"Only the elderly/immune suppressed are at risk" - attitude of dicks?

[SylvanianFrenemies]

People who say not to worry about Coronavirus, because "Only the elderly/chronically ill/immune suppressed" are dicks.

Some of us fall into these categories. Some love people who fall into these categories. Some have some essence of humanity. Stop using "Only the xxx" to dismiss concerns. Stop conflating it with flu.

Wash your hands. Isolate yourself as required. Err on the side of caution.

YABU = I agree with these dicks.
YANBU = I am human.

GerardWay123, I had that exact thought a couple of days ago and then couldn't believe that I hadn't realised sooner. Its particularly true of China with the legacy of the one child rule.

No one is saying that other people’s lives don’t matter, but there is so much hysteria over the virus, it’s becoming ridiculous. Don’t sneeze near others, wash your hands regularly, be sensible. Face masks are useless and any food shortages will be caused by hoarders. Anyone who is at risk is more likely to die from complications from ‘flu, that’s a fact.

YABU. I also agree it’s a factual statement. Unless you’ve heard people saying “it doesn’t matter if the elderly or immune suppressed die” you are being ridiculous. I guess you’d prefer doctors to lie about would you? Scientific fact doesn’t care about hurt feelings I’m afraid.

I think people are trying to make it a “so far away, it doesn’t really affect us” thing. Possibly. Whilst it was in China it was shocking but far away. Now it’s in the UK. Some people think it won’t touch them. Makes them feel better.

I think there is an element of this. Of invinsibility too.

My mother is 73 and a smoker/drinker (think Karen's mother in Cold Feet!).

She believes she is immune to the impact of smoking because her mother (a non smoker) lived to 100 in good health and because she has had few health problems herself.
Her father, however, died of emphysema aged 52. Even he was smoking at the hospital, refusing to listen.

She sees herself as much younger and it wouldn't even enter her mind that she's in a higher risk group for CV.

The amount of people I've heard saying this will save money, less elderly/ill people to look after is unbelievable. Those people matter, it's like some people enjoy a 'game' of survival of the fittest

. Who said this @TabbyCatPaws? People down your local for example?

I assumed people were saying that to people who were freaking out like were all gonna die. Not to stop people taking reasonable proportions.
My son was talking about not going to school bevause a school a few streets away had a trip to italy and a kid has been quarantined due to a cough. The truth is it IS mild in the vast majority of cases , but most people do not need to be scared and just need to take normal precautions such as frequent handwashing and staying away from ill people.

Unless you’ve heard people saying “it doesn’t matter if the elderly or immune suppressed die” you are being ridiculous.

They don't have to specifically say "it doesn't matter if the elderly or immunosuppressed die" If they post to say people are over worrying because only the elderly or immunosuppressed will die then they are clearly saying that they don't matter as much. Otherwise why the lack of concern? It's a very selfish attitude.

'You are young and you are lucky enough to be in normal health. the odds are with you to have it only mildly. But not everyone is in normal health, and that's why it's really important we do what we can to minimise the spread. Did you wash your hands properly when you came in?'

@AuntieStella spot on.

The BIG problem is that all those who aren't high risk will pass on the virus to those who are, if they don't take precautions. Whether that's family & friends, the workplace, the supermarket, etc.

Whether or not you're high risk, everyone should take precautions to protect those around them who are.

@frumperty

Most hospitals and gp surgery have disinfectant pumps. Please use them. Don't just walk past.

The whole attitude around virus's needs to change - IMO its been driven by companies selling cold medications and the attitude that you can 'work through' the flu as long as you take day nurse or the like. It's madness.

I'm asthmatic, DD is asthmatic, and I'm allergic to most antibiotics. If people are sick they ought to stay home and recover. This whole 'survival of the fittest' attitude sucks.

My DSS said at dinner 'it will be alright, it's only people with other health issues that are at risk'...I pointed out that that included DSD, DD and myself. He looked genuinely startled. It's not just people pulling oxygen tanks around with them at are at high risk!

Otherwise why the lack of concern? It's a very selfish attitude completely disagree.
So what would you prefer? General hysteria that we are all about to die? Everyone self isolating- even people who are otherwise fit and healthy?
You do realise if this happens, the lack of services and support will kill off the elderly and the ill at a far quicker rate than CV ever will? Spreading general hysteria without warning the vulnerable groups they are at a higher risk is deeply irresponsible and will actually cause more deaths.

It would be good to see hand washing stations at the entrances to hospitals/GP surgeries, where people have to wash their hands before entering and on leaving.

Would be even better if healthcare staff in hospitals/GP surgeries washed their hands between patients and/or changed their gloves. Despite all the publicity, signs, etc., many still don't.

Why have you put this as a vote if that's how you're going to phrase it? You're not asking for people's opinions, you're just immediately judging anyone who looks at it differently to you. And plenty of people do recognise that what they're trying to do is minimise panic. If we all recognise that those most at risk are the elderly and those with complex health issues already, it's far more likely that people will respond appropriately to ensure that those who really need it are given the right care whilst everyone else can self isolate and self care to free up the resources for those that truly need it.

