Reports today that not only is Boris in hospital but he is on oxygen...

[Soph0571]

I wish the man no harm, of course. But one has to ask how that herd immunity concept is working out for him?

[janterry]

1. He was on his 10th day and that, according to reports, is the most difficult day

in the course of the illness (for those that struggle with Covid)

[Roy Rolling]

2. Bless his Pointy Head

Under that mop, he’s gotta be sweating. Still, that’s what makes us different than most Republicans, we wish him well. We are eternally optimistic that after suffering personally, he will have a change of heart.

Actually, this is a test to see if he has a heart at all. Like my Congressman Steve Scalise. He was tested on his gun-love by getting shot. After that, his heart hardened and failed to change his tune. He failed.

Now it’s Boris’ turn to see God face-to-face as in, “Oh God, I’ll do anything to get rid of this virus and not die.” It’s not a religious test, because even most atheists have a kind heart.

[onetexan]

3. sounds like it's time for his replacement - chance for Britain to get a new PM

[The King of Prussia]

5. Oh thanks

Don't wish that on us.

[Demonaut]

6. Why?

[The King of Prussia]

7. You may struggle to believe it

But the potential replacements are worse. At the moment Raab is in charge.

[Recursion]

14. Waving from across the Channel

I remember when Raab got the First Secretary nod thinking "well, now everybody's going to want to keep BoJo alive..."

[onetexan]

16. Oh crappola - "Who is Dominic Raab? What we know about Boris Johnson's 'designated survivor' "

Whoops looks like Brits are jumping grom the pot to the frying pan:

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-dominic-raab-boris-johnson-designated-survivor-prime-minister-hospitalised-2020-4

The news that Dominic Raab would deputise for Johnson should he fall ill, which was confirmed by aides, was received like "a cup of cold sick" by his cabinet rivals, according to Katy Balls, the Spectator magazine's deputy political editor.
Some colleagues believe he lacks emotional intelligence and fear he would struggle to rise to the occasion should he be forced to step into Johnson's shoes, Balls wrote.

Raab has occasionally caused controversy for his hardline views. In 2011 he claimed that "feminists are now amongst the most obnoxious bigots" in the UK. "From the cradle to the grave, men are getting a raw deal," he claimed.

"Men work longer hours, die earlier, but retire later than women."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This guy seems like a real piece of misogynist work. Looks like the UK's got RW fever as bad as the US

[The King of Prussia]

30. To be fair to Raab

We need him to stay alive to save us from Gove

[DBoon]

31. I've heard him described as Boris Johnson's Steve Bannon

absolutely terrifying that he migh end up in charge

[muriel_volestrangler]

35. I don't think Bannon would be right; he's not a controlling ideologue

(Dominic Cummings would fit that better); he's more like a standard issue idiot conservative you wouldn't like to know personally. Pompeo might be a good enough equivalent.

[Recursion]

12. God no. He chose Raab because Raab is even worse (nt)

[a la izquierda]

25. Hard pass.

Even my Tory leaning friends thing Raab is shit.

[eilen]

4. All our Covid patients are put on oxygen

That is the reason they come in-- shortness of breath and we put O2 on them. That in itself is not alarming.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. The official line was that he had gone in for tests "as a precautionary step"

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-prime-minister-admitted-to-hospital-for-coronavirus-tests-11969053

and that he is still in charge of the government: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52180223

I'd think someone needing oxygen should be stopping work.

[eilen]

42. Well, he is in the ICU on a ventilator now

So no one is left wondering what is happening. Poor Boris.

[muriel_volestrangler]

43. By now, the official line is he's not actually on a ventilator yet

but has been moved to ICU in case they need to, and is being intensively monitored.

[eilen]

44. No one takes a bed in the ICU unless they need a vent. nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

46. It's possible they'd make an exception for the Prime Minister (nt)

[OrlandoDem2]

52. They have an order of succession after the PM, no? If he's just occupying space that's horrible

leadership.

[muriel_volestrangler]

57. There isn't a completely formal order, no

The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, also holds the title "First Secretary of State", which has put him as taking over the duties ("deputising where necessary" ), but this isn't formally defined; at times, the government has had a "Deputy Prime Minister" post, but at other times (such as now), not. Formal powers are still held by the Queen, of course; the government sets the policy, and the senior members are "Privy Councillors" who can transmit the policy to her (eg when Boris tried to prorogue parliament, the mechanism was for 3 Privy Councillors to fly to Scotland to see her and give the formal advice to her in person).

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

9. I think "on oxygen" is a far cry from "on a ventilator" or "intubated".

Hospitals seem to put many patients on oxygen, and most are not "near death".

[johnthewoodworker]

10. You probably wouldn't want your accountant working on your taxes from his hospital bed.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

15. My accountant? No. My president? Oh, hell yeah! nt

[gab13by13]

11. Obviously being on oxygen just increases one's oxygen level.

One of the dangerous signs that you are getting the virus is low oxygen. It's easier to get a finger oxygen tester on line than getting a thermometer.

[Aussie105]

19. and you don't need to breathe too deeply to get oxygen.

Helps if your lungs feel like they are full of ground glass, as one victim described it.

Less energy used in breathing, more energy available to fight the virus. So a good move.

[Person of Interest]

13. The Daily Beast ran an article regarding Johnson's planned response to the pandemic

How Britain’s Insanely Risky Coronavirus Experiment Will Affect the U.S.

