Northern Europe during Pandemic -- Summers 2020 & 2021 & onwards

[laird]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Totally off topic (apologies to all) but I need to follow up on green notes. Wild garlic leaves make the most phenomenal flavoured oil. It is available in abundance here in Scotland at the moment. I would probably not have been introduced to the joys of this had it not been for the pandemic:

Your meant to rub that stuff on your chest ,it keepers vampires and werewolves away

[boatman61]

Office for National Statistics (ONS) has just revealed that 23% of registered COVID-19 deaths in the UK were not in fact caused by the virus itself. Instead, the new data reveals that almost a quarter of people who were said to have died from the disease in actuality died with the disease.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by laird

Your meant to rub that stuff on your chest ,it keepers vampires and werewolves away

The locals assure me it is witches that wild garlic leaves keep away.
It is working well. I haven’t seen one yet .

[Montanan]

Swedish region declares 'personal lockdown' as country suffers Europe's highest rate of new covid-19 cases

In posters and an online campaign, the region centred on Uppsala, Sweden's fourth biggest city, called on everyone to "consider all human contacts as a potential risk" and avoid contact with anyone they do not live with, in the closest the country has come to a lockdown since the pandemic began.

"We are reaching the point of the maximum capacity of what we can handle," Mikael Köhler, the region's health chief told Sweden's TT newswire. "It seems like the British variant has taken over and there's evidence that people are spreading the disease before they have any symptoms."

Sweden on Tuesday had the highest rate of new coronavirus cases in Europe, with a seven-day average of 587 new infections per million people on Monday, more than France on 556 and Poland on 540, according to the latest figures on Our World in Data.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/swedish-r...070916699.html

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Swedish region declares 'personal lockdown' as country suffers Europe's highest rate of new covid-19 cases

In posters and an online campaign, the region centred on Uppsala, Sweden's fourth biggest city, called on everyone to "consider all human contacts as a potential risk" and avoid contact with anyone they do not live with, in the closest the country has come to a lockdown since the pandemic began.

"We are reaching the point of the maximum capacity of what we can handle," Mikael Köhler, the region's health chief told Sweden's TT newswire. "It seems like the British variant has taken over and there's evidence that people are spreading the disease before they have any symptoms."

Sweden on Tuesday had the highest rate of new coronavirus cases in Europe, with a seven-day average of 587 new infections per million people on Monday, more than France on 556 and Poland on 540, according to the latest figures on Our World in Data.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/swedish-r...070916699.html

Sweden is having a serious third wave of infections, but at somewhat under 600 daily cases per million, an increase of about 50% over the last month, it's not all that bad (so far) compared to various European countries at over 1000 recently.






And the death rate remains low in Sweden -- so far! -- at less than 2 per million, which is three times less than the European average, one of the lowest rates in Europe. I'm not sure whether they have learned to treat it or why it's so low, but it's good news. Cumulative deaths in Sweden are now well under the European average and far below the U.S.






Less good news is that vaccination is going fairly slowly in Sweden, at 0.44 doses per 100 people per day, less than the European average and half of the average rate of vaccination in the U.S.





This is frustrating. The Danes have recently moved back their target date for full vaccination to mid-August because of disruption of the vaccination program connected with the Astra Zeneca kerfuffle. And Sweden is behind Denmark. I hope they manage to speed it up.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Swedish region declares 'personal lockdown' as country suffers Europe's highest rate of new covid-19 cases

In posters and an online campaign, the region centred on Uppsala, Sweden's fourth biggest city, called on everyone to "consider all human contacts as a potential risk" and avoid contact with anyone they do not live with, in the closest the country has come to a lockdown since the pandemic began.

"We are reaching the point of the maximum capacity of what we can handle," Mikael Köhler, the region's health chief told Sweden's TT newswire. "It seems like the British variant has taken over and there's evidence that people are spreading the disease before they have any symptoms."

