They didnāt discuss closing schools anyway, which is probably the only thing that could have made a difference. Theyāll just close the pubs to be safe though
Notwithstanding nphet should have started booster program months ago but look over there at those lazy doctors and patients putting it on
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Bit of a throwback but I was just thinking that whenever Covid19 first hit London last March, that marked some of the greatest internetting that Iāve ever seen from @Tassotti . If you remember, heād been off the board for months. There was a dramatic reappearance posting about how scared he was, how he didnāt want to die. End of days, full on mental breakdown. Then out of nowhere the single pivot post - āOnly 0.5% mortality!? Itās a cod!!ā Or words to that effect. Serious internetting.
Then he goes away again for a while and @Bandage starts musing about how it would be the perfect time for him to return as a LIDTF. Which of course he does.
I think Tassotti has had the best pandemic on the board, @mikehunt probably 2nd, he ruined lives.
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When @mikehunt 's mother, in full lockdown, probably crying everyday, sent the letter to his wee one saying that she loved her and donāt worry theyād meet again soon, and MikeHunt called the aul doll up and fucking laid into her, was she trying to fucking kill the child, Iād say that was the single greatest pandemic moment on TFK. The poor mother bawling down the phone at MikeHunt and him showing no mercy.
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At the time I was experimenting with a few comedy posts, satirizing the over-the-top reaction some people had to Covid. When I was the ācard from grannyā post I just realized there was no point in even trying, leave it to the pros.
I rang he for the first time in a year and a half the other day. She said she was thinking of going to Galway to get pressies for the kids. Told her theyād end up in the bin and not to be wasting her time.
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Pat Kenny asking Leo will the vaccinators get Christmas and st Stephens day off 
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Pat asking the tough questions as usual. I bet Varadkar was quaking in his boots at that question.
Some lovely digs at fake journalists who despise transparency and want to cover up information like Qewan, as well as the bourgeois liberal Irish Times āopen it upā hacks like Stephen Collins and Pat Leahy, who so many on this forum are parrots for.
Pandemic times: boosters, muzzling NPHET, Omicron and just why pretending thereās no problem isnāt going to entice people back into bars and restaurantsā¦oh, and what sort of journalists donāt want transparency in health decisions? December 15, 2021
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Uncategorized.
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The news this last day or two, has been increasingly troubling in relation to Omicron. But before that how many people have got boosters so far? I went down to Croke Park this week ā as a walk-in, assuring all and sundry that yeah, I was over 50. Well over 50. It was interesting. Very few people there compared to the last two times, and the person doing the jab told me thereād been relatively few in all morning. Indeed they werenāt aware that walk-ins were being looked after that day or this week. Yet go to the HSE website and there it is ā 1.40 onwards for some hours is for walk-ins. Why thereās been this shift to a layered and complex level of vaccination at this point escapes me, and those Iāve been talking with about it. Sure, in theory thereās choice, but itās a choice that those who can exercise it have. I work from home, the place was an easy walk away, etc. But there was ā to judge from other centres over the week-end, no guarantee of getting a dose, and the prospect of many hours waiting. And Iām very curious now to see how long until I receive a text from the HSE inviting me to an appointment at Croke Park.
The news last night was that they were ramping up the programme. But for those over-40 vaccinations wonāt open until next week. But whatās the plan for younger cohorts again given the issue of Omicron and how that impacts? The messaging is vague. Whatās the plan?
But another thought strikes. One of the key problems throughout the pandemic has been an almost wilful miscommunication of where matters stand by this government and governments more generally. Rather than presenting the situation truthfully as one where only very small shifts in terms of transmissibility could upend reopenings the narrative put about was one almost of āall returning to normalā.
We see now in the genuinely concerning increases in cases of Omicron that that is entirely hollow. The last few months saw the usual tug-of-war between government, public health and business interests almost oblivious on the part of the former and the latter as to the reality of the pandemic. Thatās perhaps not entirely fair on the government, but nonetheless for all their complaints about miscommunication from public health their own inconsistency has been striking with the TĆ”naiste in particular sounding divergent notes at unhelpful points.
In a way the problem is that populations have been told weāre close to ending a war when in fact weāre still engaged in battles whose outcome is not entirely clear. Or to put it another the fragility of the situation has not clearly been stated, the contingency of reopening measures and their dependence upon case numbers and so on being understated if at all. Because hereās Omicron and suddenly all those plans, all those discussions, all that tug-of-war, seem beside the point. Itās not that events have overwhelmed them so much as broader dynamics were in play all along and too many people chose not to analyse them.
