To be honest, not a lot as I was already doing over 5,000 miles a year commuting by bicycle - that gave me a pretty sharp hazard awareness. I did take an advanced course within a month of passing my motorbike test though.
Covid - Plan B & Omicron
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To be honest, not a lot as I was already doing over 5,000 miles a year commuting by bicycle - that gave me a pretty sharp hazard awareness. I did take an advanced course within a month of passing my motorbike test though.
That sure would. I guess it might be a similar idea--the cyclist needs to be extra sharp.
I love the books, too, written by seasoned riders to read during the winter.
Bjorn Toulouse
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As said previously smokers already pay/supplement the nhs fund in tax. Its swings and roundabouts. Clean living southerners live for 10 years more than people from Glasgow and take more resource in terms of pensions and health care. So should we not give them the vaccine to even things up? (same argument, lifestyle choice)
@Flat Foot & DD riding is pretty hairy up here too. Everybody driving around in their own cocoon just don't see motorbikes and scooters
@Flat Foot & DD riding is pretty hairy up here too. Everybody driving around in their own cocoon just don't see motorbikes and scooters
I had my moderna booster yesterday. Was scheduled for 23 December but they failed to take into account I am in the high risk cat due to CHD. After much fuss ( possibly to stop queue jumping) I was able to get it less than 24 hours after calling. So overall I'm reasonably pleased with the process. Given the first two days After I had my original date the vaccination line was constantly engaged with the call being disconnected and on the Saturday I joined the queue with 45 others ahead of me.
I am aware my employers as well as the council print off huge batches of appointment letters for the NHS and thus it's not surprising when 1000s of letters get delivered the lines get clogged.
I am aware my employers as well as the council print off huge batches of appointment letters for the NHS and thus it's not surprising when 1000s of letters get delivered the lines get clogged.
MrRook
Landlord.
I made the comment about people refusing to get a vaccine to protect themselves and their friends, family, and co-workers during a public health crisis not about smokers whose lung cancer is not contagious or obese people whose heart disease is also not contagious. And I never said to not treat someone who's ill.
LIVE -
Omicron could be dominant in UK within weeks.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-59545557
Summary
Omicron could be dominant in UK within weeks.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-59545557
Summary
- Omicron could become the UK's dominant variant within weeks, says infectious diseases expert Prof Paul Hunter
- He estimates it's likely that there are already more than than 1,000 cases - four times more than officially confirmed
- Travellers say their Christmas plans are "up in the air" as the UK brings in extra pre-departure tests for arrivals from Tuesday
- Nigeria criticises the UK's decision to add it to the red list - describing the restrictions on African countries as "travel apartheid"
- There has been some criticism that the travel changes have come too late, but Boris Johnson says the UK was first to act on Omicron
- South Africa is preparing its hospitals for more admissions amid a fourth wave driven by the new variant, its president says
- Separately, people can now show evidence of a negative Covid test to get into clubs, concerts or large events in Scotland
Bjorn,
I'm not sure you can compare "clean living" and "dirty living" so simply.
Overall, poor lifestyle choices detract from self, family, job, society, etc. for a lifetime.
Good lifestyle choices contribute to self, family, work, society, etc. for a lifetime.
Penalizing a person for positive behavior doesn't seem right (no jab) just to level the field as that would reward counter-productive behavior.
Rhetorically, would you rather have the person with emphysema (from smoking) working at your shop, taking a lot of sick days for 25 years until he dies? Or the guy that comes in hungover all the time and produces less? Or the man who's low-energy because of obesity and can't play with his kid?
I get the "ten years of additional resources" but it doesn't add up when considering the whole picture.
Weighed out in its entirety, clean living benefits everything more than dirty.
LIVE -
Javid to give Covid update as Omicron cases top 300
Watch live BBC News coverage as Javid gives Covid update
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-59545557
Javid to give Covid update as Omicron cases top 300
Watch live BBC News coverage as Javid gives Covid update
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-59545557
There is community transmission of the Omicron coronavirus variant in multiple regions of England, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed.
He told MPs the variant was continuing to spread "here and around the world" and there were now cases here "with no links to international travel".
