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Cheltz Fest 2021 Behind Closed Doors ?

Todays vaccine announcement has to be great news for everyone, including all leisure/sports businesses.

I like to think the government knew this was coming and the enforced lockdown (England) that expires in early December allows time for authorities to make arrangements for mass vaccination to commence before Christmas and allow the economy to be boosted for the Christmas rush.

Nick Rust confirmed last week that they are in discussions with government around a January return for restricted racegoers, this has to be with the vaccine info in mind.

I’m sure there will still be temperature checks, sanitising stations and distancing measures in place but, brave shout time, I’d be very surprised if members and perhaps a few more will be allowed back for the festival.
I’m certain football and other sports will have fans back before March...
 
Unfortunately Vaccines' are a prevention measure rather than a cure.:loyal:

So it will take longer, due to the unprecedented global demand to get into a position where much of normal life can resume.:dejection:

The 10 million doses the government have bought and hope to have by the end of this year, is "I'm guessing" a little misleading, as I believe you need 2 doses per human.:concern:

They have also bought 40 million for next year (and I'm not sure where we are in the pecking order for that particular order (they seem keen to say we are near the top for the first 10 million, which makes me worry for the next batch) so next year could be anytime within a 12 month period obviously):concern:


So, in short. If you are over 75 and already have a serious illness, then get your Al Boum Photo scarves out and your Cheveley Park flags out, as you're off to the races (possibly). Just need to get through the Winter.:encouragement:

Lobos ! - being stubborn and part goat is not classed as being clinically vulnerable. So you'll have to wait your turn.:)

A cure would have been much better, but a reasonable vaccine is good news indeed.:victorious:


Hopefully for the forseeable future (next couple of years) all mass sporting events can only be attended by the vaccinated. People aged 50 and above.:victorious:

So the over 50's can then swan around being grumpy and holding their stomachs in, going to the lavs every half hour due to prostrate issues, without all the young kids getting in their way with their slip on loafers with no socks and tight half mast jeans, queuing for the cubicles on mass, but never having a poo ! ;)
 
Quevega said:
Unfortunately Vaccines' are a prevention measure rather than a cure.:loyal:

So it will take longer, due to the unprecedented global demand to get into a position where much of normal life can resume.:dejection:

The 10 million doses the government have bought and hope to have by the end of this year, is "I'm guessing" a little misleading, as I believe you need 2 doses per human.:concern:

They have also bought 40 million for next year (and I'm not sure where we are in the pecking order for that particular order (they seem keen to say we are near the top for the first 10 million, which makes me worry for the next batch) so next year could be anytime within a 12 month period obviously):concern:


So, in short. If you are over 75 and already have a serious illness, then get your Al Boum Photo scarves out and your Cheveley Park flags out, as you're off to the races (possibly). Just need to get through the Winter.:encouragement:

Lobos ! - being stubborn and part goat is not classed as being clinically vulnerable. So you'll have to wait your turn.:)

A cure would have been much better, but a reasonable vaccine is good news indeed.:victorious:


Hopefully for the forseeable future (next couple of years) all mass sporting events can only be attended by the vaccinated. People aged 50 and above.:victorious:

So the over 50's can then swan around being grumpy and holding their stomachs in, going to the lavs every half hour due to prostrate issues, without all the young kids getting in their way with their slip on loafers with no socks and tight half mast jeans, queuing for the cubicles on mass, but never having a poo ! ;)
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Unless I've misunderstood you....Not actually being given the vaccine doesn't mean you will be excluded from spectator sports. The fact that we now have a vaccine will allow us to return.
 
Lobos said:
Unless I've misunderstood you....Not actually being given the vaccine doesn't mean you will be excluded from spectator sports. The fact that we now have a vaccine will allow us to return.
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??
Not sure what you mean.
I've no idea how things will pan out.
But I'd imagine a person or persons who have been vaccinated will be a lot more free to roam than someone who hasn't.
Not sure why I think that, maybe just common sense.:loyal:

It's like when you go abroad somewhere foreign and have to have a sugar lump & a needle :(
 
Whilst today is obviously very positive news, I don't trust this government to deliver a vaccine promptly, not one bit. They've been useless from start to finish, and a vaccine rollout in record time is littered with pitfalls (many of which will be out of their control). They can promise what they like, but the reason we are in lockdown right now is because this chronically inept government failed to put in place a successful track and trace system despite having 9 months to get it sorted, and having spent 12 billion pounds!

Happy to go on record and say I'd be nothing short of amazed if a single vaccine is administered in 2020 outside of a clinical trial. The data shows that two doses, three weeks apart, are needed and 90% protection is only achieved seven days after the second dose - which means one month from first vaccine to actually being protected.

Given a vaccine won't land till December/Jan at the absolute earliest, and they are starting with 80 year olds plus/NHS workers then working their way down, I'd say there is next to no chance this will be widely available to the masses till at least the middle of next year, and I'm being thoroughly optimistic at that.

All in my opinion and of course, I hope I'm wrong, I'd love to be wrong, fuck it I'd pay money to be wrong!
 
Quevega said:
??
Not sure what you mean.
I've no idea how things will pan out.
But I'd imagine a person or persons who have been vaccinated will be a lot more free to roam than someone who hasn't.
Not sure why I think that, maybe just common sense.:loyal:

It's like when you go abroad somewhere foreign and have to have a sugar lump & a needle :(
Click to expand...

