Is the fear out of proportion?

[Hotlungs]

I’m asking this genuinely as I struggle with anxiety and have a tendency to catastrophise.
I read yesterday that 99.5% of people will survive if they have the virus. Whilst I understand that people are worried they are in the 0.5% is the fear rationale? The press describing it as a ‘killer virus’ and people saying they don’t want to go to the supermarket incase they die. Obviously I’m not talking about those in the vulnerable group.
Are we doing poor risk management? Again to clarify I don’t mean the current lockdown situation to protect the NHS (which is needed) but I mean the fear of it.
We are more likely to die in our cars but we risk manager that (with precautions) to still use them. What are people’s thoughts?

more likely

Pretty sure I've had it because I went to a big convention in London at beginning of March, then got a weird 3-week cough with feelings of itchy lungs and 1 day feeling fluey.

What about the young healthy people dying of cytokine storms ? That isn’t propaganda and I’m very anxious about this as I get allergies / eczema which = over active immune system. Any immunologists here?

But saying "weight is a big risk factor" would enable people to do something about it now, if they wanted to lower their risk. Yes it is scary to realise you are at a higher risk or death, but something can be done NOW, especially as we are allowed to exercise.

You can’t really go from obese to not obese overnight though

@Beijingbikini l wonder the same. I went out in London to a club night end of Feb. I developed a 2 week sore throat, mild temp, vaguely tight chest headache and diarrhoea. No cough though...could that have been it?

I really want to believe posts like @OxfordMum1983

I do wonder.

I don’t know anyone who has died of it. I know that doesn’t mean anything.
However a good friend of mine who is a nurse tested positive this week, her only symptom was a loss of smell. It’s just over a week now and her sense of smell is returning. She’s had no other symptoms.

Considering that 30% of the general public has an underlying condition you could argue that you will scare the general public if you keep stating that only affects people with underlying conditions.

But not all underlying health conditions put you in the at risk groups. Bad back, chronic headaches, glaucoma, glue ear - these are all health conditions. They don't put you at increased risk of covid19.

Why is the alternative to overplaying the risk to healthy, young individuals to create a narrative that only people with underlying conditions are affected. Surely it is possible to do neither of these?

@Sunshinegirl82 The alternative is to tell the truth. That the vast vast majority of deaths are elderly (over half are over 80) with less than 5% under 40. That cases of chidren dying are close to zero and that the risk to adults under 40 is also vanishingly small. The exception is if you have a condition that makes you vulnerable, but even then the majority live.

It doesn’t make a good news headline though. But we should never be afraid to report facts because they might hurt some people’s feelings.

It is the case that if you do not have underlying conditions the risk is very low. The number who die with no underlying conditions is very low. And age seems not to be reported as an underlying condition in itself. Last week they reported that a 99 year old with no underlying conditions had died.

I believe my household has already had it the babies having it the worst but no more than a bad cold with a dash of mild bronchitis , the whole house had different symptoms? Me and my eldest had barely any symptoms. That never happens! When one is I'll we all get it all the same symptoms. we were coming out of it the week they shut the schools we werent tested as hadn't been abroad or been in contact with anyone that was confirmed. That puts my mind at rest plus the figures of recovering or having mild symptoms being high. But my cousin has taken work as a nurse in covid icu and the things she has to see everyday and how shes having to cope with seeing the deaths 1st hand puts the fear of god in me ! And that stuff ain't on the news . The fear is real as the news only seems to report the tragic deaths .

Not when healthy people appear to die from it. Also, imagine the spread without lockdown.

But not all underlying health conditions put you in the at risk groups. Bad back, chronic headaches, glaucoma, glue ear - these are all health conditions. They don't put you at increased risk of covid19.

Obviously. I mean underlying conditions that put you at high risk. Having said that they could just be talking about any underlying condition. There have really been studies yet to determine what does and doesn't increase the risk.

@scaevola 33,000 is not 0.5%. 3,300,000 is 0.5%.

There have haven't really been studies yet to determine what does and doesn't increase the risk.

The alternative is to tell the truth. That the vast vast majority of deaths are elderly (over half are over 80) with less than 5% under 40.

And how does that help people feel less scared overall? Obviously people with a lower risk will feel better but those at high risk will feel worse. As someone who is immuno suppressed I would love to hear healthy people have the same risk of dying as me. For me it would be the opposite of "scaremongering".

What’s wrong with telling the truth?

“As someone who is immuno suppressed I would love to hear healthy people have the same risk of dying as me”

That’s lovely of you.

That’s lovely of you.

Why is it "lovely" of mean to say that I would love to hear that healthy people have the same risk of dying as me? Why should I not want to the risk to be spread evenly so that I was at no higher risk than anyone else? Think about it!

mean me

And that’s still lovely of you.

And that’s still lovely of you.

Why? Why shouldn't people with "underlying conditions" want to have the same risk of dying from coronavirus as a healthy person?

We don’t sanitise anything that comes into the house
We just wash our hands ..often..like you’re meant to
We had three parcels today.

I'm finding it really difficult to balance the statistics with the horror stories I read on here. I go from being calm to being terrified. Apparently 80% a mild flu but some tales on here put the fear of God into me, for example the thread from the lady who's an otherwise healthy teacher who's 9year old rang an ambulance for her and was told one wouldn't come out unless she was blue, and she had to have a talk with him about what to do if she died. Yes shes recovered but how can you read things like that and NOT panic. Genuinely would like to know as I'd rather not be scared :(

Quote from oxford mum

Yes, it’s totally ridiculous.
I speak as a doctor, with both myself and do working in acute hospitals during this and seeing patients with Coronavirus (most recover ), seeing colleagues get it and recover etc
The damage in every domain, inc healthcare, being caused by the lockout/ restrictions is well outstripping Coronavirus deaths.

That is really good to hear oxford mum. Judging by our park today, my townspeople think the same..it was like Prison Break this afternoon.
Lovely to get a bit of Vitamin D , even if there was a cool wind.