So, coronavirus...

[Uncle fester]

So frustrating that it's become a culture war left/right battleground.

[GogLais]

As long as we're holding ministers to account in Parliament...

Answer the bloody question! I’m not one of these people that thinks that all Tory politicians are useless crooked morons but they don’t help themselves sometimes.

[dpedin]

So frustrating that it's become a culture war left/right battleground.

Don't disagree, it would have been good to see all the parties wearing masks but its harsh on Labour/SNP/Greens/LD etc to suggest they have any role in making it a 'culture war' when all they are doing is following the Govs own advice/guidance. The only ones trying to make a culture war out of this are the Tory Twats who refuse to follow simple basic PH advice in the HoC. Just listen to the twat JRM try and make a joke out of the lack of mask wearing by his party in the HoC and seen by everyone the Health minister was telling to mask up in his briefing. They have basically succumbed to the right wing, Brexit Ultra twats in their own party who see sensible PH guidance as an attack on their 'freedoms' and individual sovereignty. Just how many additional deaths this will result in is anyones guess.

[Paddington Bear]

Worth pointing out Labour didn’t wear masks at their own conference and by all accounts don’t in committee rooms without cameras. 100% everyone is playing politics with this

[dpedin]

Worth pointing out Labour didn’t wear masks at their own conference and by all accounts don’t in committee rooms without cameras. 100% everyone is playing politics with this

Possibly ... but just reflecting what I see and hear on tv with coverage of PMQs and HoC debates. Small group meetings in Committee rooms I can see an argument for not wearing masks assuming everyone is doing their LFTs and the rooms aren't crowded, ventilated, etc a bit like being on your own office? I know feck all about the conferences, I wasn't there and didn't see them. The point being that they are hardly setting an example for the public at large and the contradiction between what they were telling us to do yesterday and what they do themselves is hardly the leadership required in the pandemic. For JRM to say what he did was just awful!

[GrahamWa]

You become eligible 6 months after the second jab, at least here in Scotland.

You might be eligible (I am, 6 months and 3 days) but you need to wait on your health board inviting you to get it. According to my surgery they are still hoping to get the flu jab invites out by the end of October, so not holding out much hope. I understand the Health Board (in NHS Highland anyway) are sending out the letters directly. I suppose I am happy that they are targeting the more at risk first, but just say we'll get to you as soon as we can don't put an arbitrary date on it that can't be met.

I had my flu jab a couple of weeks ago as requested by NHS Highland but being a portly fellow and over 50, I am towards the front of the queue. She who must be obeyed is also over 50, no weight and health issues, also got jabbed too. We went on the 2nd day of the 3 day event at Black Isle Showground and it was empty. No queues, etc. Those workign there said people were coming in on time, etc and it went swimmingly well.

Same, but trying hard to lose the chunk. My wife has her flu jab this weekend, no appointment for me yet. The booster programme seemingly was all set up for the GPs to run in Argyll and Bute and then the board said they couldn't afford for GPs to inject. Fair enough, it should be a set OT rate for everyone doing the same job. .

For the COVID-booster:

In the Highland council area:

• A large number of people will be vaccinated at their GP practice
• Some people will be vaccinated in board run clinics

In the Argyll and Bute Council area:

• The majority of people will be vaccinated in board-run clinics
• A small number of island GP practices will be administering the COVID-19 booster to their patients: Islay, Jura, Tiree, Colonsay, Coll and Bute

For both the flu and COVID-19 booster, patients will be appointed locally either by their GP practice or by the board. There is no need to contact your GP practice or the board to arrange your appointment. You will receive an invite in due course.

The national appointment system will not be used. In some areas, drop-in clinics may be used. When this is the case, details of these clinics will be shared in advance on the NHS Highland website.

https://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/New ... hland.aspx

[Sandstorm]

UK will be on everyone else’s Red list in a minute. The skiing holidays are going to have to happen in Scotland this Xmas.

