COVID19

[Doobs]

Was just listening to a podcast with John Campbell, he's mentioned in this thread quite a lot and was always interesting to listen to during the pandemic.

I find the whole Covid enquiry approach is pretty much guaranteed to ensure we learn almost nothing from the experience that will ensure we would handle something like this better in the future.

It seems way too focused on the Government's clown like behaviours, uselessness and corruption than the more serious issue of whether the nature of the generally supported response (lockdowns, speedy introduction of new tech vaccines, closing schools etc) were actually better than doing nothing and serve as any kind of model for a future response.

Think it is a bit of performance bollocks too. 

I wouldn't waste 30 seconds watching a John Campbell video these days. He makes fortunes telling the gullible what they want to hear, even when he knows the opposite is true (there are plenty of receipts).  I have a lot of sympathy for those that end up sceptical of vaccines, but don't extend my sympathy to those who deliberately made them that way. 

It is long beyond doubt that the vaccines were very successful and saved millions of lives; and that lockdowns, whether forced or voluntary, did the same.

You can argue about if and for how long schools needed to close, what we could do better for care homes etc, booster targeting etc. 

I am not sure what we can usefully learn though, the next pandemic could be entirely different.  It could be less, or more severe, than the last one; or it may be more lethal for children. So you can't say that we never need lockdowns again, or that we should never shut schools again etc. 

I am not sure if a bazillion pound enquiry is needed for that, especially when most of the participants seem mostly interested in protecting their own reputations.  Am all for profanity aimed at ministers though... More of that pls.

[nirvana]

Was just listening to a podcast with John Campbell, he's mentioned in this thread quite a lot and was always interesting to listen to during the pandemic.

I find the whole Covid enquiry approach is pretty much guaranteed to ensure we learn almost nothing from the experience that will ensure we would handle something like this better in the future.

It seems way too focused on the Government's clown like behaviours, uselessness and corruption than the more serious issue of whether the nature of the generally supported response (lockdowns, speedy introduction of new tech vaccines, closing schools etc) were actually better than doing nothing and serve as any kind of model for a future response.

Think it is a bit of performance bollocks too. 

I wouldn't waste 30 seconds watching a John Campbell video these days. He makes fortunes telling the gullible what they want to hear, even when he knows the opposite is true (there are plenty of receipts).  I have a lot of sympathy for those that end up sceptical of vaccines, but don't extend my sympathy to those who deliberately made them that way. 

It is long beyond doubt that the vaccines were very successful and saved millions of lives; and that lockdowns, whether forced or voluntary, did the same.

You can argue about if and for how long schools needed to close, what we could do better for care homes etc, booster targeting etc. 

I am not sure what we can usefully learn though, the next pandemic could be entirely different.  It could be less, or more severe, than the last one; or it may be more lethal for children. So you can't say that we never need lockdowns again, or that we should never shut schools again etc. 

I am not sure if a bazillion pound enquiry is needed for that, especially when most of the participants seem mostly interested in protecting their own reputations.  Am all for profanity aimed at ministers though... More of that pls.

Yep, agreed on Campbell - only mentioned him for the kind of reason you outline - clear grifter to me then, and probably more so now. Nevertheless, found the whole discussion interesting given the passage of time since it all started.

Agree, the next pandemic is likely to be very different so any learnings are necessarily limited - but you'd hope an enquiry like this might surface some objective truths about how experts and politicians should work together and how they should communicate and /or direct the population.

We're definitely not going to get that and even worse, we're not even going to try and get that.

Maybe on such a complex issue it isn't that surprising but post the enquiry, it won't really matter if you were on the lockdown for ever, make vaccines mandatory end of the spectrum or do nothing end of the spectrum you will not have heard or learned anything to change your perspective.

Still, on the rare occasions I give it any thought, can easily start fumming about the amount of lies and misleading information I was fed.

[Marky147]

Was just listening to a podcast with John Campbell, he's mentioned in this thread quite a lot and was always interesting to listen to during the pandemic.

I find the whole Covid enquiry approach is pretty much guaranteed to ensure we learn almost nothing from the experience that will ensure we would handle something like this better in the future.

