youtube.com/watch
youtube.com/watchLearning To Live With Covid-19
In an interview British Health Secretary MATT HANCOCK has said he hopes vaccines and treatments will have turned Covid-19 into a disease we can “live with, like we do flu” by the end of the year. It would become a “treatable disease”, and thanks to a mix of vaccines and treatments, we can now imagine “a path to freedom and normal life”.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the Health Secretary said new drugs specifically designed to tackle coronavirus should arrive in 2021. The comments suggest Mr Hancock sees Britain living with the virus in the long-term rather than the Government pursuing a strategy of eliminating it, despite declining explicitly to endorse that suggestion at a press conference this week.
On Saturday the Government announces that the world’s most innovative treatments for Covid-19 will soon be fast-tracked through the UK’s clinical trial system. It could result in new treatments for the virus becoming available within months rather than years as the approval process is streamlined.
‘There is a very reasonable expectation you can keep this under control’
Experts at King’s College London, who have tracked symptomatic Covid since the first wave, said infections should be back to summer levels by early March.
Mr Hancock struck an upbeat tone as he said the combination of vaccines and treatments would be “our way out to freedom and normal life”.
Expanding on his hope that Covid-19 would become a “treatable disease” by the end of the year, Mr Hancock listed the factors that would need to be in place for that to happen.
First was having a vaccine that “reduces hospitalisations and deaths” and hopefully “reduces transmission”, something early data suggests may be true for the vaccines the UK is using.
Second was that “the vaccine is safe, which means that almost everybody can take it unless you have a very specific clinical condition”.
“And third there are treatments so that for the small proportion [of people for] whom the vaccine does not afford that protection, we will have treatments for [them],” Mr Hancock added. “If Covid-19 ends up like flu, so we live our normal lives and we mitigate through vaccines and treatments, then we can get on with everything again.”
Next week GPs will start offering vaccinations to millions of young and middle-aged adults with health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. The rollout of jabs to the next group on the priority list – those aged 65 to 69 – is already under way in areas which have hit the first target. The bulk of those aged 65 to 69 should receive first doses in the next fortnight, with those aged 60 to 64 next on the list, and everyone over the age of 50 promised their first jab by the end of April. Latest figures show that more than nine in 10 of all over-70s have had their first dose.
In the past 10 days, Covid deaths have almost halved among the over-85s, falling at twice the rates seen in younger unvaccinated groups. Among those aged 85 and over, Covid deaths fell by 41 per cent between Jan 28 and Feb 7, compared with a 22 per cent reduction among those below the age of 65.
Last night, The Times reported that hospital admissions and deaths are predicted to halve over the next month and fall to October levels, according to estimates presented to No 10 by its scientific advisers.
Extra Time Heartbreak
FA Cup 2020/21, 5th round proper: Manchester Utd 1 West Ham Utd 0
after extra time
Manchester United nach Zitterpartie im FA Cup weiter
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/55951207:
It was another disappointing Old Trafford night for former Manchester United manager David Moyes.
Other than during his own ill-fated eight months in charge, it is a ground he has never won at, either with Everton, Sunderland or West Ham.
Before kick-off, the Scot had a good chat with current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and doubtless wished he had been granted the same time afforded to the Norwegian, who is attempting to win a trophy after losing four successive semi-finals.
Moyes’ hopes of stopping the hosts in their tracks were badly affected by injuries that now threaten to derail what so far has been an excellent season.
The sight of Angelo Ogbonna hobbling down the tunnel with his left boot removed, after being stood on by Martial, did not look great, and the manner of Diop‘s exit with a concussion suggests Moyes will be without two central defenders for Monday’s encounter with Sheffield United.
With their only orthodox striker, Michail Antonio, also missing, West Ham never really gained any momentum and were not helped by yet another injury – this time to Antonio’s replacement Andriy Yarmolenko – early in the second half.
