#UK Coronavirus News

[covid-safer-hotties]

NHS warns of potential 'quad-demic' as flu, norovirus, Covid and RSV cases on the rise - published Dec 5, 2024

Last year they feared a "triple-demic." This year they fear a "quad-demic." Do y'all have to face "quint-" or "sept-demic" before you start masking up to keep airborne diseases from spreading in public places?

Fears of a potential "quad-demic" are rising, with a 350% increase in flu cases and an 86% rise in norovirus cases in hospitals compared to the same week last year, the NHS England has said.

The health service has said it is "busier than it has ever been before" this winter, with cases of Covid-19 and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) also increasing in hospital wards.

Those who are eligible, and NHS staff, are being urged to get their vaccinations without delay as virus levels rise, with pressure on hospitals expected to increase further over the coming weeks.

So, how bad are the difficulties faced by the NHS this winter? Here, ITV News takes a look at the latest figures.

What is a quad-demic?

A quad-demic is a way of describing the co-circulation of four "very common viruses" at this time of year – influenza virus, RSV, coronavirus and norovirus.

"The first three are respiratory viruses – they cause colds and more severe diseases of the lung; norovirus causes diarrhoea and vomiting," John Tregoning, a professor in vaccine immunology at Imperial College London, told ITV News.

"They are what are known as endemic viruses – there is low level circulation of them most of the time, as opposed to pandemics which are the massive outbreaks."

"Viral infections are more common in winter. They tend to peak in the last four weeks of one year and the first four weeks of the following one," he added.

How much are cases rising this winter?

New weekly figures, published for the first time this year, show a 350% increase in flu cases, and an 89% rise in norovirus cases in hospitals compared to the same week last year.

Rising Covid-19 and RSV levels are also a concern, with an average of 1,390 patients with Covid in hospital beds each day last week, and 142 children in hospital each day with RSV.

The NHS says the latest data shows it is going into winter under more pressure than ever before, with an average of 1,099 people in hospital with flu every day last week compared to 243 in the same week last year – the highest number of cases heading into winter for at least three years.

"We are still only at the start of December, so we expect pressure to increase and there is a long winter ahead of us," said NHS national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

“For a while there have been warnings of a ‘tripledemic’ of Covid, flu and RSV this winter, but with rising cases of norovirus this could fast become a ‘quad-demic’ so it’s important that if you haven’t had your Covid or flu jab to follow the lead of millions of others and come forward and get protected as soon as possible," he added.

New figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also show tuberculosis (TB) levels in England increased by 11% last year, with 4,855 notifications of the disease in 2023, up from 4,380 in 2022.

How much pressure are ambulance services under?

Pressure on ambulance service is "incredibly high", the NHS said. The service transported 90,514 patients to hospitals in England last week, compared to 83,873 during the same period in 2023.

Meanwhile, 35,022 hours were lost to handover delays, up 87% from 18,703 this time last year. There were 413,426 calls to NHS 111 last week – with 73.1% answered within a minute, up 4.4% up on last year.

How crowded are hospitals?

An average of 96,587 adult general and acute hospital beds in England were occupied each day last week, the NHS has said, which is more than at this point in any other year.

The health service warns this could increase in the coming weeks, with problems discharging patients who no longer need to be in hospital continuing to have an impact on capacity.

An average of 11,969 beds each day last week were occupied by patients who were ready for discharge, taking up one in eight of all occupied adult beds.

Patricia Marquis, executive director for England for the Royal College of Nursing, said: “There is barely a spare bed in our NHS, with sky-high flu admissions and thousands stuck in hospital unable to be discharged due to a lack of capacity in social care.

“Before the cold weather hits, nursing staff and patients are desperately worried about what the coming weeks and months may bring.” Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “Services are already feeling the strain from a worrying spike in nasty winter bugs and bad weather.

"Flu, norovirus, RSV and Covid-19 are piling the pressure on already stretched services and staff, and this is likely to get worse as we head into the depths of winter."

In addition to high bed occupancy and a lag in hospital discharges, Ms Cordery warned social care and community services are "also under relentless pressure".

What are the NHS and government doing about this?

The NHS has put measures in place to manage extra demand during winter, including an upgrade of its 24-hour live data centres, strengthening same-day emergency care and offering more fall services for older people.

