Is the May 17th reopening a mistake?

Sponsored Links
there have been no flu deaths reported

That's a good thing, surely?

But is it true?

These figures are totals from Week 1 of 2020 to 22 January 2021:
  • Deaths involving Influenza and Pneumonia (underlying or secondary cause): 127,575
  • Deaths due to Influenza and Pneumonia (underlying cause): 21,614
  • Deaths involving COVID-19 (underlying or secondary cause): 102,554
  • Deaths due to COVID-19 (underlying cause): 92,913
"Analysis showing the number of influenza deaths separately from pneumonia deaths in 2020 will be available once data are finalised in the summer of 2021. "

Source: https://www.ons.gov.uk/

Final reporting of flu deaths will not be until the summer. But it certainly looks like people are still dying from flu. Although, fewer deaths than average, which is a good thing. Masks, washing hands, social distance stop all respiratory viruses.
 
Which is false. Go back and look at the press reports from around that time, there was a lot of press about it and how bad it was.
That's fair comment but I didn't really mean at the time. I meant not a peep from the outraged press at various stages during the pandemic when deaths were not that different to the 2014-2015 flu epidemic. I know from personal experience that deaths in the early days were put down to covid with no testing, even when symptoms were not indicative of covid. Compare that with many countries that clearly fiddle their figures downwards? I don't believe we get the truth and I certainly don't believe the hyped up nonsense you get from the majority of the British press.
 
That's fair comment but I didn't really mean at the time. I meant not a peep from the outraged press at various stages during the pandemic when deaths were not that different to the 2014-2015 flu epidemic. I know from personal experience that deaths in the early days were put down to covid with no testing, even when symptoms were not indicative of covid. Compare that with many countries that clearly fiddle their figures downwards? I don't believe we get the truth and I certainly don't believe the hyped up nonsense you get from the majority of the British press.
The official stats from the beginning of the outbreak are massive under estimates, because you couldn't die as a result of Covid-19 without a positive test, which we were doing tiny numbers of them. We eventually got to a point where we are doing enough of them so that's shouldn't be endemic anymore.

it is now possible we're overcounting, some people will die with Covid-19 rather than from it, but the estimates from the ONS are that it's no more than 20% of reported deaths. It's also possible we're still missing some deaths but we are good at records in the UK so they're probably about right. We're good at this stuff, it's disappointing when people talk down the UK because they don't like the results that organisations like the ONS produce and who are truly world leading.

Most of our press is pretty good, we don't have a Fox news, our papers generally admit when they get things wrong and outright lies are frowned on.
 
Sponsored Links
Most of our press is pretty good, we don't have a Fox news, our papers generally admit when they get things wrong and outright lies are frowned on.
Apart from the Fox news bit we're going to have to disagree on that . Our papers embelish almost everything and they are more likely to create the news rather than report it.
 
Apart from the Fox news bit we're going to have to disagree on that . Our papers embelish almost everything and they are more likely to create the news rather than report it.
And where has better quality news?
 
In other news Boris has held a press conference to announce the measures he's taking to deal with the Indian Variant:

Nothing.
 
TBH I don't think any news is truly unbiased. Seriously, Aljazeera isn't bad for World news. Slightly off topic I know.
Off topic, in the General forum!? unheard of! :mad:

Al-Jazeera seems ok for everything except middle East news where it does have a serious slant, but I don't tend to read it regularly.
 
Have to be careful looking at covid deaths. For instance

Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs. The air sacs may fill with fluid or pus (purulent material), causing cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing. A variety of organisms, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, can cause

Covid can cause that so did a person die of that or pneumonia. People have died of strokes not long after catching it. Covid or a normal stroke? Various organs can be severely stress by it. People who have had it and recovered might die younger than expected. It'll take a long long time to see if it has that effect.

Flu keeps getting mentioned. No idea why. I do still have a copy of the figures from when they were easily found. Wish you luck now as people are asking the ONS for all sorts. The black line is actual. The others are estimates for statistical variations of how bad things might have been. The blue is no flu.

ExcessDeaths.jpg


How many depends if the vaccination program is as effective as they hoped. From time to time it isn't. ;) Good job we didn't get 3 on the trot.
 
The official stats from the beginning of the outbreak are massive under estimates, because you couldn't die as a result of Covid-19 without a positive test, which we were doing tiny numbers of them. We eventually got to a point where we are doing enough of them so that's shouldn't be endemic anymore.

it is now possible we're overcounting, some people will die with Covid-19 rather than from it, but the estimates from the ONS are that it's no more than 20% of reported deaths.
So basically it's a b*llshit scamdemic?
 
Damn that Elle is clever. She’s the smartest girl on here.
 
In other news Boris has held a press conference to announce the measures he's taking to deal with the Indian Variant:

Nothing.

Hope they're not planning to cancel or delay unlocking. If there really is a danger from the latest new variant (strange how they're always 50% more transmissable/deadly than the last flavour :rolleyes: ) then how did it get here so quickly? Welcomed in by the government with the 20,000 people coming into the country daily. Don't suppose they could ban Indians due to cultural sensibilities. :rolleyes: Dhingies still coming across The Channel. It's almost like this new variant was welcomed in, maybe because they're reluctant to let us have any freedoms back. Maybe we should just let it rip, because we can't go on jamming the brakes on every 5 minutes. It's exactly like Xmas - chink of freedom then take it away again. It's looking like the promises of freedom for mass experimental vaccination will just be yet another broken promise. Suppose people need some hope to cling to.
 
Last edited:
Blimey

on the radio news they have just said if this Indian variant takes hold and it can spread as quick as they say there could be 10000 people a month requiring hospital treatment :eek:

jeez us

I have just paid for tickets to the festival of speed :eek:
 
Blimey

on the radio news they have just said if this Indian variant takes hold and it can spread as quick as they say there could be 10000 people a month requiring hospital treatment :eek:

jeez us

I have just paid for tickets to the festival of speed :eek:
Yeah, check the refund policy.

It has been expected for months that we'll have a third wave. With the British strain it shouldn't be huge, a fair few dead but nothing worth keeping Odeon's shut for. If this new strain is more infectious, or more deadly, then it will be bad. My bet is that Bolton is going to be flooded with cases and we'll go back into national lockdown. Probably sooner rather than later.

By not reopening on Monday we'd have a smaller hump with the British strain and it'd help stop the Indian strain getting distributed around the country.

I do agree that the choice not to put India on a red list weeks ago, when we did put neighbouring countries with lower case numbers on, was a massive cockup. The only plausible reason for failing to do it was to help sort our prospective trade deal.


I really hope I'm wrong here.
 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top