CG1 Blue

I didn't know this. A few weeks ago I was one click away from booking late January flights with BA to BKK. So glad I bottled it! BA presumably can't fill their planes because entering Thailand is way too complicated and way too risky for most travellers. Hopefully Anutin and his cronies will start to get the message if enough airlines do the same. Wishful thinking perhaps...

You seem to take great pleasure in mocking 'experts' and 'amateur epidemiologists' on here, while at the same time sharing your 'expert' opinion ???? There are countless views and opinions even from the real doctors and virus experts, so it's not black and white.

Also last year most of the population wasn't vaccinated, and last year we were dealing with a Covid variant that caused more severe symptoms

And that must be hard for them no doubt. But do they want the rest of the people to stop living their lives just because they have to? My very elderly and vulnerable parents certainly don't.

"Another TVF epidemiologist who chooses the scientists and data he wants" With respect, you're the one who dug out an obscure publication with some modelling to fit your narrative. There is mounting evidence that the Omicron variant causes only mild illness. There is no hard evidence (yet) that Omicron causes Long Covid. I do wonder why some people seem desperate to turn good news into bad.

So, only speculation then. Obviously it's too early to have any hard evidence.

Do you have any links with evidence that the Omicron variant can cause Long Covid? I haven't seen any evidence of that.

You can drink bleach if you want to. I've listened to the scientists since the beginning, had my jabs etc. There is a lot of evidence suggesting the Omicron variant is mild, and I haven't seen any evidence suggesting Omicron is highly virulent. It could be be the beginning of the end, but big pharma (and those invested in big pharma) would probably rather not say that.

"Among these cases will be the vulnerable who will end up in the ICU and fill up the hospitals" So perhaps we should just focus on protecting the vulnerable and let the rest of the world get back to normality. My vulnerable parents have been saying this since the start of the pandemic.

But when big pharma can make trillions from long term government contracts for vaccines, why would those in power want to give us any good news about Covid? Much better to keep the people scared by only talking about infection rates, and ignoring the milder symptoms. I'm reluctantly getting my booster (3rd) jab tomorrow. I don't think I'll play along with this anymore though.

From the evidence I've seen, the Omicron variant symptoms range from zilch to a heavy cold. If 250,000 per day test positive and have either no symptoms or a heavy cold, why is that a problem? It's only a problem if the government try to hospitalise all those who test positive.

I don't think the OP is afraid of catching Covid, but afraid of the Thai government rules that would have him locked up for most of his holiday even if asymptomatic or just for being near somebody who tested positive. We can all catch Covid anywhere in the world. The debate here is about the (non-medical) consequences which are different in different countries. If you go to the Canary Islands for example they don't capture you and put you in a jar until they're satisfied you don't have the plague. You're free to enjoy your long anticipated and hard earned holiday.

That's what I said. Two jabs are enough to prevent severe illness. The boosters are to slow infection rates.

Furthermore... Jüni added that the median age in South Africa is about 27, compared to 44 in Ontario. “Age is the most important risk factor,” he said. “So we need forget about wishful thinking here with mild disease. We simply don't know.” https://www.cp24.com/news/there-is-a-myth-out-there-that-it-s-mild-head-of-ontario-s-science-table-says-of-omicron-1.5704993 Age is the most important risk factor? So why is the Canadian government aiming to get 5 year olds jabbed? Too many contradictions from guys like him. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/world/canada/canada-pfizer-vaccine-kids.html

'There is a myth out there that it's mild,' So let me get this right. There is no scientific proof so far that Omicron is very deadly or even dangerous compared to previous mutations. But this guy is saying he believes Omicron is going to be dangerous and deadly. I think it's him who is creating a myth here!

Spot on. I was just about still with them up until the story about this mystery one death from Omicron. I don't like that kind of deceit, and it's given me second thoughts about getting the booster (I probably still will). Scare tactics don't go down well with the majority of Brits.

The 5 hour hospital queues and 500,000 bookings are probably made up of those who believe everything Boris says, and those who don't want to be stopped from going into night clubs. And if the world needs to be fully vaccinated, why aren't those 3rd booster vaccines going to poor countries with low supplies? Two jabs are enough to prevent severe illness from Covid for a long period. T cells and immune memory seem to be long lasting from the two jabs. The booster jabs are only needed to reduce infection rates. "Vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection from the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is likely to be much lower than against earlier variants, but they may still offer substantial protection against severe disease, a new analysis suggests." https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/vaccines-appear-weak-blocking-omicron-infection-shots-may-reduce-long-covid-2021-12-13/

Lots more money to be made from Moderna and Pfizer jabs than the non-profit AZ jabs. Would be interesting to look through the full register of shareholders in those two companies. I want everyone to be vaccinated but there are so many things that arouse suspicion I think the number of anti-vaxers will rise. Including this mystery 'one person' who died with Omnicron in the UK with no details about his age and general health disclosed. We're weeks behind southern Africa on the Omicron curve, but we still managed to get an Omnicron death before them?

Absolutely. LBC used to be a good listen but 9 out of 10 of their hosts are now sheep, just regurgitating the same narrative. Maajid Nawaz is the exception. He delves deeper into the stories and questions the narrative. Asking questions such as why our governments' (paid) medical advisors won't acknowledge the apparent mildness of Omicron despite South Africa's medics shouting it from the roof tops. And why there is talk of jabbing healthy 5 year olds when the risk of heart complications from the vaccine is many times higher than the risk of getting sick from Covid for a 5 year old. It's now all about pushing the booster jabs. And of course the booster cannot be the (non-profit) AZ vaccine, it has to be Pfizer or Moderna who will get multi-billion dollar ongoing contracts out of this. It's no wonder scepticism is growing. The vast majority in the UK will go ahead with Christmas plans no matter what Boris says now. And he knows it.

Well said. The UK government is being economical with the truth, and this just arouses more suspicion. Sceptics might say it's quite convenient to say one person in the UK has died from Omicron just a day after Boris' emergency announcement. No details of this one person's age or state of health. Sceptics may even wonder if they just made it up.

I couldn't find anything in that article which relates to the severity of infection. Why is "the argument about mild cases is going down the drain."

The risk of testing positive on arrival and being sent to quarantine will put off most tourists. I don't think speeding up the arrival test would make a difference. Full vaccination plus a covid test before departure should be sufficient.

Not sure why your emphasis is on 'new infections'. Given that the UK tests more people than most countries in the world we're always going to get a high number of positive tests. Plus Covid isn't going away and we'll probably all get it. New infection numbers are becoming less relevant now. The important stats are deaths (down 11.7% in last 7 days) and hospital admissions (down 3.8% in last 7 days). Considering the UK is entering winter I'd say this is good news. https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/

The big deal is if you test positive in Thailand you'll be whisked off in an ambulance and forced to quarantine for (insert guess of choice) days at a cost of thousands, symptoms or no symptoms.

Countries need to stop using infection rates as the headline. This number is all dependent on how many tests are being done. And the vast majority of people testing positive will have no ill effects. What's important now is death rates (UK is down 4.4% in last 7 days) and hospitalisations (UK down 10.8% in last 7 days). Positive news considering the UK is entering winter. https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/