Healthy people why are you so scared of catching covid 19?

[wakeupitsabeautifulmorning]

Serious question. I’m interested in why healthy people with no underlying problems are so unhappy about starting to get back to normal. I’m not talking about shielded people who need to stay shielded. But everyone else.

I wasn't anxious until I recently read 2 things: that covid 19 is causing abnormal blood clotting leading to strokes in young healthy people, and that a rare but potentially deadly syndrome in kids as a result of covid infection is being detected. These two things have scared the shit out of me, and I was previously not too concerned about catching it myself. Now I'm worried about getting a stroke if I get it, or infecting my kids.

“ It’s not a nice illness to have, I think people have lost sight of this.”

Haven’t lost sight of this in the least. And I don’t want to pass it on to anyone vulnerable. But my risk assessment tells me that having PND is even more horrible, and that is a far more immediate risk to me and my children right now. I have just given birth under lockdown. I know what it is like to live in these conditions whilst heavily pregnant, giving birth and having a newborn.

Because it’s not a nice illness to have? I think I had at week one of school closures and I have never felt so ill in my life. I wasn’t worried i would die, but I was so sore and tired and felt quite unhinged when my temperature reached 39.9. Maybe I didn’t even have it, but it’s similar symptoms and I don’t want anything like that again!

Because I don’t want to give it to someone else and accidentally cause their death. Or even give it to someone who in turn gives it to a vulnerable friend or relative.

Because I want to do my bit and protect the NHS by not getting it and spreading it, or becoming particularly poorly and requiring intervention of some sort. I suppose they’d give me a ventilator as I’m in my thirties with no health conditions, but that could deprive someone else.

Because for a percentage of people even healthy people this is at best a nasty illness and for some a life threatening illness.

I think we’re going to find out that a really high percentage of people have had it asymptomatically.

If people could be tested and know they had had it, or that someone close to them had it, I think that would make a difference. In my situation, for example, I work from home anyway but it would be good if my kids could go back to school soon. However, my mother in law lives close by and she's shielding. Knowing there was a case in school, once they go back, or in my child's class, might mean I could make different decisions based on the facts. It's the not knowing that is so damaging.

@cantory
You said and I quote
So the big company Pfitz are lying when they say they will have a vaccine ready by the end of the year?
And if yes please let us know how you know they are lying

?? I said there is no guarantee of a vaccine and I stand by that. Hopefully there will be and soon. But it’s not a given and we don’t know the timescale.

People are scared because the whole world coming to a stand still is pretty scary. This wouldn't have been done if it was just going to wipe out the really old people

The scary, dramatic advert saying 'this is a public health emergency... serious to people of all ages' aims to keep us all inside by scaring us. Regardless of statistics (many dodgy/ever changing) many people are scared.

In terms of getting people back out and into work 😬 the govt are going to have to do a 360 and change the rhetoric. 'this is now less of a public health emergency... go out, keep your distance, wash your hands, you will probably be ok'

Young people and ones with no health issues have died from it, "feeling bad for a week or so" , I know someone young fit healthy, who has been in ITU for over 3 weeks, desparetely ill.

According to reports from the US, it has an impact upon blood clotting, which is causing strokes in young people. It is very difficult to calculate risk because this novel virus impacts people in unpredictable ways and medical knowledge about it is evolving.

^Dr. Thomas Oxley, a neurosurgeon at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, and colleagues gave details of five people they treated. All were under the age of 50, and all had either mild symptoms of Covid-19 infection or no symptoms at all.
"The virus seems to be causing increased clotting in the large arteries, leading to severe stroke," Oxley told CNN."Our report shows a seven-fold increase in incidence of sudden stroke in young patients during the past two weeks. Most of these patients have no past medical history and were at home with either mild symptoms (or in two cases, no symptoms) of Covid," he added^

www.cnn.com/2020/04/22/health/strokes-coronavirus-young-adults/index.html

Yes @bumbleymummy research has shown 50% of people are asymptomatic which is worrying for vulnerable people and controlling the spread but it does mean lots more people will have had this virus than we realise and have accounted for in statistics.

In turn this makes the death rate lower than the tiny percentage it currently is.

It’s all about accurate perception of risk but I agree the media don’t help this. This doesn’t mean ignore lockdown etc it just means don’t live in fear for your life as that sin healthy mentally.

Healthy people have died.

I’m scared because healthy people are dying from Covid, also scared because if I die my disabled kids have no one.

Everyone has a right to be scared.

I just can’t live in fear all the time. I was worried for the first few weeks, and then decided that worrying about it is not going to stop me getting it. I wash my hands more, I go to the shops just once every 7-8 days. I’m off work now but probably being sent back in May.

I’ve had multiple surgeries over the years, some bloody awful flus where I’m ill for weeks, so maybe I’m a bit fatalistic about it at this point. I’d rather not die alone, and I’d rather not get it, but worrying about something I have a good chance of surviving isn’t going to do my mental health any good.

I do stress, as a survivor of domestic abuse, about immediate danger to myself, but less so about illness. The government will be weighing up the long term effects of lockdown (less Covid, less pollution) versus opening up (more domestic abuse, fewer cancers detected in time, mental health through isolation - though for some of us it’s a lot less stressful being off work or wfh -, the economy being hit very hard and the knock on effects to our health from that).

Low risk doesnt mean No risk. 0.001% seems low but out of 10000 it is 1. When the numbers infected are so high even the lowest of odds come out high.

0.01% (this is made up btw) of healthy people infected die that means for every 1000 infections 10 die. And so it grows so if you have 100000 healthy people infected 100 have died.

The risk is still very low of it happening to you but it seems so magnified because of the numbers it is happening to.

