Why is there so much information about covid? Or maybe not misinformation but more of an ignorance?

[Longhairf]

Like so many people I forgot about covid or I stopped caring about it. I was scared of the virus when it first emerged and the vaccines helped to minimise covid and let it fade into the background. I got covid week and it wasnt nice. It was like a full blown flu for a few days and then there was a recovery period.

I am now scared of covid. Apparently immunity doesn't last and with so any varients, you can get it again within weeks.

I dread to think what an infection like that is going to do if I was to get that every few weeks.

Very little people are aware of reinfection within a matter of weeks. The information is there online but it's not on any mainstream news.

Apparantly does does a number on people's immune systems and people can be prone to other infections after covid.

I am now actually afraid. So much so that I won't be continuing plans for some concerts I was going to attend and I will start wearing masks again on public transport and other crowded public places.

I am astonished with how little people know and care about covid irl.

That's fine, do what you want, and those of us who don't care (whether informed or not) will do what we want. Me, I won't be missing one second of my life again.

I think it has come to a point with covid for most people that they feel their life just has to go on. I also think that people have become fed up of the constant covid scaremongering that was so prolific across all forms of the media. The speculation only served to wind people up in to a frenzy and cause widespread panic.

I agree that the media are terrible at reporting science news very clearly or accurately.

I mean this kindly OP, but I don't think feeling so afraid of covid is normal- if you have underlying health issues, perhaps you can discuss the covid risk with your specialist team to try and put your mind at rest? Or at least establish a sensible level of precaution so you can go about your life feeling reassured rather than terrified.

@Longhairf I’m with you on this one. Currently really ill with Covid, so is my husband who is immunosuppressed. We are not shaking it off very well. A lot of people don’t care about the vulnerable.

People have little knowledge about the virus as they are not educated. I’ve even had gp’s be very insensitive about it. Of course this is not everyone, there are some caring people out there.

We will be wearing masks in shops and public transport when we are back out and about.

Completely agree with this.

Do what you want. I don't care. It's a virus like so many others. I'm not shutting down again.

If you're relying on masks, make sure they are FFP3 and face fitted, not surgical masks.

Surgical masks are designed to stop the wearer spitting bacteria into an open wound during surgery. They offer very little protection to the wearer against an airborne virus.

Why would you get it every few weeks?

I felt like this.

Then this time last year l got LC. Still in bed a year later. My life has been ruined.

Why do you think you'd get it every few weeks? Do whatever you like, but if health anxiety is affecting your life and mental health, please get some help. Could you get a Covid vaccine privately? I don't see Covid as any different from other virus illnesses. There's a lot you can do to prevent illness, like washing hands, healthy diet with lots of foods good for your gut health, exercise particularly outside, keep your windows open, don't have house too warm.

Unless you’re going to hide under a rock for the rest of your life stop wasting time worrying about something before it even happens.

if you want to wear a mask, wear a mask. But leave others to what they want to do.

We're not getting off this planet alive and in optimal health, so we may as well live enjoyably while we can. All kinds of random shit can happen and ruin life in a blink, so why waste the good times on worrying about one specific thing.

I've had at least 7 Covid vaccinations and will continue to get vaccinated if and when vaccines against new variants become available, or if my doctor texts to advise I need a booster. Other than that I live my life without worrying about getting infected.

I would definitely wear a mask if I knew someone I am in contact with is immunosuppressed or otherwise vulnerable. I would assume that such people would also wear masks to protect themselves.

It’s a really emotive topic, as a lot of people have baggage around lockdowns, masking, long covid, etc and so their responses aren’t always logical. People sometimes seem to respond as if by making a personal decision for yourself, you are commenting on their decisions or even seeking to impose something on them, which can be challenging. I don’t have any particular health issues or health anxiety, but I do still choose to wear a mask in crowded situations - I don’t even notice I’m wearing it, and I really don’t care what other people think. I don’t think I can avoid covid infections altogether, but I can reduce the number of them, and if you look at genuine medical evidence - peer reviewed, published by reputable bodies, etc - it is clear that repeated infections raise the risk of a number of unwelcome health outcomes. People have been left with no choice but to get on with life, and our government and health bodies are encouraging to do that because there isn’t really an alternative. We don’t have sterilising vaccines, infections give very short lived protection, and covid is highly infectious, so from a practical and economic basis we need to live our lives. But I don’t think it’s logical to refuse to accept that the situation is far from ideal, and to be accepting of those who wish to minimise their risk where possible. I agree with other posters though that if you are feeling very anxious about this, or it’s stopping you living your life normally, you might need some support to think through how you cope. Unfortunately covid isn’t going away. So I’m with you, I do think people are often in denial over the implications of repeat Covid infections, but short of limiting your life severely, I think you have to accept some risk. But masking on public transport and busy places makes sense to me, as does getting an updated covid vaccine from Boots - they aren’t perfect but they do help. Hope you stay well, OP.

