Media Coverage of COVID -19

Darandio said:

It's not a completely different example. You responded to someone about red tape preventing retired staff from returning to help out despite it being requested in general, you introduced the ICU caveat.



Where have I said you have?



The head of workforce supply and deployment for the NHS during the early stages of the pandemic was tasked with bringing in retired staff as requested. 40,000 applied of which 30,000 were eligible but only 5,000 were successfully given a position by the time he left in July. There are many stories out there from retired staff who couldn't come back to work simply because they were required to give pieces of evidence that they couldn't possibly provide by now being out of the profession, no mention of an online course. I'd say red tape is preventing them.



Have you directed this at the right person here? I haven't seen a post from you about the second wave let alone talked about one. Or is everyone else ignoring your constant baiting so you are hoping to reel someone else in?



See last reply.

Click to expand...

sjpowermac said:

So in summary, remove the requirement for prevent training and everything will be fine. That’s certainly an interesting point of view.

Click to expand...

Darandio said:

That isn't what I said and you know it. Your penchant for skewing posts is staggering, you've been doing it for weeks now.

Click to expand...

sjpowermac said:

So it’s just the red tape?

Click to expand...

Darandio said:

That's what the people involved are saying. Maybe the issue is that they are lying and it's your theories that are correct instead?

Click to expand...

sjpowermac said:

To be clear, are you saying that staffing problems in ICU wards are down to red tape or is it the administration of the vaccine that is bogged down in red tape? Genuine question.

Click to expand...

Darandio said:

You know my example was referring to vaccine administration, i've never once mentioned about ICU staff. The discussion was also around red tape for returning staff in general, you also know this.

Click to expand...

Darandio said:

So when you have a former doctor that ran her own practice for 30 years and has administered hundreds of thousands of vaccines and cannot get the gig because of red tape, there is a problem.

Click to expand...

The head of workforce supply and deployment for the NHS during the early stages of the pandemic was tasked with bringing in retired staff as requested. 40,000 applied of which 30,000 were eligible but only 5,000 were successfully given a position by the time he left in July.

Click to expand...

sjpowermac said:

I’m not disputing your figures, but I’m at a loss as to how they support your claim that red tape is hindering the roll out of the vaccine, so far as I’m aware it wasn’t available in July...

Click to expand...

Darandio said:

For the final time, it's about returning staff in general although the call for staff to administer a future vaccine started around October. Those figures from July were from the professional in that position at that time so maybe things improved since then, I highly doubt it though considering many retired staff are now speaking out about it. They could all be lying of course, or even invented.

Click to expand...

Darandio said:

But they don't just want people in ICU, they are actively seeking thousands to administer the vaccine.

So when you have a former doctor that ran her own practice for 30 years and has administered hundreds of thousands of vaccines and cannot get the gig because of red tape, there is a problem.

Click to expand...

sjpowermac said:

I notice that you’ve avoided the question about any potential mismatch of skills between volunteers and actual requirements. I’m not medically qualified but can only imagine that working in an intensive care unit might require some very specific skill sets.

Regarding the anti-radicalisation training, I’ve done a version of that, complete waste of time but took less than an afternoon to complete.

I agree that in an emergency situation that particular piece of training most likely shouldn’t be a requirement but I hardly think it’s going to be a major constraint on numbers.

Click to expand...

Trying to lock down until Covid is eradicated would be dangerous folly

Politicians, not scientists, now need to rule on how and when a vaccinated nation can live normally with the virus

www.telegraph.co.uk

No current vaccine has been shown to stop transmission of the infection, which is why vaccination passports 
are pointless. If you do get infected, though, vaccination means that you are very unlikely to need hospitalisation and even less 
likely to die.

Well before the end of Phase 1 – sometime hopefully in late March or April – vaccinated people will have little more risk of serious illness or death than a healthy 16 to 60-year-old. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been fewer than 400 deaths in that group.

The risk of “Long Covid” is real but should not be exaggerated. Many reported cases can be explained in one of two ways. First, the easy availability of antibiotics over the last 70 years has led us to forget how long recovery can take from any infection that has a big impact on the immune system. Viral infections cannot be treated with antibiotics and “post-viral syndrome” is well recognised.

Second, the physical consequences of any prolonged period under sedation in intensive care can be confused with the impact of Covid-19. Muscles deteriorate very quickly and psychological distress is common. Thankfully, the vaccine programme will greatly reduce the numbers of people who have to experience intensive care.

