[Oboogie]

Just had a family Zoom meeting.
My brother, who is retired and spends most of his time in France, had his first jab in England, second in France and was refused a booster in England because the NHS didn't accept he'd had his second jab, despite the fact that French documentation is much more detailed than the NHS card we get. He has now had his booster in France.

My sister, who lives in Scotland, has a friend who had his first two jabs in Dubai. He's now back in Scotland. He wants a booster and a vaccine passport.
Like England, Scottish NHS can't cope with him having had jabs abroad so no booster for him because he "hasn't had his first two yet". So he decides there's nothing for it but to start again and tells them, "Ok then, I'll have my first jab please" to which the response is "But you've already had them in Dubai".
It looks like the only way he can get a booster is to travel to another country which will protect him, but won't get him a vaccine passport.

[Boiler]

This is the problem. It's going to be probably Jan 4 before the figures are accurate again. I would hope though that the Government have access to more up to date figures.

BBC News was able to quote case numbers from Christmas Day so I would expect the government to have the same data, if not a better set.

They're on the gov.uk website and showed a falling trend.

[Boiler]

Just had a family Zoom meeting.
My brother, who is retired and spends most of his time in France, had his first jab in England, second in France and was refused a booster in England because the NHS didn't accept he'd had his second jab, despite the fact that French documentation is much more detailed than the NHS card we get. He has now had his booster in France.

My sister, who lives in Scotland, has a friend who had his first two jabs in Dubai. He's now back in Scotland. He wants a booster and a vaccine passport.
Like England, Scottish NHS can't cope with him having had jabs abroad so no booster for him because he "hasn't had his first two yet". So he decides there's nothing for it but to start again and tells them, "Ok then, I'll have my first jab please" to which the response is "But you've already had them in Dubai".
It looks like the only way he can get a booster is to travel to another country which will protect him, but won't get him a vaccine passport.

<fx: holds head in hands, shakes>

[Abernathy]

My goodness. The word Kafka-esque springs to mind. As well as Joseph Heller-esque.

[kreuzberger]

[quote=Boiler post_id=17032 time=1640637952 user_id=57
They're on the gov.uk website and showed a falling trend.
[/quote]

The new data are incomplete. The "falling" deaths are those of people infected some two to four weeks ago when infection levels were barely half their current rate.

January looks set to be tragedy upon tragedy. Even if Omicron proves not to be quite as lethal, that will be good fortune and nothing else. It is criminally negligent to base public health policy on the toss of a coin.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

The current figures quoted on the Guardian front page certainly do not seem to show a falling trend, though the rate of increase may have slowed.


Daily cases 98,515 +6,772 v last week
In hospital 8,240 +615 v last week
Daily deaths 143 +99 v last week
Cases and deaths as published on 27 Dec, hospital numbers on 22 Dec.

[kreuzberger]

Deaths are down 5,6% on a week-on-week averaged basis but, again, the data are incomplete and there is absolutely no indication as to how incomplete they are.

[satnav]

The papers are making a big thing about Johnson saving the New Year but I'm not really sure it will do him a great deal help in the polls. Many people have already scaled back their New Year's plans so telling people a few days before New Year's eve that they can party is not going to make a great deal of difference. Many club and bar owners have already taken a big hit in December so one busy night on New Year's Eve is not going to make much of a difference to them. Johnson has just looked indecisive over the past 10 days which is not really a good luck for a Prime Minister.

[kreuzberger]

11,030 infections confirmed in Scotland yesterday. My daughter is among them.

I just wish that she wasn't such a twat and would respond to messages in a timely fashion.

[Andy McDandy]

If newspapers were people, they'd be 14 year old boys who have just discovered booze and girls.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

11,030 infections confirmed in Scotland yesterday. My daughter is among them.

I just wish that she wasn't such a twat and would respond to messages in a timely fashion.

Best wishes to her, K.

My d-i-l reports that she is much better, I hope she goes the same route.

[Boiler]

11,030 infections confirmed in Scotland yesterday. My daughter is among them.

I just wish that she wasn't such a twat and would respond to messages in a timely fashion.

Didn't your son catch it at the beginning, K?

She'll be fine, I'm sure.

[kreuzberger]

Aye, according to her mother, she's snotty but fine, broadly-speaking. She's a helluva better than the Boy who, by this stage in the course of the illness, was giving quite some cause for concern.

[Boiler]

Yes, I remember - and the distress it caused you. Fingers crossed, mate.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Aye, according to her mother, she's snotty but fine, broadly-speaking. She's a helluva better than the Boy who, by this stage in the course of the illness, was giving quite some cause for concern.

Good to know.
D-i-l has tested negative and is well enough to go shopping!

I suppose the positive is that they are pretty well immune for a while.

[kreuzberger]

Any more of this and we are going to need a "Woeful Innumeracy" thread.

A trade body for pharmacies had today suggested that they are turning away "a customer every five minutes" for non-existent Covid tests. This, of course, has been regurgitated verbatim by BBC News.

20 Customers per hour across the country's 12,000 or so chemists or at each one? Or is it something else? Who's counting? We're still none the wiser...

I humbly suggest that this was an off-the-cuff remark made by a shop-girl in Boots at the railway station but, hey, it's a number, so let's run with it.

[Boiler]

20 Customers per hour across the country's 12,000 or so chemists or at each one?

Surely you mean 12 customers per hour, or am I missing something?

[satnav]

In the town where I live all the pharmacies including Boots have signs up saying that the tests are out of stock. Last Thursday when I was in town the local council were dishing out tests in the local shopping centre and they were all gone in 30 minutes. It is still possible though to order the tests on-line and have them delivered in a couple of days.

Until December most people only tested a couple of times a week but over Christmas many people are testing everyday before visiting friends and family so stocks of tests are likely to be used up much quicker.

[kreuzberger]

20 Customers per hour across the country's 12,000 or so chemists or at each one?

Surely you mean 12 customers per hour, or am I missing something?

Erm yes, there's a Somebody's Law for such idiocy, isn't there?

[Boiler]

20 Customers per hour across the country's 12,000 or so chemists or at each one?

Surely you mean 12 customers per hour, or am I missing something?

Erm yes, there's a Somebody's Law for such idiocy, isn't there?

Didn't the French experiment with decimal time?