Violet Affleck is clearly warning parents about the affect of Covid on children, so when will our children get finally get air filters in their schools/nurseries?

[Annemcc32]

I genuinely can't believe that the government/department for education are able to continue to ignore the now overwhelming, crystal clear evidence that Covid harms children's health. Violet Affleck gave a powerful, well documented, speech at the UN this week laying it all out and the media response? Accuse her of 'health anxiety'!
Other countries are taking action on indoor air quality to protect children in learning environments (e.g. France, Belgium, Germany, Thailand, Australia).
Bridget Philipson herself was shouting about ventilation and air filters before the election.
But still, nothing!
The department for education also had THEIR buildings upgraded so they have great indoor air quality, as did the Houses of Parliament, as do many private schools, as do DAVOS when the world leaders meet.
ALL of our children deserve clean air and to be safe in the classrooms/nurseries.
Why are we so bad at protecting our kids? Repeated Covid infections are ruining their health. ONS said in 2024 that we had over 111,000 children with long covid in Scotland and England alone.
It is SO simple to achieve this. The fact that we are doing nothing is shameful. Open the windows, get air filters, use a CO2 monitor to monitor the air. THAT IS IT. Why is that hard?

Bemused as to what France is doing in this respect. Beyond asking us to leave our windows open at breaktime, absolutely nothing.

I agree - it’s so frustrating when people can wfh when contagious instead of making others ill, yet come in anyway. How does that help anyone?

Bridget Philipson’s (and others who shouted loudly about inaction when in opposition) silence now is inexcusable.

Re: updating IAQ, I was referring to this
https://www.willmottdixoninteriors.co.uk/the-modernisation-of-the-dfes-offices-at-sanctuary-buildings/

On another note, has there been a veto on publicly mentioning illness as the prime driver for absence - it’s very strange how it’s never mentioned?

I’ve been thinking about this today. I think we need to accept we have another very problematic virus constantly circulating. Therefore we all need to take hygiene, infection control etc more seriously in every setting.

To the ‘it’s vascular’ poster who thinks she’s hilarious. I’m currently on a 7 day heart monitor for suspected heart issues due to a Covid infection last year. People infected with Covid are 1.57 times more likely to develop artrial
fibrillation versus those never infected. That’s just facts and science. Maybe educate yourself.

I don’t think people understand what Covid is now and the damage it can do. We all hoped it would just become like a cold. But it’s not.

I’m not suggesting lockdown or masks.
I’m suggesting people treat Covid like they would the flu. Don’t go in to work if you feel ill. Practice good hygiene. We need to be more like the S.E Asian countries. It should be acceptable for people to WFH with any illness.

I don’t know what can be done with regards to schools. And it’s a worry if our children are infected regularly. I would welcome a relaxation of the absence policy at least. And make sure all windows can open. Maybe hand sanitizers around school. Though I’m not sure of the science behind that. I know Covid is airborne. And there’s no money for air filters!

Alcohol, diabetes and obesity are far greater risk factors to Atrial fibrillation than one of the coronavirus' in circulation, of which COVID 19 is just one.

I'm sorry you don't like my "Its vascular" posts. I'll stop when you stop overstating the risks and impact of COVID.

How is quoting scientific facts ‘overstating’. You are the one who is embarrassing yourself. Science shows it can be vascular. But carry on embarrassing yourself- it’s going well for you…

And yes other things cause AF. But as a fit runner with a healthy diet and a healthy weight - it’s pretty frustrating that a virus can do this.

Its pretty frustrating that a person in the picture of health can get levelled by a bus too. Thems the breaks.

Yes it’s clear from your posts that you are a very pleasant person. As you were.

I'm quite pleasant actually. I value proportion, and happiness and feel contempt to those who overstate the risks of COVID as they had a huge part t play in the preposterous overreaction of our government, and have scared people half to death.

God knows what you lot would do if a proper pandemic turned up. I'm talking Antonine Plague, Black Death, The Plague of Athens. Not "it is best managed at home with a teaspoon of honey in warm water plus paracetemol" style COVID.

Do you know it’s possible to think that multiple lockdowns were a bad idea. That yes the government scared people in to staying at home but to also understand that Covid is not just a cold.

The reason I understand that is because I educate myself and I read the science and latest research around Covid. A year or two ago I was in the ‘it’s a cold’ camp. However, it’s not playing out that way. It’s continually circulating. It’s shown to affect different organs in the body. Repeated infections are not a good idea for anyone. It shows intelligence and critical thinking to change your thinking on something. You should try it.

