Boris genuinely looks half awake and just fully not bothered about being there. Just holding out till after Christmas?
Rayner is raising issues faced by care homes, e.g., STILL poor access to testing and PPE
PM says just in recent days there has been a 'colossal spike' in demand for testing. Couldn't have seen that coming, what with schools returning and all
Then brags about the UK testing 'more than any other European country'.
Why is that a brag?! Random scatter-gun approach to testing is just making a huge mess of our approach, IMO
Boris is very clearly not listening to Rayner. He is just saying what he had planned to say at this #PMQs, with basically zero flexibility.
Rayner now discussing those who are dying alone in care homes @JohnCampaign, and also mothers giving birth, or miscarrying, alone in UK hospitals.
Boris says he agrees& that's why they changed the rules
[nb I know that, in Wales at least, you have to be 4cm dilated before your partner can attend. A friend of mine had a very traumatic birth, fulled by the fact she had no one with her to vouch for her & help w/communication]
I am genuinely shocked that I'm saying this, but, Rayner appears to be doing pretty well. There, I said it.
GOD most MPs are boring aren't they. Like automatons.
'We need more testing lalalala'
It's as if there are no other issues in the world.
Finally Ed Davey with a proper question about support for disabled children being trashed during lockdown
He goes on to say the Coronavirus Act broke international law in reducing the rights of disabled people.
Someone gave him a Red Bull - Boris now all animated talking about broadband.
Q by MP about increasing capacity for wedding venues to save the industry
PM: says he 'appreciates the concerns' but 'the trouble is there's an increase int he risk involved, and we simply have to balance that risk against what we're seeing now..
... we will work as fast as possible.. to take all these restrictions off..' but that the public 'all need to work together'
Boris just rolled out that bogus stat about how far people are travelling for a test now (5 miles on average, apparently)
Of course, this only includes those who *actually went and made the journey*, because they weren't offered a test in Aberdeen whilst living in Portsmouth
That's it, all over.
But hang tight - Boris faces the Liaison Committee (Commons) from 15301700 today:
"... as well as for the impact of vaccines on severe outcomes.
Reevaluating these assumptions as more data on the real-world effectiveness of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccine on infection and transmission come in will help to clarify the potential impact of Steps 1–4"
Imperial - a head-scratcher:
"Assuming optimistic vaccine efficacy, even if 2.7M vaccine doses/week.. to 1 August (2.0M thereafter), only 44.6% of the popn. will be protected against severe disease (due to vaccination/recovery from infection) by 21 June" assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
Government introduced measure after measure, restriction after restriction, which it claimed would all definitely help, with no discussion about the potential harms.. (2/10)
(Excellent piece on the damage caused by failing to acknowledge uncertainty here) bmj.com/content/371/bm…
Since March I have believed lockdowns will be more damaging to long-term public health than Covid.
Eventually, as the public are slowly exposed to such counterarguments, the government runs the serious risk of undermining public confidence... (3/10)
Main finding is a non-significant difference in infection rates between groups (those advised to follow social distancing only, vs those advised to follow social distancing AND wear a surgical mask when outside the home)
Those in the mask group were given 50 surgical-grade masks for a 1 month period, plus instructions on their proper use.
Masks: 3 layer, disposable, surgical face masks (TYPE II EN 14683 [Abena]; filtration rate, 98%).
Mask use is uncommon in the community in Denmark (<5%).
Public health measures at the time incd quarantining infected people, social distancing, limiting social interactions, hand hygiene, limiting visitors in hospitals & nursing homes. Shops & public transport remained open. Cafés and restaurants were closed during part of the study.
Currently, both 'sides' attempt to delegitimise the other's viewpoints by describing them in the extreme;
'Lockdowns until vaccine' vs. 'let it rip'
I won't get into those issues, but wanted to show that this has never been clear cut.
How has SAGE guidance evolved over time?👇
March 4: “School closures will be highly disruptive and likely to present an unequal burden to different sections of society... [SAGE] have divergent opinions on the impact of not applying widescale social isolation at the same time as recommending isolation to at-risk groups...
.. One view is that explaining that members of the community are building some immunity will make this acceptable. Another view is that recommending isolation to only one section of society risks causing discontent."
Point of order raised by the opposition, that Hancock said a week ago that there was a trial about Vitamin D in coronavirus and there was no effect. He was in fact talking about a review of secondary evidence, and indeed it looks like there is an effect
Hancock now talking about coronavirus restrictions, balance, etc. Interrupted -
MP - asks that parliament by involved in any future lockdown decisions
Characteristics of people testing positive for COVID-19 in England, September 2020 - @ONS
- Increases in least deprived areas
- Mostly aged <35
- Higher rates from those who travelled abroad
- Asian/Asian British people more likely to have antibodies
In people aged under 35, positivity rates increased amongst those reporting having had 'socially-distanced direct contact' with 6 or more people aged 18-69
"In recent weeks, positivity rates have been higher amongst people who have travelled, although rates have increased in both groups. Credible intervals are wide in those who have travelled abroad"