[sturginho]

How do these people manage to get dressed in the morning?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 3.html?amp

[dpedin]

Lab test errors blamed for high cases in south-west England
Immensa Health Clinic Laboratory

The update on when incorrect Covid test results began being processed comes after an investigation was launched into a private testing lab in Wolverhampton.

It took more than a month to identify the failings that led to an estimated 43,000 people being given the wrong results from PCR tests - and now we know there was an additional six-day gap.

Most of the people affected live in the south-west of England, and the false negative test results have been blamed for high infection rates in the region by local councils.

The error may have meant that thousands of people were wrongly told to stop isolating and may have infected others.

Launching an investigation last week, head of NHS Test and Trace Dr Jenny Harries said it was "not clear yet" what had gone wrong at the lab run by Immensa Health Clinic.

This is just seriously unbelievable. An additional 6 day gap and our Head of Test and Trace says she's not clear yet about what went wrong! I doubt very very seriously that this would have happened in an NHS or an established and fully accredited private lab, it wouldn't have continued for so long and if there had been problem it would have been investigated asap and reported on. Has there been any clarity on if the lab had been properly accredited and inspected and if not an explanation why not? Even folk on Twitter were pointing out the case number discrepancies in the SW and were asking questions about the data way before the lab feck up was announced. Where were all the usual QA controls and processes you would find as normal in any NHS lab?

Bottom line is given the numbers involved that there will have been a number of avoidable deaths resulting from this lab failure. The whole process from awarding the contract to the newly established lab company to the reporting of what went wrong once the feck up was discovered needs to be subject to a serious investigation. Anyone any faith that this is going to happen? Feckin scandalous ... no feckin criminal!

On a similar theme can anyone explain why London has a significantly lower number of cases (4342) yesterday compared to South East (7704) and East (5592) regions that surround it? London has the lowest case numbers per 100k pop over the last 30 days of any region in the UK by some margin, about 50-60% of the UK average of cases per 100k pop.

[Happyhooker]

Lab test errors blamed for high cases in south-west England
Immensa Health Clinic Laboratory

The update on when incorrect Covid test results began being processed comes after an investigation was launched into a private testing lab in Wolverhampton.

It took more than a month to identify the failings that led to an estimated 43,000 people being given the wrong results from PCR tests - and now we know there was an additional six-day gap.

Most of the people affected live in the south-west of England, and the false negative test results have been blamed for high infection rates in the region by local councils.

The error may have meant that thousands of people were wrongly told to stop isolating and may have infected others.

Launching an investigation last week, head of NHS Test and Trace Dr Jenny Harries said it was "not clear yet" what had gone wrong at the lab run by Immensa Health Clinic.

This is just seriously unbelievable. An additional 6 day gap and our Head of Test and Trace says she's not clear yet about what went wrong! I doubt very very seriously that this would have happened in an NHS or an established and fully accredited private lab, it wouldn't have continued for so long and if there had been problem it would have been investigated asap and reported on. Has there been any clarity on if the lab had been properly accredited and inspected and if not an explanation why not? Even folk on Twitter were pointing out the case number discrepancies in the SW and were asking questions about the data way before the lab feck up was announced. Where were all the usual QA controls and processes you would find as normal in any NHS lab?

Bottom line is given the numbers involved that there will have been a number of avoidable deaths resulting from this lab failure. The whole process from awarding the contract to the newly established lab company to the reporting of what went wrong once the feck up was discovered needs to be subject to a serious investigation. Anyone any faith that this is going to happen? Feckin scandalous ... no feckin criminal!

On a similar theme can anyone explain why London has a significantly lower number of cases (4342) yesterday compared to South East (7704) and East (5592) regions that surround it? London has the lowest case numbers per 100k pop over the last 30 days of any region in the UK by some margin, about 50-60% of the UK average of cases per 100k pop.

Cos of our convivial, fraternal spirit, innit.

[tabascoboy]

Our (Con) MP is raising the issue of the lack of sites open for the booster jab in our borough and in my town only one small pharmacy has to serve all those who are eligible in a population of 45 000 and the entire constituency area of 115 000!. Not helped by the fact that most of the previously used centres have long reopened for normal commercial business...

