Covid-19 within Europe.

[Workingman]

The WHO's regional director, Dr Hans Kluge, is warning that Europe could see another 500,000 deaths by March next year. That is 4,950 a week or 34,650 per month.

He is, probably rightly, calling for such things as regional / national lockdowns, mask wearing, greater vaccine uptake, better hygiene, new medical treatments and stricter vaccine passporting.

His problem is that he has no legal mandate; countries can, and will, do their own thing. Many countries, from Austria to the UK, are already showing him that is the case. Another problem is that there is no one right way of dealing with Covid. There are many options and nobody knows which is best for their country nor at which time.

However, what does seem clear is that parts of central Europe, from the North Sea to the Adriatic, and the Ardennes to Ukraine / Russia, are in for a hard time.

[Kaz]

The WHO's regional director, Dr Hans Kluge, is warning that Europe could see another 500,000 deaths by March next year. That is 4,950 a week or 34,650 per month.

He is, probably rightly, calling for such things as regional / national lockdowns, mask wearing, greater vaccine uptake,better hygiene, new medical treatments and stricter vaccine passporting.

His problem is that he has no legal mandate; countries can, and will, do their own thing. Many countries, from Austria to the UK, are already showing him that is the case. Another problem is that there is no one right way of dealing with Covid. There are many options and nobody knows which is best for their country nor at which time.

However, what does seem clear is that parts of central Europe, from the North Sea to the Adriatic, and the Ardennes to Ukraine / Russia, are in for a hard time.

This is the key, surely? Vaccination will be our only way out of this.

[cromwell]

I see Police in Rotterdam have shot two demonstrators.
And in other news the NHS is planning to inject 5-12 year olds.

[JanB]

We're on the case, new cases are on the up, but so is the vaccine rate. Boosters for all over 65, but at the moment, it's the youngsters 5 - 39 who are catching it.

[Workingman]

Jan, Portugal is in a reasonably good place compared to others.

However, there have been worldwide breakouts of civil unrest for months over Covid lockdowns, and they seem to be ramping up and taking on a greater meaning. The protests could really kick off if lockdowns go into Christmas, though why that should be the case for one day mystifies me.

I think it is more that many people are sick of having some sort of normality curtailed because of the anti-vaxxers but that their only outlets are governments.

It is not the "Christmas" thing the media would have you believe.

[cromwell]

I think it's certainly true that people are sick of having their freedoms curtailed, for whatever reason.
And we have been triple vaxxed this year, but still it goes on.
Another facet is that people are pretty sick of being lied to by their governments.
People all over Europe want it all to be over with now, but are increasingly losing trust in their governments.
Hence the scepticism and increasing violence.

[cromwell]

Also the stigmatising of people as anti vaxxers is a little unfair, I think.
Yes, there are some copper bottomed nutcases out there, no error.
But the point of view that the speed of vaccine development means that any long term side effects are unknown is I think a valid one.
Taking the vaccine is a risk. It's one I'm willing to take but I respect the views of others who don't want to take that risk.
Especially when it comes to injecting their children with it.
Unfortunately the Austrian government is now insisting that everyone should be vaccinated.
I don't like this slide into authoritarianism and judging on the scale of the recent riots, others feel even more strongly about it.

[Suff]

This is the key, surely? Vaccination will be our only way out of this.

Vaccination certainly is the key. France took the steps in the summer when new vaccination rates started to fall. Almost totally in the younger segment of the population.

So France insisted that you want to go to a pub, club or restaurant, you have a double vaccination cert or a valid pcr test. For a while the labs were full of queues of young people, then they got vaccinated as it was simply too much hassle.

France, now, sees no need to do anything more as vaccination rates are high and increasing.

Then again, cases are on the rise.

Point to note, France didn't relax masks. Made no damned difference at all. Germany and Austria insist on medical grade masks and never relaxed masks. Made no bloody difference.

Time to get over the fairy story, masks which are not full bio certified simply stop some, but not all, droplet exchanges.

The only two things that work are vaccinations or a total cessation of personal interaction.

It seems that some people think that they should have neither.

They have a point. At the millennium some 65,000 people died of the flu. See any masks? Any horror stories in the press or on the news?

