Relaxation of Restrictions, Part XII *Read OP For Mod Warnings*

I can see the argument in favour of doing it as required but we already have them so why not just leave them on the shelf? From everybody's perspective it would be wise to move forward, away from the word emergency in any shape or form. Where COVID stands at present I don't believe it merits that type of attention anymore. By the end of this month we'll have already used up the best part of a month anyway so it is becoming something that really doesn't need to be fixed. The reality of such an emergency session would be the protocol of the opposition speechifying, but rowing in behind the government anyway, a version of the current box ticking exercise.

There is no suggestion that boosters will be encouraged in any other groups apart from those already stated. Despite whatever Israel is up to it is a good call to hold off on such a plan until we get to 12 months plus data on vaccinations. While people will continue to catch COVID, it is no longer the novel coronavirus it was in January 2020 and our immune systems should be able to generate some level of response to it. On top of that there's a lot of work going on in therapeutics, specifically antiviral tablets and they will begin to come to the fore. 

This year and last year are not in any way comparable for obvious reasons. Seriously are you taking the piss here or what?

You can be paranoid if you want, but as is_that_so points out, by 9th November a month will have already passed in this extension, and there isn't even the slightest inkling that boosters will be rolled out to anyone except the medically vulnerable. In fact, the infrastructure to carry out these campaigns is being slowly stood down.

If there was a plan in place to drive a mass campaign of boosters, in a way that's acceptable, they're already two months behind schedule.

Or to put it another way; if they brought in "indoor dining for the boosted only" when less than 1% of the population has had their boosters and are not likely to have access to boosters in the next 6 weeks, the legislation will be completely ignored. Vaccine certs worked only because a majority of the population were vaccinated at the time, and the rest would be vaccinated (or have access to vaccination) shortly after vaccine certs came in.

Policing in Ireland is still fundamentally by consent. People will ignore the law en masse when that law makes no sense or cannot be reasonably applied.

I don't see figures for hospitalisations, but to my understanding, absolute daily case rates and deaths (here and elsewhere, e.g. UK) are higher now than at this point last year, when we were under similar restrictions (i.e. level 1/2), and with no vaccination.

You must be itching for a lockdown , eh? Did you forget about last xmas? 2.5k in hospital and something like 90+ deaths a day at one stage. Not to mention it was a less transmissable strain.

We only have 3-400 people in hospital. Covid cases are also dropping and we have now more freedoms than we ever had since the pandemic began. Vaccines work, the proof is out there full stop.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by vaccines work. It's like your mam sprinkling holy water on you and if you return intact from your holiday she declares that the holy water 'worked'.

Data curves in Israel and Singapore (particularly them because similar population size and heavier vax rate) is saying the diametric opposite in a very clear fashion. They are ahead of us in their programmes so that would not augur well for the upcoming Irish winter. Irish winter in hospitals is hell anyway, not that lockdown fixed anything either of course. We just have to get people to bolster their own health. The state can't be expected to put its finger in every dyke hole. I'd like to see obesity addressed more by people themselves - a very obvious and changeable underlying condition. It's not too early to start that now.

There's is much more open and for a longer period too than at any point last year, and a much lower hospitalisation rate due to vaccines. So you're not comparing like for like.

This person is a "covert" anti-vaxxer, not saying what they really mean but trying to hide behind nonsensical analysis of data, always coming to the opposite conclusion of those that wrote the paper based on the same information.

lol

How utterly predictable.

"there isn't even the slightest inkling that boosters will be rolled out to anyone except the medically vulnerable."

"Here are quotes today from the highest levels of government that say otherwise"

"Spin spin spin deflect deflect deflect"

Let me guess, if they announce a national booster plan you will suddenly be all for it and will say it was always going to be needed? Par for the course.

Hey, do you remember when you said "but a government can't hold onto emergency powers "just in case". It either is an emergency or it isn't"?

You are attempting to rope two different animals into the one coral on the basis they are somhow related.

You brought up Tegnell and Bhattacharya in relation to natural acquired immunity. Neither were interested in individual acquired immunity. It was all about how many would get infected to reach herd immunity. We now have a very good idea where we would be with serious illness and deaths had that policy been adopted rather than vaccines. As I said earlier, as far as I see naturally acquired has the same status as vaccinated. Especially where Covid passports are concerned.

Australia went for zero Covid, wasted the time that gave them to vaccinate and are now attempting to play catch-up. A Republican Senator having a dig at Fauci on Fox News isn`t exactly one of those eye opening events now is it ? Especially when the state he represents has a population of 4.5 million, has just 53% vaccinated and has a 7 day moving average of 2,400 new cases and 36 deaths. Something both the Senator and Fox for some reason failed to mention.