Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

[mikeprice]

 

saw this and - as Mrs mikeprice is shielding so I have to be careful - are we allowed to bark at people who walk past?????

 

 

just asking

 

 

 

edit:

can no-one mention croaking - or ribbit

 

 

toooo obvious

posting edit for a friend

Edited January 22, 2021 by mikeprice

[jmak]

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler have updated some of their own work:

[caffrey]

Went for a proper test this morning, woke up with what felt like a hangover. I thought it was just a dodgy pint I had last night but housemate came down feeling the same so we booked in some tests - got none of the 3 main symptoms though so hopefully it's nothing. Now to wait for the results.

[6Foot2]

[LeMarchand]

Getting worried by the attitude of some members of the family to lockdown rules. IMHO there is already something of a "barrack room lawyer" stance going on with regard to care arrangements for The Holy Grandchild. It also seems as if his mother, who loves to play him as a trump card, quite often stretches, if not breaks, the rules citing emotional/mental needs. Latest plan (keeping it vague) will more directly impact me, but if I raise objections I will be seen as the heartless uncaring stepfather.

[stevejp]

Getting worried by the attitude of some members of the family to lockdown rules. IMHO there is already something of a "barrack room lawyer" stance going on with regard to care arrangements for The Holy Grandchild. It also seems as if his mother, who loves to play him as a trump card, quite often stretches, if not breaks, the rules citing emotional/mental needs. Latest plan (keeping it vague) will more directly impact me, but if I raise objections I will be seen as the heartless uncaring stepfather.

 

I was the heartless uncaring stepfather for many years - I feel your pain!

[FishCustard]

Getting worried by the attitude of some members of the family to lockdown rules. IMHO there is already something of a "barrack room lawyer" stance going on with regard to care arrangements for The Holy Grandchild. It also seems as if his mother, who loves to play him as a trump card, quite often stretches, if not breaks, the rules citing emotional/mental needs. Latest plan (keeping it vague) will more directly impact me, but if I raise objections I will be seen as the heartless uncaring stepfather.

 

"Uncaring" stepfather who just wants to stop people getting a (potentially) deadly disease. Stick to your guns!

[mavhc]

https://ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2021/01/what-can-we-learn-about-covid-transmission-in-schools-from-teacher-absence-figures/

[Ditto]

https://ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2021/01/what-can-we-learn-about-covid-transmission-in-schools-from-teacher-absence-figures/

 

A mildly interesting report, but as they acknowledge the ability to make interpretations is extremely difficult given the data they have. For me, not knowing whether a teacher's infection, or presumed infection, occurred through attendance at school or elsewhere is a real stumbling block. Although looking at a slightly different scenario, NEU's report published a few days ago has primary and secondary the other way around https://schoolsweek.co.uk/fact-check-are-school-staff-at-greater-risk-from-covid-19/. What is consistent is the call for more research, to get better data to get a better understanding of the real situation - unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much movement on that front.

[caffrey]

Phew, test came back negative

 

Probably just a cold, remember those ?

[mavhc]

A mildly interesting report, but as they acknowledge the ability to make interpretations is extremely difficult given the data they have. For me, not knowing whether a teacher's infection, or presumed infection, occurred through attendance at school or elsewhere is a real stumbling block. Although looking at a slightly different scenario, NEU's report published a few days ago has primary and secondary the other way around https://schoolsweek.co.uk/fact-check-are-school-staff-at-greater-risk-from-covid-19/. What is consistent is the call for more research, to get better data to get a better understanding of the real situation - unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much movement on that front.

 

Weirdly that schoolsweek article quotes the FFT article to support their argument, does avoid mentioning the parts that disagree with their argument though

 

Further research published by Datalab found “very similar” rates of teacher absence across the two school phases, with primary slightly higher, despite an insistence by the government that younger pupils are less likely to transmit the virus.

 

The research also found that the rates varied “very little” over half term, bucking a national trend in overall infection rates for working age people.

[6Foot2]

This afternoon's briefing has started:

 

[Andrew_C]

Phew, test came back negative

 

Probably just a cold, remember those ?

How do you catch a cold? I honestly wonder what the stats on other diseases is?

[6Foot2]

How do you catch a cold? I honestly wonder what the stats on other diseases is?

 

I heard a little while ago that, with the increased emphasis on handwashing and isolation, cases of colds and flu are down on what would normally be expected at this time of year (compared with what we might have now had the pandemic not happened at all)

[Ditto]

Contrary to other recent reports, ONS suggest teachers are not at significantly higher risk of death than average. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55795608.

