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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To wonder if lack of covid boosters this Autumn is government cost cutting

206 replies

Hulabalu · 13/10/2025 21:39

And if it is cost cutting , isn’t it a short sighted one? The more people get sick the more the cost to /,strain on NHS?

And wouldn’t it be sensible to “run a please be considerate and wear a mask if you have symptoms?” campaign . Not just for Covid but a cold / cough / sore throat ?

OP posts:
Thisisbetweenyoumeandtheinternet · 14/10/2025 21:23

Hulabalu · 14/10/2025 16:58

Covid wasn’t a control mechanism

Ok!

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 14/10/2025 21:23

Hulabalu · 14/10/2025 20:32

People can determine themselves if they’re allergic or sick. If it’s allergies then mask not needed

But unless I wear a sign around my neck no one is going to know it’s allergies are they?

cityanalyst678 · 14/10/2025 21:29

Hulabalu · 14/10/2025 21:12

Im sorry to hear this, it doesn’t seem fair. Can you get some air purifiers ? Keep door open as much as possible.

Yes I leave the door open, but it’s cold, due to the freezing corridor outside. No heating until after half term. I worked in hospitals and believe me, the NHS is in a much better state than many schools. I clean my own room. I buy things out of my own pocket. But the students are mostly great and there is a huge feeling of we are in this together and we will be fine.

Jeart · 14/10/2025 21:31

I have a heart condition that’s exasperated by viruses. Last two times I’ve had Covid I’ve ended up on the cardiac ward then off work for several weeks. But I can’t get a vaccine.

Hulabalu · 14/10/2025 21:34

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 14/10/2025 21:23

But unless I wear a sign around my neck no one is going to know it’s allergies are they?

That doesn’t matter, you willl know you’re not infectious. My point is about slowing spread of infection. There will be some allergic people or people who cant wear a mask for a valid reason.

OP posts:
TeaAndTattoos · 15/10/2025 01:07

Hulabalu · 14/10/2025 06:14

I’m considering paying for the booster. It’s about £100 though which is a bit expensive. I wonder why so much ? compared with flu jab etc ?

I was told it would cost £80 and even though I have asthma and would like to have the booster I just can’t afford that much. I guess the price of it depends on where you live.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 15/10/2025 01:23

cityanalyst678 · 14/10/2025 19:00

Just about everyone has had it in the last couple of weeks in the school where I work, including myself.
Parents ( including medical staff) send pupils in, knowing they have Covid and say that’s what everyone does now. All very well, but I have now had it six times and it’s not pleasant. Still I should be safe for at least 3 months now. Meanwhile my Father had his, along with his flu jab and he hardly ever goes out…..

I don't see how you can know that people have had Covid. Has anybody actually tested?

Schools are an absolute breeding ground for germs at this time of year, but I don't think one could claim it's definitely Covid.

cityanalyst678 · 15/10/2025 03:03

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 15/10/2025 01:23

I don't see how you can know that people have had Covid. Has anybody actually tested?

Schools are an absolute breeding ground for germs at this time of year, but I don't think one could claim it's definitely Covid.

Because some parents test themselves and their kids. And they all have very similar symptoms and they come to the Medical Room because they start feeling rubbish. So then I start getting the same symptoms and need to spend a couple of days at home. I do a test, to protect my elderly Father. And surprise surprise it’s positive. Pupils test positive and still come to school. Were you not aware you can buy tests????

thefirebird · 15/10/2025 03:49

Treetop111 · 14/10/2025 07:37

The correlation between mask wearers and inadequate individuals is strong.

It’s hard not to have a negative opinion of many of those who wear them.

You believe immunocompromised people are inadequate?

What an odd dogwhistle.

Hulabalu · 15/10/2025 04:01

autienotnaughty · 14/10/2025 21:21

I got an invite for DS who’s autistic even though he’s not immunocompromised. I use to have them as his carer but this year Ive not received a message.

I don’t understand why neurodivergence is prioritised over chronic respiratory disease

OP posts:
HeyThereDelila · 15/10/2025 04:05

Agree OP. I was previously eligible and now no longer am, but I have an auto immune disease so if I get it I could be really ill. I’ll also have a new baby to look after and don’t want to be too ill to nurse the baby.

I’ll have to travel to our nearest big city and pay the £100. Infuriating.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 15/10/2025 06:13

cityanalyst678 · 15/10/2025 03:03

Because some parents test themselves and their kids. And they all have very similar symptoms and they come to the Medical Room because they start feeling rubbish. So then I start getting the same symptoms and need to spend a couple of days at home. I do a test, to protect my elderly Father. And surprise surprise it’s positive. Pupils test positive and still come to school. Were you not aware you can buy tests????

Yes of course I know you can buy tests, but ime nobody is really bothering.

DancefloorAcrobatics · 15/10/2025 06:21

If it's truly cost cutting, what would you rather have: WLI or covid jab?
Sadly there isn't a limited pot of cash at the end of the rainbow NHS.