And truly bizarrely has been the continuing indifference or aversion to what has been happening elsewhere in Europe. Indeed I think itās fair to say that only with the slamming of the breaks on in Britain did the true seriousness of the rise of Omicron come home to many here. But even then, consider this from yesterdayās Irish Times:
There is also a growing impatience within Government about modelling which predicts pessimistic scenarios at a time when there is significant uncertainty about the trajectory of the virus. Recent tensions between Government and Nphet have not abated as Ministers await the outcome of Thursdayās meeting. Government figures believe the Omicron variant will likely peak at some stage in January and that even if symptoms associated with it are mild, it will still put considerable pressure on the health service.
Denmark, Norway and other states across Europe have introduced even more restrictive measures than here and thereās āimpatience within Government bout modelling which predicts pessimistic scenarios at a time when there is significant uncertainty about the trajectory of the virusā. If thereās impatience then thereās no understanding of the nature of the problem we are all facing here. But they donāt even have to go that far. Because the very same article notes:
Yesterday, British health secretary Sajid Javid said the Omicron variant was spreading at a āphenomenal rateā and now accounted for about 40 per cent of infections in London. In the UK, the National Health Service has begun to postpone routine surgeries so its booster campaign can be prioritised.
In Northern Ireland, Deputy First Minister Michelle OāNeill said: āWe are going to be overwhelmed with this new variant very, very soon.ā
If this was just reporting that quote about perceptions in government would be one thing, but in the same paper on the same day Pat Leahy writes:
Of course, no one yet knows what the impact of the apparently inevitable spread of Omicron will be. There are indications it spreads more easily but is less likely to cause serious illness ā but there is no firm scientific consensus yet of the extent of either characteristic.
Simple math alone suggests that if more people catch it then more people will be ill ā and even if it were shown to be less likely to cause serious illness (and currently the evidence is gathering to the contrary) the larger numbers catching it due to its increased transmissability would see larger numbers become seriously ill (as against Delta). One doesnāt need a firm scientific consensus yet to see the need for caution. Particularly given the responses of Denmark, Norway, Britain etcā¦
But then this is a time of strangeness.
For example, and related to the above ā the Phoenix pointed to a really very curious phenomenon that has developed on foot of the pandemic. Again, writing about government messaging it notes that that has been poor, and that a narrative has developed about āNPHET controlā. But the magazine gives examples of this from Pat Leahy, Stephen Collins and others who wrote about NPHET in disparaging ways suggesting that it was āāengaged in a public relations campaign to retain control of the agendaā.
And it continues:
It brought the most unusual sight of journalists criticising public officials for holding press conferences. Even more bizarrely, fuelled by Government and industry briefings, the press engaged in what was essentially a campaign of complaints about its own reporting.
The latest addition to this dissonance around transparency has seen journalist Ewan McKenna this month launch a covid themed podcast titled āThink for Yourself,ā before, three days later, tweeting his belief that no one outside of Government should be privy to the public advice on which decisions are made. Go figure.
For journalists to be complaining about transparency is quite something, isnāt it?
But of course the real problem is not transparency, but the fact that NPHET has been clear about the need for measures to restrict the virus. Thatās something that these seemingly āliberalā folk appear to have found too much. Itās interesting to reflect on why they feel this way. Thereās no single explanation, I suspect, but perhaps for some itās a sort of pro-business agenda (even as business has for the most part adapted in many and varied ways so that economic growth remains robust). For others it may be a sort of cheap libertarianism, a middle class comfort zone that seems remarkably (and irrationally) unconcerned about the realities of how a virus transmits or what the implications of abandoning some restrictions would be. For others, I can think of one correspondent in a paper, it appears they simply donāt understand this. For yet others possibly thereās a weird macho aspect to this as if pretending that the virus is less problematic than it is somehow a badge of honour.
Entertainingly, as was noted on the latest Plague Tapes from Andrew Flood and Dr Groove (link here), NPHETās sidelining has meant that the media has had to call upon those like ISAG ā who seek Zero-Covid stances, much to the ire of denialists and soft-denialists and so on. But hey, who thought that sidelining NPHET meant that there would be no medical advice or that the field would be left to lobbyists for business or government advocates? People who didnāt think very deeply about this at all is the answer to that question. No surprise there given we are where we are.