The grim reality is that corovirus running rampent in a nursing home is statistically more fatal than in a school.

TBH, I am more concerned about the secondary impact to care services and the NHS. If 15% of care workers need to self isolate (for example), the system has spare no capacity to accommodate that. Ditto the NHS: it gets overwhelmed during a normal winter flu crisis - even with the lower mortality rate and vaccinations.

What do you want people to do? Panic, and isolate themselves?

That would include emergency personal, they are not half-citizens, they are just as much family members and at risk. So once police, firemen, medical staff isolate themselves, what then? Food distributers, chemists?

What do you want people to think? That it IS a real reason to panic, and we are all going to die unless we lock ourselves in our bunkers - that most people don't have anyway - or that it is what it is, and unless you are at specific risk, you should carry on as usual as much as possible.

I have children to feed, I don't have a farm, I don't produce my own food. What do you suggest I do?

Survival of the fittest is a force of nature that humans cannot fundamentally overcome. It's a fact that drives all of life. Pointing that out is not "callous". Life and death is not fair, life does not care about individuals only about the collective gene pool for a species. Plus imho we need to dramatically reduce population numbers across the globe if the world and humankind has any realistic chance of surviving.

So yes I'm washing my hands and avoiding crowds because I'm not a duck who wants to promote a pandemic and I do care about the alive humans in the world. But from a larger perspective, I'm not bothered about it. If 10% of the worlds population of humans dies, in the long run that will be a good thing.

It would be good to see hand washing stations at the entrances to hospitals/GP surgeries, where people have to wash their hands before entering and on leaving.

Surely they do?

When my elderly father was in hospital 2 years ago there were hand sanitising pumps in all the corridors and at the ward entrance.

But I have seen a smattering of "we are due a pandemic, people who are ill are naturally vulnerable, that's evolution" type comments.

I'm surprised; I've not seen anything of this about the virus. Ive read and heard factual things about the spread of the virus and the groups who would be more vulnerable but none of the 'I'm alright Jack' type of thinking you seem to believe is out there. Commentators who do only think of themselves in that way are, of course, dicks.

New word of the day
comorbidity

the fact that people who have a disease or condition also have one or more other diseases or conditions:

(misses the point of the thread)

completely disagree.
*So what would you prefer? General hysteria that we are all about to die?

I would prefer it if people would not take comfort from the fact that I will die rather than them. That doesn't mean they need to be hysterical it just means they need to be a bit more fucking concerned and stop posting to say that there is no reason to be concerned.

Everyone self isolating- even people who are otherwise fit and healthy?

While there is no need for everyone to self isolate at the moment I think there needs to be a bit of appreciation of the fact that that may be necessary at some point in the future as that may be the only way to contain the virus.

I think a lot of you may be misunderstanding this POV. Personally, I have it in relation to myself, DH and my DC. I'm not that worried for us. I wash my hands regularly and will take all necessary precautions, but I'm not all in a lather about this virus. It's like flu, so act accordingly. I am, however, worried about my DF, who is 77 and has a heart condition and I will be extremely cautious about visiting him if I think there is even a vague chance that we might have been compromised. But the hysteria in the media is not helping anyone. So far we have 16 cases in the entire UK that we know about, out of 64 million of us. IMO a sense of proportion is needed and less panicking.

I agree with you OP. I am in my fifties, but I still have young children as I had them in my forties. So I am higher risk than a younger adult, but have children dependent on me. I also have auto-immune disease, as does my daughter, and three of my closest friends. So I am very worried about people close to me, and older family members. Acting as though older people are dispensable is horrible, or as though someone with an existing health condition doesn’t matter. Ex smokers are also at higher risk, yet I don’t hear that trotted out quite as cheerfully.

And to the person who said it is just a cold ....it has a 9% overall death rate at the moment. Almost one in ten, and that is without factoring in that 14% of people SO FAR in China are testing negative and leaving hospital, only to get ill again and then test positive.
I worry that the people thinking it is like a cold, or flu, will not take the precautions needed to stop others getting very sick indeed. A fairly young Chinese film director has died, along with his parents and his sister. His wife was critical last I heard. His son is alone here in the UK as a student. This is not like flu, or a cold.

I think a lot of you may be misunderstanding this POV.

I don't think we're misunderstanding the POV at all. If this primarily affected children and people under 30 and someone posted to say they don't understand what all the panic is about as it only affects younger people there would be uproar whether a not it was true.

2 people in my family have epilepsy. Something like this would in all probability kill them, hell a simple virus had one in hospital for a month with uncontrollable seizures. In a constant state of status epilepticus for days doing god knows what further damage to their brain.

But that's ok if they end up dead at 19 and 25 so long as Johnny feels alright and can drag his germy arse to the shops