General Covid 19 news

[SteveH]

The failures and weaknesses in the UK's pandemic preparations are expected to be laid out in the first report published by the Covid inquiry.

Baroness Hallett, who is chairing the public inquiry, will set out her findings at lunchtime.

Her report will cover the state of the healthcare system, stockpiles of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the planning that was in place.

It is the first of at least nine reports covering everything from political decision-making to vaccines and the impact on children.

During the hearings for this module, last year, 69 experts and politicians, including former Prime Minister David Cameron and Health Secretaries Jeremy Hunt and Matt Hancock, gave evidence.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c29dzp2z5y6o

[Hugo]

Covid hasn't gone away either as I've heard that a lot of people have caught it recently but thankfully with no serious side effects.  After a night of coughing and a headache this morning I took the test and it was positive for Covid.     

[SteveH]

Hugo....Sorry to hear that, it shows we still have to be careful , get well soon........................

How the UK planned for the wrong pandemic
Even as Covid hit, the government and its health officials were bullish in their confidence about their ability to cope.

Dr Jenny Harries, then the deputy chief medical officer for England, hailed the UK as an “international exemplar” in its preparedness at one of the early TV press conferences.

She was not the only one who thought like this – after all, just a year before the pandemic a government review had praised our “world-leading capabilities”.

But such a belief, said Baroness Hallett as she set out the first of her Covid reports, was “dangerously mistaken”.

The UK had, in fact, prepared for the wrong pandemic. How did this happen?

Across 217 pages and more than 80,000 words, external, Baroness Hallett has set out a detailed and damning critique of how a decade of over-confidence, wasted opportunities and muddled-thinking left the UK sleep-walking into a pandemic that went on to claim more than 200,000 lives and cause long-lasting damage to the economy and society.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy9472qxk1vo


PS
I think I was more prepared than the government was, I have just re read my first post on the Covid thread on: February 26, 2020, 11:05:28 am »  have a look, link ...... http://www.threetownsforum.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=4351.msg111698#msg111698

[SteveH]

There has been a vibe in BBC HQ that friends, colleagues and family have been having a grottier year than usual – shaking off one cold only to rapidly catch another, rolling from infection to infection.

“The reality is we're lacking data and so we have got a lot of anecdote,” says Prof Jonathan Ball, from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

So what could be going on?

It's a Covid summer
We are in a summer wave of Covid so if you have a cough or fever then the virus is a possible culprit.

We do not collect the same detailed data as during the peak of the pandemic, but the wave started to build around May.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjm9gez8e8mo

[Hugo]

Mrs H and I have both had  Covid recently and it started with a sore throat, then symptoms of a cold and I had a continual cough.   The worst part of it were the headaches and feeling woozy.    Thankfully we have now tested negative so we can venture out more now.
The Covid test kits are free and available from Chemists so it's a good idea to take a test if anyone has the symptoms
It's surprising how many people have had Covid and  I have heard of a number of people who have gone away on holiday in the UK and abroad knowing full well that they had Covid so the virus is never going to go away.

[SteveH]

Glad things are getting better for you both, I agree with your comment about those traveling abroad with Covid, we still need to be careful.

[SteveH]

Millions qualify for flu, Covid-19 and RSV vaccines this winter
At-risk groups will be offered RSV vaccination for the first time

Vaccines provide essential protection to help stop people from developing serious illnesses and ending up in hospital during busy winter months. And this year, in addition to the millions who receive flu and Covid-19 jabs, at risk groups will also be offered a Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) jab as the NHS sets out plans for protection ahead of winter.

Based on current scientific evidence, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended that adults aged 65 and over, residents of care homes for older adults and those with underlying health conditions aged six months to 64 years will be eligible for flu and Covid-19 vaccinations.

For the first time this year, the NHS will offer vaccines for RSV, a common cause of coughs and colds which can be dangerous to older people and young children. The vaccine, which will be rolled out in September, will be available to those aged 75 to 79, and it will be offered to pregnant women from 28 weeks, to protect their child.

Flu vaccinations for children will start when the new school year begins in September, to help stop the virus spreading. Pregnant women can also get their jab from September 1.

Who is eligible for vaccination... read on https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/millions-qualify-for-flu-covid-19-and-rsv-vaccines-this-winter?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

This year, the team at CYD have partnered up with the vaccine centre and we will be offering FLU and COVID vaccines to all who are eligible.

‼️VERY IMPORTANT‼️- You will be contacted, if you are eligible, via a letter ✉️with your appointment date and time ⏰over the coming weeks. This can be for flu, or Covid, or both. If you are just wanting one of the vaccines please still come to your appointment and confirm the vaccine you want.

We are able to vaccinate from 30th September so you will receive your appointment date and time prior to this.
If this needs amending, contact details of how to rearrange your appointment will be on your letter.

We look forward to getting our flu and covid season underway!

[SteveH]

The NHS was “creaking at the seams” when the pandemic hit – and this undermined the care given to both coronavirus patients and those needing treatment for other conditions, the Covid public inquiry has been told.

On the opening day of the third stage of the inquiry, which is looking at healthcare, lawyers said the health service entered the pandemic with too few staff and beds.

The problems meant non-Covid care had to be cancelled en masse, while those who were severely ill with the virus could not always get the care they needed.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c23ldze4eveo

[SteveH]

How to tell if you have Covid, the flu or a common cold

You might immediately think you've got a cold when you've got a sore throat or a high temperature.


But sometimes what you think could be a cold may be the flu or COVID-19, so it's best to check your symptoms.

Experts at Pharamcy2U have shared how to tell the difference between the illnesses so you know which medications to take.

How to treat a cold
If you have a cold, the symptoms will be milder than the flu and include the following:

Runny or stuffy nose
Mild cough
Sneezing
Aches and pains
Sore throat
Headaches

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/24581236.tell-covid-flu-common-cold/