I don’t think anyone could argue that getting repeated covid infections is a good idea. So people are discussing what can be done to reduce this. All sensible discussion.

I don't believe that COVID was just a cold for everyone, but it is well on its way to being that. What it certainly isn't is flu, which has been responsible for more deaths for each of the past 3 years.

What makes you think ‘it’s well on its way to being a cold’?

Each strain is different. I think it was hoped they would become more mild. People aren’t obviously dying in droves as they previously were but many healthy people are being wiped out for weeks.

Some strains cause more issues than others.

It would have been great if with each strain we built up immunity and it became more mild. That doesn’t look to be happening unfortunately. The third time I had it was the worst. Second time barely affected me. It’s quite unpredictable.

I’m not sure death should be the benchmark of whether a virus is like a cold or not..

Fortunately most people only get flu once every 10 years if that. So immunity seems to be better. Not so for Covid. That’s the issue really.

You have got to be kidding. Covid was a proper pandemic. Have you forgotten the daily death counts? Do you really think 'a teaspoon of honey in warm water plus paracetamol' would have saved them?

No. But locking down sooner would probably have saved some of them.

The honey and paracetamol is the current advice. Death counts like that were a function of a) the huge population in comparison to population numbers in historical pandemics; and b) the fact that we recorded deaths of any kind with a +ve covid test within a month as a covid death.

Look at percentage of the population, or even population numbers. The population of europe was decimated during the black death. The population increased during covid.

I wouldn't listen to the ramblings of a 19 year old over-indulged nepo baby...

What are her qualifications in the field of public health? Understandably, as she's only 19... None.

Just because pandemics kill different numbers of people doesn't mean the lower-killing ones aren't pandemics. I mean, Covid was literally designated a pandemic by the WHO, is that not good enough for you?

How would you have preferred the UK to have handled Covid, out of interest?

Thank you so much for posting this. It makes me feel hopeful that there are people out there changing and keeping an open mind, and speaking with sense and not random vitriol.

Just levelling up the Violet hating posts. She's read and understood the science. The smart scientists understand they need big names to get science out there when the government has decided its not in their interest to do so. Why the hate? Has to be fear. There is no argument, no links to opposing science saying repeat covid infections are fine because they aren't fine. I guess finding out covid is not just a cold is a bit like finding out santa isn't real. People will catch up.

Never read anything about honey. This is the current advice, but obviously it conflicts with send your children to school with bits off dropping off them mindset of schools.

"If you have symptoms of COVID-19, the main advice is to stay at home and avoid contact with others, as you may still be infectious. You should also rest and drink plenty of fluids, as many people recover with self-care. Contact your local NHS 111 service (or equivalent) if your symptoms worsen, you are concerned about your condition, or you need urgent medical advice. "

Would it have increased and still be increasing without the vaccines though?

I should imagine if a “proper” plague (by your definition) turned up, that some would acknowledge what the plague would do, some would be phoning the “fear of HEPA filter helpline”, some would be saying kids would be magically spared, some would be jeering at those who’d been harmed and some would be wishing that the government had planned properly for a pandemic.

If a Black Death style plague turns up, now we have the Internet and will be able to see it everywhere not just in our immediate vicinity, it'll be like something out of a zombie apocalypse film.

I actually don't think there's much point thinking of the issue that way, whatever one's position on the covid response. It would be a totally different and unmanageable situation.

The word Pandemic does not denote the lethality of the disease, it denotes how widespread it is. An epidemic is an outbreak within a defined region, pandemic means its everywhere, hence 'pan' suffix.

I don't deny COVID 19 met the definition of a pandemic, I question the proportionality of our fear and our response.

Re your title, it’s Effleck, not Affleck.

(I’ll get my coat…)

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow yes, granted, without vaccines things would have been worse. But not so much worse that it wouldn't have eventually petered out to a cold like it virtually is now. Its impossible to measure the success of the vaccine campaign without a control population that never took it, so we'll never know for certain.

For all my scepticism, I actually volunteered during the vaccine campaign. I don't regret it, but I do think that the risks of the vaccine for under 50s in good health, in retrospect, was disproportionate to the personal risk. And so it should have been for over 50s and those with serious risk factors.

At the time we all thought we'd essentially sterilise the population so you'd take the vaccine for altruistic purposes, but with newer more transmissible yet less serious variants, that reason went out the window really.

I know. I was responding to what appeared to be the implication on a pp’s part that Covid wasn’t a ‘proper’ pandemic.

Edit: just realised it was your own post. My comment still stands.