Unfortunately I am in this same situation myself as your mum, forced into de facto indefinite lockdown due to society's failure to do anything to enable me to leave lockdown, instead most people now behaving as if normal life is back but simply, which is by definition not normal by 2019 society, continuing to constantly circulate and perpetuate at their lowest still high rates of Covid (at the high end of what was usual pre-Omicron) to very very high rates and therefore increasing the risks from catching the virus. I suspect many people will think there are little or no risks here, with many people seemingly not thinking these risks exist or they have not been informed about them. As the World Health Organisation pointed out on Twitter in July, there is a disconnect in the perception of Covid risks between scientists and politicians/the general public.
Therefore, mine is a very reasonable and, above all, rational response to the actual and true risks that Covid poses, whereas most people here, that think they are the ones that are being rational, appear to be behaving in an irrational way, perhaps because living in a pandemic such as this has been so hard for them that they needed to spring from their lockdowns for their own emotional reasons (and therefore irrational) and with some cognitive dissonance apparently present, at least in some, through their recognising that Covid is here on the one hand and yet, on the other, many people behaving as if it isn't and as if it is back to normal.
It won't be the news that has convinced me, instead the news has been full of misinformation, repeatedly involving numerous part-truthful and some going on false narratives, including rhetoric and unsubstantiated assertions that, it seems, have been very successful in convincing most people that there is little, or even no, risk from infections. Far from Operation Fear, it has been Operation Downplay from much of the media, including the ordering and presentation of information, the use of emotive language and the framing of the matter, always looking back at the worst possible times of the pandemic earlier in order to say 'look, not as bad now' when in fact it has still been worse than some earlier time in the pandemic. As long as it isn't as bad as the worst possible times before, we can continue to make things worse up to that point once again and then make them worse than that and, now, it doesn't look too bad since it's only a bit worse than it was before and simply getting us to cause more and more death and long-term disability and do so on some incrementalist basis, designed it seems to get us to accept more and more death in the vaccinated era from now on in.
As regards people wanting to know whether there were more people dying, the answer is yes. There have been more direct Covid deaths in July and August this year than there were in the same period in 2021 and, especially, more than there were in those months in 2020, given that we had been in extended lockdown and actually cared about the virus and looking after others back then rather than causing more deaths from much higher levels of infection seen throughout this year - including the highest level of infection, nearly 5 million estimated infected, therefore at the height of the pandemic so far at the end of March 2022, the highest levels seen on the ONS infection survey since it started in April 2020. This time in 2022 being around the same time as the unsubstantiated pseudoscience "post-pandemic" claims started being repeatedly made that continue to date, whilst we have had a series of repeated waves of the virus all year and are now starting yet another wave, with infections and hospitalisations rising yet again.
As to people in their 30s still being in lockdown, they are in fact being rational according to the actual risks. There is more risk of long Covid for people of working age (and more women than men) from around age 30 upwards. The later versions of Omicron from around this spring onwards now cause repeated infection, something that was much less common earlier in this pandemic. There is a significant risk to everyone of long Covid and it also arises from infections that appear to be mild or people experience as being mild although this only relates to symptoms and not to what Covid might be doing to the body without ever presenting as symptoms or increased risks of numerous serious conditions that arise after Covid infection. People don't understand what long Covid is or how it can put people out of action for months on end and not therefore be mild, instead serious cases without ever being hospitalised that do not feature in serious cases that present at ICU which are now rarer in Omicron with the vaccines (although where a large elderly population was unvaccinated and hospitals collapsing visibly in Hong Kong earlier in the year, our media didn't seem to mention that this was all the same variant Omicron causing this - it wasn't "milder Omicron" there).
For myself, still relatively young age and not as far as I know clinically vulnerable, I was never at much risk of serious Covid-19 illness or death in the first place. My concern was much more about possible long-term outcomes from infection and, unfortunately, the vaccines do not deal with these nearly well enough, especially given that we have enabled variants to arise against which the vaccines are less effective against everything by continuing large amounts of infection that enable greater evolution of the Covid-19 virus that then gives it an edge against our vaccines and so the whole attempts to 'live with Covid', whilst showing no evidence of any learning to do so in behaving as if Covid doesn't exist, now appear to be self-defeating, as well as several subvariants among multiple subvariants of Omicron any of which are involved this time now evading at least one of the anti-virals - and it seems the one that is gaining more ground (BQ1.1) is one that defeats two anti-virals, so basically is one of the worst ones.