The challenge that faces us as a society now is to decide between two views of the future. Are we going to try to pursue the elimination of Covid-19 within the UK, regardless of the social and economic cost, or are we going to decide on what we consider to be a tolerable level of deaths in order to enable a return to the life we considered normal before 2020? With the extension of the tier system across much of the country yesterday and warnings that schools could be closed until February, with a disastrous effect on children, it is clear that this is a debate that needs to be had urgently. The sooner we can begin to dismantle restrictions, the better.

The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, pressed the need for such a debate during evidence he gave to the science and technology select committee on December 9. “At a certain point, society, through political leaders, elected ministers and Parliament,” he said, would have to decide on what is an appropriate level of risk, “just as we accept that in an average year 7,000 die of flu and in a bad flu year 20,000 people die of flu”.

He also recognised that it was “very unlikely that we will get to a zero level of risk”, and that deciding the level of Covid we are willing to accept relative to the damage that is being done to society and the economy is ultimately a political question and not one that could or should be left to medics and doctors.

He is far from alone in holding such a view. Dr Michael Ryan, head of the World Health Organisation Emergencies Programme, agreed, in an end of year message, that societies would do better to focus on getting back to full strength, rather than on the “moonshot of eradication”.

Unfortunately, a significant faction of medics and scientists do not seem to agree. Their goal is to eliminate respiratory infections – even one as trivial as Covid-19 will be in a post-vaccine world. It is possible that we could abolish this cause of death by continuing the restrictions of 2020 indefinitely – the problem, of course, is that we would simply die from something else.

The scientists who support such a strategy are genuinely trying to make the world a better place according to their ideals. But their vision is of a future where people walk every day in fear for their lives. The rest of us should not accept this.

Click to expand...

Coronavirus: Medics complain of 'bureaucracy' in bid to join Covid vaccine effort

Healthcare workers have criticised the red tape and paperwork needed to become an NHS vaccinator.

www.bbc.co.uk

When dentist Andy Bates offered to help administer the coronavirus vaccine, he hadn't bargained for the "overload of bureaucracy" he says came his way.
Dr Bates, from North Yorkshire, is one of a number of health staff to criticise the paperwork needed to gain NHS approval to give the jabs.

Click to expand...

Coronavirus: No increase in severe child cases, paediatricians say

"Covid is rife in hospitals, but not among children," consultant paediatrician Dr Ronny Cheung said.

www.bbc.co.uk

Doctors have sought to reassure parents that there has been no increase in the severity of Covid-19 cases among children because of the new variant.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said children's wards are not seeing any "significant pressure" from Covid-19.
It comes after London hospital matron Laura Duffel told BBC Radio 5 Live that wards were full of children with coronavirus.
Doctors have denied this is the case.
Professor Russell Viner, president of the RCPCH, said: "Children's wards are usually busy in winter. As of now we are not seeing significant pressure from Covid-19 in paediatrics across the UK.
"As cases in the community rise there will be a small increase in the number of children we see with Covid-19, but the overwhelming majority of children and young people have no symptoms or very mild illness only.
"The new variant appears to affect all ages and, as yet, we are not seeing any greater severity amongst children and young people."
Dr Ronny Cheung, a consultant paediatrician at Evelina Children's Hospital, in London, added: "I've been the on-call consultant in a London children's hospital this week. Covid is rife in hospitals, but not among children - and that is corroborated by my colleagues across London."
Prof Calum Semple said that he spoke to colleagues on intensive care units and "not one of them has seen a surge in sick children coming into critical care and we're not hearing of a rise in cases in the wards either".
"We're not seeing a different spectrum of disease in children, certainly we're not seeing a surge in cases," Prof Semple told BBC Radio 4's PM programme.
Dr Liz Whittaker, a consultant paediatrician at St Mary's Hospital London, said "only small numbers" of children who test positive for Covid develop severe disease and these are "within expected levels" at the moment.
"I continue to worry for my elders, not my kids," Dr Whittaker added.
Meanwhile, Dr Lee Hudson, from Great Ormond Street Hospital, said that none of his paediatric colleagues at hospital across London were reporting higher rates of sick children because of Covid but said that parents should never be afraid to seek medical help if they are worried about their children.

Click to expand...

Killer flu outbreak is to blame for a 42% spike in deaths

Government figures reveal 64,157 people died in January - 42 per cent higher than the death toll recorded in December. 'Circulating influenza' was blamed in the report.

www.google.co.uk

The killer flu outbreak is to blame for a 42 per cent spike in deaths across England and Wales, statisticians claim.

Government figures reveal 64,157 people died in January - significantly higher than the death toll of 45,141 recorded in December.