It seems way too focused on the Government's clown like behaviours, uselessness and corruption than the more serious issue of whether the nature of the generally supported response (lockdowns, speedy introduction of new tech vaccines, closing schools etc) were actually better than doing nothing and serve as any kind of model for a future response.

He was good to listen to for the first year or so, but then he was either taken in by, or saw how much more money his channel was making when he entered the world of woo.

His accounts show what is more likely to be the reason, and it has been fascinting to watch him continue to play his audience, most of whom abused him until late 2021

If we'd done nothing, then I've seen it suggested that Neil Ferguson would likely have been right with his modelling. The one that's always used to ridicule him, which was in fact based on us doing nothing. Most people act like it was what he said it would be if we took the path we did.

Vaccines aren't actually new tech, and Malone invented them years ago, according to him. Campbell likely told his audience back then, but now will definitely be alluding to them being, as he's aligned with the likes of Malhotra & Norman Fenton etc.

I've not watched a bit of the thing, other than a few clips of Barnard Castle being quoted for abusing Hancock on whatsapp

Think all we'll find out, is what we've known all along. Most politicians are shithouses.

[Marky147]

Was just listening to a podcast with John Campbell, he's mentioned in this thread quite a lot and was always interesting to listen to during the pandemic.

I find the whole Covid enquiry approach is pretty much guaranteed to ensure we learn almost nothing from the experience that will ensure we would handle something like this better in the future.

It seems way too focused on the Government's clown like behaviours, uselessness and corruption than the more serious issue of whether the nature of the generally supported response (lockdowns, speedy introduction of new tech vaccines, closing schools etc) were actually better than doing nothing and serve as any kind of model for a future response.

He was good to listen to for the first year or so, but then he was either taken in by, or saw how much more money his channel was making when he entered the world of woo.

His accounts show what is more likely to be the reason, and it has been fascinting to watch him continue to play his audience, most of whom abused him until late 2021

If we'd done nothing, then I've seen it suggested that Neil Ferguson would likely have been right with his modelling. The one that's always used to ridicule him, which was in fact based on us doing nothing. Most people act like it was what he said it would be if we took the path we did.

Vaccines aren't actually new tech, and Malone invented them years ago, according to him. Campbell likely told his audience back then, but now will definitely be alluding to them being, as he's aligned with the likes of Malhotra & Norman Fenton etc.

I've not watched a bit of the thing, other than a few clips of Barnard Castle being quoted for abusing Hancock on whatsapp

Think all we'll find out, is what we've known all along. Most politicians are shithouses.

Like to think I wouldn't cave for the money, but everyone has a price as we can see from Campbell's company accounts.

Click to see full-size image.

[Karabiner]

Was just listening to a podcast with John Campbell, he's mentioned in this thread quite a lot and was always interesting to listen to during the pandemic.

I find the whole Covid enquiry approach is pretty much guaranteed to ensure we learn almost nothing from the experience that will ensure we would handle something like this better in the future.

It seems way too focused on the Government's clown like behaviours, uselessness and corruption than the more serious issue of whether the nature of the generally supported response (lockdowns, speedy introduction of new tech vaccines, closing schools etc) were actually better than doing nothing and serve as any kind of model for a future response.

Agree.
Possibly the only lesson that we will learn is that using Snapchat as a government tool is inadvisable. It’s an instant format that is best used for trivia; sharing memes and off colour jokes and that seems to have leached into the discussions held on it.
We should be learning about why we were so ill-prepared and why we indulged in some indiscriminate spending on stuff that should have been sourced through established contracts with established suppliers. Not from any Tom Dick or Harry that turned their hand from cosmetics, car sales or desk manufacture to the fleecing of the nation via inflated prices on basic stuff.

It begs the question about all government procurement. Why is it not on an audited agreed profit margin? Lots of industries work this way, why not government?

I think I spotted a vague reference to giraffe-gate in there..

If you know you know

[nirvana]

Haha, we'll spotted

[StuartHopkin]

I spotted that one too!

Click to see full-size image.