https://joannenova.com.au/2021/02/in-peru-ivermectin-cut-covid-deaths-by-75-in-6-weeks-cheap-safe-and-quite-ignored/

Flu deaths drop off the chart

Has anyone got a preliminary total of All-Cause mortality for UK 2020, to compare to past histories.
Have seen two so far 590,000 estimated and I think it was 604,045
They can declare as many covid deaths as they can, but its the bottom line total of deaths that shows the true picture.

tomo: that snippet could be explosive! Is there any corroboration?
I do wonder if it may be a slip in translation: perhaps he meant that they had the jab last year rather than a year ago and, when it was found they still have antibodies, it was taken to be a year on.
The only other alternative that I can think of is that they were given some sort of generic, pre-existing vaccine, maybe something that came out of the SARS episode they had.
Otherwise it's conspiracy theories all the way!!

So now the EU is talking of restricting vaccine exports to countries which have vaccinated more of their populations ("proportionally") and/or have not exported to the same extent.
This sounds like archetypal socialist dogma - dragging everyone down to the lowest common denominator.

It also implies that the EU is exporting far more than others, with an overtone of altruism. I am deeply sceptical: I suspect that the EU's levels of exports are simply a consequence of being home to lots of manufacturers who are simply fulfilling their contracts.

Imho they are sailing into very rough waters if they intervene unilaterally in the manufacturers' contractual obligations. One consequence will be the inclusion in Force Majeure clauses of wording to cover illegal EU intervention. Another could extra insurance premiums to cover the risk.

The problem with national, backed by international governments, they can make their own rules up. Poor AstraZenica are being punished for success and failure. The EU owes them billions in lost sales (because they are interrupting prior orders) and reputational damage. Meanwhile Sanofi hasn't been punished at all but hasn't made a single dose.

Tiny CO2: quite agree.
Adding insult to injury, AZ are providing their vaccine at cost - it is significantly cheaper than the others. So it is seen as the best option for poorer countries but the bad-mouthing by the EU has undermined confidence.
I hope there will be a silver lining for us in the form of increased local investment by pharmaceutical companies.

France back in lockdown until May 4th.

Apparently a news item on Dutch TV commended our vaccine aquisition efforts which offered funding for companies to build/expand production facilities whereas the EU prevaricated and tried to haggle on prices. The summary was that the astute commercial measures we took put us first in line. ( This was second-hand from a friend with a Dutch wife so no links available).

As I've just posted on Unthreaded, I'm increasingly having difficulty posting links, but if you search online for "Kate Bingham" you'll find out about the real hero (or am I still allowed to call her a heroine?) of the UK's vaccines success.

Absolutely!
I will be very interested to read the whole story. I think we were doubly fortunate. Firstly someone took the unprecedented decision to set up an independent team and let them get on with it. Secondly they chose Ms Bingham to lead it.
This got a passing mention in Cummings' testimony the other day when he said "we decided to keep the vaccine programme away from the smoking ruin of PHE".

All of a sudden immunity from having the virus within the past 6 months will be recognised by the imminent "passport" system. Why has it taken until now?
For all this time, afaik, anyone showing a positive test has had to isolate, even if they had confirmation of having the virus previously. I think Matt Halfcock was caught by this.
I hate to think how much time has been wasted, especially for health professionals, by the refusal to recognise "natural immunity" until now.
It would be interesting to know what changed their minds and why it took so long.

I am somewhat bemused by the continuing reluctance to open up society, given that more than 5M people have now received both vaccinations, and almost half the population (well over half of the adult population) in the UK has received a first vaccination.

Vaccinations were (in my view, rightly) touted as the way to get back to normal. Now the goalposts seem to be moving, yet again. I've willingly had my first vaccination, both for my own benefit and to help society, and I'll be there on 1st June for my second one. It seems to me (and my opinion is, I think, vindicated by the difference between case rates, death rates, and hospitalisation rates in the UK and elsewhere with lower vaccination rates) that this level of vaccination has protected those most at risk, has "saved" the NHS, and leaves only those not at risk or with relatively small risk still unvaccinated (and those who do want to be vaccinated will be in the next few months). There has been no surge (quite the contrary) since children went back to school. And, as Mike Hig says, many of the unvaccinated have probably already caught coronavirus and have a level of natural immunity now. That being the case, I think we should open up now and get back to normal, before any more damage is caused to mental health and to the economy.

Mark H: quite agree. Once again there's a lack of clear direction. Afaik there has not been a single case of anyone getting the virus after 30+m being vaccinated. I base that assertion on the lack of media hysteria which would have followed just one such example. That alone is a good cause for confidence that risks are now very low.
Now we are all being offered up to 2 free tests per week, sent to our homes, which seems very odd. With our present low rate of infections, if millions start testing there will be enough false positives to skew the data and, yet again, those cases will be told to isolate unnecessarily. This smells like another PHE blunder. They have finally got to the point where they can launch mass testing nationwide so here we go, totally disregarding the circumstances and the fact that it's about a year too late.
It would be far better to offer free antibody tests to identify those with immunity since it's one of the criteria for the vaccine "passports". I admit to being baffled by the controversy. Yes, it's tough on those who can't be vaccinated but I have no sympathy for those who have refused a vaccine. Provided it's only for a couple of months, I think/hope folk would accept the "discrimination" in the interests of the majority and getting the country going again.