Said Benrahma had the Hammers’ only effort on target, but even if he had beaten Dean Henderson with a close-range header at the end of extra time, it would almost certainly have been disallowed for offside. (BBC)
David Moyes back to Manchester
On Tuesday night West Ham manager David Moyes returns to Old Trafford for the Hammers’ FA Cup 5th round tie against Manchester United. It was at Old Trafford where the Scot endured an ill-fated eight-month stint as Alex Ferguson’s chosen successor in 2013-14. If his team could proceed to the quarter final of the FA Cup with a win at Old Trafford he could finally leave behind these times of failure and even more restore his reputation.
West Ham have vastly improved under David Moyes since he came back to the Hammers last season and saved them from relegation for a second time within three years. They are now fifth in the Premier League table and could have been fourth if they had won at Craven Cottage instead of drawing 0-0 with relegation strugglers Fulham on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Though West Ham’s supporters can console themselves with the knowledge that ttheir team have their highest points tally after 23 games since 1986 – and have now matched the 39 they accumulated in the whole of last season. Moyes deserves much of the credit for this.
Maybe West Ham played more “the West Ham way” in Manuel Pellegrini’s first season, but in the end it didn’t work out and the Irons found themselves in a relegation battle in Pellegrini’s second year. Pellegrini was replaced by his predecessor when everything went wrong in his second season, and now it’s David Moyes who tries to change the “West Ham way” of underachieving and blowing bubbles that burst too quickly.
When Moyes’s contract runs out at the end of the season, it is regarded as a given that an extension will be agreed. If the Scot could beat the club where so much went wrong for him some years ago and reach the quarterfinal of the FA Cup that would finally restore his reputation and also would convince some of the West Ham faithful who are still not all in Moyes’s camp.
Come on you Irons!
Alpha in Vienna
Ab dem 25. Februar findet immer am Donnerstagabend ab 18:30 Uhr ein Alpha Kurs über Grundfragen des Glaubens im ICF-Wien in der Lerchenfelder Straße 35 statt.
Der Alpha Kurs ist eine Abfolge von mehreren Abenden, bei denen in zwangloser Atmosphäre wichtige Fragen des Lebens und des christlichen Glaubens behandelt werden. Die wöchentlichen Treffen, die an den Donnerstagen bis Ostern stattfinden, beginnen üblicherweise mit einem gemeinsamen Imbiss. Darauf folgt ein Film mit einem Input und anschließend tauschen sich die Teilnehmer unter dem Motto „Und was sagst du dazu?“ aus.
In den Filmen hören wir immer wieder Nicky Gumbel, den Vikar von Holy Trinity Brompton (London) und Pionier von Alpha. Auch sein trockener britischer Humor macht diese Filme sehenswert. Besonders ist es aber die gelungene Mischung von Information und dem deutlich hervorleuchtenden Ziel, dass jeder Teilnehmer eine persönliche Beziehung zu Jesus aufbaut und vertieft, was mich am Alpha Kurs fasziniert.
Anmeldung: https://www.icf-wien.at/de/angebote/alpha/
Austria vaccinated only 2,65% so far
The vaccination rate of the UK is 16,9%, miles ahead of the EU’s figures (above).
Austria is even more behind with only 2,65 people out of 100 vaccinated so far. Only 6 of the 27 EU member states have a lower rate than Austria.
The UK’s much quicker authorisation and roll-out of vaccines could be seen as a vindication of Brexit and a strong argument against the power of the EU at least in the sector of health care.
West Ham Win Away at Villa
That could hardly have gone any better! West Ham immediately bounced back from their disappointing defeat against Liverpool last Sunday and won 3:1 at Villa Park on Wednesday night.
West Ham gave a superb display from back to front and were rewarded with all three points. Loan signing Jesse Lingard (above) was man of the match and really brought quality in to the team.
Tomas Soucek got us going six minutes after the break, before Jesse Lingard (28), on loan from Manchester United since January, took over with a debut double. With Lingard West Ham had a “Grealish” of it’s own.
And Villa’s Jack Grealish got two “securities” on “his” left side of the park, a perfect move from West Ham manager David Moyes.