[Sandstorm]

Our (Con) MP is raising the issue of the lack of sites open for the booster jab in our borough and in my town only one small pharmacy has to serve all those who are eligible in a population of 45 000 and the entire constituency area of 115 000!. Not helped by the fact that most of the previously used centres have long reopened for normal commercial business...

Jabs have been removed from public responsibility (NHS Surgeries) and put into the hands of the public sector (pharmacies)

Which is always the Tory way…..

[dpedin]

[Uncle fester]

https://www.phi.org/press/breakthrough- ... rotection/

Bit concerning, isn't it!

[Sandstorm]

https://www.phi.org/press/breakthrough- ... rotection/

Bit concerning, isn't it!

That J&J vaccine is as bad as the Chinese version.

[Hal Jordan]

Me and the wife have joined the ranks. Her yesterday, high fever and general crappiness, me today, largely with no symptoms (yet).

Given that neither of us is on a ventilator, struggling to breathe one shouldn't feel sorry for oneself, but it's fucked up our half term plans with the kids, and my seven year old is scared because he's picking up on the news and general sentiment at large, poor lad.

[dpedin]

[Calculon]

Was this lab thing incompetence or malicious? Hard to believe 43000 wrong results could be down to incompetence only

[Biffer]

Was this lab thing incompetence or malicious? Hard to believe 43000 wrong results could be down to incompetence only

I find it very easy to believe tbh.

[Calculon]

Surely well before the 43000 someone must have noticed the results look a bit suspicious and thought, "hmmm, let's check the protocol again". I've mentioned before, I used to do PCR ID commercially in South Africa and while it was on nowhere near the scale of these operations, I'm still dumbfounded as to how it happened

[Biffer]

Surely well before the 43000 someone must have noticed the results look a bit suspicious and thought, "hmmm, let's check the protocol again". I've mentioned before, I used to do PCR ID commercially in South Africa and while it was on nowhere near the scale of these operations, I'm still dumbfounded as to how it happened

Prioritising cost over quality assurance. Group think, overconfidence in your procedure.

You're also making the assumption that someone in government understands the numbers. It may have taken a week or ten days to convince them and then the same length of time to convince their boss. There's also an assumption that someone in government is looking at trends in this way. It was amateur statisticians on twitter that brought a focus to it, not government analysis.

[Calculon]

Surely well before the 43000 someone must have noticed the results look a bit suspicious and thought, "hmmm, let's check the protocol again". I've mentioned before, I used to do PCR ID commercially in South Africa and while it was on nowhere near the scale of these operations, I'm still dumbfounded as to how it happened

Prioritising cost over quality assurance. Group think, overconfidence in your procedure.

You're also making the assumption that someone in government understands the numbers. It may have taken a week or ten days to convince them and then the same length of time to convince their boss. There's also an assumption that someone in government is looking at trends in this way. It was amateur statisticians on twitter that brought a focus to it, not government analysis.

I'm assuming someone at the the actual lab doing the testing is recording, archiving and doing some basic analysis of the results

[fishfoodie]

Surely well before the 43000 someone must have noticed the results look a bit suspicious and thought, "hmmm, let's check the protocol again". I've mentioned before, I used to do PCR ID commercially in South Africa and while it was on nowhere near the scale of these operations, I'm still dumbfounded as to how it happened

Prioritising cost over quality assurance. Group think, overconfidence in your procedure.

You're also making the assumption that someone in government understands the numbers. It may have taken a week or ten days to convince them and then the same length of time to convince their boss. There's also an assumption that someone in government is looking at trends in this way. It was amateur statisticians on twitter that brought a focus to it, not government analysis.

I'm assuming someone at the the actual lab doing the testing is recording, archiving and doing some basic analysis of the results

You can certainly assume that !

... in the same way you can assume that someone did a due diligence before awarding them a contract.

[Calculon]

Tbf, I don't know the time period involved. If it happened over a short period it could be more excusable.

