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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to say that we are all supposed to catch this virus for herd immunity?

90 replies

Roxymoomoo · 02/04/2020 09:45

So if you listen to what the Gov guys says every day.... They say slow the spread...not stop the spread.
Gov figures on death rates are based on 60-80% of the population catching it. (1% of the known cases, known cases approx rep 10% of all cases)

So I'm quite shocked when I read the neurotic things written on some posts people clearly are deluded

Am I being unreasonable to expect people to catch the virus?
( in a slow and organised way so as to allow for proper NHS treatment)

Yes- You are I never expect to catch this virus....
No... I fully expect to catch this virus and contribute to herd immunity

OP posts:

Lamentations · 02/04/2020 11:24

Yes I've been surprised at all the otherwise healthy posters talking about the lengths they are going to not to catch it by quarantining and then bleaching their post and groceries etc.

I'm not trying to catch it but I'm not tying myself in knots trying to outrun it either.

eurochick · 02/04/2020 11:32

I'm the same Lamentations. I don't want to be ill and I don't want to catch it at a point the nhs won't be able to help me if I am one of the %who gets really ill. But I'm resigned to getting it (if I haven't already had it).

MigginsMrs · 02/04/2020 11:35

Can you become immune to any coronavirus? If so, why do we catch seasonal colds or vaccinate for the flu?

I think also cold viruses mutate and there are different strains of flu.

Ponoka7 · 02/04/2020 11:43

@MyHipsDontLieUnfortunately
"Can you become immune to any coronavirus? If so, why do we catch seasonal colds or vaccinate for the flu?"

No we can't become immune to the other corona viruses, but we have short term immunity.

We've developed the flu jab against the worse strains of flu that are likely to kill us.

There's more than one strain of this new corona virus and we are waiting to see if the more aggressive strain can be caught straight after having the lesser one. We know people have them at the same time.

OP i feel the same as you. It's been announced today, properly that is that even if you are improving on a ventilator, you will be kicked off if someone with a better chance of survival comes along. We all need to take heed of that before what level of normality we go back to.

Oneliner · 02/04/2020 11:45

Herd immunity is manslaughter and would lead to 20% population hospitalised and probably dead because no healthcare system can cope with that volume.

P1nkHeartLovesCake · 02/04/2020 11:46

You can’t completely stop this virus. All they can do is slow it down in the hope we don’t all get it at once and overload the nhs is one go

ViciousJackdaw · 02/04/2020 11:46

if the government really wanted to trace your movements for other purposes, they could already easily do so by knowing the location of your phone, so not sure why people are so up in arms about it!

Agreed, most people already have at least one traceable device in their homes. And as for that Alexa, I'm convinced she's just a government spy.

thecatsthecats · 02/04/2020 11:46

'Should I disinfect the cat?' and 'I'm not kissing my husband' (who hasn't left the same house as her for two weeks) are some of the more batshit things I've seen on here.

(obvs disinfect if there's batshit, though)

My blood pressure is great, I've never been more aerobically fit in my entire life, and I have the resting heart rate of an athlete. I've only visited a shop once in the past 14 days, and exercise in the park every other day. Other than that, business as usual in the house.

zigaziga · 02/04/2020 12:00

’Should I disinfect the cat?' and 'I'm not kissing my husband' (who hasn't left the same house as her for two weeks) are some of the more batshit things I've seen on here.
Yes, I think it’s really sad the way people are trying to remove themselves from their immediate families within their own homes. This is hard enough without cuddling your children, kissing your husband etc..

We had symptoms, well 3/4 of us did and the 1/4 (who was likely just symptomless) carried on as normal around us. I had hoped if we got it we’d get it as a family. Worse not to logistically anyway as then you have to go through numerous self isolation phases where you can’t go to the shops.

My understanding of flattening the curve meant the same people getting it but over a longer period and the peak being not as awful as it would have been.

Deux · 02/04/2020 12:01

I do think some people seem to think that the purpose of lockdown is to stop them catching it full stop.

My view is that at the moment there are sufficient numbers of people who are terrified that everyone is fairly compliant. But that does have its limits and we are all going to have to get out into the world and be exposed. The economy can only be propped up for a limited time before the long term consequences become too dire. And I’m not sure the terrified group are properly aware of this.

I was interested to hear a doctor on the radio last week who said that once we get to the end of the normal flu season, which is I think round about now, that anyone with cold or flu symptoms probably has Coronavirus.

The data from the Diamond Princess was interesting as it was a closed population. From memory I think it was about half of those who tested positive were asymptomatic at the time of testing.

longwayoff · 02/04/2020 12:04

YAB massively U. If herd immunity is effective why has artificial immunisation been developed and found necessary? Who can seriously think that polio, smallpox and other infectious illnesses should be ignored and we can cross our fingers or scatter lavender and hope our family is a lucky one? Thats what people did for centuries. Those illnesses remained endemic. This is what happens when idiots like Cummings are allowed to direct policy from a position of utter ignorance combined with arrogance.

thesunisoutout · 02/04/2020 12:05

You can’t completely stop this virus. All they can do is slow it down in the hope we don’t all get it at once and overload the nhs is one go

This. It feels like this is the plan. But doing it slowly and waiting for everyone to get it in dribs and drabs means waiting a REALLY long time for NHS, business and schools to go back to normal, people to have full freedom back, travel etc. That could be years. Trying to reduce the NHS overload of coronavirus is all they seem focussed on but at some point there will be a tidal wave of NHS services needed for all the people who haven't been allowed to access it. I'm more worried about that at the moment!

