Coronavirus

[RogerS]

I don’t get this widespread aversion to experts, whether you call them academics or scientists. You wouldn’t get an elected politician to advise you on how to make a dovetailed drawer.

Everybody knows that Cummings' behavioural scientist knows much more about viruses than any virologist. /s

.

I wouldn't expect them to. It's not their area of expertise.

 

[AES]

Yeah, but NOT mixed with sauerkraut please ;-)

 

[Phil Pascoe]

For anyone who has bought more flour than they know what to do with, bear in mind that it will contain moth and weevil larvae ...

We don't all live in Greece.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

....
I still like the idea of tattoos by post, and how do you do private escort services without customer involvement?....

Ah, well...that's where AES's bratwurst comes in :wink:

I'm sorry, but I don't understand. Could you explain, please?

 

[AES]

No.

 

[MusicMan]

You do not know in which country and indeed on which continent a vaccine will be first developed. Scientific knowledge is promulgated on paper these days or even more quickly on this internet thingy. The point about scientific knowledge is that it can be replicated. I suggest that a far more likely scenario is that once the method of producing a vaccine has been made known, its manufacture will be taken up in any country which is technically capable thereof.

AndyKev is quite right in what he says above. I am a very senior, though retired, scientist/bloodyacademic/bloodypubliccompanyCTO. I'm still active in various national scientific committees and know some of the people involved. One of them, an Oxford professor who is part of the team working on coronavirus, tells me that international cooperation on this problem is fantastic. The Chinese scientists were open about their discoveries from the very start, its structural biology was shared globally as soon as it was determined, hundreds of thousands of existing approved drugs have been 'trialled' by computer modelling against the virus structure and everyone knows the results (possible antiviral drugs have been identified, and are now being tested like mad) with results shared on vaccine development too. Of course every scientist and every company would like to be first, but that is not stopping the sharing of information and ideas. And I don't get the impression that it is resource limited.

It's basically up to the politicians to keep as many of us as possible alive until this kicks in, taking the best scientific advice that they can. And much though I loathe BoJo&Co, it does look as though this is what they are doing. The isolation of elderly and otherwise vulnerable people for several months until the peak has passed (which is when herd immunity has kicked in) makes very good sense to me and I intend to follow this advice whether it becomes law or not.

There are a number of very good articles and videos on the website of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for anyone wishing to study this further. I suspect that the epidemiologists in the UK are actually about the best that are around. A legacy of the days of the Empire; they have been combatting epidemics longer and in more countries than anyone.

 

[Marineboy]

And of course the Guardian has no political bias whatsoever, does it?

Corona is a matter of virology and the practical response to it. The Guardian article is an attempt to colour the debate politically.

Science, ethically carried out, is utterly honest. Politics is never that. The only question is the extent of the dishonesty in any particular political stance. As it happens the realities of virology mean that we don't have much time to waste indulging in the low arts of politics, although I suppose that it does give the hopelessly ill-informed something to do.

I guess you’re saying I’m ill-informed. So be it. And of course everything in the Guardian is wrong because it’s left leaning, so people can chose to ignore inconvenient truths.

Politics determines how ethically carried out science is applied. Eg Trump’s denial of climate change. And the politics of Brexit means that we are less prepared than we would be to deal with the virus. The article makes it clear that this is not an opinion, but fact.

Pity you didn't research a little bit inmore detail the agenda and qualifications of the three 'experts' in that Guardian article.

Martin Mckee - the only 'medic/scientist' as such and has many, many anti-Brexit articles to his name. So no bias there then.

The other two are lawyers...carefully chosen, no doubt, to provide that 'balanced viewpoint' that the Guardian is renowned for.

The only ‘medic/scientist as such’ is a professor and so better qualified than me and, I suspect, you. The legal perspective is relevant because the whole EMA thing is about the framework which used to facilitate our access to medicines and now doesn’t.

However, pretty pointless to continue this exchange. It all depends on your particular weltanschauung.

 

[RogerS]

I guess you’re saying I’m ill-informed. So be it. And of course everything in the Guardian is wrong because it’s left leaning, so people can chose to ignore inconvenient truths.

Politics determines how ethically carried out science is applied. Eg Trump’s denial of climate change. And the politics of Brexit means that we are less prepared than we would be to deal with the virus. The article makes it clear that this is not an opinion, but fact.

Pity you didn't research a little bit inmore detail the agenda and qualifications of the three 'experts' in that Guardian article.

Martin Mckee - the only 'medic/scientist' as such and has many, many anti-Brexit articles to his name. So no bias there then.

The other two are lawyers...carefully chosen, no doubt, to provide that 'balanced viewpoint' that the Guardian is renowned for.

The only ‘medic/scientist as such’ is a professor and so better qualified than me and, I suspect, you. The legal perspective is relevant because the whole EMA thing is about the framework which used to facilitate our access to medicines and now doesn’t.

However, pretty pointless to continue this exchange. It all depends on your particular weltanschauung.