 

The gender difference is very much significant and the fact that the number of female versus male teachers is very different ought to be taken account of too. At this point, I'm not sure when the article refers to 'teachers' whether it is excluding non-teaching staff. Given the number of non-teaching staff in schools as a percentage of all school employees, research really ought to look at the whole picture, not what can half the employees.

[mavhc]

But that's between March and December, when schools were mostly closed

[Ditto]

But that's between March and December, when schools were mostly closed

The BBC report acknowledges school closure, which happens in normal times too, but I wouldn't say 'mostly' to the degree that I would dismiss the research. What is more interesting is the risk factor difference by gender. AFAIK, no one has proposed a different approach by gender. What this clearly demonstrates, is that the approach to battling Covid-19 isn't purely data driven. Social, (dare I say political (with a small 'p')) and economic factors are also taken into account - that makes it hard. As a result, no matter the decisions made, there will be those that support, those that don't and a myriad in between.

[LeMarchand]

There's an article in the TES suggesting that the rates are both higher and double if you include older staff, but it doesn't make clear if they are included in the stats for other professions.

 

The NEU have also suggested that the age skews younger in a lot of schools, so it may well be that infections rates are higher but the age of the staff means fewer fatalities.

 

Page is fairly politically charged(!), so not linked, but easy enough to find.

[Ditto]

Staying well away from the 'p' word, the NEU statement raises some very interesting points about the ONS data. I see they have been invited to comment further.

[Primus]

The BBC report acknowledges school closure, which happens in normal times too, but I wouldn't say 'mostly' to the degree that I would dismiss the research. What is more interesting is the risk factor difference by gender. AFAIK, no one has proposed a different approach by gender. What this clearly demonstrates, is that the approach to battling Covid-19 isn't purely data driven. Social, (dare I say political (with a small 'p')) and economic factors are also taken into account - that makes it hard. As a result, no matter the decisions made, there will be those that support, those that don't and a myriad in between.

 

But schools were "mostly" closed for a lot of that time period.

 

They were only fully open from September to December and even then attendance rates nationally were dropping and in some areas had dropped significantly.

 

When in normal times have we seen schools closed from March to September?

 

The data from March to August is flawed/skewed because of how few staff and pupils were in school.

[sonofsanta]

Well, if you take someone to get their vaccine, take a book with you--was waiting in the car for 90 minutes last night. But mother-in-law has had her first jab (the Oxford/AstraZeneca one), and has been told we can just go back to that centre for the 2nd dose instead of faffing about with Leicester City Centre, so I'll not complain too much about more time to sit quietly and read my Kindle in peace

[6Foot2]

Well, if you take someone to get their vaccine, take a book with you--was waiting in the car for 90 minutes last night. But mother-in-law has had her first jab (the Oxford/AstraZeneca one), and has been told we can just go back to that centre for the 2nd dose instead of faffing about with Leicester City Centre, so I'll not complain too much about more time to sit quietly and read my Kindle in peace

 

They might also require the injectee to sit and wait for a while post injection to make sure there is no (immediate) adverse reaction.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

They might also require the injectee to sit and wait for a while post injection to make sure there is no (immediate) adverse reaction.

 

Yes, this happened for my parents, they had to take a seat for fifteen minutes before they were allowed to leave.

 

Quite sensible really

[Ditto]

But schools were "mostly" closed for a lot of that time period.

 

They were only fully open from September to December and even then attendance rates nationally were dropping and in some areas had dropped significantly.

 

When in normal times have we seen schools closed from March to September?

 

The data from March to August is flawed/skewed because of how few staff and pupils were in school.

Broadly, I agree. The data for the period when schools were fully open are (much) more relevant, and perhaps for the 28 days after they re-closed as I expect that is when the death figures would be recorded. However, the schools I am involved in were open to all the time for key workers. That situation is very different of course to a fully open school. I would also observe that the school I aim currently aligned to asked all staff to come in - only extremely vulnerable has any chance of working from home, and I know that the scenarios differed across the country. With purely my data analyst hat on, I think my conclusion is that neither the ONS nor NEU reports should be taken as gospel. As I suggested in my earlier post, what we need is much better research.

[sonofsanta]

They might also require the injectee to sit and wait for a while post injection to make sure there is no (immediate) adverse reaction.

 

 

Yeah, MiL had to wait ten minutes because she's on blood thinner medication. It was the multiple queues to get to the jab that took the time up!

 

(Apparently there are no snacks at the end like blood donors, though you can get a soft drink. Boring.)