Article is found here.

[bucolic_frolic]

18. Herd immunity to reduce transmission?

Insanity. Sounds like a policy of "Cull the herd early and often".

It might reduce wave 2, but many in wave 1 would be dead.

[Renew Deal]

17. They were clearly understating his condition

He is in the 20% that needs to go to the hospital. Let’s hope he’s not in that bottom 5%.

[ananda]

20. He didn't just talk the talk.

He is walking the walk.

Good for him... and us.

[onenote]

21. Being "on oxygen" is not the same as being on a ventilator.

[cwydro]

36. Exactly.

[backscatter712]

48. Yep - there are multiple devices for delivering it.

He might just have a nasal cannula in his nose.

Or he could move up to a CPAP or BiPAP machine, which pumps more oxygen into his lungs.

Then the top-line, and last-resort treatment is the ventilator with the tube down the windpipe.

I'm not sure how Boris is getting his O2...

[scrabblequeen40]

22. I wish him sufficient pain to induce remorse and correction.

Some conservatives don't know how to act until it happens to them. The universe nudged a little closer to balance of good and evil with the news of Boris' hospitalization - he's getting what he was serving up to the public, in my book. Perhaps his situation will get so dire, he'll publicly renounce 'herd immunity." If the disease is on the path to kill him, I hope it holds off until he corrects his political statements.

[Aussie105]

23. Herd immunity

is nothing more than the old idea of Survival of the Fittest. Charles Darwin used it in his Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, or whatever the actual title of that book is.

People forget two things:

1. For the herd to become immune, those not able to develop that immunity must die. Be it 5%, or 95%.

2. That 'toughing it out' doesn't work, except in the movies.
Unfortunately, everyone is in their own movie, where everyone around them drops, but they, as hero, survive through raw will power.

No film or book ends short, with the final words being 'At this point, I died.' A two page book, or 5 minute film, just doesn't sell.

Anyone who has has a serious bout of bronchitis or pneumonia will know the feeling well, the feeling of 'Oh shit, this is serious, I'm going to die!' Your imaginary film role shatters at that point.

Best of luck Boris. And all those affected.

(Nice words of encouragement Queen Liz the second, but you just placed everyone back in the film where they survive despite all odds. British Stiff Upper Lip and all, not going to help too many.)

[gab13by13]

33. Bruce Lipton who wrote The biology of belief,

was highly criticized because he dared to challenge Darwin's theory. Lipton believed that organisms survived because they banded together. It's a lot more complicated but I'm not a stem cell biologist. He discovered that the intelligence of a cell wasn't in the nucleus but in the outer shell, thus his conclusion that environment is more important than genes.

[backscatter712]

49. Boris Johnson's strategy...

Yeah, it's really hard to have sympathy for Boris...

[RichardRay]

58. Interesting analysis...

Herd immunity is also the reason vaccines work, of course, and is the only way of controlling something like COVID19.

[TomVilmer]

24. Boris happily shook hands with a lot of coronavirus patients...

Boris Johnson said he was shaking hands with coronavirus patients just weeks before he tested positive for Covid-19. He insisted that people would be 'pleased to know' that the virus would not stop him greeting hospital patients with a handshake.

[padah513]

32. Huh?

"He insisted that people would be 'pleased to know' that the virus would not stop him from greeting hospital patients with a handshake." Trump, Johnson, Bolisaro, most Republican Governors... where the hell did all these stupid people come from?

[struggle4progress]

41. That seems like a good idea. When he gets out, maybe he could start kissing pit vipers

[greenjar_01]

26. They said "for tests"

Well, duh, what other test is there for COVID than testing your oxygen level to make sure you don't go into catastrophic respiratory and organ failure?

[Soph0571]

27. They are trying to minimise it of course

But if you are 10 days in and you are going to hospital you have got a pretty nasty strain of this.

[dalton99a]

29. They probably did an X-ray and serum ferritin test

to check his immune response - because he still had a fever

[Soph0571]

40. He has been moved to ICU

Shit is getting serious

[dalton99a]

28. He'll be fine or he'll be dead

It appears he'll recover fully if no more bad news

[backscatter712]

51. Trump Lung can permanently damage one's lungs.

(or are they calling it Boris Lung in the UK?)

Leaves scar tissue and fibrosis - some people have been losing a lot of lung capacity in the aftermath - for good.

[gab13by13]

34. No need to test his lips,

you could make a pair of work boots out of them that would last forever.

[BrightKnight]

37. He needs to take it seriously and get some rest. nt

[struggle4progress]

38. Maybe our President and cabinet should go visit Boris to see how he's doing

[Soph0571]

39. He is now in ICU

Covid everywhere!

[BrightKnight]

47. Trump has a big bottle of sugar pills to keep him safe.

[Jamastiene]

50. Maybe Trump should chug some aquarium cleaner....

and practice what he preaches, and go visit his buddy.

[DeminPennswoods]

45. Apparently the ventilator story was Russian disinformation

although it is true BJ is in the ICU.

[sfstaxprep]

53. Time To Implement The "Dave" Plan

Although I doubt they'll find someone that's a look alike to that Moron.

[tenderfoot]

54. He'll make a miraculous recovery...

and be as awful as he always was once healed.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

55. Trump will send Jared on AF1 with a big bottle of hydroxychloroquine.

and tots & pears...... ........

[Blue_true]

56. He might end up being the part of the herd on the way to immunity that didn't survive. nt