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Been looking at the flights websites - sadly the once great Skyscanner now has jet2 sponsoring it meaning it's flights get prominence :-( - and noticed some good return deals for late Aug/September. But just couldn't find the nerve to click.

The costs will probably rocket once we get the all-clear; but if they become out-of-range I'll hold back and do the Costas in autumn instead.
Just click :D

I risked my £92. Late August so it was worth the gamble. It's Ryanair out of Prestwick so I might have to pedal the plane myself, but cracking times and decent cheap deal.
 
Just click :D

I risked my £92. Late August so it was worth the gamble. It's Ryanair out of Prestwick so I might have to pedal the plane myself, but cracking times and decent cheap deal.
I want to...but the base fare of around £150 starts to go up when you include decent seat, cabin bag and so on - I suppose they could be booked later though as an add-on. Good news is hotel don't need to be paid until you turn up - you can always cancel for free; however I find on Formentera most want a 30% non-returnable up-front payment.

Probably find some good last-minute deals later though.
 
Book it with a hotel and should class as a 'package holiday' which will give you much more protection.

Easyjet are doing £60 non-refundable deposits for holiday bookings, balance to be paid 28 days before departure
 
I think people need to think back to pre-covid times, when there wasn't any real public scrutiny outside of fringe groups and you just turned up to your appointment and got the jab given to you.

The choice should be: you either want a vaccine or you don't

People treating this like clothing brands they can pick and choose doesn't sit right with me

It's another example of the mental times we're living in

it's disgusting that this was ever left to the private sector. pharmas aren't NGOs. the UN should have operated and managed distribution so that all countries went at the same pace. the benefits to business and travel were obvious.
 
things are moving snail-like in Spain. only 2.6% of the population have had the 2 jabs so far.

The UK isn't much better r/e the second jab. First jab thought the difference is startling - Spain 7.71;the UK over 30 per 100. Not sure if that's adults or the whole population? Spain has turned it up a notch recently, but nowhere near fast enough.

Whether or not they will want to accept vaccinated/tested tourists is another matter.


New cases and deaths are steadily going down in Spain; https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/spain/
 
it's disgusting that this was ever left to the private sector. pharmas aren't NGOs. the UN should have operated and managed distribution so that all countries went at the same pace. the benefits to business and travel were obvious.

But if you are going to rely on private sector to develop some of the vaccines, you cannot then start calling the shots as regards who they are allowed to sell to, at what price or in what order. We have to remember countries with resources effectively underwrote the unprecedented acceleration of vaccine development with their orders and this was partly political - e.g. so as not to be dependent on supplies from Chinese / Russian sources etc. We can consider altruism in an objective sense but the countries hardest hit (US / UK especially) moved heaven and earth to sponsor and accelerate vaccine development without which there would't be the supplies there are today so fast.

A key motivation was of course to dig themselves out of the domestic socio-economic hole they found themselves in as fast as possible. Many poorer countries haven't been hit nearly as hard by CV due to their younger populations, despite having next to no healthcare systems to fall back on. So whilst I understand the longer term objectives, the countries which have gone hardest at the vaccination programme (Israel, UK, USA) are the same countries with some of the worst outbreaks.
 
The UK isn't much better r/e the second jab. First jab thought the difference is startling - Spain 7.71;the UK over 30 per 100. Not sure if that's adults or the whole population? Spain has turned it up a notch recently, but nowhere near fast enough.

Whether or not they will want to accept vaccinated/tested tourists is another matter.


New cases and deaths are steadily going down in Spain; https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/spain/
Second dose percentage will really start ramping up towards the start of April
 
it's disgusting that this was ever left to the private sector. pharmas aren't NGOs. the UN should have operated and managed distribution so that all countries went at the same pace. the benefits to business and travel were obvious.
Nope, the UN is a horribly corrupt and inefficient organization incapable of almost anything. It's only (kinda) good at preventing wars due to its ability to stall and delay.

Humans aren't robots, they perform better in competition, not in cooperation. If all countries went "at the same pace", no one would have been motivated to improve that pace. Equality would simply mean waiting for backbenchers instead of moving ahead.

Private sector enterprises developing vaccines were the only organizations who did a truly stellar job fighting this pandemic from day one. It's not really the private sector that is to blame for all things Covid.
 
Nope, the UN is a horribly corrupt and inefficient organization incapable of almost anything. It's only (kinda) good at preventing wars due to its ability to stall and delay.

Humans aren't robots, they perform better in competition, not in cooperation. If all countries went "at the same pace", no one would have been motivated to improve that pace. Equality would simply mean waiting for backbenchers instead of moving ahead.

