COVID-19 Pandemic

[Ian Murray]

Healthy humans drive the economy: we’re now witnessing one of the worst public policy failures in Australia’s history

Australians are getting a stark reminder about how value is actually created in an economy, and how supply chains truly work. ...

The economy doesn’t work if people can’t work. So the first economic priority during a pandemic must be to keep people healthy enough to keep working, producing, delivering and buying. ...

On a typical day in normal times, between 3% and 4% of employed Australians miss work due to their own illness. Multiple reports from NSW indicate up to half of workers are now absent due to COVID: because they contracted it, were exposed to it, or must care for someone (like children barred from child care) because of it. With infections still spreading, this will get worse in the days ahead.

Staffing shortages have left hospitals in chaos, supermarket shelves empty, supply chains paralysed. ANZ Bank data, for example, shows economic activity in Sydney has fallen to a level lower than the worst lockdowns. ...

[MichaelBaron]

Healthy humans drive the economy: we’re now witnessing one of the worst public policy failures in Australia’s history

Australians are getting a stark reminder about how value is actually created in an economy, and how supply chains truly work. ...

The economy doesn’t work if people can’t work. So the first economic priority during a pandemic must be to keep people healthy enough to keep working, producing, delivering and buying. ...

On a typical day in normal times, between 3% and 4% of employed Australians miss work due to their own illness. Multiple reports from NSW indicate up to half of workers are now absent due to COVID: because they contracted it, were exposed to it, or must care for someone (like children barred from child care) because of it. With infections still spreading, this will get worse in the days ahead.

Staffing shortages have left hospitals in chaos, supermarket shelves empty, supply chains paralysed. ANZ Bank data, for example, shows economic activity in Sydney has fallen to a level lower than the worst lockdowns. ...

Interesting figure 3-4%. I I think I have never taken a sick leave in my entire life.
Re workers missing would be good to see how many are in isolation because they have been exposed but not having.

[Chigoresov]

Have to wait until April now for my son's vaccine, thanks to Scotty from Marketing's inept vaccine rollout. Maybe we'll have a new government by then.

Is this the emergency medication that the Pfizer boss is now admitting doesn't work against Omicron? You want to give your child that one? Or is that a no-go area of conversation on this forum?

https://www.news.com.au/technology/s...45#share-tools

[MichaelBaron]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-...ning/100747722

Two West Australian epidemiologists are calling for the state's border opening to be delayed to avoid a potential health "catastrophe" but, in a clear divide, key sectors of the economy warn any delay would be disastrous for jobs and businesses.

P.S. Even if closed borders keep covid numbers down for now....how will it ensure that WA does not get a wave after all other states get theirs? No herd immunity...yet economic damage. How long are they going to remain closed for?
So its quite an interesting debate.

[antichrist]

Interesting figure 3-4%. I I think I have never taken a sick leave in my entire life.
Re workers missing would be good to see how many are in isolation because they have been exposed but not having.

If you haven't had a sickie you haven't lived and you are not an Aussie. In Byron positive covid results and close contacts are faked so they can escape to the surf. You can always work another day but can't always get great surf another day.

[Desmond]

Is this the emergency medication that the Pfizer boss is now admitting doesn't work against Omicron? You want to give your child that one? Or is that a no-go area of conversation on this forum?

https://www.news.com.au/technology/s...45#share-tools

According to your article, the vaccine offers (after third dose): "reasonable protection against hospitalisation and deaths – against deaths, I think, very good". It also states that new and emerging variants are being addressed by new and forthcoming iterations of the vaccines. So, yes, please, I would like that for my son as soon as possible.

Of course Omicron is just one of the strains doing the rounds currently, the others are also a concern.

EDIT: NSW rates (per million): https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/__data...19-Monitor.pdf
Hospital rate among unvaccinated / fully vaccinated population (aged 12+) 578.2 / 83.4
ICU rate among unvaccinated / fully vaccinated population (aged 12+) 82.5 / 4.7

[Scott Colliver]

According to your article, the vaccine offers (after third dose): "reasonable protection against hospitalisation and deaths – against deaths, I think, very good". It also states that new and emerging variants are being addressed by new and forthcoming iterations of the vaccines. So, yes, please, I would like that for my son as soon as possible.

Of course Omicron is just one of the strains doing the rounds currently, the others are also a concern.

EDIT: NSW rates (per million): https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/__data...19-Monitor.pdf
Hospital rate among unvaccinated / fully vaccinated population (aged 12+) 578.2 / 83.4
ICU rate among unvaccinated / fully vaccinated population (aged 12+) 82.5 / 4.7

Those figures make it extremely clear that vaccines are very good. They are not perfect but they are very good protection against hospitalisation and serious illness.

