Conversation

Notices

1. Embed this notice
   Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦 (statsguy@mas.to)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 20:44:57 JST Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦

   Many thanks to everyone who responded with helpful thoughts when I posted last week with my question about whether it's worth paying for a private shingles vaccine given it's still a good few years before I can get an NHS one.

   Just had my first dose of shingles vaccine this morning 🙂

   Not cheap mind you, and it makes me angry to think that many people who are not lucky enough to be able to afford it will completely unnecessarily get shingles. Really should be on the NHS for all over 50s.

   • Embed this notice
     botvolution (botvolution@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 20:44:55 JST botvolution

     in reply to

     @statsguy

     Ah but over 65s vote Tory in a larger proportion than the general population so go to keep them healthy enough to vote

   • Embed this notice
     Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦 (statsguy@mas.to)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 20:44:57 JST Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦

     in reply to

     Apparently the cost-effectiveness justification used to restrict NHS shingles vaccines to the over 65s is that they don't take account of costs of people taking time off work when they're ill with shingles, and they justify this by saying that most over 65s are retired.

     Well, quite apart from the fact the most over 65s probably don't value their time at zero, have you noticed the massive circular argument?

   • Embed this notice
     Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦 (statsguy@mas.to)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 20:49:33 JST Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦

     in reply to

     • botvolution

     @botvolution Indeed. See also: #Covid19 autumn boosters

   • Embed this notice
     botvolution (botvolution@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 20:49:33 JST botvolution

     in reply to

     @statsguy

     Still, the inconsistency & incoherence is remarkable for a government that has serially demonstrated that it considers its citizens only as Productive Economic Units that serve "The Economy".

   • Embed this notice
     Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦 (statsguy@mas.to)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 21:04:29 JST Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦

     in reply to

     • botvolution

     @botvolution It really is. Current government covid policy almost seems designed to do maximum damage to the economy.

     I honestly believe the government don't care in the slightest about the economy. All they care about is their culture wars. Keeping people healthy is "woke", and therefore bad.

   • Embed this notice
     botvolution (botvolution@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 21:04:29 JST botvolution

     in reply to

     @statsguy
     I did a long thread on the other place before suspension about how the Tories started to abandon the idea that a government worked to the benefit of its citizens with Thatcher, and have now reached the point where they have lost sight entirely of what the purpose of elected government is.

     The gap, naturally, has become filled with non-policy activity & corruption.