[Slick]

Surely well before the 43000 someone must have noticed the results look a bit suspicious and thought, "hmmm, let's check the protocol again". I've mentioned before, I used to do PCR ID commercially in South Africa and while it was on nowhere near the scale of these operations, I'm still dumbfounded as to how it happened

Prioritising cost over quality assurance. Group think, overconfidence in your procedure.

You're also making the assumption that someone in government understands the numbers. It may have taken a week or ten days to convince them and then the same length of time to convince their boss. There's also an assumption that someone in government is looking at trends in this way. It was amateur statisticians on twitter that brought a focus to it, not government analysis.

I'm assuming someone at the the actual lab doing the testing is recording, archiving and doing some basic analysis of the results

Wasn’t it a new thing to this company that they were completely unsuited to doing?

[Biffer]

Surely well before the 43000 someone must have noticed the results look a bit suspicious and thought, "hmmm, let's check the protocol again". I've mentioned before, I used to do PCR ID commercially in South Africa and while it was on nowhere near the scale of these operations, I'm still dumbfounded as to how it happened

Prioritising cost over quality assurance. Group think, overconfidence in your procedure.

You're also making the assumption that someone in government understands the numbers. It may have taken a week or ten days to convince them and then the same length of time to convince their boss. There's also an assumption that someone in government is looking at trends in this way. It was amateur statisticians on twitter that brought a focus to it, not government analysis.

I'm assuming someone at the the actual lab doing the testing is recording, archiving and doing some basic analysis of the results

I wouldn't assume that unless they're being paid to do it. Which they won't be.

[dpedin]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13900590/ ... ght-booze/

January 2021.

[Line6 HXFX]

The Mrs ward has gone Covid again. Thought wesaw the back of this.
Brings back memories of the worry and stress of last time, and to think she did it with little or no PPE, no vaccinations and testing, with patients coughing all around here and the air thick of it.

You honestly don't fucking deserve her. Don't worry, I don't either.

Brave, dedicated, committed, beautiful woman my Mrs, as are they all.

[Calculon]

Prioritising cost over quality assurance. Group think, overconfidence in your procedure.

You're also making the assumption that someone in government understands the numbers. It may have taken a week or ten days to convince them and then the same length of time to convince their boss. There's also an assumption that someone in government is looking at trends in this way. It was amateur statisticians on twitter that brought a focus to it, not government analysis.

I'm assuming someone at the the actual lab doing the testing is recording, archiving and doing some basic analysis of the results

Wasn’t it a new thing to this company that they were completely unsuited to doing?

Idk. For us it was standard to record the results and analyse them. And by analyse I just mean taking a look at them to see if there were any obvious trends/strange results.

[Biffer]

I'm assuming someone at the the actual lab doing the testing is recording, archiving and doing some basic analysis of the results

Wasn’t it a new thing to this company that they were completely unsuited to doing?

Idk. For us it was standard to record the results and analyse them. And by analyse I just mean taking a look at them to see if there were any obvious trends/strange results.

Given the company didn’t exist three months before they got a £120million contract I’m going to say it was new to them

[Calculon]

I don't really see the relevance, if the lab is new or has been around for several years, I thought it was something that was done as standard. Again, all the PCR and other ID tests we did was on a much smaller scale so it is easier to keep an eye on things. I was also slightly paranoid in ensuring I got the right results as getting it wrong, for some of the tests, could have fatal consequences.

[dpedin]

I don't really see the relevance, if the lab is new or has been around for several years, I thought it was something that was done as standard. Again, all the PCR and other ID tests we did was on a much smaller scale so it is easier to keep an eye on things. I was also slightly paranoid in ensuring I got the right results as getting it wrong, for some of the tests, could have fatal consequences.