People generally are shown by research to underestimate their risk in a pandemic such as this, and unfortunately many young people around my age, who failed to take up their vaccine because they believed themselves not to be at much risk, then ended up in intensive care and died during Delta (which was more severe) last year. So it is, and was, always right to get every vaccine offered (unless there is some medical reason why not to do so). However, with many people now many months after their boosters (if they had them), the vaccines now providing very little protection against infection, the greater amount of Covid now present in society throughout this year - much higher than times in 2020 or much of 2021 away from the waves of the virus none of which we did anything to prevent - and the increased transmissibility of Omicron compared to the viruses we had back then, the risks have increased on all these areas and, therefore, acting in accordance with the actual risks and not underestimating my risk like most people do, it is just easier for me to stay here in lockdown rather than take unnecessary risks as all going out into society now has unacceptable increased risk due to other people simply continuing to go around as if normal and keeping the virus at high levels that themselves increase the risk of encountering someone infectious with it that then increases the risk of being infected by it and the unacceptable risks that that gives rise to.
The vaccines are not the best defence against the virus, instead not catching the virus at all provides the best defence as, when I fail to catch the virus (which appears to be perfectly possible to achieve as I have demonstrated) I have zero risk from it of any illness, any consequences from this in increased risk of serious medical conditions, hospitalisation or death whilst the vaccines do not provide the same level of protection once caught and are the last defence if the virus slips though. At one time, with Delta, my booster jab would have provided very little remaining risk of hospitalisation or death and may have enabled me to leave lockdown (although still being cautious even then). Unfortunately Omicron arrived the week before I got jabbed and Omicron immediately increased this minimal risk multiple times over and therefore put stop to the whole thing.
I have been unable to leave lockdown as these increased risks have persisted, and have only been increased more by vaccine waning, but above all by the huge amount of Omicron people generally have persisted in society, much higher than many times before prior to Omicron, with Omicron much much more transmissible than the original virus on top (that I may now wonder how anyone ever caught) and the thing most stopping me leaving is the failure of everyone else in society to get the infection levels right down and reduce the risk substantially. Instead, the lack of measures being taken by other people simply impose onto me, and continue to impose onto me, the requirement for me to take even more measures in order to protect myself from the virus given that they have increased the risk on multiple counts and perpetuated it.
Therefore my approach was part of the individual risk assessment that the public health guidance (that no-one bothers with) that we are all asked to do, given that the responsibility for fighting an entire pandemic has now been imposed onto individuals. Having found the risks to be increased on numerous levels I was therefore retaining caution, especially as some clinically vulnerable people shielded for two years, only to throw it all away after then, catch the virus and then ended up dead, and I did so for two reasons (ah, me being rational yet again! - I suspect too rational), firstly I wasn't going to make the mistake of underestimating my risk and secondly the risk was increased on multiple counts - much more virus around, increased chance of catching it that poses significant risks (which exist despite what the official propaganda in the media narrative has clearly managed to convince people is little risk if you catch it), then greater transmissibility of Omicron, all rationally requiring more measures against it not less, then more measures required by me against other people's failure to have them and their own lack of personal responsibility that they are showing by not wearing masks in all indoor places outside of their home and by behaving as if it is normal life back, and, even if not advised by our own hopeless public health that, away from their being correct advising people to get vaccinated, have been repeatedly wrong throughout the pandemic, masks should be worn outside now, particularly in crowded settings, as there are a number of cases of outside transmission at concerts and the like in Omicron.
So all of this imposes more measures on me as everyone else has simply increased risk on numerous counts, and then my booster vaccine very likely substantiated waned by now, being many months after it, so more risk there. For me, it is just easier to stay at home given the fact that leaving my home and having to protect myself from numerous other people that are now failing to do anything to protect me involves going through substantial and time-consuming procedures to ensure my mask is tight-fitted etc. and is not just a simple matter of being able to leave quickly that people generally take for granted but has to be done to perfection given the greater risks created by everyone else, that they are doing nothing to remove, and given that I am on the autism spectrum and therefore doing this to leave on a regular basis, for numerous unnecessary and non-essential things anyway, is just too much - as the only essential things for me are deliveries of food and essential medical appointments that unfortunately can't be avoided. Everything else is unnecessary for me to do and just extra and unnecessary therefore risk in doing so, so is just easier to stay at home given that it would be too exhausting going through these procedures on a much more frequent basis.
So risks, reduced by the vaccines, then increased on numerous levels and calculation done by myself that then means de facto lockdown imposed by continued Covid restrictions imposed from the existence of Covid at such continued high levels that we have constantly had throughout the whole of the last year and no end in sight given that people generally are doing nothing about them, whilst they persist all the extra harm and damage from them that they are causing including the NHS being now face down into the floor and not even on its knees anymore. Extra harm and damage swept under the carpet by the media and pretended does not exist or pinpointed onto other things and avoid mentioning Covid and what it is causing behind it.
