Imagine the Facebook posts when people start dropping after a vaccine shot, because the government suspended the wait times. They need vaccinations to look as safe as possible - this will not end well.
> [..] it wouldn’t take much at this stage to cause the system to flood with cases.
I'm not entirely sure Omicron is a bad thing. It's over-mutated to the point where it's not nearly as deadly as Delta and out-competes Delta. The virology researchers even predicted that Delta was essentially as bad as it was going to get (hence the effort for a Delta specific booster).
> The government knows that they now need another round of lockdowns but don’t have enough support among the public to do it, hence the desperate push for this as the next best thing.
Not much of a surprise when you're out partying whilst the laws you helped pass are convicting others.
> The queues to get jabs in my neck of the woods have been massive, so maybe that’s a good sign.
As long as the majority of people who intend to get one can get one, I think that's a success. I don't want to see the stick being used in the UK, only the carrot.
> I’d prefer to have an actual Omicron vaccine but hopefully winging it with this one works.
Speaking to people on the inside, they were still desperately trying to get a delta specific version out the door in time for boosters - and the Delta variant has been around for quite a while. Don't hold your breath at all on Omicron. Unless there is magically some low hanging fruit (all signs say there is not), then at best you're talking about something for mid next year.
> I'm not entirely sure Omicron is a bad thing. It's over-mutated to the point where it's not nearly as deadly as Delta
This is untrue, and is based on misinterpretations of the South Africa data. There are lots of reasons why it looks less lethal in SA, but omicron in other countries is looking about as lethal as delta, with increased transmission. Vaccination and boosters look to be protective against serious harm. In England the vast majority of people in ICUs at the moment are unvaccinated.
> Early indications that the Omicron variant may be less mild will not stop a dangerous wave which could risk overwhelming hospitals, the chief medical officer has warned.
> Britain is now experiencing two separate Covid-19 epidemics with rates of the Delta variant high but stable while Omicron grows rapidly, according to Chris Whitty.
> This is untrue, and is based on misinterpretations of the South Africa data.
It's not untrue, from your iNews link:
> He said: “If the peak of this is twice as great, then halving of the size of the hospitalisation rate, you still end up in the same place. And this peak is going very fast.
So basically, he doesn't know. But he seems to agree that it is less deadly. The real question is whether it will play out as he says with hospitals becoming overwhelmed. I believe he is being overly cautious.
> Vaccination and boosters look to be protective against serious harm.
With >90% of the most at-risk category in the UK vaccinated, you would imagine harm would be minimized as well as it reasonably can be.
> In England the vast majority of people in ICUs at the moment are unvaccinated.
I am not sure there is yet evidence to back this up about the Omicron variant.
> There are lots of reasons why it looks less lethal in SA, but omicron in other countries is looking about as lethal as delta, with increased transmission.
Can you link me to a source proving that? The sources you linked to suggest it spreads more but is less lethal. My understanding was that the number of mutations the Omicron variant went under essentially made it way less deadly.
> There's also no evidence that Omicron is replacing Delta.
Eh, this is basic virology. We already saw the Alpha variant essentially die out because the Delta variant out-spread it. Survival of the fittest.
> Eh, this is basic virology. We already saw the Alpha variant essentially die out because the Delta variant out-spread it. Survival of the fittest.
To be fair, the consensus at this exact moment seems to be that it's not clear the extent to which it's replacing/outcompeting Delta or co-existing alongside it as an (effectively) separate virus in circulation.
Whitty actually addressed this from his podium the other night in saying that they're currently managing two pandemics - a Delta one that is holding steady in terms of numbers and an Omicron one that is rising exponentially by the day.
The concern (I would assume) is that Delta cases have not dropped markedly while Omicron ones are increasing, which suggests co-infection. Again, early data, so no-one should be surprised if we find out yet again that we've no idea what's actually going on.
Imagine the Facebook posts when people start dropping after a vaccine shot, because the government suspended the wait times. They need vaccinations to look as safe as possible - this will not end well.
> [..] it wouldn’t take much at this stage to cause the system to flood with cases.
I'm not entirely sure Omicron is a bad thing. It's over-mutated to the point where it's not nearly as deadly as Delta and out-competes Delta. The virology researchers even predicted that Delta was essentially as bad as it was going to get (hence the effort for a Delta specific booster).
> The government knows that they now need another round of lockdowns but don’t have enough support among the public to do it, hence the desperate push for this as the next best thing.
Not much of a surprise when you're out partying whilst the laws you helped pass are convicting others.
> The queues to get jabs in my neck of the woods have been massive, so maybe that’s a good sign.
As long as the majority of people who intend to get one can get one, I think that's a success. I don't want to see the stick being used in the UK, only the carrot.
> I’d prefer to have an actual Omicron vaccine but hopefully winging it with this one works.
Speaking to people on the inside, they were still desperately trying to get a delta specific version out the door in time for boosters - and the Delta variant has been around for quite a while. Don't hold your breath at all on Omicron. Unless there is magically some low hanging fruit (all signs say there is not), then at best you're talking about something for mid next year.