Season start delayed

[Wigan_forever1985]

Be interesting what legislation comes in - I can see vaccinated crowds only with you being able to attend with proof of vaccine - surely best way to limit risk but get revenue through

[nathan_rugby]

Rugby League crowds are so small anyway + the appetite to attend live games will surely have decreased because of covid should allow for socially distanced live viewing.

[lucky 13]

I was imagining the opposite Nathan, personally once I'm vaccinated I can't wait to get back, I may even shed a tear.

[Wintergreen]

I was imagining the opposite Nathan, personally once I'm vaccinated I can't wait to get back, I may even shed a tear.

Big rebound imo. People are sick of being in the house and will jump at the chance of getting out.

Same for "working from home".

[Wigan_forever1985]

Must admit i cant wait to go to a live game

im lucky in the fact ive had the vaccine and will have had both doses not long into the season

[fozzieskem]

I don’t think they will allow a return on anything other than a slow and steady approach,I’m no expert but if this last has proven anything is to expect anything to happen.

If,and it’s a big if we come out of lockdown by March/April it’ll be a return to the tier system so beloved by us all,so that’s maximum 2/4K a match at best.

The vaccine is not going to be the end but it is the beginning of the end,fingers crossed but I feel this year will be as a much of a right off as last year was tbh

[Mike]

Looks like Autumn might be the time when things get relaxed a bit, but I'd imagine a winter surge would be on its way at that point too. I'd say World Cup is a very optimistic thought. I hope the RFL aren't relying on that to happen financially.

[wall_of_voodoo]

Be interesting what legislation comes in - I can see vaccinated crowds only with you being able to attend with proof of vaccine - surely best way to limit risk but get revenue through

Not a chance of that happening

The vaccine cannot give you COVID-19 infection, and a full course will reduce your chance of becoming seriously ill. We do not yet know whether it will stop you from catching and passing on the virus, but we do expect it to reduce this risk. So, it is still important to follow the guidance in your local area to protect those around you.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... s%20risk.

With the new variants and the fact anyone who has had covid already only has antibodies for 5 months

Most people who have had Covid-19 are protected from catching it again for at least five months, a study led by Public Health England shows.

Past infection was linked to around a 83% lower risk of getting the virus, compared with those who had never had Covid-19, scientists found.

But experts warn some people do catch Covid-19 again - and can infect others.

And officials stress people should follow the stay-at-home rules - whether or not they have had the virus.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55651518


Can you seriously see any sport being allowed to have fans back into any stadium soon, especially if they are already classed as vulnerable irrespective of vaccinations?

[Exiled Wiganer]

I think you misunderstand the science around vaccines and the point made about immunity. The picture is far better than it looks. For instance, people get spooked by variants, because they are asking someone whether there is any risk that the vaccine won’t work against it. To which the answer has to be yes, because we haven’t had time to test it yet. However, the chances of its being so bad as to escape treatments and vaccines (which can be very quickly tweaked) is vanishingly small. If you ask someone whether they could have a car crash on the way home, then they would have to answer yes, which can make a great headline, but we all know about the risks (and what we can do to mitigate it), so we don’t see You Could Die on the Way Home Tonight! Headlines...

It is a numbers game, we are not (or should not be) attempting to eliminate the virus, merely to make it manageable. People will continue to die of it, even a small proportion of those vaccinated, but we have to move on and treat it in the same way as we do flu. We have 1) fantastic vaccines, procured brilliantly by our Government, 2) world leading treatments, developed brilliantly mostly by our scientists, and 3) the fastest roll out of any western nation. By Easter, pretty much everybody in the country who is at serious risk will have been protected by vaccines. By the autumn, many of the treatments which we are trying will vastly reduce the effects of catching it. We have had a massively heightened sense of the risks around this disease - and understandably so - but the end is very much in sight. It will be a while before I get it, but I am thrilled whenever I hear of those (such as my hale and hearty aunties and doctor brothers) who have had the jab.

As far as our game is concerned, then we should press for as many to be let in as soon as we can. Given that 1) many of our season ticket holders will be vaccinated by, say, May and 2) our stadium is pretty much perfect for getting to and from safely, and for social distancing at the game, then I see no reason why we can’t have 10k crowds by May. Given that this Government is very likely to emphasise opening up as soon as possible, rather than waiting until all risk has been eliminated, I am certain we will be fine. I also think that we can be so very proud of our vaccine and treatment scientists - the UK’s scientists will save millions of lives around the world over the next couple of years.

[Wintergreen]

I think you misunderstand the science around vaccines and the point made about immunity. The picture is far better than it looks. For instance, people get spooked by variants, because they are asking someone whether there is any risk that the vaccine won’t work against it. To which the answer has to be yes, because we haven’t had time to test it yet. However, the chances of its being so bad as to escape treatments and vaccines (which can be very quickly tweaked) is vanishingly small. If you ask someone whether they could have a car crash on the way home, then they would have to answer yes, which can make a great headline, but we all know about the risks (and what we can do to mitigate it), so we don’t see You Could Die on the Way Home Tonight! Headlines...

It is a numbers game, we are not (or should not be) attempting to eliminate the virus, merely to make it manageable. People will continue to die of it, even a small proportion of those vaccinated, but we have to move on and treat it in the same way as we do flu. We have 1) fantastic vaccines, procured brilliantly by our Government, 2) world leading treatments, developed brilliantly mostly by our scientists, and 3) the fastest roll out of any western nation. By Easter, pretty much everybody in the country who is at serious risk will have been protected by vaccines. By the autumn, many of the treatments which we are trying will vastly reduce the effects of catching it. We have had a massively heightened sense of the risks around this disease - and understandably so - but the end is very much in sight. It will be a while before I get it, but I am thrilled whenever I hear of those (such as my hale and hearty aunties and doctor brothers) who have had the jab.

As far as our game is concerned, then we should press for as many to be let in as soon as we can. Given that 1) many of our season ticket holders will be vaccinated by, say, May and 2) our stadium is pretty much perfect for getting to and from safely, and for social distancing at the game, then I see no reason why we can’t have 10k crowds by May. Given that this Government is very likely to emphasise opening up as soon as possible, rather than waiting until all risk has been eliminated, I am certain we will be fine. I also think that we can be so very proud of our vaccine and treatment scientists - the UK’s scientists will save millions of lives around the world over the next couple of years.

I think you are right. The Government has done a lot of things badly, (including implementing a lockdown imo, but I won't go there), however, one of the things it has done well is procure/test vaccines.

Look at the science, most if not all high risk people will be immunised by Mid March at the latest. After that the deathrate/hospitalisation rate plummets and therefore need for any form of lockdown ceases to exist.

Sure people may catch Covid, but it will be no worse than the seasonal flu.

At some point (very soon) we all will have to face up to the enormous financial cost of lockdown. Our children will be paying for it for the rest of their lives.

Put simply, post March there will be no justification for lockdown, and for that reason I can see sport coming back pretty strongly.

Can't wait to watch the games!