UK to lift restrictions. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/world/europe/boris-johnson-coronavirus-england.html Boris Johnson Moves to Lift Coronavirus Restrictions in England The British prime minister is shifting toward a strategy of living with Covid-19. Critics argue that the move is too soon, even as case numbers fall. LONDON — After almost two years of restrictions, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain said on Monday that it was time to live with the coronavirus, announcing an end to England’s remaining legal curbs and most free testing, and making his country an outlier in its handling of the pandemic. Although careful not to declare the country’s health crisis officially over, Mr. Johnson sought to put the country firmly on the path to normalcy, albeit just a day after an announcement that Queen Elizabeth II had tested positive for the virus. Some critics say that news underscores the risks of moving too quickly to scrap restrictions, while political opponents say that decisions are being taken in Downing Street to distract attention from a police investigation into whether Mr. Johnson broke the coronavirus laws he himself set. However the statement is another political landmark for Mr. Johnson, putting his government ahead of most others in Europe in the speed with which it hopes to return to normal life. Having initially claimed the virus would be sent packing in 12 weeks, Mr. Johnson — who was himself hospitalized after being infected in 2020 — withdrew many restrictions last year but was later forced to reintroduce some to cope with the arrival of the Omicron variant. The new plan means that, starting Thursday, routine contact tracing will end and those who test positive will no longer be legally obliged to isolate themselves, although they will be urged to do so. The supply of free tests, which are currently available widely, will end on April 1 for all except the most vulnerable, effectively forcing people to pay to find out whether or not they are infected. Enhanced sick pay to support those suffering from the coronavirus will end in late March. Speaking to Parliament, Mr. Johnson said he was setting out a strategy for living with the coronavirus, rather than declaring the pandemic at an end. “It is time that we got our confidence back, we don’t need laws to compel people to be considerate to others, we can rely on that sense of responsibility toward one another,” Mr. Johnson said. He added: “Let us learn to live with this virus.” Wishing Queen Elizabeth a speedy recovery, Mr. Johnson said that her illness was a reminder that “the virus has not gone away.” But, he said, “Whilst the pandemic is not over we have now passed the peak of the Omicron wave.” The rules, which still need approval in Parliament, would apply only to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own powers over health issues and make their own rules and have usually been more cautious. Even some of Mr. Johnson’s own lawmakers have expressed concern about the new strategy, particularly because of the restriction on the availability of free tests. On Monday, a cabinet discussion on the details of the move to end most free testing was temporarily delayed at the last moment, with news reports saying there had been differences among ministers about the continuing costs of coronavirus measures. Over the weekend, Mr. Johnson said testing was costing taxpayers around 2 billion pounds, or $2.7 billion, a month. Tim Loughton, a Conservative member of Parliament, said the country had to “learn to live with Covid and not lock everything down and retreat until it goes away.” But, speaking before the announcement, he told the BBC that he had “slight apprehensions in that I think we still do need to have testing available widely, because I think that is the reassurance people can have that they’ve taken all possible precautions and they don’t want to infect other people.” The health secretary, Sajid Javid, said earlier Monday that a second booster vaccination would be offered to adults 75 and over, people living in care homes and those 12 and older who suffer from conditions that suppress their immune systems. “We know immunity to Covid-19 begins to wane over time,” Mr. Javid said in a statement. “That’s why we’re offering a spring booster to those people at higher risk of serious Covid-19 to make sure they maintain a high level of protection.” So far almost 38 million Britons have had all three shots that have already been offered. Medical professionals have urged the government to take a cautious approach, and there was a warning from the government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, who said he expected further variants and added that “they could be more severe.” The current restrictions were scheduled to expire on March 24 and, given his precarious political position, Mr. Johnson might have struggled to persuade legislators from his own Conservative Party to agree to any extension of the legal requirement to self-isolate, with fines for those who break the rules. Some on the libertarian wing of Mr. Johnson’s would like the government to withdraw its current guidance to wear face coverings in crowded and confined spaces, given the falling case numbers, though the government did not announce that step on Monday. Nonethethess, Ian Blackford, leader of the Scottish National Party’s lawmakers in the British Parliament, accused Mr. Johnson of appeasing right-wing lawmakers whose support he may need to keep his job if the police investigation concludes that he broke coronavirus laws. “This statement is not about protecting the public it’s about the prime minister scrambling to save his own skin, Mr. Blackford said. Few dispute that the pandemic is receding in Britain, and the latest available statistics show 38,409 daily cases and 15 deaths within 28 days of a positive test. But the main opposition Labour Party called on the government to publish the scientific evidence behind its decision-making. “This is a half-baked announcement from a government paralyzed by chaos and incompetence” said Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, who criticized the decision to end free testing to most people. The government, Mr. Starmer said, was advancing “an approach which seems to think that living with Covid means simply ignoring it.”
