by Oui
Tue Jan 18th, 2022 at 01:57:15 PM EST
Lo and behold ... another variant giving us a sore throat and perhaps an headache. The Dutch were ill prepared from the outset when SARS CoV-2 became known in Wuhan China around its New Year festivities in 2020.
The Dutch laissez-faire attitude came forth from a bit of arrogance and self-indulgence. Let's look at the timeline from the failures in July 2021 to the present.
Two nations far advanced with vaccinations ...
- England with AstraZeneca
- Israel with exclusive Pfizer BioNTech deal in return for full health data
Both nations were ideal laboratory settings in 2020 ... Pfizer had slight higher protection vs AZ in the beginning and became more evident with the emergence of new Delta virus. Israel never reached full vaccination in part due to the opposition of Orthodox Jewish community.
Denmark SSI assessment on Omicron
My post on Dec. 16, 2021
Denmark: Solidarity and Trust to Beat the Pandemic | Sept. 15, 2021 |
My post on Dec. 29, 2021
Why Denmark's omicron surge predicts harsh winter ahead. Many more tests than U.S., labs identify positives w/in 24 hrs, and by next day, they know which variant is responsible for every case. [Source: WaPo]
Crucial success in Denmark is the extreme efficient testing available in all public places ... walk in, swipe taken and in ten minutes the result is send to mobile phone. In The Netherlands the government and municipal health GGD completely screwed up the facilities, much like England. The British compensated their failures in test and trace (contracts to Tory affiliated companies) by making plenty of self tests free of charge through the pharmacies. Not so with the Dutch. The positive infection rate by the Dutch hovers between 25-30% ... completely unacceptable as it should be near 10%.
Israel and England were ahead and started boosters already in the later summer months. On available data, some EU countries followed as early as end of September. The Dutch have a complicated process in decision making with many participants. No end in sight for Dutch coronavirus wave, decision too late and insufficient (Nov. 26). Early November it was decided there was no reason to start a booster campaign. Restrictions were tightened again, and face masks mandatory in more places.
The experts said that the country's hesitance around the third jab of Covid-19 vaccines gave the aggressive Delta variant more chance to spread. The GGDs waited for the Health Council to give the formal go-ahead. And then it still took weeks to get the rollout started. And in the meantime, the Delta virus spread like wildfire in nursing homes, with about 900 locations identifying at least one case in the last month.
The delta variant has a mutation that's worrying experts: Here's what we know so far | CNBC - Oct 21 2021 |
A newly-discovered mutation of the delta variant is being investigated in the U.K. amid worries that it could make the virus even more transmissible and undermine Covid-19 vaccines further.
Still, there are many unknowns surrounding this descendent or subtype of the delta variant -- formally known as AY.4.2 -- which some are dubbing the new "delta plus" variant.
England Herd Immunity Stage 2.0 | Oct. 21, 2021 |
The unwise decision by Downing Street #10 on COVID-19 policy is biting all with double vaccinations in the a$$ ... offering the domestic brand of vaccine AstraZeneca with a delayed second AZ jab after 12 weeks has left the population vulnerable. The double vaccine jab offers as low as 33% protection to the Delta variant and the newer mutations. The call for early third booster shots is heard in Parliament.
[Infographic with data]
Furthermore, the UK is far behind the EU states for total vaccinations per capita.
Rightwing Protest Rotterdam Turns Violent | Nov. 19, 2021 |
As first nations see the need for further restrictions necessary, the Dutch rightwing rioters turn to extreme violence ... the Rutte III caretaker government bows to the rightwing and religious parties in parliament. The blind leading the blind. Mark Rutte insists he is "following science" and closely watching other European nations.
Rioters in The Hague pelt police with stones and fireworks as protests over COVID measures continue | Al Jazeera - Nov. 21, 2021 |
Five police officers were injured in the Netherlands and at least 40 people were arrested across three provinces as violent protests against COVID restrictions continued for a second night.
Officers in riot gear charged groups of demonstrators in The Hague late on Saturday night, with protesters pelting police with stones and fireworks, while a water cannon was used to put out a pile of blazing bicycles at a busy intersection.
By the end of November the Omicron variant popped up in #Gauteng South Africa
Rise In Covid Infections and False QR Passes | Nov.16, 2021 |
The "intelligent' Dutch citizens not following advise given by political leader Mark Rutte ... the leader of a one year old caretaker government had followed a zig-zag policy of herd immunity ... easing most restrictions too early ... more concerned about political consequences than health issues of the tens of thousands stricken by the SARS CoV-2 illness. The death rate is increasing as Mark Rutte refuses to take responsibility sometimes hiding behind science, afterwards the virologists resign because Rutte doesn't follow advise of the broad WOT Group (British SAGE equivalent).
The very high trust in his policy has collapsed as the Dutch are facing their fourth or fifth spike in infections ... taking decisions late as the numbers rise exponentially.
Furthermore, there is very poor adherence to the mitigation rules required to lower the R number which has been above 1.2 for many consecutive weeks. Dumb, dumber, dumbest ... Trump, Johnson and Rutte in a dead heat. His RIVM leading scientist should have been given the pink slip over a year ago.
Netherlands breaks records as over 19,200 more coronavirus infections disclosed; over 19% test positive | NL Times - Nov. 15, 2021 |
My first post about the risks of Omicron on Nov. 26, 2021 here ...
S African New Corona Variant #B11529 Named Omnicron
Soon afterwards:
#Omicron epicenter of Gauteng Province, South Africa 🇿🇦, there is more than TRIPLING of #COVID19 hospitalizations in 2 weeks--➡️ from 135 hospital admissions to 418.
Omicron Will Test Our Healthcare Readiness | Dec. 20, 2021 |
Losing Battle Against Omicron | Dec. 20, 2021 |
The Dutch went into unfortunate lockdown on ... in December ...
For Belgium such a measure was not necessary as they had started their booster campaign early and were more proficient at organizing the speed with health workers, the military included.
Danish Study Confirms Early Findings SA #gauteng | Jan. 5, 2021 |
A virus can be more transmissible due to a number of reasons, such as the time it lingers in the air, its ability to latch onto cells, or its evasion of the body's immune system.
Investigating nearly 12,000 Danish households in mid-December, the scientists found that Omicron was 2.7 to 3.7 times more infectious than the Delta variant among vaccinated Danes.
....
The study also found that booster-vaccinated people are less likely to transmit the virus, regardless of the variant, than the unvaccinated.
The findings confirm the earliest reports in November from South Africa #gauteng. The viral load is a factor 70 greater with Omicron, that's the reason health officials are increasing attention on quality of face masks ... and distancing.
False headline in US media, specifically originating in Texas:
"Triple-vaccinated people are more likely to be infected by the Omicron variant than the unvaccinated."
This is complete BS and first class disinformation.
Copenhagen Covid-19 test booths public places
Nu skal alle borgere komme gående til COVID-test i Viborg
Alberta Data Shows Booster Shot Effective
The Dutch government with Mark Rutte very outspoken, had for many months dismissed the face mask as useless and as soon as the data was in a downward trend, eased the mitigation rules, especially the face mask. Only this month, the Dutch reversed their "scientific" opinion and even upped the quality level to hospital level FFP2. Stocks from China at poor quality would have lasted for a century!!! These were recently dumped on the Asian market at a fancy price.
Back to reality how the SARS CoV-2 pandemic has changed lives for some time to come.
