Why should a healthy young person avoid contracting

[avocado08642]

I am taking this seriously and following government advice. This is just an honest question.

Other than the obvious and the most important reason that I must try and minimise the spread in the society and help the curve to flatten. Why should a healthy person should do their best to avoid contracting Coronavirus now or later when the scientific expectation is for the majority of population to get it eventually, before vaccine is ready.

1. Is it because I might die from it?

2. Is it because although I most likely won't die from it, it wouldn't be nice to be ill?

3. Is it because although I most likely won't die from it I might suffer from some permanent damage (I.e, lung)

4. anything else?

I assumed the purpose was to flatten the curve.

If you get it now and have been continuing about your daily business without knowing you are infectious, you may well have passed it on to a few elderly people before you start to feel unwell.

If you don't get it now, fewer elderly people will be infected now when the nhs is most likely to be overwhelmed.

Of course it won't be very nice (I think that's obvious) but the main reason is so you don't pass it onto a vulnerable person who MAY die from it.

All of the above.

Because to flatten the curve, because there is vulnerable people, because you might be healthy but it could make you very poorly.

If you're young and healthy, they'll prioritize giving you a bed, and your granny will lose hers. Does that make it clear enough?

There was a report on Al Jazeera yesterday from Iran. 13% of deaths included people in their 30/40s. It did not say whether they had underlying health issues.

For me personally -

Scared of giving it to the baby, he's too young for calpol
Don't fancy looking after 2 DC when ill
Or if asymptomatic scared of unwittingly passing it on to someone vulnerable
Plus I'm not convinced on the whole 'herd immunity thing' - we don't have immunity to the cold (another coronavirus)

I've started social distancing myself but I normally get scare of these things more than my friends. Loads of my friends are going about as usual thinking that it won't affect them. An evidence based message for people like this, about what's in it for them personally, even if they don't care about the curve and the vulnerable would be helpful to manage the situation. Not all young and healthy people are so committed to make personal sacrifices for a long time for primarily others.

Because 12% of the people on ventilators in Italy are under 50?

Because younger people survive but a small number of fit and health people still need hospitalisation / ventilation. Yes the vicious virus kills those with underlying health issues, but it's also putting otherwise healthy people in hospital due to organ failure. Its very unusual for young person to die, but not unheard of however mortality is likely to increase if you can't get a hospital bed...the truth is OP we still don't know much about the disease. But being young and health doesn't guarantee you won't need hospital treatment, it just means with treatment you're likely to survive.

I think it's a tough one - it's clear the government WANT the young and healthy to get the infection to gain the herd immunity. You know that meme going around with smouldering matches, one match self isolating and the rest of the matches intact? Well an alternative meme would have that match standing up with the others, but with its head removed, i.e. immune, having caught it and recovered, thus protecting the vulnerable matches.

The govt wants young healthy people to catch it, and ideally to prop up the economy until that happens (so going out as usual, spending money in shops and restaurants). And then once recovered, go back to shopping/spending.

But there is so little support/trust for the govt policy, that if you do anything other than social distance at this time, you are branded selfish and putting the vulnerable at risk.

4) anything else?

Yes, we need healthy people to take up the slack when this really hits. A guy on the radio this morning was saying that as grocery workers are ill they will be pulling the home delivery drivers to stack shelves.

The risk of death is very low for young people. It may not be pleasant- some young people will get pneumonia.

Without sounding patronising, you have to think about it in concrete human terms.
Not 'flatten the curve' but think about your friend and her 89 year old nan. Think about the teacher or colleague who has an underlying health condition.

Everyone has to take a sensible precaution so just try and be an example, you cannot change other people's ways.

@Camomila Plus I'm not convinced on the whole 'herd immunity thing' - we don't have immunity to the cold (another coronavirus)

That's because there are so many strains of it and it's a very mild illness so it mutates very quickly as a result.

All of your points are reasons to avoid contracting if possible. Also, herd immunity is not proven with this virus. 100's of leading scientists have challenged the government approach on this. They're not scaremongering kooks either. See below link.

www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51892402

a) death is extremely unlikely amongst the young.

b) it lasts 3-4 weeks and be very unpleasant in the first weeks.

c) yes, it can be very unpleasant and if it leads to sepsis, tit can cause multiple organ failure. The lung complications can also cause permanent damage