In September, an independent review by Lord Darzi warned years of underinvestment have left the NHS with an ageing estate and outdated tech, making it harder for staff to deliver the best possible care. The government and NHS are now engaging the public, patients and staff in the biggest-ever conversation about the health service.

More than 1.1 million separate visits have been made to Change.nhs.uk, with almost 9,000 ideas now live as part of the 10 Year Health Plan, which aims to deliver an NHS fit for the future.

Professor Powis said services like urgent treatment centres – an alternative to A&E where people are treated for more minor injuries and illnesses that GPs cannot address – and same-day emergency care will be "important this winter" in order to relieve pressure on hospitals.

“As always, the public have an important part to play in helping NHS staff over winter by, as ever, calling 999 in an emergency and using the NHS 111 service through the NHS App, online or phone, for advice on how to access the right support for non-emergency health needs," he added.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We inherited an NHS that is broken but not beaten, and staff are already working hard to tackle an increase in admissions this winter. “We’re backing them with an extra £26 billion secured in the recent Budget and we’ve already resolved the industrial action to ensure A&Es will be strike-free for the first time in three years. “For too long, an annual winter crisis has become the norm. We will deliver long-term reforms through our 10 Year Health Plan that will create a health service that will be there for all of us all year round."

Streeting also encouraged anyone who is eligible to join the 27 million people who have already come forward to receive their flu, RSV and Covid jabs, claiming this is the "best way to protect yourself this winter".

Why are people at a bigger risk of infection during the winter period?

“Infection is a complex mixture of factors a lot of which is down to good or bad luck," said Professor Tregoning. "There are a mixture of behavioural, immunological and virological reasons.

"The simplest, and probably main reason is that in the winter, people will be closer together in confined spaces – in summer you might meet friends for a picnic in winter its more likely to be in your house. This close proximity accelerates the spread of viruses.

"We also, in the UK, have less exposure to the sun in the winter, and there is some level of protection provided by vitamin D. Infections can also happen more when we are tired or run down, and the winter months being colder may in some way leave our bodies a bit more exhausted tipping the balance in the favour of the virus.

"The winter party season may also contribute some spread if people are more run down and also mixing more closely."

Professor Tregoning added that viruses tend to travel in droplets, which are coughed or sneezed up, which evaporate more quickly during the summer, meaning the virus dries out and becomes less infectious.

However, there is some debate over exactly what makes infections more common at the end of the year, according to Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia.

He expresses doubt over low vitamin D levels being a significant factor, and says research he has been carrying out with colleagues suggests increased contact between people "doesn't have a great impact" on R0 (the basic reproduction number) to make an infection seasonal.

The drying of nasal membranes due to drier winter air can make it "easier for the virus to infect the lining cells", Prof Hunter added.

What precautions can people take?

Professor Tregoning advised people to follow the same guidance as during the Covid-19 pandemic – hands, face, space.

"Hand washing – particularly for norovirus, but also for the respiratory viruses will slow spread. Wearing masks (properly and using a proper mask) can reduce spread of respiratory viruses," he said.

"If you are feeling ill, reduce contact with other people, where possible. But this is not to say don’t mix with people, being sociable is equally important for our health. Meet in well ventilated spaces if possible."

“And if you are at risk get vaccinated. There are vaccines available for three out of four of the quad-demic. “One really exciting new innovation is that mothers can protect their children by getting an RSV vaccine during pregnancy. RSV is a really horrible disease in children, it leads to hospitalisation of tiny babies. You can give your baby the best possible start in life."

Professor Hunter added: “For most people, it would be very difficult to know whether you had flu, Covid or RSV. Norovirus is very distinct.

"In the early stages of illness it may not be clear how severe the illness may become, but it's best to stay at home, drink plenty and rest until you are feeling better. If needed take medicines like paracetamol or ibuprofen or throat lozenges. If I have a bad throat I tend to make a drink with hot water, lemon and honey and sometimes I add whisky."

[fjeldmouse]

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

clown country [x]

[tweetingukpolitics]

[nando161mando]

Some people are justifying the US CDC potentially weakening its COVID isolation guidelines because other countries like the UK have already done it for a while.