This makes a lot of sense. I wasn't calling for more lockdowns and restrictions not am i critising other people's ways.

There's just something not right about covid. There's something so off with this virus. It's so unpredictable in so many ways. There's at least two large waves of covid a year - winter and summer. There's so many variants and there's so little immunity.

I know covid weakens the immune system and I don't know for how long. There's people on other forums getting covid regularly and that's going to be some hammer to a system. There's just something off.

I got covid last week and I picked it up from a concert so I am not afraid of living my live but going forward, I don't know if my immune system took a hammering yet. I had plans for August but reading online about reinfections and I have to cancel my plans and allow some sort of a decent timeframe for recovery.

I think there's new vaccines in development. Nasal vaccines which will give much more protections and it's more sterilising but they won't be available yet. I think the covid situation is utterly unsustainable. It's not right to have a large section of society down ill at any one time and then there's the risks of long covids. I think governments should fast track the nasal vaccines.

OP, it is a corona virus like the common cold, and like the common cold, it mutates constantly.

It hit hard because it was a new virus for humans, but gradually we will build up more resistance.

Reducing contact with other humans may reduce your risk of repeat infections but it also reduces your quality of life. Personally I would focus in bolstering your immune system instead.

If I remember correctly wearing masks don’t prevent you from getting sick. It reduces the chances of you infecting others if you are sick and go out. Is this what you mean?

Some masks reduce the chance of catching it.

N95 or equivalent do.

I don't understand why you are astonished by people not knowing or caring about COVID when you yourself didn't care about it until you were really ill with it.

Me?

l wasn’t worried about catching it. I just had a normal life. I disnt know how severe long covid could be.

I wasn’t ever selfish with it. I stayed in if l had it.

I think your being more anxious than you need to be, it's really not that easy to catch. Three NHS workers here, I got it March 2020 from a patient doing aerosol generating procedure pre masks and gave it to one other family member, both the others got it a second time separate of each other but did not pass it on within the family despite living in a small house. One of them worked on a covid ward for 6 months with only a surgical mask on and didn't catch it within that time pre vaccinations. I've never got it again despite sometimes being with patients or colleagues that subsequently have turned out to have covid.🤷‍♀️

No the op who said she was astonished by people not being worried by covid

Can’t honestly say I give it a second thought any more. Life has been back to normal for me since restrictions were lifted. However to my knowledge, I’ve never had it so appreciated others in different circumstances may not feel the same. Everyone has to deal with it in a way they feel comfortable.

OP - in the kindest possible way, you really need to stop reading unofficial random stuff online, and read the NHS website instead.

I had it about 9 months ago. It was like the flu. Anyway, once you have caught something like that your body develops its own antibodies, so the likelihood of you catching that virus again is considerably reduced.

Your choice, OP, but scientific evidence doesn't justify your anxiety.
I am happy to have vaccinations, but I was never scared of it and I never will be. I will also never take precautions or test for it (completely unnecessary). Being permanently scared is not the kind of life I want.

There's other varients and there's a relatively new varient that's not flirt but a different variant sweeping across Europe. There's little immunity from one strain to another.

I read a covid forum and there's reinfections happening sometimes even within a matter of weeks.

I am not saying this for fear mongering and to spread fear. I am not.

I got very ill last week. I am gone back to work now but I am not 100%. I am struggling today even though yesterday was a good day for me.

I had plans for the month of August that I am not going to write off due to COVID hammering the immune system. I don't know how I will be able to manage another infection. Apparently shingles have been on the rise in my home county too and even amongst younger adults. There's really something not sitting well with me about covid. If it was up to the government I will continue with my plans and risk another infection and so soon after one already and just wreck what's left of my health.