Life on the front line.

[Dubbag]

Live as normal as possible if you don’t have health issues or vulnerable people within your immediate family.

You’re the expert on here Dubs but I just don’t see any other way forward?

I am hardly an expert but I agree with your summary. With a proviso....this is not the flu as some keep saying. This is different. So the term "Normal" is gone. I remember reading about people's response to the outbreak of WWII. Initially it was going ho but then began to change as it dragged on. Black outs weren't adhered to 100% of the time causing deaths to others. That's life.....and death.

[mickd1961]

Dubs
Is the flu jab really that effective with so many strains? Are flu jabs recommended for those with a weaker immune systems as some people rarely ever have flu/colds so in that case would there be any point in the jab? Just wondering as read so many positive and negative views on this! Bit like the MMR - some parents rush to have it done for their kids as its follow the leader where others don't as so many parents are of the view there's a link to autism and campaigning groups are rife!

My late grandfather used to say - fresh air - keep the windows open - brisk walks and don't pump anything into you unless it's for serious pain relief ( not hangovers ). Rightly or wrongly but it worked for him.

I’ve had the flu jab for the last two winters AL and haven’t had as much as a sniffle which is unusual for me.

Too many conspiracy theorists out there in my opinion and I believe it’s tantamount to child neglect not to immunise a child with things like MMR.

The choice as to whether you immunise should be taken out of your hands until you’re 18 years old.

Flu jab for me next month.

[baggieal]

I’ve had the flu jab for the last two winters AL and haven’t had as much as a sniffle which is unusual for me.

Too many conspiracy theorists out there in my opinion and I believe it’s tantamount to child neglect not to immunise a child with things like MMR.

The choice as to whether you immunise should be taken out of your hands until you’re 18 years old.

Flu jab for me next month.

Perhaps Mick but never had a sniffle so pointless getting something for the sake of it - could be wrong but hey ho! The MMR is very controversial and know a child well who is autistic and the mother is adamant it cane from the MMR as do lots of campaigning parents. The MMR will protect obviously but that’s not to say for some there could be negatives or reactions.

Too many people doing what they are told and not following their own research. Beginning to think the Swedish model too is the best for the virus - herd immunity! There will be an explosion of cancers here due to the lockdowns and not seeing doctors for sure and mental health cases will rocket. Unbelievable how you can’t see doctors face to face unless you are almost dying as why can’t they sit 2m away from a patient!

[Dubbag]

Dubs
Is the flu jab really that effective with so many strains? Are flu jabs recommended for those with a weaker immune systems as some people rarely ever have flu/colds so in that case would there be any point in the jab? .

The flu mutates each season. The lab people assess which strain is most likely to develop in the coming season. Based on different data sets they have accumulated. If they get it correct it will aide the body's defence system to cope with the strain. If not then it would be useless. Perhaps a one in three chance they call it right. It's not a live virus in the vaccine so you can not get the flu from been vaccinated. If you do develop flu symptoms,it's cause most likely you were asymptomatic to begin with.

Some people just inherit a strong immune system from their ancestors, just like some inherit cancer. Making good life style choices help.

[Leicesterbaggie]

Never had the flu in my life and rarely get colds. However, I had the flu jab last year and will do so this year. Belt and bracers I suppose!

[baggieal]

Never had the flu in my life and rarely get colds. However, I had the flu jab last year and will do so this year. Belt and bracers I suppose!

Everyone needs to do what they are comfortable with as opposed to jumping in a lake if Boris says to jump in a lake. I too have never had a cold or the flu so don’t want to risk something pumped into me just in case it could develop as where do you stop? An MRI for every unusual pain or a blood test every month for the sake of it!

As I say do what you are comfortable with which includes young fit people wearing masks and gloves because of the virus. I also get elderly folk who won’t wear masks - saw grandkids through lockdowns etc who took the view - life is for living and could die at any time anyway. I get that too!

If you ask any GP they would say - it’s the same patients in there all the time which blocks up appointments for those who are more in need.

[Dubbag]

I don't know of any of our surgical teams that don't get the flu vaccine....mainly because the contact/coal face is our work office. I'm sure if there was a paper introduced in to offices that prevented workers from getting paper cuts, many would think it is a good thing...Many more may reminisce about the good old days of paper cuts...

It's good, times have changed and people (if they are lucky enough) have the choices nowadays....and it is about choices everyday....based on where ever one gets there information....and that is key. Where do you get your information? If it is science...well science is not always up todate...SARS-Covid2 has shown that. Intuition is good.....but usually based on information gathered over a life time...almost a different life time, again as these times are shown....

[SwedishBaggie]

I have for a long time been interested in the difference between deaths infected with Corona, and deaths directly caused by Corona. Public Health of Sweden have now stated that all people infected with Corona are in the official ”death statistics”, but only ca 15% of them died directly from Corona!

The first six months in Sweden more people died compared to other years, but in July and August much fewer have died. This is due to the fact that those who died in March-April were very fragile, and would have, tragically, died soon anyway. If this continues the death rate could be equivalent to most years...

This is Sweden, but, since we talk about the same virus, I imagine it could be similar in many other countries.

[Dubbag]

Every country gathers the information differently...and that is politics not medical....
You raise a good point as to who dies from SARS-cov2.....death certs have to be issued as to cause of death..
For example...during the height of the AIDS pandemic......many people died of complications brought on by the virus but not directly attributable to the virus....like they died from pneumonia brought on by the AIDS virus....so the death cert just had...cause of death....pneumonia.......
Similarly cigarette smoke was causing lung cancer deaths but many death certs just had heart attack due to illness or some such wording...
Some countries use the technique of saying that if you have been swabbed for Covid-19 and die within one/three months of a positive test result....that you died from the virus.....We have had families argue their loved one died from Covid-19...when in fact they didn't....but they are not happy....so no hard and fast rules...

[Dubbag]

Coming in to Autumn and the weather turning cooler.....research is still showing more signs that SARS-CoV2 may indeed be more airborne then first thought. Evidence is beginning to circulate that people can be infected even beyond 2 meters.....
This from China research......


A person on a poorly ventilated Chinese bus infected nearly two dozen other passengers with coronavirus even though many were not sitting close by, according to a study published today.

Researchers say the findings offer fresh evidence the disease can spread in the air.

Health authorities had initially discounted the possibility that simply breathing could send infectious micro-droplets into the air, but did a U-turn as experts piled on pressure and evidence mounted.

The article published in JAMA Internal Medicine probes the threat of airborne infection by taking a close look at passengers who made a 50-minute trip to a Buddhist event in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo aboard two buses in January before face masks became routine against the virus.

Researchers believe a passenger, whose gender was not identified, was likely patient zero because the person had been in contact with people from Wuhan, the city where the contagion emerged late last year.

The scientists managed to map out where the other passengers sat, and also test them for the virus, with 23 of 68 passengers subsequently confirmed as infected on the same bus.

What is notable is that the sickness infected people in the front and back of the bus, outside the perimeter of 1-2 metres (three-six feet) that authorities and experts say infectious droplets can travel.

On top of that, the sick passenger was not yet showing symptoms of the disease, such as a cough, when the group made their trip to a religious event.

Researchers also noted the air conditioning simply recirculated the air inside the bus, which likely contributed to spreading of the virus.
"The investigations suggest that, in closed environments with air recirculation, SARS-CoV-2 is a highly transmissible pathogen," they wrote, referring to the name of the virus.

"Our finding of potential airborne transmission has important public health significance."
Their study, which includes a diagram showing where each infected passenger sat, adds to the evidence of airborne transmission, including research into how the virus spread between diners' tables at a restaurant in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

Source...RTE website.