Absolutely! I suspect that having 43,000 false negatives will lead to a number of avoidable deaths, it will just be difficult to prove which deaths. Any lab large or small would have all the QA systems and processes in place as standard and wouldn't have let something so bad on this scale go unnoticed for so long. You would also assume that the accreditation process would ensure the QA systems existed and sought evidence they worked before giving them a stamp of approval. You would also assume that the QA and accreditation requirements would be specified in the contracting process and the lab would have to demonstrate it had everything in place in order to win the contract and that there would be a process of due diligence run by the purchaser to ensure this was done.

Lots of questions to be answered, from procurement onwards. It would be interesting to see how rigorous and speedy this is investigated and how well it is reported. I suspect the Gov will try and hide all this away.

[fishfoodie]

I don't really see the relevance, if the lab is new or has been around for several years, I thought it was something that was done as standard. Again, all the PCR and other ID tests we did was on a much smaller scale so it is easier to keep an eye on things. I was also slightly paranoid in ensuring I got the right results as getting it wrong, for some of the tests, could have fatal consequences.

You seem to be labouring under the misapprehension that the company was setup to provide a robust service for the Public ?

Boy, have I got news for you !

This company; like dozens of others; was setup to gouge the taxpayer, & provide millions to whatever scumbags set it up. Any benefit for the public was incidental; & setting up a quality system that tracked the accuracy of the test results, was plainly regarded as not a priority. The history of UK Track & Trace can be summed up in a single word; "incompetence" !

... or two, if you want to include; "Corrupt"

[Ymx]

Jesus. Not sure Super Cindy has positioned this so well.

[Biffer]

I don't really see the relevance, if the lab is new or has been around for several years, I thought it was something that was done as standard. Again, all the PCR and other ID tests we did was on a much smaller scale so it is easier to keep an eye on things. I was also slightly paranoid in ensuring I got the right results as getting it wrong, for some of the tests, could have fatal consequences.

Absolutely! I suspect that having 43,000 false negatives will lead to a number of avoidable deaths, it will just be difficult to prove which deaths. Any lab large or small would have all the QA systems and processes in place as standard and wouldn't have let something so bad on this scale go unnoticed for so long. You would also assume that the accreditation process would ensure the QA systems existed and sought evidence they worked before giving them a stamp of approval. You would also assume that the QA and accreditation requirements would be specified in the contracting process and the lab would have to demonstrate it had everything in place in order to win the contract and that there would be a process of due diligence run by the purchaser to ensure this was done.

Lots of questions to be answered, from procurement onwards. It would be interesting to see how rigorous and speedy this is investigated and how well it is reported. I suspect the Gov will try and hide all this away.

There's a lot of assumptions being made about the professionalism of these companies set up at very short notice in something of a panic.

And it'll be more than re than 43,000. If you assume an R number of 5 these people will have caused another 200-250,000 cases as they thought they were OK to go out, go to work and socialise.

[tc27]

Two days of fairly substantial drops in cases for the UK - reasonable to hope that the current wave has peaked.

[convoluted]

Jesus. Not sure Super Cindy has positioned this so well.

By Xmas, the new social divide will be Boosted damning the Unboosted.

[Sandstorm]

Two days of fairly substantial drops in cases for the UK - reasonable to hope that the current wave has peaked.

Half term. It'll bounce again in 3 weeks time.

I always said it was the children. Even when I knew it was the bears.......

[tc27]

Two days of fairly substantial drops in cases for the UK - reasonable to hope that the current wave has peaked.

Half term. It'll bounce again in 3 weeks time.

I always said it was the children. Even when I knew it was the bears.......

Surely too soon for that to become obvious in testing - and testing numbers have remained stable.

[dpedin]

Two days of fairly substantial drops in cases for the UK - reasonable to hope that the current wave has peaked.

Half term. It'll bounce again in 3 weeks time.

I always said it was the children. Even when I knew it was the bears.......

Surely too soon for that to become obvious in testing - and testing numbers have remained stable.

A trend of 2 days is not a trend unfortunately, however 7 day average has also fallen a little. We need to see about 7 days of decline in a row to be sure there is a real trend. Agree that schools being off for half term could probably be driving rates down. Unfortunately hospitalisations and deaths will already be baked in and expect to see them rise over next few weeks.