BBC article that I regret reading

[PurpleRainGirl]

I just read this article on the BBC website (if you are feeling anxious please DO NOT read further):

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51963486

and I am absolutely panicked, sobbing my heart out for the first time since this thing has started.

I tried my best to keep calm and carry on and to cheer up everyone around me in RL.

But I feel so, so scared and upset now.

No one knows what's going to happen, where we're going with this. Are we going to see horror scenes on our streets? Are we going to just let go at some point and let people die? The kind of measures that have been introduced are not sustainable long term. According to the article, there are only three ways out of this, two are a long way away and one is not a long term option. Is this the end of life as we know it? The actual apocalypse?

I'm so depressed having read this article and I don't think I can comprehend that it's come to this. It's finally got to me.

Don't expect anything, I know no one has any answers. Just needed to write this down.

[Winter2020]

I believe there will be a vaccine available in record time. Why? because there are brilliant people all around the world that can do this and they have unlimited resources at their fingertips. Nothing is more important and they will get whatever they need to make it happen.

[Bumpsadaisie]

It is really hard to take in.

But we will all get used to it. What seems insane now will become a new kind of normal quite quickly. It's already happening. Two weeks ago the ideas of all schools being closed would have seemed like Armageddon. Now they're all closed and we are all still here. The kids are alright and we are alright (tho it's been a long day).

You just need to give yourself time to come to terms with it and settle down a bit.

It's been a massive week.

[LosingMyShitHere]

Scaremongering at its finest!

[PurpleRainGirl]

@Bumpsadaisie this is how I'm feeling too.

All the things I thought would never happen have already happened.

I was running a conference in the Midlands a month ago, 2.5 hr journey, 20 attendees, we all had gin at the bar later on. Life was normal. It feels like this was 3 years ago. So much has changed so fast that I struggle to process this, not to mention accepting that this as my new status quo that is here to stay for a long, long time. Or get even worse if something really bad happens to someone I love, we'll lose income for good etc.

[hatdream]

There are different medical views about how Coronavirus might progress. No-one actually knows, despite people insisting they do.
Numbers are still small compared to national flu epidemics. An average year is apparently around 600 but it varies - in 2013, estimated 13,000 deaths from the complications of flu. I try to keep some perspective and try to avoid alarmist or sensationalist reporting (difficult I know in this climate).

[hatdream]

And the BBC. Well, what a surprise! Like the Guardian their "news" pages seem to be written by a bunch of teenagers.

[IVflytrap]

From the article:

"We did early detection and contact tracing the first time round and it didn't work," Prof Woolhouse adds.

It didn't work because, for way longer than should have been the case, the guidance given to NHS 111 workers was only to consider covid-19 as a possible diagnosis in people who had recently returned from affected areas abroad. There have been many, many stories of people with symptoms calling 111 and being told that they won't be tested because they hadn't recently travelled to an affected area. It was as if we were in denial that undetected community transmission could happen here, even though it had demonstrably happened in other countries by that point.

So neither testing nor contact tracing went ahead in anywhere near the numbers needed for us to contain the virus. South Korea and Taiwan managed to get their outbreaks under control to an extent due to fully implementing these measures. There's no reason, once more tests are manufactured, that we couldn't do the same, after a period of lockdown.

[Justaboy]

PurpleRainGirl Don't fret please a lot is happening its just that its not publicsed that well if at all!.

techcrunch.com/2020/03/19/french-study-finds-anti-malarial-and-antibiotic-combo-could-reduce-covid-19-duration/

The orignal report can be found on a link on this site!.

www.mediterranee-infection.com/hydroxychloroquine-and-azithromycin-as-a-treatment-of-covid-19/

remdesivir, the promising anti viral is undergoing trails..

www.biopharmadive.com/news/coronavirus-remdesivir-gilead-antiviral-drug-covid-19/573261/

A lot is happenimng but for now take old Boris's advice and keep your distance and wash your hands!!

[MrsFrTedCrilly]

Everything that @merryhouse said do brilliantly
We are all unsettled by this, DP is NHS frontline with already compromised immunity I’m quite frankly terrified.
It’s shit but sometimes life is shit, and life is a lot shitter in other parts of the world on a daily basis.
Compartmentalise, breathe deeply and be mindful of avoiding stuff that makes you feel upset or powerless. Follow the advice we’ve been given that way you are part of improving the situation for us all.

[madcatladyforever]

I just take one day at a time and make that day the best it can be. My grandparents fought through 2 world wars my grandfather in the Royal Flying Corps in those horrendous rickety planes. He was shot down once but survived both.
My grand mother had to bring up 3 small children on rationing with almost no food, clothING or shoes.
They never knew from day to day if the would be bombed or killed or if they would starve or be over run by nazis.
They survived AND even after the war there was rationing through the 50s.
As well as that my grandfather survived the 1918 flu pandemic which was far worse than this one. Grandma was younger than him by a fair bit.
This doesnt seem so bad now by comparison does it OK?
And China is already recovering. People are out and about again.

.

[madcatladyforever]

I'm front line NHS too and I think what would my grandparents do. They would have got on with it.

