Is anyone vulnerable still isolating? Covid

I think in the latest study, only RATs were used which might account for some of why these figures are so much lower than other studies.

True. There's no way of knowing.

I guess the assumption is that if it's recent you're more likely to remember the date. If it's longer, you may remember e.g. the month - I don't know how question was worded or whether answers that just specified month were counted or discarded.

I'd agree they should specify how many people haven't given a time period for their symptoms. Can't see the full article, but that seems a significant omission.

The assumption by the tweeter that people who haven't cited it are more likely to have had longer term symptoms is utter guesswork, though. Better to simply set out the numbers who didn't give a time frame. It's an assumption to say that the numbers are significantly understated, as the tweeter did. We do not know.

https://x.com/catinthehat/status/1785973194970542251?s=46&t=G9BWOZlYGPa11_pR7aKkbHQ

Can you say more about that? It defines long covid as anyone with any symptoms after 29 days.

17000 versus 1.9 million - they must be using very different criteria!

I’d say the ONS one is a conservative estimate.

I think it depends on what definition of 'long covid' you use. The ONS one is pretty wide.

Here

https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2024/04/25/exploring-findings-from-the-winter-covid-19-infection-study/

I’ve read somewhere it’s 1 in 38

1.9 m have long Covid in UK. Office have national statistics published in April l think

Where is that number from? According to this approx 17000 people in the UK have long COVID. That's less than 0.03% of the population. 1 in 30 would be 3% of the population.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1257373/long-covid-sufferers-in-the-uk-by-region-country/

The current policy seems to be bury our head in the sand and not think about that question. Even though institutions are warning about the economic costs of covid.

In only four years, it's already one in thirty directly affected just with long covid. How are we planning to fund that as that figure increases?

I’m not trying to be nasty, I’m pointing out the basic fact that money to help the long-term sick support themselves needs to be found from somewhere. That’s just a basic reality.

I have compassion for both sides. For people like you but also for people who have no choice but to go about their lives even with potential Covid.

I spent my whole life without compassion from society due to being immunodeficient. I do get it, why should they care about such a tiny minority? You learn to be pragmatic. It’s selfish to take an actively infectious chicken poxy child to soft play because it’s boring at home and raining. It’s not selfish for a low income, zero hours worker to attend their place of work with a cold if they have no sick pay and significant financial worries.

Thanks for the compassion.

As l spend yet another day lying in bed looking out of the window, wasting my life away unable to do anything at all.

Knowing I’m ‘spending’ your money makes me feel so much better.

@DoAWheelie

I’m so so sorry. That must be so hard.

I was up until 8 weeks ago as both OH and I have serious lung conditions. His worse than mine.

Then someone broke our rules around no visiting us until 3 days clear of symptoms because they thought we were overreacting and making a big deal out of nothing as it's just a cold.

i ended getting emergency treatment after getting very sick and my O2 saturation plummeted. My partner died.

I don't see the point in isolation anymore. At least if I die next time we'll be together again.

Covid is going to spread anyway, regardless of what people do.

If you are long-term sick and need government benefits to survive, those benefits are only being paid because other people are working and keeping the economy ticking over.

Woman in 'despair' after shielding from Covid for years www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-67754668

Impact of Covid-19 on vulnerable to be studied at Bath University www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-66255050

www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/report-into-ongoing-impact-of-covid-19-on-immunocompromised-people-launched-in-parliament/

But that was part of it. The worry and stress about money.

My niece shielded and stopped. She has be hospitalised 3 times this year one of which we nearly lost her. Scary stuff.

She chooses to take the risk and live her life, probably partly to do with being younger and feeling you can fight anything with pure will. Your dad and anyone with immune issues are adults and should be allowed to and supported in his own choices too.

What if you already have a serious chronic illness and you’re desperately battling to keep your job and minimise time off sick so you don’t lose the roof over your head as you have a mortgage? Do those people not matter? It’s a bit unfair to say it’s “moaning about sick pay”. It’s a constant state of anxiety and worry for some of us. Surely you can empathise with that if you’re sick and unable to work? I am single - if not me, nobody can support me financially. UC wouldn’t cover my costs, I’d have to give up my home as well as be devastated due to the loss of the career I love.

Yeah, it does.

There isn't a mechanism by which some people being unable to work due to long covid makes the rest of the population able to survive on SSP if eligible for it, and no sick pay if not.

So you want others to lose their jobs because they keep taking time off for a mild for them illness?
It's just not going to happen people have to work .