copydude

Or to put it another way, the quality is adequate for this kind of use. Very few pics are printed these days or rerproduced at any size . . . the low resolution isn't a factor. Even digital camera users print increasingly fewer pictures. And of course, the camera in your phone comes 'free'. So on the whole, people in general are really not that demanding. While for convenience/portability, the phone camera wins every time. Raising prices and targeting pro or semi pro users is really the only way classic camera producers can go. Just recently, Olympus gave up any attempt to court a mass market.

Oh, it's really encouraging. But there's a concern,too. Israel is administering the programme correctly, with the gap between vaccinations exactly as specified by Pfizer and using the same vaccine. as shot 1. And at present, even with a quarter of its resident population fully 2-jab dosed, it isn't yet ready to allow a mass return to school. Will Boris be so disciplined? Would be a first.

I've read that it's because of the age group . . . large numbers of older people who can't get to Jab Central under their own steam. And many locations have yet to get up to speed. The nearest vac shop to me is an hour away right now but by May there will be an accredited corner chemist only 5 miles away.

Sure. But they rarely follow up on the 'tough measures' they announce. (Which is why the '10 years' gets a bit of a horse laugh from me.) How many people actually self-isolate at home for the full 10 days when advised? Or even 1 day? Vast armies of self-employed can't afford to. Why aren't they all hauled into court? Because the Gov doesn't want to pay them for time off. This is the folly of pussyfooting around. In 10 years time we'll all be here discussing the umpteenth Covid mutation. Sorry, but that is what it takes to defeat Covid. Why can't you see this? 1 guy met 1 girl in Milan airport and now there are 2,658 deaths in Italy in the last week alone. The other numbers are simply unconscionable. Really, is one less summer holiday better than being dogged by viruses for a lifetime?

Hard to work out what's due to the virus and what's the result of Brexit, which is adding substantially to food prices. Inflation figures after 6 months of Brexit will make grim reading.

Out of interest, is anyone being pressured to take the vaccine? It was suggested that those without a 'been there, done that' cert might find it harder to travel or access certain venues or whatever. But as far as I understand, a test will always trump a vaccination, simply because vaccination is never 100%.

Yes, but that takes money and effort and, most of all, involves politicians in taking unpopular decisions. . . . which they are loth to do. Boris spends more time consulting his own focus groups than SAGE. The Chinese delegation told Boris to lockdown London and the Home Counties back in February last year . . . a la Wuhan and Hubei province. He thought they were entirely mad, went on holiday and skipped all the lectures. The fact is, Boris has only ever been interested in 'flattening the curve' - a strategy which has only seen successive lockdowns and 'curves' that look rather more like vertical lines going eternally skywards. He may get lucky with the vaccine but it's not a silver bullet: think how many years it took to eradicate smallpox. An interesting read: Modelling the effects of Wuhan’s lockdown during COVID-19, China https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/98/7/20-254045/en/

Sumption versus Hancock Ain't gonna happen.

Not at all. The Doctor was 39. Those elegible for vaccination at present are exclusively the group 70 or older and Mr Sharma was blatantly queue-jumping. A clear case of Death by Divine Retribution. Matt Hancock is currently considering a punishment of 50 lashes for any similar offence.

Cheers. Hmmm, won't necessarily spare you quarantine then. No 'jab and go'. )

True, it's looking good in terms of low side-effects so far but we have no idea whether it actually works for older peope. Are you sure about reduced transmission? I have read that the vaccinated can still be carriers, like children. For this reason, countries will still insist on testing at borders/airports and the 'vaccination passport' idea is probably a non-starter. Just what I read.

This trial has yet to be completed and the results and findings published. And it will be some time before we ascertain true levels of protection. Which is why most European countries are not prescribing Astra for over 55s.

Er, no. . . . in theory anyway. People with certain allergies or very high blood pressure, for example, are able to manage their conditions and taking the vaccine will be detrimental or even fatal, simply adding to their complications. To what extent, we really don't know. The Astra Zeneca clinical trial of just 300 people over 65 is hardly definitive and why many European countries will not prescribe Astra for over 55s. You may, in fact, be better off taking some extra vitamin C, D and aspirin . . . a la Trump.

Thank God at least some MPs are focussing on the real issues.

Just unbelievable. And totally unenforceable. I wouldn't worry, Bruce, for a police state you need policemen and the Tories replaced 40,000 with speed cameras for starters. Oops.