It may have a bearing when travelling abroad but you would not be excluded in this country for not having it.
 
charlie said:
Whilst today is obviously very positive news, I don't trust this government to deliver a vaccine promptly, not one bit. They've been useless from start to finish, and a vaccine rollout in record time is littered with pitfalls (many of which will be out of their control). They can promise what they like, but the reason we are in lockdown right now is because this chronically inept government failed to put in place a successful track and trace system despite having 9 months to get it sorted, and having spent 12 billion pounds!

Happy to go on record and say I'd be nothing short of amazed if a single vaccine is administered in 2020 outside of a clinical trial. The data shows that two doses, three weeks apart, are needed and 90% protection is only achieved seven days after the second dose - which means one month from first vaccine to actually being protected.

Given a vaccine won't land till December/Jan at the absolute earliest, and they are starting with 80 year olds plus/NHS workers then working their way down, I'd say there is next to no chance this will be widely available to the masses till at least the middle of next year, and I'm being thoroughly optimistic at that.

All in my opinion and of course, I hope I'm wrong, I'd love to be wrong, fuck it I'd pay money to be wrong!
Click to expand...

NHS CEO says that the vaccine will 100% be distributed to NHS and Care workers by the end of the year. I'll take that as gospel.
 
I was talking to someone last week about the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine. They said if it was 60% effective and 60% of the population took the vaccine it would be a game changer. For this to be (potentially) 90% effective, by my maths, this is bloody brilliant news.

Been looking for Cheltenham hotels tonight. :congratulatory:
 
Getting racegoers back to racecourses is no where near the top of the priority list is it :highly_amused:

It's good news regardless though, in the relentless waves of bad or irrelevant news that have been flooding our lives for quite a while, I'll take it!

How long it takes & how badly it's done all need to be acknowledged, but not become the key factor :)
 
Lobos said:
NHS CEO says that the vaccine will 100% be distributed to NHS and Care workers by the end of the year. I'll take that as gospel.
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Hahahaha. Taking the word of Simon Stevens as 'gospel' is akin to trusting a junkie that promises not to steal anything from your wallet when you leave the room.

Re the NHS, if they can vaccinate them all this year then great, but it's an irrelevant point re Cheltenham as they represent 1% of the population, which is nothing. As I've said, it will take a month from vaccine to effectiveness so an NHS rollout in December would still leave the masses unprotected as we enter 2021. By that point Cheltenham will be weeks away.

Delighted for the NHS if true, but it changes nothing for Cheltenham IMO
 
Faugheen_Machine said:
I was talking to someone last week about the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine. They said if it was 60% effective and 60% of the population took the vaccine it would be a game changer. For this to be (potentially) 90% effective, by my maths, this is bloody brilliant news.

Been looking for Cheltenham hotels tonight. :congratulatory:
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It might not happen but I definitely feel a whole lot happier and more positive about it now so that has to be agood thing going forward !
 
Faugheen_Machine said:
I was talking to someone last week about the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine. They said if it was 60% effective and 60% of the population took the vaccine it would be a game changer. For this to be (potentially) 90% effective, by my maths, this is bloody brilliant news.

Been looking for Cheltenham hotels tonight. :congratulatory:
Click to expand...

'60% of the time, it works every time' :congratulatory: (any excuse to quote Anchorman)

Most immunologists agree they'd take 75% effective, so 90% is very good news, plus no vaccine is perfectly effective anyway.

This issue for spectators being at Cheltenham is 'effectiveness' takes into account loads of different factors, and what makes coronavirus a uniquely challenging vaccine proposition is its varying degrees of severity in different people. All this makes a vaccine development and rollout extremely challenging.
 
Yeah, I'm already prepared to watch the festival at home
Would be great to be back on the track but, with only 4 months left and with us at the start of a second lockdown, I cant see many fans being back at cheltenham until The Open
 
Glass half full fellas.
There are discussions ongoing around sports venues being able to accommodate spectators in January, this is regardless of if/when vaccines can be given, so the fact there is a huge medical advancement can only be positive..
 
Istabraq said:
Glass half full fellas.
There are discussions ongoing around sports venues being able to accommodate spectators in January, this is regardless of if/when vaccines can be given, so the fact there is a huge medical advancement can only be positive..
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Those discussions have been going on for months and month, yet every attempt has failed. 11 people died on the day they cancelled Ledger spectators, and we are at 100's of deaths now. Once lockdown ends everyone will go fu*king mental in December post lockdown, celebrating xmas, getting pissed, ignoring rules etc, and we'll be back in January to at least tiered restrictions, possibly more.

Right misery tonight me :devilish:
 
Fat Jockey Zoom Calls all over the place for 2021 :applause:
 
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Being selfish I just hope the meeting goes ahead. The last time I was there was 2015. But for younger viewers I just remember the 2001 cancellation and how gutted I felt at the time because of foot and mouth disease
 
Just thinking aloud here but say the government by January have things sorted with the upcoming vaccine and mass testing in order.. and they say crowds could return in April or May.. how likely would it be that racing postponed the festival until then to let crowds return for the festival (the money for crowds in those four days is obviously a large amount). I’d have it as unlikely but if doable, having crowds there and the festival being slightly later would be of the greater good for pretty much everyone surely? Perhaps not aintree tbf.

Of course the clear fav at this point is that it goes ahead in the middle of March as usual but without the famous roar. Watching it on TV really wouldn’t feel the same though for the best week of the year.
 
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