It's going to be an "interesting" few months and it would be more interesting to know just how many people who have had 0ne or two doses of the vaccine are still contracting covid.
I realise this may have a negative effect on the vaccine program and that it's probably more important to ensure that the take up of the vaccine is as high as possible but, there are plenty of double jabbed people contracting the virus and whilst I will happily bow to your knowledge on vaccines, what would be the effect of any new variant(s), especially when we have a significant increase in overseas travel on the way.

It's called Vaccine Breakthrough, PHE are doing the study and they will use our technology platform to do a lot of it. I work with them, I can't discuss details but they are planning comprehensive work. If it is reassuring at all vaccine breakthrough to do with the individuals response to the vaccine rather than variants. They will also do reinfection studies.
We (my company) have made around 60 variants of covid, including several strains of the delta and the C37 etc. We use a standard sample in all our tests that's calibrated to the WHO reference material, it's a pool of several covid positive convalescent individuals, it's from early last year so the infection was wild type (Wuhan strain). All the variants we test show massive antibody binding from that sample and ACE2 inhibition - direct inhibition of ACE2 binding to the viral protein. What that means is that all the variants so far (as I said we have made around 60), are still identified and strongly bound by antibodies from Wuhan strain infected individuals.

I want to be reassuring because we are in a really good place with the vaccines, they are highly effective against all forms of the virus so far and the people at the sharp end of this are all pretty confident that no mutation will appear that completely sidesteps the massive immune response the vaccines generate. I'm not being political, just factual. Booster shots are looking highly effective as well.

As far as I know, the primary purpose of a vaccine is to minimise the chances of long term damage and death of a person from the virus, which all these covid vaccines do at a very effective rate.

Excellent posting.

Great explanation, thank you.

It sounds like freedom day may not be as stated with the continuance of mask wearing inside public areas and on transport. I wonder who had been pushing for this change.

Although this will now be a "personal choice" and not an instruction and impossible for retailers etc to enforce.

It was interesting to hear that a double jabbed person, over 50 is still more likely to die than an non jabbed person under 30, although "long covid" can and will affect the young.

It really isn't the role of minimum wage shop staff, arguably even security staff, to enforce mask wearing. The conflict and abuse that leads to is not what they are there for.

For once I agree with you ,which is probably why it isn’t challenged - certainly don’t blame them

Completely agree with the above

It's certainly been "enforced" in Supermarkets and our local shop but, in fairness, I've never been a big "shopper".
Even pre pandemic, I'd rather buy on line, it's much less hassle (apart from the occasional "bad buy".

Silly me when Johnson kept saying it would be irreversible he was actually indicating restrictions could be reapplied. The man is clearly working from the Trump play book, just deny what you have said despite film evidence to the contrary.
We were to introduce a Covid passport, then not, then yes we were then no and now yes again. We had all people ending working from home but now it is no longer the case, fortunately the majority of employers had no intention of acting on this instruction.

Yep, that's how he rolls.

Say whatever is most popular with the masses today and then deny it when it comes back to bite.
The opening up of "everything", at a time when cases are already out of control is like trying to put a fire out with petrol.

There is now talk that "some" restrictions will have to be applied if/when things get worse, but, in Bojo's head, this clearly isn't "reversing" or, maybe he's just forgotten/ignored the "irreversible opening up" comments of just a few weeks ago.

It looks like the "world beating" track and trace system is now to be over ridden so that the economy can open up with "contacts" likely to be allowed to ignore the "ping".

The vaccine roll out seems to have been a huge success, although there are now 1000's of positive cases among those who have been double jabbed and assuming that vaccinated NHS staff, among others, will be told to ignore the "ping", what will this do to the safety of those in hospital.

It's amazing that towns and cities in the North West were virtually "locked down" when cases rose above 200 per 100,000 and yet, now, cases are 500+ per 100,000 and we're still flinging the metaphoric doors open.

It's going to be an interesting few months