There have been 336 confirmed cases of the highly-mutated variant across the UK, he said, a rise of 90 from Sunday.
There are concerns about how Omicron could interact with current vaccines.
Of the new confirmed Omicron cases, 261 were in England, 71 in Scotland and four in Wales - while Northern Ireland is yet to have a confirmed case.
Scotland's First minister Nicola Sturgeon has previously said the variant was spreading in the community after a number of cases were linked to events including a Steps concert in Glasgow.
He said the government did not have a "complete picture" of whether the variant caused more severe disease or not, or how it interacted with current vaccines.
The health secretary said 10,000 vaccinators were being recruited to bolster the booster jabs programme because "when the virus adapts, we must adapt too".
He said 350 military personnel would be deployed in England to help give boosters, and more than 100 in Scotland.
Labour shadow health secretary Wes Streeting called on the government to "bring forward common-sense measures" to limit the spread of the new variant ahead of Christmas.
He said the government should introduce a "standard response" to future variants emerging from overseas, including stronger border controls, testing and contact-tracing.
The UK has put restrictions on flights from countries in Africa, with Nigeria becoming the 11th country added to the red list. At the weekend, the government said the majority of Omicron cases identified in England thus far had links to overseas travel from South Africa and Nigeria.
From 04:00 GMT on Tuesday, everyone travelling to the UK will need to take a Covid test before their journey - as well as a test after they arrive.
BBC News
He told MPs the variant was continuing to spread "here and around the world" and there were now cases here "with no links to international travel".
There have been 336 confirmed cases of the highly-mutated variant across the UK, he said, a rise of 90 from Sunday.
There are concerns about how Omicron could interact with current vaccines.
Of the new confirmed Omicron cases, 261 were in England, 71 in Scotland and four in Wales - while Northern Ireland is yet to have a confirmed case.
Scotland's First minister Nicola Sturgeon has previously said the variant was spreading in the community after a number of cases were linked to events including a Steps concert in Glasgow.
- What are the UK's new travel rules?
- How can I tell I have Omicron?
- Warnings Covid travel test prices are misleading
He said the government did not have a "complete picture" of whether the variant caused more severe disease or not, or how it interacted with current vaccines.
The health secretary said 10,000 vaccinators were being recruited to bolster the booster jabs programme because "when the virus adapts, we must adapt too".
He said 350 military personnel would be deployed in England to help give boosters, and more than 100 in Scotland.
Labour shadow health secretary Wes Streeting called on the government to "bring forward common-sense measures" to limit the spread of the new variant ahead of Christmas.
He said the government should introduce a "standard response" to future variants emerging from overseas, including stronger border controls, testing and contact-tracing.
The UK has put restrictions on flights from countries in Africa, with Nigeria becoming the 11th country added to the red list. At the weekend, the government said the majority of Omicron cases identified in England thus far had links to overseas travel from South Africa and Nigeria.
From 04:00 GMT on Tuesday, everyone travelling to the UK will need to take a Covid test before their journey - as well as a test after they arrive.
BBC News
user 41945
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As a formerly obese ex-smoker I might add that managing obesity, particularly in today's processed food landscape, is a great deal harder and more complex than the "who ate all the pies" merchants could understand. Similarly, if giving up smoking were easy there wouldn't be a whole industry devoted to "helping" people give up.
These days I spend a lot more time looking after myself. And I am much in debt to the NHS.
(Maybe as a result of the "obesity crisis", there is a great deal more independent research going into nutrition than ever before. Fat is no longer the bad guy, carbs and sugar have now largely taken that mantle. But taxing is a very blunt weapon.)
Coming back on topic, I am fully jabbed and, medical and other good reasons aside, I don't have much sympathy for those who refuse vaccination. But as others have pointed out, they have the right to treatment and have probably paid their taxes.
These days I spend a lot more time looking after myself. And I am much in debt to the NHS.
(Maybe as a result of the "obesity crisis", there is a great deal more independent research going into nutrition than ever before. Fat is no longer the bad guy, carbs and sugar have now largely taken that mantle. But taxing is a very blunt weapon.)
