Is it time to Free the healthy and shield the vulnerable

[Alex50]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52543692

A recession (and possible depression) isn’t going to help the vulnerable. Freeing up the ‘less vulnerable’ would actually be beneficial for the ‘more vulnerable’.

And we shouldn’t keep the lockdown the same for everyone just so everyone feels the same amount of Misery / boredom / financial worry etc. If some people can be relieved of that then it’s better all round

I have tried google and could not get good stats.

Eg diabetes ...what is the death rate for each age group and how is it affected by the type of diabetes and how is it affected by the baseline sugar levels that the person maintains

Is asthma a problem ...it's listed as a problem and many asthmatics are shielded yet the ONS study from a few weeks ago seemed to suggest that the proportion of people who died with asthma was the same as in the general population..like no additional risk at all

People are conflating "highly vulnerable" (shielded) with "vulnerable"

The highly vulnerable group are about 1.5 million people, currently shielded.

The vulnerable are between 17 and 25 million and are the ones at highest risk of dying - the elderly, obese, chronic health conditions, men, BAME

Who are you proposing to be protected op? The vulnerable as you have said (so upward of 17 million people) or the shielded?

Your op doesn't make much sense really.

Yes, I agree midgebabe, it's so frustrating considering the number of cases and the number of people who have died now that we aren't seeing more specified date on who is actually extremely vulnerable.

Just google it. The stats are widely available. Seriously how can you not know?

It isn’t at all clear. The advice about who is vulnerable and who should shield isn’t clear and has changed over time.

It also isn’t clear what is meant when a news report says that someone had an underlying health condition. Does that mean they were classed as vulnerable? Or might they have had another co-morbidity but not be classed as vulnerable? If you have a definitive link please post it as googling has not been enlightening.

I don’t think ‘the vulnerable’ will comply with shielding once lockdown is lifted for everyone else. The ones in my family aren’t planning to anyway. I’m worried they will get complacent and that without the measures in place for everyone else, the risk to them if they do go out is so much greater. At least atm if they choose to go for a walk whilst social distancing it is a fairly low risk.

It is time for those who are able, to get the economy moving again. Those who cannot should continue to stay at home. I consider that part of a phased approach to ending lockdown.

Is nobody worried about mass unemployment?

Yes!!!!

I can be worried about mass unemployment and excessive death rates all at the same time

Who are these old people who would not follow advice? My parents are fed up being at home but the advice was them to continue so they will. They live in Finland where there is much less cases, so the risk would be lower.

And if people want to stay in, lose their jobs and deny their children school then that's up to them. But the country will be in a mess if this goes on.

The country will be in a far worse mess if we come out early and end up going back in again

The country will be in a far worse mess if the nhs is overwhelmed

The quickest, least painful way out of this is to get r as low as possible as quickly as possible

Do you mean the vulnerable or the shielded group? They are two distinct groups. The shielded are exactly that - they are shielded. But the vulnerable are people with underlying health conditions who won't fair so well if they get coronavirus - it includes drs, nurses, public transport drivers, retail etc. You 'free' all the healthy and all those vulnerable people are at serious risk.

We need to get back to work and assess risk accordingly. You can't expect the healthy amongst us to stay at home taking tax payer money. It's going to happen over the next couple of weeks however much people Dement.

People really need to clarify what they mean when talking about the vulnerable group. Currently, they are around 20 million people (plus or minus a few million). That's an awful lot of people and will likely have a massive impact on the workforce if your proposal truly is to shield all of these.

I mean shielded. Vulnerable people will need to decide themselves.

And there in lies the problem - do what the op proposes and many thousands of people will die.

Is it really sensible to leave the choices up to individuals? Vulnerable or otherwise.

Because your choice will have an impact on others and the NHS, even if you don't get seriously ill you could infect others as the vulnerable can not totally self isolate,they need to buy food and get some fresh air and exercise.

Your free choice must be associated with a responsibility

I mean shielded. Vulnerable people will need to decide themselves.

So basically you decide of you want to mix with the healthy who are suddenly free to mingle and therefore spread the virus. So choose wisely your job/childs school place or your life and tough shit if you pick the wrong one so long as the healthy have no restrictions. Amd justbso you know vulnerable don't have the same protections as the shielded so it really is life or job situation for many.

What protections do the shielded have?

Yes, because otherwise the world won't function.

And even if you're vulnerable, a huge huge percentage of people survive. Going in a car presents a much higher risk 🤷‍♀️

In my post i mean the shielded group.

The vulnerable group will have restrictions lifted like the rest of us I imagine

And even if you're vulnerable, a huge huge percentage of people survive. Going in a car presents a much higher risk 🤷‍♀️

That's clearly codswallop. 30,000 people don't die in cars every year.