Sweden on Tuesday had the highest rate of new coronavirus cases in Europe, with a seven-day average of 587 new infections per million people on Monday, more than France on 556 and Poland on 540, according to the latest figures on Our World in Data.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/swedish-r...070916699.html

The figures for new COVID-19 cases do need to be put into perspective.

Sweden’s current rate is around half of that reported in the UK late December, two thirds of that in the US in January and less than half the recent rate in nearby Estonia.

Also, without knowing the testing rate in each country, comparisons are meaningless. Even trends within a country will depend on the testing rate. In the UK, for example, the impact of the first and second waves cannot be compared, as daily tests were under 14,000 per day during the first wave, they averaged around 500,000 per day during the worst of the second wave, then more recently they averaged around 1.2 million a day.

Do you know how the current testing rate for Sweden compares to other countries in Europe?

This is a graph of testing numbers in the UK:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...inations-today

[laird]

I heard from a philipino friend today , they have told that they all will not be vaccinated until 2025 ,their president in his address has told the population that he will not take the vaccine ,there's change from telling them all that he will be one of the first

I suspect that the statement has something to do with the Chinese admitting that their vaccine is not a very good one which the Philippines was pinning its hopes on

Whilst there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel , darkness is also there

[Montanan]

The European Union has reached an agreement to speed up delivery of 50 million more doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to boost the continent's vaccination program. "Those 50 million doses were initially foreseen for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2021. Now they are available in quarter 2," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Wednesday.

Johnson & Johnson has delayed its deliveries of vaccines in the EU. U.S. regulatory authorities on Tuesday advised the suspension of those shots after after six women were diagnosed with severe blood clots. The European Medicines Agency is also reviewing those shots.

Von der Leyen said the EU is also negotiating with Pfizer-BioNTech for a third contract that will deliver 1.8 billion doses over 2021 to 2023. Production of the vaccines and all essential components will be based in the EU.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news...?ocid=msedgntp

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by laird

I heard from a philipino friend today , they have told that they all will not be vaccinated until 2025 ,their president in his address has told the population that he will not take the vaccine ,there's change from telling them all that he will be one of the first

I suspect that the statement has something to do with the Chinese admitting that their vaccine is not a very good one which the Philippines was pinning its hopes on

Whilst there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel , darkness is also there

It is unfortunately never all roses everywhere .

Even with ramped up vaccine production, it is expected it would take years to vaccinate the world’s population, even if this was possible or the correct thing to do.

COVID-19 (and side effects of vaccination) may the focus of health issues this year, but this is not likely to be a long term concern, unlike many other diseases people face. We seem to have become quite blase when it comes to all the health issues that are the big killers worldwide. See graph below for details of these.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-s...auses-of-death

The major killer is ischaemic heart disease which results in around 9 million deaths a year, but lower respiratory infections were already killing around 3 million yearly, close to the estimated number of deaths from COVID-19 during this pandemic.

We are also creeping up to 2 million deaths yearly just from type II diabetes, a condition that in very recent years is thought to be not just preventable, but completely reversible for many (most?) people with diet alone. Incidence of diabetes has increased 70% since 2000. This is a serious escalating problem. Why are we not concerned by this?

We also seem to be freaking out regarding the unusual clots occurring very rarely with the AZ and J&J COVID-19 vaccines, but are quite happy to pop pills for scores of other conditions than can have far more common and sometimes just as deadly side effects. Carefully read the pamphlet that now generally comes with any over the counter or prescription drug. Look up the conditions listed, but keep in mind risk versus benefit. Uncommon side effects need to be balanced by lifesaving benefits.

ANY drug and any vaccine should not be taken lightly.

We seem to have lost all sense of perspective during this pandemic.

[laird]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

The locals assure me it is witches that wild garlic leaves keep away.
It is working well. I haven’t seen one yet .

