Should we treat covid like flu now and just get on with life?

[947EliseChalotte]

Is it time to accept covid as another flu and just get on with life and back to normality. The whole point of lockdown was to flatten the curve.

[quote Linemanfort]@Northernsoulgirl45 yy as far as I'm concerned "protect the vulnerable" should mean: we all play our part in stopping the spread by wearing masks, social distancing and devising policies around limiting movement and activity eg party time schooling, continued working from home, more food and other deliveries, no large scale gatherings, tracking, testing and local lockdowns. It shouldn't mean "let them stay at home and I'll go back to normal life because it's not my responsibility".[/quote]
I agree with that except part time schooling which especially for secondary school pupils is no use to man nor beast.

@Linwmanfort party time school sounded fun 🤣🤣

@Jrobhatch29

jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2764787

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jmv.26364

Iran and California found that in around 25% of deaths patients had a co infection with another respiratory virus, mainly flu. This has likely happened allover but we have only tested for Covid. Having a co infection seems to be a big risk factor so will be another reason for the flu jab

Studies from the Southern Hemisphere show flu is massively diwn this year. Due to all the measures in place to limit a Covid 19.

I want as little strain on my immune system as possible, flu jabs are asking for trouble I think.

@kittensarecute

Yes, it's time for some more normality now. People's mental health (including mine) are going to really suffer if this carries on much longer. We've all got lives to lead and this isn't living.

Explain how 'normality' will actually work?

I think people's mental health will be badly affected by the very serious societal impacts of rising illness and death.

If you can explain how we avoid that, I am willing to listen.

But 'normality' doesn't mean anything.

We are just a little over 4 months, loads of progress - antibody tests, vaccination progress, treatments. I think by the time we’ve done that time again the light will be at the end of the tunnel, even if we still have a few months to go to get there. Once there’s a timescale with more believable targets and deadlines etc I’ll feel better. I reckon by next Spring it’ll be a memory.

Ps I’m in a let’s make the best of this mood. When the sun goes that mood does sometimes! But it will get better, it’s not going to stand still and scientists and medics are amazing people.

I don’t mean by next spring it’ll be a memory as all over! But I think it’ll be loads better 🤞

Erm...no. Because it's nothing like the bloody flu.

Hope this graph shows this...and this was with a lockdown.

@wheresmymojo yes because we vaccinate every single year against the flu and we have immunity against it.

We have neither here - yet at some point we do have to accept that this is going to become endemic like the flu so we do need to figure out how to get on with life whilst dealing with it.

Because the worst will be a bad flu season this winter alongside Coronavirus together they can be very bad - because they arent the same virus at all so one affords no protection against the other except they both could leave you with a weakened immune system

Not unless we adequately fund and staff the NHS.

Sadly I think this is going to continue on into late to mid next year. But that is just my opinion. Obviously I don’t know that for sure as I’m not in government and I’m not a scientist.

edition.cnn.com/2020/07/30/health/t-cells-coronavirus-study-wellness/index.html

New paper in Nature this week, 35% healthy controls had T cell immunity.

Look at how Sweden is managing, countries opening borders now, school stayed open throughout.

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/sweden/

So yes I do think there is positives can be learned and taken for the future from such an approach.

I think government here should be protecting the vulnerable better - learning from the past, which might make such an approach more feasible.

Over 50% of new cases in e.g. France have no symptoms as well...

The immunity seemed to come from past cold type viruses and also varicella zoster which is chickenpox... unsure about flu

[quote Quartz2208]@wheresmymojo yes because we vaccinate every single year against the flu and we have immunity against it.

We have neither here - yet at some point we do have to accept that this is going to become endemic like the flu so we do need to figure out how to get on with life whilst dealing with it.

Because the worst will be a bad flu season this winter alongside Coronavirus together they can be very bad - because they arent the same virus at all so one affords no protection against the other except they both could leave you with a weakened immune system[/quote]
I accept that once there's a vaccination we'll treat it like an endemic disease but to do so now would result in many, many more deaths than we've seen to date.

@Orangeblossom777

edition.cnn.com/2020/07/30/health/t-cells-coronavirus-study-wellness/index.html

New paper in Nature this week, 35% healthy controls had T cell immunity.

Look at how Sweden is managing, countries opening borders now, school stayed open throughout.

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/sweden/

So yes I do think there is positives can be learned and taken for the future from such an approach.

I think government here should be protecting the vulnerable better - learning from the past, which might make such an approach more feasible.

Erm...Sweden is not managing well at all and their own head epidemiologist has admitted that they didn't take it seriously enough.

No I don't think this virus is like the flu. I suspect the mortality rate is around 10 fold higher and the risk of complications will make it much more similar to measles or polio. We don't yet know what the rate of long term complications is (neurological, cardiac, chronic fatigue etc) but its sounds a lot higher and more devastating than it is with flu to me.

@JS87 No it isn't like flu. It's very similar to what SARS was like.

I've had both. Flu was nasty and last year I was nearly hospitalised when it became pneumonia, but it was still nothing like I've faced with COVID-19 symptoms. My DH called 999 twice, I'd never had that experience before. My oxygen levels were too low and again I nearly had to go into hospital.

But what's been completely different has been the long-term symptoms, the 'false dawns' and flare-ups, and I'm not over it at all after 5 months.

@wheresmymojo

I accept that once there's a vaccination we'll treat it like an endemic disease but to do so now would result in many, many more deaths than we've seen to date.

No that is when we go back to normal. At the moment it appears that elimination/eradication is not going to happen anytime soon so we need to figure out how to deal with it until it either it fizzles out or we vaccination. How to manage it alongside making sure that we have something to go back to. Get on with life in the new normal - taking sensible precautions (masks, limiting people coming in to your house, etc) whilst getting on with life as much as we can

We do probably need to look at it like measles and polio I agree

Have you not been listening ? The long term effects on survivors health are only just being realised. For all we know, these effects might be permanent. Who do you think is going to nurse all the people who will become ill if we relax now ? Try working a shift on a covid ward and I’ll guarantee you wouldn’t want to.

I'm concerned "protect the vulnerable" should mean: we all play our part in stopping the spread by wearing masks, social distancing and devising policies around limiting movement and activity eg party time schooling, continued working from home, more food and other deliveries, no large scale gatherings, tracking, testing and local lockdowns. It shouldn't mean "let them stay at home and I'll go back to normal life because it's not my responsibility".

This, 100%.

Instead of treating it like flu, why not treat it like chicken pox? Dab on some calamine lotion and take a week off school. It's not chicken pox - just like it's not fecking flu either.

Great idea. Maybe the children can have corona-parties like with chicken pox. Then we will have herd immunity seeing that its SO contagious. Except that it's not.

It's not the 'flu EXCEPT when people want to bang on about second waves (like with Spanish 'flu). Or when using anecdotal 1918 lockdowns to justify containment measures (like with Spanish flu). Or basically when it suits them.

It's not a mild flu, no. But it's not the Spanish flu either. It's not 20 somethings waking up feeling a bit ropey and dying by the end of the day. Flu can be much, much worse than this. And a lot milder.

And it's certainly not the Black Death.

Looking at the numbers, it's probably going to cause about 6 weeks excess mortality this year in the UK, if that. It's not the end of the world.

Flu deaths in this country can be up at 20,000 pa in a bad year. This virus is worse but not 10 fold higher! Not here anyway. We just don’t take any notice of flu deaths. We have lived with it for generations.

Gosh no. Flu has never killed anyone. Not ever.

There are areas where you are more likely to die on the road as opposed to dying of Covid. It’s all about the nhs. Again. Everything else has to stop for the nhs.