Private sector enterprises developing vaccines were the only organizations who did a truly stellar job fighting this pandemic from day one. It's not really the private sector that is to blame for all things Covid.

appalling post. you think people are only motivated by money? what a world you live in...

all too late now though of course... bald men fighting over a comb
 
appalling post. you think people are only motivated by money? what a world you live in...

I was talking about competition, not money. When people (or countries) no longer fear that someone might perform better than them, they make a lot less effort. That's why having "the same pace" in all countries would be a fatal mistake.

Thanks to shining examples of Israel, the USA, the UK (and the envy their vaccination efforts cause elsewhere), we know that a quick vaccination is possible and thus there is enormous political pressure to speed up the vaccination in other countries, which translates into more efforts.

Private enterprise is used to working in competition, that's why private enterprises performed so well fighting covid. A quick development and production of innovative products (vaccines, tests, masks) is what private enterprises are strong at; governments or NGOs aren't.

And yes, money is the strongest sustained source of motivation out there. It's easy to do "the right thing" at the call of your heart for a day or a week. It's much harder to do that for years. There is nothing wrong with it - it's the way homo sapiens is built. Greed is an essential human quality, like it or not.
 
appalling post. you think people are only motivated by money? what a world you live in...

Money and power are the driving forces in the world today. That's the reality rather than idealism. Others can be motivated by altruistic objectives but I'd be interested to see evidence of very much to show for it when scarce resources and technology are required to deliver the benefits. Unless you get someone with so much surplus to throw around that they're happy to dedicate vast wealth to a pet project

bald men fighting over a comb
:lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Nope, the UN is a horribly corrupt and inefficient organization incapable of almost anything. It's only (kinda) good at preventing wars due to its ability to stall and delay.

Humans aren't robots, they perform better in competition, not in cooperation. If all countries went "at the same pace", no one would have been motivated to improve that pace. Equality would simply mean waiting for backbenchers instead of moving ahead.

Private sector enterprises developing vaccines were the only organizations who did a truly stellar job fighting this pandemic from day one. It's not really the private sector that is to blame for all things Covid.

I generally agree with the main point you're trying to make regarding competition - but your last line isn't fair at all. Private sector aren't the ones sticking jabs in arms, they're not the ones who scaled up a vaccination programme en masse, they aren't the ones who ran the JCVI nor are they the ones who got the cash to the right places. That was all public sector - your nurses, doctors, civil servants.
 
Interesting to see the tone of the London Standard.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/covid-vaccine-results-public-health-england-b921793.html

I generally agree with the main point you're trying to make regarding competition - but your last line isn't fair at all. Private sector aren't the ones sticking jabs in arms, they're not the ones who scaled up a vaccination programme en masse, they aren't the ones who ran the JCVI nor are they the ones who got the cash to the right places. That was all public sector - your nurses, doctors, civil servants.

Just for balance public sector cut private sector out of delivery and supply completely, so the latter had no choice about whether to be involved. There's no race with a single horse so to speak ! It wouldn't have been a competition anyway and please don't think I'm taking credit away from what has been achieved but it must be said. Let's also not forget that until costs are covered, Astrazeneca is a not-for-profit vaccine. They are obviously playing a long game and have the pockets to do so as a company, but that is not without its own risks and limitations as more and more vaccines come on stream.

The one thing I would highlight is failure to mention the armed forces because I have zero doubt that without their logistical help and oversight especially during setup the rollout would not have been in any way as successful as it has been left to GPs and their administrators, nurses and civil servants. They stepped in when PPE distribution collapsed and have been involved from the start with the vaccine rollout. They are kept out of the media and with only a single appearance at an early Covid briefing with Boris I can remember where it became apparent just how involved they had already been. They are never out to get rounds of applause or even recognition most of the time, which is just as well because it is so rarely given !

It's taken a nation's collective effort including bullish procurement terms to make the vaccination programme what it is. For once, the relevant parties have actually played their part well as a whole. My own experience is that the weak link in the chain (both for my mum and myself and many others) has been GPs and it's partly that fragmentation is the enemy of efficiency for logistical and organizational reasons. Without the mass vaccination centres we wouldn't have had a hope of getting where we are by now. Use of these is the main reason why Israel got so far ahead so quickly (given their deal with pfizer over steady early supply).
 
we are actually well in front of Israel now in the UAE, anyone can basically go on line and book an appointment to get a shot or you can queue up at a drive thru. I actually did my 2 doses through my work who set up a vaccine centre in the office. We are approaching herd community as about 50% have had both. They’ve done very well here from the start
 
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