The UK is putting older senior citizens in line for the first vaccines. I wonder if this is the best plan. This group will likely suffer more from complications from the vaccine and it could kill some of them. A high death toll might discourage the general population from getting the shot. I would put medical workers on the list first, followed by those in high risk/high contact industries like grocers and restaurant workers. This relatively healthy group will weather the vaccine better. Seniors could go after this.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
In essence, Canada does not require a terminal illness to have "assisted suicide". This woman chose death over lock-down. Interestingly, she was allowed to have her family present while she was put down. Reminds me in a sardonic way, of the suicide scene in MASH, circa 1970's.
Fred,
I concur. Individuals in the nursing homes are going to die, and the proximity of a vaccination with death will be ascribed to the vaccine, just as all deaths in which the person tests positive is considered a Covid death. This may very well cause people to shy away from the vaccine.
As an aside, Sweden counts fatalities that have a positive test as a Covid death while the other Scandinavian countries require that Covid be the cause of death.
As to myself,I will take the Covid vaccine, just as I get an annual flu vaccine.
It could be said that the following is an unintended consequence of the lockdowns, but most of us could see this coming:
Drug overdoses have killed 621 people in San Francisco this year, nearly four times as many as have been killed by COVID-19, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
A report in the Chronicle noted on Saturday:
Fifty-eight more people died of drug overdoses in San Francisco last month [November], bringing the yearly total to at least 621. That compares to 441 deaths in all of 2019.
The latest numbers put San Francisco on track to losing nearly two people a day by the end of the year and dwarf the 173 deaths from COVID-19 the city has seen so far this year.
The drug crisis has been exacerbated by fentanyl, a powerful opioid that can be 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
My father who is a member of a senior living community was just approved for his vaccine on 12/28. Wow! I am impressed to see deliveries happening so soon! When this country gets going, it can move mountains.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
New Covid strain showing up in England and Denmark. Lithuania has closed their borders to travelers from these countries. Time for the US to do the same? Or do you suspect it is already too late?
In a related story people are fleeing London and nearby communities as more severe clampdowns in those areas are implemented.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
The ridiculous response to this virus has been much deadlier than the virus itself. This new mutation in England is more transmissible but no more deadly. Masks haven’t helped. Lockdowns haven’t helped. The vaccine may but we will need to see.
Canada has banned flights from the UK too. And new $600 Covid-19 checks were approved today. I wonder if President Biden will push for more aid after his inauguration.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.