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?

I think the fear is massively over the top in a lot of people. So many young healthy people I know are refusing to leave the house at all, one is even currently starving herself because she darent go out as she is convinced she will die. Its awful, and trying to talk sense to these people results in 'you dont believe its real, cnspiracy theorist' and such nonsense..

My dad is in the high risk group and he isn't worried at all. Basically says if he catches it he catches it, if he dies, he dies. Which was upsetting to hear but I have since spoke to loads of elderly people around my estate and they have the same view..would rather see their families and 'risk it' than shield for months and months.

So, from my limited experience, it seems younger people are going ridiculously ott in worry, and older people might be...under worrying!

The countries with the lower death rates just haven't let it spread as much, but they will have to. There is no other way out of this. And when they do, their deathrate will just catch up with ours.

I am definitely starting to come round to this way of thinking too. UNless everywhere locks down for 18 months or whatever it might take for a vaccine (IF a vaccine ever cmes)...death rates all over will have to end up about the same, maybe with slight differeces for population ages and such though.

How do you propose we protect all 30-40% of the population who are vulnerable to Covid?

Unless you can link evidence like asked can you stop banding your bullshit figure around.

You are still talking about this apocalyptic 2nd wave. It would just be the same as this one. Hospitals don't mix the covid patients with everyone else. I know, I've been to one and so have people I know. They don't do that now, they won't do that in a 2nd wave.

What I don't think you seem to understand is we will all get this virus evetually. It is part of life now and once under control through natural herd immunity. Which is not a policy or strategy by the way, that is the natural way species get protection from illnesses. It will continue to circulate the population and kill off vulnerable each year, much like flu.

Those that will die are going to die unless they can lock themselves away until we develop a vaccine - which may never happen. We can't all lock ourselves away until then, it's not practical or fair.

The people we are trying to protect is the still relatively small amount of people who will need medical treatment, which in many cases could be provided at home, but will survive. We're not trying to stamp out the virus or stop it. Just slow the spread. That has been done, so alot of people are a bit miffed that lockdown is being continued for all, when it seems like it could be relaxed for many.

Oh and since when was Merkel and the GOV of the bank of England experts on how to tackle a virus?

I am definitely starting to come round to this way of thinking too. UNless everywhere locks down for 18 months or whatever it might take for a vaccine (IF a vaccine ever cmes)...death rates all over will have to end up about the same, maybe with slight differeces for population ages and such though.

I agree. Our death rate is likely higher because we have a more obese and more unhealthy population.

Although I have also heard reports that we are calculating our death rate differently which is causing discrepancies.

People are sacrificing a lot for something that has negligible benefits to them personally. That's a fact.

It is, and a bit more consideration given to that along with a LOT less of the 'idiots' 'morons' 'selfish' etc etc is due.

The only way the government can control the masses is through fear, they can’t throw people in prison for having family round or for going to the park for a 3rd time, or sunbathing in the park. The longer this goes on for the less fear people have. They stop watching the news and just look at what’s in front of them, running out of money, children depressed because they can’t go to school, can’t socialise with friends, they and their family or not ill, they don’t know anyone who has been ill. People start to question what we’re doing this for. That’s why you have certain posters that try to keep stoking the fear.

That’s why you have certain posters that try to keep stoking the fear.

I was only wondering this morning if some of the posters on fb have been paid to act as some sort of fear spreader.

In my opinion yes the fear is out of proportion. This virus, like other viruses, is not going away. Surely it would have been better to have shielded the vulnerable with furlough payments rather than lockdown the whole country and destroy the economy. The number of people who have died without underlying health conditions is tiny, and there will always be a small number of healthy people who die from diseases. It's just a sad reality of life.

The cure will be worse than the disease. Just watch.

There's no need for posters to stoke fear.

Outside the bizarre echo chamber of this thread, it's possible to read about healthy working people and young parents who are losing their lives to Covid-19 on a weekly basis. The only reason there aren't more of them is (a) we have a lockdown so the virus barely got started and (b) we had a lockdown so the NHS was able to treat everyone who required treatment.

Despite this, HCPs are losing their lives in appalling numbers. Everyone on this thread would doubtless be looking for a ventilator and skilled HCP if they needed it. But it's not enough to pay your taxes and feel entitled to that anymore.

Healthcare has morphed into a role where even now, many have colleagues are dying/in ICU and the hours they work/role they play is stretched mercilessly. Unless you're happy not to access healthcare on the NHS, you play by whatever rules are deemed necessary to get our HCPs and NHS out of that situation. Ending lockdown WILL lead to a spike in cases which will further decrease funding to other essential services. So you could also extend that and say that unless you're happy to leave the meagre funding remaining after a second spike to others, you're obliged to do whatever is necessary to protect the resources that we have.

