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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to think it’s time to stop publishing Covid figures

25 replies

TinLeaf · 28/02/2022 14:10

Covid isn’t going to go away but at some point we surely have to stop publishing daily figures? We can’t carry on indefinitely.

If you do think IABU, at what point do you think we should stop?

OP posts:

Lockheart · 28/02/2022 14:12

You know you don't have to look at them, right?

cushioncovers · 28/02/2022 14:12

Unless it becomes a problem again then yes let's move on.

Etinoxaurus · 28/02/2022 14:17

We’ll they’ve got to keep collating the figures, haven’t they? We don’t want a ‘shit were all dead situation’ or more realistically no deaths for a week and dropping cases, so you really can feel ok about testing positive and not self isolating.
Don’t look.

DrWhoNowww · 28/02/2022 14:20

If you’re seeing them on news sites then it’s because people are asking for that content, if you don’t want to see it just don’t look.

I’m sure you could find daily stats on flu, hiv, cancer deaths as well if you looked for them so it’s not like covid is the only thing we do this for - it’s just more current at the moment.

TimeToMakeACupofTea · 28/02/2022 14:32

They collect the stats like they do for any other cause of death or illness. Whilst I don’t they should be trotted out at every news bulletin like the football results, it’s daft to suggest that news outlets should report on them at all.

GinPalace2 · 28/02/2022 14:33

ONS collects, collates, analyses and publishes 1000s if not 10000s of statistics annually. COVID statistics are just a new set of statistics that are now part of this. These statistics are a key source of information in planning public services.

For example, death rates have been published for a very long time along with a breakdown of causes etc. COVID is part of these.

YABVU to say COVID statistics should no longer be published.

SparklyLeprechaun · 28/02/2022 16:21

Where's the harm? Why can't we carry on indefinitely?

Covid is still an important news item, just because most restrictions have been lifted doesn't mean it's gone away.

withernseawoes · 28/02/2022 16:36

Of course they should still be collated, just as all the other death statistics are. But I agree that it's time to stop singling out Covid from all the other causes of death for reporting purposes. It would be interesting to hear about it periodically, maybe as a snapshot of the previous month or quarter, but nothing more. Maybe at that time they could be compared to other causes of death to give a sense of 'scale'.

Flev · 28/02/2022 16:36

Given that free testing ends soon, I don't see how we could continue getting regular figures after that - so probably only a few more weeks to go?

BarbaraofSeville · 28/02/2022 16:45

They'll never stop being collated somewhere. Covid-19 will, like measles, TB and a whole host of other diseases likely to always be notifiable, as in if it is diagnosed by a doctor, or found due to testing, be reported and collated as part of the surveillance that public health people carry out.

Because we need to keep an eye on trends in case numbers start to get out of hand again.

RoastedFerret · 28/02/2022 16:47

What harm does it do? They still publish them in my country but I don't have a clue what the are because I don't look.

marqueses · 28/02/2022 16:49

Loads of stuff is published on the internet every day, why would this not be one of those things?

No one has to look at it, I can't see the problem.

parietal · 28/02/2022 16:50

they need to be published for the scientists to track what is going on. you don't have to follow them if you don't want to.

AndAsIfByMagic · 28/02/2022 16:51

Of course they should still be collected, Covid is still here.

Silly idea.

sst1234 · 28/02/2022 16:56

Agree OP. But Covid is an obsessions for many. Whatever will they do when they are not working themselves up into a frenzy about risks associated with Covid. Many people have become too used to the hysteria around it, they would have withdrawal symptoms if this got taken away.

sst1234 · 28/02/2022 16:57

@AndAsIfByMagic

Of course they should still be collected, Covid is still here.

Silly idea.

Still here? What do you mean? It will always be here. What is the right time to stop publishing.

ZoBo123 · 28/02/2022 16:58

We collect data for all causes of deaths but fairly sure we don't do it or publish it daily. I think that is the issue here. We could collate the weekly or monthly deaths from Covid for a start.

SheWoreYellow · 28/02/2022 17:00

@Flev

Given that free testing ends soon, I don't see how we could continue getting regular figures after that - so probably only a few more weeks to go?

The ONS studies will continue, so that will provide prevalence info.

Cleothecat75 · 28/02/2022 18:04

I’ve just realised I haven’t checked the covid statistics for quite a while. At one point I was waiting for them to come in every day and was religiously comparing that day/weeks data with yesterday/last week, neighbouring areas etc. I actually haven’t got a clue what the daily numbers are now.

If you don’t want to know the data, stop looking for it.

Topseyt · 28/02/2022 18:18

I haven't looked at the published figures for months and months now. I lost interest really.

Collating the data is necessary, that is one thing, but it never needed to have been published to the excessive extent that it has been. The media has been all over the figuresas if no other medical conditions exist any more and nobody ever dies of anything other than Covid 19.

We have to live with it. It is going nowhere. Time to just get on with it now.

Getoff · 28/02/2022 18:23

I think "the harm" is that the statistics may no longer have the same meaning. Up to now the "excess deaths" (which I wouldn't mind them continuing to publish) have more or less kept sync with the "death within 28 days", but with ommicron you could have a position where an increasing number of deaths are recorded as covid deaths even though the death had nothing to do with ommicron. Having said that, that statistic is falling anyway, so maybe it's a non-issue.

Similarly, is the number of people testing positive going to mean the same thing when there are no longer unlimited free tests? Presumably there will be a fall in positive results from people just not testing, does it make sense to publish graphs in which March 2022 and March 2021 data are supposed to be comparable?

SquashMinus · 28/02/2022 18:27

The figures are produced because there's still interest in them, and use for them. It doesn't matter if you're personally interested in them, they're still useful for healthcare providers, policy makers, charities, etc. There's tonnes of national statistics published every day on relatively obscure things that the average person doesn't care about, this will soon be just one more example.

EthelTheAardvark · 28/02/2022 18:55

Are we supposed to close our eyes to the facts and pretend Covid doesn't exist?

Darkstar4855 · 28/02/2022 19:07

YABU, just don’t look at them. I don’t see anyone complaining about flu data being published. What’s the difference?

Wizzbangfizz · 28/02/2022 19:14

I don't have the slightest bit of interest in hearing them so agree.

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