Nestingbirds · 15/10/2025 06:32

I would usually say no but having just been hospitalised after the new strain, it’s likely we are in for a really rough winter so I agree op. I am healthy and not old. It is a real worry.

SouthernNights59 · 15/10/2025 07:06

Jeart · 14/10/2025 21:31

I have a heart condition that’s exasperated by viruses. Last two times I’ve had Covid I’ve ended up on the cardiac ward then off work for several weeks. But I can’t get a vaccine.

That's terrible, and surely it would be cheaper to vaccinate you than have you hospitalised and off work.

Where I live anyone 30 and over is entitled to a free vaccine.

cityanalyst678 · 15/10/2025 07:55

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 15/10/2025 06:13

Yes of course I know you can buy tests, but ime nobody is really bothering.

It’s very different when you have to be in a school, hospital, office etc. Very easy if you work from home, but then people who do that are less likely to catch it. If you work with vulnerable people you have an ethical duty to think of them.
And it’s not just like a cold. I get those a lot working in schools, covid is far worse.

Delatron · 15/10/2025 08:21

SouthernNights59 · 15/10/2025 07:06

That's terrible, and surely it would be cheaper to vaccinate you than have you hospitalised and off work.

Where I live anyone 30 and over is entitled to a free vaccine.

Thats great. Where do you live?

SouthernNights59 · 15/10/2025 08:41

Delatron · 15/10/2025 08:21

Thats great. Where do you live?

New Zealand.

Sidge · 15/10/2025 08:42

Hulabalu · 15/10/2025 04:01

I don’t understand why neurodivergence is prioritised over chronic respiratory disease

It’s not. It’s either an error, or her DS has a condition causing severe immune suppression.

The only criteria for receiving a covid vaccine this winter are being 75 or over (or turning 75 by 31/01/26), living in a care or nursing home, or being SEVERELY immunocompromised as per the section in the Green Book.

GinaDav · 15/10/2025 09:07

Youdontseehow · 14/10/2025 20:45

Well yes because you fall into the eligible criteria (75+, care home resident or immunosuppressed) - so of course it’s easy for you!

But all those with diabetes, asthma, COPD, heart disease etc no longer qualify - they have illnesses but are not immunosuppressed as a result of them.

I’m not immunosuppressed. Immune compromised yes, which is perhaps the qualifier in my case. I can’t understand why people with heart conditions etc no longer qualify. That makes no sense to me at all.

mydogisthebest · 15/10/2025 09:08

Sidge · 15/10/2025 08:42

It’s not. It’s either an error, or her DS has a condition causing severe immune suppression.

The only criteria for receiving a covid vaccine this winter are being 75 or over (or turning 75 by 31/01/26), living in a care or nursing home, or being SEVERELY immunocompromised as per the section in the Green Book.

As I said in my previous post, I am 71 (was 71 in June) and have no health problems and yet am having the jab on Friday.

I queried it with the surgery as I assume it has to be a mistake and they were not interested.

Sidge · 15/10/2025 09:28

mydogisthebest · 15/10/2025 09:08

As I said in my previous post, I am 71 (was 71 in June) and have no health problems and yet am having the jab on Friday.

I queried it with the surgery as I assume it has to be a mistake and they were not interested.

Probably a miscoding error. The reception staff will be uninterested because as long as you have a code to receive the vaccine the practice will receive a dose and payment for you to have it, so they’ll happily book you in.

The clinician you see may be confused lol.

NellieElephantine · 15/10/2025 09:46

Hulabalu · 14/10/2025 21:34

That doesn’t matter, you willl know you’re not infectious. My point is about slowing spread of infection. There will be some allergic people or people who cant wear a mask for a valid reason.

What's your suggestion for the 'can't wear a mask' people then, if mask wearing is to be mandatory?
Am remembering the joys of 'help your vulnerable neighbours' during covid, which led to many doing shopping etc for those who felt they couldn't leave the house, but then got the jab in the first flow of vaccinations, who then forgot how helpful people had been, and quickly turned into 'keep unvaccinated germ spreading, grubby children locked inside now I can go shopping again!!' And the threads on here,one of which I always hoped was a troll stating an 8 yo who'd tested positive should be locked in her room for the 8? days, with no family contact at all.

RafaistheKingofClay · 15/10/2025 11:27

DancefloorAcrobatics · 15/10/2025 06:21

If it's truly cost cutting, what would you rather have: WLI or covid jab?
Sadly there isn't a limited pot of cash at the end of the rainbow NHS.

Covid hands down. Every covid infection doubles your risk of a heart attack or stroke in all age groups regardless of whether you are obese or not.
Makes no sense from a long term population health perspective not to offer it.

Problem is that the JCVI chose not to look at the long term effects just the short term ones. That was a deliberate decision.

Crispautumn · 15/10/2025 11:35

I asked my GP about paying privately for the vaccine, as I tend to get awful coughs with Covid and have had it so many times. But she said they are not recommending anyone gets it, other than the very elderly, because of side effects.