West Ham remain fifth, two points behind fourth-placed Liverpool who lost 1-0 at home to Brighton, while Villa stay ninth, six points behind the Hammers.
Best season since 1986
The win on Wednesday gave West Ham 38 points, their highest tally after 22 matches of a top-flight season since 1985-86.
The Hammers have won three consecutive away league matches for the first time since December 2018 and have already beaten last season’s total of 10 Premier League victories with their eleventh win last night! A brilliant season so far – exceeding all our expectations!
In David Moyes we trust!
O Captain, our Captain!
In the 1989 movie “The Dead Poets Society“ by Peter Weir, the poem “O Captain, my captain“ by Walt Whitman is referred to several times. The poem was written in 1865 about the death of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. In Weir’s movie it is the respectful address of the club’s students for the popular English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams). When Keating is fired and returns to collect his belongings, the students stand on their desks and address Keating as “O Captain! My Captain!”
Now the first line of it was used by a commentator in The Telegraph by telling us about the death of 100 year old Captain Tom Moore. The WWII veteran had raised almost 40m Pounds for the NHS in spring by walking 100 laps in his garden in Bedfordshire.
Captain Sir Tom Moore rallied the nation’s morale at a low moment during the spread of coronavirus. He wasn’t a knight then, of course. “One small soul like me won’t make much difference,” he said as he set out to do 100 laps of his garden in the days before his 100th birthday. He did it, and he raised more than £32 million. It was not the money that made him lovable, but straightforward decency. This was a man who loved restoring fast motorbikes, and then did his duty as a despatch rider in Burma in the war. Duty meant risking his life. And what could have been more moving than to see the Queen knight him with her father’s sword? She knew well what duty meant. It was no irony that he succumbed to the virus against which he had found something noble to do. That is the hero’s way.
Remarkable Captain Tom was the very best of us (The Telegraph)
West Ham Still Number One…
The Hammers are still number one of the six London Premier League clubs. Despite their disappointing defeat to Liverpool (1:3) on a rainy Sunday afternoon, they remain fifth in the table, in front of Tottenham, because Spurs were beaten in the evening game by Brighton and have now lost twice in a row. In contrast, FC Liverpool have now taken six points within four days from their last games in London against Spurs and West Ham and have moved up to third in the table.
After West Ham’s six wins in January so far, I had hoped for a better result, remembering a 3:1 win over Liverpool back in 2014 which I have witnessed myself in London at Upton Park. Sam Allardyce was West Ham’s manager then, and the Reds were coached by current Leicester manager Brendan Rogers.
Well, it was a 3:1 again – but it was Liverpool that scored three goals (two of them coming from man of the match Mohamed Salah) and West Ham’s Craig Dawson could only add a consolation when the score was already 3:0. West Ham manager David Moyes had decided to approach this game with a very defensive strategy which worked in the first half, but West Ham really never looked like they truly believed they could extend their run of six straight wins in all competitions against the reigning champions.
Chelsea with their new coach Thomas Tuchel also played on Sunday. Their lunchtime kick-off game brought the first win for their new manager with a 2:0 win over Burnley. The Blues are sixth, level on points with Tottenham and two points behind West Ham.
On Saturday Crystal Palace beat Wolves, and Arsenal and Fulham drew their respective games. Arsenal are tenth, the Eagles moved up to thirteenth and Fulham with manager Scott Parker remain in the bottom three after a 2:2 draw with fellow strugglers West Brom. Albion have replaced manager Slaven Bilic with Sam Allardyce to little effect so far and are 9 points from safety. The Cottagers are 7 points behind Brighton in 17th.
In the Championship London club Brentford which had been beaten by Fulham in the 2020 play-off final is again chasing promotion and sit third in the Championship table after trashing Wycombe 7:2 this weekend.
West Ham v Liverpool 1:3 (0:0)
Match report (BBC): www.bbc.com/sport/football/55769215
EXTRA TIME 
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