Is Covid just going to overwhelm the whole world

[BumbleWumble]

The number of cases globally is now over 11 million. Deaths are at nearly 525,000. It seems to me it won't be long before this disease has overwhelmed the whole world. I can't see how it isn't going to just roll on and on eventually into the billions.

Even in countries that have managed to get the numbers down are likely to see a resurgence from what I understand. That will probably actually be resurgence after resurgence. As far as I can see the only way out is a vaccine, with all 8 billion people being vaccinated, and there is no guarantee that one will ever be found or that the huge task of giving it to the entire population of the world could be accomplished.

It just seems to me that the future for the whole of humanity will likely consist of living in constant fear of this awful disease, which will gradually swallow us up. I understand that in many countries they already had to live alongside deadly contagious diseases. Maybe they are more used to it, but Covid is certainly a terrible one to be added to the mix. And surely eventually due its huge level of contagiousness the number of victims will dwarf that of any other ailment.

I just can't see much hope for any one. I am extremely anxious about this so maybe my perception is skewed, but I just see it ending up an unprecedented disaster in terms of number of cases and fatalities.

Nah. It’s not Ebola.

Well it’s undeniably a global disaster but there’s no reason to think this is it forever. There has never been a pandemic that has lasted globally forever, even the bubonic plague ended.

We’re fortunate that we live in an era we have understanding of effective prevention. Covid may be with us for a fair while but it won’t be ruling our lives the same way it has done initially.

There may be a vaccine, an effective treatment or it may mutate, who knows?

This is not the first pandemic we have ever had. None of them have lasted forever. If a vaccine isn't developed then we will eventually achieve herd immunity, might take a long time but we will. It is not forever.

Not everyone is living in fear either. Personally I'm no more scared of coronavirus than I am of any other illness.

No, it won’t always be like this.

Cases are rising and any death is awful but it’s easy to gain perspective.

Covid is so rewarding fast because it’s new so an w tire population lacks immunity. Chances are it won’t carry on at this velocity because either;
A vaccine will be found. Although it will take a long time to effectively vaccinate the entire population (and of course some will refuse) starting a vaccination sensibly is frontline workers and the more vulnerable first will relive a great deal of the pressure on health care systems.
OR
people who catch it and survive will develop an immunity as many people do to many other diseases. (This May also include asymptotic people) so over time there are fewer people who are prone to catch the virus therefor slowing down the transmission rate.
OR
The virus will mutate to a less virulent strain.

Or any combination of the above.

It’s new, it’s scary of course but even without a vaccine I hardly think this will wipe out the human race.
The key is to take precautions now and see this as a marathon not a sprint.

There have been many more viruses is the past that wiped out a large number when they were new; the plague, small pox, Spanish flu etc etc.
In the short term we adapt, we protect the most vulnerable, we support research and aid our front line workers.
But we try not to lose perspective.

Oh so many typos!

@Waxonwaxoff0

This is not the first pandemic we have ever had. None of them have lasted forever. If a vaccine isn't developed then we will eventually achieve herd immunity, might take a long time but we will. It is not forever.

Not everyone is living in fear either. Personally I'm no more scared of coronavirus than I am of any other illness.

Most people I know do not seem to be living in fear. Meanwhile I have been overwhelmed with anxiety since March. I find the whole idea of the virus terrifying as well as the impact it has had on the world.

Vaccines and treatments will happen.

It will pass as they always do, even in eras that had no medical knowledge. Keep that in mind.

It just seems to me that the future for the whole of humanity will likely consist of living in constant fear of this awful disease, which will gradually swallow us up.
It is not that deadly or contagious. Obviously we needed to lock down because it was new and we needed to buy time and slow the spread. But it's not like anyone who has it will pass it on to hundreds of others and they will all certainly drop dead. The vast majority of people are fine. Once it is in general circulation and we have some treatments it will just become another disease we live with and some people die from.

People dont live their lives "in constant fear" of having a stroke or heart attack, of catching flu or meningitis, of getting cancer or lung disease, of being in a car crash or terrorist incident. This is just another thing in the long list if things which can kill you.

I hope you can believe me when I say, that by September next year all we'll be hearing about is the extent to which the world overreacted to covid - there'll be endless articles about making decisions with accurate data and how the world has to be prepared to meet risks head on and so forth.

Please try not to worry. The vast, vast majority of people who get covid have no symptoms or symptoms that are mild, or nasty but manageable. The reason it's spread so far so quickly is because of the number of people who don't realise they have it. While that's a negative in terms of spread you can also see it as a positive sign of how low the actual risk is.

Every day since you were born you've been at risk from infections of all sorts and you've survived. You are also likely to survive this.

