Makes you wonder why the EU were not more aggressive to Phizer instead.
When just 3M doses of AZ vaccine have been applied it’s hardly why the UK were ahead.
1 Like
Yeah. It turns out it was because we were taking the EU’s supplies of Pfizer…
Thailand where i think due to start getting the AZ vaccine this month, but that looks to have been hit by the EU/AZ. They’ve agreed a deal with China for their vaccine.
For much of last year the number of cases identified was minimal, but in recent months that had jumped, with much of it linked to an outbreak in one county that spread to others as people travelled. Fish markets have been a key source of infections apparently.
Good news for you guys, living in the UK. 
3 Likes
Some good news. Odds on a 3rd wave?
1 Like
I suppose that depends on ski ressort tourists after that there’s a bit of a break until the summer holidays which could give the vaccination campagns time to kick in (as long as the methodology hasn’t increased the changes of a vaccine evading variant).
1 Like
We don’t need ski tourists to give us a 3rd wave,we have more than enough covidiots partying and generally behaving like covid isn’t a serious issue.
2 Likes
I’m not convinced that’s as big an issue as it is made out to be. The government certainly want it to be the reason why we have problems.
I suspect our real issue will be variants combined with opening schools and the economy too early along with routes into the country still being open.
2 Likes
It’s definitely a big issue,pick any story online about police breaking up a party or gathering and see the comments about “just the flu” “the great reset” etc etc.
In the last week I have personally spoken to 4 NHS staff and they have all said that they have family and friends who believe the covidiot theories.
Not everyone has a brain capable of grasping facts.
1 Like
I also know of one or two but the difference in numbers between those that choose to ignore everything and kids going back to school is vast. I don’t deny they are out there but I’m not convinced they are the prime reason for the virus spreading as it has done.
I would rank government policy way above everything in that category and it is therefore my belief that government action will be the likely cause of any further upturn in cases.
So equally it will be government policy that should take the credit for any further downturn in cases/deaths? Deaths in the over 85s have started to show the vaccine effect, dropping faster than any other demographic and at twice the rate of those under 65.
1 Like
Yes they should, especially for the vaccine program. They have done well there.
RE further lockdown, I dont think they had any choice did they? So while they took the right course of action it was forced upon them and let’s be fair in that it is just an extension of the utter shambles that went before it.
1 Like
Yes, there remains a legacy of how poorly the government dealt with the first wave. That can never be recovered.
They certainly couldn’t have avoided a further lockdown (or lockdowns). They ought to have gone further. Even with the hotel quarantine measures to be put in place from Monday, these don’t appear to be going as far as they could/should - even if they are extremely stringent. You only have to read the experiences in Australia as to how logistically challenging these things are and how they’ve had to adapt and make them tougher.
I honestly admire the way the Australians (Don’t tell @SBYM) and New Zealanders have handled this. Other nations too, to be fair. And the common denominator between them all is the will and drive to tackle it head on.
And I maintain that once that decision is made everything else becomes easier. Sure there are logistical challenges but when the motivation and backing is there from the top its honestly easy. There is a clear direction and a clear motivation that comes from government. Whereas we have schools will open for one day, have a great Christmas, dont have a Christmas etc etc.
In my field there’s very loose comparison that could be drawn between the construction for the 2012 Olympics and say Crossrail or HS2. One was pushed by government, the others were kind of left to sort themselves.
My best man worked on these two. For Atkins and Mace respectively.
Political will is absolutely crucial, I agree. I just don’t think you can take it in isolation.
Some impressive vaccination stats coming out now. Scotland has managed to vaccinate 100.09% of its care-home residents. Bravo.
Not to be outdone, however, the likes of Somerset have vaccinated 102.8% of all those aged between 75 and 79 (6 other areas have also vaccinated more than 100%).
A lesson in not placing too much emphasis on the % of population vaccinated because it relies on estimates as to total population numbers that will inevitably prove to be off.
I’ve met John Armitt (head of the Olympic Delivery Authority) a couple of times and to my knowledge probably the best person to head that up. But from the outside you could see the political drive for it to happen.
I also got involved in a very small part of the Crossrail public inquiry and you could just see how that was getting bogged down. Hugely complex project but wasn’t pushed in the same manner.
In the same way I’ve seen first hand the political wranglings that can take place between parties involved in something simple as a town centre refurbishment. Again, no leadership or anyone pulling it together.
As I stated yesterday I think that government policy is crucial here and only then can you really argue the finer points. I say that because these finer points often feed off of that government policy to one degree or another. That makes comparisons on those points between countries not really applicable in my opinion. You cant get past that headline management strategy.
1 Like
I haven’t met Armitt but Sir David Higgins came to me for some advice during the period he was Chief Executive. I remember my mate (who at the latter stages of the build of the Olympic Park was the most senior person on site) being extremely impressed with Higgins.
I haven’t spoken to him about Crossrail in detail but the impression he gave was similar to yours. Just incredibly complex and hard to resolve, problems developing all the time, but equally (and possibly because of those issues) was also an extremely impressive engineering project to see and be involved in. He also spent some time supervising works at Hinkley Point.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone be so enthusiastic about being a civil engineer!
1 Like
1 Like