Also Australia opens it's borders to international travel. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-60457735 Covid: Australia's border reopens to international visitors Australia has reopened its international border for the first time in nearly two years, bringing joyful family reunions and a boost to tourism. The country imposed some of the world's strictest travel bans after shutting itself off in March 2020 due to Covid. Australians and some others were allowed to return from late last year, but most foreigners have had to wait. There were tearful reunions at Sydney Airport on Monday as hundreds of people began arriving on flights. One young girl, Charlotte, shared an emotional hug with her grandfather. She told the local Nine Network: "I've missed him so much and I've looked forward to this trip for so long." Double-jabbed visitors do not need to quarantine, but unvaccinated travellers must do so in a hotel for up to 14 days at their own expense. More than 50 international flights were due to land on Monday. Travellers can enter all states except Western Australia, which remains closed until 3 March and will require three jabs. "What wonderful, wonderful news for our tourism industry and the 660,000 people employed in it," said Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan. Australia had about 9.5 million overseas visitors in 2019. Mr Tehan said he hoped for a strong rebound in the tourism sector, which has been hit by domestic travel bans too. The country's strict measures drew criticism for separating families and stifling businesses, but they were also credited with preventing many deaths before vaccines were available. Australia has had about 4,900 Covid deaths.
Peer reviewed. Moderna mRNA large study covering Delta and Omicron. It is NOT accurate to say vaccine doesn't protect against infection. VE against infection is 47% against Omicron when boosted. Very low VE (6% at > 270 days) when not boosted. Much lower, as expected, for immunocompromised. VE against hospitalization remains very strong. 85% against Omicron un-boosted. Nearly 100% boosted. This is across the entire study population. I think that covers immunocompromised also (great news!), but not totally sure. VE against infection 2-dose 61% (>270 days) against Delta; started at 80%, 69% at 90+ days 6% (>270 days) against Omicron; started at 44%, 23% at 90+ days 3-dose 86% (>60 days) against Delta; started at 95% 47% (>60 days) against Omicron; started at 70% < 65, 71% > 65, 64% Immunocompromised, 29% Not Immunocompromised, 70% VE against hospitalization 2-dose 99.0% against Delta 84.5% against Omicron 3-dose 99.7% against Delta 99.2% against Omicron *** number of hospitalized was so low, waning couldn't be measured *** s41591-022-01753-y_reference.pdf (nature.com)
The protection against hospitalization is awesome, a massive amount of disease was just prevented, a lot of lives were just saved, a lot of hospitals got a huge relief during this omicron wave. That's important for everyone to acknowledge. A fully vaccinated person being 23% protected after 90+ days (w/Moderna a stronger dose than Phizer) is something, but how much will it continue to wane over time, and is it enough to make policy regarding covid passports, restrictions, mandates and ultimately segregating our country over? I think that's a hard sell, especially considering the number of unvaccinated people who have been infected and now have high levels of covid immunity. Another good question is when are going to start considering previously infected people to have the same immunity protections legally as people who've had a shot, with the number of strong studies we have. It would be great to see the numbers, I think after the omicron wave there are relatively very few unvaccinated people without previous infection. Between vaccines and infections, hopefully, life can get back to normal for the country.
Thanks, does this study compare efficacy of the vaccines by age of the vaccinated person? I read today that the CDC does not disclose these statistics because "they fear they could raise doubts about the effectiveness of the vaccines". https://nypost.com/2022/02/22/cdc-withholding-covid-data-over-fears-of-misinterpretation/
the data needs to break it down by the combination of factors of race, age, weight, health and obviously not who they voted for
It does. The study population is 18-75+ with some immunocompromised. Pleasantly surprised. Quoting myself: "VE against hospitalization remains very strong. 85% against Omicron un-boosted. Nearly 100% boosted. This is across the entire study population. I think that covers immunocompromised also (great news!), but not totally sure." EDIT - so looks like immunocompromised was excluded from VE against hospitalization probably due to lack of data. My takeaway (back to my assumption and past data) is immunocompromised is still at high risk relative to immunocompetent.
Again, so what if they do it 02/25 or 03/02? If they were doing it a week before midterms, you could read something into that, but for the SOTU it's no big game changer.
In your opinion, what do you think the advantage is? Biden can say something positive about COVID mandates (if there is positive news) but it's not going to gain him any votes this far out.
I don't know if mandates can help if the machines take over but i wouldn't mind Skynet ruling over Biden or Harris, Skynet is pretty smart
New CDC mask guidelines: New CDC Covid-19 metrics drop strong mask recommendations for most of the country https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/25/health/cdc-covid-metrics-mask-guidance/index.html
