I don’t really understand that comment, what did he have to make up for?
The British people voted to leave the EU and despite the EU’s efforts to make it difficult, so other countries wouldn’t do the same, Boris followed his people’s instruction!
Perhaps, if Germany were so desperate for workers, Merkel should have listened to her people back in 2015, because I know of a number of German people who moved to other parts of Europe to escape those immigrants. They may have also taken their well educated children with them, thereby reducing the number of future German workers :!:
Exactly this, despite our being out as you say:
Sadly though it seems that you missed the nuance which a smiley face afforded my response too Dachs.
Never mind.
Also sadly the COVAX roll-out is too slow, meaning some countries are buying their own.
How unusual for the WHO to be so plodding - not.
This leaves COVAX with the possibility of not having enough for their plans.
Covid data for Tuesday, 9 February 2021
Global Cases: 107,004,444
Increase: 327,072
Global Deaths: 2,336,242
Increase: 9,423
Australia
Cases 28,860 Change: 4
Deaths 909 Change: 0
Critical
Cases per Million 1,124
UK
Cases 3,959,784 Change: 14,104
Deaths 112,798 Change: 333
Critical 3,505
Cases per Million 58,144
USA
Cases 27,700,629 Change: 89,226
Deaths 476,405 Change: 1,472
Critical 21,435
Cases per Million 83,390
Unfortunately, you seem to have missed my cool smiley, too. Never mind.
Oh, even a graphic exclamation mark. How emphatic.
I might also say now that I don’t get the point of your comment then. We’d better leave it at that.
Not wishing to step into an argument between you Europeans but perhaps if you look at the thread’s title, that might be a bit of a clue.
Nearly 4 million Covid cases and over 110,000 deaths perhaps? Isn’t that the worst in Europe?
Then why bother, we all know what you think?:surprised:
I was just questioning why somebody from Germany was questioning our PM’s actions, when Mrs Merkel was more interested in trying to get a job with the UN, than doing what her people needed in 2015!
Some of us look at the bigger picture on Covid and stopping it’s progress is only part of it. Boris made very intelligent moves to order vaccines early, so future generations will build a stronger immunity to this virus.
The only people who would criticize that are surely those who live in countries that haven’t got sufficient supplies & ability to do the same.
In a word, no.
Not only because of the way deaths are counted either; here in the UK if you’re flattened by a No.7 bus it counts as “death by Covid” if you’ve been tested within the past 28 days and given the number who are being tested it’s illogical to assume that it’s not happening quite a bit & distorting figures.
But also because the stats show you’re wrong.
By deaths per million population:
UK 1656
Belgium 1844
Slovenia 1757
Gibraltar 2464
San Marino 2031
Not that it’s a competition, mind.
But as has been said many times, there are so many variables that comparing by numbers isn’t the best way to see what everybody already knows, which is that the darned virus kills lots of people.
Here is a letter from today’s Daily Telegraph which supports Zaphod’s point:
Certified Covid deaths
SIR – My 94-year-old cousin died recently. Despite her having no symptoms, and negative Covid testing, her GP put Covid on the death certificate, even though he had not been to see her. At the family’s insistence, that untruth was removed and a more honest cause added. The GP rang to apologise.
How many more of these false certificates are being signed and what effect are they having on statistics?
I haven’t included the letter writer’s details but they can be found further down on the link below:
(I hope this works!)
I don’t pay much attention to the ‘death from covid’ figures quoted by other countries, there was a programme on the radio not long ago describing how countries calculate deaths using different metrics so comparisons between countries can’t be reliably made.
Some countries mainly those with communist or totalitarian regimes have clearly made up their death rates anyway .
I agree Meg, I’m even getting suspicious about the Infection figures. It looks a lot, but when you consider it’s a rolling total from last March, virtually all the people who were tested positive for the virus over three weeks ago, will now be free of the virus and no longer able to infect others, hence the 10 day quarantine. Personally, I don’t think ten days quarantine is enough to prevent the spread.
What I'd ?? like to know OGF, Is what's the difference between
catching covid, and having the jab ?
I think it’s just a slight difference in the death rate. ??
And it mainly kills only old geezers so why vaccinate younger people
at all??
What am l missing?
Donkeyman!
Thank you folks!
These death & infection figures are quoted daily on this thread & some members, who may believe them, could become worried by them.
