Are the young being made effectively to lower their life span?

[SRYnegative]

i have, like many, had several changes of heart regarding covid. At the moment though, like many here, I worry that the young are being impacted more in their day-to-day lives than older people.

For what it's worth I'm 55 and rarely leave the house due to disability (chronic fatigue/fibro. overlap). I used to be a professional, and have 4 children, 14-23. So, of course, I have seen their lives affected badly e.g. school and 6th form closure, exam issues, university courses on-line etc.

I was already mulling this over with regard to the general theme of a couple of other threads. So, some would say that youngsters lives are being ruined as a lot of the rules impact them in particular (socialising being important to this group, wanting to meet a partner and so on) vs the alternative view that long covid is huge, millions will die, hospitals will be overburdened etc.

Putting all that to one side though, it occurred to me, thinking as many mothers do about their kids' best options, the following.

1. This virus is not going away. Only one virus has ever been eradicated by man (smallpox).

1. As a corona virus, immunity is likely to last 6 m to a year. However, this relates to your resistance to catching it, not to your ability to mount a successful immune response once you have caught it again. So you may well catch it again in 6m, but will likely mount a second successful immune response. This is what happens with the common cold as we have all experienced. Covid is a more severe illness in these days since we have not seen it before. People on remote islands who have never mixed with modern man have had a similar response to the current common cold viruses, which we fight successfully year after year.

So, eventually the virus will be the 4th common cold (not my idea btw).

1. What are we going to do, hide away forever? As a 55 year old, would I not be better off taking my chances now when the probabilities are more in my favour than as a 65 year old? Let's face it, we are all going to catch it in the end unless we self isolate and insist on very vigilant visitors - which I fully support btw for those who choose or need to, and I will fulfil my obligations on this, I have an elderly friend, a dad in a care home and a child with a severe vasculitic disease - I am very careful with the infirm and elderly.

1. Which brings me to the young. If I had a baby now, after it was a certain age and had a mature immune system, I think I would stop protecting the child from Covid (unless obviously if the child had a respiratory illness or such like). Because, as the virus is not going away, we need to start our complex, lifelong gaining of immunity to this new common cold. For example, a student hides away for the next 5 years, does all their classes online, then what? Ten, twenty, thirty, forty years of social distancing in work and in social life? And then, when they are 60 they might finally catch it and, like the remote islander, react badly and die?

Meanwhile, all the 60 year olds with us now, have lived to a ripe old age of 90.

Where is the sense in this?

I haven’t thought in depth about the specifics of your post, but as the mother of a small (and healthy) baby I am concerned about the lack of exposure to normal viruses that a baby would experience during its first year and would help to build its immune system. However I have a toddler at nursery so my baby will get a reasonable amount of exposure. Those born to first time parents are less likely to get the exposure they would have done in previous years

Mummyoflittledragon

Sorry to hear of your illness, thanks for the no nonsense reply that acknowledges that there is doubt and balance to be had.

I think 27 is an ok age for parent to die. As someone, who lost one before adulthood, in my mid teens, 14 not so much so.

MaxinesTaxi

This is apparently a myth - you basically cannot escape exposure to viruses. There is little chance that your child will have an unchallenged immune system.

Mummyoflittledragon

That is really sad for you. It was not okay for me! And I sincerely hope my kids do not see me die when they are 27. My platonic male friend is 65 and still has his mother, not even a health worker; my ex 63 has his father, again without care workers.

OP, what is your assessment of the situation if a vaccine is found in 6 months to 1 year?
Could you also say whether your view would be different if there were significant breakthroughs in treatment?
Social distancing measures would surely loosen and eventually disappear if that was the case.

It's a similar perspective to that of my parents' generation, which had them sent to sleepovers with cousins and friends who had chickenpox, but not measles. They recognised the relative mildness of the diseases in children and weighed up the risks. There was no treatment and there was no prevention other than isolation. I agree that we are in a similar situation right now with Covid.

The difference is that we are not like the Europeans in this context, who had relatively high survival rates for chicken pox and measles. We are more like the Pacific Islanders and Native Americans, for whom chickenpox and measles were completely novel viruses just like C19 is for us, and whose mortality rates from viruses introduced by Europeans was much higher than that of the Europeans.

Thanks. Sorry I realise from your response phrased that wrongly. I haven’t slept well and really do get you weren’t ok. What I’m meaning is you were an adult and your youngest would be ok, well better anyway if they reached 27 rather than you dying at 14. On a personal note, my goal through all my pain and suffering has always been to get my dd to her mid 20’s and then be ok to die in the knowledge she’d be prepared. Right now I couldn’t think of anything worse than living until she’s in her 60’s as I know that would be living longer rather than living better.

Do you know what I have really struggled personally. For the first time In my life I've had negative thoughts. I've been anxious. I've lost my love for life. I went through a PJ's all day everyday and rarely walked. I muddled through for the kids. I got sleep trouble and was awake half the night.

