‘Wasting Advantages’: Tories Fume as UK Gov't 'Absolutely Open' to Delaying Lifting of Lockdown

Earlier, PM Boris Johnson said there were no signs “at the moment” that the final stage of lockdown easing in England, scheduled for 21 June, ought to be delayed, despite calls from some health experts to consider reworking the timeline due to the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19, first identified in India.

As the British Government is set to decide shortly whether or not to announce the complete lifting of all lockdown restrictions on 21 June, recent statements by UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock have not gone over well with Tory MPs.

An announcement by Hancock that the government was “absolutely open” to delaying what has been dubbed “Freedom Day” has been slammed by backbenchers, like Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne, for potentially “wasting the advantages afforded by the success of vaccinations”.

“The original mission statement was to save lives by protecting the NHS. We've done that. The more it moves the goalposts, the more people will be made redundant,” the Daily Telegraph quoted Swayne as saying.

Former Tory Cabinet minister David Jones shared the sentiments:

“Matt Hancock has acknowledged that most people in hospital [with Covid-19] have not been vaccinated. The answer is therefore to get as many people as possible vaccinated as quickly as possible. It is not to delay the lifting of lockdown, with the attendant damage to people's mental and physical well-being and to the economy.”

Former Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers insisted that while “most people” might agree to wearing masks and enduring a degree of travel restrictions, “we've got to allow the hospitality business to open up again fully.”

“Increasing frustration” among colleagues over the restrictions was cited by senior Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who was quoted as warning:

“We've got to be really, really careful about getting panicked about every variant that comes along until we are absolutely sure there is one that is going to defeat the vaccine.”

Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality, underscored that “ongoing uncertainty” was causing “significant distress” to the sector. The Hospitality chief pointed out that “healthcare data does not indicate a need for deviation.”

“It is crucial that the Government commits to dropping the restrictions on June 21. Any delay in the roadmap would have a devastating effect on an already fragile sector,” added Nicholls.

‘Penciled in’ Date

The irate reaction followed the Health Secretary’s appearance on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, where he offered the strongest indication yet that the original date for the next step in the roadmap out of lockdown might be delayed.

In line with the roadmap out of lockdown unveiled by the UK government back in February, the “pencilled in” date for the nation to see an end of all coronavirus restrictions was 21 June.

https://sputniknews.com/uk/202106071083087987-wasting-advantages-tories-fume-as-uk-govt-absolutely-open-to-delaying-lifting-of-lockdown/

These clowns need to be removed!

Clive Palmer paying for anti-vaccination ads on Queensland airwaves

Controversial businessman Clive Palmer has been accused of spreading virus misinformation in radio ads that aired recently in Queensland.

Clive Palmer has been accused of deliberately spreading misinformation to undermine vaccination efforts in advertisements that aired across Queensland airwaves.

The ads, which were heard across stations throughout Queensland last week, were part of an ongoing campaign from the controversial businessman-turned-anti-vaxxer to keep Australia open during the pandemic.

The ads include the following audio: “Australia has had one Covid-19 associated death in 2021. But the TGA reports that there’s been 210 deaths and over 24,000 adverse reactions after covid vaccinations. Authorised by Clive Palmer, Brisbane.”

The ads are based on publicly-available information from the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

But Palmer’s ads omitted the section that declared clearly: “Apart from the single Australian case in which death was linked to TTS (Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome), Covid-19 vaccines have not been found to cause death.”

The TGA website states that authorities “closely monitor suspected side effects (also known as adverse events) from the use of Covid-19 vaccines” and “most of the adverse events reported to the TGA are expected side effects seen with vaccines generally”.

It goes on to say that many deaths recorded after a Covid-19 vaccine was administered “were in frail elderly people and were coincidental with vaccination”.

“This was confirmed following review by the TGA and medicine regulators in the UK, Europe and the US which found no specific safety concerns from use of the vaccines in older people”.

Australia had administered 3.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines up until May 23 this year and received 210 reports of deaths following immunisation, which include 109 for the Pfizer vaccine and 94 for the AstraZeneca vaccine.

But the TGA reports that 93 per cent of those reports were for people aged 65 and over and more than 75 per cent of those were for people aged 75 and over. “Many of the deaths relate to elderly aged-care residents,” the TGA website declares.

The Party Games newsletter Get your political briefing from news.com.au's political editor Samantha Maiden.

The TGA says it reviews all deaths reported after a vaccination is administered and compares them with expected natural death rates.

“To date, the observed number of deaths reported after vaccination is actually less than the expected number of deaths.

“Each year in Australia, there are about 160,000 deaths, equating to 13,300 a month or 3050 each week. In the most recent reporting year, two-thirds of these deaths were in people aged 75 years and over.

“Apart from the single Australian case in which death was linked to TTS, Covid-19 vaccines have not been found to cause death.”

The TGA does acknowledge that “it is possible in frail older people that even relatively mild and expected adverse reactions following the vaccination may contribute to deterioration of an underlying illness”.

“For this reason, the Product Information documents for both the Pfizer and the AstraZeneca vaccines provide advice about vaccinating frail elderly people (over 85 years old) and warn that the potential benefits of vaccination must be weighed against the potential risks for each individual person.”

Rural Australian doctor Minh Le Cong was among those outraged by the Palmer ads. On Twitter he wrote: “Just heard the Clive Palmer anticovid vax radio advert. Outrageous claim that TGA have reported over 200 deaths linked to covid vaxs in Oz! He must be stopped from this nonsense campaign!”

https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/clive-palmer-paying-for-antivaccination-ads-on-queensland-airwaves/news-story/10c6c8e572208fb30faf3b1e7d7aeb41