I am pleased to see that not everybody cares about which country is doing the best or worst, because the only way to beat it is for everybody to have essential vaccinations , because eventually that will assist future generations become immune to it! ( That isn’t my opinion , it is from a man on TV who knows how vaccinations work & how years of building immunity makes new babies become naturally immune.)
I applaud our government, not only for helping us survive , but for helping people in the future. 
I heard this morning that they are also offering vaccinations to illegal immigrants, free of charge & with no repercussions, in the hope that it will prevent them passing the virus to others. Sounds like a very intelligent plan !
Apparently, that may not be true:
Past COVID-19 infection provides some immunity but people may still carry and transmit virus
Those with immunity may still be able carry the virus in their nose and throat and therefore have a risk of transmitting to others.
PHE scientists working on the study have concluded naturally acquired immunity as a result of past infections provide 83% protection against reinfection, compared to people who have not had the disease before. This appears to last at least for 5 months from first becoming sick.
While the SIREN study will continue to assess whether protection may last for longer, this means people who contracted the disease in the first wave may now be vulnerable to catching it again.
Between 18 June and 24 November, scientists detected 44 potential reinfections (2 ‘probable’ and 42 ‘possible’ reinfections) out of 6,614 participants who had tested positive for antibodies. This represents an 83% rate of protection from reinfection.
PHE also warned that although those with antibodies have some protection from becoming ill with COVID-19 themselves, early evidence from the next stage of the study suggests that some of these individuals carry high levels of virus and could continue to transmit the virus to others.
Of course, reinfection of the individual at any time, even if no symptoms are displayed, means that they are, once again, contagious … :shock:
That is simply not true.
We are learning more and more about this virus as time goes on but a few things are already apparent.
One of those is is that person can be infected but is not contagious until the infection spreads far enough in the cells of the throat, airways and lungs (if indeed it ever progresses that far) to form enough cells that can in turn infect others.
Even then there are ways to prevent infection - or at least to significantly reduce the possibility thereof.
Hence the wearing of masks.
Even when infected a solution may be near to prevent cross-infection.
I posted elsewhere a while ago now about another very promising-looking British invention of a nasal spray which basically coats the virus and thus inactivates it, so preventing infection.
That is hoped to be widely available by this summmer, with application 4x daily enough normally but is safe for use evey 20 minutes.
Here’s news on that and another of what sounds to be a similar type.
(The original was in The Telegraph but since that is subscription-only I thought the one I give here might be easier.)
So what the article, and you, are saying Omah is that the 4 million or so people that have been or have recently tested positive are still able to pass on the infection to others?
Wouldn’t this make quarantine rather a waste of time?
I agree Donkeyman, the human body has evolved to cope with bacterial and viral infections. There will be the odd younger person whose immunity has been compromised and might not fare so well having caught the virus. The rest will prevent the virus spreading any further by considerably increasing the efficiency of their immune systems and thereby breaking the chain of infection. Not many die of the common cold these days for just the same reason.
So only the elderly and those with compromised immunity should be taking the vaccine, but I believe that very few will ever actually catch the virus, and the vaccine does more good from it’s psychosomatic qualities than it’s protection against the virus, and gives most people the confidence to once again venture outdoors and take their place in society.
Absolutely Zaphod, a certain set of circumstances need to come together to make an infected person an infectious one, and they only remain capable of infecting others for a limited time.
Among the number of infected people posted everyday, the vast majority either experienced no symptoms or did not require hospital admission or medical assistance. But the ever increasing total instils fear into those who do not investigate further into the compilation of those figures.
No, that is not the point being made by PHE.
COVID-19 (all variants) is a communicable disease from which most of those infected will recover, to a greater or lesser degree. Most, but not all, will be immune from re-infection for a short period. Some may be further re-infected (by the same strain or another) within that perion and may or may not show symptoms but still be contagious.
Once “immunity” wears off, in a matter of months (or less, if a new variant appears), then even the previously infected (or vaccinated) will be susceptible to re-infection and will again be contagious.
Since it’s a communicable disease then hygiene, quarantine and vaccination all have a part in controlling the spread of infection, but, just like the common cold, COVID-19 (and its variants) is a virus that will be here for the foreseeable future - under normal circumstances, the average adult gets two to three colds a year, while the average child may get six to eight.