[Scott Colliver]

Anthony Albanese is in Rockhampton doing something.

Should our politicians really be travelling around Australia in a time like we have massive COVID numbers? Surely it is better to stay at home or in Canberra for Parliament.

[MichaelBaron]

Anthony Albanese is in Rockhampton doing something.

Should our politicians really be travelling around Australia in a time like we have massive COVID numbers? Surely it is better to stay at home or in Canberra for Parliament.

He is not doing ''something'' He is trying to score brownie points for his party using the Djoikovic situation so travels around making public statements .

[Chigoresov]

DIT: NSW rates (per million): https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/__data...19-Monitor.pdf
Hospital rate among unvaccinated / fully vaccinated population (aged 12+) 578.2 / 83.4
ICU rate among unvaccinated / fully vaccinated population (aged 12+) 82.5 / 4.7

Of course you are providing irrelevant data based on a different age-group and historical variants. Many parents are seriously examining the risk/reward for their children considering things such as the risk of myocarditis, interfering with developing immune systems and the fact that the overwhelming variant is now far less dangerous.
But we will leave it there, because as I have come to understand, these topics are impossible to discuss with those who believe in the 'one size fits all' health response narrative forced down our throats every day by politicians and the media.

[Desmond]

DIT: NSW rates (per million): https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/__data...19-Monitor.pdf
Hospital rate among unvaccinated / fully vaccinated population (aged 12+) 578.2 / 83.4
ICU rate among unvaccinated / fully vaccinated population (aged 12+) 82.5 / 4.7

Of course you are providing irrelevant data based on a different age-group and historical variants. Many parents are seriously examining the risk/reward for their children considering things such as the risk of myocarditis, interfering with developing immune systems and the fact that the overwhelming variant is now far less dangerous.
But we will leave it there, because as I have come to understand, these topics are impossible to discuss with those who believe in the 'one size fits all' health response narrative forced down our throats every day by politicians and the media.

It is kind of strange to have my data called irrelevant by someone who reads "reasonable protection against hospitalisation and deaths – against deaths, I think, very good", and characterises that as "admitting doesn't work". Those are basically polar opposites. Either you didn't read and understand the article you posted, in which case I call into question your ability to weigh such considerations against broader health outcomes, or you're simply deliberately misrepresenting it, in which case who cares or would believe what you say?

As per yesterday, in NSW 1/3 cases in ICU were Delta cases, so strains aside from Omicron are not at all historic ones. It is current. Contrary to what you said, the fact that there's so many Omicron cases in ICU shows that it is dangerous.

By the way if you don't get your data from politicians or the media where do you get it from? Ignowars?

[Chigoresov]

I don't deny that Covid is a serious problem for certain age-groups (and at-risk groups). However, data provided for 12+ when we are talking about immunising 5-11 year olds is irrelevant. Anyhow, I'm sure you are convinced you are doing the right thing for your family and community.

[Patrick Byrom]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-...ning/100747722

Two West Australian epidemiologists are calling for the state's border opening to be delayed to avoid a potential health "catastrophe" but, in a clear divide, key sectors of the economy warn any delay would be disastrous for jobs and businesses. P.S. Even if closed borders keep covid numbers down for now....how will it ensure that WA does not get a wave after all other states get theirs? No herd immunity...yet economic damage. How long are they going to remain closed for? So its quite an interesting debate.

There seems to be quite a lot of economic damage occurring in NSW at the moment:

It's been described by an expert as a lockdown in NSW without public health orders. Although the country's most populous state has few COVID-19 restrictions in place, businesses around NSW have been forced to close due to virus-induced staff absences.

Spending data analysed by ANZ last week indicated economic activity plummeting to levels lower than any other time during the pandemic. "We're now facing economic situations that are worse than if we'd had an actual lockdown," said economist Jim Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work.

[Scott Colliver]

So a lockdown was better for the economy than just letting covid go wild through the community without a lockdown. Perhaps Andrews was onto sometihng all along.

[Scott Colliver]

I don't deny that Covid is a serious problem for certain age-groups (and at-risk groups). However, data provided for 12+ when we are talking about immunising 5-11 year olds is irrelevant. Anyhow, I'm sure you are convinced you are doing the right thing for your family and community.

I am not sure data that shows the vaccination is working extremely well at preventing serious illness and hospitalisation is irrelevant to 5-11 years old. They are human like 12+ year olds so it should also work for them. To claim otherwise would seem to need some proof. Do you have that proof?