Personal positive for me today, I went for a walk with my mum and she doesn’t seem completely determined not to have the vaccine. She’s still coming up with reasons why it would be bad for her but when I told her that Theresa May, slightly older than my mum and also diabetic, had had her first dose it was like it sounded better to her. She did go on about wanting the vaccine in the Autumn rather than now and I told her to speak to someone about it. My Nan has been on the phone to her asking why she doesn’t want it so I’m quite hopeful she will see reason. If she gets it, I know my dad will too.

Good to hear. Looks like you're making progress.

Personal positive for me today, I went for a walk with my mum and she doesn’t seem completely determined not to have the vaccine. She’s still coming up with reasons why it would be bad for her but when I told her that Theresa May, slightly older than my mum and also diabetic, had had her first dose it was like it sounded better to her. She did go on about wanting the vaccine in the Autumn rather than now and I told her to speak to someone about it. My Nan has been on the phone to her asking why she doesn’t want it so I’m quite hopeful she will see reason. If she gets it, I know my dad will too.

Thrilled to hear this!!

 

 

 

My dad got his appointment letter so his is next week, looking like the AZ one. My sister is working the vaccine clinic that day and so managed to get my mum in to get hers at the same time even though she's still waiting for her letter (they're both in the same age bracket that is now up for invite in Scotland so no queue skipping going on or anything untoward like that).

 

My sister has managed to get a few vaccine clinic shifts in our town as a student nurse, she ended up getting her second Pfizer/BioNTech dose because there was a couple going spare at the end of the day!

 

I will breathe a bit easier at the end of next week knowing my folks have had dose one and my sister, who is on a placement for uni as a community nurse at the moment, is fully dosed already and she's the one with a high risk job so if it even cuts transmission by 88% then we're laughing

My parents have had theirs which is good.

 

On a negative note, they've also fallen straight into gloating about being done and being able to resume life right away :') and acting like itsmy fault I've not been able to get one yet. Never change :')

This is a bit worrying. Reports that over a third of children won't be tested for Covid when they return to school next week. Sky News saying less than 1% of teachers have had the vaccine so far and still the Government refuses to let teachers jump the queue.

 

It's thought that many parents just won't sign consent forms for children and teens to be tested and even if they do, smaller kids may not even sit still long enough to be tested. :(

Great to hear your news T Boy, that must be a huge relief for you.

 

Some further evidence of the huge success of the vaccine rollout in the UK, posted by John Burn-Murdoch, shows cases, hosptital admissions and deaths in those vaccinated earlier this year all diverging and falling faster than the unvaccinated age groups. : )

 

@1366445403772747787

This is a bit worrying. Reports that over a third of children won't be tested for Covid when they return to school next week. Sky News saying less than 1% of teachers have had the vaccine so far and still the Government refuses to let teachers jump the queue.

 

It's thought that many parents just won't sign consent forms for children and teens to be tested and even if they do, smaller kids may not even sit still long enough to be tested. :(

 

I think it's a bit mad about the children (but I also understand it, especially with primary kids) but I feel letting teachers jumo the queue (sorry T Boy not wanting to cause any anguish just my personal opinion) is the wrong thing. Mainly as surely if you vaccinate teachers then you have to vaccinate all the support staff and contractors that might work in the school too. I could totally understand it if we were limited with supplies, but as things currently stand it looks like they might even start jabbing people in their 30s in April.

It would take days only to vaccinate all school staff but I’m over it. I really do wish, however, they’d stop reporting how ‘safe’ teachers are from getting ill because it’s not a real thing. Or, if we are immune to this virus, I wish that they could open everything up again but for teachers only because there’s no way we’ll get ill.

 

On a more serious note, the testing on return to school is voluntary. Parents don’t have to consent and if they do, they still don’t have to carry out the test. I filled out a consent form for myself today though we’re not due back for at least 2 weeks but I’ll be picking up a testing kit over the next week. We can’t force parents to test their children.

Northern Ireland's opening up vaccines to 60-64 year olds, so my girlfriend's mum will be able to sign up for it, which I'm grateful for.

I wish Katie Hopkins would STFU and stop spouting anti-vaxx nonsense on her Instagram. She’s been kicked off Twitter so I hope she gets kicked off Instagram too

This is a bit worrying. Reports that over a third of children won't be tested for Covid when they return to school next week. Sky News saying less than 1% of teachers have had the vaccine so far and still the Government refuses to let teachers jump the queue.

 

It's thought that many parents just won't sign consent forms for children and teens to be tested and even if they do, smaller kids may not even sit still long enough to be tested. :(

 

Testing is one of the most important things now because of the new variants, I understand the difficulties in testing children for Covid though as you mention, the parents may refuse to sign consent forms as Covid testing can potentially be a traumatic experience for children.

 

 

Currently our rates are rising again and they sent years 1-3 of primary school back in the city last week. Now they Are saying that from Monday (technically Tuesday as Monday is a public holiday in the city) the rest of primary school, 4-6, will go back as well as a full and proper reopening of nurseries.

