Do people think things will be back to 'normal' by then ? Want to book a trip for new year but will wait till closer till the time .

You might want to consider 2021/22 (or even 22/23) contingency plans...

My next booking is five weeks from now, it looks to be doomed!!!
On the bright side, the daily numbers in the Netherlands are declining, at last.

Nice to see. I think the falling numbers since last week tie in with when the Netherlands was placed into lockdown? I know lockdown does work in temporarily getting numbers down, but I thought it takes a little longer to kick in - perhaps not!

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the apparently huge news out today of a potential vaccine being available in the next few weeks....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54873105

There's been a huge story about it here in the UK, with the financial markets surging today. A coach operator that I hold shares in has rocketed 30% today which highlights how positively they are taking the news today.

A Christmas visit to the Dam might be on the cards!!

It’s good news for sure, but it will still be awhile (Months) before it has any impact on daily life and could become a regular thing. Perhaps every six months.

Sure, my comment implying that things will be much better by Christmas was slightly tongue in cheek!

But its good news. They are saying that the first batch might be available at the end of November, with 15% of the UK population likely to have had it by the end of December. If those figures do pan out and are similar for other countries, that certainly wont be enough for countries to lift social distancing restrictions too much.

There are also some challenges such as how quickly it can be manufactured. But I agree that by Spring of next year, things could be looking a lot better if this vaccine works out well. Those saying 2022-2023 until anything changes might be proved wrong...

Canada is apparently looking at having the vaccine rolled out in the first quarter of 2021. The government’s already been stockpiling tons of syringes and other supplies, and apparently have deals in place to have enough doses for every Canadian in that timeframe. Who knows if that’ll actually happen, but it seems to be the plan currently.

It is great news, but I doubt that most of us will be getting the vaccine immediately, as they will be prioritizing so-called vulnerable segments of the population first (granny, Tim who has asthma, health workers etc) first. There's not enough doses at present to go around. However, hopefully with the most vulnerable protected in developed countries, the travel restrictions (domestic and international) will go completely next year and we can break out of this cycle of ever-shifting regulations and lockdowns.

These are pharmaceutical companies we are talking about.
200% certain there will be a money talks route.
I’m hearing ~£500, to jump the queue.

Yes the UK government have said that only roughly 15% of the population would have had vaccine by end of 2020 and it will be on a priority basis.

However they are suggesting that they have reserved enough doses so that by April around 80% of the population would have had it.

There are obviously some hurdles to clear before the above materialises. For example, no hiccups producing the above quantities, potential storage issues as need -80c, etc etc. If all works well, I think almost all restrictions will have been lifted by the Spring. By the end of summer or early autumn, everything should be good. However, as the vaccine deployment hasn’t started as yet, it still seems a long way off...




You may have a point here, I’m sure there will be a bit of ‘VIP’ing going on!

I wouldn’t trust this shitshow of a government to do anything properly.
They will event new ways to fuck up the role out of the vaccine.
You may have to resort to a private supplier.

Wouldn't b the roll out of the vaccine i'd b worried about , it would b the effects down the line . i'd wait a few years to see how it effects people.

Yep... Tories have just been in power too long by this point, every party needs some time in opposition to recharge their batteries and let fresh ideas and talent rise to the top. Labour was in the same state after the Great Recession. Bojo is back in isolation and wittering about his antibodies FFS, Cummings is out the door, apparently because he annoyed Mrs-Bojo-to-be, and frankly the whole thing has been a circus since March even without the soap opera theatrics (anyone else keep expecting a Downing Street press conference to end with the Eastenders theme tune these days?).

Doesn't fill me with confidence for when we crash out of the EU in 2021, which, selfish runt that I am, annoys me because I'm going to lose visa-free travel to my favourite European red light districts.

However the great British public voted for all this less than a year ago, and ultimately in a democracy the buck stops with us, Joe Public (well, not with me as I have never voted Tory and never will, but I did help put that utter arse Nick Clegg in office ten years ago, and still feel a burning sense of shame when I remember).

Dr Fauci , has said even if you have the vaccine you will still be wearing the mask for sometime ( Not Me )

All I can add is that I had COVID back in Sept.

I’m a rufty-tufty kind of guy, my normal reaction to the flu/cold is to put on a jumper, take some paracetamol and get on with it.
This is something very different.
From what I’ve read, I had a relatively mild form or at least a mild reaction to it, compared to what others have reported.

It was fucking torture for about a week.
Mild flu symptoms, fever, no sleep, but more extreme autonomic reactions beyond my control.
It was like my body knew it was something more serious than I did.
Panting, short of breath, panic attacks, hallucinations, feeling anxious and scared for no reason, just horrible.

The worst symptoms faded after 5-6 days.
That was followed by a week long horrendous hangover.
Waking up everyday like I’d been on a serious bender the night before.
No short term memory, really struggling to mentally process anything even slightly complex.

The next couple of weeks I was extremely tired and would get wiped out from the slightest amount of physical exertion.
Now, I’m mostly back to normal, but occasionally I’ll suddenly feel drained and have to sit down.
Luckily I’m working from home.

I lack the skill to convey the horror of that first week, it’s like trying to describe a bad trip.
I really wouldn’t want to go through that again or be responsible for anyone else going through it.
A vaccine / effective treatment can’t come soon enough.

Thanks Shinken for the report.Its great to hear firsthand what this actually does to people.It makes it hit home that this is a very serious illness.

So yesterday, I heard from a lady I'd seen 3 days prior that she tested positive. It was a 2 hour appointment; we did a lot of DFK. She got symptoms less than 2 days after our appointment, which means she almost certainly already had it prior to our appointment.

Today I got my test result and it was negative.

How does that work?

There seems to be a heavy genetic component.
Two other members of my family had it and their experience was very similar to mine.
Where as some friends of my mother had it and had a much more severe reaction.
One was on a ventilator for two weeks in a critical condition and the other died.

Maybe you have a great immune system?
Also, remember that most of those tests aren’t 100% effective.

You should still quarantine for two weeks, then get another test. If you still test negative, you should be okay. But for now, you could be a spreader even with a negative test and no symptoms.

The Dutch health service has already told me to quarantine for 10 days, even with a negative test result, which I'm already doing. They didn't say anything about getting another test though.