Is there going to be another pandemic

[Lookingforwardtoautumnnow]

This winter?

Seen a couple of people posting about it, tbf they are conspiracy types, but I have anxiety after having covid & long covid and can’t go through all that again. Can anyone reassure me?

My DH has tested positive for the first time with Covid. He's really poorly but not as bad as when he had flu a few years ago. Still knocked off feet with all the usual symptoms. Don't know if it's new strain or bog standard one.

One thing I can think of: proper ventilation, and air purifiers - both help lessen the chance of transmission of covid and flu. Our governments have had 3 1/2 years to make sure that public buildings/indoor public spaces have proper and adequate ventilation systems and to introduce legislation to subsidise air purifiers for peoples homes. It’s a non invasive way to cut down some transmission of covid (and flu.).

Also, although vaccines don’t stop people getting it entirely or prevent transmission, they do lessen the virulence of covid for many people. Flu vaccines have much less than 100% efficacy rate but very few people balk at having a flu vaccine if eligible:

Most unpopular, is to bring mask wearing back in at the beginning of each covid wave. Just in enclosed public places, and places doctors surgeries , public transport of course - those sorts of places. Doctors/scientists still don’t know what long term effects repeated bouts of covid is having on the body . Especially the effects repeated infections are having on children and their growing bodies.

The genie is never going back in the bottle but we still have the ability to mitigate the illness. Just not the will it seems.

What lockdowns did to me was take away the last things that made me feel vaguely human. The consequences of this have changed my personal life for good.

There were two potentially good reasons for lockdown.

One was, in the very early stages, in the hope of containing it so that it would die out. But the horse had well and truly bolted by the time lockdown was imposed in most places.

The other reason was to slow down the spread, to reduce the pressure on the health service until a vaccine arrived. The more people catch COVID at one time, the smaller the proportion who would get the best available care, and the higher the proportion who would die. So slowing down the spread probably reduced the death rate.

But now - when COVID is endemic, and everyone who is willing to be vaccinated, has been? Neither of those arguments apply, really.

There were also a lot of harms from lockdown. Whether those are justified by the lives that were saved - even if you could quantify both sides of that equation - is a matter of personal opinion.

It was swine flu.

No idea, but I personally know two people who currently have Covid ( presumable a new strain) and DH’s team, who usually go into the office in Tuesdays and Thursdays, have been asked to wfh the entire week due to outbreaks there.

You assume someone is an idiot because they wear a face mask? Wtf is wrong with you? The idiot is you. I wear a face mask as Covid landed me in the hospital last time and I’d rather not get sick again if I can prevent getting a huge viral load whilst I’m pregnant. Mind your own business about what other people choose to do!

I don't see the harm in a push to prevent infectious diseases in general. Good hygiene should be promoted, it was when I was in school (coughs and sneezes spread diseases) mask wearing probably sensible during the winter months in some settings like hospitals and GP surgeries. The flu vaccine programme is rolled out every autumn so don't see any reason why the covid vaccine shouldn't be available to those who need it.

This winter? No idea.
In general? Absolutely. I think I read there's been about 250 pandemics in recorded history. Bound to increase in frequency the more people travel around the world.

Re lockdowns I think it would take something like that film with paltrow in it where people were dropping in the streets and being buried in mass graves to get a lot of people to cooperate.

Mind your own business about what other people choose to do

Lets hope this goes both ways THIS TIME!!!!

Oh it’s so easy to be cocky when you have your health… bit different though when your diagnosed with a life limiting illness and you just want to feel that you have a little bit of control in how you die, if that means by wearing a mask and doing anything to mitigate the risk of Covid for a bit, so be it.

@leatherchaps I wouldn't have to. My children aren't old enough for that yet. They're all under 4. They wouldn't go to nursery but they would still go for sleepovers at grandparents houses and meet with friends etc.

if you want to understand the efficacy of face masks look at the data for Hong Kong in Jan- Feb 2022. As close to 100% mask compliance in all public places inside and out as you will ever get anywhere. HK basically had no covid for all of 2021 due to unbelievably draconian border controls. In Jan 2022, someone left quarantine with covid ( got it from an aircon vent in a quarantine hotel). Three weeks later HK had 56000 cases a day. Hong Kong University estimates 2/3 of HK got covid within 4 weeks. I’m therefore kind of sceptical about masks.

Myself, DH and DD have all become ill with Covid overnight following a weekend away for the Bank holiday. We went from feeling perfectly normal in the evening last night to waking up at 2 am shivering and aching and feeling sick. Travelled home and all tested positive. We’ve been all over north wales, up Snowdon etc so no idea where we’ve caught it.
It came on us all really fast and we all feel pretty grim with fevers, headaches, coughing, aches and pains and dodgy stomachs.

That's uncalled for.

Guessing primary school? Shame we couldn't have sent year 5/6 kids to their local secondary for supervision, ours only had a handful of kids in!

Exactly @Ichabodandme I understand this.

Of course there will, record amount of people became millionaires during the plandemic,not average people of course-the ones who know the right people by either family relations,friends or by being someones mistress (cough handco*k)

So sorry you're all so poorly. My dh was ok yesterday, a bit of a sore throat but it came on him suddenly last night so quickly and he's poorly too. Hope you all feeling better soon Xx

All sensible suggestions, but we caught it twice outdoors at the playground with under ten minutes exposure each time. It is highly contagious and children are spreading it and getting quite sick from it. 😔

Surgical masks are useless against viruses and bacteria,failed 100% in the lab settings, it even says so on the box.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12443319/Mask-study-published-NIH-suggests-N95-Covid-masks-expose-wearers-dangerous-level-toxic-compounds-linked-seizures-cancer.html

Just looked to book my flu vaccine for early October and Boots are charging £19.95!!

I’m sure it was £15.95 last year and £14.95 the year before. Another crazy price increase 🤦🏼‍♀️

Sorry I meant to add that this thread prompted me to look at the flu jab!!

No doubt there will be another pandemic. I don’t think anyone knows when though.

Have you got a source for those statistics?

And It’s very hard to get covid with K95 respirator masks. Properly sealed, it’s extremely hard. They cost a little more than surgical masks but work a great deal better. .

The far bigger concern is that winter is always horrific in the NHS, but its absolutely screwed at the moment so this winter is going to be beyond savage. Already seen a lot of respiratory illness which is unusual for this time of year, probably weather related more than anything but honestly it's going to be one of the toughest years.