 

Our rates aren’t low enough for the disease factory to be allowed to be running at full pelt. This gonna be a shitshow and lockdown for adults gonna last for f***ing ever.

 

Downside of a federal system where the central gov has no powers (thanks America for this gift), the stupid states can make stupid choices and ignore what the federal gov says/wants

Currently our rates are rising again and they sent years 1-3 of primary school back in the city last week. Now they Are saying that from Monday (technically Tuesday as Monday is a public holiday in the city) the rest of primary school, 4-6, will go back as well as a full and proper reopening of nurseries.

 

Our rates aren’t low enough for the disease factory to be allowed to be running at full pelt. This gonna be a shitshow and lockdown for adults gonna last for f***ing ever.

 

Downside of a federal system where the central gov has no powers (thanks America for this gift), the stupid states can make stupid choices and ignore what the federal gov says/wants

 

Then it’s going to be interesting to see what happens when England holds its ‘big bang’ on Monday.

 

 

Currently our rates are rising again and they sent years 1-3 of primary school back in the city last week. Now they Are saying that from Monday (technically Tuesday as Monday is a public holiday in the city) the rest of primary school, 4-6, will go back as well as a full and proper reopening of nurseries.

 

Our rates aren’t low enough for the disease factory to be allowed to be running at full pelt. This gonna be a shitshow and lockdown for adults gonna last for f***ing ever.

 

Downside of a federal system where the central gov has no powers (thanks America for this gift), the stupid states can make stupid choices and ignore what the federal gov says/wants

Cases are irrelevant at this point. It's about hospital admissions and capacity and both figures are practically free-falling as the elderly and vulnerable have been vaccinated.

 

Cases will of course rise sharply when schools go back but if it doesn't cause a massive rise in hospital figures or deaths then that's the most important thing.

Not talking about the UK. Vaccination rates in Germany Are much lower and while we are fully vaccinating everyone that we do vaccinate, the roll out proceeds significantly slower and not all of the most vulnerable are protected yet and so, for now, cases still matter for us.

 

 

Not to mention that as long as case levels remain high then there exists the possibility of new mutations the escape the current vaccine or create a more lethal infection in younger age groups

Cases are irrelevant at this point. It's about hospital admissions and capacity and both figures are practically free-falling as the elderly and vulnerable have been vaccinated.

 

Cases will of course rise sharply when schools go back but if it doesn't cause a massive rise in hospital figures or deaths then that's the most important thing.

 

We need in the UK cases to be as low as possible for many reasons. One, in terms of the science aspect we are the leading country in testing for different virus variants so it allows testing to be much more focused and finding those potentially dangerous mutations. And secondly we don't want high levels of virus in the Under 40s as this could cause a mutation which weakens the vaccination programme.

 

I think what is clear from all the data though is we are in a good place and certainly our vaccine strategy has paid off so far. There is a long way to go yet but after being in such a terrible position 10 weeks ago, we're actually in a good position now if we go with a bit of caution.

I think it's a bit mad about the children (but I also understand it, especially with primary kids) but I feel letting teachers jumo the queue (sorry T Boy not wanting to cause any anguish just my personal opinion) is the wrong thing. Mainly as surely if you vaccinate teachers then you have to vaccinate all the support staff and contractors that might work in the school too. I could totally understand it if we were limited with supplies, but as things currently stand it looks like they might even start jabbing people in their 30s in April.

Well that's all fine, I completely support vaccinations by age group as long as we continue to minimise the risks for everyone unvaccinated.

 

However if opening schools is the government's priority and schools are legally mandated to open next week then school staff and hell, maybe even the kids should be prioritised for the vaccine. As support staff I just do not feel safe and I've been psychologically preparing myself for the very real possibility that I will get covid at some point in the next 3-4 weeks. We should either be supplied with vaccines for staff, or schools should stay shut until after Easter when, like you say, we may well be vaccinating people in their 30s - by which point it really wouldn't be much of a stretch to prioritise... you know, all frontline workers. As it stands I'm expecting a huge spike in cases with the figures showing at approximately 22nd March when we see the results of opening all the superspreader factories on the 8th. For the sake of 2-3 weeks. Not even staggered in England where cases are worst.

 

It just makes me so angry that groups of 6 can't meet in parks until the 29th, people can't go for 1 on 1 haircuts or similar until 12th April... but we can open up poorly ventilated classrooms with 30 kids, many of whom have no concept of hygiene let alone social distancing. Everything else being relaxed is done in order of social contact and risk (roughly) other than schools- if it were in order schools would be the last thing to reopen, possibly being only just before nightclubs and mass gatherings etc.

 

We need in the UK cases to be as low as possible for many reasons. One, in terms of the science aspect we are the leading country in testing for different virus variants so it allows testing to be much more focused and finding those potentially dangerous mutations. And secondly we don't want high levels of virus in the Under 40s as this could cause a mutation which weakens the vaccination programme.

