To all those all think let's just let everyone get it...

[Patchworkpatty]

I am increasingly frustrated by this mindset. It assumes that you will either get Covid (akin to a cough and a temperature) which will last a few days... Or die if you are 'vulnerable' (huge argument to what that means) and that it's better just to get the vulnerable to shield whilst the rest let it sweep across the population .

Can I please ask you to listen to 'Long Covid' on BBC Radio 4 at 11:30. Presented by the Scientist Adam Rutherford.

He was healthy 42 year old. Struck down on the 17th of March.
He has spent the last months investigating the after effects of this so called 'mild illness' on the younger population , looking at the affect on blood clotting, kidneys, chronic breathlessness and debilitating fatigue amongst other issues . ? A phenomenon known as 'Long Covid' .

... and then tell me if you feel quite so laid back about getting this ?

No thanks.

I don’t think people are laid back about getting it, but I do think people are balancing risk Vs life as you would any other risk factor.

I want to return to normal life, it’s important to me for socialisation, my kids, money, mental health etc. But there are cases is my daughters school and of course I am nervous and hesitant. I guess people are saying they don’t want to live in fear as there is no end point to this and you sort of have to take the risks.

How aware were you of possible long term effects of viruses before Covid? Because none of this is a great shock to me. I’m as concerned about it as I am about any illness that might make it difficult for me to care for my children and keep a roof over our heads, or passing on what (for me) is a mild illness to my clinically vulnerable relatives. What measures did you take before now to minimise the risks of catching or passing on infectious diseases?

I should add that I’m not of the “let everyone get it” opinion - but I have noticed how many people seem very shocked at a virus behaving exactly like a virus

Post viral syndromes are common, and well documented.

'Long covid' is spouted by attention seeking idiots in the main, and by a particular kind of scientist who genuinely believes the public are too thick to understand science and medicine.

I want a normal like thanks

I had a boyfriend at university in the eighties who wore at least four layers of clothing on his top half all the time, regardless of the weather.

He was self conscious because he'd had pneumonia the year previously and never regained his former size.

Agree with MaxinesTaxi. Many viruses can cause long term health issues or drag on for months. Flu, glandular fever, shingles, etc. I'd like to know the percentage of people who are getting this long covid.

Before lockdown I was cycling into London every day. The risk of being knocked off my bike is significantly higher than me dying, or becoming seriously ill from Covid-19. I didn’t hide in my house or spend ages worrying about the risk, I just got on with it. You’re still more likely to become poorly from something else. Like pp have said, many people suffer ongoing problems after a nasty virus.

I don’t particularly want to get Covid, but I’m not spending my days worrying about it either. I follow the rules to protect other people rather than myself.

People mostly aren’t “laid back” about getting covid in the same way they are not “laid back” about DV sufferers confined with their abusers; reduced medical screening and treatment; the destruction of the entertainment and hospitality industries; the decimation of our children’s education; mass job losses; a mental health crisis and on.

People are performing an assessment of the risk. The risk of getting covid is relatively low. The risk of suffering terribly much more so. We need to balance competing priorities for all.

Confinement and limitation were possible for a short defined period, but not sustainable longer term.

Financially, socially etc we cannot avoid this thing for much longer. We are going to have to face up to it and "let everyone get it". We are just kicking the can further down the road at the moment, and the can isn't going away any time soon.

I had horrific side effects for 18 months after the Flu one year. It was absolutely debilitating and far worse than the actual acute period of the flu. It's going to take a significant toll on the economy if a proportion of the population end up with a similar thing from Long Covid.

Life is a risk. You've got to roll with it or the country will be bankrupt within a year.

@lunar1

I had horrific side effects for 18 months after the Flu one year. It was absolutely debilitating and far worse than the actual acute period of the flu. It's going to take a significant toll on the economy if a proportion of the population end up with a similar thing from Long Covid.

