What are your end of year plans amidst the crisis?

I 1000000% wont be going back to Australia then get stuck there and no chance of return, so it will be family, friends, food, drink and merriment on the roof looking at the fireworks for me.

Fireworks are in discussion to be banned here (Germany) this year-end and private gatherings are alread largely forbidden (max. 5 people from 2 households only), with little chance of loosening in the next few weeks. So what is left to do?

beppi wrote:

Fireworks are in discussion to be banned here (Germany) this year-end and private gatherings are alread largely forbidden (max. 5 people from 2 households only), with little chance of loosening in the next few weeks. So what is left to do?

Ouch! 5 people from 2 households? wow so they hope you and your guests dont  each have a kid,,, now there is a fun game trying to pick who's kid gets left at home.

Who thinks up these BS rules? obviously not anyone who has children.

I wish you well for the season of joy.

Andybris2020 wrote:

wont be going back to Australia then get stuck there and no chance of return, so it will be family, friends, food, drink and merriment on the roof looking at the fireworks for me.

Great point, Andy B.

Given the uncertainties of travel and the ever-present possibility that return travel could be delayed, the only folks traveling internationally should be those in urgent situations and those who are planning to stay in the destination country a good long while.

cccmedia

cccmedia wrote:

Andybris2020 wrote:

wont be going back to Australia then get stuck there and no chance of return, so it will be family, friends, food, drink and merriment on the roof looking at the fireworks for me.

Great point, Andy B.

Given the uncertainties of travel and the ever-present possibility that return travel could be delayed, the only folks traveling internationally should be those in urgent situations and those who are planning to stay in the destination country a good long while.

cccmedia

Now for the good news:- with project warpspeed now having not 1 but 2 vaccines announced Pfizer vaccine 90% effective and Moderna vaccine 94.5% should see a fightback against Covid-19 & the end to lock-downs and the lifting of travel bans some time soon.

Fingers crossed the workers can get back to work, kids back to school and the economy can start getting back to normal, which is a great start to 2021.

Congratulations all involved in making the vaccines possible Pfizer, Moderna project warpspeed and all the workers and government officials making it possible in such a short time.

Andybris: I do not understand your comment - most kids live with their parents in one household.

Andybris2020 wrote:

Pfizer vaccine 90% effective and Moderna vaccine 94.5% should see a fightback against Covid-19 & the end to lock-downs and the lifting of travel bans some time soon.

Fingers crossed the workers can get back to work, kids back to school and the economy can start getting back to normal, which is a great start to 2021.

Updating...

Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, have announced revised, updated figures on the success of their vaccine.

They say the testing shows that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 95 percent effective in preventing symptomatic covid-19.  Effectiveness among older adults is 94 percent, according to the companies' announcement.  The 95 percent figure is five percent higher than the partial result indicated in the previous week's announcement.  The phase-3 trial is now complete.

The following numbers presuppose fast approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration....

The companies said up to 50 million doses of the vaccine could be available by the end of December 2020 .. and well over a billion doses by the end of 2021.

---

Factors that may delay worldwide herd-immunity include the unknown duration of effectiveness of the vaccine(s) .. uncertainty about how many people will be willing to undergo vaccination when it is first available .. the apparent need to have two vaccinations per person about a month apart .. and the challenges of warehousing and transporting zillions of vaccine units worldwide.

cccmedia

... and the availability of vaccine material!
If within next year a billion people are immunised (of seven billion living on this earth), that is a manufacturing and logistics achievement of unprecedented scale - but by far not enough for herd immunity.
We will still ask the same question about year-end celebrations in 12 months!

beppi wrote:

Andybris: I do not understand your comment - most kids live with their parents in one household.

You said "max. 5 people from 2 households only" so if you have a child and your friends have a child they can not join you because max 5 people, someone would have to stay home.

cccmedia wrote:

Andybris2020 wrote:

Pfizer vaccine 90% effective and Moderna vaccine 94.5% should see a fightback against Covid-19 & the end to lock-downs and the lifting of travel bans some time soon.

Fingers crossed the workers can get back to work, kids back to school and the economy can start getting back to normal, which is a great start to 2021.

Updating...

Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, have announced revised, updated figures on the success of their vaccine.

They say the testing shows that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 95 percent effective in preventing symptomatic covid-19.  Effectiveness among older adults is 94 percent, according to the companies' announcement.  The 95 percent figure is five percent higher than the partial result indicated in the previous week's announcement.  The phase-3 trial is now complete.

The following numbers presuppose fast approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration....

The companies said up to 50 million doses of the vaccine could be available by the end of December 2020 .. and well over a billion doses by the end of 2021.

---

Factors that may delay worldwide herd-immunity include the unknown duration of effectiveness of the vaccine(s) .. uncertainty about how many people will be willing to undergo vaccination when it is first available .. the apparent need to have two vaccinations per person about a month apart .. and the challenges of warehousing and transporting zillions of vaccine units worldwide.

cccmedia

So if 94/95% affective and 99% survival rate and with around 53million cases of COVID-19 and only 4 people getting re-infected so next to no chance of reinfection that all looks pretty good.

Andybris2020 wrote:

beppi wrote:

Andybris: I do not understand your comment - most kids live with their parents in one household.

You said "max. 5 people from 2 households only" so if you have a child and your friends have a child they can not join you because max 5 people, someone would have to stay home.

That's of course open for interpretation - but the underlying message is: Reduce contacts (and thus infection risk) as much as possible!