AutumnRose1 · 02/04/2020 12:11

thesunisout that’s my worry too.

Ruining people’s personal finances isn’t going to help.

As I said on another thread, apart from medical experts and people coming home, why are so many flights coming into the
UK?

Redwoodmaz · 02/04/2020 12:13

I think the 'herd immunity' is what the government originally wanted to happen - and then had to change its mind when the extent of number of deaths was realised. This is why we were further behind other countries with our lockdown, I think.

BigChocFrenzy · 02/04/2020 12:14

I'd much rather be reuired to carry a Smart phone with a tracking App 24/7 instead of being in lockdown !

EverythingsPeachy · 02/04/2020 12:22

Yes longwayoff!

Catching a virus and surviving does not give you immunity. This governments stance is both stupid and dangerous hence why they have massively back tracked in their briefings. Only a mass vaccination program will offer herd immunity. Why do you think it is vitally important that we hit at least 95% in child vaccinations to achieve herd immunity to protect the vulnerable children who can't be vaccinated. Yet this horrible government are lying to people that (a) once you survive the virus you are immune and (b) that once this is true for 60-70% of the population we will be ok . Our only hope is to stay indoors, stop the spread and let our scientists fight desperately to try and catch up, hopefully finding the holy grail that is a vaccine.

Littlepond · 02/04/2020 12:34

I think DH and I have had it although there is no way to be sure, our priority has always been not to give it to anyone else rather than not get it ourselves. So we haven’t been too worried about deliveries, take always etc as long as we stay away from others. I think herd immunity is our best chance as a whole but it has to be managed.

2beautifulbabs · 02/04/2020 12:57

I won't lie I keep going back and for with the thought of I just want to get this virus now and be done with it and pray I'm one of the lucky ones to recover from it at home

But then I'm super scared of being one of the ones that doesn't recover and becomes another statistic on the death figure I'm beyond worried about my children both very young worried about my DH and my own parents and brother sister in law etc
As I imagine a lot of us are right now truth is non of us know much about this virus what we were told at the beginning of it just affecting those with underlying health conditions and the elderly has turned out to be slightly bull in that it's affecting any age group fit and healthy too so that's the scary thing

I haven't been spraying food or parcels because again I think that will do more harm than any good just the usual washing my hands instead when I've touched things washing food before eating it etc

Dilbertian · 02/04/2020 13:18

*Catching a virus and surviving does not give you immunity.
*
If herd immunity is effective why has artificial immunisation been developed and found necessary?

Catching certain viruses does give you lifelong inmunity. Flu and cold viruses mutate frequently, therefore the body does not recognise them and you do not become immune. Measles and smallpox viruses OTOH are far more stable and the body recognises them the next time they are encountered, thus you become immune.

Artificial immunisation is necessary for many reasons. The mortality rate for smallpox was about 30% at best, and it left all its victims substantially damaged. Waiting for herd immunity would cause too many deaths. Ebola is another such example. Other viruses such as measles, mumps and rubella have a lower mortality rate than smallpox and ebola, but high consequences rate for encephalitis, pneumonia, congenital defects etc. Waiting for herd immunity was what our grandparents' generation would do, with pox-parties. Still a risky strategy, and unneeded once immunisation was available.

If Covid19 turns out to be a stable virus with low mortality and consequence rates, then immunisation may not be necessary in the long term. It may become one of the illnesses that most children have, with little consequence, like Slapped Cheek or HFM. Only the vulnerable will need to immunise or self-isolate.

If OTOH Covid 19 turns out to be a fast-mutating virus, then immunisation will be necessary every year, just as with seasonal flu, in order to prevent unnecessary extra deaths among the vulnerable, as well as overwhelmed health systems.

TestBank · 02/04/2020 13:27

Our version of lockdown was so late and is so feeble that I am tempted to think it is just window dressing
Put it alongside our government's other useless actions so far and it probably is cock up rather than conspiracy

Regardless of any plan or otherwise, the only real option is that most of us catch it and we isolate the most vulnerable. It's spread worldwide now. It's not going anywhere.

JulietTango · 02/04/2020 13:29

Herd immunity percentages are different for different rates of infection.
A person with measles, which is the 95% immunisation rate people keep quoting, infects around 18 other people.
Someone with covid will infect around 3 other people. That's why the herd immunity percentage is different.

It seems to me looking at different countries testing rates and infection rates you can test as many as you like and the m of positive tests is always around one third.

Here's an example of that. All the people tested had no symptoms.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/coronavirus-greece-migrant-camp-refugees-asylum-seekers-europe-middle-east-a9441906.html%3famp

tegucigalpa13 · 02/04/2020 13:30

Our version of lockdown was so late and is so feeble

No more feeble than the lockdown in Germany - the country most posters seem to think is leading the way on this. It started a week later, - - but that timing would have tracked with the available data on the advance of the virus.

Marshmallow91 · 02/04/2020 13:32

I agree OP. I think it's the only real answer we have to stopping things any time soon. Once things have calmed in ICU's and things are more manageable for the health service, I fully accept exposing myself to it.

JulietTango · 02/04/2020 13:57

Sweden isn't even in lockdown. Their approach is save the economy and practice social distancing.
For the moment.

RhymingRabbit3 · 02/04/2020 17:24

Sweden isn't even in lockdown. Their approach is save the economy and practice social distancing.
We tried that. People were advised to socially distance and instead they flocked to beauty spots, continued to eat out in pubs and restaurants and go to their mums for mothers day.

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