According to Scotland's daily record newspaper ,a Dr Tang of Leicester hospital has advocated the garlic breath test as being more of a life saver than washing your hands ,basical!y if you can smell someone's breath you can pick up covid from them ( if they have it )

With regard to diabetics , I've seen the effects at the business end , I'm of the opinion that it's a bit like smoking inasmuch as people do not take it serious!y , I must admit ignorance on my part regarding diabetes until I started working for the NHS , I was at one of my centres that I look after and on that particular Friday I started to notice people coming in with various limbs that had been amputated , my first reaction was that they were all war vets until I saw the sign " diabetic clinic " ,I've since found out that in Asian countries they have generically modified the rice to contain more sugar ,this seems to corelate to the higher numbers of diabetics ,amputation amongst diabetics is not uncommon

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by laird

According to Scotland's daily record newspaper ,a Dr Tang of Leicester hospital has advocated the garlic breath test as being more of a life saver than washing your hands ,basical!y if you can smell someone's breath you can pick up covid from them ( if they have it )

With regard to diabetics , I've seen the effects at the business end , I'm of the opinion that it's a bit like smoking inasmuch as people do not take it serious!y , I must admit ignorance on my part regarding diabetes until I started working for the NHS , I was at one of my centres that I look after and on that particular Friday I started to notice people coming in with various limbs that had been amputated , my first reaction was that they were all war vets until I saw the sign " diabetic clinic " ,I've since found out that in Asian countries they have generically modified the rice to contain more sugar ,this seems to corelate to the higher numbers of diabetics ,amputation amongst diabetics is not uncommon

I think things like Coca Cola, MacSlurries, processed and fast foods and the like have more to do with diabetes than any thing rice can provide.. I mean, apart from the Friday night curry it's not exactly a staple diet.
As for genetically modified rice.. the only thing I can find about that is the whohaa over Golden Rice with Vitamin A.

[laird]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I think things like Coca Cola, MacSlurries, processed and fast foods and the like have more to do with diabetes than any thing rice can provide.. I mean, apart from the Friday night curry it's not exactly a staple diet.
As for genetically modified rice.. the only thing I can find about that is the whohaa over Golden Rice with Vitamin A.

In the west ,I'd agree ,it's the sugar in the colas and macflurries , my best buddy got his from too much whisky ,it wrecked his pancreas

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by laird

According to Scotland's daily record newspaper ,a Dr Tang of Leicester hospital has advocated the garlic breath test as being more of a life saver than washing your hands ,basical!y if you can smell someone's breath you can pick up covid from them ( if they have it )

With regard to diabetics , I've seen the effects at the business end , I'm of the opinion that it's a bit like smoking inasmuch as people do not take it serious!y , I must admit ignorance on my part regarding diabetes until I started working for the NHS , I was at one of my centres that I look after and on that particular Friday I started to notice people coming in with various limbs that had been amputated , my first reaction was that they were all war vets until I saw the sign " diabetic clinic " ,I've since found out that in Asian countries they have generically modified the rice to contain more sugar ,this seems to corelate to the higher numbers of diabetics ,amputation amongst diabetics is not uncommon

Originally Posted by laird

In the west ,I'd agree ,it's the sugar in the colas and macflurries , my best buddy got his from too much whisky ,it wrecked his pancreas

You should try visiting an Indian Sweetmeats shop.. loaded with sugar and fats, but oh so scummy...

[Exile]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Swedish region declares 'personal lockdown' as country suffers Europe's highest rate of new covid-19 cases

In posters and an online campaign, the region centred on Uppsala, Sweden's fourth biggest city, called on everyone to "consider all human contacts as a potential risk" and avoid contact with anyone they do not live with, in the closest the country has come to a lockdown since the pandemic began.

"We are reaching the point of the maximum capacity of what we can handle," Mikael Köhler, the region's health chief told Sweden's TT newswire. "It seems like the British variant has taken over and there's evidence that people are spreading the disease before they have any symptoms."