Coming back on topic, I am fully jabbed and, medical and other good reasons aside, I don't have much sympathy for those who refuse vaccination. But as others have pointed out, they have the right to treatment and have probably paid their taxes.
What is the goal of people who want others to be vaccinated?
To get the others to agree, and get vaccinated.
Do people really think that “we will cast you out, and deny you the benefit of society for failing to think and act like us!”
is going to win over any converts? a few, out of fear, maybe, but nowhere close to what could be had without the hateful rhetoric.
When someone threatens to cut others off, they are not presented a good side that would encourage cooperation, much less listening.
To get the others to agree, and get vaccinated.
Do people really think that “we will cast you out, and deny you the benefit of society for failing to think and act like us!”
is going to win over any converts? a few, out of fear, maybe, but nowhere close to what could be had without the hateful rhetoric.
When someone threatens to cut others off, they are not presented a good side that would encourage cooperation, much less listening.
My goal is to not be caused harm by others behavior. How much of that is down to me isn't always clear cut. When cycling there are what I consider 'numpty runs' which I stay clear of and when shopping I go at quieter times, as when I visit a pub. I'd be less wary of someone being unvaccinated if they kept their distance. But I don't know if the spatially challenged person is or not. So safety would dictate assuming they are not. I don't believe however that I should be denied access to everyday activities because a proportion of the population are following a riskier (to me) path.
I would think it is only to help manage the pandemic, move the numbers as close to zero as possible and make the environment safer for everyone or some version of that wording. Where I live, I haven't seen any of the public messages communicate otherwise.
Disallowing access to high-risk venues is a method of mitigation. I wasn't vaccinated until late in the game and would have agreed with being barred from places where transmissions can be high and would not take it personally.
(At the top where you say "people" and directly above you use "someone," I'm not positive who you mean so I'm guessing.)
Anyway, here in the US, we've been given the information about the benefits and downsides of being vaccinated over and over and over. The benefits outweigh the negatives.
The folks here who haven't been vaccinated and won't be have already been presented with all of the information, continuously and for months. Those folks either ignore it or have, what they believe to be, a different, reliable source.
Early signs suggest the Omicron Covid variant is more transmissible than the current Delta strain, No 10 has said.
But the prime minister's official spokesman added it was still too early to draw conclusions - and any impact caused by Omicron would also depend on whether it caused severe illness.
There are currently 437 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK, figures show.
Earlier, Wales' health minister said they were expecting a significant wave of Omicron that would peak in January.
In Scotland, Covid rules are going to be reviewed daily as Omicron cases rise, and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has urged employers to let staff work from home until at least the middle of January where possible.
Scientists believe Omicron could spread more easily than Delta, and could out-compete Delta to become the dominant variant in the UK.
But much is still unknown, and it could still take weeks to understand how severe illness from the variant is and what it means for the effectiveness of vaccines.
The government's cabinet was given an update on the pandemic on Tuesday morning.
Giving an account of the meeting afterwards, the PM's spokesman said: "The prime minister said it was too early to draw conclusions on the characteristics of Omicron but early indications were that it is more transmissible than Delta."
But he said there was "no hard agreement on the level of transmissibility", and it was "too early to tell" the effect on vaccine evasion or seriousness of the illness it would cause.
The spokesman also said ministers did not discuss whether to introduce the government's "plan B" for winter - which could involve more restrictions if the pressure on the NHS becomes too much.
Full article - Covid: Early signs Omicron spreads more easily, says No 10
But the prime minister's official spokesman added it was still too early to draw conclusions - and any impact caused by Omicron would also depend on whether it caused severe illness.
There are currently 437 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK, figures show.
Earlier, Wales' health minister said they were expecting a significant wave of Omicron that would peak in January.
In Scotland, Covid rules are going to be reviewed daily as Omicron cases rise, and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has urged employers to let staff work from home until at least the middle of January where possible.
Scientists believe Omicron could spread more easily than Delta, and could out-compete Delta to become the dominant variant in the UK.
But much is still unknown, and it could still take weeks to understand how severe illness from the variant is and what it means for the effectiveness of vaccines.
