Good news is that if you've already had the virus and have natural immunity, you should be OK so long as you're in reasonably good shape of course. So that should include most of our players.
Also, Sars-1 was 13 years ago, 20% different to Covid and it's been shown that people who have had Sars-1 should be immune to Covid after all of that time.
Current variants are currently no more than 0.3% different.
The bad news.... (look away now if you're easily scared)
Reports from Chile are that people who have been vaccinated, as well as people with no immunity, are becoming seriously ill and arriving in the hospitals.
The theory that you shouldn't vaccinate during a pandemic is basically that you enter into an arms race with what is already a very large army with a strong foothold in your territory. The virus swiftly adapts to survive and becomes more easily transmissible and could end up being much more deadly and put younger people more at risk. If this isn't the case, then that leaves open the possibility that the vaccine is screwing up people's natural immune system - Worst case scenario being to the point it reacts badly to common coronaviruses and vaccinated people end up in hospital after catching a common cold.
On the other hand, Covid might magically disappear and we all live happily ever after..... and Notts get promoted.
Hold on to that thought
Chilean scientists are warning that China’s SINOVAC vaccination, which is widely used in the developing world, offers “very weak” protection until after the second dose.
The study of 10.5 million people showed that the vaccine was just 16 per cent effective in guarding against Covid infection after one dose, rising to 67 per cent efficacy after the second dose.
The initial low efficacy helps to answer the vexing question facing Chile: why is the country experiencing a surge in cases, despite the fact that it has initiated one of the world’s fastest vaccine rollouts?
“With one dose, we know the protection is very weak,” Claudia Cortés, an infectious disease expert at the Santa Maria Clinic in the Chilean capital Santiago told the Wall Street Journal
There isn’t at the minute, but stuff can change quickly. The Tories are winning seats in the North that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago, a similar complete flip in liberal, suburban seats that traditionally have been very safe Tory ones could easily start to come into this if Boris isn’t able to manage his uneasy coalition very carefully.
It’s even happened a bit with results today. Labour have had a disaster in the North, which is rightly the big story. But the Tories have quietly lost control of Cambridgeshire council, and have seen big majorities become tiny ones in Surrey, Sus*** and Gloucestershire. Labour have picked up some councillors in very surprising places like Falmouth, Telscombe and Folkestone.
At the minute it’s just the odd sign and odd rumbling, as it was for Labour in the North East before Brexit brought that to a head. We’re definitely seeing some kind of realignment, just not clear to what extent.
Maybe but I have confidence in our science teams.
Chile vaccine isnt anywhere near as good as AZ or the US ones....reports it only has protection of around 5-10% after one dose.
The issue we have is if we open up and let people who have spent time in red zone countries waltz in willy nilly.
Obviously Europe/USA are going to have to step up and help poorer nations who are struggling as if they struggle then everyone will eventually.