Let's check in on how the UK is doing

https://www.reddit.com/r/HermanCainAward/

[head-post]

British MI5 issues alert on Chinese spy to divert attention from PM scandal

The UK’s domestic spy agency MI5 issued an alert calling a woman a Chinese agent to allegedly divert attention from a COVID lockdown party scandal involving former prime minister Boris Johnson, according to Reuters.

In January 2022, MI5 issued an alert about lawyer Christine Lee. The agency claimed she was “involved in political interference activities” in the United Kingdom on behalf of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

The warning was circulated among lawmakers by the Speaker of the House of Commons, who stated MI5 discovered that Lee had “facilitated financial donations to serving and aspiring parliamentarians on behalf of foreign nationals based in Hong Kong and China.”

Lee is now suing MI5 for unspecified damages. She claimed the agency acted unlawfully and unreasonably. At an Investigatory Powers Tribunal hearing on Monday, her lawyer Ramby de Mello read out a message sent to Lee from Barry Gardiner, an MP for the opposition Labour Party. Gardiner claimed he had received hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of donations from her.

He also stated “many people” believed that the timing of the alert was intended to divert attention from Johnson’s admission of an unlawful gathering at Downing Street during the first COVID lockdown. The day before the notice was issued, Johnson had apologised to parliament for attending a “bring your own booze” gathering that had been held at his official residence.

I had never believed that the Security Services would be overtly party political in that way. What has been suggested to me is that the Security Services may have wished to ‘pick a fight’ or to ‘detract attention’ from something else and that we were simply collateral damage.

De Mello stated that MI5 did not have the authority to issue an “unprecedented” notice alleging that Lee had engaged in political interference on behalf of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party.

In their written statements, MI5’s lawyers claimed the alert (IA) was announced on national security grounds. It also aimed to protect parliamentary democracy from foreign interference.

The respondent assessed that (Lee) posed a risk of this nature, and its judgment was that the issuing of the IA was the most effective and proportionate means to address that risk. Those assessments were rational and lawful.

The hearing continues on Tuesday.

Read more HERE

[feminist-space]

"“It’s not your fault,” I told 16-year-old Cara, whose mother died of a SARS-CoV-2 infection [Cara] gave her. To be clear, the doctor confirmed Cara (not her real name) had passed on the virus and Covid was entered on the death certificate as the cause of death.

Cara’s mother had not been outside their home in the weeks preceding her death.

When masks were dropped in the “Omicron’s mild” phase of the pandemic, Cara continued as the lone masker at school to protect her immunocompromised mother, who was undergoing chemotherapy. It was tolerable until a child psychotherapist said on the national airwaves that some girls would continue to mask anyway “to hide their acne”.

His words were used to bully her. Cara left, but without support from teachers she strugg­led. Her parents pleaded with the school to use the Hepa filter they bought. The school refused.

Cara eventually returned to school unmasked, caught Covid and infected her mam. It killed her. Cara self-harms because she blames herself. She hasn’t been to school since.

Research shows that more than 70pc of Sars-CoV-2 transmission in households started with a child.

The incidence was highest during unmitigat­ed in-person schooling. In a recent paper, Dr Pantea Javidan, of Stanford’s Centre for Human Rights, described the ways children’s rights to life, health and safety during the ongoing pandemic have been falsely rendered oppositional to education and development.

Methods used to manufacture consent to forcibly, repeatedly infect children, according to Dr Javidan, include minimising harms to children (“kids don’t get it or spread it”, “it’s mild”) and moral panic around mental health and educational attainment.

Regarding mental health, in August a study looking at paediatric psychiatric emergencies found school openings – not lockdowns – were associated with an increase in the number of emergency psychiatric visits.

In May, a study found that children with and without congenital heart defects showed increased risks for a variety of cardiovascular outcomes (including cardiac arrest, clots, palpitations) after Sars-CoV-2 infection.

In July, a study found that children and teenagers experienced cognitive impairment 12 months post-Covid infection, consistently correlated with poorer sleep and behavioural and emotional functioning.

Last month alone, several studies were published documenting Covid paediatric harms.

One found that children and adolescents experience prolonged symptoms post-Sars-CoV-2 infection in almost every organ system.

Study co-author Professor Lawrence C Kleinman said: “We have convincing evidence that Covid is not just a mild, benign illness for children. This is a new chronic illness in children. We need to be prepared to deal with it for a generation.”