 

I think what is clear from all the data though is we are in a good place and certainly our vaccine strategy has paid off so far. There is a long way to go yet but after being in such a terrible position 10 weeks ago, we're actually in a good position now if we go with a bit of caution.

This is exactly it, we're NOT proceeding with caution in regard to schools. At all.

It does seem they want to have their cake and eat it with regards to schools. They want them open, but not have to take any measures to make them safer and not vaccinate anyone who’s going to be mixing there. I understand wanting to roll it out in age order but school staff are really being put into a difficult situation. England aren’t even getting the staggered return the other nations are all getting, which is making me feel better being in Wales.

 

Tbh even if the propaganda about schools being amazingly safe was true, it’s never even been about the health of the staff. Teachers especially can socially distance in school, it can be more difficult for support staff who are working one to one, and yes, school staff are generally young and healthy enough to not die if they get the virus. But these children are not only in contacts with adults at school, there are families to think about. And if you want schools to return perfectly, you might not get that outcome as when the virus does spread, classes and year groups and even staff will have to go home on the self isolation Merry go round like before Christmas.

 

So I see what Jacob is saying here. You either want schools fully open or you don’t want to vaccinate the staff. It doesn’t make sense to want both at the same time. Remote learning might not be perfect but it is a decent substitute.

 

And can we get rid of the phrase ‘queue jumping’ please? Teachers were slightly hopeful of being prioritised after the first 9 groups, there simply was no queue beyond them until last week. Sorry for the ranting but I get fed up with the vilification of school staff, no one else has received such bile in the past 12 months.

Edited March 2, 20214 yr by T Boy

I think teachers should definitely has been prioritised myself. As they're the ones going back into the situation where transmission is most likely by far. Yes understandably older people are more vulnerable to the risk but for starters they're not really (or shouldn't be!) exposing themselves to situations where they have a reasonable chance to catch it. Even now, a lot of them have been vaccinated and they're still not allowed to meet others etc. so I think it was an oversight. Alternatively they should have just waited until after the Easter holidays to send children back.

The schools all back at once is certainly not a sensible plan I agree.

 

We need in the UK cases to be as low as possible for many reasons. One, in terms of the science aspect we are the leading country in testing for different virus variants so it allows testing to be much more focused and finding those potentially dangerous mutations. And secondly we don't want high levels of virus in the Under 40s as this could cause a mutation which weakens the vaccination programme.

 

And that's why holidays and foreign travel I think are will be a big risk this summer in terms of people going on holiday to countries where virus variant testing isnt so well achieved and bringing variants back to the UK. Since the Government won't introduce hotel quarantine for all travellers (it would also be impractical with too many travellers for it to work during during peak holiday season) , our only hope is that new easier and quicker testing is developed soon for places like airports and that all countries make Covid testing more widespread.

Edited March 2, 20214 yr by TheSnake

Well that's all fine, I completely support vaccinations by age group as long as we continue to minimise the risks for everyone unvaccinated.

 

However if opening schools is the government's priority and schools are legally mandated to open next week then school staff and hell, maybe even the kids should be prioritised for the vaccine. As support staff I just do not feel safe and I've been psychologically preparing myself for the very real possibility that I will get covid at some point in the next 3-4 weeks. We should either be supplied with vaccines for staff, or schools should stay shut until after Easter when, like you say, we may well be vaccinating people in their 30s - by which point it really wouldn't be much of a stretch to prioritise... you know, all frontline workers. As it stands I'm expecting a huge spike in cases with the figures showing at approximately 22nd March when we see the results of opening all the superspreader factories on the 8th. For the sake of 2-3 weeks. Not even staggered in England where cases are worst.

 

It just makes me so angry that groups of 6 can't meet in parks until the 29th, people can't go for 1 on 1 haircuts or similar until 12th April... but we can open up poorly ventilated classrooms with 30 kids, many of whom have no concept of hygiene let alone social distancing. Everything else being relaxed is done in order of social contact and risk (roughly) other than schools- if it were in order schools would be the last thing to reopen, possibly being only just before nightclubs and mass gatherings etc.

 

This is exactly it, we're NOT proceeding with caution in regard to schools. At all.

 

But this is my whole entire point about school support staff in terms of the immunisation group it's a minefield. The clamour in the media and even from the likes of Labour has been to vaccinate teachers. My point being, that if you end up vaccinating teachers then people are also forgetting about all the support and contractor staff that come with it. While I support school staff being vaccinated where does it then stop? You'll soon have all the big Unions saying that other public services and key workers in factories and supermarkets should be vaccinated. So while I do sympathise, in terms of the science and methodology it makes sense in terms of risk.

 

Schools is a tough one, I'd be in favour of them going back after Easter but it's not my call, it does all seem a bit pointless though with Easter on the horizon.