To feel like this is not as near the end as boris made out to be

[Thewaythingsare]

I still feel there will be at least another six months before things are normal

@Figgygal

Why are we thinking spring will be a magical solution we were locked down in spring this year!! Don’t believe the vaccine is this magic instantaneous bullet it’s going to be the back end of next year even with a vaccine before we approach normality according to the head of vaccine studies so people need to be more realistic

Ah, the usual patronising 'silver bullet' post!

Last spring the virus was completely novel and took everyone by surprise. This spring, we will have vaccination programmes well under way and we also know much more about how to treat the disease. No, it won't be entirely back to normal but we'll be well on the road. Nobody said anything about 'magical solutions' so no need to be patronising, especially as you're no better informed than any of us here.

Because spring brings better weather, longer days, more sunlight, more fresh air.

@TheStripes

I think we have another year, maybe more. Only difference is that as time goes on, we won’t be needing to be so restrictive with what we can and can’t do.

Can't do this for another year, no way not a chance.

I bet the older generation are laughing, we can't even sit on a sofa in the warm and not meet people, we have to 'have bubbles' else we whinge while they had to send their children to be evacuated whilst they went to war, It makes me sick. At least the "older generation" whose children were evacuated (most of whom are now either over 100 or dead) weren't doing this alone. It's the lack of human contact that is having such a bad effect, it's not "not being able to go to parties", it's not having people around you to share your troubles or to give you a different perspective on life.

But they are not sure if it stops you catching it, it stops you becoming very ill, if you are unlikely to be ill without the vaccine why would you take it? Surely you can hug someone who has had the vaccine even if you haven’t?

@Toppered

I reckon we have hit halfway, shortly to go backwards after Christmas due to 'gatherings'

I bet the older generation are laughing, we can't even sit on a sofa in the warm and not meet people, we have to 'have bubbles' else we winge while they had to send their children to be evacuated whilst they went to war, It makes me sick.

Sorry

*not aimed at anyone on here btw.

Oh give over with the ww2 comparisons.

@kittensarecute

I need my normality back, I just can't do this anymore, I've started self-harming - I've got nothing to be here for, I can't do my beloved theatre which is my passion in life, I can't even hug my best friend, I've got nothing to look forward to at all. I don't know why I'm still here.

Please keep going. My heart goes out to you and your situation amongst a lot of other people is growing, you are not alone in your feelings. Resentment is also rising and this is across the world, even without a vaccine life will return next spring. It has to. People will just take their chances.

My parents will have the vaccine but I won’t we will still be able to hug.

The proposed vaccine schedule would have all over 50's and many younger vaccinated by Easter. Once the over 65's and those with preexisting conditions are vaccinated (first dose end Jan, sectioned feb) I expect rules to start to loosen a lot. Even my super careful and pessimistic dr friend is talking about Easter being normal. There's lots of unknowns but if any of these vaccines get the green light, they will be pulling out all the stops to use it

It makes me sick.

Go see your GP then.

@JosephineDeBeauharnais

My fear is that there will be insufficient take up of the vaccine to allow for complete freedom. Also, there’s an awful lot of folks who rather like the restrictions and there will be a surprising degree of resistance to a full return to normal. I’m feeling very pessimistic tbh.

I'm not restricting my freedom to protect people who refuse to take the vaccine I've followed the rules to the letter up until now but when a vaccine is available to pretty much everybody, I'll be getting vaccinated and going about my business. If people choose not to have the vaccine then that's fine but they surely can't expect the rest of the world to stay locked down to protect them??

shipments into the UK
I hope they aren't planning to do this by road, otherwise vaccine will be sitting on the A16 in a massive queue outside Calais.

@Mintjulia

The published schedule is more rapid than that. Under 50's was mid March. (Remember 2 doses though)

But yes I think by spring it will be heading in the right direction but still with a little way to go. We won't be locked down but we won't be having parties for 200 either.

I bet the older generation are laughing

I doubt it. Many of them are declining and dying of loneliness, cut off from the people they love in order to "keep them safe". But hey, at least they can sit on the sofa.

@kittensarecute yes you can, it honestly will get better x Don't listen to the gloomy ones on here.

Start planning your celebration for when it's over, think about how lovely it will begin meet up with your loved ones, what you will eat, the venue, the music, the guest list. Share your plans with someone. Cheer them up too.

Sorry you are feeling down.

If people choose not to have the vaccine then that's fine but they surely can't expect the rest of the world to stay locked down to protect them??

I can't have the vaccine and I definitely don't expect things to stay locked down for those that can't or won't. I can't wait for the restrictions to lift!

I’m not having the vaccine as i’m not high risk, I don’t expect anyone to restrict their freedom for me.

At least the "older generation" whose children were evacuated (most of whom are now either over 100 or dead) weren't doing this alone. It's the lack of human contact that is having such a bad effect, it's not "not being able to go to parties", it's not having people around you to share your troubles or to give you a different perspective on life

Oh come on! We've got so much technology, you can talk to people from anywhere, all over the world, in the comfort of your own living room at the touch of a button. Are you seriously telling me that the parents during the war who had their children evacuated to the other side of the country had an easier time of it because they weren't doing it alone?! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever read!

We can enjoy the fresh air, many of us can still work, we have food and warmth and shelter, endless channels to watch on the TV, social bubbles for support, access to education.

Get a grip!

[quote Baileysforchristmas]@Crazycatlady83 but why would people take the vaccine if they are not at risk especially if it doesn’t stop you catching it? I know quite a few people that have had it and 90% of them have been fine.[/quote]
Because we have had 8 months of “long covid” and “don’t kill granny” ..... It might not stop you catching it but it has been proved to stop you getting seriously ill with it.

These people might not have a health condition now, but we can all get diabetes, heart condition, cancer at any stage and if we do and then covid is still about, we might regret not having the vaccine. We may get pregnant, our child may get asthma. It’s all well and good doing a risk assessment of your own circumstances now, but we should also think long term

Also I think the government are going to go for major PR - I think people will be surprised about the uptake

Will people please stop with the WW2 analogies

I think people will start seeing their vulnerable family members as soon as they are vaccinated. So that could be Easter or summer depending on luck.

Is the army giving out vaccines or are they just doing the fast tests?

@baileysforchristmas. Try looking up herd immunity. The need for 95% of the population to be vaccinated to protect those who can't. It isn't all about the individual, remember MMR. There is community responsibility too.

I am somewhat hopeful for some of the vaccines but no Boris is absolutely lying about the speed that things can be rolled out. Every other prediction he has made has been wrong. Why would this be different? In my opinion the Oxford vac may not even get approval as things stand (but it will eventually after blips sorted but that will be months away). We haven't ordered enough of the others - which aren't approved either. Plus brexit. My time scale is March moderna/ Pfizer vac for most vulnerable. April and May nhs and very elderly. Summer Oxford for the rest. Under 50s bugger all. Buy your own if you want to travel.

@oneglassandpuzzled

I don’t get that impression of Whitty at all.

Me either.

On timing re op, all the vaccine needs to do is drop hospitalisations and that is within grasp.

It will be a different landscape when SD drops. CV will still be around but we will live more normally and I agree by Spring.