And surely eventually due its huge level of contagiousness the number of victims will dwarf that of any other ailment.

I think the problem is we live in a world where this truly is awful and terrible and scary but it is never going to achieve what starvation does - 21000 a day 9 million a year and is never going to be eradicated

Covid has an impact and it will for the next few years and then we will move on but it isnt going to overwhelm the whole world

@FrugiFan

It just seems to me that the future for the whole of humanity will likely consist of living in constant fear of this awful disease, which will gradually swallow us up. It is not that deadly or contagious. Obviously we needed to lock down because it was new and we needed to buy time and slow the spread. But it's not like anyone who has it will pass it on to hundreds of others and they will all certainly drop dead. The vast majority of people are fine. Once it is in general circulation and we have some treatments it will just become another disease we live with and some people die from.

People dont live their lives "in constant fear" of having a stroke or heart attack, of catching flu or meningitis, of getting cancer or lung disease, of being in a car crash or terrorist incident. This is just another thing in the long list if things which can kill you.

I think part of it is that none of those other things have shut the world down. None of those other things mean we can no longer interact freely with other people. And if we hadn't done those things then I assume the risk of catching Covid at any given moment when out and about would be far greater than the risk of those other possible causes of death.

I think this is why my brain perceives it as such a huge threat.

Spanish Flu did there was a lot of quarantining with that

The Black Death in the 14th century killed somewhere between a third and a half of the population of Europe - yet we are still here. Even in the worst case scenario of overwhelmed/non-existent health service and malnourished population, Covid’s fatality rate is nowhere near that.

So no, it won’t wipe us out. But it will change the way we live, at least for another year or so, possibly permanently (although I’m a vaccine optimist). It may well, because of the economic impact, also cause civil or international unrest, mass migration etc.

It's a massive wake up call that we ALL need to take pretty simple hygiene precautions, like regular hand washing and basic cleanliness like keeping surfaces/handrails/buttons regularly cleaned. We should have been doing those things anyway. This is a quick and easy short term mitigation solutions. Other quick and simple precautions are more people respecting personal spaces, stopping pointless things like hand-shaking and hugging people you barely know, etc.

It's also a massive wake up call for the "pile em in" style of events/attractions/amenities etc., where maximum number of people are squeezed into finite spaces. We need to find ways of spreading people out more. That means higher prices or lower profits. Organisations will need to move into bigger sites if they want the same number of people, or reduce the number of people. None of that can be done quickly, but could well start to be planned into new developments, business expansions, etc.

Covid won't be the last pandemic. Even if we get a vaccine and it's mostly eradicated. Another pandemic could be just around the corner with the same, or worse, consequences.

The Spanish Flu killed 50 million people, in a time where medical science and technology were far less advanced than they are now. And it went away. So why would you think that we will be living with this forever?

@PuzzledObserver interestingly the bubonic plague has never actually been eradicated. Personally I’d much rather have a dose of covid than Black Death!

Op, are you getting any help with your mental health ? Your reaction is not proportionate and no one here can help you with that

Covid won't be the last pandemic. Even if we get a vaccine and it's mostly eradicated. Another pandemic could be just around the corner with the same, or worse, consequences.
Ha ha - there you are OP, something else to worry about! I'd concentrate on getting help for my anxiety personally.

It seems like it now but I don’t think so. Imagine living through the polio epidemics of the past? As terrible as Covid is I would think a disease which indiscriminately cripples small children is much worse. Just google iron lung Vaccines were discovered and in the western world polio is now just something from history.

You admit that your anxiety is out of control OP and I would agree with that, based on what you've written. I would try and find some help, if I were you. Your concern about CV-19 is out of all proportion to its lethality. Your chance of dying is very low, even if you are in a vulnerable group. A very small number of people experience cytokine storm, it's true, but treatments are improving all the time, medicines are being found that help the body to deal with the runaway inflammatory response that is so dangerous for that small minority of people, many vaccines are in development and many scientists believe that we will soon have several that are effective against this virus. For most of us though, we wouldn't even know we had it, because anything from 40-70% of people infected appear to have no symptoms at all. Get some help for your anxiety

OP is clearly very anxious like ALOT if people at the moment myself included , if it makes her feel better getting some reassurance then fine maybe be a bit kinder there are lots and lots of people suffering mental health due to this

But it doesn’t make her feel better, otherwise she wouldn’t keep posting very similar threads.
Yes a lot of people are suffering with their mental health at the moment, and the best thing to do is to seek some professional help.

We have had worse pandemics. The main difference in the past they didn't have none stop rolling news so people would have been oblivious to what was happening in other parts of the world. We don't worry about the rest of the world (which is shocking) at any other time so just concenrate on your own family and get help for your anxiety