Spat between Chief Minister and Dr Glover

[Zarley]

1 minute ago, Andy Onchan said:

As Roger said earlier in the thread not having testing in place for IOMSPCo staff really was the biggest error of judgement. Or in their words 'misunderstanding'.

Yes. Alongside having no idea what local IOMSPCo workers were doing (isolation?) in their off-duty hours.   

[Newbie]

56 minutes ago, Gladys said:

This 110%.  See also DA's assertion that covid causes strokes.  He MUST substantiate that claim. 

There is some evidence of an increased risk of stroke in patients with Covid-19 due to increased risk of blood clotting generally. The good news is that the increased risk may not be as much as was first thought.

Article in the Lancet abut risk in young people here

Article from the Cardiovascular Research Foundation here

[code99]

2 hours ago, Zarley said:

On the surface, for many months we certainly were one of the leaders, alongside jurisdictions such as New Zealand. Little did we, the Great Manx Public, know there were huge gaps in our defences.

The tragedy is that it appears the IOMG also had no idea. They are the people who should have known and should have closed those gaping holes before they became the economic and social disasters we are dealing with today, and will be for the foreseeable future. 

The majority of the GMP at one time were rightly proud of our covid response and it can only follow that the people who make up the IOMG were also proud of our response.

While the GMP can be forgiven for our possibly misplaced pride as we were not and are not privy to the inner workings of the response, it turns out that the pride of IOMG was little more than arrogant hubris.

Did the IOMG pretend they led the world's covid response? No, they seemed to genuinely believe they were amongst the best.

However, in their arrogance and blindness to their own failings, their unwillingness to admit mistakes, their lack of transparency and refusal to take into account local expert advice, they let us all down. 

Brilliant post. Much better expressed that I was going to say. Thank you.

My reference to the pretence of leading the way in managing Covid (not preventing Covid) was directed at the way the IOMG conducted their media PR campaigns e.g., when the UK was in lockdown and the GMP were free to live a normal life. The IOMG basked in glory of the success of their Covid ‘eradication’ strategy. Gleefully they pointed out how the situation here was so much better than in places like (our competitors) the CI.

When the second post-Christmas lockdown was lifted earlier in the year it was also covered by a fair amount of ‘self-glowing’ publicity, including DA’s interview on BBC North West where he did say something along the lines of ‘we had beaten the virus’.  It is clear now that that statement in particular was hubris, but it sounded great at the time. There was also numerous other glowing coverage across the UK (newspapers, Sky, ITV, Charted Institute of Environmental Health, etc).

There was also a fair bit of positive international coverage as well. This media image made the IOM look like a great place for Covid-weary people around the world to own real estate. Local real estate agents were quoted saying that they had many enquiries from ‘foreigners’ and that some were even buying properties ‘sight unseen’...Probably, for the first time ever people were Googling the Isle of Man not because of the tax haven status, but because it had a ‘tremendous government’ who had managed to keep the country Covid-free.

It is a pity that, for reasons we all now understand, that our ‘glowing’ success did not last. Have lessons been learnt?

[Rhumsaa]

the success or otherwise in dealing with covid is very much a hindsight based view and fluctuates massively

Boris Johnson has gone from inept leader to hero in a few months with a strong vaccination roll out and who knows could easily slip back into being inept in a few months time

 

[P.K.]

19 minutes ago, Rhumsaa said:

Boris Johnson has gone from inept leader to hero in a few months with a strong vaccination roll out and who knows could easily slip back into being inept in a few months time

The most activity Bozo and Zahawi had in the rollout was all about taking as much of the credit as they could.

However the real hero of the hour is Sir Patrick Vallance.

[Rhumsaa]

4 minutes ago, P.K. said:

However the real hero of the hour is Sir Patrick Vallance.

Even he is a hindsight example

took a right pounding over his use of the term herd immunity last year did he not? but it seems to be more acceptable now

[TheTeapot]

2 minutes ago, Rhumsaa said:

Even he is a hindsight example

took a right pounding over his use of the term herd immunity last year did he not? but it seems to be more acceptable now

He did take a pounding for it, and rightfully so. He didn't explain himself and what he actually meant at all well.

[Rhumsaa]

Just now, TheTeapot said:

He did take a pounding for it, and rightfully so. He didn't explain himself and what he actually meant at all well.

Don't disagree entirely but it was also timing, people were scared and lengthy explanations about that sort of thing didn't get over as well as 3 word slogans

[P.K.]

15 minutes ago, Rhumsaa said:

Even he is a hindsight example

took a right pounding over his use of the term herd immunity last year did he not? but it seems to be more acceptable now

He took a right pounding over herd immunity but he must have known in his heart of hearts that it was completely the wrong strategy. As Sweden found to their cost.

Advisors advise but it's the PM who makes the decision on what will be policy. Bozo chose herd immunity as do nothing is always his go to option.

In the event his vacillation caused thousands of unnecessary fatalities.

Honest, hardworking, reliable - none of these words apply to Boris Johnson...

[Rhumsaa]

4 minutes ago, P.K. said:

He took a right pounding over herd immunity but he must have known in his heart of hearts that it was completely the wrong strategy. As Sweden found to their cost.

Advisors advise but it's the PM who makes the decision on what will be policy. Bozo chose herd immunity as do nothing is always his go to option.

In the event his vacillation caused thousands of unnecessary fatalities.

Honest, hardworking, reliable - none of these words apply to Boris Johnson...

I might be wrong in my memory but I didn't think he was championing it as a strategy in the context of "sacrifice the weak" but more a academical theoretical approach as to how pandemics play out? which absolutely got hijacked by Cummings and Bojo?

Happy to be told I'm wrong on this though as it's pure half a memory now rather than a Google supported argument

[Pipsqueak]

51 minutes ago, TheTeapot said:

He did take a pounding for it, and rightfully so. He didn't explain himself and what he actually meant at all well.

must be ashies cousin or something then

Edited April 13, 2021 by Pipsqueak

[Non-Believer]

12 minutes ago, P.K. said:

Honest, hardworking, reliable - none of these words apply to Boris Johnson...

Indeed...I found this the other day when I was researching something on Boris...it refers to journalist Petronella Wyatt.

 

[Uhtred]

1 hour ago, Rhumsaa said:

the success or otherwise in dealing with covid is very much a hindsight based view and fluctuates massively

Boris Johnson has gone from inept leader to hero in a few months with a strong vaccination roll out and who knows could easily slip back into being inept in a few months time

 

It’s most interesting that track and trace, an unmitigated and massively expensive disaster was a private sector operation whereas the superb vaccine rollout is the work of the NHS.

[code99]

1 hour ago, Rhumsaa said:

the success or otherwise in dealing with covid is very much a hindsight based view and fluctuates massively

There's some truth in what you're saying. However, it seems to me that right from the very beginning the IOMG did not have a detailed plan. I suspect that, rather than following an active Covid management/ mitigation plan, they were largely flying blind. During the long period when we had no cases the IOMG should have been developing the plan that they did not have. I am certain that their failure to test everybody on arrival, and especially the SPC crew, is evidence that they did not have an active management/ mitigation plan. The SPC saga demonstrates that even if they did have a plan, they were incapable of carrying it out. What also makes them look shifty and incompetent, is their on-going incomprehensible debacle with Dr Glover. 

[Rhumsaa]

2 minutes ago, Uhtred said:

It’s most interesting that track and trace, an unmitigated and massively expensive disaster was a private sector operation whereas the superb vaccine rollout is the work of the NHS.

not what I would have expected to occur tbh