Lockdown should be Extended past Dec 2nd until all over 80s are vaccinated

[IslandGyal]

So the first vaccinations will be available at the start of December. If we extend our lockdown until the end of January we could get most of our elderly population vaccinated. This would save so many lives and avoid a Xmas surge.

This is certainly achievable if the other vaccine candidates are effective.

Once we have vaccinated our over 80s we are unlikely to return to the high levels of deaths since 60% of the deaths so far are in those over 80.

This would save so many lives and enable us to reopen faster.

We should all sacrifice Xmas now there is an end goal in sight and Thousands of lives Can be saved.

I wouldn't comply with an extended lockdown. I expect many others wouldn't either.

Vulnerable should shield instead.

No. Not because of Christmas but because there has to be a balance between lives saved and everything else. Why stop at 80s, it’d be until we’ve done over 60s, then until we’ve done everyone over 45.....?

Well I know what my 86 year old mother in law would think about that.
Her life has been changed by a lovely gym which she goes to 3 times a week normally and which is desperately hoping to survive this lockdown.
I think she would rather stay in another month herself and know the gym is still there when it’s safe for her to go again rather than stay locked down and lose it in the economy bloodbath a lockdown extension would bring.
And this in different ways will be true of many older people.

It's not about who dies though, it's the number of people sick and in hospital at anyone time. The lockdowns aim to prevent an overload.

"So the first vaccinations will be available at the start of December."

We don't know that. It would be foolish to base anything on when we think vaccinations will be available.

@Avondklok

It's not about who dies though, it's the number of people sick and in hospital at anyone time. The lockdowns aim to prevent an overload.

Perhaps it should matter more 'who dies'- I personally think we should be vaccinating NHS staff, teachers and the ECV of all ages before the over 80s I'm afraid. It should matter than it is infinitely more tragic for an ECV person of 35 who has dependent children to die, with all the effects that this has, than somebody of 85.

We need to get education back to normal, get the economy going again, and protect the most vulnerable of all ages, and I don't think it's unreasonable to ask the elderly to lockdown for longer if they want to protect themselves. We need to protect the younger vulnerable first IMO. Will probably be torn apart for saying that on here though.

Vaccinating the elderly first is very sensible, and will be the quickest route out of lockdown.

People should educate themselves more about the vaccine instead of believing everything the media and the government tell them. There's plenty of information available on line. There is no way a vaccine will be available in December, and if there is it won't have been properly tested. And maybe some over 80's won't want to take that risk.

My first

Just a reminder that vaccine priorities are not fixed yet. This is initial thoughts. You can read recommendations here:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/priority-groups-for-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-advice-from-the-jcvi-25-september-2020/jcvi-updated-interim-advice-on-priority-groups-for-covid-19-vaccination

@thatwastheriver

People should educate themselves more about the vaccine instead of believing everything the media and the government tell them. There's plenty of information available on line. There is no way a vaccine will be available in December, and if there is it won't have been properly tested. And maybe some over 80's won't want to take that risk.

There’s plenty of misinformation and you seem to have been reading it.

Why?

Do you think all that matters are the lives and welfare of the over 80s?

The average life expectation is 81.16 in the UK...

Nobody is going to comply with another lockdown anyway.

Not to mention the fact that many people don't want their final month/year to be spent locked alone without being able to see their relatives.

whatever happened to common sense in this country?

this should read 'Not to mention the fact that many elderly people don't want their final months/year to be spent locked alone without being able to see their relatives.''

Ummm no I don’t think so everyone should have a shit Xmas and be locked indoors.

How about all the over 80s stay in for the month.

Well said TheCountessofFitzdotterel

That was the river I am the last person to trust this government but I suggest you educate yourself properly on how vaccines are approved. There is not a cat in hells chance it won’t have gone through thorough safety checks before being licensed but then I am not a conspiracy theory nut and actually have some knowledge of how these things work. In answer to the op absolutely not. Many many people are already seriously suffering and dying as a result of persistent lockdowns. Or do suicides not matter to you?

Everytime someone says 'you should educate yourself' we later find out that they have been educated at the YouTube University.

I also don't think that many 80 year olds want to die alone, in pain, in a hospital connected to machines.

Lives won’t be saved. You might extend a few for a bit until they die of something else

whatever happened to common sense in this country?

Was there a point in time when it existed anyway? In my experience, the one thing that has been regularly uncommon in the UK (and elsewhere) has been sense.

I think we need to protect hospital capacity first — so that as much treatment as possible for ALL conditions can go ahead — and protect individual patients from picking it up in hospitals.

So I think we should vaccinate front line NHS staff, GPs, care home workers and dentists first. Then the over 80s and anyone living in a care home. After that I’m not so sure. The news items I’ve seen suggest age is the biggest risk factor for dying from Covid, but there has to be at least consideration given to where most people catch it from too. Maybe vaccinating all 18-25 supermarket staff (an example, which probably is totally incorrect!) would be most beneficial in reducing spread.

well, my dad is 86 with lung disease. Absolutely no way he would want this. Being realistic, this may well be his last Christmas and no bloody way is he spending it sitting on his own (his view btw!)

@Usernamenotavailabl

Lives won’t be saved. You might extend a few for a bit until they die of something else

Boredom probably.

People won't comply and I'm including many over 80s in that. I'm pretty certain my 85 year old uncle won't as he's been out more than me!

No way. I think if this lockdown was impacting on your work / business you might think differently about that. So many small business just will not survive.

And no, I'm not a small business owner, and I don't work in the leisure industry. But I feel sorry for those who do.

Well...if it is extended we will surface next year with slightly reduced deaths and an economy equivalent to Somalia and debt higher per capita than WW2

Compliance is reducing week by week...the stats for compliance with isolating when required is 50% at best. My neighbours are all ignoring it in respect of visitors etc. Where there is compliance is when it is mandated due to shops and restaurants closed.

My sons mate at uni posted a video of their house party with over 30 in one flat and barely an inch to move!

No thanks.