Time To Wheel Out Those Tombstone Ads Again?

[douglas9401]

Even Auntie Beeb goes as far as giving the lead to 'gay and bi-sexual men' in the majority of UK cases where normally they'd run a mile from 'stigmatising' that particular group.
So how serious is it going to be and, most importantly, will we have the same 'science' handed to us as COVID and be expected to fall into line again?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61527835

[sp1814]

douglas9401

You asked:

"So how serious is it going to be and, most importantly, will we have the same 'science' handed to us as COVID and be expected to fall into line again?"

Are you REALLY expecting informed answers? Do you know how many epidemiologists are signed up to the AnswerBank.

Valid questions no doubt, but not sure the audience is quite right.

[sandyRoe]

I mentioned Monkey Pox some days ago and was told there was nothing to worry about.
Believe you me, I'm going to give any monkeys I see a very wide berth.

[pixie374]

Statistics don't stigmatise people, they just give facts. Hopefully, as it is only passed with direct contact, it won't be quite so prevalent..... fingers crossed.

[jno]

the science has seemed pretty much okay through Covid -if we acknowledge that science means knowledge, and knowledge changes as we go on - but it tended to be outweighed by political considerations.

At the moment statistics are recording that monkeypox seems more common in gay and bi men, but that's on a very small sample and may likewise change as more cases are recorded.

No need to be scared of science.

[Bazile]

^^
How does that work - you work in a zoo , don't you ?

[Bazile]

Mine was to sandyRoe

[aelmpvw]

//Hopefully, as it is only passed with direct contact//
my limited knowledge from google suggests it can be transmitted as easily as covid

[sp1814]

Well said pixie374. The BBC are only echoing what other media outlets have been reporting. Far from stigmatising gay and bisexual men the BBC is providing much needed information.

[pixie374]

Ah, thanks, ael. I thought it was cuts, mouth, nose, sexual contact type.

[pixie374]

//Unlike SARS-CoV-2, which spreads through tiny air-borne droplets called aerosols, monkeypox is thought to spread from close contact with bodily fluids, such as saliva from coughing. That means a person with monkeypox is likely to infect far fewer close contacts than someone with SARS-CoV-2, Hooper says.20 hours ago//
From Google.

[douglas9401]

I suppose it depends what side of the bed one gets out of then.

Thanks.

[dannyk13]

Chances of catching monkey pox in the UK are very slim:-
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/monkeypox/

[jno]

lots of squirrels round here, I may have to get me a gun.

[New Judge]

//Dr Claire Dewsnap, a consultant in genitourinary medicine and president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, said staff in sexual health clinics were "already under significant pressure" and monkeypox was making that situation worse.//

What? There are twenty cases in the UK – twenty. Even if every one of them was among sexual health workers (most unlikely) how would that make their current situation significantly worse?

//…the science has seemed pretty much okay through Covid//

Really? As far as I can recall, there was not a single “forecast”, “prediction” or “scenario” (call them what you will because the scientists did) that was anywhere near close to the mark. All of them were wildly adrift and all of them predicted blood-curdling consequences if we did not do as we were told by the scientists. The restrictions imposed on the population were predicated on these predictions having some measure of credibility, which they continually and consistently failed to display. There was no rational analysis of the benefits (or otherwise) of the various measures that were taken and no proper consideration made for the downsides on the economy, education, health and general wellbeing. Only now is it becoming evident that (a) the restrictions probably had, if anything, only a marginal effect on the outcome and (b) the effect they had on the economy and the health and wellbeing of the population was far more severe than was ever considered.

So if it’s all the same, I’ll treat any advice I receive from scientists on how to approach Monkey Pox with a large sack of salt.

[sp1814]

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/26/mathematicians-covid-projections-modelling

[ToraToraTora]

it's not airborne like COVID etc, it can only be caught by fluid to fluid contact so in normal living its it won't be contracted.

[New Judge]

I understand the difficulties with mathematical modelling, sp. I've spent a large part of my working life devising them and running them. I'm not criticising the mathematicians or the scientists. I'm criticising the politicians for blindly following "the science" without taking note of its shortcomings and limitations. Normally what politicians do doesn't matter too much to most people in their everyday lives. This time it did. We need to be sure they are not allowed to do the same thing again.

[fender62]

as nj says sound bites = hysteria and the tabloids run with it..oh dear run for the proberbial hills, or have another injection company shares dipping..

[andy-hughes]

This would probably not attract the coverage it has, part from the fact that it follows so closely on the heels of Covid, and the world is far more sensitive to the notion of infectious diseases than it was prior to that.

As pixie has pointed out, simply advising statistical evidence does not equate with stigmatising, although you can expect the usual ignorance and pitchfork-and-torch interfaces to crop up via the wonders of social media, which sadly never loses a single opportunity to let bigotry and ignorance have a loud and persistent voice.

[naomi24]

I’m not sure it’s much different to saying overweight people are more likely than those slimmer to suffer severe effects from Covid - as they did. If one group is more at risk it’s sensible to make them aware. No one should be pussyfooting with public health for fear of causing offence. The dead are past taking offence.