Originally posted by Rudi Hedman

And here we again get to excess deaths being no different. But I can imagine you can create a perfectly good explanation as to why the excess deaths are the same but mainly elderly people with underlying health conditions are dying of Covid but not the other illnesses.

Originally posted by Wisbech Eagle

You are being extremely disingenuous. And that's putting it politely!

I am not the least bit "tangled up"! My position is very, very clear and totally consistent.

As a country we have to make choices between alternative strategies, all of which are bad.

Choosing one doesn't mean any lack of empathy for those affected by it. Quite the contrary in fact. Support has to be given to those who are impacted and that has been my position throughout. You cannot though manage this crisis without it impacting people and my view, and it seems of many others, including those actually taking the decisions, is that the impact of financial stress for some is nothing like as important as the loss of their lives for others.

So long as we ensure that those affected are kept safe and well, housed, fed and clothed they will survive and can then use their skills and energy to rebuild their own lives and our economy.

Accusing me of a lack of empathy is really ironic at best, and disgusting at worst, considering your own total lack of empathy for those who would lose their lives if the course of action you prefer was followed. My guess is you have never managed more than to get out of bed in the morning, and I think we can count ourselves lucky for that.

Originally posted by Rudi Hedman

I agree. I was joking.

Originally posted by BlueJay

I must admit it did seem rather mad at the time that we were playing covid whack-a-mole when people were breezing in from Italy with the virus in their droves. Countries like New Zealand clearly made the right call at least in terms of local lives and business functioning as normal.

Even Australia and their tough measures really appear to have made a serious dent in the progress of the virus (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-54768038 ), which can make all the difference when better treatments and vaccines may be on the horizon. Better to have bought time with travel restrictions and localised apoproaches rather than endless late in the day nationwide lockdowns.

Edited by BlueJay (01 Nov 2020 5.00pm)

Quote A new study of 30,000 COVID-19 patients suggests that the antibodies people produce to fight off the virus last longer than previously believed.

The finding should help vaccine makers as well as researchers who have been trying to determine whether COVID-19 survivors can become reinfected.

"Some (studies) reported declines in antibodies the first few weeks and first months and that isn't what we have seen," said Ania Wajnberg, lead author of the new study and medical director of Mount Sinai's clinical antibody testing program.

"We see a slight decline, but overall a stable level."

The paper, published this week in the journal Science, reported that most people with mild to moderate COVID-19 produce antibodies that are still effective five months after the onset of symptoms.

Roughly 92% of the patients produce sufficient antibody levels to continue fighting the new coronavirus.

Past studies found that antibody levels seemed to drop off faster. The other studies focused on antibodies produced in response to a viral protein known as NP. But it turns out NP may not be a good measure because it has membranes that shield it from the antibodies created by our immune system.

The team at Mount Sinai in New York focused instead on the infamous Spike protein, which allows viral cells to attach themselves to human cells.

After measuring antibody response in the entire group of 30,000 COVID-19 patients, scientists then followed a smaller subset. This second group consisted of 121 patients, who went on to donate plasma to help others fight COVID-19.

When researchers measured antibody levels in the group of 121 they found only a slight drop between three months and five months after symptoms. There was a larger decline at about 148 days, but the antibody levels were still high enough to neutralize the virus. Wajnberg said the Mount Sinai team plans to follow the 121 plasma donors for at least a full year.

The study suggests that vaccine makers should target the Spike protein because it spurs a much stronger immune response than the NP protein.

Originally posted by Spiderman

We should have had a total lockdown in March, ie all airports shut except for repatriation, to be receiving flights from China whilst we couldn’t visit family was totally unacceptable. Even now we are allowing foreign travellers in with absolutely no way of checking they are self- isolating. Please don’t say we have that ability because we don’t, no way of checking addresses before they leave the airport. Brits refusing to give details and EU nationals coming to stay in caravans are a daily occurrence