[Sammymommy]

@PurpleRainGirl don't worry. I think we are all in the same boat. Having brutal moments of realisation then some resiliance. I feel a bit better. Some people gave me a bit of hope. I can do hard time. I can do really shitty son of a bit hard time. I juts need a tiny bit of hope. And I got it so no worries ;) .

[maggiecate]

I know it doesn't sound like good news, but it is - it talks about realistic exit strategies. There will be a vaccine. There will be tests so we can tell who has had it which will allow those people to resume normal lives. We will get through this.
My dad was born in 1926 - polio, whooping cough, diptheria, tuberculosis - these were all real and genuine risks and there was no prevention or cure. There wasn't an NHS even. My mum's cousin is still in pain now from the after effects of the polio she had as a child. The fact that for most of us this is the first time we've had to worry about infectious disease shows how far medicine has come.
There are already a lot of positive steps being taken - yes, it's going to be a difficult and painful few months, but it will pass and we will resume normal life, hopefully a bit wiser than before.

[PurpleRainGirl]

@madcatladyforever That's a very good point, my family survived the Nazi concentration camps. The resilience is definitely there, it doesn't minimise the initial shock though.

💐 to you for being a star.

And thank you to everyone for your kind posts tagging me, you've made me smile.

[Lynda07]

It is bad news, what stood out for me was the gaining of 'natural immunity' because there's not much chance of me gaining that as I am 70 and have been self isolating for ages.

However all any of us can do is take one day at a time and remember, the worst case scenario is often painted but frequently the reality is not so bad.

[EveryDayIsADuvetDay]

That article should not be up on the website. Disgraceful.

it's a factual news article, on a news website
Of course it should be there.
If you don't want to stay informed of what's going on, don't read news websites; it doesn't mean everybody else has to live in ignorance.

Why not try the Daily Mail, or mad conspiracy theories on Facebook?

[DeadButDelicious]

I can see nothing wrong with the article. It sets out realistic facts. A vaccine is being worked on as we speak. Hold tight, don't despair, tonight was a lot to take in but we'll get through it.

[Cissyandflora]

OP I can’t read it because it’s all too overwhelming for me. But we can only take it a day at a time and hope and have faith that scientists will discover a vaccine and that we can just stay home until that point. It’s really a day at a time otherwise we can’t take it in. I’m sorry you’re upset and I completely understand. But let’s all try to pull through.

[PurpleRainGirl]

Whilst the article is correct and no one has questioned its merits, I agree with lots of posters on here who pointed out it omits a number of important developments and as a result paints the worst possible scenario which isn't necessarily the most likely one. I think that's the key message to me.

This and the fact that we will, somehow, adapt to the new world. We always do.

[BeetrootRocks]

It's not really factual exactly it's opinion albeit expert opinion.

A vaccine is being worked on as we speak but he estimates 12-18 months to possibly have one, and current conditions to remain for 2 years if not.

They are long periods of time for people to be so isolated.

I think it's all new territory and it's ok to be freaked out.

[Mummy0ftwo12]

There are 100 studies being fast-tracked for a vaccine, fingers crossed.

[YgritteSnow]

Tbh I don't think there's anything in the article that we didn't already know. I had already thought about much of it and the rest was at the back of my mind. Your OP was far more scary than the actual article. Things are going to change but there has been far worse pandemics and society and order didn't collapse and we managed to keep going. I'm scared, terrified actually, especially for my children but what choice is there but to keep going? One day at a time is the only way now.

[TheMagiciansMewTwo]

I think, even with the BBC, you have to consider the writer of the article and its purpose.
Large sections of the media have been running increasingly negative stories to help nudge people to compliance. Appealing to people's common sense hasn't worked so they're trying to frighten people into adhering to the lockdown and social distancing.
That's not to say it's inaccurate but the same facts could have been presented differently eg with a focus on testing, current vaccine progress.
At this stage, no-one really knows what comes next. A vaccine is probably our best hope and the only good thing about a pandemic is that the best scientists across the globe are working to find a vaccine.
But a crying meltdown is perfectly understandable in the circumstances

[Branster]

I was going to refer to the ICL modelling but I see deffinetlygc was spot on already. That information was dated 16th March, not new under current speed of events.
There is no magic wand and not enough research and data.
There’s no point looking for positive stories as there aren’t any real breakthroughs right now.
Try to look for science based articles and factual news from other countries, it helps then you won’t have such a shock as the news trickle down more gradually and you remove the element of speculation.
Realistically we can only go back to a regular routine only if a suitable vaccine is developed, manufactured, distributed and administered worldwide- at lest 2 years.
World economy 10 years to start seeing actual profits (get productivity going, trade moving, pay of huge deficits in most countries).
The world will be different but it doesn’t mean it will be a bad place once the biggest danger is under control. We will all adapt, change priorities and appreciate different things.
Try and find comfort in the true fact that there are a huge number of people and companies working tirelessly worldwide to find a solution and to and reduce loss of life.
All most people have to do for now is stay at home and develop coping mechanisms to deal with stress, anxiety and emotions. This will be a difficult personal battle for a lot of people and there’s no magic answer to it.
Hang on tight and look after yourself and loved ones as much as you can.