Another study analysing paediatric and adult hospitalisations found teenagers were at greatest risk of severe disease among all children. Yet another study showed compelling connections between viral infection and subsequent autoimmune disease. Early in the pandemic, some children showed negligible Covid symptoms, only to later develop organ failure.

Researchers found the children’s immune systems had latched on to a part of the coronavirus that closely resembles a protein found in the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes and GI tract and launched a catastrophic attack on their own tissues. “Experts” who claimed asymptomatic paediatric Sars2 infections equals mild were catastrophically wrong.

Covid is consistently a leading cause of US child mortality. Paediatric mortality has increased markedly with each year of the pandemic in the US, UK and elsewhere. In 2022, over six times as many children died from Covid than from flu in the US."

[penny-anna]

Rimmer pressed his lips together in a bitter smile. “Might I remind you that this whole dire situation is your fault?” “What, the coronavirus?” said Lister. “No, you idiot, us getting evicted,” said Rimmer. “If it wasn’t for you we’d have two whole bedrooms right now. I could have got a hotplate and a chemical toilet and sealed myself in.” “Hey, hang on,” said Lister. “I got us evicted? You’re the one who told Mr Hollister about Frankenstein.” “I wouldn’t have had to tell our landlord that you were in breach of our lease if you hadn’t been in breach of our lease,” Rimmer snapped. “Really, you –” Reluctant flatmates Lister and Rimmer are forced to move into a one bedroom flat after getting evicted. Unfortunately, it's early 2020 and what was supposed to be a temporary situation drags on. And on... In which Lister won't stop bringing home new flatmates, Holly communicates exclusively via Zoom call, Kryten bakes bread, the Cat bedazzles a lot of face masks, Rimmer hoards toilet paper, and everyone leans some things about themselves.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Old news (From Fall 2021, updated Spring 2022), but still important and a great explainer for those interested in learning.

Also preserved in our archive

By:

Jessica Bernard Associate Professor, Texas A&M University

A new brain-imaging study finds that participants who had even mild COVID-19 showed an average reduction in whole brain sizes.

Researchers have been steadily gathering important insights into the effects of COVID-19 on the body and brain. Two years into the pandemic, these findings are raising concerns about the long-term impacts the coronavirus might have on biological processes such as aging.

As a cognitive neuroscientist, I have focused in my past research on understanding how normal brain changes related to aging affect people’s ability to think and move – particularly in middle age and beyond.

But as evidence came in showing that COVID-19 could affect the body and brain for months following infection, my research team shifted some of its focus to better understanding how the illness might influence the natural process of aging. This was motivated in large part by compelling new work from the United Kingdom investigating the impact of COVID-19 on the human brain.

Peering in at the brain’s response to COVID-19 In a large study published in the journal Nature on March 7, 2022, a team of researchers in the UK investigated brain changes in people ages 51 to 81 who had experienced COVID-19. This work provides important new insights about the impact of COVID-19 on the human brain.

In the study, researchers relied on a database called the UK Biobank, which contains brain imaging data from over 45,000 people in the U.K. going back to 2014. This means that there was baseline data and brain imaging of all of those people from before the pandemic.

The research team compared people who had experienced COVID-19 with participants who had not, carefully matching the groups based on age, sex, baseline test date and study location, as well as common risk factors for disease, such as health variables and socioeconomic status.

The team found marked differences in gray matter – or the neurons that process information in the brain – between those who had been infected with COVID-19 and those who had not. Specifically, the thickness of the gray matter tissue in brain regions known as the frontal and temporal lobes was reduced in the COVID-19 group, differing from the typical patterns seen in the people who hadn’t had a COVID-19 infection.

In the general population, it is normal to see some change in gray matter volume or thickness over time as people age. But the changes were more extensive than normal in those who had been infected with COVID-19.

Interestingly, when the researchers separated the individuals who had severe enough illness to require hospitalization, the results were the same as for those who had experienced milder COVID-19. That is, people who had been infected with COVID-19 showed a loss of brain volume even when the disease was not severe enough to require hospitalization.

Finally, researchers also investigated changes in performance on cognitive tasks and found that those who had contracted COVID-19 were slower in processing information than those who had not. This processing ability was correlated with volume in a region of the brain known as the cerebellum, indicating a link between brain tissue volume and cognitive performance in those with COVID-19.

