How are vulnerable people still getting infected?

[mashainpink]

Genuine question and I hope I'm not coming across as goady in asking.

The death figures coming out of hospitals now is very worrying.

We know who the at-risk people are now. If you're old, with known underlying health conditions that are a contributing factor to hospitalisation/death with Covid, or obese, how are you even getting close enough to infected people to get Covid in the first place??

If I fell in to one of the categories above, you'd bet I'd be masked up to the fucking hilt. Limited contact with my household, not getting anywhere near 2m of other people, wearing gloves, masks, a face shield whilst I'm out, disinfecting all my shopping, asking to WFH (if I could).

Or are the majority of these hospital acquired infections? In which case hospitals need better infection control?

Or have very old people had enough of shielding and taking the risk of death because they'd soon die of boredom/loneliness?

Or is it something else I'm missing?

Im vulnerable. Not old but obese and asthma.

I have children in school so could wasily be at risk even though we're shopping online. Meeting outdoors etc.

I’m CEV and an back to work as a teacher in my reception class as the government is no longer suggesting I shield. I suspect there are many people like me who have to return to non COVID secure workplaces despite being vulnerable and are becoming infected :-(

Because they still need to eat/see the GP/go to hospital? And go to work.

And possibly leave the house just now and again for a walk or something to save their mental health from going right down the pan any further.

I’m obese (BMI 40) . I’m losing, but I’m under 30 yo - I need to earn money so have to work . Have a few friends in similar positions - not all obese but various things that make them vulnerable . Nobody’s going to pay any of us to stay indoors constantly .

I'm in the ecv category. My dc are back at school so that's my biggest risk.

Also, very old people are not "shielding"> Age was never a factor in the list of those that need to shield - they are very specific medical conditions or medications.

Please don't confuse "shielding" with "at risk". It's diluting the needs and feelings of the genuinely shielding.

I’m ECV. I have three DC in school. I can’t shield from them, and they need to be in school.

When they bring CV home and I catch it, hopefully it won’t be too serious.

How many obese workers do you think there are in schools, shops, factories?
Or who have partners who fall into a vulnerable category? People need to earn money.

@SleepymummyZzz gosh I'm so sorry you find yourself in this position. I hope the school are doing everything they can to make you feel safe and secure? I'd be demanding PPE if they haven't already provided you with some.

You can only hope the families of the children you teach are taking every precaution. My DD went back to preschool in June and so far no Covid cases 🤞🏼

Masks are more for preventing transmission than infection.

Leaving the house (unless you're suggesting ECV people should never do that) can mean having to be in the vicinity of people who won't social distance.

My next door neighbour caught it from his teen daughter who was out socialising. He is now in a coma in icu - so very sad and his daughter is distraught that he caught it from her - so very sad.

I'm CV. When I get infected it'll be from work. I work in a large secondary school, teaching 8 different classes every week, so that's about 250 different pupils I come into contact with every week. I wear a mask if I leave my "safe zone" at the front of the room, and definitely when I go into the corridors. But having 30 children in my classroom at a time, is not protecting me from catching it.

I'm taking as many precautions as I can, and keeping my fingers crossed that when I get it I'm one of the lucky ones who doesn't need to be hospitalised.

Not everyone can WFH for starters...so at work...and from their children who are at school?

A guy from UEA on R4 this afternoon said schools are the cause of the spike in cases. Plenty of CV and CEV teachers will I'm sure catch it at work, as the idea they are covid secure workplaces is ridiculous. In primaries, it's business as normal minus assemblies and with a little more hand sanitiser.

@NervousInYorkshire and @Thisisneverending I see. I think because we as a family have been following the rules we might struggle to see how others can get infected

@FuzzyPuffling

Also, very old people are not "shielding"> Age was never a factor in the list of those that need to shield - they are very specific medical conditions or medications.

Please don't confuse "shielding" with "at risk". It's diluting the needs and feelings of the genuinely shielding.

Well age is by FAR the biggest determinant of severe illness and death, so they should have been told to shield (as the over 70s effectively are in Sweden). The only reason they weren’t is due to social sensitivities and fears of being accused of ‘ageism’.

My MIL was shielding and her boiler broke down. The British Gas bloke didn't wear a mask nor gloves, used the toilet, didn't maintain social distancing from her, and went in her lounge to talk to her. All that was after we'd arranged the call out, told the call handler she was ECV, and was assured their engineer would wear gloves and mask, not use the toilet, and stay in a different room throughout this visit. ECV people can't always avoid other people and if people like tradesmen don't follow the rules, they're at high risk.

As for hospitals, yes, apparently it does spread through wards etc. Hospital staff seem more obsessed with blood cross infection and weren't/aren't as aware of "invisible" spreading through the air nor on surfaces - if it's not red, they're not really interested.

I have had lots of clients who were infected in care homes, hospitals, and at home through carers, sadly.

[quote mashainpink]**@NervousInYorkshire* and @Thisisneverending* I see. I think because we as a family have been following the rules we might struggle to see how others can get infected [/quote]
That's really insensitive. I follow every rule but my job is not Covid secure.

Because they're living their lives like everyone else. Half the people on here who go on about hating masks and hugging their friends are probably vulnerable!

Also we know it can survive on surfaces. You can be unlucky.

The reason anyone gets infected is that they get too close to someone who is infectious.

we as a family have been following the rules we might struggle to see how others can get infected sad

You know the rules don't make you immune? The majority of people who catch it are doing the same as you.

@Thisisneverending

My next door neighbour caught it from his teen daughter who was out socialising. He is now in a coma in icu - so very sad and his daughter is distraught that he caught it from her - so very sad.

That's awful . I wish kids actually saw these stories.

Not everyone in hospital is vulnerable or old though.

In this study of 10,000 patients 29% were under 60.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30316-7/fulltext

My parents are 70+ and are really taking care. Avoiding busy places and if they really need a coffee they have it in places you can have it outside.

I have been in town in Liverpool and saw several elderly people going around shops and sitting in Wetherspoons. Whenever a bus passes me there is always elderly people in it. My parents live in a country with very low covid rate and they wouldn't go to busy city centre or pubs or busses.