Sweden on Tuesday had the highest rate of new coronavirus cases in Europe, with a seven-day average of 587 new infections per million people on Monday, more than France on 556 and Poland on 540, according to the latest figures on Our World in Data.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/swedish-r...070916699.html

Sweden, Sweden, Sweden . . . why all the focus from some of the more obviously partisan mainstream media sources? Well, maybe it has to do with parts of the article you chose not to quote, for example:

At a press conference on Tuesday, Dr Tegnell said that Uppsala's lockdown call, which is not backed up by any new legal restrictions, was little different from the national approach, but understandable given that the region has recorded 908 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the past two weeks, compared to 772 nationally.

“Basically, Uppsala’s saying what we all are saying. You need to cut down on your personal contacts as much as possible, especially people that you don’t normally meet,” he said. “Since they have such a difficult situation they need to enforce it even more...We’ll see how useful it is.”

He insisted that additional restrictions, such as shutting down restaurants, bars, gyms, and non-essential shops would have only "an extremely marginal effect".

"The reason that we are not putting in place additional restrictions is that we have the most important restrictions in place," he said.

"There are no possible new restrictions that could have more effect than the ones we already have. What's important... is that we follow them. That's how we will break the spread of infection."

As Dockhead has long been pointing out from the get-go (and backing up with actual facts & data), Sweden's more voluntary approach has not proven any less effective. To the contrary, at least according to most metrics. Perhaps Sweden's citizenry is more trusting of their govt and public health authorities, and thus mandatory restrictions are not as necessary as elsewhere. But as Dr. Tegnell pointed out, the most important factor is compliance with social distancing guidelines, not necessarily mandatory closures of various businesses deemed "non-essential." As Dockhead has also pointed out throughout the past year, such measures often just inure to the benefit of political leaders who are motivated to appear as if they're doing "something," and who are also trying to avoid blame for outbreaks and surges. This is not to downplay the effectiveness of restrictions -- consensual or mandatory -- and I've always been hesitant to join in the chorus of those either unduly praising or bashing prominent public health figures such as Dr. Fauci. But the last thing we need is more selectively quoted articles from agenda-driven media outlets which are simply catering to, and therefore promoting, mass hysteria and fear.

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

The figures for new COVID-19 cases do need to be put into perspective.

Sweden’s current rate is around half of that reported in the UK late December, two thirds of that in the US in January and less than half the recent rate in nearby Estonia.

Also, without knowing the testing rate in each country, comparisons are meaningless. Even trends within a country will depend on the testing rate. In the UK, for example, the impact of the first and second waves cannot be compared, as daily tests were under 14,000 per day during the first wave, they averaged around 500,000 per day during the worst of the second wave, then more recently they averaged around 1.2 million a day.

Do you know how the current testing rate for Sweden compares to other countries in Europe?

This is a graph of testing numbers in the UK:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...inations-today

Thanks for this needed perspective, and very good point about testing rates. What about the 90+% of people who get infected without hospitalization? How many of those don't even go to see a doctor? How do these cases even get recorded?

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

We seem to have lost all sense of perspective during this pandemic.

At least in part because of the alarmist media which plays on many peoples' fears. It also benefits certain political agendas which are then incentivized to keep the fear going. Some are perhaps well-intentioned but ultimately sow distrust, i.e. the "we know what's best for you" crowd. While others are more nefariously seeing political gains to be had regardless of the consequences for people trying to get their pre-pandemic lives back together. Quite selfish, destructive and sad. I suppose all the rest of us can do is expose such motivations, and attempt to achieve the best balance for ourselves and others as objectively as the honest information we're trying to access allows.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I think things like Coca Cola, MacSlurries, processed and fast foods and the like have more to do with diabetes than any thing rice can provide.. I mean, apart from the Friday night curry it's not exactly a staple diet.
As for genetically modified rice.. the only thing I can find about that is the whohaa over Golden Rice with Vitamin A.

I always figured the only purpose for Coca-Cola was to give the rum a bit of color. Of course, all the sugar in the rum doesn't help.