exposure was extremely minimal. I could do a PCR tomorrow and guarantee it would be negative because Covid just doesn't flare up that quickly.  I doubt even Omicron would show up so soon.

It will likely be the end of the week minimum before I start exhibiting symptoms, assuming I even have it. But I will be be using my LFTs for daily testing, and holding onto them for 24 hours to see if there's any delayed response.

Ah, thought you said you were going for a drive with your friend?  There's nothing more fun than a trip to the drive through covid centre.   Especially if like ours they have the tightest right hand turn imaginable on the way out.  10 points for only hitting one side

[thaddeus]

Covid has made an absolute fool out of us all the last 2 years. I hope this is the end but it could just as easily mutate again into something worse and we are back to square one.

My (limited) understanding is that for any future mutations to take hold they would need a competitive advantage in terms of transmissibility.  Omicron seems to have reached near enough the pinnacle of how transmissible people think Covid can become.

A mutation to Omicron that made it more deadly would not have a transmissibility advantage.  By virtue of it making it people more ill it would in practice have a disadvantage as there would be less people carrying the virus around and more people laid up in bed/hospital/the morgue.

I don't know whether it's possible for a mutation to happen to the highly transmissible Omicron variant that makes it undetectable to our existing vaccines and immune responses.  If any country is likely to find out though then it's "let it rip" UK.

[RainbowFlick]

America are halving isolation time to 5 days if you're asymptomatic. Seems like there is a pile of good news with it mutating into Omicron. Countries aren't as wary of it, I think we should feel optimistic this might be the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

Fauci openly said it was so people get back to work quicker. I don't really think that's something to applaud at this stage. So now your customers and colleagues are now possibly at risk of picking up Corona. Just seems the standard US thing of not caring for workers at all.

[No666]

All jabbed up finally 💪🤗

Well done.

[reddebs]

Well done.

Great news!

Thanks guys

Back home now fully stocked up on paracetamol, cold & flu tabs and ibuprofen plus the obligatory booze for weekend if I'm too rough to go shopping again 😂