Long COVID will be a spectrum too. Likelihood of getting COVID is low, if you get it likelihood of serious illness is low, likeness of long COVID is low, if you get long COVID likelihood of it carrying on for 18 months is low.

It's not about being laid back, it's about the balancing the value you place on being able to see friends, family, socialise, go out for a meal, etc. against the actual risk it poses. I, and many others, are happy to take a calculated risk to maintain a semblance of what makes life worth living. And no, I don't mean going entirely back to normal or letting it "rip through" the population unfettered.

@PermanentMarkerSniffer

It's not about being laid back, it's about the balancing the value you place on being able to see friends, family, socialise, go out for a meal, etc. against the actual risk it poses. I, and many others, are happy to take a calculated risk to maintain a semblance of what makes life worth living. And no, I don't mean going entirely back to normal or letting it "rip through" the population unfettered.

The problem is you balancing your ability to see family, socialise, eat out etc. with someone else’s risk of serious illness or death.

Agree with other PPs, a lot of illnesses have long term lasting effects. I had pneumonia 10 years ago and I STILL have lasting effects now, in fact it's what resulted in me being diagnosed with asthma as an adult

You can't live your entire life scared about getting an illness, I mean, do you only eat vegan organic hand grown foods "just in case" to get cancer? Or do you wear a mask outdoors in cities so that your not damaging your lungs breathing in fumes? Because according to "some scientists" that's what you should be doing....... 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don't think it's been long enough to be talking about "long Covid." We've only known about this virus since January.

@MyPersona and someone else is balancing their risk of serious illness against someone else’s risk of losing their job, house, education, mental health. Who’s to say whose more important? There are other things just as important as COVID. People cannot be expected to have their lives wrecked long term to protect a small amount of others from an illness which for most people is harmless. It may seem like a cruel viewpoint but really what do you expect the long term solution to be? What is the alternative?

No thanks I’d rather not lose my job and mine and DDs home. I’m sure many others wouldn’t either. The flu can also damage people long term, it’s a risk with many illnesses

DS had swine flu and pneumonia 10 or 11 years ago, he was hospitalised and extremely ill. He still has long term effects and nobody knows if he always will. Surely it's not news to anybody that all illnesses can cause long term effects?

The problem is that people trivialise seeing family, socialising eating out etc as if this things are unimportant and inconsequential. They have a hugely positive impact on our mental and physical well being and help to support a functioning economy which in turns helps to support functioning public services.

On an individual level every death is sad but on a societal scale you have to acknowledge that sometimes, some things are more important than death, or illness.

@AlecTrevelyan006

The problem is that people trivialise seeing family, socialising eating out etc as if this things are unimportant and inconsequential. They have a hugely positive impact on our mental and physical well being and help to support a functioning economy which in turns helps to support functioning public services.

On an individual level every death is sad but on a societal scale you have to acknowledge that sometimes, some things are more important than death, or illness.

This exactly. You put it much better then I did! I really want to know what the lockdown advocates want? Is it for everyone to be restricted on these important things for years? Do they expect people to live a shell of a life long term to protect a minority of people?

I think so many (understandably) think about it from an individual level. So yes, individually the risks are very low, the restrictions disproportionate and don’t make sense. The risks on a population level are very real though, and restrictions do make a difference. We’re quite an individualistic population though, so I’m not sure how we get round that without really strict and punitive restrictions, which no one wants.

You need to use common sense though.

We can't hide behind our sofa for the next 10 years...

There is no guarantee a vaccine will come quickly and we can't continue to destroy society, the economy, our mental health and prevent people with conditions like heart disease and cancer to get treatment and operations.

I am afraid some people have forgotten that death is part of life.

Many illnesses leave long lasting effects, not just Covid.

I am not quite sure why anyone at this stage continue to push the idea that strict lockdowns can solve everything when the ones we had failed to stop the virus.

There is no scenario at this stage where no one dies or catches of Covid. That's just reality.