Twinky

And today I was forced to have another LFT because I wanted to visit a friend in a care home. They wouldn't accept the test that I'd done not 24 hrs before. I can accept that that's what they want, but the woman I spoke to was so snarky about it. Anyway. Surprise. Negative. Maybe next week will be different. Been to a large funeral today, lots at the reception (wake) and lots of people breathing around and on me. Hope they're all clean and vaxed. Defo testing again next weekend!

Recommended once or twice a week here. Or was. I probably do a test every 1-2 weeks. Depends somewhat on what work one does, contact with what age groups. Many of my clients are quite elderly (80s, 90s) (though I'm not in close contact with any of them) and I want to be sure I'm not passing anything on to them. And I always do a test before I visit my fragile mum (age 92, nearly 93). Even though both I and my mum are double-vaxed and boosted. Had a disgustingly heavy cold when I visited mum a time or two ago. Snort, snort, cough, sneeze. I was in close contact doing physical caring duties and also slept in the same small room. BUT I wore a mask all the time that we were indoors (surprisingly, it really helped at night) and sanitised or washed my hands a lot. Was very pleased that she never got that stinker of a cold. Can only conclude that masks do work.

Well, I'm sure y'all will be pleased to know that I just completed another lateral flow test (that's the one where you shove a Q-tip up your nose; may not yet be available in the US) with the usual result: negative (= "not likely to be infectious" in test parlance).

Hey, I found this, which might interest some people here: "During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Xinhua News Agency claimed that the herbal product Shuanghuanglian can prevent or treat infections from coronaviruses, stimulating sales across the United States and China. However, these claims have no basis in science." Source: Snake oil - Wikipedia

Never heard of this guy, so I checked him out. Great references! I think I trust this man... Kevin Mark Trudeau (born February 6, 1963) is an American author, salesman, and convicted fraudster known for promotion of his books and resulting legal cases involving the US Federal Trade Commission. His ubiquitous late-night infomercials, which promoted unsubstantiated health, diet, and financial advice, earned him a fortune but resulted in civil and criminal penalties for fraud, larceny, and contempt of court. In the early 1990s, Trudeau was convicted of larceny and credit card fraud. ... In a 2004 settlement, he agreed to pay a $500,000 fine and cease marketing all products except his books... However, in 2011, he was fined $37.6 million for violating the 2004 settlement, and ordered to post a $2 million bond before engaging in any future infomercial advertising. ... In November 2013, Trudeau was convicted of criminal contempt, and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.[9] He will be eligible for release in 2022. ... In 2004, Trudeau began writing books and promoting them with infomercials in the U.S. The first book he published was a medical guide titled Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About, which was published in 2005. The book was criticized for containing no natural cures.[19][20] Trudeau claimed he was not able to include them because of threats by the FTC.[21] ... Source: Kevin Trudeau - Wikipedia A shedload of people must (have) believe(d) him, though. He seems to sell really tasty snake oil.

Oh, my. Childrens Hours on the radio on Saturday morning. All sing together now...!

Can't speak for the truth or otherwise of the article, but it's badly written and inaccurate in its use of the English language, which always makes me suspicious about less obvious content.

Here's some breaking news today. An interesting idea. Not likely to be available until 2025 at the earliest. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/nov/15/uk-firm-to-trial-t-cell-covid-vaccine-that-could-give-longer-immunity

Online Tribute - Nov 14 Sunday, 5 pm: PLUS........ In-Person Celebration in Indianapolis - Nov 21 Sunday, 6 pm: Visit Way Corps Site at: http://waycorps.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network To control which emails you receive on Way Corps Site, click here

There is an event celebrating 50 years of JL's ordination today. Still available. Also another event on 21 Nov.

Unkind, Rocky.