Phil from Cornwall floats around on these threads turning narcissism into a virtue, declaring that he cares about no one but his family and wishes lockdown to end on that basis. I'm sure we're all thankful our HCPs are made of finer stuff but we can't presume upon it and push their death toll up. We simply don't have the right, unless we're willing to pass on their services in the event that we are ill.

Stop thinking that there is a normal life to return to in the short/medium term. At the moment, the lockdown is temporarily taking a painful toll and limiting our freedom. If it wasn't lockdown it would be the virus. We aren't experts in pandemic modelling so we can't know just how that would look, but it wouldn't be pretty and it wouldn't be 'normal'.

Despite this, HCPs are losing their lives in appalling numbers. Everyone on this thread would doubtless be looking for a ventilator and skilled HCP if they needed it. But it's not enough to pay your taxes and feel entitled to that anymore.

Are they?

The Guardian reports that 112 NHS workers have died (I'm not sure which of those are front-line staff). There are a total of 470,000 doctors, nurses and midwives. That's about 2 out of every 10,000 - probably on part with the general population - lower if the 112 are not all front-line workers (I would imagine some of them are porters or cleaners).

It's demoralising and sad, but it's also just life. Why not offer hazard pay?

See stoking the fear, I rest my case. How many young healthy people die from coronvirus every week in the UK?

Yes it's really sad that "outliers" e.g seemingly healthy younger adults are dying and that's horrible and of course we'll read about them. They'll make the news...The other outliers don't ie people in their 80s or with other conditions getting better...that's not decent click bait and its keeping the country in a state of fear and under control.

The lockdown if prolonged is not going to be causing temporary hardship...It's going to be real and horrible! I know we can't go to festivals/big sporting events etc...that's common sense. But we need to get back to work and back to school and that includes restaurants and the hospitality industry, in a planned way.

Children have a right to a decent education in as much as we have a right to healthcare. I know teachers are worried re exposure but home ed long term is not a viable option for our children in terms of their well being on several levels but as key workers, as it's our job we have to get on with it trying to minimise risks where we can (im a key worker).

No. Stop misrepresenting. There are too many HCPs dead and in ICU for this group (at risk by the very nature of their work which doubtless you'd feel entitled to if you were ill) to be dismissed as 'outliers'. It's deeply disappointing to encounter this kind of disingenuous fake news. This is happening to HCPs in sufficient numbers to be significant in and of itself. You cannot point to other HCPs who have survived and start doing clever sums because the death toll is simply too high. There is no morally feasible way to allow it to increase. We're not in the business of martyring our HCPs.

You should understand that people with opposing views don't necessarily want to scare you. I doubt they're interested in your feelings and you probably know this. You're gas lighting. You know that an appeal is being made to your logic and reason, not your feelings.

logic and ethics

How many young healthy people die from coronvirus each week in the UK, please answer and back up your claim or I will think you are stoking the fear?

You cannot point to other HCPs who have survived and start doing clever sums because the death toll is simply too high. There is no morally feasible way to allow it to increase. We're not in the business of martyring our HCPs.

Clever sums? I worked out the ratio of front-line HCPs who died. It's 2 per 10,000. I assume you must know the ratio of HCPs that die from infectious disease on average?

@0v9c99f9g9d939d9f9g9h8h No reply, this says it all to me.

HCP are dying because they have not been provided with the proper ppe. The hospitals are near empty, so it's nothing to do with the amount of people infected.

This would not have been an issue had the proper equipment been ordered in Jan.

The virus was always going to circulate the population, people were always going to end up in hospital. HCP have chosen to work in that field, coming into contact with sick people is in the job description. We have to minimise that risk by providing them with a safe working environment and the proper equipment. Not by stopping people getting ill which is essentially impossible.

I was only wondering this morning if some of the posters on fb have been paid to act as some sort of fear spreader.

Not much different than the bots we had during and just after the brexit campaign

The fear is real. Healthy young people are dying too and we don’t know why

The fear is real but is exaggerated, how many young healthy people are dying from coronvirus each week, please tell me?

Also if nurses and doctors are dying because of viral load, how do we avoid kids coughing and sneezing or even talking near us if they go back to school??

Surely we would have seen more teachers deaths by now if that is the case?

Doctors and nurses are dealing with people who are very ill from coronvirus, the percentage of children getting very ill from this is minuscule.

How would we know who is a teacher in the hundreds of deaths per day