This study is particularly valuable and insightful because of its large sample sizes both before and after illness in the same people, as well as its careful matching with people who had not had COVID-19.

What do these changes in brain volume mean? Early on in the pandemic, one of the most common reports from those infected with COVID-19 was the loss of sense of taste and smell.

Strikingly, the brain regions that the U.K. researchers found to be affected by COVID-19 are all linked to the olfactory bulb, a structure near the front of the brain that passes signals about smells from the nose to other brain regions. The olfactory bulb has connections to regions of the temporal lobe. Researchers often talk about the temporal lobe in the context of aging and Alzheimer’s disease, because it is where the hippocampus is located. The hippocampus is likely to play a key role in aging, given its involvement in memory and cognitive processes.

The sense of smell is also important to Alzheimer’s research, as some data has suggested that those at risk for the disease have a reduced sense of smell. While it is too early to draw any conclusions about the long-term impacts of COVID-related effects on the sense of smell, investigating possible connections between COVID-19-related brain changes and memory is of great interest – particularly given the regions implicated and their importance in memory and Alzheimer’s disease.

The study also highlights a potentially important role for the cerebellum, an area of the brain that is involved in cognitive and motor processes; importantly, it too is affected in aging. There is also an emerging line of work implicating the cerebellum in Alzheimer’s disease.

Looking ahead These new findings bring about important yet unanswered questions: What do these brain changes following COVID-19 mean for the process and pace of aging? Also, does the brain recover from viral infection over time, and to what extent?

These are active and open areas of research we are beginning to tackle in my laboratory in conjunction with our ongoing work investigating brain aging.

Our lab’s work demonstrates that as people age, the brain thinks and processes information differently. In addition, we’ve observed changes over time in how people’s bodies move and how people learn new motor skills. Several decades of work have demonstrated that older adults have a harder time processing and manipulating information – such as updating a mental grocery list – but they typically maintain their knowledge of facts and vocabulary. With respect to motor skills, we know that older adults still learn, but they do so more slowly then young adults.

When it comes to brain structure, we typically see a decrease in the size of the brain in adults over age 65. This decrease is not just localized to one area. Differences can be seen across many regions of the brain. There is also typically an increase in cerebrospinal fluid that fills space due to the loss of brain tissue. In addition, white matter, the insulation on axons – long cables that carry electrical impulses between nerve cells – is also less intact in older adults.

Life expectancy has increased in the past decades. The goal is for all to live long and healthy lives, but even in the best-case scenario where one ages without disease or disability, older adulthood brings on changes in how we think and move.

Learning how all of these puzzle pieces fit together will help us unravel the mysteries of aging so that we can help improve quality of life and function for aging individuals. And now, in the context of COVID-19, it will help us understand the degree to which the brain may recover after illness as well.

This is an updated version of an article originally published on Sept. 24, 2021.

Study link: www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04569-5

[darkmaga-returns]

The US State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) has been shut down after Republicans cut its funding.

The agency, described by Elon Musk as a “threat to democracy” was responsible for spreading propaganda abroad and, according to conservatives, censoring dissident thought at home.

RT reports: The GEC announced on Monday that it would cease operations by the end of that day. “The State Department has consulted with Congress regarding next steps,” the statement added.

The organization employed around 120 people and had an annual budget of $61 million. Established in 2016, its stated goal was to “recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts.”

In practice, the GEC spearheaded complex propaganda campaigns of its own. In two campaigns, the agency funded video games aimed at teaching children about the supposed dangers of anti-American narratives, releasing them in the UK, Ukraine, Latvia, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the GEC funneled money to a range of NGOs which then compiled lists of social media accounts supposedly spreading “disinformation” about the virus and its origins, which were then presented to the platforms to be banned or removed. Many of the accounts belonged to what Twitter’s former trust and safety chief, Yoel Roth, called “ordinary Americans,” raising concerns among conservatives that the GEC was violating its prohibition on operating within the US.

In 2023, the GEC was forced to cut ties with George Soros’ ‘Global Disinformation Initiative’, after it emerged that the agency was paying Soros’ organization to compile lists of “high risk” news outlets to use in an advertiser boycott campaign. These news sites were predominantly right-leaning and American-based.