- How worried should we be about Omicron?
- What is Omicron - and will vaccines work?
- Follow our live Covid updates
The government's cabinet was given an update on the pandemic on Tuesday morning.
Giving an account of the meeting afterwards, the PM's spokesman said: "The prime minister said it was too early to draw conclusions on the characteristics of Omicron but early indications were that it is more transmissible than Delta."
But he said there was "no hard agreement on the level of transmissibility", and it was "too early to tell" the effect on vaccine evasion or seriousness of the illness it would cause.
The spokesman also said ministers did not discuss whether to introduce the government's "plan B" for winter - which could involve more restrictions if the pressure on the NHS becomes too much.
Full article - Covid: Early signs Omicron spreads more easily, says No 10
trummy
Regular.
'But the prime minister's official spokesman added' - Anything coming from that neck of the woods can be taken with a pinch of salt
I don't think they or we can take anything with a pinch of salt as the guy below says 400 is just the tip of the iceberg and the threat of hospitals being overwhelmed is now back on the table.
Officially there have been just over 400 Omicron infections. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.
It is based on positive tests sent to labs to check for variants, which only happens in a minority of cases.
Because of a quirk in the way Omicron shows on PCR tests it is possible to identify suspected cases too.
Using this data, researchers at the University of East Anglia believe there could have been five to six times as many Omicron cases as the official total shows.
This data is what is behind suggestions the number of cases is doubling every three days or so and the conclusion that it is more transmissible than Delta.
What is not clear is why. To what extent is it down to Omicron's ability to get past immunity, greater infectiousness or because it has a shorter incubation period?
The answer to that could have a big bearing on how quickly and how far infection levels will climb.
Another unknown is what that will mean for serious illness. You would expect reinfections or infections post-vaccination to be milder.
If that is the case, the proportion of cases ending up in hospital will drop.
But even if it halves, if infection rates more than double, pressure on the NHS will still increase.
The threat of hospitals being overwhelmed is now back on the table.
Officially there have been just over 400 Omicron infections. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.
It is based on positive tests sent to labs to check for variants, which only happens in a minority of cases.
Because of a quirk in the way Omicron shows on PCR tests it is possible to identify suspected cases too.
Using this data, researchers at the University of East Anglia believe there could have been five to six times as many Omicron cases as the official total shows.
This data is what is behind suggestions the number of cases is doubling every three days or so and the conclusion that it is more transmissible than Delta.
What is not clear is why. To what extent is it down to Omicron's ability to get past immunity, greater infectiousness or because it has a shorter incubation period?
The answer to that could have a big bearing on how quickly and how far infection levels will climb.
Another unknown is what that will mean for serious illness. You would expect reinfections or infections post-vaccination to be milder.
If that is the case, the proportion of cases ending up in hospital will drop.
But even if it halves, if infection rates more than double, pressure on the NHS will still increase.
The threat of hospitals being overwhelmed is now back on the table.
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Not surprising - it typically takes at least 4 weeks to die from Covid, and omicron has only been around for maybe 6-7 weeks, mostly infecting the young who tend not to die. It's way, way too early to be making conclusions about lethality at this stage. Experience with other variants suggests that if you're being hospitalised you are as likely to die as any other variant.
The provisional data is pointing towards omicron causing about half as many hospitalisations as delta, but being a lot - potentially 3x - as transmissible, in part because it has some evasion of existing immunity.
The provisional data is pointing towards omicron causing about half as many hospitalisations as delta, but being a lot - potentially 3x - as transmissible, in part because it has some evasion of existing immunity.
It's also not just about the hospital's being overrun if this turns out to be as contagious as they are telling us it may be there are going to be huge numbers off work sick just when everyone had gone back local lockdowns will happen again and we will be back to square one again but with luck a lot less deaths.
Covid news conference to be held at 18:00
The prime minister will hold a Covid news conference at 18:00 GMT, a No 10 spokesperson says.
We'll bring you all the updates right here.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/59575030
The prime minister will hold a Covid news conference at 18:00 GMT, a No 10 spokesperson says.
We'll bring you all the updates right here.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/59575030
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