Until we know exactly how many people have been infected in the UK it is hard to really gauge risk. My feeling is that the risk is low but the numbers infected are high

Covid confounds normal risk assessment. So those being sneery about conclusions others are coming to: just stop.

Because I might give it to my parents and anyone about 50 and over, regardless of medical history, we can't predict how they'll be affected.

I'm a fit and healthy 40+ woman. I caught the flu two years ago, developed sepsis and nearly died.

Yet most people don't seem to worry about flu. Which can also spark off things like post viral fatigue syndromes etc.

Even though personal finances haven't been discussed particularly on this thread; I am wondering how many of those suggesting it's best to stay locked up for ages are the same people who are currently receiving 80/100% of their income safely at home. And, conversely, how many of those suggesting we need to get on with life are the same people whose savings are dwindling as they are on 0 income right now.

Me too. But it will effect everyone ultimately if the economy goes off a cliff (which it is, the question is how far). Economic disaster costs lives, that's well documented. I'm guessing the biggest effects will mostly be on the young - who are losing out on their education, employment prospects etc - and on people in developing countries. But it will also effect pensions, funding of the NH and social care ...

Because 'healthy' people have died.

Because 'healthy' young people under 40s have had strokes as a results, and died or left with serious issues.

Because 'healthy' people aren't as healthy as they appear sometimes and have undiagnosed underlying conditions.

Because 'healthy' people may be solely responsible for the care and well being of other people, like small children and elderly family members. Their children could have no place to go if they're hospitalised or can't cope ... except into care!

Because 'healthy' means different things at different ages. For over 50s, for example, they heal more slowly anyways and may not bounce back.

Because 'healthy' older people will really, really struggle to return to fitness and good health if it takes them out for any considerable length of time. Even 2 weeks of non-mobility, not-eating is quite detrimental for older people to come back from.

because people don't ( and I'm not blaming them) understand the statisitcs or the maths behind calculating risk and realistically comparing it to other risks
we consider the risks of car use including the death risk to be a balance between risk and convienence there can be no zero risk of car fatalities even if speed limit was 20mph , people used to go on holidays to places with malaria despite some anti-malarials having health risks and side effects and that they may get bitten by a mosquito still but they considered it worth it for what they were going to see or the experience and of course some places with malaria the locals just have to live with the risk and go on living doing the best they can with nets etc when they sleep
Covid is more scary not because the risks for most are actually greater than some other normal risks but because it is new we don't know everything about it we aren't sure how risky it is and we are told it is risky every hour on the hour
Once we get used to a risk we build it into our lives and effectively ignore it, a healthy person under 20 is roughly 4 times more likely to die in the next 12 months from a car accident than covid 19
the deaths per million of population statistically for under 20's are 0
for 20-30 about , for over 80's it is 543, over 70 244 and over 60's 74
given that the chance of death in someone over 80 in any given year are about 10%
it is not a nice disease though lots like Matt hancock and Chris Whitty have mild symptoms and are fine in a week lots of others feel very rough and for many under 50 it will be the worst illnesses they have had so far in their lives but it is only many months from now that we will really know the actual risks,
maybe there will be a vaccine maybe it will be as effective as flu vaccine maybe it won't,

Almost certainly they will work out how to treat it better and thus improve the percentage of people getting better and getting better faster; but despite this there maybe no disappearance of covid 19 completely so maybe we are going to have to live with covid for years like we live with seasonal flu and its 8-15,000 annual deaths in UK

but it is obvious whether now, in a few weeks or a few months or later lockdown will be slowly lifted then it will have to end; life will go back to normal businesses shops, schools theatres cinemas gyms and places of worship will reopen; families will met up; people will have weddings holidays will start again; some things might change long term hopefully they will, like thinking everyone needs to commute to big offices 5 days a week for the exact same hours as everyone else
9/11 made some long term differences to airport security but people still got on planes people have carried on after every great plaque catastrophe before in history even after Pompeii erupted people went back to living there, people still live in Naples and grow grapes on Vesuvius it's a risk but they live there knowing the risk

I have a moderate classed case and am still suffering with pain in my lungs 5 weeks later. I have been given an appointment for July with the respiratory consultant and it is likely I will have some lung damage. This was not a case that was severe enough to be admitted to hospital and I am a healthy 40 year old. I really wish I had not caught it. On the other hand my partner had mild symptoms and seems to be fully recovered. I think it's the lottery of severeness that scares people.

DH and I consider each other fairly healthy.
We walk miles regularly, do yoga, eat well etc
We have just been laid very low for over a month by a virus we presume we caught mid March.
We did not need to be hospitalised but have been quite ill which is very unusual for us.
I think there’s probably quite a lot of people around the country like us, who have stayed at home and just rode it out. A few weeks ago there was 3 or 4 days where we just drank honey & lemon and stayed in bed.
Just because people haven’t bothered the NHS, don’t presume a lot of people haven’t been very ill.
We are pretty much over it now but I’m certainly not going to rush back out there when places open again.

The OP asked a question, nobody is sneering. Though those of us who aren’t terrified are getting accused of being selfish and not caring about others. I actually think it’s awful so many people are terrified and scared they will die.

I personally can’t get worried about a 0.01% risk of dying but then I had about a 25% chance of dying of breast cancer. 50% of us will actually get cancer in our lifetimes. Just to balance out the assessment of risk.

We are going to have to learn how to live with this level of risk. Vulnerable people will need to continue to shield. But healthy people can’t not go to work etc once lockdown ends. Even if, as one poster seems to know for sure, a vaccine is available by the end of the year. That’s still 7 months away.

It does not discriminate

Except that it very clearly does.

Men are about twice the risk of being seriously ill or dying than women. BAME are at heightened risk. Age matters hugely and is the biggest factor by miles I believe - a young, fit person can die of course but is very, VERY unlikely to. Young, fit people can and do die every day of course from other random things.