I cast no aspersions about his qualifications but where he was coming from within the Brexit context. So that will colour his judgement...like it or not. Ditto the lawyers. Do you really think that the Guardian would use Nigel Farage as their contributor on Brexit ? They will choose those contributors whose bratwurst aligns with the theirs.

 

[That would work]

And there was me thinking that all this would divert us from Brexit!
=D>

 

[That would work]

Anyway, being serious for a moment... a trip to Aldi and then Asda hoping to stock up on chickpeas and got ONE can from Aldi
Plenty of wholemeal basmatti though. Looks like I'll be using that pile of newspapers :lol:

 

[lurker]

The benefit of all this panic buying for the lurker household is we might destock our shelves.
For example, the comment from TWW reminds me we have two tins of chick peas that are at least two years old.

 

[Doug B]

Life with a corona virus fatalist :lol:

For the present Mrs B panic buying is now so last week which is fortunate as we don’t have a cupboard or closet that you could squeeze a single baked bean in let alone a whole tin, :? she’s also moved through cataloging all are financial records, bank accounts etc that will make up our estates after our inevitable deaths so the children can have as smooth a transition as possible.

This mornings breakfast conversation, including note pad, moved on to covering funeral plans & any special requests :shock: I can honestly say I’ve never felt so prepared & organised for anything just a shame it depends on me drawing my final breath

When I finally thought there’s was nothing else to sort she dropped the bombshell, did I not think it would be a good idea to catalogue all the tools & machinery in my workshop :shock: :shock:
This took a while to sink in, yes the children have no interest or idea of the worth of the shops contents & yes it would be a good idea to have a list of everything & yes there are possibly tools I might have forgotten about, but really catalogue all of it.

Then a glimmer of light, who needs self isolation by the time I’ve finished all that cataloging we’ll be onto our next global catastrophe always a silver lining.

Pass me another corona ccasion5:

 

[MusicMan]

So now you have an excuse to spend all your time in the workshop.
"Just getting on with the cataloguing, dear".
- "why are you making things then?"
"Oh I do have to check that this tool is working properly or I might just as well scrap it".

I think a lot of us oldies will be doing a lot of "cataloguing" in the coming months!

 

[AES]

Because I'm in much the same age group I've been saying "I MUST catalogue the shop" for at least a couple of years now. "Finished it yet?" "Nah, not even started properly"

And doubt I will have before the present catastrophe has been forgotten and we're half way into the next.

But it DOES make sense when you're "our age" though, especially when you have no one to leave it all to.

Ah well.

 

[Lons]

I think a lot of us oldies will be doing a lot of "cataloguing" in the coming months!

I've been doing it for the last 18 months. Or to be accurate I started it 18 months ago with the intention of photographing and valuing anything important. I did manage 1 page so far. :wink: Now where did I put it?

 

[Rorschach]

I'll be spending plenty of time in the workshop, my worry is no-one will be buying what I make as Iam in the luxury goods market. This year could be a tricky one.

 

[RogerS]

Life with a corona virus fatalist :lol:

For the present Mrs B panic buying is now so last week which is fortunate as we don’t have a cupboard or closet that you could squeeze a single baked bean in let alone a whole tin, :? she’s also moved through cataloging all are financial records, bank accounts etc that will make up our estates after our inevitable deaths so the children can have as smooth a transition as possible.

This mornings breakfast conversation, including note pad, moved on to covering funeral plans & any special requests :shock: I can honestly say I’ve never felt so prepared & organised for anything just a shame it depends on me drawing my final breath

When I finally thought there’s was nothing else to sort she dropped the bombshell, did I not think it would be a good idea to catalogue all the tools & machinery in my workshop :shock: :shock:
This took a while to sink in, yes the children have no interest or idea of the worth of the shops contents & yes it would be a good idea to have a list of everything & yes there are possibly tools I might have forgotten about, but really catalogue all of it.

Then a glimmer of light, who needs self isolation by the time I’ve finished all that cataloging we’ll be onto our next global catastrophe always a silver lining.

Pass me another corona ccasion5:

I really hope you are joking ! :shock:

 

[cookiemonster]

I'll be spending plenty of time in the workshop, my worry is no-one will be buying what I make as Iam in the luxury goods market. This year could be a tricky one.

There must be an opportunity in here somewhere. Something like, if your customers have to spend months on end indoors in self-isolation then they will want to spend it in the company of some top quality furniture? Anyhow, the best of luck to you.

 

[Chris152]

Help me think this one through? It's back to the schools staying open question.

If 'Delay' really is the goal, why doesn't the govt explicitly give people the option to keep their kids home? Those kids staying home are less likely to get it, and those that continue going to school for whatever reason (parents in essential work/ NHS etc) are less crammed in, exposed to fewer people and therefore less likely to get it and take it home. The teachers would be less exposed, too.

 

[thick_mike]

Because they want the kids to get it. The delay part is for those groups that might require hospitalisation, young people get mild symptoms and they are relying on those that have had the virus being immune to reinfection. As a teacher, I’m on the front line of this as I will be surrounded by hundreds of viral fermentors. Many of my colleagues are in vulnerable groups, but will be exposed to the virus through contact with the students we teach.