X owner Elon Musk called the GEC a “threat to our democracy” last year, describing the agency as the “worst offender in US government censorship [and] media manipulation.”

[ukrfeminism]

Women would need to work for an extra 19 years to retire with the same pension savings as men, according to data from the Pensions Policy Institute.

The research found women retiring at 67 – the new UK state pension age from 2026 – will have saved an average of £69,000, compared with £205,000 for men.

The data, published by the PPI and pensions provider Now: Pensions, suggests that under the current system, in order to close the “gender pension gap” a girl would need to start saving at three years old to retire with the same amount of money as working men.

Career gaps, caring responsibilities, childcare costs and lower earnings all contribute to the disparity.

As automatic enrolment into workplace pensions – where workers are put into a pension scheme into which they and their employer pay – starts at the age of 22, the 19-year gap meant that “by age three, girls are already falling behind boys in their provision for later life”, the researchers claimed.

However, women often live longer than men – on average by about seven years – meaning their retirement pots also need to last longer.

Now: Pensions is calling for the £10,000-a-year earnings threshold for people to be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension to be removed because it excludes many women who hold multiple jobs or work part-time or as freelancers.

The UK state pension age of 66 is set to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028. From 2044, it is expected to rise to 68. However, research issued earlier this week suggested it would have to rise to 71 for those born after April 1970.

Separate industry figures issued on Wednesday indicated that the estimated amount of money needed to enjoy a “moderate” standard of living in retirement had jumped by £8,000 – or 34% – in a year as a result of the cost of living crisis and changes in behaviour.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has developed the “retirement living standards” to show what life in retirement looks like at three different levels – minimum, moderate and comfortable. Last year it said a single person needed about £12,800 a year to meet the minimum threshold but this year the figure has been put at £14,400.

The new threshold for a moderate standard of living in later life is £31,300 for a single person – up from £23,300 a year ago. To meet the comfortable threshold, the new figure is £43,100 a year for one person – up from £37,300.

The pension provider Scottish Widows said securing a guaranteed annual income of £23,300 for life would require a pension pot of about £500,000 – but securing an income of £31,300 would mean amassing a pension pot of more than £750,000.

The PLSA said its latest research “reflects the price rises that households have faced, particularly in food and energy use”, but also highlighted the increasing importance people placed on spending time with family and friends away from the home, as people’s priorities have changed after the coronavirus pandemic.

[eaglesnick]

“They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition” - Paul the Apostle

“This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level. Trust is earned. And I will earn yours." 

These were the words of Rishi Sunak to the nation when he entered Downing Street October 2022. What we were unaware of then was that multi-millionaire Sunak had already forfeited that trust by valuing money more than  human life.

At the Covid Inquiry yesterday, Patrick Vallance revealed the moral bankruptcy of Sunak. Trust Mr Sunak requires people to tell the truth and it seems you have been as guilty as Johnson in trying to hide your role in the thousands of unnecessary deaths caused by Covid.

“Patrick Vallance contradicts Rishi Sunak’s evidence to Covid inquiry.” (Guardian: 20/11/23)

Writing to the inquiry, Sunak had claimed  he did “not recall any concerns about the scheme” Eat Out To Help Out, being raised at any meetings despite the fear that his scheme would boost the spread of the deadly virus.

According to Vallance, Sunak would have almost certainly have known of the scientific objections to his scheme, and was “very surprised” Sunak was in denial of this fact.

We already knew that Boris Johnson was prepared to “let the bodies pile high”, and now it seems so was Sunak.

“Rishi Sunak 'thought it was OK to just let people die' instead of imposing an economy-crippling second lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, the UK Covid-19 inquiry has heard.” (itvX: 20/11/23)

Sunak’s ‘Eat Out To Help Out ‘ scheme was NOT run past scientists for approval and no scientific advisors knew about the scheme until AFTER it had been announced. More concerned with the financial cost of the pandemic than human life:

“Rishi Sunak was overheard saying the Government should focus on handling its scientific advisers rather than the spread of Covid-19…"  (The Irish News: 20/11/23) 

Patrick Vallance has stated that the Eat Out To Help Out scheme is “highly likely" to have led to increased Covid deaths in the UK.

So much for trust! We have an unelected Prime Minister who actively and deliberately introduced a scheme that he knew would lead to an increase in Covid fatalities. For rich-boy Sunak it was “OK to just let people die" because to multi-millionaire Sunak money is more important than the lives of ordinary people.

