The surgery has arranged my vaccine appointment (15.28 precisely..understood?...Yes Ma'am
Don't be late...No Ma'am. Three bags full, ma'am). We don't get to choose, but it's the Oxford
Astra-Zeneca one, and I'm even more pleased because it's a childish poke in the eye to Macron
and Merkel. Is this the first tentative step towards a long wished-for return to Italy ? Oh...to sit
once again at a little cafe table in the warm sunshine, and have an Expresso brought by a happy
and smiling Italian goddess is a dream that'll have to remain on the back-burner for a while yet.

Mike

It is a big step. No idea when I get mine but I will be there on the dot.

Good news Mike. We had ours three weeks ago, no issues. Ours was the Pfizer version. I echo your comments re Italy - we have had some enjoyable breaks there. Europeans in general are very nice people (cue this forum), just the goons that run the show need weeding. Not saying some of ours are any better mind...

Phil

I get my jab on Monday (8th). No idea which one but I'll be there 11.30 on the dot. For me, it's outside a Bistro by the water in Sete France, and it's on my Backburner too. Ray

Vaccines represent the end being in sight. This is still a year of masks and distancing though...

As usual the BBC are doing their best to pee on every ones bonfire. Vaccine not so effective against new strain but do they have to report it with such glee? Am I alone in thinking they seem to love reporting increased death rates as well? Real doom and gloom merchants.

Rant over.

Bill

My wife, bless her, had hers 2 weeks ago.....me, being more slightly in the risky band....nothing, no letter, text or email. A bit haphazard, but had 2 letters by same post, inviting me to make appointment. Go on website,....sorry mate, nothing happening here. Go on second letter's notification website ;
success! Go for jab, as arranged, last Friday.
Come home to find another letter inviting me to....... Well, they're doing their best in trying circumstances.

Alan

It's getting like a macabre football league table with Auntie. And they do have their favourite doom merchants on the scientific side to roll out on a regular basis. And the graphs and statistics they publish are sometimes laughable. What I can't get my ancient brain around is - assuming the country is in mega lockdown, where are all these tens of thousands a day who are testing positive catching it? It won't be over till the fat bloke sings.....

Phil

This site has a reasonably current location of covid positive cases:-
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map

Cheers,
Andrew

Thanks Andrew - maybe I should've said "how" instead of "where"

Well put Steve. I too don't deny this virus is a major global challenge, but MSM reporting of it has been successful only in frightening Joe Public shitless. I use Al Jazeera and Reuters now for any major news coverage - the BBC is a busted flush as far as I'm concerned (and we don't have TV, so I owe them no loyalty whatsoever)

Phil

Not sure where to start with this, but as someone that worked in a scientific environment for thirty five years I can assure you that for every theory brought about in response to scientific data there will be another that is pretty much opposite. Scientists are political animals, especially the more eminent ones. They are always looking to polish their own image and attract funding. it’s no wonder that there are those in the scientific community who disagree with with current policy. They are hoping to be noticed.....and probably annoyed that they are not on the lucrative government committees.
As an alternative to lock down you could always go down the USA route and lose more of your population than WW2 managed to kill.....

Not sure what you mean by “party line” because you’ve cherrypicked the quote? If you mean what I think you mean then be aware that the vast majority of scientific funding in this country is not government sourced. Following the government lead won’t necessarily get you more money for your work. Research for research’s sake simply doesn’t happen. It is always funded by commercial interest and has clearly defined contractual outcomes. Unfortunately this investment model does not engender a regime that maximises scientific effort. More often than not it simply sets one scientific team against another.
As to the USA, any sort of central lead at all has to be an improvement. The absolute free market economy they wholeheartedly embrace works fantastically well to control the supply and cost of consumer goods, but it simply isn’t fit for purpose when applied to healthcare concerns. When applied to that field Gradgrindian economic theory simply results in more death and misery.

Anyway have a vaccine ...no matter what type ...this is the road to some normality as such

Nap[/quote]

Amen to that! It’s the only real way out.