We live in a world of viruses which kill those without resistance. Vaccinations help a lot, in some cases almost totally.

When I came to France, the French took great delight in berating my British focus on work. "Work to live" they said, "not live to work".

Today when they sit in a room full of people with no mask on, the demand you put a mask on to go to the toilet, I tell them "work to live, you said, This is not Living".

Until they ditch the tests and start measuring the serious infections and deaths against normal winter flu, this is going to keep on destroying lives.

I have already lost one good friend to Cancer who's last year was totally blighted by Covid rules. Most of my dancing friends are significantly closer to their end of life than middle.

The young go ranting on about their lives being restricted whilst their actions destroy the end of others lives. They just don't care.

Time to let them bear the brunt of their lack of concern.

England removed Masks. Yes it paid a price in a higher level of infections, but it is no worse than the rabid mask countries today and likely to be much better in the coming months.

As Australia and NZ proved. You can't hide from this virus. If you do lot let it circulate, you have to come out of your hole some day and it will come get you.

I am vaccinated and will get the booster in Jan when I'm eligible. But I refuse to live in fear.

[Workingman]

Suff, we get it - you do not like masks.

But get this. The man from the WHO is asking for a multi-pronged approach to what is being seen in Europe and other regions and it includes anything and everything that might work.

No one thing is 100% effective, not even vaccines, but taken as a whole they all help in doing their bit to bring the overall risk down. Remember KISS? That's our first line of defence. Simple measures such as keeping a distance, wearing masks, hand hygiene and lockdowns all played a huge part in getting us out of the first wave when we did not have any vaccines. They are still effective and in our armoury and we should still use them.

Or is it that because they come nowhere near as being effective as the vaccines we should ditch them all and just rely on the vaccines forevermore?

[Suff]

Or is it that because they come nowhere near as being effective as the vaccines we should ditch them all and just rely on the vaccines forevermore?

Oh the scientists reported by the Guardian would agree with you totally. Just one little fly in that ointment. They can "categorically" tell you that Masks and Masks Alone, reduced infections by 53% I mean FIFTY THREE PERCENT. did you get that. But they can't say ANYTHING about how the lockdowns impacted infections.

Worthless. Worse than worthless.

I don't like this stuff about masks because they give an entirely FALSE sense of security. The governments in question decided to go with reliance on the masks, social distancing and "sporadic" hand hygiene. They don't work and they never did. All they ever did was make a very few % change to the final numbers and that few % is virtually worthless. It was 100% crystal clear that the lockdowns radically reduced cases. Yet the scientific studies say it was masks. Lockdowns? They don't know.

The proof is in other places in the world. My son is in Shanghai right now on his way to a Tesl job in China. He had to take £500 worth of tests before he flew out and is now in a hotel in quarantine for two weeks. The staff are in full medical environment suits.

Which makes a mockery of these stupid masks and all that sporadic hand cleansing.

Either we do it properly or we do not bother. This sitting on the fence half way house is nothing more than a crotch irritant. All I see is a lot of face saving BS which has been invested in so deeply that it has become FACT, when it was nothing more than fokelore from the start. Go back and check all those wonderful "studies" and their claims. Littered with "universal mask usage will stop a second wave". No it didn't. Not anywhere. Not the second, not the third and sure as hell not the 4th.

The only thing which stopped this virus in its tracks was a solid lockdown. Even the vaccine won't stop it because it is most effective in stopping people dying. Yet they keep presenting infection figures as if they are death figures and the doomsayers keep pushing out 100,000 deaths a week BS and NOBODY challenges them about it when it simply fails to happen.

I'm going to keep posting this image till it filters through. Vaccines work. Masks don't.



Then the government gives other stats.

Between 2 January and 24 September 2021, the age-adjusted risk of deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) was 32 times greater in unvaccinated people than in fully vaccinated individuals.

With even more compelling graphs.



Then there is even more proof. England stopped forcing masks. The rest of the UK did not.

According to the Guardian reported test this would reduce the cases by FIFTY THREE PERCENT. right?

Well you tell me. These, again, are ONS stats from the 19th November 21.



Come on pray tell me do. Where is that 53%??