[head-post]

Why UK doctors strike and stress

Junior doctors working in England’s National Health Service started a six-day strike over wages on Wednesday, a desperate move in a demoralised NHS suffering from huge workloads, staff shortages and lack of investment, according to Politico.

Healthcare workers are demanding pay rises since 2022 to keep up with inflation, which is also part of a wider sense of dissatisfaction among staff who feel overworked and undervalued, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.

UK healthcare faces challenges on all fronts. Firstly, there are fewer doctors per capita than any other country in Europe. Secondly, healthcare providers and think tanks have systematically reported staff shortages and expressed alarm over the impact on patient care and workforce.

Moreover, underinvestment led to the NHS being ill-prepared for emergencies and staggered in the aftermath of the pandemic. This had a negative impact on staff morale.

Read more HERE

[scotianostra]

Birthday, singer and actress Lorraine McIntosh born 13th May 1964 in Glasgow.

Lorraine was brought up in Cumnock, Ayrshire from about the age of three. She has been a member of one of Scotland’s favourite bands Deacon Blue since they formed in Glasgow in 1985.

Lorraine didn’t have an easy upbringing, she lost her mother and she said her Dad coped for a while then fell apart, hitting the bottle he started missing rent payments which led to them being evicted, she said the council waited until she had turned 18, a week after that the were out. In an interview for The Big Issue Lorraine poured her heart out saying………..

“I got a phone call from a social worker saying I wasn’t to go home, as dad had been evicted. I was at the bus stop with my friend, but couldn’t get on the bus. She phoned her mum and I ended up staying with them at first. No clothes, no nothing. We lost everything. It just got put in the street. And the saddest thing was I lost all my mum’s things, her clothes, wee bits of jewellery, all put on the street. Gone.”

I empathise with this entirely except I actually got home from school and found all our belongings on the street after we got evicted, I was 13 at the time………..

Lorraine was a regular on the Scottish soap, River City, she has also appeared in three episodes of Taggart playing different roles, more recently she turned up on Outlander last year as Mrs. Sylvie, the owner of a popular brothel in the town of Cross Creek. Also last year Deacon Blue’s 10th album, City Of Love, shot to No 4 in the UK album rankings the week before lockdown, giving the Glasgow outfit their biggest chart success since 1994.

During the pandemic, as well as coping with the strain of lockdown, Lorraine, who lives with Ricky in Glasgow, was taken ill with coronavirus in the early stages of the outbreak.

She said: “It has taken quite a while to get over it completely. I was in bed for three weeks, and then recovered.”

In 2020 Lorraine joined up with the Simon Community’s Nightstop campaign, to encourage people to open their homes to vulnerable young people. The Nightstop service offers young people aged 16 to 25 a safe place to stay when they find themselves in a crisis. All the volunteer hosts are fully vetted and trained. Since starting in Glasgow last year, eight families have provided 96 nights of emergency accommodation. She and her husband, Deacon Blue frontman Ricky Ross, are considering signing up as hosts – but only if the Simon Community think that their high profile won’t get in the way.

I really like Lorraine, and Ricky’s humanity, specifically Lorraine visited Rwanda two years ago to raise awareness of sexual violence against women when she was moved to tears by the testimony of victims. She has recently spoken out against the plan to send refugees coming to the UK to the country and said the country was still recovering from a genocide inflicted during the civil war in 1994 and for ministers to consider sending asylum seekers there is deplorable.

On her trip, she heard of shocking conditions, including child slavery, youngsters being burned to death, and rape being used as a weapon of war to destroy communities.

On her final day in Rwanda, she made a pilgrimage to one of the most infamous genocide sites in the country called Nyamata where thousands were slaughtered in and around a church.

She said: “I was unprepared for the sight of thousands of items of clothing from the fallen folded and piled up on the church pews. The ceiling pockmarked with bullets and a line around the bottom of the wall which our guide tells us is the blood line from the carnage. A river of blood. In the gardens outside 50,000 people lie buried.

Hubbie Ricky made a simple tweet yesterday, the post read "33 years today ❤️" with the photo

Lorraine is set to appear in the new season of Shetland.

The song is my favourite where she sings a strong vocal.