Less entertainingly as also noted on Plague Tapes thereās no NPHET press conferences to outline whatās going on. This absence of information during a variant surge is absolutely astonishing and a crushing indictment of this administration and in particular its component parts.
Particularly given there is a serious prospect of a New Year lockdown according to Plague Tapes.
And meantime the virus adapts to us and the measures that are taken to contain it. Iāve no love of lockdowns and Iām glad that weāre not in the middle of one. But the reality is that in certain circumstances they may become necessary again ā already the post-Christmas situation in the context of Omicron looks decidedly tricky, and, although those columnists and politicians referenced above seem indifferent to this, already across Europe various containment measures are being taken to forestall the worst. I hope itās not the case that lockdowns are necessary, but it is rank stupidity to pretend that the need might not arise. And unfortunately the way Omicron is going that need seems more likely today than even at the weekend.
Of course thereās also the pressure of business lobbies. The second last edition of Plague Tapes was useful in this respect(and the most recent one is useful to listen to to get a sense of how fast Omicron is moving. āVeryā is the answer) ā pointing to the manner in which the attacks on NPHET are so oddly directed. The idea that has taken root amongst some in the lobby groups, and amongst their cheerleaders in the media, is that it NPHETs statements that are responsible for people not going to pubs and restaurants. One hears variations of this in vox pops with representatives of those groups and even some business owners. But as Flood noted most people are able to act rationally and look at daily figures of say 5,000 and come to the decision all on their own that a pint or two probably isnāt worth getting Covid-19 for.
And tellingly we have a good example of this dynamic from the UK this very week where, as reported in the Guardian, despite Englandās remarkably lax approach to measures both generally and in schools there the following in evidence:
Headteachers are warning of āchaosā in Englandās schools as Omicron sweeps across the country, with high levels of staff and pupil absences and reports that parents are planning to keep children home to avoid the virus before Christmas.
School leaders and unions urged the government to introduce more protective measures, including masks in classrooms, better ventilation and tougher isolation rules to try to slow the spread of the virus before the holidays.
In areas with high infection rates, some year groups are being sent home to study remotely because not enough teachers or supply teachers are available, and a small number of schools have been forced to move online until the end of term.
People, even in the faux-libertarian stew concocted by the English media and the Tories, arenāt fools. They can make judgements as to what is safe or not. And this is what sinks all the lobby groups, because as noted here previously, you cannot force people into pubs or restaurants. Some will take the risk (as I saw a few weekends ago), most will not.
Thereās one other angle on this. A further reality is that thereās a solid majority, a supermajority, in favour of a certain caution. Pat Leahy noted this only the other day ā the only area where there was dissent was the idea schools should close ahead of Christmas. Thatās really a moot issue now, with so few days left to go and one suspects was always a bit cosmetic as a complaint ā something for those seeking controversy and conflict between public health authorities and the public. And just as an aside, again Iāve seen at first hand the damage that very necessary lockdowns unfortunately inflicted on children. Iāve no enthusiasm at all about revisiting that, butā¦ again it may be necessary at some point.
Yet the broader point remains that far from the society roiling with tension at a suppressed majority eager to shrug of remaining restrictions the fact is that public attitudes are quite the opposite, inconveniently so for those who are attempting to shape the narratives described above.
But again, journalists suggesting that there shouldnāt be transparency about decision making processes in government. Thatās quite something
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Fake journalists? LOL
Journalism is dead, what we have now is shills and mouthpieces paid to spread the official line who will turn their cheek the other way when theyāre told to.
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Who wrote that?
Itās an anonymous political blog. Itās been running for well over a decade, 15 years Iād say.
Nobody is talking about Covid. Everything is completely normal.
An anonymous blog having a dig at journalists who despise transparency?
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a bunch of internet people who originally met on politics.ie
wouldnt be surprised if sid himself penned that
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Yeah. The person who wrote is a blogger. Itās not a contradiction in any way. Youāre anonymous. Everybody here is anonymous, apart from meself, given the work of the doxxers here.
The fact is that you cannot call yourself a journalist and be anti-transparency. The muzzling of NPHET has been widely supported here.
Anybody who supports the muzzling of NPHET is anti-transparency in governance.
Funnily enough these were the same people who claimed to be pro-transparency before.
They are anything but.
Includes āRevolutionā in the moniker and cites middle aged anarchist Andrew Flood. 
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