No, no, Rocky. Allan is a real person, he has a wife and kids (not so much "kids" now), they do live in Oz, and I've known him - jeepers, since 1989. I know when he got involved in TWI and why he left, and a lot more beside. But that's his story to tell - not mine. And he's right in that "if the USA 'sneezes', the Western world 'catches a cold' " - because a lot of faddy stuff emanates from the US, where it gets far too much air time. Not just covid, but many other fads, misinformation, bizarre ideas, conspiracy theories, tin hats, etc. (And right-wingishness, but let's not go there, too political.) Even BLM, especially in context of police brutality, has spread across the globe, in places where previously there didn't seem to be issues, certainly not to the extent they now are. Everybody's so "woke" that we forget to be aware. So some of the crazy ideas that spread across the US, and the head-in-sand mentality, or conspiracy theories, do spread also across the rest of the "western world." It's quite right to keep an eye on what's going on in the US - if only to be able to take evasive action (hehheh). Don't mind me. Probably time I went to bed. Cinderella's coach has long since departed. It's 1.15am.

Just curious, Allan: did you listen to the entirety of the links that T-Bone posted before you posted that he was being "clever" to avoid being struck off?

Well, instead of piling onto Allan, whose views this group is unlikely to change, does anyone want to discuss what they understand of the relative efficiencies of the different vaccines? You US folks probably don't get any of the AstraZeneca stuff (being as it's not made in the US, patriotism and all that). I think you go for Pfizer and Moderna. There are Russian vaccines as well, but their effectiveness has been questioned. Nonetheless, "Sputnik" is in use in dozens of countries. China has developed two vaccines. Some are single-dose; most are double-dose; some must be kept very cold, others kept at fridge temperature or maybe even room temp, which make them more suitable for developing countries with less reliable cooling/freezing abilities. Single dose might be good for very scattered populations where it takes days to walk to a vax centre. I found this graph, showing situation at July 2021, which I found rather interesting. Didn't know there were so many different types. Don't know if they are all WHO approved; doubtful.

Thanks Allan......for stating your position. THiS is what a *discussion forum* is all about. Something that twi NEVER allowed. What Skyrider said. Hope that calms things down a bit, all round. I don't agree with your decision, but I respect it if that is your basis. Your choice.

Interesting?? Allan, you are pushing your PoV and pushing aside others' PoV. If you want people to understand your PoV, please express yourself in your own words as to why you have a different view. As I perceive your reasoning, your "God-given immune system" is sufficient to protect you. (And, therefore, it presumably protects you from passing anything at all onto all those you come into contact with.) I am wondering if you have ever had a common cold (virus), sore throat (various causes), infection of any kind, fever, gyppy tummy, rubella, shingles (you're still a bit young for that), or any other thing wrong with you - or any of the people around you. If you cut yourself, do you wash the injury with soap and water? Put a plaster on it? Or just leave it to your immune system to deal with the open wound? Do you wash your hands before food preparation? Especially cold foods - salads? Or does, say, E.coli take one look at you and flee in terror, because of your immune system? (Somehow, I don't think so!) It seems to me that the corollary of "I have a great immune system and therefore I won't get this disease badly" (you said you've already had it twice) is, for anyone who gets seriously ill (including your own loved ones): "You don't have a great immune system, and therefore you ..." - what? don't believe God? - which comes perilously close to victim-blaming. (LCM style: pointing finger, screaming at top of voice: "XYZ stepped out of God's hedge of protection!!!") There are plenty of scientists, worldwide, who think something more than a God-given immune system is required. Some of those scientists are probably Christians, too. And some of those who have died are Christians. Please don't blame them for having fallible human bodies. Heck, your own brother-in-law died of covid complications. So. In your own words, why do you have a different view from the body of international scientists, clinicians, hospital workers, statisticians and suchlike? What can you say to convince me that these people are all wrong? What can you say to convince my friend Rebecca, a nurse in ICU, a devout Christian, that what she sees with her own eyes - isn't true?

Us and them, Allan? I simply do not understand why people refuse to do something that's pretty safe, costs nothing, and helps many. Most of those refusing have quite silly arguments, which do not stand up to close scrutiny or logical reasoning. I have heard caution, uncertainty, and can understand those people. I have also outright lies spouted as if they were absolute truth; those people I can't understand at all. Is that a serious comment, or tongue in cheek? If serious, I really challenge you on this particular experimental technology, when you refuse other technology that is now proven to reduce risks.