It is the highest number since records began in 2006 - and only the second time it has breached 60,000.

'Circulating influenza' was blamed in the report, released today and compiled using data of deaths from each region.

It showed deaths were higher than levels recorded during the Swine flu pandemic in 2010 - considered the worst outbreak in recent years.

Click to expand...

COVID-19: What might change if 'Tier 5' restrictions are introduced?

The prime minister has warned of tougher measures in the weeks ahead as millions of people are already living in Tier 4 areas.

news.sky.com

Retail stores regarded as being "non-essential", such as those that sell clothing or homeware, have had to close under Tier 4 restrictions.

However, may businesses currently deemed "essential" under government guidelines may have to close if a fifth tier is introduced.

This means off licences, builder's merchants and garden centres could all have to shut their doors.

Click to expand...

https://twitter.com/JeremyClarkson
Dear the newspapers. I didn’t “battle” Covid. I lay on my bed reading a book till it went away.

Click to expand...

brad465 said:

I think the anti-media handling of Covid reporting may have just gained reinforcements in the form of Jeremy Clarkson: many of them were appearing to sensationalise how he battled Covid over Christmas, but then today he spoke out with this Tweet:

https://twitter.com/JeremyClarkson/status/1345785597991006209

View attachment 88148

Click to expand...

brad465 said:

I think the anti-media handling of Covid reporting may have just gained reinforcements in the form of Jeremy Clarkson: many of them were appearing to sensationalise how he battled Covid over Christmas, but then today he spoke out with this Tweet:

https://twitter.com/JeremyClarkson/status/1345785597991006209

View attachment 88148

Click to expand...

kristiang85 said:

And of course theres the reams of twitterers admonishing him for making light of it. Despite him being honest about his own experience.

Click to expand...

Cowley said:

Absolutely.
I’m sure that he was worried (bearing in mind that he’s not in the greatest physical shape ), but at least he was honest about it.

Click to expand...

SurreyCommuter said:

Agreed, I read his column in the Sunday Times yesterday where talked about it pretty honestly and openly. I don't frequent twitter much but it seems the raging mob on there really need to find some other outlet for their energy!

Click to expand...

kristiang85 said:

Yes, many headlines twisted his usual irreverant self deprecating style of:

"'The doctor was very clear: I'd feel under the weather for between five and 14 days and then I'd either get better or I'd have to go to hospital, where, because I am 60 and fat, and because I've smoked half a million cigarettes and had double pneumonia, I'd probably die, on my own, in a lonely plastic tent."

And twisted it to:

"CLARKSON: I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE OF COVID AT CHRISTMAS"

Click to expand...

Class 33 said:

I didn't watch Good Morning Britain yesterday, but I did briefly see a news article that said Piers Morgan was pressuring Hancock yesterday with "Why an earth are you not putting the country into lockdown???" on yesterday's show. I had a brief look at Good Morning Britain this morning, and Morgan seemed very cheerful this morning. He's pleased as punch we've gone into yet another national lockdown!!! It's alright for him isn't it, he's a multi millionaire and living in a big mansion house. What about the many people that are living in small flats, unemployed and struggling for money, and unable to get another job because of these stupid ongoing lockdowns and restrictions. These such people are going to find this further lockdown a real struggle.

Click to expand...

kristiang85 said:

On the media side, I notice that there's been a flurry of controversy this morning as TalkRadio has had its YouTube channel removed by the platform. Although the personalities on TalkRadio aren't usually my cup of tea, they do at least provide a space for alternative views of the pandemic response. Obviously the channel still runs elsewhere, but as YouTube is a mainstream content provider it is worrying to see this kind of censorship, especially when it involves proven science.

Click to expand...

1. YouTube is a private company and is under no obligation to host any channel.
2. YouTube has its terms of service and rules etc that if you do not follow, you will get demonetised or even removed.
3. Every single online platform has rules and content moderation policies - that fact is not the same as censorship. This forum is no different, but I didn't start crying censorship when my posts that go against the general thinking in this section were deleted, or when I was asked to stay away from this section of the forum for a period of time.

WelshBluebird said:

1. YouTube is a private company and is under no obligation to host any channel.
2. YouTube has its terms of service and rules etc that if you do not follow, you will get demonetised or even removed.
3. Every single online platform has rules and content moderation policies - that fact is not the same as censorship. This forum is no different, but I didn't start crying censorship when my posts that go against the general thinking in this section were deleted, or when I was asked to stay away from this section of the forum for a period of time.

Click to expand...