Decline the jab

[Wheeze]

I quite agree that the element of tax that goes to NHS should/would not be taken if your number was revoked.
Sorry, but long covid is so much more than post viral fatigue. Multi-organ failure and losing limbs are a wee bit nastier and not something I want to take my chances with.

[molehill]

Would we have to wait another 180 years before we can eradicate covid? Its a long time to work from home!

I think this virus is with us for the long term, but we will learn to manage it and live with it - without it impacting our lives too much. Vaccines (probably annual, like flue) will be a big part of that. Vaccines work and people refusing them will not help the overall situation to bring down transmission in populations.
It also isn't all about death rates, which some may quote as being low, it is about keeping patients out of our hospitals so they may treat other illnesses and return to normal. That requires people not catching it in the first place, young and old.
Like Wheeze I fear the long covid symptoms most, at my age I don't have a year or two to spare sitting at home waiting to get better and worrying about permanent damage to my body.

[Witton Park]

For the 2018/19 tax year the NHS received £114 billion out of total tax receipts of £620 billion. This means 18 percent of all income tax, national insurance, fuel duty, alcohol duty, insurance tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, stamp duty and VAT goes to the NHS (and I've probably missed a few taxes there).

If people were offered their 18 percent in return then most people would be financially better off to leave the NHS and take out private health care. Last year, after major surgery that I'd been waiting for more than a year my GPs practice told me that I was unable to see a nurse for over 11 days - I had instead to queue at the local hospital (who were very good I must stress)

I think you'd find that if you revoked NHS numbers, and paid the people the amount they were due, it would lead to the break up of the NHS. Is that what you want?

That 114 Billion was just England as well, and it's a darn sight higher now.

[Graham Breeze]

For the 2018/19 tax year the NHS received £114 billion out of total tax receipts of £620 billion. This means 18 percent of all income tax, national insurance, fuel duty, alcohol duty, insurance tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, stamp duty and VAT goes to the NHS (and I've probably missed a few taxes there).

If people were offered their 18 percent in return then most people would be financially better off to leave the NHS and take out private health care. Last year, after major surgery that I'd been waiting for more than a year my GPs practice told me that I was unable to see a nurse for over 11 days - I had instead to queue at the local hospital (who were very good I must stress)

I think you'd find that if you revoked NHS numbers, and paid the people the amount they were due, it would lead to the break up of the NHS. Is that what you want?

I think people who opine about PMI should reveal their experience of it, their age, how much they are paying, what their cover is, what their previous medical history is - and whether they are paying the fees themselves rather than their employer or their own business.

PMI providers are not charities.

[noel]

Also, private medical insurance in this country is not a fair comparison to what it would be like if people could opt out of the NHS. I have private health cover through my company, but it very specifically doesn't cover many aspects that we take for granted: A&E being one. If I hurt myself, will my health insurance company send an ambulance? No they won't.

For a better monetary comparison, we'd need probably need to look for overseas examples. I know US health insurance is comparatively expensive, but that's partly due to how it's evolved as an industry.

This thread went quickly off topic, didn't it?

[Wheeze]

Well, it was a bit provocative, I'll admit. By the way, its a mistake to think the vaccine was developed in 10 months. The Oxford vaccine has been in development for 10 years. The urgency of the pandemic pumped cash into the programme that allowed the vaccine to be finalised very rapidly.
Of course there can be exemptions for proper medical reasons!

[Hank]

There's certainly a lot of misinformation out there and you'd guess that's got a lot to do with some people's choice to not want the vaccination (not including those with valid medical reasons/concerns). Look at how many people bought the whole C-19/5G conspiracy theory, or the '£350m a week for the NHS' nonsense our Prime Minister attempted to sell us. Knowing what/who to trust in terms of the information available to us is probably harder than it's ever been.

I think for communities where English isn't a first language and/or news isn't sourced from the mainstream UK media, these problems are exacerbated. I'm not sure punitive measures like no access to NHS are the way to go though. Should smokers be treated the same for the unnecessary burden they put on the NHS? Or those who drink excessively, choose to eat terribly, etc.? For all its imperfections we're very lucky to have the NHS, and having seen it at work at the sharp end I consider 18% of my tax very good value for money.

[Witton Park]

[QUOTE=Hank;671834]. Look at how many people bought the whole C-19/5G conspiracy theory, or the '£350m a week for the NHS' {/QUOTE]

Conflating something that is bonkers and something that has happened is nonsense.

In terms of the bonkers stuff, I don't think numbers are high, and they'd be much lower if the Govt position with regards to CV didn't have so many issues that don't make sense to many.

[JohnK]

Which ever way you go with the jab it can be considered a gamble individuals need to weigh up the odds for them selves based on known facts not hear say, and bearing in mind the people on the street are not privy to the full scientific facts and probably will not be for another 20yrs under the revelation of secrets act.

For my part I have spoken to enough people with first hand experience of the virus and read accounts by previously active people, this one for e.g. :-

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/news...rs-experience/

Which means for me at least the jab probably gives me the best odds of enjoying some more years of an active lifestyle and less chance of passing anything nasty onto somebody else but as with all things in life there are no guarantees.

Sorry If I seem to be preaching not the case just putting my point of view over.

[Travs]

Did anyone see that very unfortunate story from the Lake District involving Patterdale Mountain Rescue...?

Two guys wild camping on Red Screes... One developed chest pains and they had to call mountain rescue... unfortunately the mountain rescue guy sustained a nasty fall on the way up and was apparently seriously injured (i don't know to what extent or if life changing/threatening injuries).

Obviously the sanity of wild camping at this time of year may be questioned, not to mention in the current circumstances... then it turns out the two wild campers were from Leicester and Liverpool.

I believe they were each fined £200 by Cumbria Police (which does seem rather lenient)

I know this subject developed into something rather heated on more than one facebook page... i think we can probably all agree that it is a rather sad and unfortunate incident from start to finish...