Having not underestimated the risk, and I do make changes that reflect the level of risk (for example, I am not so concerned if the wind is blowing in the opposite direction to me from some delivery driver I am in effect forced to meet, although I don't put it past way transmissible Omicron to be thrust out in a massive large invisible cloud before the wind takes it the other way), my booster vaccine then very likely waned and now giving very very little protection against Omicron with its abilities now to repeatedly infect and act in a stealth manner against immunity, although unfortunately my risk now increased due to having likely no previous infection that would have been unacceptable risk from having anyway and might give long-term damage that isn't yet being seen. And then on top of all this increased risk, increased by others not wearing masks etc., I saw a report last week that now reveals that I am at 50% more risk of long Covid than I thought I was, due to my having a long-term health condition that isn't my autism. So, I seems I was right not to underestimate (I have this nasty happy of being right, sometimes by accident) and I am actually at even more risk.
Mine is a rational assessment in relation to the actual risk therefore and at this point I may mention the fact that people such as myself are likely better predictors of actual risk and odds, being less likely to be influenced by the way in which they are presented www.newscientist.com/article/dn14946-never-gamble-with-an-autistic-opponent/ and less likely to have unhelpful emotional bias, irrationality therefore, having some emotional need to pursue the horrid normality (that most people seem to have needed on some emotional basis for themselves given how hard being in lockdown was for most people and in fact harder for many autistic people as well it seems also hard for both autistic and non-autistic) that I never wanted back in the first place but sought something better instead, such as normal minus all its bad aspects brought back, like horrible traffic fumes back in the town centre and cars clogging up the car parks and making it more difficult to get around and sexual harassment given that children in research by Ofsted said that sexual harassment was so normal that they don't bother to complain about it. So, when people wanted normal back, it was a superficial wish and they clearly didn't think about what they were saying (as usual).
In addition, people like myself are shown to tend to remain objective and rational, regardless of how information is presented or described and are autism-advantage.com/not-framed-by-the-framing-effect.html
There have been numerous examples over the way in which information has been presented including in unevidenced narratives in journalism and to support or fail to challenge unsubstantiated claims made by politicians and officials and instead to include the official narratives within and underlying the message of the journalists and the way it railroads people into accepting increasing amounts of death and disability and misleads on numerous matters through its truth-telling technical omission and with myself not being influenced by emotive language that doesn't work on me in the same way as it does with most people, instead being frustrated by the attempt to influence me and/or the misleading, unsubstantiated or untrue statements and political rhetoric that I have had parroted to me word for word by my doctors' receptionist.
Whilst it is not advertising material, it may work in a similar way and work with other people, especially in convincing them to do what they want to do anyway but against their own better interests unknown to themselves, but be a case of www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-fallible-mind/201708/why-advertising-falls-flat-in-individuals-autism with myself, and not influenced by the decoy items such as presenting or having caused waves of huge infection in order to make further waves then seem not that much harm, but instead myself remaining rational and not being "tricked into making pretty irrational decisions" as it seems many people on this thread have been. Unfortunately, everything I have has evidence behind it rather than having been emotively persuaded on some irrational and dysfunctional basis and in denial of the actual risks that Covid still poses that make my response a perfectly rational one.
As well as mask-wearing being politicised, matters when they come to Covid are political on numerous aspects with official bodies behaving in a way that appears to provide cover for those in power and to be designed to protect short-term economic interests, that haven't actually been protected, as well as in denial of the body of scientific evidence, that have enabled politicians to remove what have been emotively framed as "restrictions", as few people like to be "restricted", and easily convinced most people to get back to - it turned out disappointingly to be - their own normal, not mine, that they so wished to do in the first place and to behave in what I am now seeing as this groupthink pseudonormality behaviour on a mass and widespread scale, as going around, as if a daze in behaviour in denial of Covid existing and in what looks to me like headless chicken behaviour of tens of millions of people simply catching and re-catching Covid and potentially posing more risks to themselves with each reinfection of which the media do not appear to be fully informing them, instead to be in denial as to the continued existence of the pandemic itself, as shown by the numerous waves and not in a stable state and in any event being stable at a high level of infection that poses much more risk is a bad thing.
I do not want such unacceptably stable levels of endemic, which we do not have anyway and the way people are going will never have anything other than a never-ended pandemic in fact - instead of unacceptable stable at continued high levels of virus that increase the risk, I want reducing and reducing levels in order to make the risk less for everyone and then perhaps endemic at an acceptable stable low level of virus rather than what people generally seem to wish for - this high level of infection and then constant perpetuated stability and no end made possible to de facto lockdown due to other people's mass failure to take measures short of lockdown that might get infections down and enable me at some point to leave my lockdown.