(Poll) If a new disease with a similar fatality rate to pre-vaccination COVID appeared again…

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And the government started to issue instructions about rules, hand washing, masks, social distancing, not meeting up with people, and the like, similarly to what happened in 2020-21….

What would your response be?

A: I would follow the rules more strictly than I did last time (because WFH has made it easier OR because the deaths from COVID make me feel we should have been stricter last time).

B: I would follow the rules about as strictly as I did last time, for the most part.

C: I would follow some rules or follow most rules to an extent, but would be significantly less “strict” about this than I was during COVID.

D: I would be much, much less strict or would completely ignore most rules/instructions, insofaras I was able to disregard them.

I’m just trying to work out whether the COVID experience and aftermath has shifted the Overton window and made people more open to the idea of following rules etc. to contain infectious diseases, OR alternatively whether people have grown a bit more blasé about diseases, disillusioned about governments or concerned about negative aftermaths of pandemic control measures.

For what it’s worth, I’d be a C (although I was never very strict first time round either to be honest).

And MNHQ, can we please get a proper poll selection option that goes beyond YABU/YANBU options?

B

A lot of people are stuck following rules because of work and school, fortunately us retired people can do what we want as we don't have to answer to anyone

Is this poll designed to show that some people are still stupid enough to choose anything other than D?

Even after everything has come out in the wash.

I'm a B - but B is fairly relative isn't it? In that basically I'd do what I did last time but last time I started off strict then relaxed as the nature of the virus became clearer (eg by the second lockdown, my kids were going to the park to meet their friends but not in the first one). We worked from home anyway and still do.
Relaxed more after vaccination - and none of us caught it till the adults and older child had been vaccinated. Which is also close to a C on your scale. Maybe I'm between the two? a B.5?

That said, if it was an ebola type pandemic I'd probably be an A.

I would probably say I would be a C. I would follow sensible and easy rules strictly, like masks in busy places. It's not really a hardship to do that. I would however ignore anything that didn't make logical sense from a transmission point of view, so i would take a picnic and walk in the countryside or ride my bike for however long I fancied. I wouldn't do theatrical distancing in cafe queues where they would make you stand 1 per square even if 3 of you arrived from the same house in the same car.

Probably C.

B, maybe even A.

The costs of lockdown were awful for many (and for my household personally, greatly exceeded the costs/risks of covid), but I shudder at how much avoidable suffering was caused by (govt-induced) half-arsed too-late measures.

With the benefit of perfect hindsight about this disease specifically, i might have climbed into chained-up playgrounds etc. But next time, if we still knew as little about mode of transmission and patterns of vulnerability etc? i expect I'd be even less cavalier than I actually was.

I mean I quite liked it 😂 which ever letter was for pick and choose though.

There will be a higher level of compliance on here though because it is a fairly left wing site

C but I'd try very hard to respect others views and safety. I'd give less of a shit about personal risks.

But I'm sure I'm balanced out by plenty of people who will never feel safe again post covid. In hindsight, a lot of the UK rules was iffy. But mainly the risk of death was about 2% so its about proportion and lots of factors really. But mostly for me it was how we could mix freely as very close contacts towards the end. Once the fear goes it's gone.

B

I followed all the rules and I would do the same again.

The government screwed up but any government dealing with that situation would’ve screwed up. It was a fluid situation and they had to make decisions without adequate information.

The rules were brought in to try and protect public health.

D

D

B, until vaccines were available, and then D.

Both my kids became very ill (one for the rest of their life) as a result of covid, this despite the rhetoric that kids didn't get ill from it. And despite the fact that both had never been properly unwell in their lives. Total shock, made me much more cautious than some of my friends.

BUT my dad has diagnosed health anxiety and covid ruined him. He still refuses to socialise now, because he got the bloody letter telling him he was CEV. It's been heartbreaking to watch his life and my mum's just .... stop .... so if it wasn't for what happened to my kids I'd probably have said D.

I actually think - there's no easy answer. It'd depend on so much. But I am very thankful for the vaccines and drug breakthroughs and I'd hope to god the acceleration in life sciences research that came off the back of covid - due to the unusual level of international collaboration, fast-tracking of research etc. - I'd hope that if and when the next pandemic hits we wouldn't have to wait too long for vaccines or treatment.

D

It's not just about fatalities it's also about how something spreads. So it's pointless to answer based on the premise as described in the OP

D

C-D

I wouldn’t break the law or put myself at risk of being fined but I wouldn’t follow any guidelines that didn’t have the force of law.

D

C

I’m a C

i wouldnt cut off contact with parents or friends again but I’d do most other stuff and not go to massive events etc.
i wouldn’t stick to one hour a day outside either

No B is “I would follow the rules about as strictly as I did last time, for the most part.”

Which could mean absolutely any behaviour from not following at all to doing more than the rules required.

My DP is still having to shield as the vaccine doesn’t work for him, is CEV to an extreme and is waiting for Evusheld 2 if it works and if the government choose to buy it.

D

D 100%. Lockdowns did so much damage, to my kids especially.

One hour a day outside wasn't ever a rule anyway. The only time it ever came up was an off the cuff remark from Michael Gove (or possibly Matt Hancock).