So do the vaccines not work then? That’s certainly the impression you’d get from the way various members of SAGE are carrying on, warning of new waves and new variants and the need to delay the end of lockdown even further (completely ignoring the fact that half of America is now open without any problems so far).
As Sherelle Jacobs asks in the Telegraph, why is the debate continuing as though nothing has changed despite half the country – the most vulnerable half – being vaccinated?
Instead of discussing how quickly vaccines could spell the end of restrictions, the commentariat fixates on the risk of another wave as if absolutely nothing has changed. Somehow, despite low deaths, the Indian variant rather than the vaccine has become the game changer.
We have become wearily used to these media interventions from SAGE members in the build-up to key decisions around lockdowns, usually pushing some skewed version of the scientific evidence to frighten the public and pile pressure on the Government to tighten or maintain restrictions. This was bad enough in the autumn before the vaccines were on the scene, but now it leaves you wondering if they know something we don’t about how well the vaccines prevent death and serious disease.
The Government has been continually putting out new research showing how effective the vaccines are, including against the Indian variant, and while I have written on a number of occasions about the shortcomings of these studies, I had been assuming that the vaccines do work, or at least that the Government and its scientists believe they work. With all this talk of third waves and extending lockdown, you have to wonder.
The latest line to justify extending the lockdown is from NERVTAG member Professor Ravi Gupta, who argues for just a few more weeks to let more people get vaccinated, saying there are signs an “explosive” third wave is on the horizon.
Yet according to the latest figures, 51.3% of the adult population has now had one vaccine dose and 31.4% has had two. Over 90% of the over-70s are now fully vaccinated.
The vaccines are supposed to be up to 90% effective at preventing symptomatic infection, including in the over-65s. They are also claimed to be a 90% effective at preventing hospitalisation or death (though presumably their efficacy is reduced somewhat in the frail elderly). This means any new “surge” will have something like one tenth of the infections of earlier waves, while hospitalisations and deaths should be up to a hundred times less – a non-event in infectious disease terms. While these are likely overestimates of vaccine effectiveness, especially among those most susceptible to the disease, there is also naturally acquired immunity and prior immunity that will help to bring the disease burden down.
However you look at it, if the vaccines are going to do their thing then they are already doing it and there’s no point postponing the unlocking. If they’re not working then there’s nothing we can do about it now anyway so we might as well get back to living fully. Either way, the SAGE prophets of doom should be roundly ignored.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
Perhaps it was just panic, as all rational thought seemed to fly out the window. Also, aren’t there links between WHO and China? WHO’s President used to work there, didn’t he?
Perhaps the second (now first) biggest funder of the WHO had some influence? Bill Gates
I live in the U.K and have lived through the 1957 & 1968/9 pandemics, both new coronavirus strains with no cure or immunity.
There were no lockdowns, no panicking or panic buying, life went on as normal.
In 1957 33000 people died = around 45000 today, in 1969 85000 people died = around 100000 today.
During the 2017/2018 flu season 58000 people died [5 months]
1600 people die every day with various things
After this is all over and governments take stock of the fallout [mass unemployment, losing homes, cancelled surgery ect] I hope they decide it was a bad idea and to carry on as normal next time
The current British government is a joke led by one which must be shown the door ASAP and all the laws and restrictions repealed as they are illegal
It strikes me that in the uk our use of lock down has been so slow and all measures use have done nothing to slow the production of virus, we unwittingly have adopted the Harington decleration anyway, I was reading up on the 1967 “wohan flu” so called ,marked as deadly to elderly people, why the infection rate was much lower than the 1954 outbreak, there conclusion was that amunity had carried across from 54 to 67.
The CCP spent their money well.
Our press and Academia is so infiltrated by the Chinese that all these institutions now do is promote the CCP party line and there is no sign of this ending any time soon – things will not calm down, they will in fact calm up!
The next set of Global Lockdowns will be for the ‘Climate Emergency’ – just wait & see, and to hell with science as the modern left simply cherry pick, just as they do over climate.
Big Government & Authoritarianism never solved anything except for silencing all dissenting voices. I never expected to live under a tyranny in the UK where we are all treated as threats to each other.
NO FACE NAPPIES
NO LOCKDOWNS
Final thought:
If this is as deadly as claimed (and I do not believe it is for one minute) then where are the special bins for disposing of all the used Face Nappies that are, if the media & SAGE are to be believed, a biohazard? Every time I go out I literally lose count of the sheer number of these disgusting things just thrown away in the street & dumped in the gutters.