Specially for you, Allan. Covid-19 Australia: In the ICU where only Maria is vaccinated, others die in disbelief | Stuff.co.nz

The UK has indeed approved a covid-19 pill just this week. And yes, at this stage IT IS EXPERIMENTAL. But it is expected to help in the recovery of people who already have the early signs of the illness - whether vaxed or not. It is not instead of the vaccine; it's not a preventive; it's to help those who have already got the illness. Molnupiravir: First pill to treat Covid gets approval in UK - BBC News As it's in its early stages and is still somewhat experimental, can we expect vax naysayers to refuse this new treatment? Because it's so new, hasn't been around long enough to be tested, etc? Just because it's not injected direct into the body doesn't mean that it won't have effects on the body (indeed, having effects is the very purpose!) or that it can't hurt the body. (Anti-Polio drugs, for example, aren't injected now; but taken orally but are just as effective.) If the non-vaxed with the illness are offered this pill, it would be very hypocritical of them to accept it based, on the very arguments that they've used to avoid being jabbed.

You mean, like scientists working their God-given mental abilities devising effective vaccines?

For those interested, this is an article that popped into my newsfeed this morning. It's a summary of some scientific work just released: Scientist solve why some people die from Covid and not others | Evening Standard And for those who prefer it from the horse's mouth, it's here. I confess I haven't yet read this longer, very technical article, but it looks reputable, and cites many sources. The publishing journal "Nature" has been established for >100 years and has a good reputation. I leave the article to the naysayers to cherrypick. Identification of LZTFL1 as a candidate effector gene at a COVID-19 risk locus | Nature Genetics

Not all "underlying health conditions" are obvious. Obesity, sure, but other things? Diabetes, maybe. Other things? Perhaps not; the "underlying condition" may only be discovered after the child has begun to suffer the serious illness. It appears only one child <16 has died in England in the first three months of 2020 - don't know about Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales. Child mortality in England during the COVID-19 pandemic | Archives of Disease in Childhood (bmj.com) That doesn't count serious illness. I know several kids of that age or younger who have been quite poorly. I think it much better to concentrate on the bigger picture. Where there are high vaccination uptake rates - the UK, some US states, elsewhere in Europe - deaths and serious illness have gone down markedly. Where there are low uptake rates, deaths and serious illnesses are rising. Allan, you said you've had covid TWICE. That should prove to you that having covid DOESN'T confer sufficient immunity. Glad it's not seriously affected you; maybe a third time will. (Remind me: what did U*u die of? Covid complications, was it? And he was a pretty fit chap.) You should be thankful that you live in a country that has a high uptake of vaccination (so that should protect you quite a lot from actually getting the illness, though not from the effects if you catch it again) and you have great medical facilities to help anyone who does get it and has serious problems. And yes, it appears some covid complications may be very long-lasting, with permanent damage caused to some organs. A life lived, a full life, but not necessarily quite the life the person wanted. We don't know enough about that yet. I know two people who have post-polio syndrome. Retirement age, but not quite as they wished. One has breathing difficulties, the other has damage to her leg, which looks as though it's been put together with all the joints the wrong way round and she walks with the most peculiar rolling gait. She knows that's PPS.

I thought as well as arguing the current pandemic, we might discuss the new style of vaccines, which clearly have a useful role in the future. While nobody wanted a pandemic to "guinea pig" the planet with this technology, it does seem that the mRNA type has been very effective and one can only hope that it will go on to be equally effective with other diseases, for which it is also being tried and tested. Cancer, for one.

Looks great, Socks. My one attempt at sourdough didn't work too well. I was given the starter dough by an Irish lass who used it lots, so I don't doubt the starter, just my ability with it. Might try again some day but I like making bread with my breadmaker and also have access to a source of lots of free bread (all delicious). So not making my own much at the moment.