Abernathy wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2023 4:48 pm
Boiler wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2023 12:18 pm
We are after all dealing with someone whom it is alleged wanted to be injected live on TV with the virus to prove there was nothing to fear.
Really? How did I miss that one? Sounds more Trump than Johnson. Who is alleging this ?
At the time (2021), Cummings.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pm- ... 021-05-26/
LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson would have been willing to inject himself with the novel coronavirus as he was so sceptical COVID-19 was a threat, his former top aide Dominic Cummings told parliament on Wednesday.
Cummings said that officials worried Johnson would not have been constructive in planning for the severity of the pandemic had he chaired emergency "COBR" meetings.
"The view of various officials inside Number 10 was, if we have Prime Minister chairing COBR meetings and he just tells everyone this is swine flu, don't worry about it and I'm going to get (Chief Medical Officer) Chris Whitty to inject me live on TV with coronavirus ... that would not help," Cummings told lawmakers.
Later mentioned by the Mirror
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ ... n-30136612
Boiler wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2023 12:18 pmMy own view is that he was ill but not so ill as to merit an ICU bed - but as to its propaganda value with the public (already there was a *lot* of scepticism by then) and dealing with something of which little was known about at the time, it was worth it.
Abernathy wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2023 4:48 pm
Yes, I’d agree with that.
It all seems such a strange time now. I was discussing this with my sceptic sister and her husband this lunchtime over a pint or three. But I remain unconvinced - from my own experience of spending time with Mrs. Boiler in ICUs in 2008 and 2010 - that Johnson was dangerously ill and this was no more than a propaganda exercise. At that time, the local hospital had just six ICU beds to serve a city of 200,000 people. When Mrs. B. said the first time that she felt a bit of a fraud being in ICU as compared to everyone else around here - generally on ventilators and more - seemed so much more ill than she felt, she was very rapidly disavowed of that notion by the renal consultant.
Still, it's another handy stick to beat Lineker with...