This last two weeks I've found some strength to start going again. I now get dressed every morning. I put makeup on. I put on a pair of heeled boots and I take my son for a walk. I am trying so hard to make the days have a purpose. I don't like masks. I think they would be optional. Just my opinion. They make me hot. I get anxious in them and after five minutes in the local shop I don't want it on my face anymore. So it's really restricted me and where I can go. I know some people think get on with it. But anxiety is a hard thing to live with.

Everyone around me is crumbling. I know a women who had her second baby in may. She has a three year old too. But she is really struggling. She wrote a status the other day about the fact she feels unhappy and not herself. She wears PJ's all day and doesn't do anything. She is literally miserable because she's at home cut off with two little people.

My elderly neighbours have been nowhere since march. They used to enjoy theatre and going shopping. Now they hide at home. She was telling me how sad she is yesterday. Misses her children and grandkids.

The other elderly lady around the corner has stopped eating. She's been in hospital. She said to me I can't be bothered to eat anymore. She no longer goes into town due to covid.

My friends are all struggling with sleep. Anxiety etc.

It's absolutely destroying people's happiness. I think some people will struggle to get back to how they used to be.

Even our local children's play town want adults to wear masks. What's the point in taking your child to a role play center and not even being able to smile at them and pretend to eat the food they've made etc because of a mask?

I feel my toddlers missing out and I won't get these years back with him. All children are missing out massively and it's really sad. It's an absolute mess. Whilst masks etc may have brought in reassurance and maybe a tiny bit of protection. They've not elevated the virus and they've created a huge problem alongside coronavirus called mental health. People are living in fear now and it's actually so sad!

SRYnegative That’s good to know :)

OP, I asked if you don't believe in vaccines because you gave a long, detailed projection of the effects of Covid on society, but failed to mention it.
I can't really understand where you are coming from on this. You seem to have avoided catching it yourself, but want others to be more gung-ho about catching it. Is that correct? Because if we catch it now, society can get back to normal faster.
Who are you aiming this at? The government, or people who are staying indoors and be extra cautious, like yourself? Could you clarify?

I am not being over cautious at all. I do not leave the house much because of my conditions - I rarely have the energy to think about going into town for example, and this was similar pre covid.. I go once a week to meet my friends in a coffee bar in a taxi usually, but sometimes the bus. I allow my kids to have their friends round per regulations.

@Burpeesshmurpees

Mummyoflittledragon

Are you aware how heartless you sound with your comment that 27 is a good age to lose a parent? Jesus!

I came on to say the same thing, no one with a brain is going to argue that it's the same as for a dependent child but losing a parent at 27 is pretty awful by today's standards, I've seen many post on here over the years from people far older struggling with the deaths of very elderly parents, understandably so. That is a heartless comment.

MaxinesTaxi

Would you have done that during the Spanish Flu? It might help if you read up on that pandemic.
Unlikely since it was a different disease in a very different time. Arent we always being told that covid is not flu?

@DianaT1969

The OP also comes from the premise that we 'are not living with it'. Most of us have been working throughout, travelling on public transport, many went on holiday in the UK or abroad. People were trying to have weddings and other social events. Young people in my area have been socialising in crowds since May. All the bars have been busy with people spilling out into the streets each weekend. The nation definitely got behind the eat out to help out scheme. Parents sent their DC back to school and nurseries have been used throughout. I find these threads where the OP portrays the majority as cowering in our homes to be disingenuous at best, and rather insulting. OP - if you don't like the government's policies, why don't you just say that?

I agree with this completely, the vast majority of people moaning about wanting things to be normal are living their lives exactly the same way, albeit with a mask on sometimes.

^DianaT1969*

I am absolutely delighted that you are not cowering in your home. Look forward to seeing you at any future demonstrations against the madness of it all.

QueenStromba

You have heard of the common cold reserach unit?

Success = NaN

Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow

Thank you

I feel like you do OP

The young are, and will continue, to pay the long term price for the lockdown measures

OP, what is your assessment of the situation if a vaccine is found in 6 months to 1 year?

This is rather unlikely, as reading papers from the Common Cold Research Institute makes clear. Covid is a corona virus.

@SRYnegative
If this continued as currently, that would be say 2 years of life that hasn't been lived as "normal".
So in effect those young people let's say 16yos will have the rest of their forecasted 68 years to live as they wish! Hardly them having their lives cut is it.
Especially when it's acknowledged that some of those will inevitably be adversely affected as well....

Ebonyrose1
That was a wonderful, heartfelt post. It says what I was trying to say, in a way, but more eloquently!

I think the biggest threat to young people is the damage to their mental health from constantly hearing their lives are ruined.

I think being positive will help life span.

Unfortunately many people have lived through more testing times, bombs are not falling on houses and hospitals, school girls aren't being kidnapped, and many people endure that and live a long life.

This is worldwide. And I think we will get a vaccine might be annual flu shot type thing but that would help considerably.