oops sorry@dovefromabove was not laughing at your link. Just coincided with how I was thinking last night. But that does not make for very comfortable reading either.
@tidygardener I can't help but think we are getting payback. Sorry for taking Covid a tad off topic.
I do not mind waiting a few months to get a turn at vaccination. Light is showing at the end of the tunnel. And wait until they have some of the wrinkles ironed out as per Doves link.
I'm going to hospital on Thursday for a minor procedure. My letter said I had to have a Covid test before I could attend. I follow the instructions in the letter and attend a two lane drive through testing centre. Arrive at the head of the queue to be greeted with "Good evening" Its 14:00 (afternoon) that had me worried for a start. Takes my name and goes to get testing swabs . I continue to wait and wait then see the person dealing with me walk up to a car in the next lane, then she realised that was not me so went to the car behind that one again eventually as she walked to the third car in the next lane I called to her then it sank in and she did the business.
Does Not give one a lot of confidence in the process. I just hope she's got my sample in the right tube and I come back negative as I haven't been near anyone for weeks other then when forced to go shopping
Lol.. after my concerns about the Covid testing process the good news is I've come back negative. On the same day get a call from the hospital to say my procedure is cancelled... due to Covid pressures on staff and increasing numbers in hospital for Covid.
Hope they all get well soon. Stay Safe everyone there's light at the end of the tunnel.
C'est La Vie
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
A lot of people have held Sweden up as a model of how to handle the pandemic: everything stays open, no masks, no distancing, and aim for herd immunity.
Perhaps this was not the way to go.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
I wonder if the same number of people will die (here, Sweden and anywhere else) whether we have restrictions/lockdowns etc or not, albeit spread over a greater time etc??
@punkdoc Regardless of what strategy is "right", especially in light of a vaccine which should change approach, I think that article demonstrates poor quality journalism. It embodies the worst of media stories that leave people fearful. The first sentence alone is disgraceful clickbait, deliberately obfuscating the detail.
I'll quickly rewrite it to something less scary:
Sweden has reached a high level of hospital bed occupancy, although not higher than is seen on occasion in winter in other European countries such as the UK, where for context the occupancy has hit 100% simultaneously for one third of all trusts at least once in the past 10 years and a 95% occupancy is common, before the virus existed.
99% of Swedens beds are currently occupied, said Swede #1, although only approximately half of them are virus cases. He continued by explaining that Sweden has the lowest number of ICU beds per capita in Europe, and that circa 250 are currently in use by virus patients - proportionately the same number as England on a per capita basis. The BBC will helpfully explain how percentages without a base makes interpretation impossible in a new article titled, "why a 100% increase on zero is still zero"
In a separate interview, Swede #2 said that some patients may not be able to receive care, which is a serious situation all nations deal with on a yearly basis, especially in bad flu seasons and with finite resources.
Fair point re the quality of the journalism, @strelitzia32.
However, it does not change the fact that Sweden tried a very different approach to COVID than many other countries, an approach that was much heralded by those opposed to any restrictions on their lives, and this approach has not worked.
Many doctors and scientists in the UK, repeatedly warned against the UK government taking this approach, and rather belatedly the government agreed to a more pro-active approach.
Patients being denied ICU because of lack of facilities, does happen in the UK, but virtually never elsewhere in Western Europe. This is therefore a very rare and worrying development. Whilst ICU occupancy in the UK is almost always greater than 90%, this is not true elsewhere in Europe.
Of course a vaccine will eventually lead to a change in strategy, but as I sure you understand, this will not be for several months.
One of the reasons that several doctors [ including myself ] resigned from the Critical Care and COVID taskforce, was because of the relaxations in the rules for Christmas, which believe could lead to a large increase in hospitalisation and death. This seems very similar to the approach that Sweden was using until this recent increase in cases.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
While the amended version of the article is clear and is intended to make it ‘less scary’ I think there’s also the danger that if a lot of facts and figures and percentage interpretations are presented there is the danger that many potential readers will simply swiftly move on.
It’s a fine line to tread, in the case of an article such as this, between presenting a balanced rational view and yet at the same time not deterring readers.
Posts
Just coincided with how I was thinking last night.
But that does not make for very comfortable reading either.
@tidygardener I can't help but think we are getting payback.
Sorry for taking Covid a tad off topic.
I do not mind waiting a few months to get a turn at vaccination. Light is showing at the end of the tunnel. And wait until they have some of the wrinkles ironed out as per Doves link.
https://youtu.be/6F6OTkahENk
On the same day get a call from the hospital to say my procedure is cancelled... due to Covid pressures on staff and increasing numbers in hospital for Covid.
Hope they all get well soon.
Stay Safe everyone there's light at the end of the tunnel.
C'est La Vie
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw'
Perhaps this was not the way to go.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
No news on my vaccine yet...
I'll quickly rewrite it to something less scary:
Sweden has reached a high level of hospital bed occupancy, although not higher than is seen on occasion in winter in other European countries such as the UK, where for context the occupancy has hit 100% simultaneously for one third of all trusts at least once in the past 10 years and a 95% occupancy is common, before the virus existed.
99% of Swedens beds are currently occupied, said Swede #1, although only approximately half of them are virus cases. He continued by explaining that Sweden has the lowest number of ICU beds per capita in Europe, and that circa 250 are currently in use by virus patients - proportionately the same number as England on a per capita basis. The BBC will helpfully explain how percentages without a base makes interpretation impossible in a new article titled, "why a 100% increase on zero is still zero"
In a separate interview, Swede #2 said that some patients may not be able to receive care, which is a serious situation all nations deal with on a yearly basis, especially in bad flu seasons and with finite resources.
Et cetera...
https://www.icuregswe.org/en/data--results/covid-19-in-swedish-intensive-care/
However, it does not change the fact that Sweden tried a very different approach to COVID than many other countries, an approach that was much heralded by those opposed to any restrictions on their lives, and this approach has not worked.
Many doctors and scientists in the UK, repeatedly warned against the UK government taking this approach, and rather belatedly the government agreed to a more pro-active approach.
Patients being denied ICU because of lack of facilities, does happen in the UK, but virtually never elsewhere in Western Europe. This is therefore a very rare and worrying development. Whilst ICU occupancy in the UK is almost always greater than 90%, this is not true elsewhere in Europe.
Of course a vaccine will eventually lead to a change in strategy, but as I sure you understand, this will not be for several months.
One of the reasons that several doctors [ including myself ] resigned from the Critical Care and COVID taskforce, was because of the relaxations in the rules for Christmas, which believe could lead to a large increase in hospitalisation and death. This seems very similar to the approach that Sweden was using until this recent increase in cases.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
It’s a fine line to tread, in the case of an article such as this, between presenting a balanced rational view and yet at the same time not deterring readers.